IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCT
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Willian Morris, of Westminster, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morris at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st December 1852.
I, WILLIAM MORRIS, of Westminster, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE POWER, AND IN APPARATUS PERTAINING THERETO," to
be as follows (that is to say): -
The apparatus consists of a reservoir, to be filled with air, con-
densed to any required pressure; also as many engine or working
cylinders as may be required or conveniently used, according to the
kind of machinery to be worked, on land or sea; also as many air
cylinders as there are working cylinders to be driven by the com-
pressed air, or the number of air cylinders may be reduced to three
in the whole, according to convenience, provided they be of suffi-
cient capacity to condense and drive air into the reservoir to supply
the exhaustion caused by the working cylinders. The air cylinders

page_text: are furnished with exhaust pumps and valves to create vacuums
above the pistons, and also with feeding valves to supply atmo-
spheric air, and valves at bottom to discharge the compressed air
into the reservoir.
The working cylinders and air cylinders have distinct cranked
axles, but connected on the general frame by bearings and tooth
and pinion wheel gearing, so that they act on each other. The com-
pressed air in the reservoir is admitted to the engine cylinders by
pipes and valves, which set the cranked shaft of the engine in
motion; and by the spur wheels also set the shaft of the air
cylinders and pistons of the air cylinders also in motion. By the
working of the air cylinder shafts, the exhaust pumps and valves
are put in motion, and vacuums created; and these vacuums will
give liberty to the air from the atmospheric supply valve, to press
up the pistons with great atmospheric force, and relieve the engine
of further stress on account of the working of the air cylinders. By
the arrangement of the apparatus, and proportion of capacity
between the engine cylinders and air pumps or cylinders, a constant
supply of condensed air can be kept up for any period. This method
of producing motive power is equally applicable to working fixed
and marine locomotive and portable engines, and the exclusive right
to produce and apply it is claimed by the patentee.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said William Morris in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 31st May 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM MORRIS, of Westminster, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Morris, Her special
licence that 1, the said William Morris, ny executors, administrators,

page_text: assigns, or such others as I, the said William Morris, my executors,
administrators, 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 THE PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE POWER, AND IN APPARATUS PERTAINING
THERETO," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Morris, by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
sume 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 Morris, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereto annexed (that is to say):
Fig. 1, is the plan of a locomotive air engine, and its compo-
nent parts. a, b, c, are three plates of iron connected at the ends
A, B, by the plates d, d, d, d; the shape of α, and c, is represented
by b, b, and Fig. 2; the plate b, is similar in shape, but receives
between its bars the cistern e; e, is an air cistern; f, f, crank axle,
with double throw, upon which and the axle 15, 15, the plates a, b, c,
rest; J
is another crank axle, of double throw, resting on the top
of the three plates a, b, c ; h, h, h, are caps or covers to keep the
axle I, in its place; i, i, are two spur wheels on the crank axle
which work into two wheels on the axle, f, see Fig. 2. S, S, are
two cylinders, on the plan of the cominon steam engines, the piston
and piston rods of which cannot be seen on this plan, but are con-
nected to the axle f, f, at h, k, by the rods a, a, b, b, see Fig. 2.
P, P, and 7,7, are two cylinders; "", ", their pistons; t, t, piston rods;
u, u, the stuffing boxes; v, v, the connecting rods, which connect
the piston rods with the axle g, at 1, 1; n, n, are eccentrics on the
I

