IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry James, of Camberwell, in the County
of Surrey, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
ENGINES."
Sealed the 18th December 1855, and dated the 4th September 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry James at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th September 1855.
I, WILLIAM HENRY JAMES, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS.
IN STEAM ENGINES" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, in generating steam (particularly very high
pressure steam) for the working of portable, locomotive, marine, and other
steam engines, by forcing or circulating water by means of force pumps (or
what I denominate heart pumps) through a long length or lengths of small
tube corrugated, similar to a single wire gridiron, or coiled circularly or spirally,
or otherwise configured, or through cellular vessels exposed to the direct
action of fire contained in fire grates underneath such tubes or vessels (the
whole being enclosed in suitable casings) into tubular or cellular vessels not
exposed to the action of fire, where the steam so generared is separated from
the water, the former then passing into tubular or cellular reservoirs for the

page_text: supply of the said engines, and the latter into other tubular or cellular reser-
voirs for re-supplying, together with any fresh water injected, the said steam-
generating tubes or vessels, for the purpose of continuing the requisite supply
of steam; the said fire grates and fire being at the same time, by means of
connecting machinery and guide rails, either removeable from underneath the
said steam-generating tubes or vessels, or the fire grates fixed in the casings
and the steam-generating tubes or vessels so jointed as to admit of their being
raised, or made to slide a sufficient distance from above or off the fire, by
means of connecting machinery, into recesses formed in the casings to receive
them, so as to afford the means of preventing the injurious action of the
fire upon them when the engines and water-forcing apparatus are not in
operation.
Secondly, in generating high-pressure steam from water contained in tubular
or cellular vessels not exposed to the action of fire, by means of small tubes
through which very hot water is made to circulate under heavily loaded valves,
the said tubes being made to pass downwards through the water contained in
such vessels, when made to pass from thence through an additional quantity of
water contained in vessels open to the atmosphere, for the purpose of prevent-
ing such small hot-water tubes from becoming overheated, and for promoting
the circulation of the water therein.
Thirdly, in generating high-pressure steam from water contained in tubular
or cellular vessels not exposed to the action of fire by means of steam of much
higher pressure, or by hot water and steam generated and made to pass and
circulate (by any of the methods of generating steam before described) through
small tubes passing downwards through the water contained in the said vessels,
any condensation water arising from the steam in such small tubes being made
to pass back into or through the generators from which it proceeds by the
force pumps or heart pumps before mentioned.
Fourthly, in the application of the tubular or cellular receivers or reservoirs,
when used as before mentioned, for affording strength, and for forming a portion
of the framework of such engines.
Fifthly, in refrigerating water derived from the boilers or generators of high-
pressure steam engines, by allowing such water, while subject to the pressure
of the steam in such boilers or generators or their adjuncts, to flow therefrom
through a long length or lengths of small tube immersed in water in open
vessels, or. exposed to currents of air passing to the fire or otherwise produced,
the water so refrigerated being employed for condensing the steam in such
engines, and then forced or made to pass back again, together with the water
arising from the steam so condensed, into such steam boilers or generators

page_text: for re-conversion into steam and for re-supplying the said refrigerating tubes,
as before.
Sixthly, in employing columns of water (contained in upright tubes or inverted
syphons connected with, or of which the cylinders of high-pressure engines
form a portion,) as a medium between the pistons in the cylinders of such
engines and high-pressure steam, when generated, as before described, for the
purpose of preventing injury to the packing of the said pistons from the great
heat of such high-pressure steam, and for communicating the requisite motions
to such pistons by the alternate admission and condensation thereof upon the
surfaces of such columns of water, 'such condensation being effected by the
injection of water derived and refrigerated; as before described, and then forced
back, together with the condensation water arising from the steam so con-
densed, into the said boilers or generators, to be used again as before
mentioned.
Seventhly, and lastly, in condensing high-pressure steam in the working
cylinders. of steam engines, by the injection therein of water derived and
refrigerated, as before described; alternately on either side of the pistons in
such.cylinders, while the steam from the boilers' is acting in' full force on the
other side of such pistons, such injection and condensation water being forced
back or made to return into the said boilers or generators to be used again,
as before mentioned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions. of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry James in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd March 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY JAMES, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign', did, for Herself, Hér heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Henry James, Her special licence that I, the said William
Henry James, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Henry James, 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

