Improvements in Single Acting Steam Engines having One or More Cylinders.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 17th May, 1886.
Complete Left, 8th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 8th Mar., 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Single Acting Steam Engines having One or
More Cylinders.
I NOËL CHANDLER of Cannock Chase Foundry and Engine Works Hednesford,
Stafford, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
-
My invention relates to improvements upon Patent No. 10616 dated 24th July 1884
and refers to Steam engines of the vertical Single acting type which may have one,
two, three, or more Cylinders placed on the top of a rectangular shaped bed or box,
having holes bored at opposite sides to receive the bearings which carry the crank
shaft and eccentrics, the latter of which are of special construction to allow of the
bearings being continued up to the webs or cheeks of the crank & are bolted to the
webs of crank. These eccentrics are of increased diameter to enable their being
hollowed out to receive the bearings inside.
The lower end of the cylinder is contracted to about two thirds the diameter of the
upper end in order to make the crosshead small and as light as possible, the piston is
connected to the crosshead by a piston rod in the usual manner.
The slide valve is of the piston type & has the full boiler pressure on the top so as
to keep the eccentric rod always in compression.
On the top of the cylinder cover I place a hollow air cylinder of smaller diameter,
than the steam cylinder, and inside this air cylinder works a piston, connected to &
carried by a continuation of the main piston rod, which is continued through a bush
in the cylinder cover. The underside of the air piston is not in any way in com-
munication with the steam cylinder.
The object of this air cylinder is to balance the momentum of the Steam piston &
crosshead & thus prevent the connecting rod from leaving the crank pin when the
engine is working at a high rate of speed and exhausting into a condenser. The air
is allowed to enter the air cylinder through a port which is uncovered by the air
piston when at the lowest point of its travel, this port is in communication with the
crank chamber by means of a pipe, and by the upward movement of the air piston
a partial vaccuum is formed beneath it, this vacuum draws up a greasy spray from
the crank chamber & thus lubricates the air cylinder, at the same time Air being
compressed above the top of the air piston. A similar method of lubrication takes

page_text: place in the steam cylinder but without the employment of a pipe. The bottom of the
steam cylinder is in communication with the crank chamber by means of a ring of
small holes drilled vertically at a point where the cylinder is reduced in diameter,
these holes also serve to allow any condensed steam to pass away into the crank
chamber.
It will be obvious that all these improvements are equally applicable to my
compound engines and in such case the before mentioned "Steam Cylinder" will do
duty as the High Pressure cylinder, and a low pressure cylinder will be placed
beneath it and above the crosshead guide.
Inside the crank chamber there is a lubricant floating upon water, and to maintain
this lubricant at a constant and uniform level, I arrange some pipes inside the crank
chamber, which allow superfluous water to pass away, but the lubricant remains
floating in the crank chamber no matter how much the engine may be inclined in
either direction (by the rolling of a vessel for instance) This lubricant is splashed on
to all the working parts of the engine by the crank shaft dipping into it at every
revolution.
To prevent the undue mixing of the lubricant and water I employ perforated plates
below the floating lubricant.
The means I employ to actuate the throttle valve are as follows.
On the crank shaft at one end of the engine I mount a pair of centrifugal governors
which actuate a circular groved spindle into which the governor levers or arms are
fitted. This groved spindle works longitudinally in a hole bored up the centre of the
crank shaft, and gives motion to a lever which is attached to one end of a spindle, this
passes through a specially arranged stuffing box. (The object of this arrangement is
to avoid friction and to obtain a great movement of the throttle valve for a small
movement of the governor weights or arms.) I employ a hollow trunk or pipe and
inside is a lever which actuates the throttle valve; this lever is attached to the inner
end of the before named spindle, thus the spindle carries two levers rigidly secured
one outside the other inside the hollow trunk. The inside of the "hollow trunk" is
under pressure and contains water of condensation, thus the lower extremity of the
hollow trunk is comparatively cold, & to make a perfectly tight & frictionless packing
I employ india rubber rings similar to those used for the Guage glasses of steam
boilers this spindle which carries the two levers has a very small oscilating movement
in the stuffing box, at the same time imparts a large movement to the throttle valve.
At the lower extremity of the hollow trunk or pipe I arrange a movable cover
which carries the stuffing box containing the rubber rings, the plane of this cover is
neither vertical nor horizontal, but is at an angle of about 30 degrees from the centre
line of spindle, to facilitate examination & fitting together. At the upper end of the
trunk is another movable cover (also at an angle of about 30 degrees from the vertical)
to facilitate examination & fitting together.

page_text: More Cylinders.
