CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOE
SIDEBOTTOM, of Pendlebury, in the County of Lancaster, Manager, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Third day of January, in the thirteenth year of Her reign, and
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty, did, for Her-
self, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joe Side-
bottom, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Joe Sidebottom, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns, and such others as
I, the said Joe Sidebottom, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, 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 IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Joe Sidebottom, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of iny 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joe Sidebottom, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described

page_text: 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 the application of certain
apparatus in connection with the "governor" (or other such instrument
acting by centrifugal force), by which I am enabled to arrest the motion of
the engine more speedily and securely, in order to avoid the damage which
frequently occurs to machinery from a sudden alteration in the velocity of
the first mover; and also in apparatus connected with the " governor" (or
other such instrument acting by centrifugal force) intended to give notice to
the engineer when an undue increase or decrease in the speed of the engine
shall have taken place. The method for arresting the motion of the engine
consists in so arranging the connection of the "governor," or other such instru-
ment as aforesaid, with the throttle valve of the engine or with certain other
valves in connection therewith. That upon the engine having exceeded or
fallen below the desired velocity, the said throttle valve shall be wholly or in
part closed, independently of the ordinary action of the governor or other such
instrument as aforesaid, the same apparatus also being used for the purpose
of checking the engine by the admission of air into the air pump of low-
pressure engines, and also by the admission of steam into the working
cylinder by means of the blow valve or other passage suitable for effecting the
object. And in order that my Invention may be clearly understood, I have
appended to this my Specification certain Drawings, which I will now proceed
to describe.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of part of a steam engine, shewing my improvements
as applied to arresting the motion thereof upon an undue velocity having
taken place.
Fig. 2 is a detached view, partly in section, of some of the novel parts as
they would appear when looking towards the right-hand side of Fig. 1.
The " governor "A is connected in the ordinary manner to rods and
cranks a, a, a. The rod b, b, instead of being in direct communication with
the lever of the throttle valve, passes through a tube c, c, but is secured at
pleasure so as to move therewith by means of a tightening screw d, formed
upon a pulley e, as seen more clearly in the detached Fig. 2. To this pulley
one end of a chain f is attached, the other end being fixed to a short tube g,
which is capable of being moved vertically upon a fixed rail h, and retained
in any required position thereon by means of a tightening screw i. To the
tube c is jointed one end of a lever j, the other end thereof being mounted
upon a short shaft k, capable of vibrating in bearings attached to any con-
venient part of the engine. To the short shaft k is also affixed a lever 1, the

page_text: outward end thereof being attached to a rod m in connection with the throttle
valve of the engine, after the ordinary manner. By this arrangement, and the
various parts being as described, the governor, in its ordinary operation, will,
through the intervention of the rods and cranks a and b, cause the tube c to
move up or down, turning the short shaft k upon its centre, and thereby,
through the intervention of the lever l and rod m, regulate the position of the
throttle valve; but if the engine shall have attained a velocity above that at
which it is intended to move, then the increased action of the " governor"
will have caused the tube c, c, to descend so far that the chain f will become
distended, and the further descent of the tube will cause the said chain to
unwind from the pulley e, and in so doing will, by turning it round, loosen the
screw d. The tube c, c, will then be capable of motion independantly of the
rod 6, and will fall by its own gravity, turning the short shaft k upon its
centre, which motion will, by means of the lever l and rod m, close the throttle
valve, and thus arrest the motion of the engine. If desired, however, a stop
may be placed in any convenient position, so as to prevent the tube c and its
appendages from falling sufficiently far to entirely close the throttle valve.
The velocity at which the engine shall move before the tube c falls is deter-
mined by changing the position of the short tube g upon the rail h; that is to
say, by altering the arrangement of the chain f so as to allow it to become
distended and turn the tightening screw d, sooner or later, as desired; and I
would remark, that if found necessary, the tube c, c, may be weighted, so as
to insure a quicker descent thereof.
P,
Figs. 3 and 4 shew, upon a larger scale, a modification of my improvements.
In this instance the rod 6 (in connection with the rods and cranks a, a, as before
described) moves in a guide formed in a bracket n, extending from any con-
venient part of the engine, and carries a bell crank o, o, which turns freely
upon a centre pin. One arm of the bell crank lever o, o, is jointed to a bolt
which moves in a guide attached to the rod b, which bolt, during the ordinary
action of the apparatus, projects under a pin g attached to the lever i, such
pin moving in a slot formed in the rod b. The other arm of the said bell
crank lever is connected to a rod r, which moves in a slot formed in the
bracket n, and carries towards its lower end an adjustable stop pieces. By
this arrangement, and the various parts being in the position shewn in Fig. 3,
the whole apparatus will move together, according to the ordinary operation
of the governor; but upon the engine having attained a speed above that
determined upon, the adjustable stop s will have arrived in contact with the
fixed bracket n, and the rod r will be arresed in its descent, thus turning the
bell crank lever o upon its centre pin, and withdrawing the bolt p from under
the pin q. The lever will then turn upon the short shaft k, and carry down

