IMPROVEMENTS IN GENERATING ELASTIC FLUIDS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Scott; of Manchester, in the County of
Lancashire, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GENERATING ELASTIC
FLUIDS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THAT PURPOSE,"
Sealed the 17th September 1858, and dated the 19th March 1858.
.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Scott at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th March
1858.
I, GEORGE SCOTT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancashire, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GENERATING
ELASTIC FLUIDS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THAT PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
I introduce common atmospheric air or other gases or elastic-fluids or
mixtures of the same, either at a high or low temperature, commingled with
water mixed with it in a finely divided state or spray, into coils, tubes, or
vessels heated by fire. The combination of the air or other gases and the
water or steam produces an elastic fluid of great expansive force, which may
be employed for working steam engines of the ordinary or any suitable con-
struction with great economy and perfect safety. Various forms of apparatus,
either stationary or moveable,may be employed for carrying out the Invention,
and I find the following well adapted for the purpose:-
I place within a furnace a vertical conical pipe or a conical spiral coil, com-
municating with one, two, three, four, or more conical, spiral, or helical coils of
Price8d1

page_text: pipes, whose lower ends are connected to an enlarged part of the feed pipe or
hot well, and their tops communicate with a steam chamber or chambers
from which the elastic fluid is conducted to its destination. One or more
pipes are connected to the steam chamber and the hot well to promote
circulation. The air or other gases or elastic fluids,or mixtures of the same,at
a high or low temperature and the water are forced by pumps or other suitable
means into a mixing chamber, and pass simultaneously and together through
one and the same series of minutely perforated plates or sheets of wire gauze,
or are commingled together by any other means. This admixture enters the
generator in a finely divided or commingled state or in the form of spray, and
is rapidly converted into steam or vapour of great elastic force. The combined
steam or vapour thus obtained is conducted from the steam chamber in the
usual manner by pipes to its destination.
The generator itself may be kept full of the combined steam or vapour, or
it
may
also contain water through which the air passes. The furnace is
inclosed in a double casing or heater in which the water is heated before it is
introduced into "the generator.
This apparatus may be employed for generating steam or elastic fluids from
.water or other liquids as well as from mixtures of the same with air or elastic
fluids,and on theotherhandvarious other arrangementsofapparatusand boilers,
either locomotive, marine, or stationary of any other form or kind, including
those now in use may be employed for carrying out my Invention of generating
elastic fluids from a combination of water and air or other gases forced into
the boiler by a pump or pumps or similar means through fine perforations or
wire gauze.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
SCOTT, of Manchester, in the' County of Lancashire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Scott, Her special licence that I, the said George Scott, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George

page_text: Scott, 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 GENE-
BATING ELASTIC FLUIDS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THAT PURPOSE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Scott, 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 George Scott, 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 :-
I introduce common atmospheric air or other gases, or elastic fluids, or,
mixtures of the same, either at a high or low temperature, commingled with
water or mixed with it in a finely divided state or spray, into coils, tubes, or
vessels heated by fire. The combination of the air or other gases, and the
water or steam, produces an elastic fluid of great expansive force, which may
be employed for working steam engines of the ordinary or any suitable
construction with great economy and perfect safety. Various forms of
apparatus, either stationary or moveable, may be employed for carrying out
the Invention; and I find the following well adapted for the purpose:-
Figure 1, Sheet I., of the accompanying Drawings is a vertical section
of an elastic fluid generator constructed according to my Invention;
Figure 2 is a side view, partly in section, of the same; Figure 3-is a horizontal
section through the coils of pipe in the lower part of the apparatus ; and
Figure 4 is a plan of the generator with the upper part of the brickwork or
casing removed. The same letters refer to similar parts in each Figure.
A, A, A, A, are nine quadruple coils of pipes, which are connected at bottoin
to three horizontal cylindrical chambers B, B, B, and at top to three.horizontal
cylindrical chambers C, communicating with eight vertical cylindrical steam
chambers D, the tops of which are connected by pipes E and F.; G is: the
steam pipe which conducts the combined steam and air to a steam engine, or
conveys it to its destination... The coils A, A, are inclosed in a casing or
furnace X, constructed of fire-brick and bound together by iron curbs a; Y, Y,
are the fire-bars, and y, y, are the fire-doors; z is the ash-pit. The lower
'

