A NEW AND IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederic Martini, of Elberfeld, in the Kingdom of
Prussia, and of Nos. 1 and 2, Mumford Court, Milk Street, in the City
of London, for the Invention of "A NEW AND IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION
OF STEAM ENGINES."
Sealed the 8th August 1854, and dated the 16th June 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic Martini at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
June 1854.
I, FREDERIC MARTINI, of Elberfeld, in the Kingdom of Prussia, and of
No. 1 & 2, Mumford Court, Milk Street, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said.. Invention for "A NEW AND IMPROVED CONSTRUC-
TION OF STEAM ENGINES" to bo as follows:-
The most essential parts of the known and generally used steam engines
are the cilinder, and the piston being moved in it backwards and forwards.
It is not difficult to comprehend, that if the piston shall be and remain
hermetically closed, particularly on smaller engines, a great deal of the power
is lost by friction; and that if the piston is not hermetically closed, a part

page_text: of the steam escapes without having worked, besides retarding the piston in its
movement.
This newly-invented engine has neither cylinder uor piston, and the
friction of the latter is of cours-o entirely avoided without any resistance
taking the place of it; besides, the manufactoring of the engines is less
expensive, and it has the peculiarity of a greater durability and far less
expense.
The middle part of a round disk of iron steel plate, of one foot in diameter
and one 16th of an inch thick. when hammered to such a form that a
diagonal line through the center is equal to the Figue No. 1 of the diagram,
can be moved by a slight pressure from one side to the other. By joining the
edges of two of these disks by a slip of metal we get a vessel, two of
which are represented in a diagonal line in Figure No. 2 & 3, which can
hold about 30 cubic inchs -air, more or less, in proportion, the middle part of
the round disk being pressed together or drawn from each other. If we
admit into such a vessel steam of a certain tension, the middle part of the
disk is pressed outward, and the pressure of these disks outwards can be em-
ployed in several ways to the creation of a power auswering to the tension of
the steam which has been employed. It may be observed, however, that the
vacancy in the vessel which remains, if its disks are pressed together, ought
to be filled up, lest the vessel take in more steam than passes out when
disks are pressed together.
Instead of such a vessel, tow disks can be placed between two solid lids,
Figure No. 4, and the steam admittered first from below and than from above,
by which a motion is created.
The disks moving up and down are fastened to a rod, which passes through
the superior lid, and which rises and falls while the engine is in motion. The
lift of this rod is indeed short, but so much the more powerful, and the motion
can be increased according the circumstances by means of one or two livers,
and this movement can be transformed into a rotary one by the application of
a crank.
The slide valve, through which the steam enters and passes out when set
in motion by the excentrice, is distinghed from that other engines by the
exhaust steam passing out directly through, instead of getting out by a round
about way. This tube is made of strong wire, and covered with vulcanesed
cautehue, and is fastened with one end to the pierced back of the valve,
and the other opens into the tube which lets the steam out.
An engine of four-horse power, constructed according to this system, makes,

page_text: at 16 pounds pression, without being charged, 470-500 rotations in a minute;
but needs, when it is working only 240 rotations, 50 pounds pression to
produce the power of four horses.
Having thus fully described my improved engine, what I claim as my
Invention, and for which I desire to secure Letters Patent, is, the engine
having movable diaphragms hermetically closed, the steam being made to
enter in the manner set forth, and producing a short but powerful motion,
which can be increased by liverage in the manner described. And I also
claim the arrengement by which the steam enters, and is discharged directly
from the nozzles of the slide valve, as shown in Fig. No. 4.