IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Walmsley, of Heaton Norris; in the
County of Lancaster, Spinner, and John Holmes, of Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IM-
We, EDWARD WALMSLEY and JOHN HOLMES, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO
STEAM ENGINES" to be as follows:-
Our improvements consist in certain new combinations of parts by
which the position of the slide or other valve for admitting steam is
regulated, according to the load on the engine, in the following man-
ner-The excentric or other means for giving motion to the valves,
instead of actuating the valve spindle in the usual manner, is made to
give motion to a vibrating slotted lever, whose centre of motion or
connection with the valve is regulated by the action of the governor.

page_text: so as to give the valve a variable traverse, and thus to open the steam
ports in proportion to the amount of load upon the engine. Instead of
the vibrating slotted lever above mentioned, we propose to fit the adjus-
table stud that works the valve in a slot made in the face of a wheel
or disk actuated by the crank shaft of the engine. And further, the
engine having once attained its proper speed, the action of the governor
is disengaged, and the valve allowed to act in that position until the
load on the engine is so varied as to bring the governor again into
action. In some cases the governor may be made to act direct on an
elbow lever, by which the position of the stud for working the valve is
adjusted in the vibrating slotted lever.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Walmsley and John Holmes in the
Great Seal Patent Office, on the 16th December 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
EDWARD WALMSLEY, of Heaton Norris, in the County of Lancaster,
Spinner, and JOHN HOLMES, of Manchester, in the County of Lan-
caster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Edward Walmsley and John Holmes, Her
special licence that we, the said Edward Walmsley and John Holmes,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Edward Walmsley and John Holmes, our 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 AND APPLICABLE TO
STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Edward Walmsley and John Holmes, by an instrument in writing

page_text: under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of either of us,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner 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 date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Edward Walmsley and John
Holmes, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say):
Our Invention consists in certain improved combinations of machi-
nery for regulating the opening of the slide or other valve of steam
engines, according to the power required to be exerted by the steam
engine; and, secondly, in machinery for connecting and disconnecting
the governor and the valve rod; and in order that our Invention may
be fully understood, and readily carried into effect, we will proceed to
describe the annexed three Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to
the letters and figures marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1, is a side elevation of a steam engine, shew-
ing one mode of applying our improvements; Figure 2, is a front
elevation, and Figure 3, a plan of the same. a, is the framing of a
steam engine; b, the cylinder; c, the slide valve; d, the connecting
rod; e, the crank shaft; and f, the governor; all of which may be made
in the usual manner. The rod g, which is connected to the sliding
bush f, of the governor, is jointed below to the lever g', which is
fixed to the same shaft as the lever h; this lever is connected to the
rod c, of the slide valve c, by a link h¹; the upper end of the rod c¹, is
hinged to a block i, fitting in the slot lever i', as seen best in Figure 2.
To the crank shaft e, is fitted the excentric e', which gives a uniform
vibrating motion to the slot lever ', by the connecting link e²; the
uniform motion of the slot lever , is made to impart a varying
traverse motion to the slide valve c, by altering the position of the
sliding block i, in the slot lever 2, and this is accomplished by the
governor in the following manner :-When the engine is at work with

page_text: its usual load, and at its regular speed, the block i, is kept by the
governor balls at about the centre of the slot in the lever ; when in
this position the traverse of the slide valve c, is about equal to the
throw of the excentric e', but as soon as the load of the engine is
increased, and more steam is required to drive it, the governor balls in
collapsing push down the bush f, and cause the rod g, levers g', and h,
to push the upper end of the rod c', and the sliding block i, further
from the fulcrum i, of the slot lever i', or into the position now shewn
in Figure 2; by this means the uniform vibrating motion of the lever i',
is made to increase the traverse of the slide valve c, thereby causing
the steam ports to remain longer open, and admit more steam to the
cylinder ; if, on the other hand, the load of the engine is diminished,
the increased speed of the engine causes the governor balls to expand,
thereby raising the rod g, and drawing the sliding block i, towards the
fulcrum, of the slot lever ', consequently diminishing the traverse of
the slide valve c, so as to admit less steam to the cylinder, and reduce the
speed of the engine. If it is found requisite to stop the engine with-
out shutting off the steam, the attendant, by acting on the lever h, can
draw the sliding block i, so as to make the joint pin of the rod c',
coincide with the fulcrum, of the slot lever ; by this means it is
evident that the slide valve c, will be stopped, and no steam can enter
the cylinder.
Another combination of parts for effecting the same object is
represented on Sheet 2; Figure 4, being an elevation, and Figure 5,
a plan of a steam engine to which our improvements are applied. 7, is
the cylinder; m, the valve rods; m³, and m², the valve levers; n, the
crank shaft; and o, the governor; all of which are made in the usual
manner. Upon the crank shaft is fixed an excentric n¹, the connecting
rod from which gives a uniform vibrating motion to the slot lever p
this lever is furnished with a sliding block p', to which is jointed the
balanced bar q, a notch in which fits on a stud projecting from the
lower arm of the lever m.
9,
The bar is connected to the sliding bush o', of the governor, by the
When the
rod g, lever q, and rod 9³, clearly shewn in Figure 4.
speed of the engine is about equal to the power required the governo

