IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER, AND FOR USING THE FOUL AIR IN MINES AS FUEL
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Parker at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd February
1866.
I, JAMES PARKER, of No. 6, Lilford Road, Camberwell, in the County
of Surrey, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER,
AND FOR USING THE FOUL AIR IN MINES AS FUEL," to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention relates to improvements on the Inven-
tion for which Letters Patent were granted to me, bearing date the 23rd
day of October, 1863, No. 2620, intituled Improvements in the Applica-
tion of Steam Combined with Air as a Motive Power, and for other
Purposes.
By the said Invention atmospheric air and steam are used in combina-
tion as motive power only in a non-condensing steam engine with a
cylinder of larger sectional area than commonly used, but by the improve-
ments after mentioned I am enabled to use advantageously any ordinary.
low pressure condensing steam engine for the purpose without any
increase in the size of the cylinder. The improvements consist in using

page_text: a condenser having a partial vacuum into which is discharged the exhaust
steam and air or moist air from the cylinder, by which means the steam or
moisture in the air or a large part of it condenses, and the air previously
in combination with the steam cools and contracts considerably, and it is
then drawn off from the condenser by steam jets and nozzles similar to
those used to drive in the atmospheric air. The aerated condensed water
deposited in the condenser may be economically employed in steam
vessels to feed the boiler, or be available for the use of the ship's company
instead of the ordinary distilled sea water. I propose to use the air
drawn out of the condenser to blow up the fire or to increase the draught
thereto by discharging it up the funnel. I propose to increase the length
of all air nozzles mentioned in the Specification to the before-mentioned
Patent, and to place them closer to the jet apertures, and I prefer to use
a larger number of very small jets and nozzles instead of a smaller number
of larger jets and nozzles, as by this means the atmospheric air is better
compressed in its passage through the nozzles. In some cases it may be
more desirable to jacket the steam and air pipe and also the cylinder with
steam direct from the boiler instead of by waste heat only, as stated in the
Specification to the before-mentioned Patent. Instead of using the steam
and air pressure and the atmospheric or vacuum pressure together to give
motive power, either may be used separately for the purpose. The vacuum
pressure for motive power obtained by the means mentioned is much more
economically obtained than by means of machinery similar or analogous
to that employed in the pneumatic railway for the purpose, and compressed
air of low pressure (the temperature of which can be regulated at pleasure
by being brought more or less into contact with cold water) can also be
more economically supplied by the same arrangement of jets and nozzles
than by the machinery now used for the purpose. The vacuum pressure
obtained as aforesaid I propose to apply as a means of giving motive power
to engines where the pressure of steam, hot or compressed air, or gas may
be objectionable by reason of danger from explosion or otherwise, or where
it may be desirable to use a cold motive power or a motive power not liable
to loss by condensation. The boiler and jets and nozzles may be placed at
a distance of even several miles from the vacuum engine with but very little
loss of power, and therefore will be of great service for mining purposes,
and also because the foul air or gas in the mine will thereby be drawn from
the mine and be replaced by a constant stream of fresh atmospheric air
flowing into the mine to restore the equilibrium of pressure. The foul

page_text: air or gas drawn from the mine if inflamable will be discharged into the
fire of the boiler outside the mine, where it will be used as fuel to generate
steam. In some cases I think the discharged inflamable gas will probably
supply the greater part of the heat necessary for working all the engines
of the mine, both inside and outside the mine.