page_text: 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Henry James, 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 Henry James, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
My improvements in steam engines consist, firstly, in a method of generating
steam, whereby I am enabled to supply it with safety and economy at pressures
very far exceeding anything at present in use (say, from 100 to 500 lbs. upon
the square inch, or at much greater pressures if required,) for the working of
portable, locomotive, marine, and other steam engines, which I effect by forcing
or circulating water by means of double-acting force pumps (or what I have
denominated heart pumps, when so applied,) through a long length or lengths
of tube or pipe of small diameter, coiled or intertwined into flat or other
suitably-shaped interstitial masses, which are exposed to the action of fire in
furnaces, as hereafter described, the water so heated being made to pass from
thence through connecting pipes into receivers and reservoirs, which for the
sake of strength are also of a tubular or cellular structure, with their internal
passages of larger diameter or dimensions than the said steam-generating tube
or pipe, so as to allow of the convenient separation of the steam and water
while issuing therein, and of proper capacity for containing a sufficient store
of each for the effective working of the said engines, the former being con-
veyed from thence through pipes to the engines, and the latter through other
pipes back again to the said force pumps (or heart pumps), whereby it is again
driven into and through the said interstitial mass of steam-generating tube
or pipe, to be there again partially re-converted into steam, in conjunction with
any additional water otherwise injected or supplied, for making good the
deficiency caused by evaporation, and enabling the supply of steam to the
engines, as well as the circulation of the water, to be kept up and continued
as required, in conjunction and combination with certain effective methods,
hereafter described, of preventing the injurious action of the fire upon such
steam-generating mass of tubes or pipes when not employed for generating

page_text: steam, and when the water-forcing apparatus is not in operation and con-
sequently when the circulation of the water is not going on.
To elucidate these improvements, I will now, in the first place, describe
a simple arrangement and mode of constructing an apparatus of the kind
suitable for supplying with steam an ordinary portable high-pressure steam
engine, the exit steam from which is allowed to pass into the water supply
tank, or otherwise pass off to waste, (reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed.) I commence the construction of this apparatus by
rivetting to an iron formation plate, shewn in section at a, Figure 1, a
square frame of angle iron, to which I again rivet an upright rectangular
case of sheet iron b, put together also with angle iron (for the purpose
of strength), of sufficient height and capacity to contain a fire grate, shewn
in section by dotted lines at c, suspended within it, and at the same time
to serve as a deep ash-pit thereto. In one side of this iron case is a fur-
nace door d, for the supply of fuel, and an opening e below for the admission
of air, and for the cleansing out of the ash-pit. I next form a rectangular
frame of plate iron f, with a large central opening (similar to a flat picture
frame), of sufficient size for its outer edge to rest upon another frame of angle
iron rivetted to and surrounding the upper edges of the rectangular case,
through the substance of which frame of plate iron f, and contiguous to the
four corners thereof, I insert four small upright tubes, two of which are shewn
in section at g, g, within the space subtended; by which tubes, and to the
upper surface of this frame of plate iron f, at or near its centre, I also rivet
another frame of angle iron, and then commence forming the fire grate c, the
four sides of which I make of plate iron, which I slope inwards from above,
and either bend the lower edges of the plates so as to form an inward flange,
or rivet them to an internal frame of angle iron, for the bars h, h, h, of the
fire grate to rest upon; I next bend the upper edges of the fire grate out-
wards, or otherwise rivet them to an outside frame of angle iron, so as to form
an outward flange, the interior of which I make of the same size as the
central opening of the rectangular frame of plate iron f, before described,
against the under surface of which I make it fit accurately when raised up
against it; I then bolt or otherwise attach to the four corners of this upper
flange of the fire grate four small upright rods of iron, two of which are
shewn at i, i, to serve both as guide and suspension rods thereto; I then
introduce the fire grate into the said rectangular case 6, and pass the upper
ends of the said guide rods through the four small upright tubes of the
rectangular frame of plate iron f, which I slide downwards until it rests upon
the angle iron attached, as before stated, to the upper part of the rectangular

