CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1848

page_text: NEWTON'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the twelfth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said William Edward Newton, my exors, adiñors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my
exors, admiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
ENGINES," being a communication from Charles M Keller, Esquire, of New
York; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the
said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Edward Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):-
The Invention of "Improvements in Steam Engines," for which I have
obtained Her Majesty's Letters Patent as aforesaid, has been communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent in nearly the following words, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings making part of this Specification, in which
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a steam engine on my improved plan taken in a
plane parallel with the beams, and passing through one of the cylinders and
the crank shaft; and Fig. 2 another vertical section taken at the line A, a, of
Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4 are diagrams of the ordinary crank beam engine to
illustrate the irregular mechanical force on the crank of a steam engine work-
ing expansively; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of the condensing
apparatus; Fig. 6, a section thereof taken at the line B, b, of Fig. 5; and
Fig. 7 a cross section of the pumping part of the apparatus with the auxiliary
engine by which it is operated. The same letters indicate like parts in
Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, and likewise in Figs. 5, 6, and 7.
OF THE ORGANIZATION AND MODE OF OPERATION OF THE ENGINE.
It is a well-known fact, in the application of steam as a motive power, that
the more the principle of expansion is introduced the more economical will be
the effect produced, provided some element or elements be not introduced in the
mechanism to counteract it. To give the full effect to this expansive principle
of steam, either it should be applied to a resistance which decreases in the
exact ratio of the decreasing pressure of the steam by reason of its expansion
or dilatation, or, what amounts to the same thing, the leverage of the body
impelled by this force should increase in the inverse ratio of the decreasing
pressure. The ordinary crank engine in general use presents in nearly every
particular the reverse of the requirements of this problem, and it would be
difficult to conceive a mechanism theoretically so ill adapted to the application
of this principle; but still, from its practical advantages in other particulars,
it continues in use, because of the practical objections to all other plans which
have been suggested for overcoming its theoretical defects.
The irregular mechanical force of steam applied expansively to the ordinary
crank beam engine is illustrated in Diagrams 3 and 4, the former being based
on the assumption that the steam is cut off at one quarter of the stroke, and

page_text: the latter at one twentieth. In these diagrams, A represents the cylinder, B
the piston, C the piston connecting rod, D the beam, E the crank connecting
rod, F the crank, G the circle described by the centre of the crank pin in
the rotation of the crank, and I the line of pressure of the expanding steam.
When the steam is cut off at one quarter of the stroke, one half of the whole
mechanical force of the steam is expended in forcing the piston up to the
dotted line H, a little more than one quarter of the entire stroke, the crank
making but about one third of its semi-rotation from the dead point, and
therefore along that part of the rotation in which it presents the shortest lever-
age. During the next quarter of the stroke the crank passes to the red line J,
which indicates the half of the semi-revolution, and in passing to this point the
leverage of the crank increases nearly in the inverse ratio of the decreasing
pressure of the steam on the piston; but this is the only part of the stroke in
which the motion and leverage of the crank are in such relation to each other
as to give an approximation to the full mechanical force of the steam, whereas
during the remaining half stroke, the leverage of the crank decreases as the
pressure decreases. The great defect is to be found in the fact, that (when
the steam is cut off at quarter stroke) one half of the mechanical force of the
steam is exerted in moving the crank through only one third of the circuit
due to the entire stroke, the other two thirds remaining to be effected by the
other half of the mechanical force of the steam, and that too by a force decreas-
ing as the leverage to which it is applied decreases. But it will be seen by
reference to the Diagram Fig. 4, that this irregularity, so wasteful of power,
increases as the steam is cut off at a less portion of the stroke, as, for instance,
in this Diagram the steam is supposed to be cut off at one twentieth of the
stroke. In this the line of mean pressure, H is at one eighth of the stroke,
and therefore one half of the mechanical force of the steam has been exerted
in moving the piston only one eighth of its stroke, the remaining seven eighths
of the stroke having to be effected by the remaining half of the mechanical
force. It follows, from these illustrations, that the more expansively steam is
applied to the ordinary crank engine, the more irregular will be the motion
and the more wasteful of the impelling force.
In view of the problem above given, and the theoretical defects of the
ordinary engine, the desideratum has been the production of an engine which
would present all the practical advantages of the ordinary crank engine, such
as simplicity and cheapness of construction, strength, and durability, and which
at the same time would admit of a more economical application of the principle
of the expansion of the steam. The accomplishment of this important end is
the object of the first part of the present Invention, which consists, first, in

