Im- PROVEMENTS IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES AND IN APPARATUS OR MECHANISM CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Black, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Oil Merchant and Refiner, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES AND IN APPARATUS OR
MECHANISM CONNECTED THEREWITH.”
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Black at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
80th July 1878.
I, THOMAS BLACK, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Oil
Merchant and Refiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES AND IN
APPARATUS OR MECHANISM CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows, that is
to say :-
This Invention relates to a new or improved arrangement of double-
acting or compound rotating valve for working on the combined principle
of compounding or noncompounding engines, also for compound engines
of the simple order, or for single or double cylinder steam engines of
ordinary types.

page_text: The valve as constructed for employment in compound engines
consists of two concentric and hollow truncated cones, the outer one of
which is the steam distributing and cut-off valve, it being divided into
two compartments one of which constitutes a steam chest and com-
municates by a pipe with the boiler, and by ports with the high-
pressure cylinder. The other compartment communicates by ports with
the low-pressure cylinder and receives steam from the high-pressure
cylinder in working expansively through a passage formed in the inner
truncated cone.
Exhaust ports are formed in the outer truncated cone, which com- 1
municate with the ports of the high and low pressure cylinders. The
passage through the inner truncated cone in working expansively is
adjusted to communicate with the exhaust part of the high-pressure
cylinder, and thereby conduct steam to the low-pressure cylinder
through the compartment of the distributing valve communicating 1
therewith.
The double-acting or compound rotating valve may also be so
adjusted as to actuate the pistons in both cylinders of a compound
engine on the high-pressure principle, in which case the passage through
the inner valve is brought into direct communication with ports in the
steam chest or compartment of the outer valve, thereby conducting
steam direct from the steam chest through the second compartment of
the outer valve and thence into the larger cylinder, the steam being
admitted into the smaller cylinder from the steam chest as herein-before
described. A stop valve in the exhaust port of the smaller cylinder is
opened when both cylinders are being worked on the high-pressure
principle to allow the steam exhausting from the said cylinder to
escape.
The valves herein-before described are operated by eccentrics situate
on the main shaft of the engine and attached to a sliding block to which
à bell-crank lever or equivalent mechanism is coupled for operating the
outer or main valve, and a quadrant and bell-crank lever or equivalent
other mechanism is similarly attached for operatingt he inner valve,
the spindle of which passes down through the spindle of the outer
valve.
°
Under another arrangement the double-acting or compound rotating
valve may be composed of one cylindrical or conical valve only, with a

page_text: passage formed through the interior thereof, through which the steam
after acting on the high-pressure cylinder is conducted into the low-
pressure cylinder, in exhausting from which it passes through an
exhaust port in the valve and thence into a passage by which it is
conducted away from the engine.
In adapting the arrangement of valves herein-before described to
single or double cylinder engines of ordinary types the steam passes
from the steam chest of the valve into the cylinder, and exhausts
therefrom through the central passage formed in the valve, or in lien of
a central passage an exhaust port may be formed in the valve in
proximity to the steam cylinder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Black in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 80th January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BLACK, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Oil Merchant and
Refiner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of
) our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the 37th
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Black, Her special license that I,
the said Thomas Black, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Thomas Black, my executors, adminis-
strators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES
FOR STEAM ENGINES AND IN APPARATUS OR MECHANISM CONNECTED THEREWITH,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Black,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
"

page_text: in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the samo
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Black, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is 5
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
My said Invention relates to new or improved arrangements of 1
reciprocating rotatory valves for steam engines which are capable of
being operated on the compounding or non-compounding principle,
also with engines of ordinary compound or simple types.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner 1
in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into
effect, that is to say :-
...
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto appended several modifications of
the improved reciprocating rotatory valves constructed in accordance
with my Invention are illustrated.
Figure 1 is a vertical section and Figure 2 a horizontal section on the
line a, b, Figure 1 of one arrangement of the valve and which is
adjusted to work on the compound principle.
2
As shewn by these Figures the valve consists of two concentric and
hollow truncated cones A and B, the outer one A. of which is the steam 2
distributing and cut-off valve, it being divided into two compartments O
and D, one of which compartments C constitutes the steam chest, and
communicates by a pipe or passage (not shewn on the Drawings) with
the boiler, but which pipe is connected to the valve casing at the
opening E. The steam chest or compartment O has also ports a, b, 3
formed therein as more particularly seen at Figure 2, which when the
valve is operated communicate with the ports c, d, of the high-pressure
cylinder F, and supply steam to the cylinder therethrough. The other
compartment D of the outer truncated conical valve A similary com-
municates by ports e and ƒ with the ports g, h, of the low-pressure 3
cylinder G, and the said compartment D receives steam from the high-

