IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Mellor, of Ardwick, in the City of Man-
chester, and William Whaley, of Rainow, in the County of Chester,
Tool Makers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM HAMMERS
Sealed the 3rd July 1863, and dated the 24th January 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Mellor and
William Whaley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 24th January 1863.
We, WILLIAM MELLOR, of Ardwick, in the City of Manchester, and
WILLIAM WHALEY, of Rainow, in the County of Chester, Tool Makers, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
HAMMERS AND OTHER ENGINES DRIVEN BY STEAM," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in communicating motion to the slide valve of steam
hammers and other engines driven by steam by means of a screw which passes
through a nut formed in the piston, so that as the piston moves up and down
or to and fro in the cylinder the screw is turned round in opposite directions.
This screw is made of the same piece or attached to another screw acting on
a nut connected to the lever to which the valve spindle is jointed; by this
means the slide valve is moved to and fro to open and close the steam ports
in the valve box.
Another part of our Invention consists in connecting the valve lever to a

page_text: rod acted upon by levers and rods for the purpose of varying the position of
the fulcrum of the lever so as to increase or diminish the length and force of
the stroke.
Our Invention may be modified by placing the screws to one side of the
piston rod; in this case one of the screw nuts is connected to a projection on 5
the hammer head and the other is connected to the valve spindle.
We have described our improvements as applied to a steam hammer but
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Mellor and William Whaley in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 23rd July 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
MELLOR, of Ardwick, in the City of Manchester, and WILLIAM WHALEY, of
Rainow, in the County of Chester, Tool Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth 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 us,
the said William Mellor and William Whaley, Her special license that we,
the said William Mellor and William Whaley, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Mellor and William
Whaley, 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 STEAM HAMMERS
AND OTHER ENGINES DRIVEN BY STEAM," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said William Mellor and William Whaley, our executors or adminis-
.
trators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or
their hands and seals, 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 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 William Mellor and William Whaley,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: 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 communicating motion to the slide valves of steam
hammers and other engines driven by steam by means of a screw which passes
through a nut formed in the piston, so that as the piston moves up and down
or to or fro in the cylinder the screw is turned round in opposite directions.
This screw is made of the same piece or attached to another screw acting on
a nut connected to the lever to which the valve spindle is jointed; by this
means the slide valve is moved to and fro to open and close the steam ports in
the valve box.
Another part of our Invention consists in connecting the valve lever to a
rod acted upon by levers and rods for the purpose of varying the position of
the fulcrum of the lever so as to increase or diminish the length and force of
the stroke.
Our Invention may be modified by placing the screws to one side of the
piston rod; in this case one of the screw nuts is connected to a projection on
the hammer head and the other is connected to the valve spindle.
We have described our improvements as applied to a steam hammer, but
they are applicable to all or most engines driven by steam.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation we will proceed to describe the two accompanying
Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an elevation of a steam hammer to which one
mode of constructing our improvements is applied; Figure 2 is an elevation
in section; Figure 3 is a view from the back; and Figure 4 is a front view of
a portion of the same.
.
a is the anvil block and foundation plate; b, the anvil; c, the standard, cast
of the same piece as the cylinder d; e is the steam chest or valve box; and f,
the valve; and g is the piston; and h, the piston rod, the lower part of which
forms the hammer head; these parts are all made in the usual manner,
excepting that the piston is provided with a screw nut fitting on the screw i,
which passes above thro' the lid d' of the cylinder d and through the stuffing
box d'; it is held at the top by the cross head supported by pillars fixed to
the lid of the cylinder; the piston rod is hollow to admit the screw i when the
piston g rises in the cylinder d. The upper end of the screw i projecting
above the stuffing box d is also screwed, as shewn at j, but the screw i is a
coarser pitch and of the reverse hand to the screw j, which takes into the
nut k, furnished with trunnions, to which the extremity of the lever / is

page_text: The vertical rod m passes
rod m is fixed the shoulder
jointed; the fulcrum of this lever is the eye of the vertical rod m, and to it is
suspended by links the spindle f' of the valve f.
through the ends of the links n and o, and to the
m', which is placed between the ends of the links n and o; the former of
these links is jointed to the lever p fixed to the hollow shaft q', to which is
fixed the lever q², furnished with a retaining segment 9%, which is secured to
the standard c. The link o is jointed to the lever q fixed to the shaft p¹, to
which is fixed the lever p², furnished with a handle and a retaining segment p³,
which is fixed to the lever q²; the shaft p' works within the hollow shaft q'.
By moving the handle lever q the lever på is also put in motion, and the
upper ends of the links n and o acting on the shoulder m³ elevate or depress
the fulcrum of the lever 1, by which means the position of the valve is altered
in relation to that of the piston. By moving the handle lever på the upper
end of the link o is depressed, thus leaving a space between the upper end of
the link and the shoulder m', the result of which is to make the valve rod f'
into the fulcrum for a portion or the full length of the stroke. By this means
the steam is allowed to follow the piston for a portion or the full length of the
stroke before the valve is reversed.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The piston g is now supposed to be
down, as shewn in Figure 2; as soon as the steam is admitted to the under
side of the piston it begins to rise, and in rising the nut in the piston acting
against the screw i causes it and the screw j to rotate in the proper direction
for elevating the nut k, thus acting on the lever 7, and raising the valve f to
open the exhaust port, and to admit the full force of steam under the piston.
When the piston drops to give the blow the screws i and j rotate in the
contrary direction to bring the valve back to its original position.
On Sheet 2, Figures 5, 6, and 7 represent three views of a steam hammer
constructed according to a modification of our Invention. Most of the parts
in this arrangement being similar to those described in reference to Sheet 1
are marked with corresponding letters of reference. In this modification the
screws i and j are placed to one side of the piston rod h, to which is connected
the projection h' containing the nut working in the screw i. The nut k of the
screw is fixed to the spindle f of the valve f; this nut passes through &
bush in the standard c, and is provided with a key to prevent it turning round,
but to allow it to move up and down. The vertical position of the screws i
and j, and consequently the relative position of the valve f to the ports in the
cylinder, can be regulated by the handle levers p² and q², which act respectively
on the slides m and m'; these slides have projections at their lower extremities
through which the end of the screw i passes.

page_text: g
The mode of operation is as follows:-When the piston 9 rises in the
cylinder d the nut in the projection h' of the piston rod h causes the screw i to
rotate, thereby turning the screw j round in the proper direction for elevating
the nut k and valve f, as before described in reference to Sheet 1.
We have described our improvements as applicable to steam hammers, but
they are equally applicable to all or most engines driven by steam.
The object of our improvements is to impart the requisite motion to the
valve and to regulate this motion in a more convenient manner than has.
heretofore been customary.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described two con-
venient modes of carrying the same into operation, we wish to remark, that
we do not limit ourselves to the details given, as they must be modified
according to the peculiar construction of the steam hammer or other steam
engine to which they are applied. We claim as our Invention,-
First, the mode described and shewn in the accompanying Drawings of
converting the up-and-down or to-and-fro motion of the piston into a rotary
motion of the screws i and j, by which the slide or other valve is worked.
And, secondly, the improved combination of machinery for varying the
fulcrum of the lever to which the valve is connected for the purpose of
increasing or diminishing the length and force of the stroke.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Mellor and William Whaley,
have hereto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-first day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hunded and sixty-three.
WILLIAM MELLOR. (L.B.)
WILLIAM WHALEY. (L.S.)