CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, AND IN GENERATING STEAM, AND EVAPORATING AND BOILING FLUIDS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACOB
PERKINS, of Fleet Street, in the City of London, send greeting.
"WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the
Fourth, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twelfth day of April, in the sixth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Jacob Perkins, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Jacob Perkins, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as J, the said Jacob Perkins, 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, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, AND IN GENERATING
STEAM, AND EVAPORATING AND BOILING FLUIDS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES; " in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Jacob Perkins,
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 His 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Jacob Perkins, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascertained in

page_text: to say:-
My first improvement relates to the construction of a single stroke high
pressure steam engine.
Secondly, to improvements in the boilers used for locomotive and other
steam engines, and for other purposes; and also to a means of separating sparks
and hot cinders from the smoke and vapours passing off from the chimney of
locomotive engines, and improvements in the flues or chimneys of marine
steam engines.
First, of the improvements in steam engines.-Figure 1 shews a section of a
steam cylinder intended for locomotive purposes, and the improvement consists
in applying the connecting rod directly to the piston by a ball and socket joint,
as is clearly shewn at a, the other end of the connecting rod being connected
with the crank on the main shaft. Now, I am aware that in double-acting
engines there have been somewhat similar means resorted to, but in such cases
it has been necessary to have recourse to sliding stuffing boxes, or to tubes which
pass through stuffing boxes, large enough to allow of the movement of the cop-
necting rod; but by constructing single-stroke engines in this manner, the steam
acting only against one side of the piston, no cover or stuffing box is necessary
to the other end of the cylinder, and according to the arrangement shewn there
only requires the bar b, against which the spindle of the valve in the piston
comes, in order to open the same for the passage of the steam into the atmo-
sphere at the end of the stroke; and I particularly recommend that high
pressure steam should be employed and used expansively, say two hundred
pounds to the square inch, and cut off at about one-eighth of the stroke, and
expand down to atmospheric pressure.
My second improvement is shewn at Figure 2. It consists of generating
steam through the medium of certain closed tubes containing confined and
surcharged steam. The boiler (which is shewn as applied to the purpose of a
locomotive engine boiler) consists of a series of tubes, the one part of each tube
projecting downwards into the fire or flue, the other extending above the
bottom of the boiler, and the tubes are consequently surrounded by the water
in the boiler. The tubes are hermetically closed to prevent the escape of steam.
By this arrangement important results will be obtained; there will be no
incrustation of the interior of the tubes, and the heat from the furnace will be
quickly transmitted upwards; that the outer surfaces of the tubes will not be
liable to scaleage or oxidation, which will of course tend much to preserve the
boilers so constructed. These tubes are affixed in the bottom of the boiler by

page_text: passing through holes formed therein, and I prefer that the joints should be
made by spreading over, by hammering the parts c, Figures 3 and 4, which
shews tubes separately; Figure 3 being those which go on the outside and are
intended to touch, in order to prevent the passage of the smoke and vapours;
and Figure 4, those which are applied to the other part of the bottom of the
boiler, by which means the smoke and vapour pass freely between them and
thence to the chimney. These tubes are each to have a small quantity of water
depending on the degree of pressure required to the engine; and in order to the
working of this construction of boiler to the greatest advantage, I recommend
that the density of the steam in the tubes should be somewhat more than that
intended to be produced in the boilers; and for steam and other boilers under
atmospheric pressure, then the quantity of water to be applied in each tube is
to be about one one thousand eight hundredth part of the capacity of the tube;
for a pressure of two atmospheres, two one thousand eight hundreth parts;
for three atmospheres, three one thousand eight hundredth parts, and so
on, for greater or less degrees of pressure; by which means the tubes will
when the boiler is at work be pervaded with steam, and any additional heat
applied thereto will rise quickly to the upper parts of the tubes, and be
given off to the surrounding water contained in the boiler; for steam already
saturated with heat requires no more to keep the atoms of water in their
expanded state, consequently becomes a most useful means of transmitting
heat from the furnace to the water in the boiler. I would remark, that
although I have recommended water to be put into the closed tubes, I am
aware that vapours generated from other fluids will answer the purpose, and
as the fluid in such tubes are not evaporated, no loss will take place; I do not,
therefore, confine myself to the use of water, though I believe it to be the
cheapest material. d, in Figure 2, represents the improved construction of a
flue or chimney for locomotive steam engines. e is an inverted portion of
a sphere, in order to deflect any cinders or sparks into the outer casing f, from
which they may be removed by a door (not shewn in the Drawing), whilst the
smoke and vapours pass freely off; and I do claim the application of such
arrangement of apparatus to the flues or chimneys of locomotive steam engines.
And in order to improve the working of steam engine boilers for marine pur-
poses, and at the same time to dispence with the vertical chimney now employed,
I construct the same horizontally, and prefer it to be below the deck, such flue
being composed of a series of flat chambers, through which the atmospheric air
comes, in order to supply the fuel in the furnace and keep up combustion, the
smoke and vapours from the furnace passing in the opposite direction, and in
the spaces between those through which atmospheric air passes. To the end

page_text: of such flue, and in connection only with the spaces through which the smoke
and vapours pass, is formed a chamber, having two eduction pipes, one into
each paddle box of the steam boat; and in such chamber is applied a rotatory
exhauster or fan, such as are now becoming commonly employed for forcing air
into furnaces for smelting iron, rotatory motion being communicated thereto
by the engines. The smoke and vapours rush into the chamber, and are
forced out therefrom by the exhauster (now acting as a blower) into the paddle
boxes, where by the working of the paddle wheels the same is condensed or so
washed as to offer no annoyance to the passengers; and as the smoke and
vapours from the furnace rush towards the exhauster, streams of atmospheric
air are travelling in the opposite direction and becoming heated, and thus is
more suitable for supporting combustion. Now, I would have it understood
that I am aware that tubes have been before placed in flues for heating the
atmospheric air previously to coming into the furnace; I do not therefore
claim the same, but only when combined with a rotatory blower, and applied
to marine steam engine boilers, whereby the vertical flue or chimney is
dispensed with, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacob Perkins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of October, in the
year of our Lord 1836, the aforesaid Jacob Perkins came before our said Lord
the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and
all and everything 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 Twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and thirty-six.