IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ANGELO JAMES SEDLEY of the Palatinate, New Kent Road, London, Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
ENGINES to be as follows:-
33
My Invention has for its object the construction of high & low pressure and
triple expansion Engines, condensing or non condensing, as herein described.
The high pressure Engines may have one or more cylinders in a group.
The high and low pressure Engines, also the triple expansion Engines, may have
the same number in groups.
All the groups may have cylinders differing in diameter.
The cylinders of these Engines are of the usual form and construction.
The cylinder covers have holes through the centres and gland boxes with glands
are fitted over these through which the mainshafts rotate:
The cylinder covers or cylinders are provided with relief cocks or valves.
:
The. cylinders for about one half of their inner circumference have cores or
abutments projecting towards the centres of the cylinders with gradients at each
end terminating in knife edges against the sides of the cylinders, but the ends of
the cores, abutments and gradients are flush with the cylinder flanges and cylinder
covers internally.
•
One of the cylinder covers in each cylinder is provided with a valve chest having
two steam ports and passages communicating with the cylinder internally and an
exhaust port common to both steam ports. These ports admit steam, about the line
of the diameter of the cylinders.
The valve chests have by preference a D valve or three way cock and according
as the valve is open on the right or left for the admission of steam to the cylinder
or cylinders so the Engine will run in the opposite direction-The lever attached
to the before described valves, starts, stops, and reverses the Engines by one motion
as desired.
The mainshafts run through the centres of the cylinders and glands, and the
several shafts are connected and coupled up, so as, in the case of high and low
pressure, and triple expansion Engines, to make them one entire machine or the
cylinders may be grouped side by side and the mainshafts connected by coupling.
rods discs cranks or other gearing.
The mainshafts have inside the cylinders, from end to end, a passage way cut
through them through which the pistons traverse and these passages may be
arranged at angles of 90 or 120 degrees, but any other angle may be used. .

page_text: Bearings may be employed for carrying the mainshafts, but I prefer to rely on
the glands of the cylinder covers (properly arranged and strengthened).
The pistons, square or oblong in form, may be in one or more pieces, and are
suitably adjusted and packed, so as to touch closely all the parts of the cylinders,
mainshafts, abutments, cores, gradients where in contact and be perfectly steam-
tight. The pistons revolve in the cylinders and also traverse the mainshaft.
The action of the steam on all the cylinders, and all the pistons is in the same
direction and it can be applied direct from Generator to one or more or all the
cylinders if desired at the same moment.
The cut off may be varied to any extent by an eccentric in the usual manner,
but I prefer to use a separate valve for this, actuated from the main shaft or
counter shaft by means of eccentrics or cams and as the Engine has a long stroke
the steam may be cut off more than once in a stroke or in the case of quick running
Engines the steam may be cut off entirely for economy at any stroke after the first
and let on again when desired.
The exhaust pipes of the Engines may be supplied with a suitable fan arranged
so as to keep up a fair vacuum in the cylinders.
The Engines herein described are mounted on a suitable bedplate and may have
condensers or not, and suitable governors, if so desired.
I call this machine the Radial Traversing Piston Engine, and I make my claim
for the combinations of parts as herein described but I disclaim the parts separately
as new.
The drawings attached to the complete specification will show clearly the full
extent of my claim.
Dated this Tenth day of December 1885.

