IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Beckett Johnson, of Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Manager for Messrs. Ormerod
and Son, Engineers and Ironfounders, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED
THEREWITH."
Sealed the 28th June 1853, and dated the 28th December 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Beckett
Johnson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 28th December 1852.
I, WILLIAM BECKETT JOHNSON, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM BOILERS AND IN
APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH" to be as follows:-
My improvements relate,―
Firstly, to such steam boilers as are provided with a chamber
between the back end of the furnace or furnaces and the flue or
flues, and consists in adapting to such chamber, water spaces or
other partitions at right angles to the length of the furnaces, or at
such an angle or angles thereto that the products of combustion

page_text: from the furnace or furnaces shall be caused to meet or cross, and
mingle together.
Secondly, my improvements relate to pumps used for supplying
boilers with water, and consist in so connecting the pump piston
with the steam cylinder piston that the pump barrel may be formed
in one piece, or attached direct to the steam cylinder cover, whereby
stuffing boxes and glands now necessary may be dispensed with.
Thirdly, my improvements relate to the water gauge, and consist
in making it of a glass tube placed on the boiler; in this tube the
upper end of a spindle of a float is caused to move, so as to indicate
by its position in the tube the height of the water in the boiler.
The glass tube may be fitted with a whistle to be acted upon by
the steam when the water is below its proper level; if the whistle
be not applied, then the upper part of the tube is made steam tight
by any ordinary method.
Fourthly, to steam gauges, and consists in causing the steam of
the boiler to act upon a piston truly fitted into a cylinder, the
opposite side of the piston to that upon which the steam acts being
connected to a spring, the contraction or expansion of which indi-
cates the pressure of steam in the boiler, and combining with this
cylinder a whistle for giving notice of excess of pressure in the
boiler.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said William Beckett Johnson in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 28th June 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM BECKETT JOHNSON, of Manchester, in the County of Lan-
caster, Manager for Messieurs Ormerod and Son, Engineers and
Ironfounders, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two,

page_text: in the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Beckett
Johnson, Her special license that I, the said William Beckett
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Beckett Johnson, my 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 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 STEAM BOILERS AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE-
WITH, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Beckett Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, 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 I, the said William Beckett Johnson, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement and accompanying Draw-
ing (that is to say):
My improvements relate,―
Firstly, to such steam boilers as are provided with a chamber
between the back end of the furnace or furnaces and the flue
or flues, and consists in adapting to such chamber, water spaces
or other partitions at right angles to the length of the furnaces,
or at such an angle or angles thereto that the products of com-
bustion shall be caused to meet or cross each other.
Secondly, my improvements relate to pumps used for supplying
boilers with water, and consist in so connecting the pump piston
with the steam engine cylinder piston, that the pump barrel may
be formed in one piece, or attached direct to the said steam
cylinder cover, whereby stuffing boxes and glands, now necessary,
may be dispensed with.

page_text: Thirdly, my improvements relate to the water gauge, and con-
sists in the use of a glass tube, within which a spindle is caused to
rise and fall through the agency of a float.
Fourthly, my improvements relate to steam gauges, and consist
in the adaptation of a whistle to an apparatus in which the force of
the steam is ascertained by its action upon a piston drawn against
the pressure by a spring. And in order that my Invention may be
fully understood, I will proceed to describe the several figures of
the Drawing accompanying this my Specification.
My first improvement is exhibited at Fig. 1, and 2; Fig. 1, repre-
senting an horizontal section of my improved boiler taken in the line
1, 2; and Fig. 2, a transverse section in the line 2, 3. a, a, are two
furnaces placed side by side in the ordinary manner; h, h, are the
bridges, which are also of the usual description. In the chamber c,
placed between the tubes d, and the furnaces a, a, I construct water
spaces or other suitable partitions e, e, which project from the side
towards the centre of the chamber, and are placed at right angles to
the length of the furnaces, causing the products of combustion to
meet or cross and comingle together, effecting thereby a more perfect
combustion of the smoke than is now effected. In Fig. 1, the water
spaces or partitions e, e, in the chamber c, are shewn, placed at right
angles to the length of the furnaces; but they may be placed in other
positions (as at Fig. 3, for instance), which represents a horizontal
section of the chamber, and part of the furnaces and tubes. The
fire bars may be continued lengthways to that side of the water
spaces e, next to the furnaces, and a bridge placed between the ends
of the water spaces projecting into the chamber, effecting thereby a
mingling together of the gases of the two furnaces by passing them
over one bridge.
My next improvement is shewn at Fig. 4, which represents a lon-
gitudinal section of the pump, and part of the engine for working
the same; a, is the steam cylinder for working the pump, which,
with its valves and covers, may be of the ordinary description; b,
is the steam cylinder piston of the usual kind; c, is the pump piston
connected to, or made of one piece with, the piston b; d, is the

