matthewleechen/300YearsOfBritishPatents huggingface dataset:
IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF MANURES
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Johnson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th June
1855. A communication.
I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow,. in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF MANURES," a communication from
abroad, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the dissolving or reduction of all kinds of animal
matter, such as hair, wool, silk, skin, or rags, and the refuse of these several
substances; also feathers, fish, flesh, membranes, fibrine, horn, hoops, and other
animal products, by the agency of caustic alkali and caustic lime, for the
purpose of obtaining manures or fertilising matters therefrom. The animal
matters to be thus operated upon arc treated with the alkaline solution in a
boiling condition, and either with or without the additional aid of steam pressure.
The animal matter in the solution or reduced mass thus obtained is precipitated
by the agency of a salt or acid, such as muriatic acid, in which bones have been
dissolved. The gelatinous remains of the bones may also be added, as also
bone ash, phosphates, dung, sea weeds, ferns, and water weeds (anachoris),
for the purpose of solidifying the precipitated matter and rendering it suitable

page_text: as a manure. The coke from what is commonly known as the Boghead or
Torbane Hill mineral or coal, or other Parrott coal, may also be thus
employed. The refuse of leather or tanned skins carbonised by fire or by the
action of concentrated sulphuric acid may also be similarly employed in the
manufacture of manure.
AN IMPROVED COMBINED CAKE-CRUSHING, OAT-BRUISING, AND BEAN-SPLITTING MILL
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Selby Hand at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th September
1855.
I, SELBY HAND, of Glinton Iron Works, Glinton, in the County of
Northamptonshire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED COMBINED CAKE-CRUSHING, OAT-BRUISING, AND BEAN-SPLITTING
MILL," to be as follows:-
My Invention of an improved combined cake-crushing, oat-bruising, and
bean-splitting mill consists in the combination of apparatus for effecting the
bruising of oats, crushing oil cake, and splitting beans in one and the same
machine, which may be driven by hand, and so arranged that either one of
those operations may be carried on at one time, or the whole thrown into
simultaneous operation.
I provide two suitable side frames, between which the bruising rollers or
cylinders and the cake-crushing instrument are placed. One of the oat-
bruising rollers is placed on the main or driving shaft on which the winch handles
are placed, the other roller being mounted at the same level. The splitting mill
is placed on the main shaft, the running surface being fixed thereon, while
the stationery splitting surface being fixed to one of the side frames concentric

page_text: with the main shaft. A suitable hopper and duct is provided to contain and
conduct the beans between the splitting surfaces. The cake-crushing instru-
ments are driven from the main shaft by reducing toothed gear, the two
instruments being connected to each other by equal wheels. The different
apparatuses are arranged so that they can be readily thrown into or out of
gear, so that either one of them can be actuated independently of the others,
or any two placed in operation, or the whole three simultaneously.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING FABRICS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Oxley at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th September
1855.
I, WILLIAM OXLEY, of the City of Manchester, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR WASHING FABRICS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in washing fabrics or other substances by steam and
water in a steam and water-tight revolving drum or cylinder, with a door or
doors for the admission and taking out of the materials to be washed. The
drum or cylinder is supported by two trunnions on a frame, one of which has
one or more passages for steam and water, so contrived that the steam shall
pass through the water in the cylinder, and among the materials to be washed;
and the other is also provided with one or more passages for carrying off the
vapour and excess of steam. The drum or cylinder is also provided with one
or more open partitions to divide it into compartments which revolve with the
drum; these partitions allow the water to pass freely through without letting
the clothes or other materials to be washed pass through them.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SURFACES USED FOR PRINTING
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Goodyear at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st July 1855.
-Partly a communication.
I, CHARLES GOODYEAR, of 25, Avenue Road, St. John's Wood, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SURFACES USED FOR PRINTING" to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to apply hard manufactures, produced
by compounding india-rubber and sulphur, with or without other matters,
whether in printing from surfaces or plates. For this purpose, when the
printing is to be from raised surfaces, moulds of metal or other suitable mate-
rial are prepared, according to the raised letters or devices which are intended
to be printed from; and then a compound of india-rubber and sulphur, with
or without other matters, preferring to use at the rate of about one part by
weight of sulphur to two parts by weight of india-rubber, is introduced into
such moulds and pressed therein, and then subjected to high temperatures, in
order to obtain the change into hard material; or blocks being first formed,
may be cut to produce the printing surfaces thereon. And when for intaglio

