Improvements in or relating to Steam Engines adapted for High Speed.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Steam Engines adapted for High
Speed.
A communication from abroad by GEORGE C PYLE, of Indianapolis, in
the State of Indiana, United States of America, Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to the construction of steam engines adapted for high
speed, and which will automatically maintain an unvarying rate, while at the same
time they are compact in structure, simple and inexpensive, and will be understood
from the following description
In the drawings--
:-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the engine connected to a dynamo.
Figure 2 is a cross section through the cylinders on the line k―k, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section on the line q-7, Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a cross section on the line, Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a cross section on the line -y, Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a cross section on the line, Figure 1.
Figure 7 is a detail view of the several parts of the
Figure 8 is a plan view of the valve.
governor.
In detail 1 is the main casting, which is made in parts united together by bolts.
2 is the main shaft having bearings in such casting. 3 are the cylinders. 4 are
rods which are connected to the pistons, 5, by pivot pins 6.
The cylinders are arranged in the case in the manner shown in Figure 2, their
piston rods 4 radiating from a common centre, where they are connected
eccentrically to the crank wrist 31, as hereinafter described.
The two lower cylinders are divided from the upper and from each other by open
spaces, but the upper ones are united by a web 25, forming an oil chamber.
A hole is tapped in the upper surface, which is closed by a screw cap 27, for
the purpose of introducing the oil. Extending up near to the top of the oil
chamber, is a small pipe 28, whose lower end passes through a plug 23 which is
tightly fitted in an opening in the web, the pipe thus discharging the oil directly
above the crank pin of the engine.
When the open spaces between the other cylinders are filled with exhaust steam,
some of it will find its way up this pipe into the oil chamber, where it will condense
upon the under side of the upper wall thereof, and the water thus formed will drop
down into the chamber. The oil being lighter than water, the latter will sink to
the bottom, and the oil rising will flow over the top and run down the pipe slowly
as it is displaced by the water. A continual automatic lubrication of the crank
pin is thus provided, the pipe 28 being just large enough for the purpose. The
water condensed in the chamber may be drawn off through the drip cock 29.
The main shaft 2 is connected at its inner end to one of a pair of cranks 30, the
other one of these being connected to the wrist 31, the outer end of the latter
being threaded and a nut 34 is turned down thereon to hold the parts in place.
The crank wrist 31 is provided with two bushings 32 and 33, one outside the
other, one of which is preferably of "metaline or some other metal which will
commonly run without lubrication.
"
This is done as an extra precaution against heating on account of the high sneed
Figure 8 is a plan view of the valve.
In detail 1 is the main casting, which is made in parts united together by bolts.
2 is the main shaft having bearings in such casting. 3 are the cylinders. 4 are
rods which are connected to the pistons, 5, by pivot pins 6.
The cylinders are arranged in the case in the manner shown in Figure 2, their
piston rods 4 radiating from a common centre, where they are connected
eccentrically to the crank wrist 31, as hereinafter described.
The two lower cylinders are divided from the upper and from each other by open
spaces, but the upper ones are united by a web 25, forming an oil chamber.
A hole is tapped in the upper surface, which is closed by a screw cap 27, for
the purpose of introducing the oil. Extending up near to the top of the oil
chamber, is a small pipe 28, whose lower end passes through a plug 23 which is
tightly fitted in an opening in the web, the pipe thus discharging the oil directly
above the crank pin of the engine.
When the open spaces between the other cylinders are filled with exhaust steam,
some of it will find its way up this pipe into the oil chamber, where it will condense
upon the under side of the upper wall thereof, and the water thus formed will drop
down into the chamber. The oil being lighter than water, the latter will sink to
the bottom, and the oil rising will flow over the top and run down the pipe slowly
as it is displaced by the water. A continual automatic lubrication of the crank
pin is thus provided, the pipe 28 being just large enough for the purpose. The
water condensed in the chamber may be drawn off through the drip cock 29.
The main shaft 2 is connected at its inner end to one of a pair of cranks 30, the
other one of these being connected to the wrist 31, the outer end of the latter
being threaded and a nut 34 is turned down thereon to hold the parts in place.
The crank wrist 31 is provided with two bushings 32 and 33, one outside the
other, one of which is preferably of "metaline" or some other metal which will
commonly run without lubrication.
This is done as an extra precaution against heating on account of the high sneed

page_text: at which the engine runs, and the inaccessible location of this bearing, the crank
being entirely enclosed in the case or frame of the engine.
