An Improved Compressed Air Motor.
Year: 1892

page_text: ate of Application, 21st Jan., 1392-Accepted, 5th Mar. 1892.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Compressed Air Motor.
1. CARLOS DE OLEA Y GARRIDO, of Bilbao, in the Kingdom of Spain,
Constructor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
Compressed air motors as hitherto constructed have generally consisted of
intricate mechanism, requiring great care and attention in the working thereof,
and very liable to get out of order by reason of their complicated construction;
they are besides so costly as to be beyond the means of certain classes of
industry.
My improved apparatus has none of these disadvantages. Its mechanism is
simple, it is noiseless and devoid of foul odours; it presents no risk of fire or
explosions and it requires scarcely any attention. Amongst other advantages may
be mentioned that the power required to drive my improved machine can be com-
municated without any loss from any distance, without a costly system of cables
and belting. Water power, otherwise unserviceable by reason of the nature of
the locality can be employed with my system, the air being produced and transmitted
by means of tubes to the spot where the factory or works may be built. But any
other suitable driving power such as steam, hydraulic gas or animal power can be
used to work the machine.
To enable my invention to be fully understood
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is an elevation, and
will describe the same by
Figure 2 is a plan of a compressed air motor constructed according to my
invention.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the same on line A B of Figure I, and
Figure 4 is a face view of the driving pulley of the apparatus.
The apparatus is constructed of a water reservoir or tank a within which a
hollow cylinder closed at each end is mounted on a horizontal shaft c revolving
in bearings and e, the bearing e being provided with a stuffing box; in the
hollow cylinder bare two holes, which allow the water in the tank to enter the
cylinder.
Upon the cylinder are fixed a number of concave vanes or paddles g, g', g²,
99, 9 and 1,, forming buckets to the edges of which extend the ends
of the cylinder the whole forming a kind of water wheel. This wheel submerged
in the water is rotated in the direction shewn by the arrows by the force of bubbles
of air compressed by any suitable power and injected into the bottom of the tank a
through a tube i which air being set free must necessarily rise to the surface of
the water in a vertical direction thus encountering the buckets which thereby
become filled with air and rotate the cylinder.
The drawings show the bucket g receiving the air from the tube i while in the
buckets g', g, g³ the air is exercising its force to rotate the cylinder b. As cach
of the buckets approaches the surface of the water it discharges its air and when
it reaches the position the whole of the air will have been discharged and it will
have become filled with water, the whole of the buckets acting in this manner until
they return to the position g, where they again receive air, which displaces the
water and commences to again actuate them. I would observe that the operations
of the buckets filling with water and the displacing of the latter by the air are
progressive and not simultaneous, and hence the motion is uniform. It is trans-
mitted to the required place by the pulley fixed to the end of the shaft e projecting
outside the tank as shewn in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings.

page_text: The tank which may be of iron can be covered leaving only an outlet for the
air, so that a works or factory can be erected over the tank to economise space
when the apparatus is of large dimensions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1.) A compressed air motor in which a cylinder provided with concave vanes
and mounted on a horizontal shaft within a tank of water is rotated by compressed
air introduced into the bottom of the tank substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
(2.) The improved compressed air motor hereinbefore described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 21st day of January 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.