CONSTRUCTING THE CYLINDERS OF ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM, AIR, OR OTHER FLUID BODY IN A CIRCULAR FORM ON PLAN, BY WHICH MEANS MORE POWER IS OBTAINED FROM A GIVEN QUANTITY OF THE SAID FLUID BODY, IN CASES WHERE A CIRCULAR MOTION IS REQUIRED, THAN BY ANY OTHER KNOWN FORM OF CYLINDER
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Francis Hutchins, Engineer, of No. 263,
Whitechapel Road, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"CONSTRUCTING THE CYLINDERS OF ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM, AIR, OR OTHER
FLUID BODY IN A CIRCULAR FORM ON PLAN, BY WHICH MEANS MORE POWER IS
OBTAINED FROM A GIVEN QUANTITY OF THE SAID FLUID BODY, IN CASES WHERE A
CIRCULAR MOTION IS REQUIRED, THAN BY ANY OTHER KNOWN FORM OF CYLINDER."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Francis Hutchins
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th July 1854.
I, EDWARD FRANCIS HUTCHINS, Engineer, of No. 263, Whitechapel Road,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "CONSTRUCTING THE CYLINDERS OF ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM, AIR, OR
OTHER FLUID BODY IN A CIRCULAR FORM ON PLAN, BY WHICH MEANS MORE POWER IS
OBTAINED FROM A GIVEN QUANTITY OF THE SAID FLUID BODY, IN CASES WHERE A
CIRCULAR MOTION IS REQUIRED, THAN BY ANY OTHER KNOWN FORM OF CYLINDER," to
be as follows:-
I form the cylinder into which the steam, air, or other fluid body is led, in
order to cause it to act on the pistons, uniformly of a circular shape on plan,
and of any convenient sectional form, (but by preference of a square form); the
manner in which I construct the same is better explained by the accompanying
Drawing, whereon Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the cylinder and other parts

page_text: of the engine, taken in the same plane as the shaft or axis of rotation; and
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same, at right angles to Fig. 1, being
what I term a plan of the engine (as my cylinder may be placed either in a
vertical or horizontal position). I generally form my cylinder, for convenience
of turning smooth the inside thereof, in three distinct castings, which are
distinguished in Fig. 3 (which is a cross section of one part of the cylinder)
by the small Figures 1, 2, 3; the sides figured 1 and 2 are fixed, being bolted
together, and to the wall or framework of the engine, whilst the side figured 3
is free to rotate, & being cast in one piece with the wheel Z, Z", Z", which
is keyed on the shaft, it in rotating causes the shaft to rotate likewise, and
thus communicates a circular motion to any object required. On this rotating
side of the cylinder are bolted one or more piston heads, & the edges of this side
do not touch (as they rotate) on the fixed sides of the cylinder, but the joint
is kept steam-tight by the metal rings or packing G, G', which are pressed
against the sides of the cylinder by spiral springs. I commonly, though not
necessarily, divide my cylinder into two compartments by the lift valves A, A',
the effect of which is to balance the strain, by having an equal power acting on
cach side of the wheel Z, Z, Z. The lift valves are kept down to the
rotating side of the cylinder by springs or other convenient method, & being
accurately fitted to it, the joint is thus kept steam-tight; grooves are formed
in the fixed sides of the cylinder in which-the-valves slide, and-by-the-pressure
of the steam being only on one side of the valves, they are forced against one
side of the groove, and this joint is thus kept steam-tight; over cach lift
valve is a stuffing box, through which the valve is lifted by the action of a cam
wheel and lever, to allow for the passage of the piston heads. The piston
heads are provided with two bands of packing (metal) breaking joint, which
packing is furnished with leading pieces o¹, 0, 0, 0, which prevent the
packing being forced into the grooves of the lift valves by the pressure of the
spring in the centre of the piston head during the passage of the pistons by the
valves. The manner of working of this engine is as follows:-On the admission
of the steam or other elastic fluid body to the supply pipe, it passes through
the induction ports B, B', (of which one set are always open, as I generally
provide two distinct cylinders, acting with pistons at right angles to each other
on the same shaft, though sometimes I use one cylinder only, in which caso I
use a fly wheel also, and then, if the induction port is not open, it must be
opened by turning the fly wheel round sufficiently for the purpose,) into the
cylinder behind the piston heads, and being prevented from passing round the
cylinder by the valves A, A', it acts upon the piston heads, and drives them
rnoud until they reach the eduction ports D, D', (before which the induction

