NEW INVENTED 'EOLIAN ENGINE; FOR WORKING PUMPS, MILLS, GINNS, WHYMS, CRANES, OR OTHER MACHINES BY THE FORCE AND ACTION OF THE WIND AND THE POWER OF CONDENSED AIR
Year: 1785

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
GULLETT, of the City of Exeter and County of Devon, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third hath been
graciously pleased, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great
Britain, bearing date the Fifteenth day of January, in the twenty-fifth year of
His said Majesty's reign, to give and grant unto me, the said Christopher Gullett,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Christopher Gullett, my exors, adiñors, and
assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my and their
deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said Christopher
Gullett, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
other, from time to time and at all times hereafter during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend
my "NEW INVENTED 'EOLIAN ENGINE; FOR WORKING PUMPS, MILLS, GINNS, WHYMS,
CRANES, OR OTHER MACHINES BY THE FORCE AND ACTION OF THE WIND AND THE
POWER OF CONDENSED AIR," within that part of Great Britain called England,
the Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner
as to me, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or any of them, should, in my or
their discretions, seem meet, and that I, the said Christopher Gullett, my
exors, adiñors, and assigns, should and lawfully might have and enjoy the
whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage from time to time coming,
growing, accruing, and arising by reason of the said Invention; to have, hold,
exercise, and enjoy the said license, powers, privileges, and advantages therein

page_text: granted unto me, the said Christopher Gullett, my exors, admors, and assigns,
for and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen years from the date
of the said Letters Patent next and immediately ensuing, and fully to be
compleat and ended, according to the Statute in that case made and provided.
And whereas in the said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that I,
the said Christopher Gullett, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same
to be inrolled in the High Court of Chancery within four calendar months
next after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in and by the said
Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that in obedience to the said Letters Patent, and the
said proviso therein contained, I, the said Christopher Gullett, do hereby
declare my said new invented. Eolian Engine (one of which I am now
erecting for working pumps, at my lead mines, in the parish of Beerferris, in
the said County of.Devon,) is made: and performed in, manner herein-after
mentioned.
T
The occasion of this Invention was the bad behaviour of a person who had
contracted for drawing the water from a particular part of the said mines by a
horse engine and water barrels, and from a dread of listening to the recom
mendation of a fire or steam engine, on account of its great expence. The
first idea of it was from looking.at a shuttlecock, and considering how it was
bandyed forward and backward through the air by the feathers' edges being
placed in a particular position; and extending that idea to thin plates of iron
or boards fixed obliquely at the end of long levers, resembling a shuttlecock;
and the first sketches were drawn upon that plan.
The next improvement was the making the levers horizontal. An idea then
occurred, that instead of permitting the whole body of air and wind to. fall
upon every part of the semicircle at once, as in common windmills, the wind,
being a subtle fluid, might be turned and diverted somewhat out of its true
direction, and made to condense and operate to the greatest advantage upon
the thin plates or any particular part or spot at the extremity of the levers, or
the floats, lade boards, or buckets. of an horizontal. wheel. By a succession
of alterations, additions, and improvements upon this basis of the Invention,
an engine similar to the following is now constructing; and my said Eolian
Engine is now by me specified and declared to be made and performed in
manner following (that is to say):-First, there is a perpendicular axis (erected
under a span beam of thirty-two feet long); in the bottom of the axis a double
.