page_text: placing the axis of the crank shaft in a plane nearer than heretofore to the
axis of vibration of the beam, which transfers the power from the piston to
the crank, that is, instead of placing the axis of the crank shaft in a plane
midway between a plane passing through the axis of the connection of the
connecting rod, with the beam at the two extremities of its vibrations, and a
plane parallel to it, and passing through this point of the beam at the middle
of the vibration, I place it within this plane, that is, in or near a straight line
passing through the axis of the connection of the connecting rod and beam at
the extremities of the vibrations of the beam, whereby less than the first half
of the stroke of the piston shall carry the crank through one half of its semi-
revolution, that is, from the dead point to the right angle, and the remaining
portion of the stroke more than one half shall give to the crank the remaining
half of the semi-revolution, that is, carry it from the right angle to the other
dead point, and, at the same time, being the line of the connecting rod, which
is shorter than heretofore, say, a little more than double the throw of the crank
nearer to a right angle with the crank during the second half of its semi-
revolution than during the first half, and thus not only increase the propor-
tional velocity of the piston whilst impelled by the expanding steam, but make
it act on a longer lever than by any other known crank engine; secondly, in
combining with the crank shaft, located on the principle herein specified, two
single-acting engines acting on cranks placed on the shaft at an angle of
180 degrees, whereby I am enabled to apply the force of expanding steam
more economically, and produce a more regular motion than by any other plan
of crank engine before known; and, thirdly, in making the second engine of
greater capacity than the first, and receiving steam at one end only, and from
the first, this end being also alternately connected with the first engine to
receive steam, and with the condenser for exhausting, that the piston may be
acted upon in one direction by the expansion of steam after it has acted in the
first engine, there being a vacuum on both sides of the piston during its return
motion when this is combined with the first engine which receives the steam
at one end only, its other end being connected with that end of the second
engine which receives the steam, so that, during the return stroke of the piston
in the first engine, it shall be balanced by the expanding steam whilst it is
acting on the piston of the second engine.
In the accompanying Drawings, a and b represent two beams having the
same axes of vibration and both of the same proportions. The short arm of
the one a is connected by a rod c with the piston rod d of a piston e that
works in the cylinder of what I denominate the first engine, and the corre-
sponding arm of the other beam 6 is in like manner connected with a piston g

page_text: working in the cylinder h of the second engine (see Fig. 1), and which is to be
placed as near as practicable to the first. The long arms of the two beams are
connected by rods i, j, with two cranks k, l, on the crank shaft m, and opposite
to each other, that is, dividing the circle into two equal parts, that one piston
may be up while the other is down, and vice versa. The connecting rods i, j,
should be about two and a half times the length of their cranks. The axis of
the crank shaft is in the straight line n passing through the centres of the
connection of the connecting rods i, j, with the beams a, b, when at the extre-
mity of vibration of the beams, from which position relatively to the propor-
tions of either one of the beam's length of crank and connecting rod, it results
that the long arm of the beam, in being moved to the position indicated by the
dotted line P, about one third of its entire vibration by one third of the down
stroke of the piston e, will carry the crank from the dead point to the right
angle one half of its semi-revolution, as indicated by the dotted lines P, and
that in passing through the remaining two thirds of its vibration to the posi-
tion occupied in the Drawings by the beam 6 by the remaining two thirds of
the down-stroke of the piston e, the crank k will be carried the remaining
half of its semi-revolution to the second dead point. The dotted lines 0, 0, 0,
P. P. p, and 9, 9, 9, illustrate how much nearer to a right angle the pull of the
connecting rod is on the crank during the second half of its semi-revolution
than during the first half, for this directness of the pull during the second half
of the semi-revolution must be greater than during the first half in the propor-
tion of the greater range of motion of the piston during the one than during
the other, that is, nearly in the proportion of two to one. So soon as the first
piston has reached the end of its down stroke, and its crank has performed the
effective half of its revolution, the second piston begins to descend, producing
the same effect on its crank; and in this way the two pistons and their cranks
alternate, no force being applied to either of their pistons during their up
motion, and the cranks, therefore, each passing through the remaining half of
their revolutions without any impelling force applied to them. Steam is
admitted to the upper end of the first cylinder f, from the steam pipe s, by a
slide valve t, which is held up in the position represented in the Drawing, and
with the port closed by a helical spring u on the valve rod v, one end of the
said spring being attached to the valve rod, and the other resting against a
guide stud w attached to the frame. To the valve rod is jointed one arm of
a lever a represented by dotted lines, which turns on a stud at y, its other end
resting on the periphery of a cam on the crank shaft. This cam is repre-
sented by dotted lines, and from the point 1 to 2 it is concentric, and during
this part of the rotation of the crank shaft the valve remains closed by the

