AN IMPROVED COMPOUND MOTIVE POWER ENGINE
Year: 1859

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Lough at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th December
1859.
I, GEORGE LOUGH, of Flemington, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED COMPOUND
MOTIVE POWER ENGINE," to be as follows (that is to say):
To construct an engine according to one modification of this Invention to be
used as, say, a marine engine, an horizontal steam cylinder of the ordinary
description is used to work a number of air-pumps, which force atmospheric
air into a suitable enclosed chamber or vessel, and which is used to work the
piston and so forth of a second cylinder from the piston rod, of which the
power is taken off. The air-pump cylinders are fitted with balance or spring
valves to regulate their action. The air-pump pistons consist of a hollow
conical saddle or seat upon which is fitted an india-rubber disc, which is
hollowed out underneath so as to rest fairly upon the conical support. The
edge of the india-rubber disc is covered with a belt or strap of leather, which
is so fitted that it will expand laterally by the expansive force of the india-
rubber. The upper and lower surfaces of the piston are fitted with metal
dises. The air cylinder has a valve which is opened by the action of the
machine when the piston is at the top of its stroke, for the purpose of allowing
all air above the pressure of the external atmosphere to escape. Attached to
and in communication with the air cylinder is a perfectly air-tight fire-place,
the fire of which is used to consume the air injected into the air cylinder after it

page_text: has done its work. The heat generated in the enclosed fire-place is used to
assist in heating the steam boiler, which works the steam cylinder first
described, or it may be used to heat the feed water for the steam boiler. The
ash-pit of the enclosed fire-place is also made air-tight, and will require to be
-opened at intervals of some time apart for the purpose of removing the small
residue of the fuel which remains unconsumed, or it can be removed by an
arrangement of valves or slides so arranged as to exclude the external air
from the ash-pit during the time of removing the ashes therefrom. The
incombustible gases generated in the enclosed fire-place are allowed to fall
down at the back of the fire-place to the bottom of the ash-pit, where they are
drawn off by an exhausting pump, and injected into the sea. The enclosed fire-
place is also provided with a truncated conical pipe, the head of which is
enclosed by a suitable eye-glass to enable the person in charge of the engine to
see the state of the enclosed fire.
In connection with this engine a condenser of a peculiar construction is used
for the purpose of creating a vacuum required in the steam engine which
pumps the air into the receiver for working the air cylinder, and consists of a
number of vertical pipes formed of an amalgam of lead and tin, which are so
arranged as to pass through a steam chest, and are open at each end so that
the water from the sea may flow freely through them, and the steam within the
chest is condensed on the exterior of the pipes, and the resultant water is
pumped into the steam boiler or collected for ship's use.