IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Moses Haym. Picciotto, of Finsbury Circus, in the
City of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER."
Sealed the 6th December 1859, and dated the 10th June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Moses Haym Picciotto
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th June 1859.
I, MOSES HAYM PICCIOTTO, of Finsbury Circus, in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER," to be as
follows:-
According to my Invention, motive power is produced by the gravity or
pressure of a permanent column of fluid in a stationary pipe, the base of
which is connected to a fixed cistern or chamber, to the bottom of which are
attached a number of vertical flexible tubes terminating in and attached to a
moveable plate, piston, or vessel, capable of travelling up and down (in guides
or in a cylinder), the flexible tubes bending and unbending as it (the plate,
piston, or vessel) rises and descends; this plate, piston, or moveable vessel is
also connected to one end of a beam, the other end of which is connected to a
similar apparatus, also consisting of a set of flexible tubes attached in like
manner to a fixed chamber communicating with the column of fluid, and to a

page_text: moveable plate, piston, or vessel, communication being opened between the
main pipe and the flexible tubes at one end of the beam; the gravity or
pressure of the column of fluid will act upon and force down the plate piston
or moveable vessel at that end, unbending the tubes, and bringing down that
extremity of the beam, while at the same time communication is closed
between the main pipe and the flexible tubes at the other end of the beam,
causing such end to rise, its tubes bending accordingly (to facilitate which a
small quantity of the fluid contained therein may be let off to be pumped up
again into the main pipe). The action is then reversed, communication being
opened on the up side and closed on the down side, and so on, whereby a
reciprocating motion is produced, and motive power obtained. The power
may be increased by adapting similar means to the under side of each of the
moveable plates, pistons, or vessels, in such manner as to cause the gravity or
pressure of the column of fluid to act upward on the plate, piston, or moveable
vessel, while the downward pressure of the fluid contained in the main pipe
is removed by closing the communication thereof with the upper set of tubes,
the pressure acting upward on the plate, piston, or vessel at one end of
the beam, while acting downward on the plate, piston, or vessel at the
opposite end, and vice versa. The flexible tubes may be so contrived as to bend
into an arc, spiral, or other convenient form. The apparatus may be adapted
to act horizontally instead of vertically. The term fluid" herein used,
comprises water and other liquids, gaseous and aeriform fluids, mercury, and
other substances in a fluid state.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Moses Haym Picciotto in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MOSES
HAYM PICCIOTTO, of Finsbury Circus, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Moses Haym Picciotto, Her special licence that I, the said Moses
Haym Picciotto, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Moses Haym Picciotto, my executors, administrators, and

page_text: 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 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Moses Haym Picciotto, 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 per-
formed, 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 Moses Haym Picciotto, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in arranging and combining apparatus in which
motive power is produced by the gravity or pressure of a permanent column
of fluid in a stationary pipe, the base of which is connected to a fixed cistern
or chamber, to the bottom whereof are attached a number of vertical flexible
tubes terminating in and attached to a moveable plate, piston, or vessel,
capable of travelling up and down (in guides or in a cylinder), the flexible
tubes bending and unbending as the moveable plate, piston, or vessel rises and
descends. This plate, piston, or moveable vessel is also connected to one end
of a beam, the other end of which is connected to a precisely similar apparatus,
also consisting of a like set of flexible tubes, attached in like manner to a
fixed chamber (communicating with the column of fluid), and to a moveable
plate, piston, or vessel, communication being opened between the main pipe
and the flexible tubes at one end of the beam; the gravity or pressure of the
column of fluid will act upon and force down the plate, piston, or moveable
vessel at that end, unbending the tubes, and bringing down the corresponding
extremity of the beam, whilst at the same time communication is closed
between the main pipe and the flexible tubes at the other end of the beam,
causing such end to rise, its tubes bending accordingly, to facilitate which
operation a small quantity of the fluid contained therein may be let off to be
pumped back into the main pipe. The action is then reversed, com-
munication being opened on the up side, and closed on the down side, and so
on, whereby reciprocating motion is produced, and motive power obtained.