page_text: case b, to which I then bolt or rivet it, and also bolt or rivet the upper ends
of the several rods so projecting upwards to a square frame of bar iron j
surrounding the upper case (hereafter described), to the centres of two sides
of which frame of bar iron I attach, by means of two jointed connecting rods,
one of which is shewn at k, the two ends respectively of the fork of a forked
lever l, having an axis resting in bearings, fixed. in the ends of the fork of a
suitable upright stand or support m, attached to the lower ease 6, the opposite
end of which lever I so load by means of a weight n or spring as to rather
more than counterpoise the weight of the said fire grate and fire when placed
within it, so as at all times to keep the upper flange of the fire grate in close
contact with the under surface of the rectangular frame of plate iron f,'except
ing when the same is lowered more or less by means of the said lever / and
suspension rods i, i, into its deep ash-pit below, so.as.to allow the cold air to
pass around the fire grate and over the fire, instead of its being compelled to
pass through the bars and fire, as would be the case when kept in close
contact with the under surface of the rectangular frame of plate iron, as before
stated, and by which arrangement and a regulating. damper I am enabled to
diminish the action of the fire to any required degree upon the steam-gene-
rating tube or pipe when fixed above it, which I next prepare by taking a long
single length (or lengths united together endwise) of small wrought-iron pipe,
which I bend or otherwise configure into a rectangular interstitial mass of
coils or corrugations, an end view of which is shewn in dotted lines at o;
overlaying each other in such a manner as to admit of the flame and heated
gases of the fire in passing through them to the chimney to impinge upon the
largest surface practicable in a given space, which rectangular mass of tube or
pipe I construct of such a size as to subtend in every direction the opening in
the frame of plate iron f, fixed upon the top of the sheet iron case b, so as to
rest thereon within the frame of angle iron rivetted upon it; I next rivet or
otherwise fix to the inside of this frame of angle iron another upright rectan-
gular case of sheet iron p, with a cover and chimney pipe 9 on the top of it,
containing a regulating damper r, the latter being connected by the rods with
the counterpoised lever before mentioned. I so construct this upper case p as
to perfectly inclose within it the said mass of steam-generating tube or pipe as
it rests upon the inner edges of the frame of plate iron f, and so as to admit
of the two ends of such pipe passing through two corresponding apertures
formed in its side or sides for allowing of their extension to any required
distance, one end of which I connect with a double-acting force pump or
heart pump t, worked by the engine 1, for forcing and circulating water
through the said mass of tube or pipe, and the other end I carry downwards

page_text: cellular steam-
Figure 2, may
through the top of and into a large upright tube or cylindrical steam-tight
vessel or receiver v, where the water and steam in issuing downwards separate,
the steam passing from the upper part of the said receiver into a suitable
length of small coiled pipe w, to serve as a reservoir for containing a sufficient
store thereof for the use of the steam engine, which pipe may be enclosed in
a case to prevent waste of heat by radiation, and the water from the lower
part thereof into another similarly enclosed coiled pipe x, to serve a reservoir
thereof for supplying the force pump or heart pump t; or, in lieu of such
tubular vessels and pipes, and to serve the purpose of both, a
tight receiver and reservoir of cast iron, as shewn at letter g,
be employed; the deficiency of water caused by the escape to waste of a
portion or the whole of the exit steam of the engine being made up and
injected into the said receiver v from the water tank y, Figure 1, or any
other convenient source, by an additional force pump z, worked by the engine.
I may here mention, that the steam-generating tube or pipe o, fire grate c,
and outside casings b and p may be made circular, or of any other suitable
shape, instead of rectangular, as before described; and that instead of using one
long steam-generating pipe only, I sometimes connect the said force pump or
heart pump with several configured tubes or pipes exposed to the fire, which I
further connect jointly or singly to one or more tubular or cellular receivers
and reservoirs, though I generally prefer having a separate mechanical forcer
attached to each and every steam-generating tube or pipe so employed for
the purpose of compelling the water to pass uniformly through them. Like-
wise, instead of raising or lowering the fire grate and fire, as before described,
I sometimes make the outside casing, as shewn at a, Figure 2, sufficiently
large to allow of its being divided by a vertical partition 6 into two portions,
cach portion being connected with the chimney c, having a valve or damper d
so situated as to admit of either communication being opened or closed by it
at pleasure. In one portion of this casing I fix the steam-generating pipe or
pipes e, below which I let the fire grate f rest by its upper flange upon hori-
zontal guide rails, one of which is shewn at g, which extend into and across
the other portion of such casing, so as to admit of the fire grate and fire within
it being slid and withdrawn, by a suitable handle and rod h running through
the outside casing, as required, into such other portion thereof, for the purpose
of compelling the heat, vapour, and smoke (if any) to pass therefrom to the
chimney, so as entirely to exclude the steam-generating pipe or pipes from the
action of the fire; or instead of employing such guide rails, I sometimes hang
the fire grate to a vertical central hinge or axis, whereby to admit of such fire
grate and fire being removed from one portion of the casing to the other; or

