IMPROVE- MENTS IN CALORIC ENGINES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CALORIC ENGINES."-A communication from abroad by Milton
A. Whipple, of Boston, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 4th October 1860, and dated the 17th April 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th April 1860.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CALORIC ENGINES," a communication from abroad by Milton
A. Whipple, of Boston, in the United States of America, to be as follows:—
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of caloric
or hot air engine, and consists of the following combination and arrangement
of the various working parts:-The main cylinder is composed of cast iron;
and has an intermediate portion of its length made of thinner metal than the
rest, by which the heat in the upper part of the cylinder is considerably

page_text: reduced. The piston consists of a hollow cylinder of copper packed at its
upper end, and connected by its rod to a cross head working in slotted guides
bolted to the upper end of the cylinder. A pair of brackets, also fitted on to
the top of the cylinder, serve to carry a rocking shaft, which is provided with
a lever arm, such lever being connected by a short link to the cross head, so
that the vertical or up-and-down motion of the cross will communicate a
rocking motion to the shaft referred to. This shaft carries a second lever
arm, which is connected by a rod to a crank on the main shaft, carried in
brackets bolted to the side of the cylinder, and provided with a fly wheel.
This shaft is provided with suitable appliances for working the piston of an
air pump through the agency of lever arms and a rocking shaft, and also for
working the escape or exhaust air valve through the intervention of a cam and
vibrating lever. The pump forces the air under the grate and through the
fire, which is carried on suitable bars at the bottom end of the cylinder. A
self-acting fuel feeder. is provided, worked from one of the lever arms on the
first-mentioned rocking shaft, and so arranged as to supply only a small
amount of fuel at a time, but this at regular intervals, the attendant being
merely required to keep the fuel hopper supplied. A convenient safety
valve is applied to the cylinder, acted upon by a spring or weight, and a spy-
hole covered with glass is also provided for the purpose of inspecting the state
of the fire without the necessity for opening the fire-door.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th October 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentle-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at

page_text: any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN CALORIC ENGINES," a communication from abroad by Milton A.
Whipple, of Boston, in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry 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 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 John Henry 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 ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
caloric or hot-air engine, and consists of the following combination and
arrangement of the various working parts:-The main cylinder is composed
of cast iron, and has an intermediate portion of its length made of thinner
metal than the rest, by which the heat in the upper part of the cylinder is
considerably reduced. The piston consists of a hollow cylinder of copper
packed at its upper end, and connected by its rod to a cross head working in
slotted guides bolted to the upper end of the cylinder. A pair of brackets,
also fitted on to the top of the cylinder, serve to carry a rocking shaft, which
is provided with a lever arm, such lever being cemented by a short link to
the cross head, so that the vertical or up-and-down notion of the cross head
will communicate a rocking motion to the shaft referred to. This shaft
carries a second lever arm, which is connected by a rod to a crank on the
main shaft, carried in brackets bolted to the side of the cylinder, and provided
with a fly wheel. This shaft is provided with suitable appliances for working
the piston of an air pump through the agency of lever arms and a rocking
shaft, and also for working the escape or exhaust air valve, through the
intervention of a cam and vibrating lever. The pump forces the air under
the grate, and through the fire, which is carried on suitable bars at the bottom
end of the cylinder. A self-acting fuel feeder is provided, worked from one of
the lever arms on the first-mentioned rocking shaft, and so arranged as to

