IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER BY COMPRESSED AIR, AND BY ITS SUCCESSIVE AND ASCENDING PRESSURES, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pierre Lavenas, of Lyons, in the Empire of France,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER BY
COMPRESSED AIR, AND BY ITS SUCCESSIVE AND ASCENDING PRESSURES, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."--A communication from abroad by Louis
Brunier, of 74, Rue de la Charité, Lyons.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierre Lavenas at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th
February 1860.
I, PIERRE LAVENAS, of Lyons, in the Empire of France, do hereby declare
the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER
BY COMPRESSED AIR, AND BY ITS SUCCESSIVE AND ASCENDING PRESSURES, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in obtaining motive power
by compressed air, and by its successive and ascending pressures, and in
apparatus employed therein. For this purpose a reservoir is employed, into
which air may be condensed by a pump or other suitable apparatus. When
a sufficient pressure is obtained, the air is allowed to pass into a pipe ter-
minating in a circular orifice, which is partially closed by a cone having concave
sides, the front of this cone being protruded through the orifice, so that the

page_text: air can escape only by the annular space around the cone, and in thus escaping
it acquires great velocity. In front of the orifice a short tube or jet is
arranged; it is made of somewhat larger diameter at the point at which the
air enters it than that at which it escapes. This jet is not placed close up
to the orifice before mentioned, but a narrow space is left between the two,
communicating with a close chamber. Opposite the mouth of the jet, and
at a short distance from it, is the mouth of a pipe, somewhat larger in diameter
than the jet. This pipe leads into another reservoir or vessel suitable for
containing compressed air, and it continually increases in diameter from its
mouth to the point at which it enters the reservoir. The air, as before men-
tioned, in escaping from the orifice at the end of the pipe communicating with
the vessel into which the air is first compressed, acquires a great velocity, and
it passes through the short tube or jet placed in front of the orifice, and enters
the mouth of the pipe communicating with the second reservoir. The speed
at which the air travels causes it to become more compressed in this reservoir
than in that from which it first issues. From this second reservoir it again
escapes through a similar orifice of somewhat smaller size, but having a cone
and other parts combined with it, as already described, into a third reservoir,
by which means as it escapes from the second orifice with greater speed than
from the first, a further increase of pressure is obtained, and again, by
escaping from the third reservoir, by another similar but still smaller orifice
into a fourth reservoir, it attains a still further increase of pressure. From
this last reservoir a portion of the air is led away to work an air engine,
which may be of any ordinary construction; and the air, after passing through
the engine, is caused to pass through a valve into the first reservoir, and the
pressure in this reservoir is maintained at the proper working point by leading
into it constantly some of the compressed air from the fourth reservoir. This
air is caused to pass through a valve weighted to compensate for the difference
of pressures in the first and fourth reservoirs.
I have described the first three reservoirs as furnished each with but one
orifice and parts connected therewith, and prefer, however, that each reservoir
should be furnished with several, usually three, such orifices and other parts;
the number may, however, be varied without departing from this Invention,
an important feature of which is the causing air to pass in succession through
several orifices, so as to obtain a progressive increase of pressure, as already
described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Pierre Lavenas in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
LAVENAS, of Lyons, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our Lord:
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said'
Pierre Lavenas, Her special licence that I, the said Pierre Lavenas, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Pierre
Lavenas, 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 OBTAINING
MOTIVE POWER BY COMPRESSED AIR, AND BY ITS SUCCESSIVE AND ASCENDING PRES-
SURES, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication to him from
abroad by Louis Brunier, of 74, Rue de la Charité, Lyons, upon the con--
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Pierre Lavenas, 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 Pierre Lavenas, 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 obtaining motive power
by compressed air, and by its successive and ascending pressures, and in-
apparatus employed therein. For this purpose a reservoir is employed, into
which air may be condensed by a pump or other suitable apparatus. When
a sufficient pressure is obtained, the air is allowed to pass into a pipe ter-
minating in a circular orifice, which is partially closed by a cone having
concave sides, the point of this cone being protruded through the orifice; so
that the air can escape only by the annular space around the cone, and in