page_text: otherwise, instead of having the steam-generating pipe or pipes fixed in the
said rectangular sheet-iron case, and the fire grate and fire removable, as
before described, I so construct the apparatus as to have the fire grate and fire
stationary, and the steam-generating pipe or pipes removeable from above the
fire, so as to afford the means of preventing its injurious action thereon when
the steam engine and water forcing apparatus are not in operation, and conse-
quently when the water has ceased to circulate through the said pipe or pipes;
for which purpose, when one steam-generating pipe only is employed, I take a
long length thereof, which I bend into the shape of a closely or doubly corrugated
single wire gridiron, as shewn at Figure 3, having its ends projecting on one
side at right angles, to serve as axes or hinges thereto when placed in suitable
bearings, which I fix in two apertures made in the upper case a, Figure 4,
opposite to each other, at a proper distance from the fire on one side of the fire
grate b, through which bearings I then pass the projecting ends of the said
pipe, to one end of which, on the outside of the case, I attach externally by a
collar a weighted bent lever c, to counterpoise the weight of such pipe, and to
enable me thereby to raise the same with facility from off the fire on its
tubular hinges d, and make it recline against the inside of the case, as shewn
by dotted lines e, or to deposit it in a suitable recess formed therein to receive
it, so as to allow the heat, vapour, and smoke (if any) from the fire to pass
direct to the chimney above without acting upon the said steam-generating
pipe, or of again lowering the said pipe upon or above the fire at pleasure;
and I wish it to be understood that the said steam-generating pipe or pipes
may be configured, so as to assume the shape of an interstitial mass or tubular
plate without confining it to the form of a gridiron, as such tubular mass or
plate may be constructed of a series of short pipes, with cubical ends laid side
by side, such ends being united together laterally, and every alternate pipo
being bent or raised centrally above the remainder, sufficient to allow the hot
air, vapour, or gases from the fire to pass under, against, and between them in
their way to the chimney, or of any other suitable forms that may be desired;
but I generally prefer using two (or more) of such corrugated or otherwise
configured pipes, as shewn at a, b, Figure 5, each having similar tubular side
hinges running through similar bearings fixed in the case on each side of the
fire, so as to admit of being raised or lowered at pleasure either above, off, or
on the fire, and upon or between each other, together or in succession, in such
a manner as to reduce the interstices through and between them to any
required degree, so as to afford the means, by the number of configured pipes
so employed, of exposing any required amount of surface to its immediate
action, in which latter method of using several such pipes their respective ends