page_text: printing, blocks or plates of the material first prepared with smooth surfaces
may be engraved in like manner to copper or other metal plates; and when
for similar printing to lithography, a compound of india-rubber, sulphur, and
powder of lithographic stones or oxide of zinc subjected to high temperature
is used.
AN IMPROVEMENT IN POWER LOOMS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Walker at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th April 1855.
I, GEORGE WALKER, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Spinning Manager,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
POWER LOOMS" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in a means of stopping the loom when a warp end
breaks. To each warp thread I connect a weight; these weights are kept in
position by a frame or bar, which remains stationary so long as the threads and
weights remain in their position. Immediately under this frame is another
frame or bar, which is made to move backwards and forwards while the loom
is in motion. As soon, however, as a warp end breaks, the weight connected
to it falls partly into the lower frame or bar, which thereby communicates its
sliding motion to the upper bar, and this bar, being connected with a belt lever
spring, throws the belt on a slack pulley, and thus stops the loom.
AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COOKING. PURPOSES, AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PRODUCTION OP FRESH WATER FOR SHIP AND LAND USE
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Graveley, of 40, Upper East Smith-
field, in the Parish of Saint Botolph Aldgate, in the County of Middlesex,
Ship's Fire Hearth Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR COOKING. PURPOSES, AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PRODUCTION
OP FRESH WATER FOR SHIP AND LAND USE."
Sealed the 5th October 1855, and dated the 4th June 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Graveley
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th June 1855..
I, WILLIAM HENRY GRAVELEY, of 40, Upper East Smithfield, in the Parish
of Saint Botolph Aldgate, in the County of Middlesex, Ship's Fire Hearth
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COOKING PURPOSES, AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PRODUC-
TION OF FRESH WATER FOR SHIP AND LAND USE," to be as follows, that is to say:--
Firstly, in arranging and erecting an apparatus for the purpose of cooking,
which is especially adapted for ship use, and in such manner as to economise
by distributing more effectually the given amount of heat obtained by the
combustion of fuel to the various cooking parts thereof, and in constructing-
the said cooking apparatus in such manner as to provide when necessary a

page_text: given amount of heated atmospheric air or steam, for the purpose as herein
given as the second part of my Invention, which is as follows:-In the produc-
tion of fresh water for ship and land use, by means of an improved distilling
apparatus, arranged so as to combine the advantages of distillation and cooking
by the one opperation or seperately when required, and so constructed as to
provide a much greater quantity of wholesome fresh water that can be obtained
by the ordinary methods of distillation. For the above purpose I use any
description of salt or sea water, or other solutions from which fresh pure water
can be extracted, and by means of steam or heated air, so regulated and
supplied from the first part of my Invention (as herein given), or from any
other convenient scource, as to cause the same to evaporate into proper
recepticles under a low pressure of atmosphere, by which means I am enabled
to condense more rapidly a pure aeriform vapour into wholesome fresh water
for all purposes for which it may be required.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOISTENING OR DAMPING WOOLLEN OR OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS FOR FINISHING
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Patterson and George
Patterson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 3rd October 1855.
We, WILLIAM PATTERSON, Millwright & Engineer, of Batley, and GEORGE
PATTERSON, Mechanic, of Sowerby Bridge, in the County of York, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR MOISTENING OR DAMPING WOOLLEN OR OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS
FOR FINISHING," to be as follows:-
We use a revolving cylinder, the surface of which is partially formed of wire
gauze or similar substance in spiral lines or strips, so as to form a partially
perforated surface, which cylinder we supply with water or other liquid, for
damping or moistening the fabric, and we regulate the quantity of moisture
so applied by means of a perforated tube or bar capable of sliding in or out,
so as to extend and contract the surface of the fabric, and thus expose more
or less of it to the action of the water thrown off the cylinder, instead of
varying the distance of the fabric from it, as hitherto done; and instead of the
cutting apparatus now used, we use a pair of rollers to draw the fabric, and a
rotating cranked shaft to fold it.
IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRO-COATING METALS OR ALLOYS OF METALS WITH OTHER METALS OR ALLOYS OF METALS
Year: 1855