It is preferred that the bushings should be fitted together, so that there shall be
operative hearing surfaces between the inner bushing and the wrist pin, between
the two sleeves, and between the outer sleeve and the piston rods, but obviously
one of the bushings may be so put in place that one less of these operative bearing
surfaces may be dispensed with.
The pistons 5 are connected to the wrist 31 by rods 4, as shown in Figure 2.
These connecting rods are all cast together, at first, in the form of a spider having
a long hub. The hub is first fitted to the wrist pin by being, bored out. to the
proper size, and the outer ends of the arms are fitted to the bearings in the pistons,
also by boring, and the hub is turned off on the outside to receive a ring or rings,
as will be presently described, and is then cut apart, between the arms, as shown
in Figure 2. Being bored out, when they are all together in this way, insures an
accurate and uniform fit upon the wrist pin, and upon the pivots 6 by which they
are connected to the pistons. After being placed in position, it is preferred to
place thereon a ring or rings 35, which fit closely upon the surfaces that have been
previously turned down, and prevent the displacement of the rods, although, as the
pressure is continually against the wrist pin from the ends of the pistons, there is
but little danger of this, even if the rings were not used. The rods 4 are con-
nected to the pistons by means of pins 6, whose large area gives the proper
amount of bearing surface.
The valve 7 is circular in form, and is seated directly against the turned surface
of the bottom 20 of the steam chest, where it is rotated, to alternately open and
close the ports therein, as will be presently described. The portion which moves
over the ports is in the form of a flat annular ring, the lower side of which lies
flat upon the bottom 20 of the steam chest. Its central portion has two distinct
upward projections, the first of which, or a packing ring 8 thereon, comes in
contact with the under side of a stationary ring-like plate 21, which forms the
division between the live and exhaust steam spaces in the steam chest, and the
second of these projections is a circular flange 9 which encircles closely a flange
on the yoke 10, through which it is operated by the governor. The interior of
the valve is open, and the portion between the packing ring 8 and the flange 9
has a number of holes through which the steam can escape when the open part of
the valve is over one or more of the ports which may be exhausting. The
surface against which the packing ring comes is grooved so that as the ring wears,
it will be forced forward by the steam pressure and kept tight at all times.
desired, a wire spring may be inserted between the valve and the packing ring, to
force out the latter.
If
As above indicated, the space between the plate 21, and the surface 20 of the
steam chest containing the ports on which the valve rests, outside of the valve, is
the chamber where the live steam enters. This comes in through a pipe 43, the
end of which is inserted in a boss on the casting 1, as shown in Figure 6.
The space outside the plate 21 and between it and the outer wall of the steam
chest, is the chamber for the exhaust steam, and this chamber encloses the governor.
The exhaust steam escapes through a pipe 44, which enters a boss on the side of
the steam chest, as shown in Figure 4.
The boss for the inlet pipe 43 is duplicated on the opposite side of the engine,
for use in case it is desired to lead the steam to that side, and is closed by a screw
plug (see Figure 6). The exhaust may also be let out from the opposite side (see
Figure 4).
The yoke 10 is shown in detail in Figure 7, its position when in use being
indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4. Its flange, before mentioned, fits inside
the flange 9 on the valve 7, and it is thus enabled to operate the latter. It is
pivoted to the arms of the governor at 11 to one of these at its heavy or weighted
end, and to the other at its smaller or lighter end, as shown in Figure 4.
eccentric to the shaft 2 so that as it revolves it moves the valve correspondingly
It is

page_text: It is so
over the surface containing the ports, thus opening and closing the same.
arranged in connection with the governor that, as the speed of the engine increases
and the weighted portions of the governors are thus thrown out by centrifugal
force, its flange will be drawn more nearly concentric to the shaft, and the
eccentricity of the motion of the valve thus decreased, which has the effect of
opening the ports less widely for the admission of live steam, thus reducing the
speed of the engine, as will be readily understood.
The governor arms are secured at 13 by pivots to the cross bar 14, which is
keyed upon the shaft 2. As will be noticed, by reference to Figures 4 and 7, that
portion of each of the arms on one side of the pivot points 13 is in the form of a
weight, and very heavy, while the portion on the other side is much lighter, and it
will also be noticed that the heavy portions are arranged on the opposite sides of
the cross bar 14. At one end these arms are connected, as has already been
described, by the yoke 10 through pivots at 11. At the other end they are
pivotally connected at 17 by a bar 18, and these connections, so unite the structure
that while, the parts may readily shift their position to any desired extent, they
cannot fly apart so as to occupy a substantially greater area at one time than
another. The governor arms are held so that the faces of the weighted portions
are made to approach each other by coiled springs 16 which extend across the
space between them and are suitably secured to both parts. They are arranged to
set oppositely to the centrifugal force which tends to throw the weights apart when
the engine is running.