page_text: axle ff; m, m, the eccentric rods, extending to slide boxes 2, and
3; 8, and 11, are pipes attached to the valve boxes 9, and 10, and
also to the cistern, e; 9, and 10, are valve boxes, the valves of
which open for propulsion of air from P, P, and q, q, into the
cistern e; 6, is a cock for emission of compressed air, through the
pipes 4, and 5, into the slide boxes 2, and 3, and thence to the
pistons of the cylinders S, S; 7, is a bent pipe, connecting the cock
b, with the cistern e, through which the compressed air in e, is con-
veyed to 3, and 4; 14, is an air guage; 12, is a plate with a
circular hole, over which is placed an air pump, with the usual
valves for admitting and also for expelling the air into the pipe
13, 13; 13, 13, is a pipe connected to the emission valve of Z, and
also to the cistern e, having a stop cock near e, by or through which
the cistern e, is charged with compressed air to any pressure re-
quired; 0, 0, 0, 0, are braces, firmly bolted to a, c, and e, and to
which braces the guide plates 10, 20, w, w, are firmly attached;
there are grooves in 0, 0, 0, 0, to allow the connecting rods to pass
x, x; and y, y, are two cradles firmly bolted to the frames a, b, c,
and in which the cylinders P, P, and 7, 9, are beded, and also
strapped down. Those cylinders are to be used as air pumps, to
work at both ends as required, and the velocity of motion of their
pistons is governed by the relative diameters of the connected
wheels i, and i, i. Fig. 2, 15, 15, is a sustaining axle, without
cranks; 16, handle to plug of cock, to regulate the discharge of air
c, c, is a tube connected with e, and also with the guage 14.
;
Fig. 2. The same letters and figures indicate the same things
as Fig. 1, but under a different view; this is a side view of nearly
all the works included between the frames b, and c, Fig. 1, the frame
c, being removed, to afford such view. e, e, the air chest; f, the
cranked axle, which is connected to the steam cylinder S, by the
piston 22; piston rod 21, the connecting rod a, a, and coupled to
the crank k; b, b, is another connecting rod, attached to the second
crank of the axle f: these last rods, crank, and steam cylinder
work between the frames a, b, Fig. 1; h, h, are caps to prevent the
axles f, and g, from working out of their places; i, and i, i, are spur

page_text: wheels on the cranked axles f, and g, which work into each other,
so that when the piston rod n, n, moves so also must the piston
rod t. The eccentric n, cannot be seen in this view, and the
eccentric rod is not shewn, nor the slide boxes 2, and 3, to save
confusion of lines. 0, 0, are braces, to connect e, to the frame c,
Fig. 1, y, y, is the cradle for cylinder 7, 9, bolted to the frames
b, c;, w, are guide plates; x, x, are also guide plates for the
piston n, n; u, the stuffing box; 6, air cock; 7, the connecting pipe,
to allow the compressed air in e, to pass through the cock 6, into
the pipe 5, and thence into the slide box and cylinder S; 10, valve
box, attached to cover of the cylinder, to admit the compressed air
through pipe 11, into the cistern e; 12, plate to support small air
pump Z; 13, 13, a pipe, which cannot be seen in this view, but is
sufficiently described in Fig. 1; 14, is an air guage; the cover of q, Ir
at u, may be furnished with a valve box similar to 10, and also
with an admission valve, see Fig. 4, and thus makes the cylinder a
double action air pump; 15, a supporting plain axle; 17, 17, wheel
on axle 15; outside frame a, Fig. 1; 20, nave of wheel; 18, 18,
wheel on axle f, outside frame a; 19, nave of wheel; 21, and 23, are
braces similar to 0, 0, bolted to frames b, and c, the brace 23, having a
groove to allow a, a, to rise and fall; x, x, are guides for piston rod
n, n; 22, piston of cylinder S. The same quantity of work lies
between the frames a, b, if seen from the side D.
Fig. 3, a, b, c, are three frames, with the ends d, d, removed, to
afford a view of the internal work; e, the end view of air chest ;
ff, cranked axle to the cylinders S, S; g, crank axle, to work the
cylinders P, P, and q, q; h, h, h, h, caps to axles; i, i, spur wheels ;
i, i, i, i, spur wheels to work into i, i; K, K, connexions of rods
with cranks of f, f; 1, 1, connexions with cranks of axle g; n, n,
eccentrics, pertaining to the cylinders S, S; b, b, end view of con-
necting rod V, V; end view, connecting rods V, V, Fig. 1.
Fig. 4, a, b, c, the upright frames; d, d, d, d, part of the ends
connecting a, b, c, which are thus broken, to afford a view of the
internal works; e, e, end view of the cistern S, S, the working air
cylinder, which gives motion to axle, f; 23, slide boxes; 4, and 5,

