IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR THE MORE EFFECTUAL, ECONOMICAL, AND CONVENIENT GENERATION, SHADING 437 ADATION OR HA MAL Da
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Scott Russell, of Sydenham, in the County
of Kent, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS FOR THE MORE EFFECTUAL, ECONOMICAL, AND CONVENIENT GENERATION,
SHADING 437 ADATION OR HA
MAL Da
"
Scaled the 20th November 1874, and dated the 5th June 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Scott Russell
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 5th June 1874.
I, JOHN SCOTT RUSSELL, of Sydenham, in the County of Kent, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR THE MORE EFFECTUAL, ECONOMICAL, AND CONVENIENT
GENERATION, STORING, AND APPLICATION OF HEAT AND MECHANICAL POWER," to
be as follows:- ―
Whereas in ordinary steam boilers water is turned into steam, is
stored, dried, and delivered into the engine to do useful work in giving

page_text: out mechanical power. Fuel in the furnace is converted into gases and
combined with gases, and the whole gaseous products are sent up the
chimney and wasted.
My improvement consists in preserving, storing, and utilising all the
gaseous products of the furnace, and applying them to practical use in
developing mechanical power in a similar manner to that in which the
steam gas of water is applied in the boiler and the steam engine. For
this purpose I close up the furnace in a strong air-tight vessel, just as
the water and steam are enclosed within the boiler. I feed the furnace
with fuel as the boiler is fed with water by air-tight communications,
and I convey the gases to an engine to be utilised as steam is conveyed
from the steam chest of the boiler. Thus I save all the heat and power
of the fuel, of which in the ordinary way only a small quantity goes into
water and forms steam in the boiler.
Where convenient I unite the water gases and fuel gases together,
and drive the engine by the united products of boiler and furnace.
Where convenient I keep them apart, and store them in reservoirs for
separate uses, or apply them at once to the separate uses more suited to
the qualities of each. I also use such fuels and such materials of
combustion as are best suited for the uses to be made of their products.
I find it convenient to place the furnace inside the boiler, just as at
present is sometimes done, only closing it as described. I find it
convenient to unite the products of the boiler and furnace in the furnace
and in the boiler. I find it convenient to unite them also in separate
vessels apart from furnace and boiler, and there and thence to employ
them in mechanical or chemical use.
By reducing the temperature of the products of the furnace by
mixture with steam or water I use them conveniently for storing or
developing mechanical power.
By enclosing the whole apparatus within a steam or water envelope
I preserve the whole heat without practical inconvenience or serious loss
of heat or power.
Where the gaseous products are not permanent gases I employ them
in storing other permanent gases by utilising their elastic and com-
pressive force, and thus storing up mechanical power in fixed or

page_text: I apply my said Inventions to locomotion on land and water by the
ordinary machinery, and also by peculiar machinery.
For land locomotion I place the boiler and generator of power on
springs, which give a perfectly elastic and soft support to all the
machinery, and save it from the jolts and concussions arising from
inequalities of way. This I do by a free universal motion, which allows
full play and swing to springs up and down, fore and aft, and athwart,
without interruption of continuous propulsion. I also use peculiar
boilers much smaller, lighter, and more powerful than heretofore.
For marine purposes I use similar boilers, but I do not materially
alter the structure of steam engines or propellers from those in common
usc.
For chemical processes I generate gases as aforesaid, and store them
1
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Scott Russell in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 5th December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN,
SCOTT RUSSELL, of Sydenham, in the County of Kent, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-.
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Scott Russell, Her special licence
that I, the said John Scott Russell, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Scott Russell, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and.
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN-

page_text: MEANS FOR THE MORE EFFECTUAL, ECONOMICAL, AND CONVENIENT GENERATION,
STORING, AND APPLICATION OF HEAT AND MECHANICAL POWER," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Scott Russell, my exccutors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Scott Russell, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:—
Whereas in ordinary steam boilers water is turned into steam, is
stored, and delivered into the engine to do useful work in giving out:
mechanical power. Fuel in the furnace is converted into gases and
combined with gases, and the whole gaseous products are sent up the
chimney and wasted.
My improvements consist in preserving, storing, and utilising all the
gaseous products of the furnace, and applying them to practical use in
developing mechanical power in a similar manner to that in which the
steam gas of water is applied in the boiler and the steam engine. For
this purpose
I close up the furnace in a strong air-tight vessel, just as
the water and steam are enclosed within a boiler. I feed the furnace
with fuel as the boiler is fed with water by air-tight communications, 2
and I convey the gases to an engine to be utilised as steam is conveyed
from the steam chest of the boiler. Thus I save nearly all the heat and
power of the fuel of which in the ordinary way only a small quantity
goes into water and forms steam in the boiler.
Where convenient I unite the water gases and fuel gases together, a
and drive the engine by the united products of boiler and furnace.
Where convenient I keep them apart, and store them in reservoirs for
separate uses, or apply them at once to the separate uses more suited to
the qualities of each. I also use such fuels and such materials of
combustion as are best suited for the uses to be made of their products. 3
I find it convenient to place the furnace inside the boiler, just as at
present is sometimes done, only closing it as described. I find it