page_text: may be so united together by branch pipes and conical steam-tight joints, that
one force pump or heart pump only may be sufficient for foreing or circulating
the water through them into a tubular, cylindrical, or cellular receiver, or into
several such recievers, as before mentioned, though I generally, for the reason
before stated, prefer employing a separate mechanical forcer to every pipe so
employed; or, I sometimes so unite the projecting ends of such steam-gene-
rating mass of pipe or pipes by tubular expanding and contracting compass
joints, as shewn at a, Figure 6, to the main inlet and exit passages, as to
admit of such mass being removed or withdrawn along horizontal guide rails
into a suitable recess b, formed in the case c to receive it; or otherwise I
sometimes suspend such steam-generating mass of tube over the fire by vertical
tubular axes on hinges formed of the ends thereof, which I connect respec-
tively with the inlet and exit passages by means of conical steam-tight joints,
so as thereby to allow of its being similarly removed at pleasure from one por-
tion of such case to the other, so as by either method completely to prevent the
action of the fire upon it. I should likewise mention, that instead of employ-
ing such steam-generating pipe or pipes so configured, I sometimes in lieu
thereof use cellular vessels for generating steam for working the said engines,
which I generally construct in the form of cellular plates, which I employ
either in conjunction with moveable fire grates underneath them, or with
tubular hinges attached to their corners on one side, and so connected with the
inlet and exit passages as to admit of their being raised or lowered at pleasure
by counterpoised levers from off, over, or on the fire, in a similar manner as
the steam-generating pipe or pipes before mentioned, sufficient spaces being
left between or formed through them to allow the hot air, vapor, or gases from
the fire, after having acted upon them, to pass freely to the chimney. I should
also mention, that I sometimes connect the counterpoised levers (which are
connected with the moveable fire grates or with the moveable steam-generating
pipes or cellular plates by rods and joints) with the governor of the engine,
for the purpose of raising or lowering the same as required, instead of so
moving them by hand, and that I occasionally use blowing or exhausting
machines for exciting the fire in connection with such modes of generating
steam, particularly when applied to locomotive purposes.
Secondly, my improvements consist in a method of generating high-pressure
steam for the working of steam engines, by passing hot-water pipes of much
higher temperature through water contained in vessels of a tubular, cylindrical,
or cellular structure, which are not exposed to the action of fire, in conjunction
with certain means of preventing the water being driven out of such hot-water
pipes through their safety valves, from any casual excess of fire, or from any

page_text: accidental want of water in the tubular, cylindrical, or cellular apparatus in
which the steam is generated, as supplied thereto, and regulated in the usual
manner by force pumps worked by the engines, which I effect as follows,
viz I construct, in the first place, a tubular (or cellular) vessel, as shewn
at a, Figure 7, to serve as a water heater when exposed to the action of fire
in a suitable furnace, having proper safety valves attached, which are loaded to
the requisite pressure, and with a pipe extending from the top of such water
heater to and downwards into and through water contained in a vertical steam-
tight vessel b, of a tubular, cylindrical, or cellular structure, leaving sufficient
space therein for steam, which as thereby generated is conveyed by the usual
appliances to the engine, and which vessel may be placed at any required dis-
tance from the fire, and the hot-water pipe c may be so coiled or twisted as to
admit of a considerable length of it being immersed in the water, for the pur-
pose of causing it to part with the principal portion of its caloric in generating
steam previous to its passing from thence into a vessel of comparatively cold
water d, open to the atmosphere, through which I likewise carry it in a coiled
or corrugated shape, so as thereby at all times to ensure its refrigeration to a
sufficient degree to prevent its being over heated, as before mentioned, pre-
vious to its being carried back and reunited to the tubular or cellular water
heater a, before described, to the bottom of which I have it connected for the
purpose of completing its circuit, and to admit of the circulation of the hot
water uniformly through it, which will naturally take place from the difference
of the specific gravity of the several portions thereof when so arranged; heated
and refrigerated, particularly if the vessels which are not exposed to the fire,
and through which the said hot-water pipe passes, are placed at a somewhat
higher level than the said water heater; or otherwise I sometimes cause the
circulation of the said water through the water heater and pipes by a force
pump or heart pump connected therewith and worked by the engine, as before
described under the first head of my improvements.
Thirdly, I sometimes also generate such high-pressure steam for the work-
ing of steam engines by means of steam pipes, or pipes through which steam
and hot water of much higher temperature are made jointly to pass or cir-
culate; viz., in the first place, through tubular or cellular generators or water
heaters (such as before described under the second head of my improvements),
and from thence through pipes in a downward direction into and through
water contained in tubular, cylindrical, or cellular steam-tight vessels not sub-
jected to the action of fire, similar to those also before mentioned under the
second head of my improvements), for the purpose of generating steam therein,
the condensation water arising from the steam condensed in the said pipes,

