MENTS IN HYDRAULIC ENGINES, AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Knowelden, of Southwark, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, and Richard Downes Edwards, of Upper Belgrave
Place, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
1:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Knowelden and
11
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Richard Downes Edwards, at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 30th December 1858.
7
We, JOHN KNOWELDEN, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey, Engineer,
and RICHARD DOWNES EDWARDS, of Upper Belgrave Place, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN HYDRAULIC ENGINES, AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be
as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to construct a hydraulic engine or apparatus
for the purpose of obtaining or applying motive power for various purposes,
and which will, when desired, check or soften the effect of any sudden
extraordinary or violent action or strain, such as may be produced by the
raising, moving, lowering, or holding weights, ships, or heavy bodies.
For this purpose we construct the engine or apparatus with one or more
cylinders fitted with piston or ram rods, valves, &c, to be actuate. by water
pressure from the mains of the streets, or from force pumps or other sources;
and, when desired, we arrange with the apparatus an air chamber for the
purpose of arresting, checking, or softening, by means of a volume of com-
"pressed air, any violent action produced by the sudden stoppage of the water
or by the weights to be moved or stayed. This is especially desirable in-the
hoisting of sunken vessels or anchors, or other weights, or when ships are

page_text: riding at anchor, and held on by our apparatus; or in lowering weights, or
submarine telegraphs, or other cables. For motive power, such as for raising
or moving heavy bodies, or for cranes or working hydraulic pumps, windlases,
capstans, machinery, or other purposes, we prefer to employ three cylinders,
with three piston rods, actuating one crank and shaft, and in order to
economize the water, we construct the crank with a slot or otherwise, so that
the crank pin may be readily moved to or from the centre of the crank shaft,
and thus regulate the length of the stroke of the piston, according to the
weight to be moved; or we effect the same object of economizing the water
by means of geering or taper drums or cones, and a strap, so as to lose or
increase the leverage according as the weight is light or heavy. In lowering
weights, such as freight, &c, we still further economize the water and power
by causing the lowering weight to force the water into the .main or into a
cistern for any purpose, or so as to operate upon the same or another apparatus
employed in raising weights.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Knowelden and Richard Downes Edwards in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 30th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
KNOWELDEN, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, and RICHARD
DOWNES EDWARDS, of Upper Belgrave Place, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said John Knowelden and Richard Downes Edwards, Her special
licence that we, the said John Knowelden and Richard Downes Edwards,
our executors, administrators, and assigus, or such others as we, the said
John Knowelden and Richard Downes Edwards, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 aud 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 HYDRAULIC ENGINES, AND IN
APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that

page_text: we,
the said John Knowelden and Richard Downes Edwards, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one
of their bands 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 we, the said John Knowelden and Richard
Downes Edwards, 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 (that is to say) :-
We construct the engine or apparatus with one or more cylinders, with
piston or ram rods, valves, &c., to be actuated by water pressure from the
mains of the streets or other sources; and, when desired, we arrange with the
apparatus an air chamber for the purpose of arresting, checking, or softening,
by means of a volume of compressed air, any violent action produced by the
sudden stoppage of water, or by the weights to be stayed; this is especially
desirable in the lowering or hoisting of boats,ships, anchors, telegraph cables,
or other weights, or when ships are riding at anchor, and held on by our
apparatus. For motive power, such as for cranes or crabs, working as
hydraulic pumps, pile drivers, windlasses, capstans, sails, machinery, or other
purposes, we prefer to employ three cylinders with their piston rods
actuating one crank and shaft, and in order to economise the water, we
construct the crank with a slot or otherwise, so that the crank piu may be
readily moved to or from the centre of the crank shaft, and thus regulate the
length of the stroke of the piston, according to the weight to be moved, or we
effect the same object by means of geering, or taper drums, or cones, and a
strap, so as to diminish or increase the leverage, according as the weight is
light or heavy. In lowering weights, such as freights, &c., we still further
economise the water and power by causing the lowering weights to force the
water into the main, or into a cistern or chamber for any purpose, or so as to
operate upon another or the same apparatus employed in raising weights.
One modification of our Invention may be seen by reference to the
accompanying No. I. Sheet of Drawings, Fig. 1, and consists in the em-
ployment of one cylinder with piston or ram as at a; b is the slotted crank;
c is the air chamber; & is a supply pipe from the street mains, or from force
pumps, or other sources; e, communicates from the air chamber to the
cylinder; fis the piston rod grooved transversely, so as to actuate the toothed
wheel or segment g and the guide h; i is a crank set parallel to and