I, NOEL CHANDLER, of Cannock Chase Foundry and Engine Works, Hednesford,
in the County of Stafford, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to an improved construction of single acting steam engines
having one or more cylinders. It relates more particularly to the type of inverted
engine described and illustrated in the specification of my Letters Patent dated
July 26th 1884, No. 10616; and embraces the following improvements
1. An improved construction of eccentric and method of fixing the same to the
crank according to which the bearings of the crank can be lengthened and continued
inwardly up to the crank webs.
2. Diminishing the weight of the piston and crosshead and effecting the lubrication
of the former by the rotating crank.
3. The combination with the steam piston and the crank chamber of the engine of
a piston of a smaller diameter than the steam piston working against an air cushion
in a subsidiary or air-cylinder placed axially on the top of the steam cylinder, for the
purpose of balancing the momentum of the steam piston and connecting rod, and of
means by which said subsidiary piston can be lubricated automatically from the
crank chamber.
4. Preventing the expulsion or escape of lubricant from the crank chamber, and
maintaining it at a level therein constantly within the reach of the throw of the crank.
5. An improved method of actuating the throttle valve from a governor on the
crank shaft.
In order that my invention and the means by which the same can be carried into
practical effect may be thoroughly understood I will now describe it in detail referring
111
so doing to the accompanying figures which are to be taken as part of this
specification and read therewith, and in which corresponding parts are marked
throughout the figures in which they occur with the same reference letter.
Figure 1 is a sectional front elevation taken on the line A B of Figure 3.
Figure 2 is a transverse sectional side elevation taken on the line CD of Figure 1;
and
Figure 3 is a side elevation shewing the governor and governor gear.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of a modified form of cylinder and piston, according
to which the lower end of the steam cylinder is contracted, the cross-head working in
said contracted cylinder. The advantage of this modification is that the sectional

page_text: areas, and consequently the weight, of piston and cross-head (which latter replaces the
trunk piston of Figure 1) are considerably reduced.
Figure 5 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the interior of the lower part of
the crank chamber and waste pipe.
E is the steam supply; F, the throttle G, the hollow piston slide-valve; g, the
ports to the steam cylinder; H, the steam piston; h, its crosshead; I, the steam
cylinder, and its cover. Both steam and valve cylinders are preferably lagged as
shewn. J is the connecting rod; K, the crank shaft; L, the crank lubricant and
water chamber; M, the casing enclosing the same, and m an air-pipe. N N are the crank
bearings bolted to the sides of said chamber; n n their linings; and n' n', the stuffing
boxes Both bearings are continued inwardly up to the webs k, k, of the crank. The
eccentric block g¹ is of a relatively larger size than it has been hitherto the practice
to make this member of an engine, in order that it may be bored out to revolve clear
of and around the adjacent bearing N without touching it. It is expanded into flanges g²
and is held to the crank web by bolts g³. The strap g lies between the flanges g² go.
The valve rod g is jointed to both eccentric strap and slide valve in any well
known way.
Provision is made for the access of lubricant to the crank shaft by ducts n² formed
in the top of the inward continuations of the bearings.
O is the subsidiary or air cylinder fixed above the steam cylinder and axially
coincident therewith, but conveniently of smaller diameter. Its piston o is connected
to the steam piston H by a piston rod of which is virtually a continuation of the
steam piston H. It works through a stuffing box and bush in the cover of the
steam cylinder.
The cylinder O is furnished with an air cock o² in its top cover, and is separated
from the chamber of the stuffing box by an internal cover o³ There is therefore no
practicable steam or air connection between the air cylinder 0 and the steam
cylinder I, and both pistons o and H are at corresponding points in their respective
strokes at the same moment.
P is a pipe maintaining a communication between the cylinder 0 and the crank
chamber L. It enters the former at a point sufficiently high to be opened clear by
the down stroke of the piston o which passes below the top of the pipe.
According to the modification illustrated in Fig. 4, the steam cylinder I is con-
tracted at its lower end, the continuation forming a guide for the crosshead ² of
the piston H. The latter can therefore be made much lighter than if the construction
illustrated in Figure 1 be adopted. The closing of the steam cylinder necessitated by
this modification requires special provision being made for its lubrication, which
according to my invention consists in the formation of a series of holes h³ through
which oil spray passes from the crank chamber while the engine is at work, a
lubrication which would be impracticable if the steam cylinder remained closed at the
bottom.
The advantages of the above described modification are as follows:-
a. The water in the crank chamber cannot be splashed upon the piston by the
rotation of the crank, and therefore the waste of it by boiling away, a waste which
would otherwise occur in engines driven by steam of very high pressure, is provented.
b. Perfect lubrication of the steam cylinder is secured.
c. A considerable economy in the weight of the moving parts is effected.
