IMPROVEMENTS ON THE STEAM ENGINE
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
THOMAS CARR, Merchant, Vice Consul of Russia, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
in the County of Northumberland, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Queen Victoria, by IIer Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Twenty-first day of August, in the fifth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Thomas Carr, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said John Thomas Carr, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Thomas Carr, my exors, adñiors, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS ON THE STEAM ENGINE;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said John Thomas
Carr, should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto bad, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Thomas Carr, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say;-
My Improvements upon the Steam Engine consist of the following appara-
tus, arrangements, and improvements: -I attach a stuffing box to the steam
cylinder cover, having the properties of an universal joint, or which will be
better understood by referring to Drawing No. 1, Figures 1, 2, where the
parts are seen in section. a, a, is the piston rod passing through the stuffing
box b, b, which is a spherical box embracing the piston rod; a, the ball part
of the box moving in the spherical cup to the inclination of the piston rod
from the perpendicular. At the upper part of the upper part of the ball is a
common circular stuffing box with grease cup and cover, lettered c, c. The
ball b, b, is likewise enclosed in a stuffing box m, m; n, n, being the cover
and d, d, the packing space. The cover n, n, is secured to the bar m, m, by
screws g, g, the cover n, n; having but small power on the packing d, d. As
a means of compressing the packing to the extent required I employ other
screws o, o, working through the sides of the box m, m; and against the ends
of the screws 0, o, I fit plates of metal, which being pressed by the screws
0, 0, force the packing against the spherical ball b, b, rendering the parts
perfectly steam-tight. The under part of the box m, m, in Drawing No. 1,
Figure 2, moves in a rectilinear direction, and for that purpose is constructed
in a dovetail form, fitted and ground to the cover pieces k, k, on the top of
which a packing can be introduced and pressed against the side of m, m, and
on the top of k, k, by the screws 8, 8. The piston l, l, is formed in two parts,
and bound together by a sufficient number of screw bolts p, p; the moving
pivot e, e, Drawing No. 1, Figures 1, 2, to which the piston rod a, a, is
attached, moving in brass bearings. The piston may have metallic spring
packing H, H, or any other well-known method of effecting the purpose for
which packing is employed. The air pump w, w, is worked by means of
carrying the motion directly from the piston to the air-pump bucket by means
of the pump rod t, t, and by having the pump directly under the cylinder I
save space, frequently a material object; and the expence of guides or parallel
motion, friction, &c. The bottom of the cylinder through which the air-pump
rod passes is held steam-tight by means of the stuffing box v, v.
The first part of my improvements consists in the method of working the valve
or valves of steam engines R, R, Drawings Nos. 1, 2, and 3, without the

page_text: aid of eccentric wheels or other apparatus as usually employed, but by carrying
the motion to the transverse shaft from the rectilinear motion of the under
part of the cylinder cover stuffing box m, m. This is effected as follows:-
To the box m, m, I attach a stud, and to this stud I attach a crank rod A, as
seen on the Drawing No. 3, Figures 1, 2. This crank A is fixed upon the
transverse shaft z, z, on the end of which a double crank x, x, with the pins
i, i, on the extreme ends, from which, by another rod F, F, the motion is
taken to the valve rod. In order to reverse the motion of the engine I have
only to push the handle of the rod F, F, to the opposite end i of the double
crank x, x, when the motion of the engine will be immediately reversed.
This arrangement is exceedingly simple and effective, and can be got up at
very little cost compared with the usual arrangements for a like purpose.
The second part of improvements consists in effecting. the reversing motion
on any form of engine, whether with direct action principle, or with working
beams, &c. It is effected as follows:-Drawing No. 4, Figures A, B, show
a cylinder steam chest, &c. in section; A working forward, B backward,
from the change in position of reversor; 1, 1¹, are the sides of a cylinder;
Z, Z', being a flat and polished surface; 2, 2, a false facing, between which
and 1 is a space 3, 3, wherein is fitted to work steam-tight, a moveable
portway 4, 4. In the false facing 2, 2, I make four ports, 5, 6, 7, 8; 5, 7, 8,
direct through 6, leading to the condenser. 5¹, 71, 81, are ports in the
moveable portway 4, 4. It will be seen in Figure A that the port 5' is
opposite the port 5, and that the steam passes through to the top of the
cylinder Z, Z, as indicated on the Drawing by an arrow. At the same time.
the spent steam escapes from below the cylinder, through ports 8¹ and 7,
into the exhausting box 6. Thus in Figure A ports 7 and 8 are not in use;
but if I push down the rod x until port 7' is opposite port 7, as seen in
Figure B, ports 8 and 8¹ become the induction ports, and 7 and 7¹ the eduction
ports, with the same position of the slide valve R, R, and exactly reversing the
motion of the engine by a method simple, cheap, and effective.
The third part of my improvement consists in a method of working the hot and
cold water pumps of the engine by one connecting rod attached to the driving
wheel shaft, and by that means simplify the machinery. This is effected as
follows:-The end or connecting part Y of the piston rod a, a, Drawing No. 3,
Figure 2, is attached to the crank shaft q, q; on this shaft, to which rotary
motion is communicated from the steam cylinder by means of the piston rod
and crank x, on the end of this shaft q I fix my first motion wheel J, and on
the face of this wheel I fix a stud h with any degree of eccentricity that may
be necessary for giving the proper strokes to the pumps; to this pin h I attach

