IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF POWER DESIGNED FOR STATIONARY AND TRACTION ENGINES, PROPELLERS, AND OTHER MACHINERY
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF POWER DESIGNED FOR
STATIONARY AND TRACTION ENGINES, PROPELLERS, AND OTHER MACHINERY."―
A communication from abroad by Perry Dickson, of Utica, and William
Ashley Jones, of Winona, both in the State of Minnesota, United States
of America.
Sealed the 9th June 1863, and dated the 12th January 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 12th January 1863.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF POWER DESIGNED
FOR STATIONARY AND TRACTION ENGINES, PROPELLERS, AND OTHER MACHINERY," to
be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the employment of a system of dogs or driving
catches for operating upon the interior of the rim of a wheel or pulley for

page_text: dog out of
chains, but
the purpose of producing its rotary motion. These dogs or driving catches
are arranged in two sets, and applied in connection with a lever or levers
arranged to oscillate upon the shaft of the wheel or pulley, so that in the
movement of each of the levers in one direction the dogs will work free of the
rim, and in its movement in the opposite direction they will bite the rim, and
thereby transmit a rotary motion to the wheel or pulley and to its shaft. In
connexion with this double system of dogs two rocking levers are employed
acting in opposite directions so as to provide for the reversal of of the rotary
motion at pleasure. These levers are connected by rods to opposite ends of a
rocking lever, which is actuated by a connecting rod operated by the motivė
engine. The object of the reverse movement of the two levers is that each
may carry back one of the dogs of one system, while the other brings the
other dog of the same system into operation, and hence the two keep up a
continued rotary movement of the wheel. The two dogs on each lever are of
course not allowed to come in contact with the rim at once, and hence each
lever has attached to it a spring for the purpose of holding one
contact. The dogs are connected with the spring by cords or
the portion between one of the dogs and the spring is slack in the normal
condition of the spring, and does not interfere with the dog. The portion of
the cord or chain between the spring and the other dog is connected with a
crank on one end of a small pin, which is fitted into a suitable bearing in the
lever, and at the other end of the pin there is another crank which protrudes
through a slot in the hub of the lever on the side farthest from the wheel.
The shaft is fitted on the outer side of the lever with a sliding collar, which,
when it is desired to reverse the rotary motion of the wheel and shaft or
axle, is slid along the shaft toward the lever, and so caused to act upon the
small crank so as to turn the pin in such a direction that the other small
crank will draw upon the portion of the cord or chain between it and the dog,
and overcome the tension of the spring, and draw the dog out of contact with
the rim, at the same time letting slack the portion of the cord or chain between
it and the other dog, and allowing the latter to come into operation for
turning the wheel and shaft or axle in the opposite direction. By these
means of reversing the action of the dogs, the direction of the rotation of the
wheel and shaft or axle can be changed at pleasure without stopping the
engine. The double system of dogs and reversing apparatus can be applied
in connection with the driving wheels of a locomotive, one of the rocking
levers being applied to one driver, and the other to the other driver, and in
this way the locomotive can be driven by a single engine without any dead

page_text: In the apparatus for transmitting a reversible intermittent rotary motion a
single lever and two dogs only are necessary.
The Invention further relates to a certain means employed for varying the
application of the driving power whereby when required speed may be
decreased, and a proportionate increase of power obtained, and the utmost
capacity as regards speed obtained when desired, and a steam engine rendered
capable of being used as either a traction or stationary engine as may be
required. This in effected by adopting one end of the connecting rod to a
moveable joint on a vibrating rod, which is actuated by the piston rod, the
motion of which is always constant. The joint of the connecting rod is
capable of being moved along the vibrating rod by means of suitable gearing
and its arc of motion, and consequently the power exerted will consequently
be increased or diminished thereby at pleasure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th July 1863.
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 most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria; by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of January in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license, that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or sho others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
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 THE APPLICATION OF POWER DESIGNED FOR STATIONARY AND
TRACTION ENGINES, PROPELLERS, AND OTHER MACHINERY," being a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be