page_text: chambers B, B, B, are connected by pipes H, I, I, to a mixing box J, con-
taining some vertical partitions of wire gauze ; K is a pipe through which
both air and water are forced into the mixing box by their respective pumps;
L is a dirt box with a blow-off pipe M, which is provided with a cock, by
opening which the dirt may be blown out; another blow-off pipe N is connected
to the bottom of the pipe I, for blowing off any sediment from the water; O
is a pipe communicating with the generator by two pipes P, p, and containing
a float attached to a rod passing through a stuffing box, and connected to
a chain passing over a pulley Q, and connected to the lever a of a valve bin a
steam pipe c; this steam pipe c leads from the upper part of te pipe O to
a small direct-acting "donkey" engine R, which works the water pump S
which feeds the apparatus with water; d is a lever worked by tappets, and
giving motion to the slide valve or four-way cock of this engine. When the
level of the water in the generator falls, the float in the pipe O descends, and
thus raises the lever a and allows the steam to enter the donkey engine. The
pump is thus put in action until the water level rises sufficiently high to close
the valveb, and thus stop the action of the pump; a glass tube guage may also
be applied to the pipe O to shew the level of the water. T is a pressure guage
for indicating the pressure of the elastic fluid; e is a pipe leading to the air
regulator, which is shewn on a larger scale in Sheet III., in which Figure 8
is a vertical section, and Figure 9 is a plan. It consists of two boxes U, V,
each of which contains a flexible diaphragm of vulcanized caoutchouc supported
by a metal disc with a stem which rests upon a lever f. If these diaphragms
were of equal diameter and acted on the lever at equal distances on each side
of the fulcrum, they would have no tendency to move the lever, but one
diaphragm U is made rather larger in diameter than the other, or is made to
act on the lever at a greater distance from the fulcrum, so that the lever is
acted on by the difference of the two forces; at the same time the diaphragins
being of large diameter allow of a considerable motion of the lever. The
short arm of the lever fis connected to a valve W which regulates the supply
of air to the generator, by allowing a portion of the air to escape when the
pressure rises in the generator; or this valve may be placed on the suction
pipe of the air pump or pumps, or on the steam pipe of a donkey engine which
works the air pump or pumps. The long arm of the lever fis connected
to a rack g, gearing into a pinion on the axis of a lever h, which is connected
by a rod i to a lever j on the axis of a damper in the chimney. When the
pressure in the generator increases, the short arm of the lever f is depressed,
and the damper in the chimney is thus partially closed, and at the same time
the supply of air is diminished or stopped. The air which is supplied by the

page_text: air pumps may be heated by passing it through boxes or pipes Z, placed
round the furnace, and having passages for the admission of a portion of the
products of combustion around them. The number of spiral tubes may be
varied, and generators may be constructed with a single spiral tube or one
set of four spiral tubes, or a greater or less number at pleasure.
The mode of employing this apparatus is as follows:- The generator is
filled with water to such a height as partially to fill the chambers C, and a
fire is made on the fire-bars. As the coils A, A, only contain a comparatively
small quantity of water, the water is soon boiled and steam is raised. Air
and water are now forced in through the mixing box J. The air becomes
expanded by the beat, and carries with it the steam generated from the water,
forming a compound fluid of great elastic force, which is conveyed by the
pipe G to a steam engine or other destination. Instead of keeping the coils
full of water, the supply of water may be so proportioned that the whole of it
may be converted into steam in passing up the coiled pipes, so that theer is
then no water in the upper part of the pipes. In this case the pipe O is
made of greater length, and is connected at bottom to one of the chambers
B or to the pipe I, so as to allow the float to descend to the water level. The
chainbers D, being inclosed in the chimney or upper part of the furnace, are
kept hot, but are not liable to become injuriously overheated, as the greater
part of the heat of the fire is absorbed by the coils A, which expose a very
large surface to the heat. The proportion of the air and water may vary to a
great extent, but I have found that a convenient and beneficial proportion is
one cubic foot of water with a quantity of air at a pressure of about two
hundred and fifty pounds upon the square inch, equal to from twenty to fifty
cubic feet of air at atmospheric pressure. The generator affords a copious
supply of elastic fluid at a pressure of two hundred and fifty pounds per square
inch, but it may of course be worked at lower or higher pressures if desired. It
will be understood that alcohol or other volatile liquid might be employed
instead of water, and that hydrogen or nitrogen or other gas might be used
instead of air, but the cost of such fluids is an objection to their use.
In Sheet II. of the accompanying Drawings I have shewn a set of air
pumps adapted for supplying the generator with air. Figure 5 is a vertical
section, Figure 6 is an end view, and Figure 7 is a plan of this apparatus.
The same letters refer to similar parts in each of these Figures.
A, B, C, are three cylinders of different diameters fitted with pistons D, E, F.
The piston Dis hollow, and has a valve a opening downwards. Thester of the
piston has an opening or openings a, a, communicating with the atmosphere.
In the bottom of the large cylinder A is a valve b, opening downwards into a