page_text: convenient to unite the products of the boiler and furnace in separate
vessels apart from furnace and boiler, and there and thence to employ
them in mechanical or chemical use.
By reducing the temperature of the products of the furnace by
mixture with steam or water I use them conveniently for storing or
developing of mechanical power.
By enclosing the whole apparatus within a steam or water envelope
I preserve the whole or nearly the whole of the heat without practical
inconvenience or serious loss of heat or power.
Where the gaseous products are not permanent gases I employ them
when convenient in storing other permanent gases by utilising their
clastic and compressive force, and thus storing up mechanical power in
fixed or moveable reservoirs.
I apply my said Invention to locomotion on land and water by the
ordinary machinery, that is, by the ordinary mechanism of the existing
steam engine. I also use peculiar boilers much smaller, lighter, and
more powerful than heretofore.
For marine purposes I uso similar boilers, but I do not materially
alter the structure of steam engines or propellers from those in common
use.
For chemical processes I generate gases as aforesaid, and cither use
them when so generated or store them for subsequent chemical use in
smelting, refining, and other gaseous processes.
Having thus declared the nature of my said Invention I will now
proceed to describe the same more particularly, and also the best means
with which I am acquainted for carrying the same into practical effect,
and for this purpose will make use of the accompanying Drawings, in
cach of the Figures of which Drawings the same letters or figures of
reference indicate corresponding or similar parts.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, show boilers, furnaces, mixing chambers, and
arrangements constructed for carrying out that part of this Invention,
which is first herein-before described, in which the furnace gases pro-
duced in one closed vessel are mixed with steam in a third vessel or
vessels, and are thence carried to the engine.

page_text: another arrangement of mixing chamber and its connections.
The directions of the currents are shown by the arrows wherever they
appear.
by a tight fitting, cover a and
The furnace A opens into a
The furnace A, A, is cylindrical, closed
fed by fuel feeders and air feeders c.
flame chamber B. Flues of tubes, as in a locomotive boiler d, d, act to
raise steam and end in a fluc c from which a passage e carries the gases
through a non-return valve ƒ into a box g, and thence either by the
regulated opening and safety valve h into the chimney j, or by the regu
lated opening into the gas chamber D, and thence by the regulated
connection cither direct or through the gas chest E to the engines.
This gas chamber may be connected with the steam chest by the regu-
lated communication m, and is also with the exhaust from the feeding
pumps by the regulated communication n and with water space of the
boiler by the regulated communication o, o.
⚫ Two other safety valves p, q, whose peculiar construction will be
hereafter described, besides acting each as a safety valve to the respective
ohamber on which it is placed, also regulate in combination the relative
pressures in the steam chest F and gas chamber D. A stop valve » forms
the connection of the boiler with the feed apparatus.

page_text: The boiler G may be the ordinary boiler in the form most convenient
(to its special purpose) say, an ordinary cylindrical boiler with cylindrical
furnace A and tubular flues d, d; I then so modify it if necessary that
the flues and furnace, and all passages and communications there-
with shall be able to stand the strain of the internal pressure of the
furnace gases.
combined in one :-
1. The furnace A and its communications.
2. The flues C, d, e, and water spaces with their communications.
3. The steam chest F and its communications.
1. In Figure 6 I take a cylindrical furnace A closed at one end, which
it is. convenient to project beyond the water space and to close with a
tight man-hole or covering plato a. I surround this furnace cylinder
with water space, and at the other end it opens into a cylindrical
chamber B communicating with tubular return flucs d, d, and is fitted
with a man-hole S for convenience. The tube flues end in a second
cylindrical chamber C, whence a regulated communication e is made
through a non-return safety valve f, with a chimney with the mixing
chamber and with the engine. The above-mentioned flues d, d, and
chambers are surrounded with a continuation of the water space except
where the regulated communication e with the above-mentioned parts is
and at the man-holes above mentioned. By this means the attendant
can regulate the pressure and direct the passage of the furnace gases as
hic
may
choose. The furnace A and the man-holes A, S, may be lined
with fire-brick.
2. The outer or water boiler G containing the flues d, d, and the
furnace A as above described is an ordinary cylindrical boiler shell, and
for convenience the whole interior can be withdrawn in one piece from
this outer boiler shell by opening a flange joint t fastened with bolts and
nuts at the furnace end, the man-hole joint u, u, (a similar one) at the
other end, and the joints on the communications.
The tube plates w
and the tubular flues do not differ from the ordinary ones.
3. The steam chest is composed of two cylinders, an outer and an inner,
the inner E receiving the products of combustion at one end and giving
them out at the other end; the outer, F, containing the ordinary contents