page_text: The power may be increased by adapting similar means to the under side of
each of the plates, pistons, or moveable vessels, in such manner as to cause
the gravity or pressure of a column of fluid to act upward on the plate, piston,
or moveable vessel when the downward pressure of the fluid contained in the
first-mentioned main pipe is removed, by closing the communication thereof
with the upper set of tubes, the pressure acting upward on the plate, piston,
or vessel at one end of the beam, while acting downward on the plate,
piston, or vessel at the opposite end, and vice versa. The flexible tubes may
be so contrived as to bend into an arc, spiral, or other convenient form. The
apparatus may be adapted to act horizontally instead of vertically.
The term
fluid when employed in this Specification is intended to comprise water and
other liquids, gaseous and aeriform fluids, and mercury and other substances
in a fluid state.
I now proceed with reference to the accompanying Drawings, more par-
ticularly to explain how my said Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 is an elevation of an apparatus constructed according to these
improvements. A is a pipe, which I call the main pipe, and which contains
the column of water or other fluid, from the pressure or gravity whereof motive
power is to be obtained. This pipe A is fixed to brickwork or in a general
framework X, and terminates at the lower end in two branchés A1, A2, whereof
A¹ leads into a chamber B¹, also fixed to the framework X, and perforated on
its under surface for the reception of a number of flexible tubes C¹, C¹, C¹,
attached to it at their upper ends, and connected at their lower ends to a
vessel D', as shown in the plan, Figure 2; such vessel travelling up and
down in stationary guides d', d. e¹ is an arm or link by which the vessel D₁
is attached to a beam E. The branch pipe A2 in like manner leads into a
chamber B², with flexible tubes C³, C2, C², terminating in a vessel D³, working
in guides d³, d³, and connected by an arm or link to the beam E; the
arrangements of the parts B, C, D, d, e, are precisely similar to those of
B, C, D, d, and e¹, respectively. The tubes of the set Care equal in
number to those of the set C, and the collective area or 'surface of the bores
of the tubes in either set is nearly equal to the surface of the bore of the main
pipe A. Thus, for example, suppose the diameter of the main pipe A were
12 inches, giving 108 square inches of surface, then the same amount of
surface would be presented in either set of tubes collectively. f¹, f³, are
valves working to and fro in valve boxes 91, 9, and actuated from the fly wheel
shafts, or other part of the machinery, in the manner herein-after described for
opening and closing communication between the main pipe A and the flexible
tubes on each side of the beam; they are so arranged and operated that when

page_text: the end,' of the beam reaches the bottom of its stroke, the valve f' closes, and
cuts off communication between the fluid in A and that in the tubes C², and
when that end h¹ has reached the top of its stroke, the valve f¹ opens and
permits communication between the fluid in A and that in the tubes C¹; in a
similar manner the valve f' closes when the end he has reached the bottom of
its stroke, and opens when it has arrived at the top of its stroke. The valves
are so regulated that one valve must always be quite closed before the other
valve begins to open. Instead of two valves f¹, f, a single pivot valve or a
ball or circular valve may be used, being fitted at the bottom of the pipe A,
and so actuated as to open and close communication on each side alternately,
or a two-leaved or other convenient valve or valves may be employed for the
purpose.
F is a cut-off valve near the bottom of the pipe A, opened by means
of a lever handle to start the engine, and left open while it is at work.
.
The apparatus works as follows:-The valve F is first opened to start the
machinery; then suppose valve f¹ open, and valve f closed, the pressure of
the column of fluid in the pipe A being exerted through the fluid in the tubes
C', C', on the vessel D', the latter will be brought down, and with it the
end h¹ of the beam, the tubes C¹ unbending accordingly, at the same time
the pressure of the column in A being cut off by the valve f* from the
vessel D² at the opposite end of the beam, that vessel will be drawn up
by the beam, its tubes bending accordingly. When the vessel D¹ reaches the
bottom of its stroke the action is reversed, the valve f¹ closing, and the valve
f opening; the tubes C and vessel D descend, and the tubes C¹ and vessel
D' ascend, and so on. The tubes C, C1, C2, C, should be composed of such
material or combination of materials, and so arranged as to be sufficiently
strong to support the pressure of the fluid, but sufficiently flexible to bend and
unbend without much effort in the operation of the machinery, yet so as not to
vary at all, or at least to vary as little as possible in respect of their internal
areas or capacities in assuming the different curves or configurations con-
sequent on the action of bending and unbending; they should also be con-
structed of such materials or in such manner as not to be liable to expansion
from the pressure of the fluid. For these purposes the tubes may be manu-
factured of a combination of leather or cloth, and india-rubber or gutta percha,
and similar substances, with or without wire or other metallic parts; they may
also be composed of a series of short metal tubes or tubular limbs connected
by articulated or elastic watertight joints, so arranged that when the whole
tube is bent into an arc, its component limbs produce a series of obtuse angles.
Varicus other modifications may be adopted for the purpose; should there
happen to be any variation in the internal area or capacity of the tubes in

