IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRO- MAGNETIC ENGINES AND BATTERIES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETIERS PATENT to James Andrew Cumine, of Belfast, in the County
of Antrim; Ireland, Optician, and Colin Hunter, of Islandreagh, in the
same County, Bleacher, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRO-
MAGNETIC ENGINES AND BATTERIES."
Sealed the 8th September 1857, and dated the .9th. March. 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Andrew Cumine
and Colin Hunter at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
'their Petition on the 9th March 1857.
We, JAMES ANDREW CUMINE, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland,
Optician, and COLIN HUNTER, of Islandreagh, in the same County, Bleacher,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRO-MAGNETIC ENGINES AND BATTERIES," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to certain arrangements of electro-magnetic appa-
ratus for the obtainment of rotatory motion or motive power at a more
economical cost, and in a simpler and more effective manner than has hitherto
been the case with such apparatus.
Under one judiciously practicable form by which these improvements are
capable of being carried into effect, the engine consists of a series of electro-
magnets fixed at regular intervals asunder upon. a vertical supporting annular
frame. This frame is carried upon a suitable main structure, and the magnets
are all set radially upon its inner side, or so as to point towards the centre of
the circle from which the annular frame is struck.. Coincident with this centre
is the main axle or shaft of the engine, set horizontally, and carrying an arma-
ture wheel, which is capable of revolving inside the external annular magnet
frame, and in the same plane as that" frame. On the exterior of this armature
[Price 8d.]

page_text: wheel are attached a set of radial armatures, to a number exceeding that of
the magnets. There is thus a revolving ring of armatures and a stationary ring
of magnets, one ring inside the other and working just clear of contact. The
same frames or rings carry the "make and break contact" apparatus for the
magnets and armatures, so arranged that the battery power is cut off and let
on between the successive magnets and armatures as each successive armature
passes over the allotted distance of its action, that is to say, that after the
magnets have performed their work upon the successive armatures, the working
contact is broken just prior to the armatures coming into the radial line of the
magnets. In this way every magnet operates attractively upon several arma-
tures at once, so as to exert a very powerful attractive force in causing the
armature wheel to revolve, and thus give out or develope a useful motive
power; hence, whilst a superior absolute effect is secured the revolution of
the wheel is peculiarly uniform. The magnets and armatures are both of flat
metal. The battery from which the power is conveyed to the engine by a wire
in the usual way comprehends a peculiar arrangement or combination of steel
plates, which affords a superior amount of electro-magnetic power at a very
cheap rate, and such combinations of batteries are capable of application for
general purposes.
The battery consists of a combination of steel and zinc plates, arranged in
a duplex trough, or in two troughs placed side by side. Down the centre of
the division in the trough is placed a series of vertical copper holders, set
transversely, each holder having on one side a steel and on the other a sinc
plate, the combination of the two metals being alternated throughout the
trough, that is to say, the trough has first a pair of steel and zinc plates, and
then a pair of zinc and steel plates. In this way the current takes a zig-zag
or circuitous course throughout the trough, crossing and recrossing from one
side to the other to the end. Provision is made for reversing the action of
the wheel by changing or reversing the electric current.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Andrew Cumine and Colin Hunter in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 8th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
ANDREW CUMINE, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, Optician, and
COLIN HUNTER, of Islandreagh, in the same County, Bleacher, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date. the Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said James Andrew Cumine and Colin Hunter, Her special
license that we, the said James Andrew Cumine and Colin Hunter, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said James
Andrew Cumine and Colin Hunter, our executors, administrators, or 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 ELECTRO-MAGNETIC ENGINES AND BATTERIES, "upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that we, the said James Andrew Cumine and Colin
Hunter, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us, 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 we, the said James Andrew Cumine and Colin
Hunter, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement in writing, reference being had
to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:-
Our said Invention relates to certain arrangements of electro-magnetic
apparatus for the obtainment of rotatory motion or motive power at a more
economical cost, and in a simple and more effective manner than has hitherto
been the case with such apparatus. Under one judiciously practical form
by which these improvements are capable of being carried into effect, the
engine consists of a series of electro-magnets fixed at regular intervals
asunder upon a vertical supporting annular frame. This frame is carried upon
a suitable main structure, and the magnets are all set radially upon its inner
side, or so as to point towards the centre of the circle from which the annular
frame is struck. Coincident with this centre is the main axle or shaft of the
engine, set horizontally, and carrying an armature wheel, which is capable of
revolving inside the external annular magnet frame, and in the same plane as
that frame. On the exterior of this armature wheel are attached a set of

