A BUOYANT ENGINE OR MACHINE FOR THE PURPOSE OF RAISING WATER, BOATS, AND WEIGHTS FROM A LOWER TO A HIGHER LEVEL, WITHOUT THE AID OF FIRE OR WIND, AND WITHOUT TAKING ANY WATER FROM THE UPPERMOST LEVEL, UNLESS IN USING A GREATER QUANTITY
Year: 1791

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
BROOKS, of New Woodstock, in the County of Oxford, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourteenth day of January, in the thirty-first year of His
reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Brooks, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, His special licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Joseph Brooks, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
that part of Kingdom of Great Britain called England, His Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A BUOYANT
ENGINE OR MACHINE FOR THE PURPOSE OF RAISING WATER, BOATS, AND WEIGHTS
FROM A LOWER TO A HIGHER LEVEL, WITHOUT THE AID OF FIRE OR WIND, AND
WITHOUT TAKING ANY WATER FROM THE UPPERMOST LEVEL, UNLESS IN USING A
GREATER QUANTITY," in such manner as to me, the said Joseph Brooks, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, or any of them, should in my or their
discretion seem meet; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that if I, the said Joseph Brooks, should not particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the
same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one
calendar month next and immediately after the date of the said Letters

page_text: Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages
whatsoever thereby granted, 'should cease, determine, and become void, any-
thing therein-before contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwith-
standing, as in and by the said Letters, reference being thereunto had, may
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Brooks, do hereby describe and ascertain my said Invention, and the
nature thereof, and in the manner in which the purposes to be effected thereby
are to be performed, in the manner following (that is to say):-
A pit is to be prepared of such size, form, dimensions, and depth as may
best suit the quantity of water or weight to be raised, proportioning the depth
in the manner herein-after mentioned, and in such situation as the peculiar
nature of the place may require, taking care that the mouth or top of the said
pit may be at least on a level or higher if possible than the place to which the
water or other weight is to be raised or conveyed. The said pit is to be of equal
dimensions (or otherwise as most suitable) from top to bottom, and the sides
to be of such materials and prepared in such manner that the horizontal door
herein-after mentioned may move up and down therein in an horizontal position,
and exactly fill the cavity thereof. This door or gate is to be made so as
exactly to fill the orifice of the pit, to descend and ascend from the top to the
bottom and from the bottom to the top of the said pit, fitting the opening of
the pit in each position, so as to give as little room as possible for any water to
pass between the edges of the door or gate and sides of the pit during its
ascent or descent. To the upper surface of this door or gate are to be fixed
ropes passing through or over blocks or pullies fixed over the said pit for that
purpose, by which it may be suspended in equilibrium in an horizontal
position, and by which the same may be raised or lowered, the other end of
the said ropes being fixed to a capstan or any other mechanical engine, fit and
suited for the purpose of raising and lowering weights by means of pulling,
hauling, or drawing ropes. In the said horizontal doors or gates one or two
other doors or gates are made to be opened and shut as valves, by force of the
water above or below alternately as it becomes most powerful; and the
weight of the said gate is to be proportioned that when the pit is full of water,
when the said smaller doors are set open it may sink by its own gravity
therein. From the side or bottom of the canal or reservoir wherein the water
to be raised or to be used in raising the weight is contained, and from below
the surface thereof, a subterraneous canal, passage, conduit, or pipe, or other
conveyance for the water, is to be carried to the bottom of the said pit, which
is to open into the said pit in such manner that when the said horizontal door

page_text: or gate is let down to the bottom of the pit, the water running down the said
subterraneous passage, conduit, or pipe may empty itself into the said pit, or
rise up in the said pit, below the under surface of the said horizontal door or
gate when so lowered or let down. In some convenient part of the said sub-
terraneous pit or canal a grove is to be made to admit a vertical door or gate
ascending and descending therein, that the water may at pleasure be pre-
vented from running or permitted to run down the said canal, passage, con-
duit, or pipe, by lowering or raising the said door or gate by means of levers,
blocks, ropes, chains, wheels, or other tackle, as may suit the circumstances of
the place. The depth of the said pit is so proportioned that the depth of the
bottom of the pit below the level of the surface of the water in the said canal
or reservoir, from whence it is carried into the said pit, may exceed the depth
from the top or mouth of the said pit to the said level, (that is to say) if the
top or mouth of the said pit be ten feet above the said level the bottom of the
said pit should be more than ten feet below the said level, but how much
more is immaterial, and the depth of the said pit should in the whole exceed
twenty feet in an engine of this dimension, and so in proportion. And for the
further and better understanding the said description I have, as part of this
my Specification, annexed a Plan and Drawing of the said works, wherein the
same are properly delineated and described, and proper references for the
explanation thereof are added thereto. In order to apply these contrivances
to the use intended, the vertical gate opening and shutting the subterraneous
canal, which gate in the Plan annexed is marked with the letter H, is to be
drawn up, when the water in the lower level in the plan marked A, descending
through the opening marked E, down the subterraneous canal marked F, into
the pit marked D, below the under surface of the horizontal door or gate
which ascends and descends in the said pit in an horizontal position, a delinea-
tion of which gate is marked with the letter G in the said Plan, will, by its
buoyant power, cause and force the gate to ascend to the level of the water
in the lower canal or reservoir. The vertical gate H is then to be let down to
prevent the water being forced back up the subterraneous canal, passage, con-
duit, or pipe by the descent of the horizontal gate or door, and the small gates
or doors in the said horizontal door or gate which in the Plan are marked
N, N, will of course be opened, when the horizontal gate or door G, will by
its own weight descend, and when it is sunk to the bottom the small gates or
doors in the horizontal gate (the machinery causing motion) will again shut,
and the vertical gate H, which shuts the subterraneous canal, passage, con-
duit, or pipe, is to be opened that the water from the lower level may again
have an opportunity to flow into the pit below the under surface of the hori-

