❝IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1874

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Barnett at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
February 1874.
I, JOHN BARNETT, of Kennington Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "❝IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE
POWER," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in certain improvements in connection with
machinery and apparatus in which motive power is obtained by means
of powerful coiled springs, and which motive power is capable of being
applied to the purposes of propulsion whether on land or water, and to
a great variety of purposes for which a rotary action is required.
In this Specification the present Invention will be described in
reference principally to its application to the propulsion on land, such,
for instance, as that required for the locomotion of tramway cars, as
the modifications and adaptations requisite for its application to other
purposes will be sufficiently obvious to persons conversant with machinery
and mechanism.

page_text: In connection with the vehicle or carriage to be propelled a central
axle is provided, the same being formed with a dovetailed groove therein,
extending the whole length thereof, and wheels provided with cogs on
their peripheries being fixed at each end of such axle.
Upon the axle are placed any desired number of toothed or cogged
wheels or discs having a hollow cylinder on each side thereof respectively,
which wheels or discs and cylinders work freely on the said axle, such
cylinders being respectively secured to the wheels or discs by any
suitable means. On each side of the respective wheels or discs are
placed powerful coiled springs, one end of each of which is fixed to the
cylinder within which it is placed, and the other end having a slot or
aperture or slots or apertures formed therein for the reception of a hook
or hooks, a series of which are placed in the before mentioned dovetailed
groove for that purpose, and which are capable of being inserted or
removed at pleasure, such hooks are so formed that upon the axle being
rotated in one direction they will take into the slots or apertures in the
springs and so enable the latter to be wound up, whilst when the
springs are not in action they will allow the ends thereof to pass over
without any connection being formed. Between each set of springs,
for the purpose of keeping the same in their respective positions are
placed bevilled edged washers. The cog wheels at the end of the
central axle are respectively placed in connection with and working a
wheel to which is attached a larger wheel having a band brake on a
flange formed on the side thereof for arresting the motion of the whole
machinery and stopping the vehicle or carriage, the said larger wheels
driving two pinion wheels which are by means of levers placed under
the control of the driver or attendant. To one of such pinion wheels is
attached a crank action connected to the driving wheels. When the last-
mentioned wheel is in gear with the larger wheel above mentioned the
driving wheels are rotated in one direction; but when the same is
thrown out of gear, and the other small wheel brought into gear with
both the said wheels the revolution of the driving wheels is reversed.
In cases in which a very great power is required the apparatus for
generating motive power as herein-before described may be multiplied
by arranging series of the wheels or discs before mentioned with their
respective cylinders and double springs around a central shaft, the
accumulated power being conveyed to an accumulating wheel, which

page_text: accumulating wheel is fixed to the same shaft as a large wheel and
connected by means of an axle or shaft with similar sized wheels at the
other end. The said large wheels are connected with pinion wheels as
mentioned in the last described arrangement.
The before mentioned springs are wound up by the following
apparatus:- It may here be stated that in the following description the
winding up apparatus is described as applied to a machine where four
series of discs are used in connection with an accumulating wheel, but
the modifications necessary for its application in cases where a greater
or smaller number of series of discs is employed will be readily
understood. One, two, or more discs with cylinders and springs on
either side are placed upon a shaft or axle in the same manner as in the
arrangement herein-before described, but instead of the cogs on the
peripheries of the said dises handles are placed thereon in order to allow
the driver or attendant to wind up the springs, the discs when wound
up being kept from rotating by means of pawls or catches. On one end
of the shaft is attached a cogged wheel with a flange on the side thereof.
In connection with and worked by the said wheel is a smaller cogged
wheel to which is attached a crank working a vertical shaft, which shaft
also by means of cranks works two shafts, each one of which by means
of bevelled wheels actuates two shafts, each one of the latter running
longitudinally above each series of discs and sets of springs forming
the motive-power machine; or the said longitudinal shafts may be
worked at both ends by similar apparatus. On the latter shafts are
placed wheels corresponding in number to the number of discs to be
wound up and which wheels are placed loosely on the shaft so as
to admit of their being slid along respectively by means of levers, and
thus placed into gear with the cogged peripheries of their corresponding
discs when it is desired to wind up the springs attached to the same,
but they are prevented from rotating independently of the shaft by
means of a feather formed on or attached to the latter and which works
in a corresponding slot cut or formed in the centres of the said wheels.
A band brake is attached to the flanged portion of the cogged wheel
at the end of the axle on which are the discs and springs for actuating
the winding up apparatus, the said brake arresting or regulating the
action of the shaft to which the wheel on the flange of which it operates
is attached, and thus the whole action of the winding-up apparatus can
be arrested or regulated at will.