page_text: This Invention received Provisional Protection, out nov
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Francis Puls at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th October 1855.
I, FRANCIS PULS, of Soho Square, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRO-COATING METALS OR ALLOYS OF METALS WITH OTHER METALS OR ALLOYS OF
METALS" to be as follows (that is to say) :-
My Invention, which has reference to the coating or covering of any articles
composed of metals or alloys of metals with the surface of another metal or
metallic alloy, of any description that may be required, for various useful.
purposes, by the agency of electricity, is carried into effect as follows:-
I construct galvanic batteries of any suitable description, in which the posi-
tive plates consist of the metals or alloys of metals with which the articles are
to be coated.
I employ for exciting fluids such acids or mixtures of acids in a diluted state
as may be found suitable in each instance to the metals operated on, as, for
example, diluted sulphuric, nitric, or hydrochloric acids, or a mixture of the
same, and I place the batteries thus formed and furnished with exciting fluid
in a suitable trough, in conjunction with the articles to be coated, and so
adjusted that the solution of the metals or alloys of metals obtained from the
positive plates of the battery can freely pass to the articles to be coated there-
with, and thereon deposit the said substances through the agency of the electric
current created by the same batteries.
AN IMPROVEMENT IN PISTONS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by David Joy at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th January
1855.
I, DAVID JOY, of Worcester, in the County of Worcester, Engineer, do
5 hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
PISTONS to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in cutting a spiral groove of about three turns
round the piston, into which I fit a spirally wound rod of brass, which, from its
elasticity, forms a tight packing.
AN IMPROVEMENT IN PUMPS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Richard Archibald Brooman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
July 1855. A communication.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN PUMPS," (communicated to me by a foreigner residing
abroad,) to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in making the barrel, piston, valves, and passages
of pumps of gutta percha, solidified caoutchouce, or other similar material.
Pumps so constructed are especially applicable for lifting and forcing corrosive
fluids, as the gutta percha will resist their action.
AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CONGREVE OR LUCIFER MATCHES
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Alexander Bell and John
Black at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 18th January 1855.
We, SAMUEL ALEXANDER BELL and JOHN BLACK, of Bow Lane, Cheapside,
in the City of London, Vesta Light Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CONGREVE OR LUCIFER MATCHES" to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the manufacture of congreve or
lucifer matches, and to effect a saving in the quantity of igniting composition
employed in such manufacture. These advantages we obtain by tapering or
pointing that end of the match which is to receive the composition. When so
tapered we are enabled to dip the matches in bundles into the composition
without requiring to use the clamp frame, which is now commonly employed
for holding the matches apart from each other, and the labor of arranging them
in the frame is consequently avoided. The surface to be coated being greatly
reduced by the tapering or pointing of the match, a less amount of composition
than heretofore will be required for covering the end of the match.
AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING SODA AND SULPHURIC ACID
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Barrow, junior, at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th December
1855.
I, JOHN BARROW, junior, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING SODA AND SULPHURIC
ACID" to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists in the use of manganese, or any of its several
oxides, instead of lime or limestone, in the ordinary "black ash" furnace, by
which I obtain a ball containing soda in combination with more or less
carbonic acid, and manganese in combination with sulphur. From this
"black ball," by lixiviation in the ordinary manner, I obtain the soda compound
in solution, and the greater portion of the sulphuret of manganese as an
insoluble residue. The soda solution I evaporate to dryness in the ordinary
manner, and mix it with any carbonaceous matter in a reverberatory furnace;
which product I again dissolve, and either crystallize or evaporate to dryness,
obtaining either the common soda crystal or the soda ash of commerce. The
sulphuret of manganese, after drying, I place in either a "chamber," "burner,"

page_text: or "furnace," and apply heat to it in the presence of atmospheric air, by which
I obtain the sulphur in combination with oxygen, as sulphurous acid available
for the production of sulphuric acid by the ordinary method. The residue, after
burning this sulphuret of manganese, I find to be an oxide of manganese,
available for the production of chlorine, or for further use in the black ash
furnace. I therefore claim, as my discovery, the use of manganese or any of
its several oxides as a substitute for lime, in the ordinary decomposition of
sulphate of soda in the "black ash furnace." And I also claim the use of the
sulphuret of manganese, so obtained, for the production of sulphurous and
sulphuric acid.
AN IMPROVED GOVERNOR FOR STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bell-
ford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 10th September 1855.-A communication.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 32, Essex Street, Strand,
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for AN IMPROVED GOVERNOR FOR STEAM ENGINES," a communication, to be as
follows; and consists of a float resting on a column of water in a vessel into
which it is pumped by the engine. To the float is attached a rod commu-
nicating with the throttle valve or cut-off. The vessel has an escape opening,
fitted with a flap valve, which is acted on by a variable inclined piece, capable
of adjustment by set screws. When the engine works at the desired speed,
the flap valve will open just wide enough for the escape of the water pumped
into the vessel, & allow the float to remain stationary; but when the velocity of
the engine increases, the water being pumped in faster, will cause the float to
rise, carrying up with it a rod, to which the variable inclined piece is attached,
& which, being thus brought in contact with the flap valve, tends to close it, &
cause the float to rise still faster, so that its action on the cut-off' be very quick.
When the velocity of the engine is diminished, the level of the water in the