page_text: with it the throttle valve rod m into the position shewn in Fig. 4, and thus
prevent a further admission of steam to the cylinder, or, by placing a stop, as
before mentioned, the throttle valve may be but partially closed. In order to
allow the ping to full through the slot q* the guide in the bracket n must be
so formed as to allow the rod b to vibrate sufficiently therein.
Fig. 5 shews in a detached partial view an arrangement of apparatus similar
to that firstly described, but suited so as to come into operation when the
engine is moving too slowly, as well as at such time when the velocity is too
high. This apparatus is intended chiefly to be applied to engines which are
driving machinery the rate of working of which is of much importance. In
cases where it is better that the operation of the machinery should entirely
cease, rather than proceed at a greatly diminished rate, the action of this
apparatus is precisely similar to that already described, excepting that two
chains ff, are attached to the pulley e, the one f being designed to loosen
the screw d, as before mentioned, the other to perform the same office
when the engine shall have slackened too much in speed, and the tube c have
consequently ascended beyond a certain point. I have mentioned this appa-
ratus as placed in connection with the ordinary throttle valve. It will be
evident, however, that the rod m, m, may be connected to a valve which shall
admit air to the condensor of a steam engine, in order to arrest the motion
thereof, and also that, if desired, it may, for the like purpose, operate upon
the ordinary blow valve or other similar contrivance for admitting steam into
the working cylinder. I would also remark, that although I have shewn in the
Drawings a "governor" of the ordinary construction it will be evident that
any arrangement of instrument acting by centrifugal force may be employed.
Another part of my Invention consists, as before stated, in giving notice to
the engineer of an undue increase or decrease in the speed of the engine.
This apparatus I have shewn in the Drawings, for convenience sake, in con-
junction with my other improvements. It will be obvious, however, that it
may, if desired, be used alone. In Fig. 1 the bell crank rod a, a, is bent
down into the form shewn at a*, a*, a*, and is provided with adjustable
tappets t, t, which act at certain times against levers u, u, which extend from
an ordinary spring box, such as is used in the hanging of house bells. From
this spring box a wire v extends in the ordinary manner of such apparatus,
and may be conveyed to any required situation at which it is desired to place
the bell. Upon the engine acquiring an undue velocity one of the adjustable
tappet t, t, will pass its corresponding lever u, turning the said lever by so
doing upon its centre of motion, and thus ringing the bell. The same effect
tappett upon its
will also take place by the backward action of the other
corresponding lever when the speed of the engine shall have fallen below the
-

page_text: determined speed. The tappets t, t, are adjustable upon the rod a, a*.
The rate of speed, therefore, allowed to the engine without giving alarm may
be readily governed by shifting them upon the rod a, a*. Instead of being
connected with a bell, the wire v, v, may be caused to operate by means of
suitable connection, so as to give notice by a steam whistle or other such
alarm.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not.
confine myself to the precise form of parts or arrangements above described.
But that which I claim as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters
Patent is, so connecting the "governor," or other construction of instrument
acting by centrifugal force) of steam engines, with a throttle valve, that upon
an undue velocity being attained the action of the said "governor," or other
such instrument, shall immediately cause the steam passage to be partly or
wholly closed, beyond the control of the ordinary operation of the " governor
or other such instrument.
And I also claim the use of the like apparatus for the purpose of checking
or stopping the engine by admitting air into the condensor, or by introducing
steam into the working cylinder through the blow valve or other similar
passage.
I also claim the application of the ordinary motion of the "governor," or
other such instrument, to the purpose of ringing a bell, or of otherwise giving
alarm, upon an undue velocity of the engine taking place.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joe Sidebottom, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the First day of July, One thousand eight hundred