page_text: together: with any water so circulating through them, being made to pass
back: and re-circulate by return pipes through the said tubular or cellular
generators by means of force pumps or heart pumps connected therewith, in
connection also with the methods (before described under the first head of
improvements) for preventing the injurious action of the fire upon the tubular
or cellular generators.so employed..
Fourthly, in the application of the tubular, cylindrical, or cellular receivers
or reservoirs, when used as before mentioned, for affording strength to and
forming a portion of the framework of such steam engines, by the employment
of them as standards or bearers, to which other parts. of the framework.may
be attached for supporting the plummer blocks, crank shafting, or cylinders
thereof, or, when in the. form of cellular plates, to serve as foundation plates
or flooring upon and to which the general framework of the engines may be
attached.
Fifthly, in refrigerating water derived from boilers or generators, or their
adjuncts, while subject to the pressure of the steam therein, and in employing
the water so refrigerated in condensing the steam of steam engines, and in
forcing back and re-heating the water so employed, together with the water
arising from the steam so condensed, into the said boilers or generators, to
be there again re-converted into steam as before for the supply of the said
engines, and for re-supplying the pipes in which it is so refrigerated (as hereafter
described), and so on, continuously for any length of time (thereby preventing
the incrustation of boilers and saving the usual current supply of water for
effecting such condensation); which methods of refrigeration, condensation,
and of forcing back and re-heating the water, I will now (by way of example)
describe as being applied to an ordinary high-pressure steam engine, as shewn
at a, Figure 8, worked by an ordinary boiler b, (or by any of the steam generators
as herein-before described,) which I effect by causing a portion of the water
contained in such boiler b to flow from the lower part thereof through a small
pipe c attached thereto, which may be carried to any required distance, and
there made to pass in numerous coils or convolutions into and through water
contained in a tank or vessel d, the water in which tank may be continually
refrigerated, for the purpose of refrigerating the water in the said coiled pipe c,
so made to pass through it, by causing a portion thereof to circulate through
numerous small pipes e, e, e, e, uniting the upper and lower parts of a horizontal
passage running through the said tank or vessel d, and extending from thence
into the closed ash pit of the boiler furnace, against the external surfaces of
which pipe the cold air is caused to impinge in its passage to the fire, as
indicated by the arrows f, f, f, thereby refrigerating the water in the said pipes,

page_text: and causing its downward circulation through them; or the water therein may
(if preferred) be refrigerated by currents of air otherwise produced or applied.
The other end of which small coiled pipe c, conveying the water from the
steam boiler and so refrigerated, I connect to a small water engine 9, which
I fix in the same frame, so as to assist in actuating the same shaft as the
steam engine a, by means of a connecting rod and crank, such water engine g
being constructed precisely on a similar principle, with cylinder, slide, &c., as
an ordinary high-pressure engine, except in its having its inlet and exit
passages made somewhat larger than when actuated by steam. Now, for the
purpose of condensing the steam as it issues from the exit passages of the
steam engine, I cause it to pass into a separate steam-tight vessel or condenser
h, and after it has by its admission therein thoroughly expelled the air from
such condenser h through an exit valve i, or blow-cock attached thereto, I
cause the water so refrigerated, as it escapes through the exit passages of the
said water engine, to issue therein through a rose pipe j in a state of spray,
and there commingle with the exit steam, at the same time that I continually
withdraw the water so applied and produced by condensation through another
pipe from the lower part of such condenser h by a force pump 1, by which
also I force the same through the pipe m, m, and copper vessel n, fixed in the
exit pipe of the steam engine, having metallic conductors of heat attached
thereto externally, and also internally, if necessary, back again into the said
boiler, and that without any great loss of effect; as the power given out by the
water engine to the crank will be nearly equivalent to what is required for the
re-injection of its own water, the heat also of the exit steam upon the copper
vessel n and its metallic conductors previous to its full expansion, and when
consequently at a high temperature, will not only have the effect of propor-
tionately elevating the temperature of the water passing through it previous to
its re-injection into the said boiler, and thereby considerably economize the
fuel employed, but likewise will itself become thereby partially condensed in
its way to the condenser h; or otherwise I sometimes effect such condensation
of steam from the steam engine by allowing the water so refrigerated to pass
at once from the coiled pipe into the condenser h, its quantity being regulated
by a stop cock, and the water so admitted, together with the condensation
water being withdrawn therefrom and pumped through a copper vessel, as
shewn at n, back again into the said boiler by a force pump, in manner before
described, without the intervention of the said water engine, any surplus water
required for making up for any casual leakage being injected when necessary
by a small hand pump, not shewn in the Drawing, or otherwise supplied pre-
vious to the engine being put to work. I should here mention, that although,

