IMPROVEMENTS IN GENERATING STEAM, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Martin Benson, of 2, Royal Exchange Buildings, in
the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GENERATING
STEAM, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 19th September 1861, and dated the 4th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Martin Benson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th April 1861.
I, MARTIN BENSON, of 2, Royal Exchange Buildings, in the City of
London, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN GENERATING STEAM, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in generating steam and in
apparatus employed therein. The improvements are applicable to that class
of steam generators where the water is pumped or forced by mechanical
means to circulate from a receiver through a series of tubes arranged in a
suitable chamber where (when in use) heat is constantly applied, and where
the heated water and the steam generated in the passage of the water through
the heated tubes pass into the receiver in order that the water may be again
circulated through the tubes. In constructing such descriptions of apparatus,
in order to couple the ends of pairs of tubes together, a semicircular or curved
hollow bend is used, having sockets at the ends to receive the ends of the two
tubes which are to be joined thereby; the end of each tube is formed with a
flange or projection which partly enters one of the sockets of the junction or
bend. The junction or bend is fixed to the ends of two tubes by means of a
screw bolt and screw plate. The screw plate is formed with two forked ends,

page_text: each of which forks partly embraces one of the tubes beyond the flange or
collar at its end; in the centre of this plate there is a hole tapped with a
screw thread to receive the screwed end of the screw bolt. The stem of the
screw bolt passes through a hole in a solid part of the hollow junction, the
hollow or semicircular channel within the junction being bent out of the plane
of the centres of the two tubes which are joined thereby. In this manner
the ends of the numerous tubes used in constructing a steam generator are
connected. The tubes of the generator are arranged by preference in a suc-
cession of horizontal planes one above the other. The ends of the lower
series of tubes are all connected to a horizontal pipe, into which the water is
pumped or forced from the receiver, and the water then passes in a zig-zag
course through the succeeding series of tubes which are in the heating
chamber till the water arrives at and passes through the last series of the
tubes constituting the generator, the ends of the tubes of which last series are
connected with a horizontal pipe, which is divided into two compartments by
a horizontal partition. This pipe is connected to the receiver, consequently
the hot water and steam pass into the receiver. The steam, when it and the
water have passed into the receiver, separates from the water and passes back
through the upper of the compartments in the pipe just mentioned, and from
it the steam passes into a number of tubes which are arranged in the upper
part of the heating chamber, so that the steam in passing through them
becomes superheated. The heating chamber is heated by a fire at the lower
part, and in order that the ends of the numerous tubes, constituting the
generator and the superheater, may be readily and conveniently got at, there
are doors appplied at the two sides of the heating chamber where the ends of
the numerous tubes come. The end of the numerous tubes pass through iron
plates which constitute the sides of the chamber. The several junctions of
the pairs of tubes are consequently external of the chamber, but internal of
the compartments formed between the doors and the sides of the heating
chamber through which the ends of the tubes pass. It will be understood that
the receiver is external of the heated chamber, and is consequently not heated
by the fire therein. The receiver, it may be stated, will only require to have
such a quantity of water therein as will insure there being at all times
sufficient to keep up a supply to the pumps or forcing machinery. The
heating chamber is supported on legs of angle iron, and the whole space
below the fire bars of the heating chamber is open to the outer atmosphere
excepting the space occupied by the supports or legs on which the heating
chamber and fire-place are mounted.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Martin Benson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARTIN
BENSON, of 2, Royal Exchange Buildings, in the City of London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victória, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Martin Benson, Her special licence that I, the said Martin
Benson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Martin Benson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN GENERATING STEAM, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THERRIN," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Martin Benson, my executors
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 Martin Benson, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in generating steam, and in
the apparatus employed therein. The improvements are applicable to that
class of steam generators where the water is pumped or forced by mechanical
means to circulate from a receiver through a series of tubes arranged in a
suitable chamber where (when in use) heat is constantly applied, and where
the heated water and the steam generated in the passage of the water through
the heated tubes pass into the receiver in order that the water may be again
circulated through the tubes. In constructing such descriptions of apparatus,
in order to couple the ends of pairs of tubes together, a semicircular or curved