page_text: 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-
This Invention relates to the employment of a system of dogs or driving
catches for operating upon the interior of the rim of a wheel or pulley for the
purpose of producing its rotary motion. These dogs or driving catches are
arranged in two sets, and are applied in connection with a lever or levers
arranged to oscillate upon the shaft of the wheel or pulley, so that in the move-
ment of each of the levers in one direction, the dogs will work free of the rim,
and in its movement in the opposite direction they will bite the rim, and
thereby transmit a rotary motion to the wheel or pulley and to its shaft.
This part of the Invention consists in certain devices employed in connection
with this double system of dogs to provide for the reversal of the rotary
motion at pleasure.
The Invention further relates to a certain means employed for varying the
application of the driving power, whereby when required speed may be
decreased, and a proportionate increase of power obtained, and the utinost
capacity as regards speed obtained when desired, and a steam engine rendered
capable of being used as either a traction or stationary engine as may-be
required.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a side view of the Invention
adapted for transmitting motion from the piston rod of a steam engine to the
shaft thereof, or to the axle of a locomotive; Fig. 2, a top view of the
mechanism connected with the shaft or axle, and is shewn partly in section;
Figs. 3 and 4 are detached views of parts which are connected with the piston
rod for the purpose of regulating the application of the power of the engine to
the parts to be driven.
A is the connecting rod through which motion is to be transmitted from
the piston rod of the engine to the shaft or axle B; C is the wheel or pulley,
which is fast upon the shaft B, and has a projecting rim a on each side for
the dogs to act upon; D is one of two similar levers, which are fitted to
oscillate upon the shaft B, one on each side of the wheel, and extending
nearly across the wheel inside of the rim; D¹ is the other lever, but this is
only partly shown in Fig. 2. Each lever carries two dogs b, b¹, one on one
lever and one on the other, constituting one system, and operating to drive

page_text: the wheel C in one direction, and the other two constituting another system
for driving the wheel in the other direction. These dogs are severally pivoted
to their respective levers by pins c, c, one to each arm of the lever, and may
be arranged to fall back toward the levers by gravitation, or they may have
springs applied in connection with them to throw them back.
No springs
are shown for this purpose in the Drawings, and the dogs represented are
supposed to fall back by gravitation. This falling back of the dogs toward
the levers brings their points in contact with the inside of the rim of the wheel,
so that when the lever is turned in either direction the dog which is in front
according to that direction, and in contact with the rim a, is caused to bite the
rim and make the wheel turn, and when the lever is turned in the opposite
direction the friction of the dog on the rim will free it. The dog bis repre-
sented in Fig. 1 in the first-mentioned condition, the lever moving in the direc-
tion of the arrow shown in that Figure, and the dog b turning the wheel in
that direction. The oscillating motion of the two levers D, D¹, is obtained
from a rocking shaft E arranged parallel with the shaft or axle B. The
rocking shaft has two opposite arms d, d', which are connected by rods e, e¹,
one with each of the two levers D, D¹. The connecting rod A is connected
with one arm of the rocking shaft E, and produces the rocking motion thereof
by which the rods e, e³, are caused to produce such an oscillating movement of
the levers that one always moves in the reverse direction to the other. The
object of the reverse movement of the two levers is that each may carry back
one of the dogs of one system, while the other brings the other dog of the same
system into operation, and hence the two keep up a continued rotary move-
ment of the wheel. The two dogs on each lever are of course not allowed to
come in contact with the rim at once, and hence each lever has attached to
it a spring f for the purpose of holding one dog out of contact. The dog 6¹
is the one represented in Fig. 1 as being held out of contact and in operation,
and is connected with the spring by a cord or chain g.
The other dog b,
which is the dog for moving the wheel a-head, i. e., in the direction of the
arrow shown in Fig. 1, is also connected with the spring by the cord or chain,
but the portion between that dog and the spring is slack in the normal con-
dition of the spring, and does not interfere with the dog. The portion of the
cord or chain g between the spring fand the other dog b¹, is connected with
a crank i on one end of a small pink, which is fitted into a suitable bearing
in the lever, and at the other end of the pin k there is another crank Z, which
protrudes through a slot in the hub of the lever on the side farthest from the
wheel. The shaft B is fitted on the outer side of the lever, with a sliding collar
F, which, when it is desired to reverse the rotary motion of the wheel and shaft