page_text: Improvements in Steam Engines. ·
I ANGELO JAMES SEDLEY of The Palatinate New Kent Road London in the
County of Surrey Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention has for its object the construction of high and low pressure
compound and triple expansion engines condensing or non condensing as herein
described The high or low pressure engines may have one or more cylinders on
one shaft or single engines may be coupled up by preference at angles of 90 degrees
but any other desired angle may be adopted The compound or triple expansion
engines may be arranged in the same manner and all may be placed on the same
bed plate and be connected or coupled up tandem fashion, side by side, or vertically
and all the cylinders may differ in diameter or in length or in both-The cylinders
of these engines are internally circular in form in small sizes but in diameters
above 12 inches I prefer to make them of two different diameters as shewn in the
drawings Figure 2-The cylinder covers have passages or circular holes through
them with glands and gland boxes through which the main shaft rotates-In the
small engines one of the cylinder covers is provided with 2 sets of valves in boxes
called valve box No. 1 and valve box No. 2 Valve box No. 1 contains three ports
one on the right and one on the left for the admission and emission of steam to and
from the cylinder and the centre port is the exhaust which is common to both ports
just described these are covered by a D valve or piston valve, or three way cock,
large enough to cover all three ports for stopping and two of these for emission of
steam leaving one port open for admission of steam to cylinder and this valve is
actuated by a rod attached to a lever by which the engine is started stopped or
reversed by a single motion Close to valve box No. 1 is valve box No. 2 containing
a single or gridiron port in connection with valve box No. 1 through which con-
nection steam is admitted Valve box No. 2 has a cut off valve moved by an
excentric or cam or tappet motion by which a variable cut off is obtained which-
ever way the engine is running. In large engines above 12 inch cylinders the
valve boxes are placed on the cylinders with suitable steam connections through
the cylinder cover The main shaft inside the cylinder has on it a hub with a
slotted passage through which the piston slides Inside the cylinder and through
the hub and the main shaft the piston slides and rotates with the main shaft and
this piston is made steam tight against the cylinders and cylinder covers by means
of ring springs and steam pistons for ends and with corrugated springs by
preference at the sides as shewn in the drawings and in order to prevent the
passage of steam through the slot suitable wedges are provided on the hub to keep
the piston in its place and steam tight.
I will now proceed to describe my invention by the aid of drawings attached
hereto.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the engine shewing the inside of cylinder the
main shaft with hub and piston slot also the valve boxes No. 1 and 2 shewing the

page_text: passage from the steam from No. 2 valve box through No. 1 and thence by
the cylinder covers into the cylinder Figure 2 shews an end view of the cylinder
with one cover removed indicating the steam ports and the sliding piston also the
lower plate of the starting stopping and reversing valve box No. 1 with the lever
actuating the valve. Figure 3 is a section of the sliding piston on the flat through
the line A. B. in Figure 4 which shews the mode of keeping the piston steam tight
at the ends and sides by means of steam pistons and ring springs and also
corrugated springs Figure 4 is a side view of the piston with a diagonal cut in
the side plate to allow for expansion.
In Figures 1 and 2
CCC is the cylinder CC¹ C¹ are the cylinder covers G G are the glands with
boxes acting as bearings M. S. is the main shaft H the hub on the main shaft
P. S. the piston slot or passage through the hub and main shaft S P is the sliding
piston W W, are the wedges with screws for adjusting the piston and keeping it
steam tight O is an oiling hole for main shaft and piston R. S is the starting
stopping and reversing valve in valve box No. 1 VC is valve box No. 2 containing
the variable cut off valve worked by the eccentric E S¹ S are the steam ports or
exhaust ports or vice versa in the cylinder cover admitting steam to the cylinder
Figures 3 and 4 shew a section of the sliding piston through the line A B in
Figure 4 P P are small pistons with ring springs at each end, which being
supplied with steam through the ports S³ S³ press out the ends of the sliding
piston against the sides of the cylinder and S¹ S¹ are corrugated springs acting in
the same manner to press the side plates against the cylinder covers P³ and P* act
precisely in the same manner on the upper side of the piston with steam and
exhaust ports shown at S² S³. -
Having now described the nature of my said invention and in what manner. the
same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is
First: The combination of the parts herein shewn by the drawings.
Secondly-The valve box No. 2 with the valve and port in it which may be
single or gridiron shape actuated by the eccentric shewn or by a tappet or cam
motion as and for the purposes and substantially as herein described and shewn.
Thirdly The method as shewn herein of constructing the sliding piston with
steam pistons and springs.
Fourthly: The construction of the inside of the cylinders being quadrants or
nearly so of two circles of different diameters.
But, I disclaim the slotted hole through the main shaft and the sliding piston
working through it in the cylinder also the valve box with the starting stopping
and reversing gear, by themselves as these have been done many years ago notably
by James Huggett in 1864 also by Darling, Beale and many others.
Dated this 9th day of September 1886.
ANGELO JAMES SEDLEY.