page_text: vessel begins to descend, the float falls, removes the obstruction to the opening
of the escape valve caused by the contact of the inclined piece, the valve opens
to facilitate the escape of water, the float descends, & causes a greater supply
of steam by opening the throttle valve or cut-off.
IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Gedge at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th July 1855.-
A communication.
I, JOHN GEDGE, of No. 4, Wellington Street South, Strand, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS," communicated to me by Paul Legreze
and Auguste Andrien, of Castres, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
Pumps as at present used, whether suction, forcing, or double-action, are
obnoxious to several objections, their construction being an expansive combi-
nation of parts, and the continual repairs required adding materially to the
original cost. I propose to obviate this by constructing a pump in a most
simple manner, by making the body of the pump and both the upper and
lower boxes of one piece in cast iron; above and below these boxes are to be
placed receivers or bottles, which communicate with the suction and ascen-
sion pipes. Air is intercepted by valves or plates of caoutchouc, which are
placed on the body of the pump; these receive the cover or lid; the piston, a
brass rod, working with a cylinder of lead, made somewhat hollow at its outer
periphery, which is surrounded with caoutchouc, which not only clasps it, but
impinges on or against the interior casing or sides of the body of the pump.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF DIES AND MATRICES, PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE PRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Offico
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th October
1855. A communication.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF DIES
AND MATRICES, PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE PRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES,"
a communication from abroad from M. Beslay, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improved systems or modes of forming
metallic dies and matrices and printing surfaces, whereby the same may be
reproduced or multiplied to any desired extent with great facility and economy.
For the production of a die or matrix for stamping purposes a thin plate,
having the desired device formed upon it either by the electrotype process or
by stamping, is placed at the bottom of a mould, and an alloy of metal is then
poured in over it, so as to form one solid die or matrix. The nature of the
alloy will depend on the metal of which the plate forming the subsequent face
of the die is composed; if a copper plate is used, the alloy employed will be
brass, but if the plate be of wrought iron, the metal subsequently poured on to
it may be cast iron simply, in place of an alloy; but in all cases the plate