page_text: ports are closed by the action of the eccentrics and their gear); when the
steam escapes, the piston heads then continue their course round the cylinder
(impelled either by the pressure upon the pistons of a similar cylinder, which
are set at right angles to those described, or by the momentum of the fly wheel),
driving before them the (atmospheric) air out of the cylinder at the slot, which
is a continuation of the eduction port. This opening terminates at the point
where the cam wheel, which is set immediately under the piston heads, begins
to lift the valves A, A¹; this is effected so that they rise sufficiently high and
are kept up long enough to prevent any portion of the valve being touched by
the piston head as it passes, and they are closed down directly it has passed by
the action of the springs on each side of the cam wheel, or by any other
convenient method. Directly the valve is closed, the induction port is opened
by the eccentric, & the motion is continued as described. The induction
port I always make as near as possible to the lift valve, in order to have as
small a space as possible to fill up with steam before it begins its action on the
piston. In cases where it is necessary to be able to reverse the engine I place
an induction & eduction port, as before described, on each side of the lift
valves, working the former by a backward and forward eccentric, & admitting
the steam to whichever I require to use, by any common means of shifting
gear, & opening or shutting by similar means, as required, my eduction
ports.
What I claim as my Invention is, 1st, the formation of a cylinder for working
an engine by steam, air, or other fluid body in a circular form on plan, one
or more sides of which, or one or more parts of one or more sides of which, are
continuously open, so as to allow the passage of any connecting piece to connect
the piston head in any manner with the shaft, whereby an uniform leverage is
maintained throughout the whole rotation; and 2nd, the use of any valve
across any such cylinder, by which means the steam, air, or other fluid body is
limited to action in one direction only at any one given time.
30 SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Francis Hutchins in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
FRANCIS HUTCHINS, Engineer and Machine Maker, of No. 268, Whitechapel
35 Road, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Francis Hutchins, Her special licence that I, the said Edward
Francis Hutchins, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as 1,
the said Edward Francis Hutchins, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others; from time, to tinic 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 "CON-
STRUCTING THE CYLINDERS OF ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM, AIR, OR OTHER FLUID
BODY IN A CIRCULAR FORM ON PLAN, BY WHICH MEANS MORE POWER IS OBTAINED
FROM A GIVEN QUANTITY OF THE SAID FLUID BODY, IN CASES WHERE A CIRCULAR
MOTION IS REQUIRED, THAN BY ANY OTHER KNOWN FORM OF CYLINDER," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward Francis Hutchins, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should. particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manuer the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in: the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the late of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Francis Hutchins,. 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 aid by the
following statement.
:
;
For convenience of turning and boring the cylinder, I usually form it in
three distinct castings (or otherwise pieces of metal), one of which forms an
end and side, another forms another end or cover, 'and the third forms the
remaining side, to the cylinder; tho latter I usually form in one piece with a
wheel, which is keyed or otherwise rigidly connected with the shaft or axle,
by which motion is to be transmitted; and on this side of the cylinder I bolt
or fasten the piston head or heads, all which method of construction is better
to be understood by reference to the accompanying Drawing, on which the
several parts above and hereafter described are distinguished by letters. The
edges of this moving side of the cylinder (for as I have described it as fixed to
the shaft it will be evident that it must move with it) are turned true, and
ground to the packing rings F, F, which are kept to the edges of the rotating
side of the cylinder by springs, which are acted upon by set screws, to make
amends for the wear caused by working. The piston head or heads (for I do

page_text: not limit myself to employ in working this invention any particular number,
as in cases of very large engines it might be more economical to employ two,
three, four, or even more,) are likewise provided with metal packing, formed
as shown on the Drawing, in such a manner as to compensate for the wear.
The other parts of this engine being only such as have been in use already, it
is not necessary to particularly describe them; but I will proceed to make a
statement of the manner in which the steam, air, or other fluid body is
admitted, acts, and then is dismissed, which is as follows:-The admission is
given by means of an eccentric fastened on the shaft, which opens (at a given
point in the revolution, & by means of a slide valve) the induction ports
B, B; these are placed close to the cut-off valves, so the space to be filled up by
the steam before commencing its work is very small, and the admission takes
place immediately that the cut-off valve is down, after the piston head has
passed it. The Drawings show the engine just beginning to take its steam.
This steam or other fluid body having then filled up the space in the cylinder
behind the piston head, impels it forward until it has reached the eduction
ports C, C, (which are open at all times), when the said fluid body escapes to
the condenser or into the atmosphere, and the piston head continues its motion,
impelled by either its own impetus, that of a fly wheel, or in some cases by
the pressure of the steam or other fluid body acting on a piston head or heads
connected with the same shaft, but at an angle with those above described,
working in a similar cylinder. When the piston head arrives at a given point,
the cam (which is keyed on the shaft immediately in a line with the piston
head) begins to raise the cut-off valve E, which is not commenced to be raised
until the steam has had time to escape, by attention to which all back pressure
is avoided. As soon as the piston head has passed, the valve is closed down
by the action of springs or other convenient method, & the eccentric begins to
admit the steam, and the action goes on, as before described. By using the
eccentric motion for admitting the steam, I preserve the advantage of working
it expansively, and by the addition of an air pump I can preserve a vacuum,
thus increasing greatly the power employed. The cam is shorter than the
height through which it has to lift the cut-off valve, and is so made, in order
to obtain a slower motion on the cam itself than otherwise could be, the lift
required being obtained by the extra length of the lifting beam, as is better to
be seen by reference to the Drawing. This accompanying Drawing shows an
engine adapted for rotating to one direction only, but by using two eccentrics,
fixed in proper positions on the shaft, and working valves covering two induc-
tion ports, and by forming two eduction ports instead of one, having in the
both cases proper gear for throwing in and out of working gear either of them

page_text: at pleasure, I can make, and have here made, my claim for privilege to make
an engine capable of working in both directions, and suitable for a locomotive
or other engine.
The claim I make, then, is for a cylinder formed and fitted as above described,
to be used for limiting the action of steam, air, or other fluid body, as before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Francis Hutchins, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five..
EDWARD FRANCIS HUTCHINS.
(L.S.)

page_text: A.
Lifting valves.
B. B. Induction ports.
C. C. Piston heads.
D. D. Eduction ports.
E. E. Cams to lift valves.
FF Eccentrics.
G. G. Packing Rings.

page_text: Eduction ports.
Cams to lift the cut off Valves.
Cut off Valves.
Packing Rings
Moving Ring, forming one side of Cylinder
Wheel in one casting with G.
Steel wheels to reduce the wear of lifting Rods.