page_text: for the sake of simplicity of construction, I have described these methods of
refrigeration and condensation as being effected by the employment of long
lengths of single pipe, it must be evident that several small pipes laid side by
side, or otherwise disposed and connected together, and similarly exposed to
the action of cold water, would answer the same purpose; and although I
have mentioned the employment of vessels of cold water refrigerated by
currents of cold air for refrigerating the water flowing through such pipe or
pipes, it must be also evident that such refrigeration might in many cases be
more simply effected, particularly when economy of fuel is not the main object,
by immersing the coils of pipe in any running stream, canal, pond, or other
large quantity of water, or merely by exposing a very large surface thereof to
currents of cold air alone, which latter simple method of refrigeration I should
generally employ in locomotive engine carriages and portable engines.
Sixthly, in employing columns of water as a medium between the working
pistons in the cylinders of high-pressure steam engines and the steam that
actuates them when generated by any of the methods herein-before described,
for the purpose of preventing the injury that might otherwise accrue to the
packing of the piston and piston rods from the heat of such high-pressure steam,
and as a medium also for communicating the requisite motions to such pistons
and the machinery connected with them, which engines may be then situated
at any desirable distance from the boilers or generators without thereby
incurring any additional loss of heat by radiation. Now, as regards the appli-
cation of this method of using high-pressure steam, for example, to a single
engine of moderate power, I generally employ a single open-topped cylinder of
small diameter in proportion to the power required, as shewn at a, Figure 9,
containing a piston with a strong piston rod, or having a solid or hollow
cylindrical plunger piston b working through a stuffing box on the top of the
cylinder, such as are generally used in pumps, together with its connecting rod,
crank, crank shaft, and powerful fly wheel c, and which cylinder I attach to or
make it form the upper portion of one leg of an inverted syphon d, filled with
water, and upon the top of the other leg I fit and fasten by nuts and bolts a
steam-tight cover e, in which I fix the small mouth pipe of a force pump f,
having its exit valve loaded or compressed by an internal spring g sufficiently
to assist the pressure of the water upon it, as derived and supplied thereto
through the pipe h, h, h, from the boiler, except when injected through it by
the said force pump, in which pipe there is a valve i for preventing its return
in that direction, such water being continually refrigerated previous to entering
the force pump, as before described in reference to Figure 8. For the
working of this pump, I have a lever j jointed to its piston rod k, its central

page_text: axis resting in bearings fixed in an upright standard. attached to the frame-
work, its opposite curved extremity being elevated by a small wheel or cam
attached to the crank or shaft of the engine at every revolution thereof,.so as
to cause a corresponding injection of the water by the said pump into the.leg
of the syphon also at every such revolution. There is a steam pipe at m pro-
ceeding from the boiler or generator to the upper part of this leg of the syphon,
in, which there is a steam cock n actuated by a connecting rod o, leading from
and worked by an excentric fixed on the main shaft of the engine, for admitting
the steam also at every revolution thereof into the said leg of the syphon, such
admission of steam and water being effected alternately. Now, upon the steam
being first admitted by the steam cock n upon the water in this leg of the
syphon, the latter would naturally be forced downwards, at the same time
causing it to rise in the other leg, and to press against the piston 6 in the
cylinder of the engine, thereby communicating motion in that direction to
the machinery connected with it until the piston arrives at the end of its stroke,
when, upon the steam so admitted being shut off by the steam cock n, and
condensed by a jet of cold water injected therein by the force pump, the piston
in the cylinder would then, by the reaction of the fly wheel, and the atmo-
spheric pressure upon it, be compelled to return downwards, thereby driving
the water back again into the other leg of the syphon, and at the same time
force the surplus water so injected and produced by the condensation of the
steam, or its equivalent quantity, back into the boiler or generator through a
pipe p leading from the upper part of the syphon thereto, in which there is a
valve 9 for preventing its return, and so on, at every return stroke of the engine.
But for the sake of obtaining a still more perfect rotative motion, and enabling
me greatly to reduce the weight of the fly wheel, I generally prefer using
two such small cylinders and pistons acting upon cranks, fixed at right angles
to each other upon the same shaft, with a corresponding duplication of the
other parts. I do, however, sometimes use double-acting cylinders worked
with high-pressure steam, with water as a medium, the cylinders in such case
forming, either horizontally or vertically, a portion of the said inverted syphons,
the piston rods being made to pass through stuffing boxes affixed therto, and
the steam admitted and condensed alternately upon the two columns of water
contained in the legs thereof, for giving a corresponding alternate motion to
the pistons, which also at every stroke force back the surplus water injected
and produced through pipes and valves from the said syphons into the boilers
or generators, as before described.
1
Seventhly, and lastly, in condensing high-pressure steam in the working
cylinders of steam engines, by the injection therein of water derived and

