Charles. T. Porter; Porter-Allen Engine Co. - Assigned Patents

Manufacturers Index - Charles. T. Porter; Porter-Allen Engine Co.

Charles. T. Porter; Porter-Allen Engine Co.
New York, NY; Newark, NJ, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class: Steam and Gas Engines

Patents

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Patent Number	Date	Title	Name	City	Description
11,492	Aug. 08, 1854	Stone-dressing machine	Charles T. Porter	New York, NY	Improvements to Elbridge G. Hastings' patent 10,636. Charles T. Porter was a lawyer who was hired by Hastings, and Hastings ended up giving Porter a half-interest in patent 10,636 as payment for services. Porter, who had no prior training or experience as a mechanic, realized that Hastings' design had some good ideas but was not yet practical. Porter learned mechanics and technical drawing on the fly and then made improvements to Hastings' design; this patent is the result. Porter discovered that their stone-dressing machine was producing a rippled surface due to the poor speed regulation of the steam engine driving the machine; Porter went on to design a new steam-engine governor, patent 20,894. Porter would become the most important designer in the emerging field of high-speed steam engines.
14,991	May. 27, 1856	Operating slide-valves for steam-engines	John F. Allen	New York, NY	The inventor would become partner in the important innovator in high-speed steam engines, the Porter-Allen Engine Co. This patent precedes that venture.
16,781	Mar. 10, 1857	Improvement in cut-offs for steam-engines	John F. Allen	New York, NY	The inventor would become partner in the important innovator in high-speed steam engines, the Porter-Allen Engine Co. This patent precedes that venture.
20,768	Jun. 29, 1858	Valve-gearing for steam-engines	John F. Allen	New York, NY	The inventor would become partner in the important innovator in high-speed steam engines, the Porter-Allen Engine Co. This patent precedes that venture.
20,894	Jul. 13, 1858	Governor for steam-engines	Charles T. Porter	New York, NY	This important refinement of the Watt governor uses smaller weights plus a "counterpoise" that mostly counteracts the force of the rotating weights. These two features combine to allow the governor to spin much faster than would a tradition Watt governor. The faster-spinning governor experienced relatively less friction, and the higher speed increases the change in force created by a change in speed, enabling the governor to more precisely regulate the speed. The 1866-02-16 British publication The Mechanics' Magazine had an illustrated ad for "Porter's governor for stationary engines". The illustrated governor differs in appearance from this patent drawing but it contains the key features of this Porter governor patent, i.e., smaller weights plus a counterpoise mechanism. The patent model survives and is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution: see link. A biography of Charles Talbot Porter in the November 1924 International Steam Engineer (Volume XLVI Number 5 pages 419-422) says that his improved governor was motivated by an earlier invention of an improved stone-dressing machine; the steam engine he was using had a rhythmic speed variation which led to a wavy surface in the stone, which considerably diminished the effectiveness of his stone dresser. His solution was to reduce the weight of the balls from 36 to 1 lb., and increased its speed from 50 to 300 RPM. The article further described how Porter manufactured his governor at a shop on 13th street in New York. Finally, the article notes that Porter's governor was successful for several years but was eventually rendered obsolete once compound steam engines became dominant, as Porter's governor was not suitable for multistage engines.
RE740	Jun. 21, 1859	Improvement in governors for steam-engines	Charles T. Porter	New York, NY
32,583	Jun. 18, 1861	Centrifugal governor for steam-engines	Charles T. Porter	New York, NY
35,068	Apr. 29, 1862	Steam-engine	John F. Allen	New York, NY	The inventor was partner in the important innovator in high-speed steam engines, the Porter-Allen Engine Co.
35,069	Apr. 29, 1862	Improvement in slide-valves for steam-engines	John F. Allen	New York, NY
35,070	Apr. 29, 1862	Improved link-motion for steam-engines	John F. Allen	New York, NY
35,071	Apr. 29, 1862	Improved valve-gear for steam-engines	John F. Allen	New York, NY
36,695	Oct. 21, 1862	Improvement in valve-gears of steam-engines	John F. Allen	New York, NY
52,810	Feb. 27, 1866	Improved apparatus for punching	John F. Allen	New York, NY
72,582	Dec. 24, 1867	Handsaw	John F. Allen	New York, NY	Handsaw with two separate cutting planes. Forward teeth cut the side of the dovetail and upon reaching the desired depth the blade is inserted further to cut the bottom of the dovetail. The inventor was co-founder of the firm that pioneered the high-speed steam engine, Porter-Allen Engine Co.
73,069	Jan. 07, 1868	Improvement in valve-gear	John F. Allen	New York, NY
76,580	Apr. 14, 1868	Improvement in steam-generator	John F. Allen	Tremont, NY
76,581	Apr. 14, 1868	Improvement in decarbonizing iron	John F. Allen	Tremont, NY
95,868	Oct. 19, 1869	Improvement in steam-engine slide-valves	John F. Allen	Tremont, NY
117,682	Aug. 01, 1871	Improvement in bearings for machinery	Charles B. Richards	Hartford, CT	This invention represented a significant improvement in steam engine indicators and was an enabling technology for the development of high-speed steam engines. Richards seems to have sold the rights to Charles Talbot Porter, who in turn sold the rights to Elliott Brothers. That firm reportedly manufactured over 10,000 indicators over the next decade and then sold the rights to Hannan & Buchanan of Glasgow. Elliott Brothers had been paying Richards a 10% royalty based on a verbal agreement; when Hannan and Buchanan discovered that the agreement was not in writing, they refused to pay any royalties at all. Once the patent expired, it seems that Porter arranged for instrument maker Louis Casartelli of Liverpool to continue manufacturing Richards indicators. This continued into the first decade of the 20th century. J. W. Thompson's 1875 patent 167,364 was an improvement on Richards' patent,
167,865	Sep. 21, 1875	Improvement in balanced valves	John F. Allen	New York, NY
201,197	Mar. 12, 1878	Improvement in journal-boxes	Charles T. Porter	Montclair, NJ
RE9,303	Jul. 20, 1880	Balanced valve	John F. Allen	Brooklyn, NY
242,976	Jun. 14, 1881	Base-plate for horizontal engines	Charles T. Porter	Philadelphia, PA	The inventor was the creator of the Porter-Allen high-speed steam engine, which was manufactured by Southwark Foundry.
368,422	Aug. 16, 1887	Valve for steam-engines	Charles T. Porter	New York, NY
391,916	Oct. 30, 1888	Steam-engine	Charles T. Porter	Schenectady, NY
517,983	Apr. 10, 1894	Steam-engine	Charles T. Porter	Montclair, NJ	The inventor was the creator of the Porter-Allen high-speed steam engine, which was manufactured by Southwark Foundry.
189,407,140	Dec. 29, 1894	Improvements in steam-engines, and in cylinders, governors, and valve motions therefor, and in provisions for lubricating the same	Charles Talbot Porter	Montclair, Essex County, NJ