page_text: balls hold the sliding block p', near the centre of the slot lever p; but
when more or less steam is required, in order to increase or diminish
the speed of the engine, the governor balls raise or lower the sliding
block p', by the rods q', and 3, and lever q², thereby increasing or
diminishing the action of the slide valves, as before described in reference
to Figures 1, 2, and 3.
In Sheet 3, Figure 6, is an elevation, and Figure 7, a plan of parts
of an ordinary beam engine, to which another modification of our
improvements is applied.
As several of the parts in these views are similar to those represented
on Sheet 2, they are marked with corresponding letters of reference.
In this combination of parts the rod q', instead of acting upon the
balance bar which gives motion to the elbow lever of the slide valves, is
connected below to a rack bar r, which gives motion to a pinion ¹, see
Figure 7, fixed on the same shaft as another pinion, gearing into a
segment s, forming part of a slide working in the grooved plate s'; the
slot lever s, to which the connecting link of the excentric n', is jointed,
fits on a fulcrum stud fixed to the segment s; and in the slot levers, is
a sliding block t, to which is jointed the rod t', by which the valve lever
m, is put in motion; the upper end of the rod t', is guided by the
rollers, mounted on fixed studs. The Drawing shews the various
parts in the positions they assume when not much steam is required;
the link from the excentric ', being jointed to the slot lever s², above
the sliding block t, imparts a shorter traverse to the slide valves than
the throw of the excentric, but as soon as the speed of the engine
begins to decrease, the governor balls in collapsing move the rack bar 2,
upwards, thereby turning the pinion 22, partly round in the direction of
the arrow, and moving the segments, and slot levers, downwards,
thereby bringing the joint of the connecting link from the excentric n',
towards the centre of the sliding block t, and increasing the traverse of
the slide valves. The contrary action takes place when the governor
balls expand, owing to the speed of the engine being too great. When
it is found desirable to disconnect the governor from the sliding blocks
herein-before referred to, we propose to work the sliding block to and
fro in the slot lever by means of a screw passing through a
nut

page_text: connected by a link to the sliding block; at the end of this screw
is a bevel wheel gearing into two bevel pinions furnished with
catches fitting loose on a shaft, to which motion is given from the
governor, spindle, or other convenient part of the engine; between
the two bevel pinions is a sliding catch box, which is brought into
action with the catches on either of the bevel pinions when required.
The rod from the governor acts on a lever in connection with the
sliding catch box, and when the engine is working at its proper
speed both the bevel pinions are at rest, consequently the sliding
block remains in the same position in the slot lever; but when more
or less traverse is required to be given to the steam valve, the
sliding catch box is brought into gear with either one or the other of
the bevel pinions, and the screw, by moving either in one direction or
the other, draws the sliding block nearer to or further from the fulcrum
of the slot lever, thereby producing the desired effect on the slide
valve. Instead of the screw and nut, the sliding block may be moved
to and fro' by means of a rack and pinion or other mechanical agents.
The slide or other valve may also be made to admit more or less
steam to the cylinder of the engine by means of a slot made in the
face of a disk or wheel; when this mode of working the valve is
adopted, the valve rod must be jointed at one end to a stud fitting in
the said slot, and at the other end to the valve spindle; in this case it is
preferable to give motion to the disk in which the slot is made by a
wheel on the crank shaft; the stud in the disk is made long enough to
enter into a scroll groove fixed on a shaft, whose centre coincides with
the centre of the disk. As long as the engine is working at its proper
speed this shaft with the scroll revolve at the same speed as the
engine, consequently the stud in the slot of the disk remains at a
uniform distance from the centre of the disk, and imparts a regular
traverse motion to the steam valve; but if the engine increases its
speed the governor balls in expanding throw into gear a pair of wheels
acting on the scroll shaft, which reduce the speed of the scroll, thereby
drawing the stud in the disk nearer to its centre, and reducing the
traverse of the valve; as soon as the engine has regained its proper
speed the governor balls in assuming their proper position disconnect

page_text: the wheels which had reduced the speed of the scroll shaft, and the
engine continues its work as before. When the contrary action takes
place, and the speed of the engine is too slow, the governor balls in
collapsing throw into gear another pair of wheels, by which the speed
of the scroll shaft is increased, the action of which increases the
distance of the stud from the centre of the disk, thereby increasing
the traverse of the slide valve, and admitting more steam to the
cylinder.
We wish to observe here, that although we have described our im-
provements in connection with the ordinary ball governor, we do not
limit ourselves thereto, as several other governors are known and in use
which are also capable of producing the same effects.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and in the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not confine ourselves to the details herein set forth, as the same
may be varied without departing from the peculiar character of our
Invention; but what we do claim is, first, the application of the slot
levers marked ', p, and s, and parts acting in combination therewith,
for regulating the speed of steam engines, as shewn and described in
reference to Sheets 1, 2, and 3, of the annexed Drawings. Secondly,
the combination of machinery described for connecting and disconnect-
ing the governor and the valve rod; and, lastly, the moving the valve
rod stud in a slotted disk for regulating the speed of steam engines, as
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edward Walmsley and John
Holmes, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifteenth
day of December, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
E. WALMSLEY. (L.S.)
JOHN HOLMES. (L.S.)
E. WALMSLEY. (L.S.)
JOHN HOLMES. (L.S.)