page_text: pipes conveying air or gas from the cock 6; 6, the cock, connected
to e, by pipe 7 y, y, cradles for cylinders; 7, 1, and P, P, end
view of air cylinders or pumps, as described in Fig. 1; 9, and 10, thic
valve boxes; 8, 11, pipes to convey the air compressed in P, P, and
2,2, to air chest e; 12, support of air pump Z; 13, 13, cannot be
seen, see Fig. 1; 14, air guage, with pipe to connect with the air
cistern, see c, c, Fig. 1; F, x, are valves, with guard, to admit the
atmospheric air into the pumps P, P; q, q, the opposite ends of the
cylinders P, P; q, q, are also furnished with valves similar to F, x,
and with valve boxes and pipes, connected with e, to make P, P,
and 7,7, double acting air pumps.
Now, by the air pump Z, and pipe 13, 13, fill the air chest e, to
any required pressure sufficient to work the pistons of the cylinders
S, S. Open cock 6, by use of the handle 16, and the current of
compressed air will run from e, through pipes 7, 4, and 5, into the
slide boxes 2, and 3, and thus give motion to the axle f, f, by the
piston, piston rods, and connecting rods. But, as the spur wheel
i, i, is fixed on axle f, if f, revolve, so also must the wheel i, i, and
also any other wheel on axle f. Now, as the spur wheel i, is fixed
on axle
and works into the wheel i, i, if the wheel i, i, goes round,
so also must the wheel i, go round, and also the axle g, on which
it is fixed, and also any other wheel on axle J. But the axle is
connected, by the rods V, and t, to the pistons ", r, of the cylnders
P, P, and q, q; hence, if the axle g, be forced round by the wheel i,
it gives motion to the pistons 7, 7. Now, if the piston 7", inoves from
10, towards w, Fig. 1, the valve F, Fig. 4, will open, and admit the
atmosphere into the vacuum created by motion of the piston, until
the piston arrives at its extreme stroke near 24, when the valve F,
closes. By the rotary motion of axle g, the piston r, is forced from
u, towards 10, forcing open valve 10, and propelling the compressed
air, through pipe 11, into the chest e; the cranks on axle g, being
opposite the pistons r, r, must work in opposite directions, keeping
a constant influx of air alternately through either of the pipes 8,
or 9, to keep up a continued supply of compressed air in e, at least
equal to the requisite discharge through pipe 7, to work the pistons

page_text: of S, S. As the cubic capacity of S, S, may bear any convenient
proportion to P, P, and q, q; as P, P, and 7, 9, have admission and
emission valves, connected with e, by pipes, if the supply of com-
pressed air be found by experiment to be too little, or too much,
then the diameters of the wheels i, and i, i, may be altered, so as
to increase or diminish the velocity of the pistons r, r, and conse-
quently the pressure of air in chest e.
The position of the cylinders may be altered without injury to
their connexion or effect. The cylinders P, P, and 7, 7, may be
underneath, and the cylinders S, S, over them, for locomotive or
portable engines; and for fixed and marine engines, all the
cylinders may be placed in perpendicular, inclined, or horizontal
positions, according to convenience.
I make my claims as follows:-
First, I claim the Invention of placing two or more cylinders, or
other tubes, in connexion with each other, by means of cranked
axles, pistons, piston, and connecting rods, wheel, and framework,
so that whatever compressed air power moves one or more pistons,
motion will be communicated to all the other pistons in their
respective cylinders.
Second, I claim the Invention of compressing air, and keeping up
a constant supply of such compressed air, by working the pistons
of cylinders P, P, and 2, q, by motion communicated from pistons
of S, S, by means of the wheels i, and i, i.
Thirdly, I claim the Invention of any thing novel in the general
construction of the engine, as represented by the Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
and by the description given of said Figures, whether applied to
locomotive, portable, fixed, or marine engines.