page_text: tension of the helical spring; but from 2 to 1 the cam has an enlargement
which acts on the lever a to depress and open the valve for the admission of
steam to the cylinder, and therefore the extent of this cam-like projection in
the direction of the periphery will determine at what portion of the stroke the
steam shall be cut off. After the valve is closed the steam acts on the piston
expansively until the end of the down-stroke; a sliding valve a¹ then opens a
port b', which establishes a communication between the upper end of the two
cylinders, that the steam may act on the piston g to force it down solely by its
expansive force, the second cylinder h being of much greater capacity than the
first, and so much larger, that the steam, acting by expansion therein during
the range of the piston, shall excrt on it a mechanical force about equal to
that which is exerted on the first piston. The stem of the valve a¹ is jointed
to a lever c', that turns on a pin at d', its other end being forked to embrace
an excentric e¹ on the crank shaft by which it is operated. The lower end of
the second cylinder is always in communication with the condenser by means
of the pipe f¹, and the upper end also communicates with the condenser by
means of a passage g¹ governed by the valve a', and the motion of the valve is
such that, at the end of the down-stroke of the piston g, the passage is opened
which exhausts the steam from the cylinder, thus establishing a vacuum above
as well as below the piston, that it may move in vacuo during its return
motion, and whilst the piston is carried down in the first cylinder by the pres-
sure of the steam. There is a connection or passage ¹ between the lower end
of the first and the upper end of the second cylinder, partly represented by
dotted lines, so that when the upper end of the second cylinder is exhausted
the lower end of the first is also to establish a vacuum below the piston e during
its descent; but when the valve a¹ is opened to pass the steam from the first
to the second cylinder, it also communicates with the lower end of the first
cylinder by the passage h', so that whilst the second piston is being forced
down by the expanding steam, the first piston is balanced during its return
motion by the pressure of the steam on both sides of it, thus making the full
pressure of the steam on the large piston available instead of having it react
against the surface of the first piston, as in Wolff's Expanding Engine. I do
not wish to limit myself to the precise proportions or disposition of the crank
shaft, as these may be greatly varied within the principle of the Invention
without affecting the result, except in degree; nor do I wish to limit myself to
the employment of all of the improvements in this part of the Invention in con-
nection, as important results can be obtained from either one of them separately,
as, for instance, obtaining an equal or nearly equal mechanical force on the
first and second halves of the semi-rotation of the crank when using steam

page_text: expansively, by the principle involved in changing the position of the crank
shaft relatively to the axis of vibration of the beam, may be advantageously
employed with only one engine for many purposes. The use of two engines
with the cranks on the same shaft and on opposite sides of the centre, in
combination with the location of the crank shaft on the principle herein speci-
fied, may be advantageously applied to obtain a more regular mechanical.
action on the crank shaft by the use of expansive steam on two ordinary.
engines, and without the use of the third branch of this part of the Invention;
and the arrangement of and manner of connecting the expansion engine with
the ordinary engine, so as to prevent the steam whilst acting by expansion
alone on the large piston from reacting on the small piston, may be advantage-
ously applied without the use of the first and second branches of this part of
the Invention; but the best results will be obtained when all three are employed
together.
What I claim as new in this part of the Invention is, placing the axis of
the crank shaft of beam engines, in which the steam is applied expansively,
nearer to the axis of vibration of the beam, on the principle herein spe-
cified, and for the purpose of obtaining a more regular mechanical action on
the crank by the application of the expansive principle of steam, as described.
I also claim the employment of two engines with their cranks on one
and the same shaft, and on opposite sides, that is, at an angle 180 degrees,
substantially, as described, when this is combined with the location of the
crank shaft on the principle herein specified.
And I also claim in expansion engines having two cylinders and pistons, in
one of which the steam acts by expansion alone, having one end of the large
or expansion cylinder at all times in connection with the condenser, and the
other alternately in connection with the condenser and with the steam end of
the other cylinder, that the large piston during its return stroke may have a
vacuum on each side, as described, when this is combined with the other
cylinder connected with the boiler, and which is so arranged as to have both
ends in connection with one end of the larger and expansive cylinder, so
that, when its piston is acted upon by the steam, there shall be a vacuum on
the other side, and when the steam is acting by expansion on the large piston
it shall be in connection with both ends of the small cylinder, as described.
The object of the second part of the Invention is to condense the steam
without admixture with the condensing water, that the water produced by the
condensation may be carried back to the boiler to prevent the evil conse-
quences arising from the use of water that contains in solution or suspension
mineral or other solid matter, and to condense the waste or blow off steam

