Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-03-28
LOCAL INVENTORS.
Two Ottumwans Claim to Have
Made Important Discovery.
A PHYSICIAN AND An ATTORNEY
DR.. Nelson A. Baker and Attorney W..
w. Rankin Claim to Have Invented
Device Which Will Revolutionize
the Mechanical World.

A heretofore unknown mechanical
appliance has been invented by an ct
tumwa man and it is said, bids fair to
reYolutlonize the manner of construct
ing engines. Engineers of ability
nave examined the mechanism and
say the inventor has within his grasp
fortune Firms who build engines
have examined the plans and have
fairly flooded the inventor and paten-
tee with offers to purchase it. The
latter, however, prefers to build fac
tory in Ottumwa, and manufacture tha
appliance which has long been sought
by engineers in vain endeavor to
conserve power
The inventor is physician, Dr. Mel
son A. Baker, of this city, and inter
ested with him is w. w. Rankin. DR..
Baker interspersed with his medical
practice has found recreation in a
study of mechanics. He first began
about ten years ago making working
models of new and original pieces of
machinery or else improvements upon
old principles. a few years ago he
conceived the idea that energy gener-
ated in boiler and applied to an en-
CINE could be made to perform more
and better service with less waste of
power. Perfectly understanding the
working of an engine and where
the fault lay he began working
upon practical plan to remedy the
difficulty. A few months ago his IF.
forts were crowned with success. He
obtained letters patent upon his ap-
pllance few days ago after hard
legal --ght before the commissioner of
patents with another inventor whose
appliance, it has been decided, is in
no way like DIR. Bakers. A descrip-
tion devoid of technicalities follows:
gain of ~ Ali per cent power by
abolishing the dead center" by a
continuous upper and lower drive no
on the verge of the wheel for it's en-
tire revolution.
A gain of per cent to Is per cent
OF power by doing away with the dag
onal stroke of the driving bars or put
man rods of an engine or other ma
chinery.
1t renders unnecessary one half of
the steam machinery of a locomotive
or traction engine or wherever two
pistons are used because of a dead
center"
IL 'SSoiS co Sludi pressure IOr CEe Ell
tire revolution of the driving wheel or
shaft, thus avoiding the lost energy
and strain of dead center" action and
the "hold-up" of the piston at the dead
center points, so securing smoother
run and greater speed and power gen
orally.
1t saves fuel (coal) to the extent
that it saves power.
1t increases the earning CAPACITY
OF locomotive and the power of any
engine by about Al per cent SO that
an engine that will haul 80 cars bv
devices now in use will haul AZ cars
with this new device.
The automatical mechanical device
or part prevents the troublesome
slip OF the eccentrics" in devices Cor
reversing now in use, and also renders
the eccentrics unnecessary, and avoids
great strain of the present devices
when throwing her over against a full
head of steam"
The engine where the new device is
used can be stopped or started at any
point with equal facility without
either a second piston" or quarter
ing rods since it has no dead center"
to make them necessity as they are
IN al other propelling devices