page_text: zontal gate, and by its buoyant power to force the horizontal gate again to the
level of the lower water or canal or reservoir, from whence the subterraneous
canal, passage, conduit; or pipe conveys the water, which ascent from the hori-
zontal gate or door is to be assisted and furthered by pulling, hauling, and
drawing the ropes (fixed to the horizontal gate or door, and passing through or
over blocks or pullies fixed over or near the pit for that purpose) by means of
the wheel and lever marked in the Plan K and L respectively, or by any other
mechanical contrivance commonly used for pulling, hauling, or drawing ropes
or raising weights, as may best suit the peculiar circumstance of the place
where such contrivance is to be used. And by the Specification of the said
wheel and lever. I do not mean to confine to the use of that contrivance alone,
but only to specify one of the many mechanical means which may be used for
the purpose, it being impossible to specify all the various mechanical contri-
vances which have at different times been used to pull, haul, or.draw ropes, or
to raise weights, any one or more of which may be used to assist in raising
the said horizontal gate or door, according to the nature of the place and the
quantity of water to be raised may admit or require. The said horizontal
gate or 'door in such its second ascent will force up the water which during its
descent had risen thro' the doors or valves in the said horizontal valves or gates
which are marked N, N, and which remained above it when the said doors
were shut, and raise it to the mouth of the pit, from whence it may by a trough
or channel be conducted to any place that may be most convenient, or may be
suffered to run over the edges of the pit. When the horizontal gate has again
attained the level of the water in the lower canal or reservoir, the vertical gate
of the said subterraneous canal, passage, conduit, or pipe may be again shut,
and. when the doors or gates in the said horizontal door or gate will of course
again be opened, and the horizontal gate or door suffered to descend, and
when it has arrived at the bottom, by opening the said vertical gate, and
pulling or drawing the ropes fixed to the said horizontal gate, the smaller
valves, gates, or doors of N, N, shutting in the manner before directed, the
horizontal gate may again be forced to ascend, driving the water before.or
above it which had risen through the said smaller valves, gates, or doors in
the said horizontal gate during its descent, and forcing it over the edges of the
pit as before, which operation may be repeated till sufficient water is raised for
'any purpose required. If any circumstances should require it a subterraneous
canal may also be carried from the upper level canal or reservoir to the said
pit, in the same manner as from the lower, which may also be opened or shut
at pleasure by means of a vertical gate, similar to that before mentioned, to
be opened or shut at pleasure; by which means water from either the upper

page_text: or lower canal or reservoir may be used, as may best suit for the various
purposes to which this engine may be employed. As the water from the
mouth of the said pit may be conducted in any direction the said contrivance
may be applied to various purposes, either to fill the pen between the sluice
gates of locks on canals or navigable rivers from the water in the lower
level, whereby the loss of water from the higher level of the canal or river, by
filling the said pen when boats pass through the same, will be avoided, or
the upper level of the canal or river may in dry seasons be supplied with
water from the lower. Gentlemen's lakes, fish ponds, or other waters may
also be supplied with water from the lower grounds; or mill ponds in dry
seasons may also be replenished from the water which has already passed the
mill, and which would otherwise run to waste. It may be in like manner
applied to floating of meadow grounds, drainage of all sorts, and inbankment
of every kind in any situation. It may also be rendered useful in fortified
towns by filling the foss before the intrenchments. It is also conceived to be
applicable to the navigation of vessels on great rivers, or ships at sea in a
calm, by raising water from a well in the vessel over a middle wheel or shaft
at the same time that a wheel with floats at each end thereof operate as leavers
in the water and causes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Brooks, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Tenth day of February, in the thirty-first year of
the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the grace of God
of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith,
and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred
Inrolled the Twelfth day of February, in the year above mentioned.

page_text: Rope
also
round the pulleys MM and are fixed to the Horizontal Gate working in the
lower part of the Pit D as occasion requireth NN valves whic open when
the gate is sinking thro the water in D the Machinery putteth the gates in
motion and the Space below the Partition Gate admitting of more Water
than above in obtaining its level it boyeth and forceth the
Water over
upper
the sid at 0 which filling the said Lock B raiseth a Boat or floating Weight
immediately un to the Lord C
BA Lock on a Canal in the present usual form
CA higher Level
DA pit sunk more than double the depth of the Lock B
E An Apperture from bottom or side of the Canal A or lower Level
which lets fall the Water down the declivity F in the bottom of
e
the pit D under the Horizontal Gate & at the time y Vertical
Gate II is drawn up for admission thereof by means of the Collar
or Chain I which when let of by a Triger for that purpose falls
and retains the Lock full