IMPROVEMENTS CON- NECTED WITH THE PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE POWER, AND IN APPLIANCES OR APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF SAID POWER TO USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas James Smith at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th July 1877. (A communication
from abroad by George Alfred de Penning, residing at Calcutta, India.)
THOMAS JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and Company, of
166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents. "IMPROVEMENTS CON-
NECTED WITH THE PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE POWER, AND IN APPLIANCES OR
APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF SAID POWER TO USEFUL PURPOSES." (A
communication from abroad by George Alfred de Penning, residing at Calcutta,
India.)
This Invention relates to and consists in the mixing of steam or vapour of water
with the steam or vapour of a different substance having a higher evaporating
point or degree of heat, such as fat, oil, and these on their intermingling cause the
vapour or steam of the lower heated substance, water, to superheat or expand, and
thus give out an enormous degree of pressure or force. This intermingling may be
either in a separate reservoir of great strength, or the two vapours may be
introduced directly into the engine or cylinder, where, on their intermingling or
contact, they partake of and exert a greatly increased force or pressure.
By the use of superheated steam or motive agency thus generated, an immense
gain of power will result with great economy and saving of fuel, so much so that
with small boilers working at moderate pressures powerful engines may be driven
or worked at a fraction of the present cost, and with perfect safety (both boilers
could be fed with the usual feed pumps), the oil or fat before being used or intro-
duced should be sufficiently heated to evaporate or drive off all water it may
contain. As the motive agent raised by this means or method could be obtained of
enormous intensity or power, so much so that it could not be well or fully utilized
in cylinder engines, rotatory engines having strong arms or vanes, against which
the full force of the vapour or superheated steam could be made to act directly
would be preferable, as they could be caused to move round from the first blow or
impact of the superheated steam before the reaction on the advancing arms could be

page_text: felt or opposed, and so on, all the arms could be successively acted on so as to
acquire for the engine an enormous speed or rate of motion.
These rotatory engines could be constructed of three or more strong arms or vanes
attached to an axle or shaft working in a cylinder with two strong side plates,
through which the vapours may be introduced simultaneously so as to act on the
working arm by its expansion or force, or superheating the side plates, having a vent
for its escape.
In engines with a number of arms, say five or more, the steam or vapour could
well be introduced in two or inore places with an equal number of vents for its
escape.
A similar engine, but with reversed arms, could be attached to the same shaft, by
which a reversed motion could be easily and readily obtained. This makes it
peculiarly applicable to vessels, or such purposes where a quickly reversed motion is
required.
The vents for the escape of the vapours should be connected by pipes with a tank
or tanks containing cold water, in which the vapours would be condensed so as to
recover the oil or fat for re-use.
Although steam superheats in the manner previously described, yet the addition
of air or heated air will cause it to become explosive, and that to an enormous
degree of intensity, so much so that it could be used instead of gunpowder with the
greatest facility and advantage, and also without any diminution of strength or
intensity from the first to the last discharge. The heated air could easily be
supplied from a coil of metal tubing placed within either of the boilers, and opening
into the atmosphere, from which it may be drawn and injected by a pump simul-
taneously with the other vapours into the breech of the gun, where they would
explode with intense force and eject the projectile.
The gun to be used may be the cominon muzzle loader, from which the ball or
projectile could be as rapidly ejected as introduced, simply by the introduction of
the vapours through three distinct pipes into the breech, and they would be under
perfect control by the use of very simple mechanism. It would, however, be
preferable to use breech-loaders where the ball or projectile could be dropped in or
introduced through the end of the open breech, the aperture being completely closed
by a solid slide or plug, and a part turn of a strong ring or cylinder round the
breech; or the breech itself (if made separately) could be dropped into its position
and held firmly by strong arms working from the trunnions, a plug being screwed
partly into the gun as hereafter described and represented.
The gun could be discharged when desired, or as soon as loaded, thus insuring
great rapidity in firing.
The gun, from the nature of the explosive, could be made of much greater length
and of less metal than that required for gunpowder, with perfect safety, and with
great advantage for the explosive, being under complete control, particularly as
regards its direction of action; its force could be kept up or fully sustained, and
even increased, while the ball or projectile is moving within the tube or barrel of the
gun till discharged. This would also ensure great range with great accuracy; while
from the absence of smoke and dirt, no fouling of the gun could possibly take place,
nor would the range of vision be impaired.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings represents a rotatory engine having three arms
or vanes A, A', A", working freely within the cylinder C, C, having leather or
elastic packing P, P, P, with the like packing for the side plates which would render
it perfectly steam-tight.
W, O, represents the apparatus in the side plates for the admission of the two
vapours so constructed as to throw or discharge them in the direction of the arm A,
as indicated by the arrow; this would cause the arm A to move round before
the advancing arm A¹ is affected by the reaction, which in its turn on passing the
apertures W, O, and being acted on by the superheated steam, would cause the
continued rotation of the engine, and consequently of the shaft S, V, the vent or
discharge valve, to allow of the escape of the used steam into the condenser.

page_text: Figure 2 represents an engine with five arms or vanes A, A', A", AA,
working round with the shaft S; W, O, and W, O, being the apertures in the side
plates for the entrance of the steam and vapour; V, V, the vents or discharge valves
for the used steam, the arms having at P leather or elastic packing, as also similar
packing on its sides against the side plates.
Figure 3 represents a gun M, B, having a strong cylinder C, C, worked by two
arms or handles H, H, round the breech B; G is the aperture both in the cylinder
and gun for dropping in the projectile P. The aperture in the gun is then closed
by a wedge-shaped plug exactly fitting it, and is tightly secured in its position by a
partial turn of the cylinder C, C, by its handles H, H.
On pressing a lever the vapours would enter the gun at the points marked x, x, x,
and the projectile be discharged.
On turning back the cylinder to its first position and taking out the plug, another
projectile may be dropped in and discharged, and so on in quick succession.
Figure 4 represents a breech-loader with the breech completely cut off the false
breech B, B, working on the trunnions T, T, by its strong arins L, L. The breech
could easily be lifted either by a system of levers or a frame of pullies working over
it. On the projectile P being introduced the breech could be lowered into its place,
and the plug G screwed into the bore of the gun by the screw S and handles H, H,
as represented. After this the vapours could be introduced by the apertures x, x, x,
and exploded, and so on; the gun could be continuously loaded and discharged with
great rapidity.