page_text: pressure cylinder in working expansively through a passage H formed
in the inner truncated conical valve B, the extremity of which passage
furthest removed from the low-pressure cylinder communicates with the
exhaust chamber I of the outer cone A, into which chamber the steam
exhausting from the cylinder F passes.
An exhaust chamber J is also formed at the opposite side of the outer
cone A, and which communicates with the exhaust port K of the low-
pressure cylinder, as shown more particularly at Figure 2, the steam in
passing from the low-pressure cylinder thereinto being afterwards
conducted through a pipe or passage attached at X, Figure 1, to the
condenser or allowed to escape.
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line a, a, Figure 1, of one steam
bylinder (drawn to a reduced scale) illustrating the construction of the
steam passages N and exhaust passage K. therein.
Figure 4 is a vertical section and Figure 5 a horizontal section on the
line a, b, Figure 4, of the arrangement of double acting or compound
rotatory valve herein-before described, and which is at the Figures now
under reference shewn adjusted to supply both cylinders with steam on
the high-pressure principle. For this purpose the passage H through
the inner valve B is so placed that when the valve is operated the said
passage is brought into direct communication with ports 7 or m in the
steam chest or compartment O of the outer valve A, by which means
steam is conducted direct from the steam chest into the compartment D,
being discharged thereinto through the parts n or o. From the com-
partment D the steam passes when the admission valve A is operated
into the cylinder G by the ports e, g, or f, h. Steam is admitted to
the cylinder F in the manner herein-before described in reference to
Figures 1 and 2, and in exhausting therefrom it is conducted through
the pipe or passage u to the condenser, or allowed to escape through the
valve g, Figure 4, when the engines are working on the high-pressure
principle being opened.
The apparatus by which the double-acting or compound rotating
valves herein-before described are actuated, is illustrated in plan at
Figure 6 of the Drawings, and it consists of two eccentrics P placed on
the main shaft Q of the engine, and coupled to a quadrant link R,
attached by means of a pin to the side of a slide block T, to which the
quadrant link communicates a reciprocating motion. In the slide

page_text: v
block T a pin x is fixed to which the inner extremities of two con-
necting links u, v, are attached. The outer extremity of the link u is
attached to a bell-crank lever V which is coupled by links w to a
lever U situate on the spindle W¹ of the valve A and by this means when
the slide block T is reciprocated the valve A is partially rotated so as to 5
admit steam to the cylinders F and G. The outer extremity of the
link is attached to a quadrant link Y which is connected by means of
a link w¹ to an arm of a bell-crank lever Y¹ connected by links y¹ to a
lever Z placed loosely upon the spindle of the inner valve B which
spindle passes down through the spindle of the outer valve A as shewn. 1
The lever Z is formed with a female clutch thereon, as shewn at
Figure 4, and when it is desired to turn the valve B, that is to change
the working of the engine from the compound to the simple acting
principle, or vice versa, a clutch Z sliding on feathers on the valve
spindle is pushed into contact with the clutch of the lever Ź and held 1
tight therein by nuts so that the lever Z is keyed on the valve spindle
which is therefore caused to turn on the slide block T being reciprocated.
The amount of travel of the valve B is regulated by means of a lever Z¹¹
and radius rod 1, by which the end of the connecting rod to³ is brought
nearer to or further from the fulcrum of the quadrant link Y. The 2
lever Z is operated by bevil gearing as indicated at Figure 6.
Figure 7 of the Drawings is a horizontal section of a rotating valve
adapted for employment in compound engines only, the interior conical
valve herein-before described being dispensed with, and the steam
conducted direct from the high-pressure cylinder A to the low-pressure
cylinder B through the passage O, at the interior of the valve D is the
steam chest of the valve.
Figure 8 is a transverse section of a conical valve constructed for
employment in single or double cylinder engines of ordinary types. A is
the steam chest of the valve from which the steam passes into the
cylinder through the ports a, b, and steam passages c. B is the exhaust
port.
Under another modification applicable to single or double cylinder
engines of ordinary types, and which is not shewn on the Drawings, an
exhaust passage is made through the interior of the conical valve, on
each side of which the steam chest is situated, and from which the
cylinder is supplied with steam, which in exhausting from the cylinder
€