page_text: radial armatures, to a number equal or exceeding that of the magnets. There
is thus a revolving ring of armatures and a stationary ring of magnets, one
ring inside the other and working just clear of contact. The same shaft
carries the "make and break contact" apparatus for the magnets and arma-
tures is so arranged, that the battery power is cut off and let on between the
successive magnets and armatures as each successive armature passes over the
allotted distance of its action, that is to say, that after the magnets have per-
formed their work upon the successive armatures, the working contact is broken
just when the armatures are coming into the radial line of the magnets. In
this way every magnet operates attractively upon several armatures at once, so
as to exert a very powerful attractive force in causing the armature wheel to
revolve, and thus give out or develope a useful motive power; hence, whilst
a superior absolute effect is secured the revolution of the wheel is peculiarly
uniform. The magnets and armatures are both of flat metal. The battery
from which the power is conveyed to the engine by a wire in the usual way
comprehends a peculiar arrangement or combination of steel plates, which
affords a superior amount of electro-magnetic power at a very cheap rate, and
such combinations of batteries are capable of application for general purposes.
Provision is made for reversing the action of the wheel by changing or
reversing the electric current.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood we shall
now proceed to describe the illustrative Figure on the explanatory Sheet of
Drawings, which we have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing one
modification under which our improvements may be judiciously carried out in
practice.
The Figure, shown in our Drawing is a front elevation of one modification
of our electro-magnetic engine as arranged for producing or obtaining rota-
tory motion. The machine is supported upon a rectangular base, to which is
bolted an open cast-iron framing A, consisting of a pair of castings fitted
parallel to each other, and connected transversely by suitable stays. The large
rings which form the principal external portion of the framing serve to support
a series of magnets B, disposed radially with the rings of the framing. This
series of fixed magnets by reason of their attractive force, give motion to a
number of armatures fitted or arranged upon a wheel rotating within the
circular series of magnets. The magnets B are disposed at equal distances
apart, with their poles pointing towards the centre of the engine. The magnets
are secured to brackets, which are bolted to the parallel sides of the framing A.
The magnets may be of a horse-shoe shape, or semi-circular at one end, pre-
ference, however, is given to the making this part of the magnet flat, that is

page_text: to say, that the magnet has the form of three sides of a rectangular figure.
It is also preferred to make the magnets of iron, of a square or oblong rectan-
gular figure in its transverse section. The poles or free ends of the magnets
are covered with coils of copper wire, properly insulated, by covering the wire
with a suitable non-conducting material.
In the modification of our electro-magnetic engine, shown in the accom-
panying Drawing, there are twenty magnets disposed round the framing A, and
these magnets are arranged in series or conjoined sets of four, that is to say,
one end of the coil of wire surrounding the magnets 1, in the centre of
the upper part of our illustrative Figure, is connected to one end of the
coil of the magnet 2; the other end of this coil is connected to the magnet
3, and this in its turn is connected in like manner to the magnet 4. Thus
these, four magnets act in concert, their induction coils being practically
united into one. The other ends of the four coils are connected into one;
and attached to one of five metal rollers H, which are carried upon a wheel
rotating within the armature wheel. The four magnets adjoining or next to
those connected, as just described, namely, numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8, are in like
manner united by means of one end of each of their induction coils, the other
ends of the coils being connected to the second induction roller H, by means
of which the current of electricity is conveyed from the inner wheel to the
magnets B. The series of twenty magnets are thus connected with each other
in sets of four, each set being connected with one of the five induction rollers
H. The axis or shaft of the armature wheel is carried in pedestal bearings C,
which are supported on the transverse tie bar of the framing A. The shaft D
of the armature wheel E rotates in a wooden bush or other non-conducting
material. The armature wheel E is an ordinary cast-iron wheel, upon the
periphery of which are fixed a number of pieces of soft iron F. These pieces
of iron or armatures are attached to the periphery of the armature wheel by
means of brackets bolted to the rim of the wheel, or they may be cast in and
form a part of the wheel itself. Concentric to the armature wheel and upon
the same shaft is a wheel G, and parallel to it is another wheel, placed at about
one-eighth of an inch apart from its fellow wheel. To the periphery of each of
these wheels G are fastened a set of slips of paper, gutta percha, ivory, or
other non-conducting material. The wheels G are put in connection with a
certain number of the magnets by means of the metal rollers H, which are
attached to the semi-circular frame I. This frame is of wood, and is bolted to
and supported upon the horizontal tie bar of the framing A. The rollers' H
are small inetal wheels, similar to anti-friction rollers, which roll over the
periphery of the wheels G as they rotate upon their axes. The rollers H'arë