I am aware that it has been proposed to use an air cushion contained within a
downward continuation of the steam cylinder to compel the moving parts to move
with the crank pin immediately the latter has passed the dead centre; and also to use
a crosshead working within a downward continuation of the steam cylinder, and I
wish it to be distinctly understood that I lay no general claim to the use of either
such air cushion or such crosshead and guide; my improvement as far as these parts
of the engine are concerned referring to the automatic lubrication of the cylinder in
which the air cushion is contained, of the steam cylinder when made with a pendent
guide, and to a diminution in the weights of these parts as compared with the above
mentioned methods of manufacture.

page_text: The operation of the several parts constituting my third improvement are as follows.
During the starting stroke of the pistons H and o from the position illustrated in
the figures, the air cock o' being open, the air piston o draws in a charge of air where-
upon the cock of is closed. While the engine is at work, each downstroke of the
piston o uncovers the mouth of the pipe P, and therefore an atmospheric plenum is
maintained in the upper portion of the air cylinder O.
"
The upstroke of the piston compresses this charge of air which thereupon becomes
an air cushion, the action of which is to absorb the momentum of the pistons H and o,
crosshead (and crosshead 2 in Fig. 4), connecting rod J, and piston rod o¹. So soon
therefore as the crank has reached the dead centre, the air cushion is ready to force
the said five members to follow the crank pin, thereby preventing that hammering or
"knock
at the journals of the connecting rod which would otherwise be con-
siderable in an engine working at a high speed and exhausting into a condenser.
The lubrication of the piston o is, according to this part of my invention, effected as
follows. As it passes the mouth of the pipe P in its upward stroke, it necessarily
tends to create a partial vacuum in the space below it, which is at once filled by a
rush of greasy spray from the crank chamber L, and which settles upon the sides and
bottom cover o³ of the cylinder, as well as upon the piston rod o'.
My said specification No. 106161884 describes a method for maintaining a supply of
lubricant within the crank chamber at a level within the reach of the throw of the
crank and other moving parts, to be broken up into spray and distributed throughout
the crank chamber by the rapid motion of said parts, by floating said lubricant upon
a body of water of constant volume occupying the bottom of the crank chamber, and
of preventing the waste and undue mixing with water of said lubricant by interposing
perforated plates between it and said body of water.
Now according to my fourth improvement, illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, I fix a
pipe open at both ends within the crank chamber.
This pipe Q standing in one corner of the chamber L extends from the top thereof
to the botton under the plates S. It is led diagonally across the bottom of the water
chamber under the double perforated plates S to the opposite corner up to the level at
which the lubricant and water are intended to be maintained, and then down to within
a short distance of said bottom.
The action of this part of my invention is as follows.
The water having risen to the top of the bend r carries the lubricant at the desired
level, one which will always keep it within reach of the throw of the crank in spite of
any disturbance of level due to such a cause as the rolling of the vessel in which the
engine may be at work. But as soon as the water level tends to rise above the bend r
(in consequence of further condensation of steam) it is at once lowered by escape of
water past the bend r and through the waste outlet r¹ to any convenient point, e.g., the
vessel's bilge.
The pipe stands as high as indicated in the figures for the sake of preventing
lubricant being wasted by being splashed into its open top r², and this open top main-
tains an even pressure in the horizontal part 3 of the pipe, and therefore prevents
waste by siphoning over the bend r and out at the outlet r
The exhaust steam from an engine constructed according to my invention escapes
from the steam cylinder by the outlet St, without gaining access to the chamber L.
The fifth part of my invention consists in an improved method of connecting a
centrifugal governor upon the crank shaft with the throttle F for the purpose of
controlling the latter.
According to this part of my invention, the arms of a centrifugal governor
mounted upon the end of the crank shaft engage in a groove formed around the head
of a spindle t which is capable of a to-and-fro longitudinal motion within a hole bored
axially within the end of the crank shaft, in obedience to the varying impulse of the
governor arms.
A lever shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 1 is in contact at its lower end with the
head of the spindle t', and secured by its upper end to a spindle t³ passed through a

page_text: stuffing box u formed in the end of a hollow trunk U which is a pendent continuation
of the body of the throttle casing F¹. The inner end of the spindle t³ is connected
to the end of a lever u¹. The two levers and u¹, both rigidly connected to the
spindle 3, form therefore but one lever having its fulcrum in the said spindle.