page_text: becomes perfectly soldered or united to the melted metal poured over it, which
gives the die the requisite strength necessary for whatever purpose it may be
employed. For the production of copper-plate printing surfaces the design
is obtained from an engraved plate by the electrotype process, and the plate so
produced is strengthened, as herein-before described, by pouring a suitable alloy
over the back of it.
According to another process, the plate may be obtained at once by the
electrotype process from a glass or other transparent 'surface, which has been
coated with a varnish capable of resisting the action of acids; & in which
varnish the design to be reproduced is traced with a fine point, so as to expose
the glass. Inlaid work may also be produced by depositing the copper over
pearls, mother-of-pearl, stones, or other similar substances; a plate so formed
serving either for the electrotype reproduction of similar plates, or as an
ornamental article.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN KINDS OF PAPER FROM THE REPUSE AND CUTTINGS OF LEATHER DURING THE OPERATION OP TANNING
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Lazare Ochs at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd May 1855.-
A communication.
I, LAZARE OCHS, of Saint Josse ten Noode, near Brussels, in the Kingdom
of Belgium, Lace Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN KINDS OF
PAPER FROM THE REPUSE AND CUTTINGS OF LEATHER DURING THE OPERATION OP
TANNING," a communication, to be as follows:-
I propose to convert into paper, principally coarse or packing paper, the
cuttings or offal produced in the operation of dressing leather. For this pur-
pose it is desirable to disengage such cuttings or offal from the tanning with
which they are impregnated. To do this, I propose to pass them through a
cylindrical vessel fitted with wire-work to tease or toss the material; or should
the tan not be sufficiently eradicated by this process, the stuff or material will
be placed into baskets, so as to half fill them, the baskets being then plunged
in water and shaken either by hand or machinery. When sufficiently prepared,
the material is to be mixed with about twenty per cent. of cord cuttings, or
similar material, well picked or seperated. The whole is to be then worked
in a mass as long as necessary, either by means of rollers or otherwise, till it
becomes a paste, from which it is converted into paper in the usual manner.
IMPROVEMENTS IN PADDLE WHEELS
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bell-
ford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th September 1855.-A communication.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 32, Essex Street, Strand,
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PADDLE WHEELS," (a communication,) to be as follows;
and relates to that description of paddle wheels which have floats arranged
obliquely in pairs, in the form of the letter V, so that the vortex or angle of
the V shall enter the water first in propelling the vessel ahead. It consists iu
attaching the floats by one end rigidly to a single wheel or central rini, and
staying them from the said rim at the ends, or anywhere between the ends
that may be necessary, by stays. The floats are attached to the opposite sides
of the wheel or rim by one end, & may be set to any degree of obliquity
required; the outer ends of the floats may be wider than the inner ends, or
those next the wheel.
AN IMPROVE- MENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BOLTS, LATCHES, AND Locks
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Handasyd Smith, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th
September 1855.
I. WILLIAM HANDASYD SMITH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVE-
MENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BOLTS, LATCHES, AND Locks," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of a new or improved door bolt, constructed in the
manner herein-after explained, which said door bolt may, by the additions and
alterations, also herein-after described, be also used with a lock or latch. My
improved bolt consists of a cylindrical or other shaped rod working in a case
or tube, the said case or tube having a slot in its side, through which the
handle of the said bolt is connected therewith. The case containing the bolt
is inserted in a suitably formed hole made in the edge of the door, instead of
being fixed on the door, as the ordinary bolt is. The said bolt case is secured
to the door by screws passing through a flange on its end entering the said
edge of the door. The handle of the bolt comes through a slot in the door,
and also through a slot in a rose or plate of metal surrounding the slot in the
door. A small vertical bolt working in the said rose or plate may be made to
lock the said bolt either when shot or withdrawn.

page_text: My improved bolt may be used as a latch by giving to its projecting end
the wedge-shaped form of a latch, and inserting a spring between the end of
the bolt case and the inner end of the bolt; and my improved bolt may also be
used as a lock by placing the works of an ordinary lock above it, and causing
the said lock by the action of its key to shoot a vertical bolt, so as to engage
with and fix the horizontal bolt.
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR DRESSING AND FINISHING TEXTILE FABRICS, BY THE APPLICATION OF A NEW MATERIAL IN THE PLACE OF HOGS' BRISTLES OR WIRE CARDS, HITHERTO EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Pope Rosson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th August
1855.
I, CHARLES POPE ROSSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Brush Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR DRESSING
AND FINISHING TEXTILE FABRICS, BY THE APPLICATION OF A NEW MATERIAL IN THE
PLACE OF HOGS' BRISTLES OR WIRE CARDS, HITHERTO EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be
as follows:-
My Invention consists in the application, employment, or use of a vege-
table fibrous material, commercially known as "ketool," for the purpose of
clothing or covering flat, cylindrical, or other shaped brushes (whether hollow or
solid), used in the machinery or apparatus for effecting the processes of dressing
and finishing "fustians," velveteens, and other cloths or textile fabrics. I
employ "ketool" for the above-named purposes in lieu of hogs' bristles or
wire cards, as always hitherto used for brushes in such machinery, as being
more economical and of greater durability than the means at present in use,
and equally capable of dressing and finishing the cloth.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF IRON
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Lucas at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents; with his Petition, on the 27th June 1855.
I, THOMAS LUCAS, of Duston, in the County of Northampton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF IRON " to be as follows; and consists in combining a smelting or
blast furnace with a reverberatory puddling or refining furnace, so that the
metal from silicate or other ores as it becomes fused in the former shall flow
direct and without detention into the latter without being exposed to the
atmosphere, for the purpose of being worked into blooms, from which bar
or other malleable iron can be manufactured.
The blast furnace is built over the reverberatory puddling or refining furnace,
and its interior at the base is brought to a dimension just sufficient to leave
an opening for the flow of the fused metal on to the hearth or other desired
part of the reverberatory puddling or refining furnace, in which it undergoes
the usual operations of balling & blooming preparatory to its being rolled
into bars or other malleable iron.
IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Wolff at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th November
1855.
I, SAMUEL WOLFF, of the City of Independence, Jackson County, in the
State of Missouri and United States of America, Physician, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE
POWER, to be as follows:-
This Invention is founded on the well-known law of nature, that when a
body is placed in a fluid of a greater specific gravity than itself it will have
a tendency to rise, and when placed in a fluid of a less specific gravity it will
have a tendency to fall. In applying this law of nature to the production of
motive power, I propose to construct an endless hollow or light chain, the
links of which when put together shall present the appearance of a cylindrical
cord or band of a uniform diameter throughout its length. This chain I
mount upon a pair of guide wheels, which are capable of adjustment to bring
the chain to tension, and I cause the chain to traverse through one or two
vertical cylinders. The cylinder through which the chain travels upwards I fill
with mercury, water, or other heavy fluid, and I cause the chain to enter at the
bottom of the cylinder, which I close with a proper valve or stuffing box to