page_text: a connecting rod B for working the cold-water pump rod D, of the pump D',
Drawing No. 1, Figure B; to the same concecting rod I attach the hot-water
pump rod G, of the pump G¹. by the cross head L. There are two guide rods
M for preserving the rectilinear motion of the pumps. As the weight of piston
rod and air-pump bucket are very considerable, I make the connecting rod B
of such weight as to counterbalance the piston, &c.. of the steam cylinder; and
I attach it directly opposite to the crank, and by that means make the parts
of the engine balance each other. It will be seen that this is the best form
that has yet been adopted as regards cheapness, compactness, and efficiency.
The fourth part of my improvements consists of a method of regulating the
escape of steam from the boiler to the condenser, and preserving the equable
motion of the engine; this is effected as follows: -Drawing No. 3, Figures
1 and 2 on the shaft B', I fix a wheel N, put in motion by a belt T, from the
crank shaft q; upon this wheel N, I place another wheel V, so adjusted as to
feel immediately any irregularity of the motion of the engine. The embracing
sections of these wheels are conical, so as to generate a sufficient degree of
adhesive friction. Should the steam in the boiler increase in its pressure, the
engine will encrease its speed, and the wheel N increasing its motion will
increase the adhesion or friction of the wheel V, and the wheel V, being attached
to the moveable bell crank N' by the rod W, will be dragged forward with
the periphery of the wheel N in the direction of the arrow head, and the
other end of the bell crank N¹, being attached to the rod W', and this rod
being attached to the lever of the throttle valve, the steam pipe will be closed
in proportion to the encreased motion of the engine. It is evident that this is
the simplest method of regulating or governing an engine, as it does away with
the necessity of calculations, which are absolutely necessary for the pendulum
governors, and the want of which, in nine cases out of ten, renders the pendulum
form of governor ineffective, as few practical mechanical men can make the
necessary calculations for the proper length of the rods, &c.; but the ease with
which the frictional form of regulator can be adjusted, the simplicity of its
form, and the cheapness of its construction, must recommend its adoption over
every other form now in use.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that what I claim is,
First, the method and arrangement shewn in Drawing No. 3, Figures
1 and 2, for working the valve or valves of steam engines by taking the
motion directly from the moveable stuffing box of the piston rod and conveying
it to the valve rod, and for the arrangement for reversing the motion of the
engine;

page_text: Secondly, I claim the method and arrangement shewn in Drawing No. 4,
Figures A, B, for reversing the motion of steam or other elastic fluid engines
without altering the valves or valve gearing;
Thirdly, I claim the method and arrangement shewn on Drawing No. 3,
Figure B, for working the hot and cold water pumps, and for counterbalancing
the weight piston, air-pump buckets, &c.; and,
Fourthly, I claim the method and arrangement shewn on Drawing No. 3,
Figures A, B, for regulating the motion of steam or other fluid engines by
means of a frictional governor.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thomas Carr, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
JOHN THOMAS
(L.S.) CARK.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighteenth day of February, in
the year of our Lord 1842, the aforesaid John Thomas Carr came before our
said Lady the Queen in Iler 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 according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-two.