page_text: kept in contact with the wheels G by means of small springs J, fitted beneath
the under side of the frame I and the upper side of the rollers. The springs J
exert a moderate pressure upon the rollers H, and serve to keep them in con-
tact with the peripheries of the wheels G or the non-conducting material
fastened thereto. In the arrangement shown in our illustrative Figure there
are five of these rollers H, and they are put in connection with the magnets B
by means of wires carried from the magnets and attached to the metal supports
of the rollers. The semi-circular frame I has attached to it an arrangement
for conveying or communicating the electricity generated by the galvanic
battery used to excite the magneto-electric machine. The wire K proceeding
from one pole of the battery is attached to a spring L, which is fastened at its
lower end to the frame I, leaving its upper end free to move between two studs
M and N, which are fixed into and project from the face of the frame I., The
stud M is in metallic connection with a spring O, which is fastened at one end
to the frame I, the free end of the spring resting against the rim of the wheel
G. The other stud N is connected to a spring similar to O, which is fixed to
the opposite side of the frame I, and this second spring presses against the
fellow wheel to G. It follows, from this arrangement, that when the spring L
is put in contact with the stud M, the electricity is conveyed through or
by means of the spring O to the wheel G, and from it, through the rollers H
and the wires attached thereto. to the scries of radially-fixed magnets B. On
the other hand, when the spring L is turned towards and put in contact with
the stud N, the electricity then flows by means of the spring connected with it
to the wheel parallel to G. The non-conductors on the peripheries of these
wheels are arranged in slips, leaving intervals between them, so that as the
wheels G rotate the rollers H are alternately in contact with the metal of
the wheels and the non-conductors; but the slips of non-conducting material
are so arranged, that when the rollers are in contact with the metal surface of
one wheel they rest upon the non-conducting material on the other wheel. For
this purpose the slips of non-conducting material on one wheel are arranged
opposite the metallic spaces of its neighbouring wheel, so that the roller rests
upon the metal space of one wheel whilst it presses the non-conductor of the
other wheel. The series of magnets and armatures are so arranged in this
modification of our Invention, that four of the magnets are in a radial line with
a corresponding number of armatures, whilst another series of four armatures
are brought just within the attractive influence of the four magnets next to
those in radial lines with the armatures. By the time the four armatures that
are within the influence of the attractive force are brought opposite to or in
a radial line with their attracting magnets the next four armatures will be

page_text: within the influence of their nearest magnets. Thus, in this arrangement
of the magnetic machine there are always four armatures in a radial line
with an equal number of magnets, whilst there are also four magnets exerting
their attractive force upon a corresponding number of armatures, and tending
to drag the armature wheel round. The non-conducting material is so
arranged upon the wheels G, that when the radial lines of the armatures reach
corresponding radial lines of the magnets, those four are thrown out of the
circuit, leaving the four neighbouring magnets to exert their full force upon
the approaching armatures. The electric current, after completing its circuit
of the several magnets, passes off by the wire P back to the battery.
Although we have described and shown in our illustrative Drawing a series
of four armatures and magnets placed in radial lines, and four armatures just
within the magnetic influence, other numbers forming series of armatures within
and without the magnetic force may be arranged; but we have selected this
number, and arranged our magnetic engine accordingly, because the moving
body, namely, the armature wheel, is then acted upon by an attractive force at
four, points equidistant from its centre, and tending to urge the wheel to move
in a rotatory direction. The motion of the armature wheel is reversed or
caused to turn in the opposite direction by simply moving the spring L from
one stud and bringing it in contact with the other. The effect of this is
to bring the fellow wheel to G in connection with the magnets, and thereby
cause the armatures at the back or behind those in the radial lines to be
attracted by their nearest magnets, the other magnets of the series being
thrown out of connection by the action of the rollers upon the non-conducting
material on the fellow wheel to G, -as before described. The armatures
being attracted by the backward series of magnets in relation to those in radial
lines, the armature wheel moves in a direction contrary to that given to
it when the spring L was in contact with the stud N. By means of this
arrangement of stationary magnets and a revolving armature wheel rotatory
motion in either direction is obtained, which may be applied to the moving of
machinery or other purposes in the arts where motive power is required.
Our improvements in galvanic batteries used for generating electric currents
consists in using plates of steel in place of copper, platinized silver, or iron, as
ordinarily used in the arrangement and construction of galvanic batteries. In
arranging galvanic batteries according to our improvements, the plates of steel
are placed between double plates of zinc, when the elements are arranged in
the form of plates placed parallel to each other. But in the form of galvanic
battery known as "Daniell's sustaining battery," the steel element is made of a
cylindrical form, having the zinc element within it; or, in the battery known

page_text: as "Smee's," the platinized silver used therewith is, in our improved arrange-
ment, replaced by steel plates, as being far less expensive and equally efficient.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, we may observe, in conclusion, that we do not confine or restrict
ourselves to the precise details or arrangements which we have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of our Invention; but what we
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of electro-magnetic engine
or machines is which rotatory motion is produced by means of a current of
electricity acting upon a series of moveable armatures, as herein-before
described.
Second, the system or mode of arranging the magnets and armatures of
electro-magnetic engines or machines in such manner that a series of four or
other number of armatures are within the attractive force or influence of their
nearest magnets, whilst those magnets opposite to or behind the armatures are
disconnected from or thrown out of the metallic circuit, as herein-before
described.
:
Third, the system or mode of making and breaking the magnetic contract by
means of a series of rollers which pass over the surface of a pair of conducting
and non-conducting wheels, arranged as herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of reversing the direction of motion of the
rotating armature wheel, by causing the magnets in advance of the armatures
to become inert, whilst those in the rear of the armatures are made to exert
their attractive force or influence, and thus draw the armature wheel in a con-
trary direction.
Fifth, the use and application of steel in the arrangement and construction
of electric or galvanic batteries in lieu or in place of copper, iron, or platinized
silver, as herein-before described.
!!
In witness whereof, I, the said James Andrew Cumine, on behalf of myself
and the said Colin Hunter, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Fifth day of September, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.