DISCLAIMER, AND MEMO- RANDUM OF ALTERATION
Year: 1838

page_text: SEAWARD'S SPECIFICATION, DISCLAIMER, AND MEMO-
RANDUM OF ALTERATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
SEAWARD, of the Canal Iron Works, Poplar, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-first day of May, in the first year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel
Seaward, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Samuel Seaward, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Samuel Seaward, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all
Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Samuel Seaward, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
And whereas I, the said Samuel Seaward, obtained leave of Her Majesty's
Attorney General (certified by his fiat and signature, as in and by the first section
of an Act passed in the fifth and sixth year of the reign of His late Majesty
King William the Fourth is provided) to enter with the Clerk of the Patents
of England a Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration of the title of my said

page_text: recited Letters Patent. By which said Disclaimer and Memorandum of
Alteration I disclaimed the application of my said invented improvements-
to all steam engines other than and exept marine steam engines, and declared
the title of my said Invention to be, Certain Improvements in Marine Steam
Engines."
66
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the proviso in the said Patent
contained, I, the said Samuel Seaward, do declare that the nature of my said
improvements in marine engines consists,―
Firstly, in so constructing them that they may be worked like the atmo-
spheric engine, by the alternate action of the steam and atmosphere on the
opposite sides of the piston.
And, secondly, in certain additions for the prevention of saline deposits in
the boilers, which additions are equally applicable to a marine engine as so
newly constructed, and to marine steam engines of all descriptions.
And I declare that the manner in which the said improvements are to be
performed is fully set forth and shown in the Drawings hereunto annexed, and
in the, following particular description thereof, that is to say :-
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, represent the first of my said improvements, and
Figures 6, 7, and 8, the second thereof. Figure 1 is a longitudinal sec-
tion, and Figure 2 a plan of my atmospheric marine engine. A is the
cylinder of the engine, open at top to the atmosphere; B, a piston of a
new construction properly fitted to it; C, the nozzle for the admission of
steam; D, the nozzle for the exit; E, the condenser; F, the air pump;
G, the hot well; H, the beam for working the air pump; I, I, rods for
connecting the beam to the piston with joints S, S; J represents the slings
for connecting the beam to the air-pump rod K, and air-pump bucket O;
L, the centre of the main shaft which conveys motion to the paddle wheels ;
M, the crank, and N, the rod to convey the motion of the piston B to
the crank M and paddle shaft L, having joints S, S, T, T. The peculiarity
in the construction of the piston B, on which the working efficiency of this
engine greatly depends, will be more clearly understood by reference to
Figure 3, which is a cross section of the cylinder A and piston B, and
Figure 5, which is an enlarged section of the piston detached from the
cylinder. The piston is turned perfectly true as far down as q, q, (Figure 5,)
and has three grooves in its outer circumference, numbered 1, 2, 3.
The upper
and lower grooves, 1 and 3, are for the reception of the packing, which may be
of any approved description, and the middle one 2 is filled with steam admitted
in manner herein-after explained. For the purpose of steadying the piston, it
is connected with three guide rods 4, 5, and 6, one of which, 4, is hollow.

page_text: Within this hollow guide 4 there is a tube 7, which works through a stuffing
box 8, and communicates at the other end directly with the boiler; through
the tube 7 last described steam is constantly supplied to the middle groove 2
of the piston by the orifice p, p, (Figure 5,) as well during its ascent as
descent, and thus any air is completely prevented from passing the piston, and
the piston is rendered practically air-tight, the pressure of the steam while
working being at all times greater than the pressure of the atmosphere. In
adjusting the piston the groove 3 is first packed, and then the dividing frame
of metal r, r, introduced, having studs or distance pieces to keep the upper-
and lower parts asunder; the upper packing 1, 1, is next added, and over all
a sunk ring V is firmly secured. The piston may be guided in its ascent and
descent either by the guides 4, 5, 6, as shewn in Figure 3, moving up and down
with the piston, the lower ends being firmly fixed to it, and working through
the brackets 9, 10, 11, fixed to the upper part of the cylinder A, or it may be
guided in the manner represented in Figure 4 (which is a cross section similar
to Figure 3), where the two guides Z, Z, pass through the piston B, and are
firmly fixed to the cylinder A, both at the top and bottom, as at Y, Y, and X, X;
to prevent, however, the air or steam passing through the piston in the case of
the modification represented in Figure 4, packing would have to be introduced
in the hollow space O, O, having glands P, P, to tighten down. By either of
the above descriptions of guide rods the true position of the piston will
always be maintained, while the connecting rod N oscillates to suit the various
angles of the crank.
I shall now proceed to describe the second of my said improvements in
marine steam engine, (represented in Figures 6, 7, and 8,) which has for its
object the prevention of saline deposits in boilers, and is applicable to all marine
engines where salt water is used. For the purpose of this improvement I
make use, first, of an instrument by which the degree of saturation or density
of the water contained in the boiler is ascertained at sight; and, secondly, of an
apparatus by which quantities of the water, before it attains an injurious degree
of saturation, may be blown out or discharged periodically from the bottom or
lower chamber of the boiler with certainty and safety, and the quantities
so discharged may be accurately known. Figure 6 is an elevation, and
Figure 7 a section (half size) of the instrument for ascertaining the degree of
saturation of the water. A is a strong glass tube, .of about three quarters
of an inch bore, and about fourteen inches long, firmly fixed at each end in a
brass frame B, to which are attached four cocks, two at each end, C, D, and
two on one side, E, F. The instrument is attached by means of the two latter
cocks, E, F, to the front or any other convenient part of the boiler B, B2, and.
-