page_text: hollow bend is used, having sockets at the ends to receive the ends of the
two tubes which are to be joined thereby. The end of each tube is formed
with a flange or projection which partly enters one of the sockets of the
junction or bend. The junction or bend is fixed to the ends of two tubes by
means of a screw bolt and screw plate; the screw plate is formed with two
forked ends, each of which forks partly embraces one of the tubes beyond the
flange or collar at its end. In the centre of this plate there is a hole tapped
with a screw thread to receive the screwed end of the screw bolt. The stem
of the screw bolt passes through a hole in a solid part of the hollow junction,
the hollow or semicircular channel within the junction being bent out of the
plane of the centres of the two tubes which are joined thereby. In this
manner the ends of the numerous tubes used in constructing a steam generator
are connected. The tubes of the generator are arranged by preference in a
succession of horizontal planes one above the other; the ends of the lower
series of tubes are all connected to a horizontal pipe, into which the water is
pumped or forced from the receiver, and the water then passes in a zig-zag
course through the succeeding series of tubes which are in the heating chamber
till the water arrives at and passes through the last series of the tubes con
stituting the generator, the ends of the tubes of which last series are connected
with a horizontal pipe, which is divided into two compartments by a hori-
zontal partition; this pipe is connected to the receiver, consequently the hot
water and steam pass into the receiver. The steam, when it and the water
have passed into the receiver, separates from the water and passes back
through the upper of the compartments in the pipe just mentioned, and from
it the steam passes into a number of tubes which are arranged in the upper
part of the heating chamber, so that the steam in passing through them
becomes superheated. The heating chamber is heated by a fire at the lower
part, and in order that the ends of the numerous tubes constituting the gene-
rator and the superheater may be readily and conveniently got at, there are
doors applied at the two sides of the heating chamber where the ends of the
numerous tubes come. The ends of the numerous tubes pass through iron
plates which constitute the sides of the chamber; the several junctions of the
pairs of tubes are consequently external of the chamber, but internal of the
compartments formed between the doors and the sides of the heating chamber
through which the ends of the tubes pass. It will be understood that the
receiver is external of the heated chamber, and is consequently not heated by
the fire therein. The receiver, it may be stated, will only require to have
such a quantity of water therein as will ensure there being at all times suffi-
cient to keep up a supply to the pumps or forcing machinery. The heating

page_text: fire-bars of the heating chamber is open to the outer atmosphere excepting
the
space occupied by the supports or legs on which the heating chamber
and fire-places are mounted.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shews a section of a peculiar hollow junction suitable for
connecting the ends of two tubes, such as are employed in constructing steam
generators, such as are hereafter explained. Figure 2 is another section taken
through two tubes, the ends of which are joined by the hollow junction.
Figure 3 shews a vertical transverse section, and Figure 4 a side elevation,
partly in section, ota steam generator having my improvements applied thereto.
Figure 5 shews a transverse section of the water-supply pipe, to which the ends
of the tubes are fixed. Figure 6 shews the manner of fixing the ends of the
tubes in the water-supply pipe. Figure 7 shews a vertical transverse section of
another steam generator where two sets of tubes are used, one above the other,
and Figure 8 is an elevation of the same partly in section. In each of these
Figures the same letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts.
I would state that the present Invention consists in various improvements
on steam generators or boilers such as are described in the Specification of a
Patent granted to me, dated 21st August 1858, (No. 1903,) which consists in
a steam generator, where the water employed is pumped or forced by
mechanical means to circulate from a receiver through a series of tubes
arranged in a suitable chamber where heat is constantly applied, and where
the heated water and the steam generated in the passage of the water through
the heated tubes pass back into the receiver in order that the steam may
separate, and the water be again circulated through the tubes.
Figure 1 shews a section of a peculiar hollow junction for connecting the
ends of two tubes. F, F, are the ends of two tubes such as are used in con-
structing a steam generator; P is the hollow junction, which it will be seen is
made with two sockets to receive the ends of the two tubes F, such tubes
being made with flanges or projecting parts at their ends as is shewn, in order
to the junction P being held thereon by a plate R and screw Q. It will be
seen that the hollow junction P is formed with a bend which admits of the
centre line of the screw Q being in the same plane as the centre lines of the
two tubes F, whilst the hollow interior of the junction is in a bend which is
out of that plane. The screw bolt Q passes through a hole formed in the