The trunk is full of water of condensation under pressure, but is comparatively cold
at its lower extremity. For the purpose of affording access to its interior, it is fitted
with two covers ², which are preferably at an angle with the vertical as shewn,
the lower one u³ having the stuffing box u made in one piece with it. I prefer to
pack this stuffing box with a rubber gauge-glass ring which I find at once cheap,
easily applied and efficient The gland of the stuffing box is tightened up in any con-
venient way e.g., by a cramp as illustrated in Fig. 3.
The lever connects by its upper extremity with the end of a longitudinal con-
tinuation of the throttle spindle.
The two arms 2 of the lever oscillating about its fulcrum in the axis of the
spindle and putting the spindle t¹ in connection with the throttle spindle ƒ are of
about equal length.
Consequently the play of the spindle is repeated pari passu by the throttle.
I do not confine myself to making the two arms of the lever t² u¹ of equal length as
they are illustrated, as these relative dimensions may be varied, but I wish to point
out that my invention produces a relatively considerable movement of the throttle
with a very slight one in the spindle t³.
The figures illustrate the application of my invention to a single acting single
cylinder engine, but I wish it to be distinctly understood that it is equally applicable
to multiple cylinder engines, and to either high pressure or compound engines.
A compound engine embodying the hereinbefore described invention would have
the steam cylinder described with reference to the accompanying drawings doing
duty as the high pressure cylinder, with a low pressure cylinder placed beneath it and
above the crosshead guide, or the relative position of the two cylinders can be reversed.
Both would be fitted with the usual and necessary valve gear."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a high speed steam engine having one or more single acting cylinders, the
combination of crank shaft bearings continued inwardly up to the crank webs with
the eccentric block or blocks bolted to the crank web or webs, being bored out large
enough to revolve around the end (or ends) of the adjoining bearing without touching
it, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying figures.
2. The combination with a single acting cylinder and piston of a high speed engine,
of a subsidiary cylinder and piston upon the top of the steam cylinder and axially
coincident therewith but of a smaller diameter, and a cushion of air compressed within
said subsidiary cylinder at each upward or return stroke of the steam piston, for the
purpose of absorbing the momentum of the upwardly moving pistons and rods, and
compelling them to commence their down stroke the moment the crank pin has passed
the dead centre, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying figures.
3. The combination in a single acting high speed engine of a steam cylinder, its
piston aligned and rigidly connected with a second piston working in a second
cylinder above and axially coincident with the steam cylinder but separated therefrom,
an air cushion compressed within the second cylinder at cach idle or return stroke of
the steam piston, and a pipe maintaining a constant communication between the said
steam cylinder and second or air cylinder, substantially as described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
4. The combination in a single acting high speed engine of a cylinder in which an
air cushion is compressed by its piston traversed therein by the steam piston of the
engine, a pipe leading therefrom to the crank chamber of the engine, a lubricating
spray produced in said chamber by the action of the crank throw on a body of
lubricant below it, and along which pipe a supply of lubricating spray is drawn into
said cylinder by means of a partial vacuum formed therein by the compressing or

page_text: upward stroke of said piston, substantially as described with reference to the accom-
panying drawings.
5. In a single acting steam cylinder, the combination of a downward and axially
coincident continuation of the steam cylinder, but of a smaller diameter than said
cylinder, with a series of holes formed in their junction, substantially as and for the
purpose described with reference to the accompanying figures.
6. In a single acting steam engine, the steam cylinder of which has a guide for the
crosshead furnished by an axial continuation of it but of a reduced diameter, providing
for the lubrication of said cylinder by forming a series of holes at the junction with it
of the said axial continuation, through which holes the lubricant can be splashed by
the crank throw, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying
figures.
7. In a high speed engine, the combination with the chamber in which steam con-
denses, of an open vertical pipe extending from the top of the crank chamber to the
bottom of the same and bent upwards and then downwards in the shape of an
inverted U the terminal end of which descends to the bottoin of the crank or water
chamber and in which pipe is formed an outlet through which will be discharged a
volume of water equal to the amount of condensed steam which may leak past the
piston and beyond the bulk standing up to the level of the top of the inverted U,
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
S. The combination of a centrifugal governor, a spindle sliding in a hole bored
axially up the end of the crank shaft and actuated therein in the direction of the axis
of the shaft by the arms of the governor engaging with it, a hollow pendent trunk
containing water communicating with the body of the throttle valve, and a lever
connecting the said spindle with the extremity of a continuation of the spindle
of the throttle valve and vibrating on a spindle forming its fulcrum and entering
thesaid trunk through a stuffing box, substantially as described with reference to the
accompanying figures.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Patent Agents,
22, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.