page_text: fixed at such a height that the water line a, a, in the boiler, may show its level
in the glass-tube as at G. On opening the two cocks E, F, the water rises up
from the bottom of the boiler by the pipe Z, attached to the lower cock, to the
same level as the water in the boiler. These cocks E, F, are then closed, and
the upper one C opened, and two balls X, Y, made of hollow metal or any
suitable material; are dropped into the tube, the first one X being graduated:
to one degree heavier than the degree of density which it is desired the water
in the boiler should maintain, and the second Y-to one degree lighter. The
upper cock C is next closed, and the two cocks E and F left open. Now, as salt
water increases in weight or density just in proportion as it holds more or less salt
in solution, it follows that when the water in the boiler is at the particular degree:
of saturation desired to be maintained; the ball Y will float at the water level,
and the ball X rest at the bottom; and further, that any change which may
take place in the density of the water will produce a corresponding change in
the position of the balls. In proportion as the water becomes more saturated
the lower ball will rise, and as it becomes less saturated the upper one will
sink. The highest and lowest of the cocks, C and D, are for the purpose of
changing and cleansing the balls (when required), the bores of each cock being
equal to the size of the balls. Figure 8 represents the arrangements by which,
after having thus provided a means of ascertaining by instant inspection when
the salt water has attained the degree of saturation which is intended not to be
exceeded, a sufficient quantity thereof is blown off or discharged. A is a marine
boiler, and B a vessel of iron or other suitable material, capable of bearing a
strain equal to the pressure of the steam within the boiler, and capable of con-
taining about one twentieth of the whole water contained in the boiler. The
vessel B I place in any convenient position in the engine room, above the level
of the water in the boiler. To this vessel B I attach a cock C, with a pipe O
leading therefrom, down through the interior of the boiler A to within three
inches of the bottom, through which pipe the water is forced up by the pressure
of the steam into the vessel B; and my object in thus causing the water to
ascend, instead of descending, as in the ordinary way, is to prevent the pipe ever
becoming choked by scales from the boiler or other matter falling into it. I
place another cock D at the bottom of the same vessel B, with a discharge
pipe B leading to the bilge or the sea, as the case may be, and these two cocks
C and D are so constructed and connected together (being worked by the same
handle'as seen at Q, Q, Q.) that only onc cock can possibly be open at a time,
& so that there never can be any direct communication between the boiler and
the discharge pipe P, for when the cock C is open the cock D is shut, and vice
versa.