page_text: or axle, is slidden along the shaft toward the lever, and so caused to act upon
the small crank l in such a manner as to turn the pin ke in such a direction that
the other small crank i will draw upon the portion of the cord or chain g
between it and the dog b, and overcome the tension of the spring f, and draw
the dog bout of contact with the rim a, at the same time letting slack the
portion of the cord or chain between it and the other dog b¹, and allowing the
latter to come into operation for turning the wheel and shaft, or axle in the
opposite direction to the arrow. When the sliding collar F is moved back away
from the crank 1, the spring f draws the dog b¹ out of gear, and lets the dog b
drop into gear again. The crank pins & belonging to both levers should be con-
nected in such a manner that both may operate simultaneously on the dogs of
the two levers, so as to bring one system out and the other system into
operation. By these means of reversing the action of the dogs, the direction
of the rotation of the wheel C, and shaft or axle can be changed at pleasure
without stopping the engine. The double system of dogs and reversing appa-
ratus can be applied in connection with the driving wheels of a locomotive, one
of the rocking lovers D, D¹, being applied to one driver, and the other to the
other driver, and in this way the locomotive can be driven by a single engine
without any dead points.
In apparatus for transmitting a reversible intermittent rotary motion a
single lever and two dogs only are necessary. The connecting rod A at its
end opposite to the one which is connected to the arm d', is fitted on
journals a* on a slide G, the latter being on a rod H, the upper end of
which is attached to a semicircular bar I at the centre of its concave side as
shown in Fig. 8. This semicircular bar I is provided at its ends with
journals 6*, 6*, which work in bearings attached to any suitable fixture, and
on the upper convex side of the bar I there are two upright arms c*, c*, in
which are fitted the journals of a shaft J, which has a pinion d* upon it,
and a crank e* at one end. The pinion d* gears into a rack K, which is
fitted in a guide e** just behind, and attached to the upright arms c*, c*, the
lower end of the rack being connected to the slide G. The lower end of the
rod His attached by a pivot or joint f* to the piston rod L of the steam
cylinder M, and motion is communicated to the connecting rod A from the
piston rod L through the medium of the rod H, the latter oscillating from
the journals 6*, 6*, of the semicircular bar I. The stroke of the piston rod L
is of course constant, as is also the oscillation of the rod H, but the length of
movement of the connecting rod A may be varied at pleasure by raising and
lowering the slide G on the rod H, which is done by turning the shaft J, and
by the pinion d raising or lowering the rack K. The rack, and consequently

page_text: the slide G, may be retained at any desired point by means of a pawl engaging
with the pinion d*, or any other suitable means may be employed for such
purpose. The connecting rod A may, by raising the slide G to a point in line
with the journals 6*, 6*, be deprived of any motion whatever, and the wheel
and shaft or axle B would in this case be inoperative, and the engine could
be used as a stationary one, or be employed for driving any machinery teni-
porarily, as is frequently required of locomotives, such for instance as the
pumping of water to supply the tanks on the tender. In cases also where an
increase of power is desired that end may be attained by raising the slide G,
thereby increasing the leverage of the rod H. The speed in this case is
diminished proportionally to the increase of power. This variation in the-
application of the power of the engine is applicable to any propelling mecha-
nism, the rods e, e¹, for instance, may act directly upon the earth so as to shove
the locomotive along, one rod acting upon or against the earth, while the
other rod is being drawn back for a following or succeeding shoving operation.
Having now described this Invention of improvements in the application of
power, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
1st, the employment, in combination with each other and with the dogs b, b',
and their carrying lever, of a pin k with cranks i, 1, a spring f, and a cord or
chain g for the purpose herein set forth.
I claim, secondly, the connecting of the rod A to a slide G fitted on a rod H,
which is attached to the piston rod L, the slide being also provided with a
rack K, into which a pinion d* gears for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
30 Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)