page_text: keep in the fluid; and when I employ two cylinders I pass the chain down the
second cylinder, which I fill with hydrogen gas, and close it at its ends to
retain the gas in the cylinder. It will now be understood that the tendency
of the mercury or other fluid in the first cylinder will be to force up the
buoyant chain, while the lightness of the hydrogen will allow the gravitating
principle to take effect. A continuous rotary, motion is thereby imparted
to the endless chain, which motion is communicated to the axles of the guide
wheels, and may be transmitted therefrom to any machinery which is required
to be driven.
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MECHANISM FOR MEASURING LIQUIDS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Gedge at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th June 1855.
-A communication.
I, JOHN GEDGE, of No. 4, Wellington Street South, Strand, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MECHANISM FOR MEASURING LIQUIDS,"
communicated to me by Monsieur Adolphe Cheron, of Paris, in the Empire of
France, Engineer, to be as follows:-
I propose to receive water or other liquid into an upper cylinder by means
of a service pipe. This cylinder is to be furnished interiorly with a valve,
which opening allows the liquid to descend into a receiver, from which it is
distributed to other parts of the apparatus by means of a pipe, which pipe
will be also attached to a cylinder. A float mounted upon a rod will serve to
open and shut the valve aforesaid, and regulate the supply into the upper cylinder,
indicating by an index marked thereon the pressure of the liquid, which is then
to be received into a guage of triangular form, furnished at its axis with a
counter weight of equal weight to the quantity of liquid the guage is to distribute
at each operation of service, which operations are to be indicated by numbers
marked on the outer periphery of a wheel, say, from 1 to 10, or more. This
wheel is acted upon by a lever. As one of the numbers presents itself to a
wicket, a stop gears into the wheel between that and the following number;

page_text: and so the tap of the serving pipe being turned, a certain quantity of liquid is
measured off, and the quantity so measured will be indicated. The apparatus
can be cased in a box of any suitable material, and so secured that no one can
meddle with the works.
IMPROVED TURNSTILE COUNTING APPARATUS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Cunnah and John
Hampson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 29th January 1855.
We, EDWARD CUNNAH, Brass Founder, and JOHN HAMPSON, Timekeeper,
both of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVED TURNSTILE COUNTING APPARATUS" to be as
follows:-
Our improved turnstile counting: apparatus in its general appearance does
not materially differ from those now used for similar purposes; but the mode
of constructing, arranging, and operating some of the parts is different, and
constitutes the novelty of the, present improvements.
The clock or counting apparatus is enclosed in a metal or other box to
secure it from being tampered with, and is actuated direct from the central
vertical shaft of the turnstile, on which is mounted a wheel or disc, technically
called a "barrel." This "barrel" is provided with four teeth, studs, or pro-
jections on its upper side, which teeth, studs, or projections, as the vertical
shaft of the turnstile is moved round by persons passing by the turnstile, are
made to come against the teeth of the first wheel of the counting apparatus,
and propel it one tooth for every quarter of a rotation of the vertical shaft.
Another "barrel" is mounted on the lower end of the vertical shaft, and is
provided with four ratchet teeth on its periphery, into or against which bears
a spring click or lever, whereby the turnstile will be prevented from rotating
except in one direction.