page_text: purpose
of
A single three-way cock might be so constructed as to-answer the
two distinct cocks, but I do not consider it necessary to give a Drawing of such.
a cock; as all mechanical men will readily understand how such a substitute
might be made. The handle Q is shewn in the. Figure 8 in three positions.
In position 1,'the cock Cis open-and-D closed; in position 2, the cocks C and D
are both closed; in position-3, the cock C is closed and D is open.. When the
salt water in the boiler, after the engine has been at work some time, has
arrived at that degree of saturation or density desired to be maintained, or not
exceeded, (when it contains, for example, five thirty seconds of its bulk'in salt,
at which a boiler may with safety be worked,) the feed water to the boiler must
be augmented, and the cock C, leading from the boiler to the vessel B, opened
by the handle Q, which will simultaneously close the cock D, the saturated water
from the bottom of the boiler will then rise up and fill the vessel B through the
pressure of the steam, after which the cock C must be closed. A small valve S,
placed at the top, or a pipe leading from thence, and bent like a syphon, and
leading into the ash-pit; will always indicate when the vessel B is full, and will
also admit air when it is being emptied. When the water has regained
its level in the boiler the water in the vessel B may be discharged into the
bilge or into the sea by opening the cock D, and on the cock D being closed
the vessel B may be again filled by the cock C, and discharged as before. If,
after one or more discharges, the balls in the glass tube continue to maintain
their relative positions-that is, one at the bottom and one on the surface of
the water-it is then evident that the proper degree of saturation is being main-
tained, and thus by a careful observance of the relative position of the balls in
the glass tube the water in the boiler may be kept at any required degree
of density, and no incrustation from salt can ensue, however much the degree of
saltness of the water may vary in which the vessel floats.
And having now described the nature of both of my said invented improve-
ments in marine steam engines, I declare that what I claim as of my Invention,
under the first of the said improvements, is the general combination of means,
partly old and partly new, herein-before described, by which the engine is
worked by the alternate action or pressure of the steam and the atmosphere,
and many cumbrous and expensive portions of the ordinary marine steam
engine machinery are thereby wholly dispensed with.
And I declare that what I claim as of my Invention, under the second head
of the said improvements, are the two additions to marine steam engines
herein-before described; firstly, for ascertaining by instant inspection the
degree of saturation attained by the water in the boiler; and, secondly, for

page_text: preventing any saline depositions from taking place, and whether the said two
additions are used in combination or separately.
And such my invented improvements being to the best of my knowledge
and belief entirely new, and never before used in that part of Her said
Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her
said Majesty's Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, or in-
any of Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, I do hereby
declare this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe
this my said Specification doth comply in all respects, fully and without
disguise, with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained, wherefore I do claim to maintain exclusive right and
privilege to my said invented improvements.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Seaward, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of November, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-eight.
SAMUEL (L.S.) SEAWARD.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of November, in
the year of our Lord 1838, the aforesaid Samuel Seaward, Esquire, came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.

page_text: DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION.
(Inrolled 20th November, 1838.)
En the Matter of a Patent granted to Samuel Seaward, of the Canal
Iron Works, in the Parish of All Saints Poplar, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, for his Invention of "Certain Improvements
in Steam Engines," bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-first
day of May, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
DISCLAIMER and MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION entered by the said
Samuel Seaward with the Clerk of the Patents of England, pursuant to
an Act passed in the fifth and sixth year of the reign of His late Majesty
King William the Fourth, entituled "An Act to amend the Law touching
Letters Patent for Inventions."
I, the said Samuel Seaward, do hereby declare, that inasmuch as from the
title of my said recited Letters Patent it might be inferred that my said
invented improvements were, and that I claimed them as applicable to all kinds
of steam engines or to steam engines generally, whereas my said improvements
are, or I claim them as new, and of my Invention, as applicable to marine
steam engines alone :
Now, therefore, I disclaim and declare that I do not wish to include, in
the exclusive right granted to me by the said recited Letters Patent, all
kinds of steam engines, or any kinds other than marine steam engines used
or employed for propelling ships or other vessels through water. And
further, for the purpose of making the title of my said recited Letters Patent
apply strictly and clearly to my said invented improvements, I insert the
word Marine before the words Steam Engines, so that the title of my said
recited Letters Patent shall stand in form following (that is to say), "Certain
Improvements in Marine Steam Engines."
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Seaward, have hercunto set my
hand, this First day of November, One thousand eight hundred and
SAMUEL SEAWARD.
This is to certify, that Samuel Seaward, of the Canal Iron Works, in the
Parish of All Saints Poplar, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, has applied
to me for leave to enter with you the above-written Disclaimer and Memo-
randum of Alteration of part of the title of a certain Invention, for which

page_text: Letters Patent were duly granted to him under the Great Seal, dated the
Twenty-first day of May, One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and
having taken the said application into consideration, I grant leave to the said
Samuel Seaward to file his said Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration,
pursuant to the Statute passed in the sixth year of the reign of His late
Majesty, entituled "An Act to amend the Law touching Letters Patent for
Invention."