page_text: of a steam chest where the steam separates from the water, with man-
holes closing both ends.
In the chamber D the furnace gases and the steam and water of the
boiler meet, and may there be mixed. For this purpose communicating
pipes with valves or regulators are placed in any convenient position. I
find it convenient to place them at k, m, n, o, respectively, and the
escape from them is regulated in like manner at a.
For the purpose of feeding my boiler with water I use any of the
ordinary means, such as a donkey pump, and for the purpose of feeding
my furnace with the elements of combustion, solid or liquid fuel, I pass
them through slide valves or revolvers containing chambers made to
communicate alternately with the outside and inside of the closed
vessels, so that I may not thereby lose any appreciable portion of my
pressure. Such arrangements I have shown in Figures 8, 9, and 10, where
S represents the fuel, Figure 8 showing the slide valve arrangement with
single charging opening a' and two discharging openings 6', ', and
Figures 9 and 10 the revolving arrangement, which latter is a specics of
three-way cock, c¹ being an exit for the gas.
For supplying air I use air pumps of convenient form and suitablo
size.
'
Many other means for feeding the boiler and furnace with water, fuel,
and air will present themselves to the mind of a mechanic, such as
pressure from reservoirs, Gifford's and other injectors, &c., &c. For
these and similar purposes I find it convenient to keep my furnace
chambers A, B, C, D, E, and my water and steam chambers F, G, at a
difference of pressures, so that the one may work into the other, and I
make the steam to be at the higher pressure. By this means the steam
at higher pressure can be laid on to close chambers communicating with
or containing all the materials of combustion, and so force them into
chambers of combustion at a less pressure, or work a steam pump for
compressing air when the ordinary steam connection is made with the
boiler and the exhaust connection with the mixing chamber. Such an
arrangement is represented by the diagram Figure 5, where P is the steam
cylinder and Q the air cylinder. After doing this auxiliary work the
same steam now at or near the lower pressure will pass into the mixing
chamber D, where the steam and gases combine and so combine to work
the engine.

page_text: In order to preserve the pressures in the furnace chambers and in the
steam chambers at a given difference of pressures I find it convenient to
place the regulating safety valves p and q near cach other to connect
the two safety valves with a rod or lever f¹, g, having its ends f¹ and g¹ in
the valves, and its middle carrying the joint load h¹ for the two valves ;
then by fixing this weight at a certain distance nearer to one than the
other I give one a greater load than the other, so that when I increase
or diminish the central weight h¹ or pressure by a given quantity there
remains always on the two safety valves the same proportional difference
of pressure; or the arms of the lover being equal the area of the valves p
and
q may be in the given ratio.
For the combustion of coal or coke under pressure I find it sometimes
convenient to take the arrangements of the lower part of an ordinary
blast furnace or cupola, and I strengthen them to resist the pressure,
and make them form portions of the boiler already mentioned. Fig. 7
represents an arrangement which I have found convenient. J, J, are
the air tuyères; K is a fire brick lining which I may continuc
up to any.
convenient height in the furnace; A, j', is a small hole through which
I tap when convenient the uncombustible part of the fuel in the form of
slag; k, k, are bolts making a tight joint, by unfastening which the
furnace can be discharged from any unmolten matter as clinkers which
it is desirable to remove; b is the charging apparatus, through which I
fill on any convenient thickness of fuel; c, c, are regulated air openings,
through which I force in more air at suitable pressure when I wish to
effect the combustion of the gas given off from this thick layer of fuel.
The products of this combustion pass through the flues d, d, to the
mixing chamber D, and thence to the engine.
For direct burning of solid fuel in lumps under pressure I find it
convenient to use such an arrangement as I have shewn at Fig. 6, in
which I feed the solid fuel in convenient sizes through the fuel charger b
on to the bottom of the furnace A, and introduce air at. the necessary
pressure by the opening c. I remove the unburnt part of the fuel if in
the form of slag or dust by the small opening j', or the pressure in the
furnace being removed through the man-hole a, by which the furnace is
accessible for cleaning.
For burning powdered fuel under pressure (in my apparatus as
described) I find it convenient to use such an arrangement as I have

