THE IMPROVED USE OF MAGNETS IN OVERBALANCING WEIGHTS
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Philip Tregaskis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th February 1865.
I, THOMAS PHILIP TREGASKIS, of Perran-ar-Worthal, Cornwall, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "THE IMPROVED USE OF MAGNETS
IN OVERBALANCING WEIGHTS," to be as follows:-
I.
propose that a series of magnets or soft pieces of iron be placed round
about the circumference or outer portion of a wheel or revolving machine, in
such a manner that they shall have half of their ends or poles facing the centre
or axle of the wheel, and half facing in an opposite direction. They are to
be placed in sockets or guides, or a series of cases (by preference), that they
may easily be moved towards the centre or axle of the wheel, or in an
opposite direction, and to be supplied with catches or stays, if necessary, to
stop them at any required position or distance from the centre of the wheel.
The wheel to revolve in an upright position similar to the wheel of a carriage
or cart, and to have a casing, if necessary, to cover and conceal the various
parts. The wheel may revolve on an axle or pivot, and may be attached to
gearwork by any suitable means. That a stationary magnet, or set of magnets,
the face or faces of which are in the form of an arc of a circle, or any con-
venient curve, not having the same centre as the wheel, is to be placed or
fixed in such a manner that the upper part of this stationary magnetic arc may

page_text: touch (if necessary) the outer face or faces of one or more of the sliding
magnets or soft pieces of iron at some part of the wheel which is upper-
most, and the lower part of this magnetic arc to be at some convenient
distance from the face or faces of one or more of the sliding magnets or soft
pieces of iron in some lower part of the wheel; this stationary magnet or
set of magnets to be in the same plane as the wheel, and the concave portion
or face of the stationary magnet to be smooth, and to face towards the con-
vexity formed by the outer poles or ends of the sliding magnets or soft pieces
of iron belonging to the wheel. By this means the sliding magnets or soft
pieces of iron in the wheel are attracted to the stationary magnet or magnets,
and are drawn by the attraction from the centre of the wheel to any convenient
distance. The outer ends or poles of these sliding magnets or soft pieces of
iron to glide over the inner face or faces of the stationary magnet or magnets;
the sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron in the wheel may be retained in
this position by the catches or stays until they are (being removed by the
revolving of the wheel) sufficiently low down, and there they may be released
for the purpose of being again drawn or attracted towards the centre. These
sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron may be attracted towards the centre of
-the wheel by means of another stationary magnet or set of magnets having
a convex face smooth and curved, and which may be employed to attract the
inner ends or poles of the sliding magnets, also of pieces of iron, to the lower
part of the stationary magnet or magnets; and these may continue to be thus
attracted, gliding along the face or smooth surface of the second stationary
magnet or magnets until they are drawn sufficiently near the centre of the wheel
or revolving machine, and may be held in this position also by catches or stays (if
necessary). This second stationary magnet or set of magnets is to be fixed
between the centre or axle, and the inner ends or poles of the sliding magnets
or soft pieces of iron, and to be in the same plane as the wheel, and to have the
smooth convex face of the stationary magnet or magnets presented to the inner
face or faces of the sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron. Springs may be used
to supply the place of this inner set of stationary magnets or magnet by being
attached to the wheel near the axle, and to the sliding magnets at or near their
. ends or poles, or in any other convenient part or parts of the same; or springs
may be attached to any other portion of the wheel for the purpose of drawing
the sliding magnets towards the centre of the wheel, or retaining them when
in that position. By the first arrangement a continuous eccentric motion is
formed, the sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron being drawn away from
the centre of the wheel by the stationary magnet or magnets which act on
the outer ends or poles of the sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron, and are

page_text: drawn towards the centre again by the stationary magnet or magnets which
are placed between the centre of the wheel and the inner ends of poles of the
sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron. By the second arrangement (viz., the
springs) a semi-eccentric motion is produced as it were, the sliding magnets
or soft pieces of iron being drawn away from the centre of the wheel towards
the stationary magnet or magnets acting on the outer ends or poles of the
sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron, and being drawn in again by the springs
are retained in their original positions by means of these springs till their
positions are sufficiently changed by the further revolution of the wheel. A
slide or curved incline may be used to assist the stationary magnets in drawing
out the sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron from the centre of the wheel,
or in drawing them towards the centre of the wheel or revolving machine.
A continual overbalancing of sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron is thus
produced, the sliding maguets or soft pieces of iron being drawn away from
the centre of the wheel on the one side of the centre of the wheel, and towards
the centre of the wheel on the other side of the centre of the wheel. And the
power produced will be in proportion to the size of the whole apparatus, and
especially the weight of the sliding magnets or soft pieces of iron in the
revolving machine.