IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Beckett Johnson, of Altrincham, in the
County of Chester, Manager for Messrs. Ormerod and Son, Engineers,
Manchester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND
APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Sealed the 19th June 1857, and dated the 22nd December 1850..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Beckett Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd December 1856.
I, WILLIAM BECKETT JOHNSON, of Altrincham, in the County of Chester,
Manager for Messrs. Ormerod & Son, Engineers, Manchester, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to stationary steam engines having the
cylinder placed vertically; or nearly so; and consists in the'adaptation of the
condenser as a base or foundation for the cylinder to rest upon, and to
which it may be secured by any ordinary means. By this arrangement a
direct communication between the exhaust passage and the condenser is
obtained for the steam:
i
Secondly, in the aforesaid engines I place' the condenser and air pump'
in such relative positions that the bucket or piston of the latter shall per-
form the greater part of its stroke below the bottom of the latter.
Also my Invention refers to the injection tap or valve, whereby the force
or spread of the injection water in condensing engines is constant. " To effect'
this I so arrange the apertures through which the water immediately issues!
that they may be contracted-or enlarged-at-pleasure. When india-rubber
Price 1

page_text: is used for delivery or other valves I form the seats thereof concave, so that
the valve will be caused to bear equally; or when a flat seat is adopted, the
same effect may be produced by moulding the india-rubber valve in a
concave form, and securing it with the concave face towards the seat.
Also, in reference to india-rubber valves, I construct them with openings
in an annular direction, the same being either flat or concave.
Also, my Invention consists in a method of securing valve seats. For this
I apply a spindle, attached to the pipe or other part by means of a nut, or
otherwise, and this may also serve as a guide for the valve.
Also, my Invention relates to equilibrium valves of engines, and consists
in such an arrangement that the points of contact between the valves and
their seats shall be in a vertical direction, or parallel to the axis of the
valve, or nearly so, whereby areas of greater equality are obtained for the
steam pressure.
Also, when equilibrium valves are used in connexion with the governor
for regulating the steam, I cast the box or casing for the same upon the
face or other suitable part of the slide valve box or casing.
Also, my Invention refers to the construction of safety valves and their
seats, and the object thereof is to ensure a determined area for the action
of the steam. To effect this, I assume that theoretically the point of contact
between the valve and the seat should be a line, and I therefore approach
that as nearly as possible by avoiding the extended surface usually employed.
The principle I proceed upon may be fully illustrated by an arrangement
in which the section of the valve is V-shaped and the seat a plane surface.
Also, my Invention relates to the furnaces in which two fire-places are
used. Behind the bridge I place two vertical projections, the surfaces
inclining so as to cause the products of combustion to be guided from either
side towards the centre, in which situation they mingle and pass onward
to the Blue.
Another arrangement of furnace applies to those which are double and
situated below the boiler, and consists in adapting two transverse projec-
tions between which the products of combustion meet, and there I cause
air to be admitted downward by means of a pipe or pipes passed through
the boiler.
Another improvement in boilers relates to a method of mounting them in
brickwork. For this purpose I suspend them by means of beams resting
upon the walls, so as to remove the weight or a portion thereof from that
part beneath which usually carries it.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Beckett Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd June 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BECKETT JOHNSON, of Altrincham, in the County of Chester, Manager for
Messieurs Ormerod and Son, Engineers, Manchester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Beckett Johnson, Her special licence that I, the said William
Beckett Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Beckett Johnson, my 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon tho
condition, amongst others, that I, the said William Beckett Johnson, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said William Beckett Johnson, 'do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:
The first part of my Invention is shewn at Fig. 1, which represents a
portion of the working cylinder, the condenser, and air pump, in section.
The cylinder is shewn at a bolted by means of flanges to the condenser b,
which therefore constitutes a base or foundation for the said cylinder to rest
upon. By this arrangement I obtain a direct communication between the
exhaust passage and the condenser, as shewn at c.
.1.
Another part of my Invention is also shewn in Fig. 1; in which d is the
air pump, which may be fitted with piston and valves of any ordinary con-
struction, but those shewn in the Drawing are according to another part of
my Invention, herein-after to be described. The delivery valve is shewn
'

page_text: at e, and the piston at f, which is so situate as to perform its stroke or the
greater part thereof below the condenser. By this arrangement the
delivery valve e may be placed on a level, or nearly so, with the bottom of
the condenser, and the water will be more easily removed.
Another part of my Invention is shewn at Fig. 2, which represents the
condenser and injection apparatus in section. To the condenser a is attached
a pipe b, through which the water passes from the end c. The end within
the condenser is furnished with an opening d, over which is placed a valve e,
the spindle whereof moves in guides. Through the pipe b a shaft passes,
provided with a lever g, situate within a slot in the spindle of the valve e;
by turning this shaft, therefore, the said valve may be raised or lowered, so
as to enlarge or contract the area for the passage of water through the
opening d, so as to allow more or less to pass, as may be required. The
shaft may be provided with a quadrant and scale for indicating the position
of the valve, and may be retained by a tightening screw or by other means.
It will be observed, that as the supply of water is regulated at that point
by which it issues immediately to the condenser, the whole force will exist
for injection, the pressure not having been removed by any external cock
or valve.
Instead of the foregoing arrangement other plans may be adopted upon
the same principle, for instance, the pipe b may have another sliding within
it, and furnished with perforations, more or less of which may be opened
at pleasure for the passage of water by sliding it in or out of the fixed pipe.
Another part of my Invention consists in a method of securing valve
seats, and is shewn at Fig. 3. a is the valve scat, adapted loosely to the
part b, which may be a pipe or other portion of a steam engine. Through
the centre of this seat a spindle c passes, a flauge upon which bears thereon,
and the seat is drawn down by a nut d, which merely has to be unscrewed
when a removal of the seat is required. The spindle c may be continued
so as to form a guide for the valve.
Another part of my Invention relates to delivery or other valves made
of india-rubber, and is shewn in section at Fig. 4. The seat of the valve is
at a made concave, and to this is adapted the india-rubber valve b, which by
resting upon that form of seat will keep closer to the edge thereof when
closed than if flat, as in the ordinary construction. I also accomplish the
same object by using the ordinary flat seats, but adapting valves which have
been moulded into a concave form, the concave face being then secured
towards the seat the tendency will be to keep true thereto.
Another part of my Invention is shewn at Fig. 5, in which a represents