page_text: shown, Fig. 1. I feed the powdered fuel through the fuel charger > into
the tube, through which a regulated current of air or steam at a
suitable pressure is passing, and this current carries it into the furnace A,
where it is burnt with additional air when required. This additional air
is introduced through an opening or openings as c. The unburnt part of
the fuel is removed if in the form of slag or dust by the small opening j¹
or (the pressure of gases in the furnace being first taken off) through the
man-hole a, by which the furnace is accessible for cleaning.
Fig. 11 represents a convenient arrangement for burning liquid fuel,
such as the combustible hydrocarbons. A represents a regulated tube
through which the liquid fuel is introduced into the boiler against
pressure by a pump or a reservoir placed sufficiently high; m' represents
a regulated steam pipe from the steam chest, and c openings by which a
regulated quantity of air can be introduced into the furnace. Many
other means to this end will suggest themselves as applicable.
In many cases the gases produced (substantially as described) will
have inherent properties, as when, for instance, in the apparatus shewn
at Fig. 7, I close the air openings c, c, and the arrangement Fig. 11.
for combustible hydrocarbons, where, by introducing less air than is
required for complete combustion, combinations between the steam.
hydrocarbons and oxygen are formed which are useful for lighting and
heating purposes.
In such cases after the gases have been employed to develop
mechanical power in the engine or elsewhere I conduct them in tubes
to the place or places where I wish to complete their combustion, as,
for instance, to give heat in an iron melting furnace or to give light at a
gas burner.
Such combustible gas produced under pressure, substantially as
described in one apparatus as Figure 7, might, before passing through
the mixing chamber, be taken in regulated tubes to one or more distant
apparatus as that shewn in Figure 6, and there completely burned; in
this case it would simply be treated as fuel to be used in the second
apparatus as ordinary fuel.
The mode of working the above described apparatus is as follows:-
After filling the boiler G with water I open the connections between
the furnace and the chimney and light an ordinary fire in the furnace A,

page_text: and let air enter the furnace from a convenient opening, such as the
man-hole a.
When I have a sufficient pressure of steam in the boiler, and my
defferential safety valves are suitably loaded, I turn the steam on to my
air pump, and use it to force air into the furnace, allowing the exhaust
.steam to go either into the air by e' or into the mixing chamber D
through n. I then close the openings a from the furnace to the
atmosphere, and the opening to the chimney; I then regulate the
mixing of the gases by means of the regulated communications k, n, o,
and sometimes m, and when the required pressure of mixed gases is
reached I am ready to employ them for practical use.
For storing power I employ the furnace gases cooled to any convenient
degree and seal them in vessels of sufficient strength, such vessels being
furnished with joints and valves by which I can make a regulated
communication with an engine.
The vessels I prefer for so storing power are square in shape, and are
made of thin metal sheets as copper of about 1" thickness, the opposite
faces stayed by stays of about 1" diameter, and 2 to 3 inches apart.
These stays are equally spaced on all three dimensions. Such a vessel
of almost any size can be made comparatively light to withstand a
pressure of 16 atmospheres.
I have found vessels so made most
suitable for the purpose of storing power, but I do not claim any novelty
in their construction.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed or carried into effect, I declare that
what I claim as 'the Invention to be protected by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The mode and apparatus herein-before described and illus-
trated in the Drawings hereunto annexed or any mere modification
thereof whereby I am enabled to preserve, store, and utilize all the
gaseous products of the furnace, and apply them either in conjunction
with or apart from the steam generated in the boiler to all or any of the
uses herein-before mentioned.
Secondly. The mode and apparatus herein-before described and
illustrated in the Drawings hereunto annexed, or any mere modification
thereof whereby I am enabled to keep the gaseous products of com-

page_text: bustion and the steam generated in the boiler apart under perfect
control and regulated pressure.
Thirdly. The mode and apparatus herein before described and illus-
trated in the Drawings hereunto annexed, or any meré modification
thereof, whereby I am enabled to mix the steam gases and the gaseous
products of the furnace in a mixing chamber by regulated com-
munications.
•
Fourthly. The mode and apparatus herein-before described and
shewn in the Drawings hereunto annexed, or any mere modification
thereof, by means of which I am enabled to maintain a regulated pro-
portional difference of pressures between the gases in the boiler and
the gaseous products of combustion in the furnace, and to apply the
said difference for the purpose of feeding the furnace with fuel and the
elements of combustion, and also for the purpose of mixing and cleaning
the gases.
:.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Scott. Russell, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.