page_text: metal at the inside of the bend, and the screwed end of the bolt Q enters a
female screw formed in the clamping plate R, hence by reason of the ends of
the plate R; partly embracing the tubes F, F, beyond their flanges or pro-
jections, the screw Q will cause the ends of the tubes F to be tightly held
within the sockets of the hollow junction P. In using these hollow junc-
tions P in constructing a steam generator of the description or class above
mentioned, the ends of the several tubes F are so connected thereby as to
produce a series of zig-zag water and steam passages in the manner shewn in
Figures 3 and 4, where A,A, is a rectangular frame formed of angle iron,
having sheet iron rivetted thereto in such manner as to receive brickwork C
as shewn, and which is used in constructing the fire-place, and also in con-
structing the sides or ends of the chamber, within which the generator is
constructed. It will be seen that the several junctions P, P, are screened
from the action of the fire by means of the plates E, E, through holes in
which the ends of the several tubes F,F, pass. These plates E, E, together
with the tubes F, are fixed to,and suspended from, the upper framing of angle
iron. In order to get at the junctions P and the ends of the tubes F, there
are doors S applied, as shewn in the Drawings, which enclose the spaces
between them and the plates E, E, within which the junctious Pare situated.
G is a horizontal pipe to which the ends of the lower tubes are fixed, as is
shewn in Figures 5 and 6, where it will be seen that the ends of the tubes F
enter the pipe G, and are packed in the sockets as shewn at N, the ends of
two tubes being in cach case made secure by plates G¹. The fire-place, it will
be seen, is formed at the lower part of the chamber, and the whole space below
the grating or fire-bars, except where they are received and supported by the
angle-iron framing, is open for the free passage of air below the fire-bars, and
numerous air holes are made above the fuel on the fire-bars, in order to admit
air to the fire. The water is pumped or forced into the pipe G, in like
manner to that described in the Specification of my former Patent, or by any
suitable pumps or machinery, and the water circulates to and fro through the
tubes F in the chamber above the fire till the water and steam pass into the
pipe H, which is divided into two by a horizontal partition H'. The water
and steam pass through the lower passage of the pipe Hand enter the receiver,
which is connected at one end to the pipe H, and here the water separates
from the steam, the steam ascending to the upper part of the receiver, whilst
the water descends to the lower part of the receiver; the steam then, in order
to get to the engine, passes from the receiver through the upper passage in the
pipe H, and thence through the tubes F¹ at the upper part of the heated
chamber, so that the steam in passing from the receiver to the pipe J (which

page_text: 18 the steam pipe leading to the engine) will be superheated in the tubes
F¹, F¹ The ends of the tubes F and F are fixed to the lower and upper
passages of the pipe H in a similar manner to that above described in respect
to the ends of the lower tubes F, which enter and are fixed in the pipe G.
When it is desired to have a more extensive series of pipes, and to con-
struct the heating chamber higher in proportion to what'is shown in Figures 3
and 4, then it is desirable that the tubes F should be divided into two series
or sets, one above the other, as is shewn in Figures 7 and 8, in which arrange-
ment the water is simultaneously forced into the pipe G, and into the lower
channel or passage of the upper pipe H, the pipe G and the lower part of the
pipe H being connected by the water-supply pipe through which the water is
forced by the pump from the lower part of the receiver Z. The water
circulates upwards through the tubes F of the lower set or series till the water
and the steam generated in this lower set or series of tubes come to.the
pipe H2, one end of which is closed, and the other end is connected with the
receiver. The water pumped into the under channel of the pipe H, by reason
of the other end of this passage in the pipe being closed, passes and circulates
downwards through the upper set or series of tubes F till the water and the
steam arrive in the pipe H2; by these means the water and steam of both sets
or series of tubes F will flow from the pipe H2 into the receiver Z, where the
water will descend towards the bottom, whilst the steam will rise up to the
top and will be conveyed therefrom by a suitable pipe to the upper channel in
the pipe H, and from it through the series of pipes at the upper part of the
heating chamber, where the steam will be superheated, and, as before
described, conveyed by the steam pipe to the engine.
In the arrangement shewn in these Figures there are holes at the upper
part of the metal casing of the brickwork forming the fire-place; these holes
are for the passage of air which descends down between the brickwork and
the casing, and then passes through the numerous holes formed through the
brickwork above the fire-bars. In like manner may there be holes at the
upper parts of the metal casings of the brickwork at the sides of the heating
chamber, in order that such brickwork may be cooled by the passage down of
air between the outside of the brickwork and the metal casing; the heated
air being then caused to pass through holes above the fire-bars into the fire-
place. The receiver Z is to be provided with a suitable safety valve at its
upper end.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that under the present
Letters Patent I make no claim to generating steam by forcing water from a

page_text: receiver through a series of tubes externally heated, the water with the steam
generated therefrom passing from the heated tubes back into the receiver;
but I claim the herein described improvements in generating steam, and
in the apparatus employed therein.
In witness whereof, I, the said Martin Benson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
MARTIN BENSON. (L.S.)