page_text: When it is desired to wind up a set of springs one of the wheels on
the longitudinal shaft is, by means of the lever attached thereto, placed
into gear with the disc in the centre of the said set of springs, the brake
is then gradually released (as sudden action might be injurious to the
machinery) and the winding up apparatus is thus put into action, the
disc rotated and the springs wound up, the state of tension of the
latter being ascertained by means of an indicator as herein-after
mentioned.
The winding up of the springs of locomotive machines may in some
instances be made automatic, as, for instance, when the car or other
vehicle or machine is descending an incline. For this purpose a worm
is formed on or attached to the axle of the driving wheel, and into gear
with which worm is placed a small cogged wheel on one end of a
horizontal shaft, on the other end of such shaft being another cogged
wheel.
When it is desired to utilize the momentum of the car for automatically
winding up the springs of the motive-power machine, the small wheel of
the winding up apparatus before mentioned and to which is attached
the crank is thrown out of gear with the larger wheel (which is
prevented from rotating by the band brake being placed in contact with
the periphery of the flange thereof), and placed into gear with the wheel
on the horizontal shaft, the latter being rotated by the worm on the axle
of the driving wheel gearing into and rotating the cogged wheel on the
opposite end thereof, and thus the whole of the winding up apparatus is
set in motion. This arrangement however is not applicable to such
machines where great speed is required, as the sudden shock upon
throwing the cogged wheels into gear would injure the machinery. In
such cases a shaft is fixed at one end eccentrically on the axle of the
driving wheels, the other end being fixed also eccentrically to a spindle
or shaft placed parallel to the last mentioned axle, on the end of such
shaft being a bevel wheel gearing into and working another bevel wheel
for the purpose of changing the direction of the motion. Over a flange
attached to the last mentioned wheel passes an endless band which also
passes over a wheel fixed on the same axle as the small cogged wheel
working the crank for actuating the winding up machinery as before
described. When it is desired to wind up any set of springs by means
of this automatic arrangement a wheel on the shaft running longitudinally
above such set of springs is placed into gear with the disc in the centre

page_text: of the said springs by means of its lever. The before mentioned small
wheel working the winding up mechanism is then placed out of gear
with the larger wheel as before described, and the endless band gradually
tightened when the shafts and wheels will be set in motion by the
rotation of the axle of the driving wheels and the springs wound up as
required.
On the outside of the apparatus are placed indicators or "tell-tales"
or any other known contrivance or contrivances by which the state of
tension and the necessity for winding up the springs can be intimated.
The kind of indicator which by preference is employed is constructed as
follows: In connection with each of the pairs of springs a rod having
a small friction pulley at the lower end thereof is enclosed in a tube in
which it is free to move vertically, such tube passing a little below the
exterior edge of the cylinder. To the upper end of the rod is attached
a cord or chain having a weight suspended thereto. The friction pulley
at the lower extremity of the rod rests upon the surface of the spring,
which latter as it uncoils causes the rod to rise and to lower the weight
on the exterior, thus indicating the condition of the spring to the driver
or attendant.
For the purpose of regulating the lateral direction in which it is
desired the vehicle shall move an axle having a small wheel at each
end thereof may be placed underneath the vehicle, the peripheries of
such wheels working within the flanged or grooved face of a horizontal
wheel, the exterior of which latter is toothed or cogged and capable of
being turned in either direction by means of a small toothed wheel
gearing into the same, and which is placed under the control of the
driver or attendant by means of well known arrangements.