page_text: In order to prevent the counting apparatus from being damaged by the jar
of the turnstile, if any attempt be made to turn it in the wrong direction,
additional safety ratchet teeth are adapted to the periphery of the lower
barrel, and are so placed thereon, that immediately the upper barrel has
rotated the first wheel of the counting apparatus, the click shall fall against
one of the safety teeth of the lower barrel, which will then receive any jar or
strain that may be put upon the turnstile.
In order to prevent the turnstile from being rotated, except when some
person is in attendance, a treadle lever is employed and made to act against
the lower barrel, which for this purpose is provided with teeth or projections
on its upper side, against which the end of the treadle lever is made to bear
by means of a spring, except when it is relieved by the attendant depressing
the opposite end of the treadle, and thereby lifting the other end clear of the
"barrel."
In order to prevent the turnstile from being sent round too far by a sudden
impetus being given to it, and which would cause it to register too many
persons, I adapt to the lower part of the vertical shaft a binding collar or band,
which is secured to a short standard, and is made to clasp the shaft. Upon
tightening this band by means of screws or otherwise, any required amount of
friction may be obtained, and the rotation of the shaft in a proper manner
kept under control.
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edwin Scragg at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th July 1855.
I, EDWIN SCRAGG, of the Albert Works, Buglawton, Congleton, in the
County of Chester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES" to be as follows:-
The
This Invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of
valves for steam engines, & to an improved mode of working the same.
improved valve consists of a conical plug rotating steam-tight in a correspond-
ingly tapered steam chamber or casing, communicating at one end with the
steam pipe, and at the other with the exhaust or waste pipe.
This plug is cast hollow, with a division piece or diaphragm running
obliquely from one end of the plug to the other, and thus dividing it into two
separato and distinct compartments, communicating one with the steam pipe
and the other with the exhaust, so that as the plug revolves, the exhaust and
steam compartments will be alternately brought into communication with the
apper and lower steam ports of the cylinder, which are formed in the sides of
the valve casing. The plug, which is open at each end to communicate with
the steam and exhaust pipes, may be rotated by bevil or other suitable gearing
on the valve spindle, which works in suitable stuffing boxes in the ends of the

page_text: valve chest. By suitably forming the steam chamber, or that side of the
plug communicating with the steam pipe, the valve may be made to cut off
at any desired portion of the stroke. A set screw is made to bear against
one end of the valve spindle for the purpose of setting up or tightening the
valve when wear takes place.
Another arrangement and mode of working the valves of steam engines con-
sists in the employment of valves somewhat similar to the ordinary clack valves,
which valves are worked by levers, actuated at their ends by horizontal cams,
having concentric grooves formed therein, with swells in them to lift up the
ends of the levers. These swells may be of any length, according to the length
of time which the valve is to remain open. The cams are fitted on to a vertical
spindle working in the front of the cylinder, one cam being placed near the
upper portion of the cylinder, and the other near the lower part of the same for
working the bottom clacks.
AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR COMBINING THE PURIFICATION OF GAS WITH THE OBTAINING OF CERTAIN VALUABLE PRODUCTS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Richard Laming at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st February
1855.
I, RICHARD LAMING, of Carlton Villas, Maida Vale, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED PROCESS FOR COMBINING THE PURIFICATION OF GAS WITH THE OBTAINING
OF CERTAIN VALUABLE PRODUCTS" to be as follows:-
Impure gas as it leaves the "condensers" still contains ammonia combined
with hydrosulphuric and carbonic acids. To remove further quantities of those
three impurities the gas is sometimes washed or "scrubbed" with water in
such large proportion that the resulting solution becomes too dilute to be of
much value. A more concentrated solution of ammonia is occasionally
obtained by purifying gas with water constantly acidulated by a sufficient
stream of sulphuric acid; but whenever that has been done tho hydrosulphuric
and carbonic acids seperating from the ammonia, and being comparatively
insoluble and volatile, have again contaminated the gas, so as to render the
use of the acid as a purifying agent good only for one of the three named
impurities, namely, the ammonia. By the present Invention I remove ammo-
nia, hydrosulphuric acid, and carbonic acid from gas, and obtain the ammonia
in concentrated solution, saturated with sulphuric or other desirable acid,
without allowing the hydrosulphuric and carbonic acids which it liberates in
the
process to become again mixed with the gas.