page_text: crank is fixed, which by two sweep rods is connected with the two bobs placed
over the shaft for working the two pumps a five-feet stroke each. Thus far is
necessary; and the same as for a common crank engine to be worked by horses
only.
The following particulars constitute the Eolian part of the engine (that is
to say):-First, an horizontal wheel of thirty feet diameter, called the "Eolian
wheel," (formed by two only,) but three circular rims or rings are better, and
therefore I will describe it as if composed of three rins, made of rough-sawn
deal boards, nine inches wide, and about three or four feet distant from cach
other. Thus, let the middle rim or ring be formed on arms fixed through the
middle part of the perpendicular axis; the upper rim on arms about three or
four feet higher in the axis; the lower rini on arins about three or four feet
under the middle rim; then the three rims or rings will be compleat and ready
for taking the windfloats or ladeboards, to form buckets for condensing and
detaining the current of wind and air in its course, for giving motion to the
engine, which wind buckets are thus formed :-Let whole-length deal boards, of
about nine or twelve feet long, sawn to about half inch thick, be nailed to the
three rims or rings on the inside of the rims, to make the back of the wind
buckets, leaving an interval or open space of about two inches wide between
the edges of each of the boards, then let a like number of other whole-length
boards, (somewhat thicker as requiring more strength,) be let in by three
notches into the three rims, and fixed across the rims nearly at right angles
with the back boards, thus together forming so many wind buckets, the mouths
or extremities of which will be about eleven inches distant at least, and conse-
quently all the wind in that space will be condensed and made to pass through
the intervals or open space of about two inches wide between the backboards
of the rim (which form one half of each bucket). But to give a more familiar
description in fewer words, figure to yourself a vertical undershot water wheel,
or the wheels of the waterworks at either of the London bridges; change the
position of the wheel, by standing its axis upon its end, then the axis and float
boards, which are now both horizontal, will be made erect, and to stand
perpendicular; and if the rims or rings of such a water wheel were back'd by
having boards nailed on the within sides (with intervals of about two inches
between them, as above described), it would serve very well for an Eolian
engine. wheel, and the current of air and wind rushing perpendicularly between
the float boards or buckets when standing perpendicular will resemble and be
similar. to the current of water forcing round its horizontal floats. After this
familiar idea of it, a Drawing or perspective view of it would be wholly unne-
cessary, and for that reason only is omitted.

page_text: Besides the before-mentioned condensation of the wind and air, of eleven or
more external inches wide, being forced through the two-inch opening between
the backboards, there is another of yet greater consequence, as follows:
Suppose the wind to be east, then from the east point of the Eolian wheel let
a wall or hedge, a line of furze or goss, interlaced tight between stakes, or a
flake of straw or thetch, or a fence of boards, or any contrivance of this sort, be
made to diverge (from the east point of the wheel) in a direction towards cast-
north-east, and as high or higher than the top of the wheel to the distance of
twenty or thirty or more feet, the effect of which will be that the wind, instead of
falling upon the whole periphery or semicircle of the Eolian wheel, will be
obstructed on the north-east quarter by this fence, and being diverted obliquely
the whole will be made to fall and operate upon that quarter of the wheel between
the east and south points of it, whereby its force will not only be augmented
on the east-south-east quarter of the wheel, and considerably condensed there,
but this farther advantage will be obtained, of keeping off all the useless back
wind from the north-east quarter of the wheel, which would otherwise impede
its velocity, and obstruct its coming up to take the wind properly at the east
point. Similar wind fences must be made for each of the other quarters
of the wheel, at least (that is to say) one from the south point, diverging to-
wards the south-south-east, another from the west point diverging towards
the west-south-west, and one from the north point of the wheel, diverging
towards the north-north-west; but instead of four only, if a larger or even
double the number of wind fences were made, and the circle equally divided
among them, it might be better, and the wind would be more condensed by it
upon the effective part of the wheel, and the back wind more effectually kept
off from impeding its velocity, and then, from whatever point the wind blows,
it will operate, and its effects will be the same as that described for the cast
wind, and the motion of the Eolian wheel will be always from east to south
and west, which, for working pumps, may always continue uniform. If the
wind is too strong, and the engine works with too great velocity, it may be
check'd and lessened by having some deal boards (called wind shutters) to
slide in a frame near the floats, and occasionally standing up, as many as may
be necessary, to intercept a sufficient part of the wind from falling on the
floats, and for regulating it to your wish, which wind shutters may at other
times be put up as a screen, the more effectually to keep off the back wind
from impeding the motion. Where the motion is required to be occasionally
reversed, as for working whyms, ginns, &c., it may be effected by making the
outer extremity of the wind fence moveable by a roller or caster on a circular
frame, and so occasionally varying its position from east-north-east to east-

page_text: south-east, and the contrary, as often as you want to reverse the motion, and
so of the other wind fences. In very calm weather a horse or horses may be
added if necessary, and affixed to the lower arms of the wheel in the common
way of a horse engine, by making so much of the rims and wheel to open and
shut by hinges, &c. as will be sufficient just to let the horses enter within the
wheel, and then to be shut again. The Eolian wheel may be of any diameter,
and therefore may be made a very powerful engine.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Seventh
day of May, in the twenty-fifth 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, &c., and in the year of our Lord
One thousand seven hundred and eighty-five.
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
seven hundred and eighty-five.