page_text: from the boiler to supply the waste arising from leaks, and also for the
production of fresh water for any other use. In the fresh-water apparatus I
use a tubular condenser, through the tubes of which the steam passes, and is
condensed by the cooling influence of a current of cold water taken from
outside the ship or vessel and made to pass outside of the tubes, and to this
end the Invention consists in combining a condenser of a steam engine for the
propelling of a ship or other vessel, with a pump that receives the condensing
water from outside of the vessel and causes it to pass through the condenser,
the said pump being actuated irrespective of the engine that propels the
vessel by means of an auxiliary engine, whereby the amount of condensation
can be regulated independantly of the working of the engine that propels the
vessel.
Secondly, in connecting the condenser with the boiler or boilers, or any
part thereof, in addition to its or their connection with the exhaust of the
engine, when the pump which carries the condensing water through the con-
denser is operated by an auxiliary engine, by means of which double connection
not only is tho steam that escapes from the safety valve condensed to be
carried back to the boiler, but the boiler or boilers may be used to distil and
produce fresh water for any purpose desired when the engine is not required
for propelling the vessel.
And lastly, in connecting the tubes of the condenser with the cylinder or
outer case thereof, by connecting one or both of the diaphragms, to which the
ends of the tubes are secured, with the outer cylinder or case by means of a
ring or the equivalent thereof, so that the said ring or flanch may bend to
adapt itself to the unequal contraction and expansion of the tubes and cylinder
or outer case of the condenser.
In the accompanying Drawings a represents a horizontal cylinder within
which are arranged a series of small parallel tubes b. One end of the said tubes
are secured in the usual way, or any other desired and appropriate manner, to
a diaphragm c, which has a turned flanch through which rivets or bolts & pass
to secure it to the cylinder a, and within such distance of the head as to leave
a sufficient space between it and the head c of the cylinder for two chambers
fand g, these two chambers being separated by a horizontal diaphragm or
partition h. The other ends of the tubes are in like manner secured to
another diaphragm z at the other end, which said diaphragm, instead of being
bolted directly to the end of the cylinder in the usual way, is bolted to a ring j,
near its outer periphery, the inner periphery thereof being provided with a
turned flanch bolted to the end of the cylinder, but instead of this the end of
the cylinder may be made with a flanch corresponding in form and size with

page_text: this ring, and the diaphragm bolted to its outer periphery. The said ring or
flanch should be slightly conical or bent that the diaphragm may be at some
distance from the end of the cylinder, that it may move in and out to adapt
itself to the unequal contraction and expansion of the tubes and cylinder by
reason of the passage of the steam through the tubes, and the water for the
condensation through the cylinder. A chamber is formed at this end of the
cylinder by means of a head 1, secured to the diaphragm by means of a double
flanched ring m and screw bolts, so that it may be removed when required to
give access to the tubes. The upper chamber f, at the end of the cylinder
first described, communicates by means of a pipe n in any desired manner
with the exhaust pipe of the engine, and by another pipe n', also with the
escape pipe of the boiler, and these connections should be governed by appro-
priate cocks or valves, so that either can be closed or opened at pleasure.
Either of these connections being opened the steam passes into the chamber f,
thence through the range of tubes above the diaphragm or partition to the
chamber k, at the other end, and thence back through the lower range of
tubes to the lower chamber 9, which communicates, by means of the pipe o,
with the air pump and supply pumps of the engine, or this connection being
closed by means of a pipe o, with any desired recipient with which the pipe o
inay be connected. The direction of the passage of the steam, and the water
produced by its condensation, through the tubes is indicated by the red arrows.
The steam in passing through the tubes is condensed by the cooling influence
of a constant current of cold water which passes outside of the tubes, and
which travels in a direction the reverse of the current of steam, as indi-
cated by the black arrow, so that the steam as it parts with its caloric is
constantly approaching a cooler medium. The water for the condensation is
forced into the cylinder a, near the diaphragm c, through a pipe p, and passes
around the lower half of the series of tubes until it strikes the other
diaphragm i, thence it passes up around the end of a horizontal partition
plate q, on the same plane as the partition plate h, which plate 7 extends from
the diaphragm c to within a short distance of the other diaphragm i, and from
this the water passes around all the upper series of the tubes to the first,
where it escapes at the top through a pipe r, that discharges through the side
of the vessel above the water line. The water for the condensation is impelled
through the condenser by a rotating pump, the cases of which is provided
with a tangential pipe t, at the lower part connected with the pipe p of the
condenser. And this case is also provided with another pipe u, which extends
from the centre thereof to and through the sides of the vessel, and so far down.
as to be always below the water line, that the water may flow through it to the