All these parts are kept in continual rotation by the cross bar 14, which, as
before stated, is rigidly secured to the shaft 2. A tool hole 45 is provided through
which the pivots may be reached by a wrench or screw driver, and is closed when
not in use by a screw plug, as shown in Figure 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :—
1. In a steam engine a series of cylinders enclosed in a casing, rods connecting
their pistons to a common crank wrist operated from the main shaft, a centrifugal
governor also mounted on the main shaft carried in such casing, a steam chest
between the governor and the cylinder, its bottom having steam ports and providing a
seat for the valve thereon, a circular valve seated on such steam chest and adapted
to close the ports by rotation, such valve provided with a flange and carried upon a
circular flanged yoke plate pivoted to the governor and normally eccentric to the
main shaft, whereby the centrifugal movement of the governor weights operates to
carry the yoke and the valve over and more concentric with the main shaft, and
thereby operates to cut off the area of the port openings as the speed of the engine
increases, and by its reverse movement to enlarge the openings as the speed of the
engine is diminished, substantially as shown and described.
2. In a steam engine having cylinders and pistons enclosed in a casing, and
provided with a centrifugal governor, a circular flanged valve carried on a flanged
yoke plate pivoted to the governor arms, such yoke plate and valve normally
eccentric to the main shaft, whereby the centrifugal movement of the governor
arms rotates the valve so as to decrease, its eccentric relation to the main shaft,
thus automatically decreasing the steam port openings as the speed of the engine
increases, substantially as shown and described.
3. The combination, in an engine having three or more cylinders enclosed in a
casing, their piston rods connected to a common crank wrist connected with the
main shaft and having a centrifugal governor mounted on such shaft, of a circular
flanged valve connected to a circular flanged yoke set eccentrically upon the main
shaft and pivoted to the weighted arms of the governor, whereby the centrifugal
action induced by the increase of speed in the engine is compensated by the
inward concentric movement of the valve, the rotation of the latter cutting off the
area of the steam openings, substantially as shown and described.

page_text: 4. In a steam engine a casing, four cylinders enclosed therein, their pistons
connected to a wrist of a crank on the main shaft, a centrifugal governor enclosed
in such casing, a steam chest provided therein having ports corresponding with the
number of cylinders, a circular flanged valve carried upon a flanged yoke pivoted
on the governor arms eccentrically to the main shaft, whereby the centrifugal
movement decreases the eccentricity of the valve to the main shaft and its rotation
thereby narrows the openings to the steam ports, substantially as shown and
described.
5. The combination in a steam engine of a governor mounted on the main
shaft provided with weighted arms on opposite sides, such arms controlled by
coiled springs whose tension normally operates against the centrifugal movement
of the arms, a cross bar keyed on the main shaft, its opposite ends pivoted to the
weighted arins on opposite sides, such coiled springs also pivoted at opposite ends
to such cross bar, and the circular yoke carrying the valve also pivoted to the arms
of the governor, whereby the outward movement of the governor weights is
compensated by the inward or concentric movement of the valve with relation to
the main shaft, substantially as shown and described.
6. In a steam engine, a casing, a series of cylinders enclosed therein, an oil
chamber formed between the walls of two of the adjacent cylinders discharging in
line with and over the crank wrist connecting the piston rods, with an oil receiving
opening upon the outside of the casing, substantially as shown and described.
7. The combination in a steam engine of a casing, four cylinders set therein,
a steam chest, ports therein corresponding with such cylinders, a chamber formed
between the two uppermost cylinders, providing a receptacle for oil and water to
lubricate the running parts of the engine, and serving as a steam jacket on such
cylinders, whereby the condensation of steam therein is reduced to a minimum,
substantially as shown and described.
8. In a steam engine a valve adapted to close the steam ports by rotation and
automatically controlled through a yoke plate set eccentric to the main shaft, and
pivoted to the arms of the governor, whereby the admission of steam into the
cylinders is automatically regulated by the speed of the engine, substantially as
shown and described.
9. In a steam engine a series of cylinders enclosed in a casing, and set at right
angles to the main shaft, in combination with an automatic governor set eccentric
to such shaft.
Dated this 19th day of January 1891.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.