page_text: thus escaping it acquires great velocity. In front of the orifice a short tube
or jet is arranged; it is made of somewhat larger diameter at the point at
which the air enters it than that at which it escapes. This jet is not placed
close up to the orifice before mentioned, but a narrow space is left between the
two, communicating with a close chamber. Opposite the mouth of the jet,
and at a short distance from it, is the mouth of a pipe, somewhat larger in
diameter than the jet. This pipe leads into another reservoir or vessel
suitable for containing compressed air, and it continually increases in diameter
from its mouth to the point at which it enters the reservoir. The air, as
before mentioned, in escaping from the orifice at the end of the pipe com-
municating with the vessel into which the air is first compressed, acquires a
great velocity, and it passes through the short tube or jet placed in front of
the orifice, and enters the mouth of the pipe communicating with the second
reservoir. The speed at which the air travels causes it to become more com-
pressed in this reservoir than in that from which it first issues. From this
second reservoir it again escapes through a similar orifice of somewhat smaller
size, but having a cone and other parts combined with it, as already described,
into a third reservoir, by which means, as it escapes from the second orifice
with greater speed than from the first, a further increase of pressure is
obtained, and, again, by escaping from the third reservoir by another similar
but still smaller orifice into a fourth reservoir, it attains a still further increase
of pressure. From this last reservoir a portion of the air is led away to work
an air engine, which may be of any ordinary construction; and the air, after
passing through the engine, is caused to pass through a valve into the first
reservoir, and the pressure in this reservoir is maintained at the proper working
point by leading into it constantly some of the compressed air from the fourth
reservoir. This air is caused to pass through a valve weighted, to compensate
for the difference of pressures in the first and fourth reservoirs.
I have described the first reservoir as furnished with but one orifice, and
parts connected therewith; I prefer, however, that this reservoir should be
furnished with several, usually three, such orifices, and other succeeding parts
to correspond therewith; the number may, however, be varied without departing
from this Invention, an important feature of which is the causing air to pass
in succession through several orifices, so as to obtain a progressive increase of
pressure, as already described.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.

page_text: Figures 1 and 1 shew a longitudinal section of an apparatus for obtaining
power as above described. a is a reservoir communicating with a trunk b,
which has three or other number of pipes attached to it. They are all exactly
similar the one to the other, and have similar parts attached to and in con-
nection therewith. The pipe c is one of these, the others are not seen; it can
bo stopped by a cock d when desired, and it terminates in a circular orifice c¹,
through which a cone e projects, it being carried by a stem e¹, as shown. fis
a short tube or jet placed a short distance in front of the orifice c¹; it is
larger in diameter at the end near the orifice than at its further end. g is a
chamber surrounding the jet f, and communicating with the interior thereof
by a narrow passage left between the end of the pipe c and the jet f; h is a
pipe somewhat larger in diameter than the jet f, and communicating with
another reservoir i. From the reservoirs i (which correspond in number with
the pipes c) other pipes j pass to orifices j', similar to the orifices c', only
somewhat smaller, and fitted up and combined with other parts in all respects
in a similar manner. k is one of three (or other number) of pipes cor-
responding with the pipes h, and leading into other reservoirs 1, which again,
as before, are fitted with other pipes m, similar to the pipes c and j, and
furnished at their ends with corresponding parts; n also are pipes similar to
the pipes h and k, and connected with a fourth set of reservoirs o.
The apparatus is set to work in the following manner:-The whole of the
cocks in connection with the apparatus are closed, excepting the cock on the
pipe p, and through this pipe air is forced into the reservoir a by an air-pump
until a pressure of about 19 lbs. on the square inch is obtained, when the
connection with the air-pump is cut off. The cock d of one of the pipes c is
then opened, and the air rushes through the corresponding orifice c¹ with great
velocity, and the momentum with which it enters the opposito pipe / raises
the pressure in the reservoir i connected
than the pressure in the reservoir a.
therewith to a much higher point
Similarly, the air passing on, the
pressure in the corresponding reservoir is much higher than in the reservoir i,
and in the reservoir o the pressure will be yet higher. When the air arrives
at this reservoir the cock q is opened, and the compressed air is admitted to
the receiver r, from which a portion of it passes by the pipes back into the
reservoir a, to prevent the pressure therein falling lower than it is at the
moment when the air first becomes compressed in the receiver r, which, of
course, is considerably less than the original pressure. The air in entering
the reservoir a is caused to pass by a valve weighted just to compensate the

page_text: difference of pressure in the two vessels. In order to put another pipe c at
work, the pressure of the air in the reservoir a should again be raised to
19 lbs. on the square inch, as before, by means of a force pump, and then
another cock d opened, when the air rushes out at the corresponding orifice c',
as before, resulting in raising the pressure of the air in the succeeding
réservoirs, as already described. In a similar manner a third, and, if they
are used, subsequent pipes c and the parts succeeding are put into operation.
The compressed air to work an air engine to obtain motive power to drive
machinery for any purpose for which it may be required, is taken from the
receiver r, being drawn off by the cock t, and it is returned to the reservoir a
by the flap valve u, the air engine working on the difference of pressure
between that in the receiver r and the reservoir a. The areas of the orifices
from the pipes c, j, and m, are respectively as the numbers 177, 148, and 127.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 3 is a plan, of a slightly
different arrangement; the differences are that the chambers 9 around the
orifices and the jets f (and the other corresponding chambers and jets) are
no longer employed, but the pipes h, k, and n are brought close up to their
orifices. In place of a cock q, a valve is employed, as shewn; and a spindle
valve is also substituted for the flap valve u. v is a safety valve to prevent the
air becoming compressed to a dangerous degree.
g
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Lavenas, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
PIERRE LAVENAS. (L.S.)