CERTAIN IMPROVE- IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
HAWORTH, of Bury, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Ninth day of February, in the eighth year of Her reign,
and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-five, did,"
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Richard Haworth, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Richard Haworth, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Richard Haworth, my executors, administrators,
and 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 and Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
IN STEAM ENGINES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Richard Haworth, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, 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
Richard Haworth, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof (that is to say) :-
My Improvements in Steam Engines consist in a certain novel and peculiar
construction and arrangement of the elementary working parts, together with
their mode of operation, whereby a considerable economy of fuel is effected,
and an increase of both power and speed obtained.
The principal feature of novelty in the Invention is as follows:-The entire
working engine has both the common reciprocating rectilinear motion,
and also a circular motion round the centre of the driving shaft, the steam
cylinder being fixed at one end of a lever, whilst the crank revolves loosely
in a step or bearing at the other end of the same lever. The boss or centre of
this lever is keyed fast upon the main driving shaft, and is intended to com-
municate the motion of the engine to the same; this motion is transmitted in
the following manner:-Upon one end of the crank shaft a spur wheel is
keyed fast, the radius of its pitch line being equal to half the distance of the
centres of the crank shaft from the main driving shaft of the steam engine;
this wheel gears into another of the same diameter, which is fixed and remains
perfectly stationary, the main driving shaft revolving loosely through its centre,
consequently, the wheel upon the crank shaft has a double motion to perform,
one being a rotary movement round is own axis communicated from the piston
by means of the connecting rod, as in ordinary steam engines, the other being
a planetary motion round the main driving shaft, occasioned by the spur wheel
upon the crank shaft revolving while the other wheel (through the centre of
which the main driving shaft passes) remains perfectly stationary; the wheels
being both of the same diameter, the "planet wheel" will complete its orbit
round the main driving shaft and "sun wheel" in exactly the same space of
time as the crank takes to make one revolution round its own centre.
The object of these said improvements is to gain both power and speed,
which is accomplished by the motion being communicated to the driving shaft
by a much longer leverage than usual, the increase of power being in propor-
tion to the difference between the length of the crank and the length of the lever
in the end of which it revolves; the speed is gained by the shortness of the
crank, as the piston has a smaller distance to travel at every stroke of the
engine. In order that these said improvements may be more readily explained
in detail and clearly understood, I have attached to these presents a Drawing
representing my Invention in four distinct views, and applied as a high pres-

page_text: suro steam engine drawn to a proportionate scale, similar letters of reforence
being placed upon corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Fig. 1 is a plan or horizontal view of my improved steam engine (which I
call a "planetary engine"), as seen from above; Fig. 2 is an end view of the
same, with the steam chest or chamber removed; Fig. 3 is an exterior front
elevation of the same; and Fig. 4 is a partial section shewing more clearly
the contrivance for the entrance and exit of the steam to and from the cylinder.
A, A, are the foundation walls (or iron framing may be substituted), which
support in bearings the main shaft b, b*; c is the fly wheel; d the steam cylinder;
e the connecting rod; f the crank; and 9 the crank shaft. This crank shaft g,
instead of revolving in fixed bearings, as in ordinary steam engines, revolves
in bearings at one end of the levers h, h*; the centre or boss of the lever his
keyed fast upon the main shaft b, the steam cylinder d being attached by bolts
and lugs to the other end of the levers h, h. The steam is admitted into the
cylinder for the purpose of actuating the piston in the following manner:-
It will be seen by referring to the sectional Fig. 4 in the Drawing, that the
end 6 of the shaft is made hollow, having a mid-feather i, i, through the
centre to divide the entrance pipe k from the exit pipe l, and revolves in a
hollow steam chest or chamber m, being packed steam-tight means of
stuffing boxes. Steam is introduced into this chamber by the feed pipe n,
and passes through the opening o, into the entrance pipe k, and thence through
the slide valve (which is of the ordinary construction) to the steam cylinder.
The action of the piston communicates rotary motion by means of the con-
necting rod e, and the crank f, to the crank shaft g; upon one end of this crank
shaft g the "planet wheel" p is keyed geering into a "sun wheel " 9, of the
same diameter; this wheel 9 has no motion whatever, but merely serves as a
rack around which the planet wheel p travels. Through the boss of the wheel
g the end 6 of the main driving shaft passes, revolving loosely; thus it will be
evident, that in consequence of the wheel 9 remaining perfectly stationary the
rotation of the crank shaft g will cause the "planet wheel" p to travel round
the "sun wheel," or circular rack q, in the same space of time in which it
revolves upon its own axis, thus causing the whole of the engine to revolve
simultaneously with its reciprocating action, the main shaft b, 6*, being the
fulcrum, and revolving with it in consequence of the bosses of the levers,
h, h, being keyed fast upon it. In this improved arrangement of the stean
engine in order to work the slide valve, the excentric r is stationary, and is
connected to the valve by a series of links and levers S, S, S, S, the rotation
of the engine communicating the requisite motion to the valve the same as
the revolution of the excentric would do if the engine were fixed or stationary.

page_text: Figs. 5 and 6 represents a face view and section of a cam or tappet to be
used in connection with this arrangement in place of the excentric, if it is
desired to work the engine expansively, this cam being calculated to cut off the
steam at half stroke.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would remark, in conclusion, that I have
only represented in the Drawing attached and described above the application
my Invention to a high pressure "stationary" steam engine, but I consider
my improved "planetary engine" equally adapted to condensing engines, and
whether employed for marine or other purposes.
of
And I claim as my Invention solely the peculiar and novel construction and
arrangement of the engine, and its peculiar mode of working, without confining
myself to the precise dimensions or modification of the same as above
described and exhibited in the Drawing attached.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Haworth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-five.
Inrolled the Ninth day of August, in the year above, written.