page_text: connected with the slotted crank b, the pin of which may be set at any
desired distance from the shaft or spindle of the drumj, so as to increase or
diminish the leverage in proportion to the weight to be moved, and thus
regulate the traverse of the piston, and so economise the water. I: will be
evident, that in lowering goods, the distance of the crank pin being set with
suitable leverage the weight will cause the piston a to force the water back
into a cistern, which may be sufficiently elevated to give water pressure to
operate for motive power and other purposes; or the water may be forced
into the air chamber c, and there will be sufficient pressure in the said
chamber to raise a weight without using any additional water from the pipe d,
a method which would be useful in loading or unloading ships or ware-
houses; geering may be attached to the shaft at b, so as to increase the
length of the lift, if required. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the slotted
crank by the screw a the pin may be traversed; the pin might be secured
as a bolt with a nut; or it may be moved by water power, and arranged as
in Fig. 3, in which a, a, are the cylinders, and b, b, the plungers connected
to each other, and the crank pin by a rod c, c; water is forced in the hollow
shaft d, through the tubese,f; g, h, are two cylinders and plungers connected
with the tubes e and f, as shown by the arrows; the movement of the lever i
will force the water to either of the plungers b, b, and thus move the crank
pin to or from the crank shaft as desired.
Another modification of our Invention may be seen by reference to Sheet
of Drawings No. 2, and consists in the employment of three cylinders a, a, a
Figs. 5 and 6; b, b, b, are the piston rods actuating one crank pin c, the
crank is similar to that shewn in the sheet of Drawings No. 1; d is the
shaft or barrel, around which may be wound the chain or rope for hoisting,
holding, or lowering; e is a pulley from which power for any purpose may be
applied; fis the inlet, and g the outlet pipe; the valves are worked by three
cams h, h, h. An enlarged view of our valve is shewn at Fig. 4, Sheet
No. 1. a is the valve; and in order to diminish the friction of the valve face
caused by the pressure of the water, we arrange the piston b, and the rod e,
connecting the piston and valve; the area of the piston is less than the area
of the valve, but the pressure on the valve face is only proportionate to the
difference of those areas.
Another modification of our Invention may be seen at Figs. 8, and 9
in which a, a, a, are the cylinders; b, the crank pin; c, c, c, the pipes
attached to the cylinders; f, the valve chamber, of which Fig, 9 is a view
upon an enlarged scale; d, d, are the outlet and inlet apertures, and e is a
fixed midfeather; the cylinders with their pipes c, c, c, revolve around the

page_text: crank pin and the valve chamber, by which the water is supplied, and with-
drawn seriatim; we use a similar crank to that before mentioned. By
another arrangement, we employ the crank and shaft in a similar manner to
those of Figs. 5 and 6, but we cause the cylinders to oscillate, thus dispensing
with the cams and rods, as the oscillation causes the valve ports to open
and and close.
It is evident that our engine may be employed for the various purposes as
stated by causing the engine to be moved by the force of water, or by
causing the water to be moved by the force of the engine, in which latter case
it performs the functions of a pump, whether it be actuated by gravitation, or
by manual, steam, or other power.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not confine ourselves to the exact details herein set forth, as such may be
varied without departing from the principle of our Invention; but we claim,-
1stly, the use of the air chamber in the manner and for the purposes
herein set forth.
2ndly, the crank with the moveable pin in the manner and for the purposes
as herein described.
3rdly, the engines or apparatus as herein described in the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings No. 2, with or without the combination of the air chamber
and moveable crank pin.
4thly, the valve as described at Fig. 4 for hydraulic engines.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Knowelden and Richard Downes
Edwards, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirtieth day
of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-nine.
JOHN KNOWELDEN
(L.S.)
RICHARD DOWNES EDWARDS. (L.S.)
0 Witness,
HENRY FLETCHER, Patent Agent,
42, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,