page_text: The Invention consists in combining the following operations:-First, bring-
ing water or gas liquor obtained from the "condensers," or other suitable
liquid contained in a purifying vessel or vessels, in contact with a current of
impure gas.
Secondly, saturating the ammonia as it accumulates in the liquid with
sulphuric or other desirable acid introduced to it under a bell or inverted cup,
or other equivalent apparatus (which may be either placed in a purifying
vessel, or form part thereof, or be otherwise in communication therewith).
And, thirdly, conveying away from the upper part of the said bell or other
equivalent apparatus the hydrosulphuric and carbonic acids by a conduit
leading either to a furnace where they may be economically disposed of or to
some other suitable locality. Any excess of hydrosulphuric and carbonic acids
over and above the portions removed by these means may be taken from the
gas by other means efficacious for the purpose. But what I prefer is, that all
the carbonic acid in the gas shall first be dissolved out of it in combination
with ammonia, as suggested in the Specification annexed to my Patent, dated
the 13th September 1853, thus leaving the gas to be subsequently purified
from hydrosulphuric acid only, which may then be done in a most satisfactory
manner by the oxide of iron mixture, described in the Specification annexed to
my Patent, bearing date the 4th November 1847, or by other means.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.).
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Newman at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th September
1855.
I, JAMES NEWMAN, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY WHEELS" to be as follows, that is to say :-
My Invention refers, firstly, to improvements in manufacturing those parts
of railway wheels termed the bosses, which I make of wrought iron from a
bloom or ball of iron of about the requisite size, or a strip of iron coiled into
a lump, in either of which forms it is to be taken direct from the furnace
and forged or pressed by dies into the form of a disc, having a series of
indentations thus,
which represents one half of the entire boss; two
of these being put together, one on each side of the wheel, the spokes fit
into the cavities (a), and the whole is then welded together. Or I can make
the boss by forging or compression, and cnt it into this form,
which

page_text: is placed in the centre of the wheel, the parts (a) fitting between the spokes;
a check piece, being a plain disc of iron of the same size, is placed on either
side, and the whole welded together.
I manufacture also disc wheels by coiling a strip of iron into the requisite
size to fit into a matrix of the form suitable for one side of the wheel, and by
means of a die having a similar form on it, I forge or strike the metal into the
requisite shape and weld the coil firmly by the same operation. In making
tyres from a strip, I employ a matrix of the form required, and in the centre of
which I use a plug piece, with a groove cut round its lower edge of the form
that would be required to form the flange or fin on the inner periphery of the
tyre. The coil whilst in the mould is then forged by the die into the shape of
a tyre, sufficient metal being forced into the groove under the plug to make
the inner flange. After being sufficiently worked, the plug is taken out first,
when it will probably bring out the tyre, which is struck off the plug, and is
ready for finishing.
IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Wigzell Knocker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
November 1855.
I, GEORGE WIGZELL KNOCKER, of Bushy Ruff, Dover, in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER" to be as follows:-
The design of the improvements is for producing more effectually a dis-
turbance in the equilibrium of a hydrostatic column or hydrostatic columns of
water. Firstly, by employing three cylinders lying in the same horizontal
plane, attached at one end to tanks containing water under a high hydrostatio
pressure. The cylinders are fitted with pistons, which work cranks set at an
angle of 120° to each other, and which reciprocate with three others situated
in an upper tier at an angle of 180° respectively, by which means a dis-
turbance is always maintained, either positive or negative; that is, there is
either a force in the direction of inotion, or a resisting force opposed to motion..
Secondly, by fixing to the other end of the cylinders condensing chambers for
the compression of air, by which the power is more equally distributed, a
gradual transition from power to resistance produced, and shocks and concus-
sious in the working of the mechanism in a great measure prevented. It is
evident that the power is reversed every 60° of a revolution. The momentum
generated by, and the reaction resulting from, a 60° in favour of motion, over-

page_text: come, if carried out to a sufficient extent, the resistance of the succeeding 60°,
in which there is a tendency to oppose motion; at the termination of which,
power in the direction of motion again supervenes, and thus continuous motion
ensues, the hydrostatic pressures entering as an element into the momentum.
These improvements form parts of an entire engine, to be known by the
name of "the hydrostatic engine."
IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING TEXTILE FIBRES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PULP AND DYE
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Lilley at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th August 1855.
I, JOHN LILLEY, of Birkenhead, in the County of Chester, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OBTAINING TEXTILE FIBRES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PULP AND DYE," to be
as follows:-
My Invention consists in the employment of a plant, which is the growth
of West Africa, and known at the Cameroons by the name of medickey. To
obtain textile fibres, I bruise, crush, or beat the stem of the plant or tree so as
to detach the woody portions therefrom, when the fibres may be afterwards
treated in the same manner as flax and hemp. To manufacture pulp and dye
from these fibres, I submit them to simple infusion or maceration in warm
water, or to a steaming operation, and thereby obtain the dye in solution,
leaving the fibrous pulp, which may be bleached by any known process, for any
purposes for which it may be suitable.