page_text: supply only a small amount of fuel at a time, but this at regular intervals.
the attendant being merely required to keep the fuel hopper supplied. A
convenient safety valve is applied to the cylinder, acted upon by a spring or
weight, and a spy-hole covered with glass is also provided for the purpose
. of inspecting the state of the fire without the necessity for opening the
fire-door.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the accompanying Drawing, which represents a side
elevation of the improved calorie or hot-air engine herein-before referred to.
A represents the main working cylinder, composed of cast iron, but having
an intermediate part B of much thinner material inserted about its middle,
and secured to the upper and lower portions of the cylinder by bolts a passed
through the flanges b, b, formed on the intermediate part B, and upon the
junction edges of the upper and lower portions of the cylinder. In the
interior of this cylinder, which is parallel throughout, works freely a piston C,
which is packed at its upper end only, that being the coolest portion. This
piston is made of copper, and is hollow, being enclosed or covered in at the
top and bottom, and is capable of descending to within, say, six inches of the
fuel in the grate, herein-after referred to. This piston works freely, secured
to a piston rod D, on the upper end of which is secured the cross head E,
working vertically in the upright guides F. Bolted to the top of the main
cylender G is a rocker shaft working in bearings in the brackets II, also
bolted to the top of the cylinder. This shaft carries a lever arm I, connected
at its free end by a short link K to the cross head E. A second lever arm
or rocker bar L is also fixed on to the end of the rocker shaft G, and this
lever L is connected to the crank M on the main working shaft N by the
connecting rod O. One crank only is shewn in the Drawing; if preferred,
two such cranks with their connections may be employed, placed one on each
side of the engine. The main shaft N works in bearings, carried by a pair
of brackets P bolted to the side of the lower portion of the working cylinder,
and is provided with a fly wheel Q. R is a cam, shown in dotted lines in
the Drawing, also fitted on to the shaft N, (this cam actuates the bent
lever S, working on a fixed centre at T. To the free end of the lever is
connected the spindle U, which is attached to a blow-off or escape valve con-
tained within the box or chamber V. A spring W, and regulating screw and
hand wheel Y serve to adjust the position of the blow-off or escape valve.
Z is a pulley, also carried by the main shaft, and serving to actuate the
piston C of the air pump d, through the link E and lever arm f, a number of

page_text: holes being made in the lever f, so that by connecting the upper end of the
link e to one or other of these holes the stroke of the air-pump piston may be
varied at pleasure. The lower end of the link e is connected by a pin joint
to the face or side of the pulley Z, so that as the pulley rotates a vertical
movement will be imparted to the lever f, which transmits its motion to the
piston c of the air pump through the rocker shaft g, carried in the brackets h
on the top of the air pump, and lever arm i connected to the rod k of the
piston; is a cold-air valve, shewn in dotted lines in the Drawing, and
m is a valve box and passage which conducts the cold air forced outwards by
the descent of the piston c into the ash-pit; n and o represent respectively
the ash-pit and fire-doors, which are kept tightly closed by the cross bars p
and screws 9; r is a catch for holding the end of the cross bar of the fire-
door in its place, the opposite end of such bar being hinged at S, and turned
back when the door is to be opened; t is a spyhole, to facilitate the inspection
of the fire, without the necessity for opening the fire-door; u are the grate
bars, and vis the feeding tube through which the fuel is supplied to the fire.
At the top of this tube is fitted a hopper w, and below this hopper is a feeding
cupa, carried by the tramsverse spindle y. This spindle is provided with a
ratchet wheel, which is actuated by a pall 1 on the feeding lever 2; the
free end of this lever is worked by the link 3, which is connected to the lever
arm L, herein-before referred to. By this arrangement, at each stroke of the
levers L and 2 the cup will be gradually turned, and eventually inverted,
thereby discharging its contents down the feeding tube v into the fire. 4 is
the escape or exhaust pipe, and 5 is a safety valve or pressure regulator, kept
closed by the blade spring 6.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
1st, the general construction and arrangement of caloric or hot-air engines,
as herein-before described.
2d, the application and use of the lower part of the working cylinder of a
caloric engine as a stove or fire-place, and forcing the air directly through the
fire against the lower end of the piston, as herein-before described.
3d, the application and use to and in caloric engines of a hollow piston of
a length greater than its diameter, and provided with packing at the extremity
furthest from the fire, as herein-before described.

page_text: 4th, the insertion into the cylinder of a caloric engine of a section or length
of thinner material than the rest of the cylinders, such section or length being
placed between the upper or working portion of the cylinder, the lower or
heating portion as herein-before described.
5th, the application and use to and in caloric engines of an escape valve
for the purpose of preventing explosions of gas in the fire-place, as herein-
before described.
of
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of October, in the year
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
J. HENRY JOHNSON (L.S.)