page_text: is conducted through the central passage to a pipe or passage leading
to the condenser or into the atmosphere,
Figure 9 of the Drawings is a part side elevation and part vertical
section, and Figure 10 a plan of an arrangement of gearing for
operating conical valves applied to single or double cylinder engines as
distinguished from engines which may either be compound or simple
acting as desired.
The apparatus consists of two eccentrics A. attached to a quadrant
link B which reciprocates a sliding block O by means of a pin projecting
from the side of the block. A bell-crank lever D is attached to the
upper side of the block C, and also to another lever E situate on the
valve spindle as shewn, so that when the block is reciprocated the valve
is rotated through an arc and admits steam to the cylinder of the
engine.
The supply of steam to the engine cylinders is regulated by the
governor G actuating the slide valve of the small steam cylinder H, to
the spindle of which the governor is connected by the lever a and
link b. When the piston of the cylinder H ascends or descends it
moves the spur wheel I which gears into and correspondingly moves
O the spur wheel J, whereby the crank K, situate on the axis thereof is
caused to raise or depress the quadrant link B, and thereby alter the
travel of the sliding block O. The spur wheel J is put into and out of
gear with the wheel I by drawing the shaft c, whereon it is situated,
backwards or forwards in the sleeve d, whereon the crank K is fixed, the
5 shaft c being caused to rotate in unison with the sleeve by means of the
pin e and clutch f
Figure 11 of the Drawings is a vertical section of an arrangement of
combined slide and rotating valve, and which is a modification of the
arrangement herein-before described in reference to the foregoing
o Figures of the Drawings. A is the slide valve and B the rotating
vulve.
Figure 12 is a side elevation, and Figure 18 a plan of the gearing
employed to operate this valve. The lever which operates the admission
and cut-off valve B is actuated by a sliding block D from the crank shaft
5 of the engine, and which sliding block is attached to a quadrant link by
the rod m. The engine governor E regulates the supply of steam to the
admission and out-off valve through the intervention of the small steam

page_text: d
cylinder T, the piston rod of which is connected to a spur wheel G by
the link a. The spur wheel G gears into a spur pinion H fixed on a
shaft b, and on a sleeve c surrounding the said shaft a bevil pinion d is
fixed, as shewn at Figure 13. The pinion & gears into a corresponding
pinion fixed on the upper extremity of a shaft e towards the lower end
of which a crank ƒ is fixed as shewn. The crank f is attached to a
lever g situate on the spindle of the admission and cut-off valve B by
means of a connecting link h and radius rod i. The radius rod i works
through a slot in the quadrant link X, and when it is required to alter
the speed of the engine the steam cylinder T actuating the spur
wheels G and H, and through it the shaft e and crank f causes the
lower extremity of the link to be brought nearer to or further from the
fulcrum of the quadrant, thereby altering the travel of the admission
valve B. The slot in the quadrant link X is struck from two different
centres n and o respectively, in order to allow of the engine being
started with facility. The eccentric being on the bottom centre, as
shewn at Figure 12, the admission and cut-off valve B is shut, and by
travelling the end of the connecting rod h from p to r in its own radius,
the lever g would not be moved were the whole slot in the quadrant
struck from the centre n, and therefore the valve B would remain shut, a
and other means would require to be used to start the engines. This is
obviated by striking the slot in the quadrant from different centres, and
when the end of the connecting rod h is run out to the position ☞ the
lever g is shifted sufficiently to open the valve B and admit steam to the
cylinder, which being effected the end of the connecting rod
returned to the position p.
is a
Figure 14 is a horizontal section of the valve shewn at Figure 11,
arranged to be operated by the mechanism last described.
Figure 15 is a side elevation, and Figure 16 a plan of an arrangement
of mechanism for operating the admission and cut-off valve in the slide
valve by cams A situated on the main shaft B of the engine. The
cams A when the shaft B revolves successively lift a lever c; one
extremity of which is provided with a weight D, and the other extremity
is attached to the sliding block by means of a link a which reciprocates
the sliding block in one direction when the lever is lifted, the block
being moved in the opposite direction by the weight D. Or in lieu of
employing a weight the sliding block may be reciprocated backwards by
means of a spring.

page_text: Figure 17 is a horizontal section of the valve arranged to be operated
by cams as last set forth.
It is preferred to construct the steam cylinders of the engines to
which the improvements herein-before described are applied with
steam jackets, as shewn on the Drawings, and the pipes by which
the steam is conveyed to the engines are also preferably steam
jacketted.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which
the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would
observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The several arrangements of valves for operating steam in the
cylinders of steam engines, and the arrangements of gearing for
actuating the same, substantially as herein-before described and shewn
on the annexed Sheet of Drawings.
Second. The apparatus or mechanism for actuating the steam
distributing valves, as shewn at Figures 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 18, 15,
and 16, also the apparatus for actuating the throttle valve from the
governor, as shewn at Figures 9, 10, 12, and 13 of the Drawings as
herein-before described, or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Black, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.