page_text: passage G, which communicates with the cylinder B by a valve c opening
upwards. d'is another valve opening downwards from the cylinder B to a
passage H, which communicates with the smallest cylinder C by a valve e
opening upwards. Lastly, the cylinder C communicates, by a valve fopening
downwards, with a passage or pipe I, which conveys the compressed air to the
mixing box, shewn at J in Figures 2 and 3, Sheet I. The piston D has a
piston rod D¹, which is connected by a conccting rod D² to a crank in K¹,
in a spur wheel Lon the cranked shaft K. This shaft has a crank K², which
is placed opposite to the crank pin K', and is connected by a connecting
rod E2 to the piston rod E¹ of the piston E of the second cylinder B. The
shaft K has another crank K³ placed opposite to K2, and connected by a
connecting rod F2 to the piston rod F1 of the piston F of the small cylinder C.
D3, E3, F3, are guides for the piston rods attached to the framing M; N is
a cistern in which the air pumps are placed; O is the crank shaft of a donkey
engine P, which works the air pumps by means of a pinion on the shaft O
geering into the spur wheel L.; Qis a fly wheel on the shaft O. The action
of this apparatus is as follows:-The piston D rises, and the air flows
through the valve a to fill the space under the piston. The piston having
reached the top of its stroke, begins to descend, the valve a closes, and the
air becoming compressed, opens the valve b, and passes through the passage
G and valve c into the cylinder B, whose piston E begins to rise when D
begins to descend. The air which had previously filled the large cylinder A
is thus compressed into the second cylinder B. When the piston I) has
reached the bottom of its stroke, the valves b and c close, and a opens as
the piston D rises to take in another cylinder full of air. At the same time
E descends and F ascends, and the contents of the cylinder B are thus forced
through the valves d and e and passage H into the smallest cylinder C. When
the piston Freaches the top of the stroke, the valves d and e close, and the
valve fopens as the piston F descends. The contents of the cylinder Care
thus forced into the passage I, and conveyed to the generator. The cistern N
is filled with water to prevent the pumps and valves and packing from
becoming injured by the heat which is evolved in compressing the air. The
water feed pump R may be driven by a crauk K on the shaft K, or it may
be driven by a separate donkey engine, as herein-before described.
In lieu of regulating the water feed by a float, as herein-before described,
it may be regulated by the regulator shewn in Figures 8 and 9, Sheet III.
For this purpose a valve k is connected by a rod to the lever f. This valve k
is placed on the suction pipe of the water feed pump, or on the steam pipe of
the donkey engine, when a separate donkey engine is employed to work the

page_text: water pump. The rod of this valve and the rod of the air valve W have slots
in their ends, which allow the lever f to move to a certain extent, and to open
or close the damper without moving the valves W and k. If, however, the
pressure in the generator continues to rise, the motion of the lever opens the
air valve W, and allows a portion of the air to escape; and it also opens the
valve and allows the water or an additional quantity of water to enter the
generator. The pressure is thus soou reduced to the proper point. It is
advisable to allow the water feed-pipe to be always partially open, so that
there may always be some water passing into the generator. This may be
effected by making the valve k to leak to the required extent, or not to shut
close on its seat, or by constructing a passage with a regulating cock /
which allows a sufficient quantity of water to pass when the valve k is
closed. When a cistern of water at a sufficient elevation is accessible, the
water may be supplied from it instead of using the force pump to drive it
into the generator, but in most cases the force pump will be preferable.
Figure 10, Sheet III., is a vertical section, and Figure 11 is a plan of the
mixing box marked J in Figures 2 and 3, Sheet I. K is the pipe through
which the air and water from the pumps are conducted into the mixing box,
and through two series of sheets of wire gauze or perforated metal m and n
to the pipe I leading to the generator. The perforations in the series n are
smaller than those in the first series m. Any dirt which may collect in the
chamber Lis blown out from time to time through the pipe M. The air and
water in passing through the perforated plates or wire gauze become intimately
commingled together, forming spray, or mist, or foam, and pass through the
pipe I' into the generator. It is important to observe that the generator may
be worked in two different manners; thus the spiral tubes may be kept full
or partially full of water,and the air which enters with the water may bubble
up through the water in the tubes, which will then be in a state of ebullition
or effervescence; or the air may be employed in a larger relative proportion
mist,
to the water, and their introduction may be so regulated that the spray,
or foam may be all converted into hot elastic fluid as it rushes up the tubes.
The mode of generating elastic fluid from spray, or mist, or foam, consisting of
air intimately commingled with water by passing them together through wire
gauze or other fine perforations, as herein-before described, may be applied
with generators or boilers of various other forms, and Ithereforedo not confine
my claim to the application of the same with the generator herein-before
described. Thus, a series of parallel tubes or cylindrical chambers may be
placed in a reverberatory furnace, and the air and water intimately com-
mingled,as herein-before described, may be forced in at one end of thesetubes,

page_text: and the elastic fluid conducted from the other ends of the tubes to a steam
drum or chamber placed in the chimney, and various other arrangements of
generators may be used.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim
generally the construction of boilers or generators with spiral tubes, nor do
I claim generally the introduction of air into steam generators, or the pro-
ducing a mixed el stic fluid from air and water; but what I claim is,―
First, producing or generating a mixed elastic fluid suitable for producing
motive power by forcing or injecting into a heated vessel or tube airand water
previously intimately commingled by passing together through wire gauze
or perforations, as herein-before described,
Second, constructing apparatus for generating a mixed elastic fluid by the
combination of a fixed vertical spiral tube or tubes, with a steam chamber or
steam chambers and a mixing box or vessel in connection with pumps,or other
means of introducing-air and water simultaneously and in an intimately
commingled state, as herein-before described. .
In witness whereof, I, the said George Scott, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
SAMUEL SMITH FOX,
22, Pigot Street, Burlington St.,
Greenheys, Manchester.
GEORGE SCOTT. (L.B.)