page_text: refrigerated, as herein-before described under the fifth head of my improve-
ments, alternately on either side of the pistons, while the steam is acting in full
force on the other side thereof, such injection and condensation water being
forced back into the said boilers to be used again, also before described. The
injection of which water, as applied by way of example to a single engine, as
shewn at Figure 10, I effect by means of two force pumps a, a, the exit valves
of which are loaded or compressed by internal springs b, b, sufficiently to resist
the pressure of the water within them as supplied from the boiler c, and
refrigerated in its passage to the said pumps through the pipe d, d, d, as before
described at Figures 8 and 9, which pumps are attached horizontally and
respectively to the ends of the horizontal steam cylinder e through stuffing
boxes, in which the piston rod f is made to pass, upon the ends of which piston
rod there are affixed two tappets g, g, which as the engine works are made to
strike alternately the square heads h, h, of the piston rods of the said pumps
just previous to the termination of each stroke of the piston in the steam
cylinder, so as to inject into the steam the requisite quantity of cold water to
produce instantaneously its partial or total condensation, at the same time that
the steam, which has been previously admitted by the slide valve i or steam
cock on the other side the piston, is acting in full force thereon, such
slide valve or steam cock being actuated by the connecting rod j and excentric
k fixed upon the main shaft of the engine, the water so injected and
produced by the condensation of the steam in the said cylinder being
driven by the piston just previous to finishing its stroke back again into
the said boiler through the passages 1, 1, and valves m, m, or rather by the
effect of any fresh steam at that time admitted, or of any uncondensed
steam remaining or purposely allowed to remain in the cylinder, and therein
sufficiently compressed by the piston to produce that effect, the quantity
of steam so allowed to remain uncondensed for that purpose being easily
regulated by the quantity of cold water injected. It will be necessary, how-
ever, when a slide valve is used for admitting the steam into the cylinder e,
that spring valves should be fixed in the steam passages n, n, thereof to prevent
any portion of the water being driven by the piston through such slide valve
into the main steam pipe o, instead of being forced thereby through the
pipes 7, 1, into the boiler; but when a steam cock is used for that purpose, as
applied at Figure 9, then such additional valves are not necessary. I should
here likewise mention, in reference to this last mode of using such high-pressure
steam, and to the preceding mode of so doing with the intervention of water,
or for the working of high-pressure engines generally, that when very great
power is required, as in the propelling of steam vessels at sea, &c. &c., that

page_text: instead of using large single or double cylinder engines as at present, I employ
a series of cylinders and pistons of small diameter, acting equiangularly in
succession upon a corresponding series of excentrics or cranks fixed upon one
main shaft, and supply these cylinders with steam by a corresponding series of
small boilers or generators, any one or more of which, or any one or more
of which cylinders, I so construct as to be capable of being disconnected at
pleasure from the remainder in case of leakage for effecting repairs, or for any
other required purpose, by means of stop-cocks fixed in suitable connecting
pipes, and by which divisional arrangement and application of high-pressure
steam, and according to the number of small cylinders and pistons and boilers
or generators so employed, engines of any required power may be constructed
of strength sufficient to withstand with safety any given amount of force or
pressure.
In conclusion, it may be proper also to state, that I generally employ coke
and charcoal or anthracite, either alone or in conjunction with any other
smokeless materials of an inflammable nature (though of course any other kind
of fuel may be used), for generating steam, as before described; for which
purpose also I employ pipes or vessels composed generally of the best wrought
iron, copper, or brass, and tubes or vessels of similar materials, for refrigerating
purposes, when subjected to very high pressure; but when not exceeding
the steam pressures of ordinary boilers, I then employ for such purposes of
refrigeration, leaden or pewter pipes in preference, in consequence of their
more convenient application.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry James, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
W. H. JAMES. (L.S.)