page_text: bending and unbending, a proportional discharge of the fluid contained in them
would be necessary at each up stroke, that is to say, before the tubes begin to
bend; for this purpose valves and pipes 1, 2, are provided, through which such
quantity of fluid only would escape as would be equal to the excess in the
diminished capacity of the tubes; these valves could be worked from the
machinery by suitable connections (not shewn in the Drawings) to open for
the up stroke, and close for the down stroke, and the fluid discharged from
them can be pumped up into the main pipe by any ordinary pumping con-
trivance, also actuated by the machinery. In cases where desirable to prevent
the tubes from bending outward to too considerable an extent, a rigid ring
may be provided attached to the framework X, and surrounding the set of
tubes.
Motion may be transmitted from the beam by any known arrangement, as,
for example, by some such other ordinary combination as follows:-The beam
E may be connected by cranks e, e, to shafts e, e", one on each side, supported
in plummer blocks eº, e, and carrying fly wheels e, e, and also pinions es, e, in
gear with a spur wheel e on a shaft el, from which or from a pinion e¹¹ in
gear with the wheel e, or from the fly wheel shafts e, motion may be trans-
mitted as required; or other ordinary contrivances may be adopted for the
purpose.
An arrangement which may be adopted for operating the valves is re-
presented in the diagram, Figure 3, elevation, and Figure 4, plan. These
parts are mostly omitted from Figure 1 to avoid confusion; on one fly wheel
shaft e" is an excentric m¹, connected by bands n' to a lever arm o' attached to
a shaft p (stepped at 2¹), to which rocking motion or partial revolution in both
directions is thereby communicated; the shaft p' terminates at top in a seg-
ment q' in gear with a rack r¹ on the valve rod t¹ of the valve f¹. In like
manner the opposite shaft carries an excentric m², connected by bands n² to
lever o on shaft p², stepped at 22, and terminating at top in a segment q²,
working a rack on valve rod t2 of valve f², by which means the valves are
worked to and fro to open and close; the parts being so regulated that the
closing valve shuts before the opening valve opens; t is a boss for receiving
the ends of the valve rods.
But these arrangements may of course be varied.
Figure 5 is an elevation of a modification in which pressure is exerted on
the pistons or vessels D', D2, in both an upward and downward direction.
The parts lettered like those in Figure 1 are respectively similar thereto, and
need not be described again. R is a second column of fluid communication
by branch pipes R¹, R, with chambers S1, S2, and sets of tubes T', T, leading
from the chambers, and connected to the under side of the vessels D¹, D³,

page_text: communications being opened and closed by valves u', u², worked by levers,
segments, and racks v¹, v²; v¹ being connected to shaft p², and v² to p¹, so that
may open and close with f, and u² with f', whereby the pressure of the
fluid in R will be exerted on the vessel D¹ or D upward, while that in A is
being exerted downward; thus when D¹ is descending under the downward
pressure of the fluid in A, the pressure of the fluid in R will be cut off from
the lower side of D¹ by the valve u¹, but the valve u being open, the pressure
of the fluid in R will be exerted upward through the tubes T2 on the lower side
of the vessel D forcing it up, the downward pressure of the fluid in A being
removed therefrom by the closing of the valve f³, the action being reversed.
at each shifting of the valves.
The tubes shewn in the Drawings are represented as bending into an arc,
but may be so arranged as to bend into a spiral, or series of small arcs, or
other convenient shapes.
Although I have exemplified in the Drawings a mode of carrying the
Invention into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not restrict myself
to the precise details shewn and described, as the same may be varied, provided
the general character of the Invention as herein set forth be retained.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that what I claim is,―
First, the application of flexible tubes operating in the manner and for
the purpose herein-before described.
Second, the general arrangement and combination of apparatus herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Moses Haym Picciotto, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of December, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
0
M. HENRY,
Patent Agent,
84, Fleet Street, London.
M. H. PICCIOTTO. (L.S.)