page_text: pump barrel, which also forms the cover for one end of the steam
cylinder, or it is attached directly thereto. The pump barrel is
truly bored out concentric with the cylinder a. The end e, of the
pump piston is formed to receive the metallic or other packing. If
hemp, or other similar kind of packing is employed, then the ring f,
is made to move upon the piston so as to tighten the packing by a
bolt g,
which passes through the piston rod of the steain cylinder, at
the end of which there is a nut h, for giving the requisite movement
to the ring f. In the pump barrel is formed a circular groove i, for
the purpose of retaining any water that may pass the pump piston,
and from this it is withdrawn by any suitable outlet. The suction
and delivery pipes and valves are of the usual kind, and may be
placed in that position relative to the pump barrel that is most
convenient.
My third improvement is shewn at Fig. 5, which represents a
vertical section of a water guage; a, is part of the shell of the
boiler upon which the guage is secured by the flange b; c, is a
hollow float, to be acted upon by water in the boiler so as to rise
and fall with it; the spindle d, of the float moves in the guide e, the
upper end d¹, of the float spindle moves in a glass cylinder f, which
is secured to the flange b, by a nut and cement in any ordinary
manner. Round the upper end of the float spindle is fastened a
sponge g, or other similar material, for the purpose of keeping the
inside of the glass cylinder clean, thereby more distinctly indicating,
by the position of the spindle in the glass cylinder, the height of the
water in the boiler. On the upper end of the glass cylinder f, may
be placed a whistle, to be acted upon by the float c, to give signal
when the water in the boiler is deficient.
My fourth improvement is shewn at Fig. 6, which represents a
vertical section of the steam gauge. a, is the inlet for steam from
the boiler to the under side of the piston b, which is truly fitted in
the cylinder c; the rod d, is attached to the opposite side of the
piston to that upon which the steam acts, and is connected with the
spring e, the expansion or contraction of which is made to indicate
by a suitable scale and divisions the pressure of steam in the boiler;

page_text: f, is an opening from the cylinder c, to the signal whistle g. The
opening, must be in such a position as that an excess of pressure
of steam in the boiler shall force the piston b, above it, and thereby
admit the steam through the whistle, and give the signal required.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I
desire it to be understood that I claim, firstly, and in reference to
steam boilers, the use or employment of water spaces, or other par-
titions constructed in a chamber between the furnace or furnaces
and the tube or tubes, such water spaces or partitions being placed
at right angles to the length of the furnace or furnaces, or at such
other angles that the products of combustion shall be caused to
mingle. In pumps for supplying boilers with water, I claim con-
structing the pump barrel and steam cylinder cover of one piece, or
connecting them directly together.
In water guages, I claim the use or employment of a glass cylinder,
in which moves the spindle of a float, for the purpose of indicating
the height of water in the boiler.
In steam guages, the use or employment of a cylinder, piston, and
spring, combined with a signal whistle, for the purpose of indicating
the pressure and excess of pressure of steam in boilers.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Beckett Johnson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of
June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three.
W. B. JOHNSON. (L.S.)