page_text: inside of the pump case. To the centre of this case is adapted a shaft v, the
journals of which run in appropriate boxes w, w, in the case, and are provided
with stuffing boxes to prevent the escape of water, and on this shaft is a
hub x, with four arms or vanes y accurately fitted to the case, and yet rotate
without touching it. By the rotation of these arms or vanes the water is
drawn in near the centre, and by centrifugal force carried out through the
tangential pipe t to and through the condenser; and the required rotation of
the pump is given by an engine a', secured to the casing of the rotary pump,
as represented in the Drawings; and the connecting rod 6', which is jointed in
the usual manner to the cross head c¹, takes hold of a crank d' on the shaft of
the pump, the said shaft being in the usual manner provided with an excen-
tric e¹ for working the valves of the engine a', which are not represented, as
they may be constructed according to any of the known plans. The water
supply pump, which receives the water from the outside of the vessel, and
which is for that purpose below the water line, is provided with a valve f³, the
stem g' of which passes through stuffing boxes, and as a handle h', by means
of which the pipe can be closed at pleasure when it becomes necessary to obtain
access to the inside of the pump.
From the foregoing it will be seen, that by means of the auxiliary engine
which actuates the pump a constant current of cold water is carried through
the condenser independently of the working of the propelling engine of the
vessel, and, as a necessary consequence, the more the propelling engines labor
by reason of head winds or rough water, the more perfect will be the conden-
sation and the vacuum thereby produced, thus increasing the power of the
propelling engines when power is the most needed; whereas if the current of
cold water were dependent on the working of the propelling engine, the sun
of the mass of water passing through the condenser would be exactly in pro-
portion to the motion of the engine, and therefore the condensation and
vacuum would be decreased in the ratio of the decreased motion of the pro-
pelling engine.
It will also be seen, that by reason of the working of the pump which
impels the water for the condensation by means of an auxiliary engine, and
the double connection of the condenser with the waste pipe of the boiler or
boilers, and with the exhaust of the propelling engine, that whenever the
safety valve is opened the steam issuing therefrom instead of being wasted will
be carried through the condenser and condensed to be returned to the boiler,
thus avoiding the necessity of a separate supply of water to make up for the
waste by the escape of steam from the safety valve. And that when the pro-
pelling engine is at rest the condenser can be used for the distillation and

page_text: production of fresh water for any desired purpose on board ship, for the
condenser is thus, when desired, rendered entirely independent of the propelling
engine. By passing the current of steam in a direction the reverse of the current
of condensing water, the greatest amount of caloric is extracted with the least
amount of water. The condensing water in its passage through the condenser
never reaches the point of evaporation, and therefore mineral and other matter.
beld in solution will not be deposited to incrust the apparatus; and by insuring
a onstant and rapid current of unequal expansion and contraction is reduced
to the smallest amount, and so small as to prevent all injurious effects by the
mode above described, of connecting one of the diaphragms, to which one end
of the tubes are attached, with the cylinder by means of the conical or bent
ring or flanch.
Although I have described the use of a rotary pump actuated by a
reciprocating engine for impelling the condensing water through the con-
denser, I do not wish to confine myself to the use either of a rotary pump or a
reciprocating engine for this purpose, as a rotary engine may be substituted
for the reciprocating, and a reciprocating pump for the rotary; but I have
described and represented this arrangement as the one which has been
successfully tried and found to be the best; nor do I wish to confine myself to
the position or construction of the condenser and its connections, as these may
be variously modified without departing from the principle of the present
Invention, or any essential part thereof.
What I claim as the Invention which I wish to secure by Letters Patent is,
the combination of the condenser of a steam engine used for the propelling of
a ship or other vessel, with a pump that receives the condensing water from
outside of the vessel, and causes it to pass through the condenser when the said
pump is operated by an auxiliary engine independently of the propelling engine.
I also claim the double connection of the condenser, that is, with the
exhaust of the propelling engine and with the boiler, when the said condenser
is combined with a pump that receives the condensing water from outside of
the vessel, and is impelled by an auxiliary engine.
And finally, I claim the method of connecting the tubes with the cylinder
or external case of the condenser, by attaching the diaphragm, to which one
end of the tubes are connected, with the cylinder or external case by means of
the conical ring or any analogous means, by the bending of which allowance is
made for unequal contraction and expansion of the tubes and cylinder, or
external case, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
W. E. (L.B.) NEWTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fifth day of June, in
the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid William Edward Newton came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped 5
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.