page_text: a central valve; around this I adapt a seat b, forming an annular opening,
upon which is placed an india-rubber valve c. I have shewn this arrange-
ment constructed upon the principle of the preceding part of my Invention,
but I do not confine myself thereto, as the annular valve may be provided
with the usual flat seat if desired.
Another part of my Invention relates to equilibrium valves, and consists
in such an arrangement that the points of contact between the valves and
their seats shall be in a vertical line, or parallel to the axes of the valve, or
nearly so, and by this construction areas of greater equality are obtained
for the steam to act upon.
A method of carrying out this principle is shewn at Fig. 6, in which a, b,
are the two seats, secured to the casing c by a screwed rod d. According
to another part of my Invention, previously described, the upper seat a is
formed as a knife edge upon which the valve e rests, and from thence it
extends downwards to the lower seat b, at which point there is also a
knife-edge junction. The valve e is shewn adapted to a rod f, and it is
guided in its vertical motion by wings, as at
formed upon
9,
the seats. It
will be perceived by reference to this arrangement that the surfaces for the
pressure of steam are necessarily equal, and it will also appear that the
valve may be removed by simply drawing it off the seats.
Another part of my Invention is also shewn at Fig. 6, in which the
slide valve box is shewn at h, upon which is cast the casing c for the
equilibrium valve acting in conjunction with the governor, which valve
may be of any ordinary construction, although that shewn in the Drawing
is according to my previously described improvement.
Another part of my Invention refers to safety valves, and the object
thereof is to ensure a determined area for the action of the steam. To effect
this, I assume that theoretically the point of contact between the valve and
the seat should be a line, and I therefore approach that as nearly as possible
by avoiding the extended surface usually employed.
The principle I adopt will be illustrated by reference to Fig. 7, in which
a is the seat, and b the valve, the latter (in this case) being furnished with
a knife edge for the point of contact. It will be evident that this edge may
be on the seat and the valve flat, and that it may be made as part of a
sphere, or more or less blunt, and yet that the essential character of my
Invention may be retained; I do not therefore confine myself to what may,
strictly speaking, be called a knife edge, but consider that I may vary the
same so long as the evident intention and spirit of iny Invention be retained.
The next part of my Invention refers to those boilers in which two fire-

page_text: places are used, and is shewn at Fig. . The fire bars are at a and the
bridges at b, behind each of which I place two vertical projections c, d, the
surfaces inclining so as to cause the products of combustion to be guided
from either side towards the contre, in which situation they mingle and
pass onward to the flues.
Another arrangement of furnace applies to those which are double and
situate beneath the boiler, as shewn at Fig. 10 and 11. and consists in
adapting two transverse projections a, between which the products of com-
bustion from the two furnaces b, c, pass, and at that point I admit air by
a downward current through a tube or tubes passing through the boiler,
as at d.
Another improvement in boilers relates to a method of mounting them
in brickwork. For this purpose I suspend them by means of suitable beams
resting upon the walls, so as to remove the weight or a portion thereof
from the under part which usually carries it.
Fig. 12 represents one method of accomplishing this. a are the walls
upon which are placed beams b, b, carrying the boiler by means of elongations
of the flue c.
Fig. 13 shews another method of carrying out this part of my Invention.
In this instance a beam a resting upon the walls crosses the boiler b, which
.it carries in the centre by means of a bolt and nut c, and this arrangement
is repeated longitudinally at suitable distances.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I desire it to be understood
that claim, as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,―
Firstly, as applied to stationary engines with vertical cylinders, the
application of the condenser as a base or foundation for the cylinder.
Secondly, in reference. to the aforesaid engines, placing the condenser
and air pump in such relative positions that the bucket or piston, the latter,
shall perform its stroke or the greater part thereof below the bottom of the
former.
Thirdly, in reference to injection apparatus, so constructing them that
the orifice or orifices through which the water immediately enters the
condenser may be contracted or enlarged at pleasure.
Fourthly, securing valves to their seats by a spindle or bolt and nut
passing through the centre thereof.
Fifthly, as applied to india-rubber valves, forming the seats for the same
concave, or moulding the said india-rubber valves of a concave form.

page_text: Sixthly, the use of india-rubber valves of an annular form.
Seventhly, as applied to equilibrium valves, so constructing them that
the points of contact between the valves and their seats shall be in a vertical
line or parallel to the axis of the valve spindle.
Eighthly, when equilibrium valves are used in connexion with the
'governor," casting the box or casing for the same upon the slide valve box.
Ninthly, in respect to safety valves, the method of constructing them
described in reference to Fig. 7, without confining myself to the precise
form so long as the evident intention and spirit of my Invention be preserved.
Tenthly, as applied to furnaces of boilers in which two fire-places are
used, the adaptation of two vertical projections, as described by reference
to Fig. 8.
Eleventhly, as applied to double furnaces situate beneath the boiler, the
adaptation of transverse projections and air tube or tubes, as aforesaid, and
shewn at Figures 10 and 11.
Twelfthly, the application of beams resting upon the walls for carrying
or supporting boilers.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Beckett Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
W. B. JOHNSON. (L.B.)