matthewleechen/300YearsOfBritishPatents huggingface dataset:
IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS OR MACHINERY POR RAISING WATER OR OTHER FLUIDS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Collett at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th April
1855.
I, HENRY COLLETT, of 12, Grosvenor Street, St. Peter's Street, Islington,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PUMPS
OR MACHINERY POR RAISING WATER OR OTHER FLUIDS" to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object a peculiar construction and combination of
pumping machinery. For this purpose each pump is constructed of a tube or
pipe of a length depending on the height to which the water or fluid is to be
raised. At the lower end this pipe or tube is enlarged, and it works within a
fixed cylinder which is below the water or fluid, and such cylinder has at its
lower end a valve opening inwards, to allow the fluid to flow in when the tube
or pipe is rising, and to close when the tube or pipe is descending, in order to
prevent the fluid returning. In the tube or pipe is also a valve opening
upwards, to allow the water or fluid to pass up through it when the tube or pipe
is descending, but to close and prevent the water or fluid passing back when
the tube or pipe is ascending. The upper end of the tube or pipe is open, so
as to deliver the water into a tank or trough or other receiver as it flows
over the top of the tube or pipe. It is preferred to employ two such tubular

page_text: pumps, and to connect them respectively to the two ends of a beam, so that
they may balance each other; or in case of only one such pump being used,.
then the weight of the same should be counterbalanced. The requisite
pumping action is produced by moving the tube or pipe up and down.
THE EMPLOYMENT OF A NEW MATERIAL IN MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Armand Gilbee at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
July 1855. A communication.
I, WILLIAM ARMAND GILBEE, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
& 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "THE EMPLOYMENT OF A NEW MATERIAL IN
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER" to be as follows, that is to say:-
The Invention communicated to me consists in the manufacture of paper
from dogs'-grass, with or without the employment of rags.
I first extract the saccharine matter from the dogs'-grass by steeping it
in water, & afterwards leaving it immersed in water for a few days. The
matter is then bruised till reduced to a fibrous state, when it is bleached with
chloride of lime. The remainder of the process is similar to that ordinarily
employed in the manufacture of paper.
IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUR-WHEELED CARRIAGES
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Thomson at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th October
1855.
I, WILLIAM THOMSON, of the Town, and County of Perth, North Britain,
Carriage Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUR-WHEELED CARRIAGES" to be as follows, that is to
say:―
This Invention relates to a "four-wheeled sleigh dog cart," the object being
the so arranging the vehicle that it can be used either as a four-wheeled dog
cart, or as a sleigh or sledge-bottomed carriage for running over snow and ice.
The body of the vehicle is double seated, with a central back, after the manner
of an ordinary dog cart, the pattern and general contour and form being alike
on each side of the transverse centre. This body, when disposed upon two
small front and two larger hind wheels, forms a very elegant carriage, of
extreme lightness. It is fitted up with aprons and mountings for both back
and front seats in exact correspondence, and it is so contrived behind that
ladies may step in and out of it without bringing their dresses into contact
with the wheels. The body may be made either with or without a curve for
the locking of the front wheels beneath. When the body is detached from the

page_text: wheels and their appurtenances, and placed upright on the ground, it forms a
complete double-seated sleigh both back and front, at the bottom being curved
upwards and shaped sleigh fashion. By this system of construction a very
elegant vehicle is secured, whilst it answers for two distinct uses or purposes.
AN IMPROVED APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO STEAM BOILERS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ECONOMIZING FUEL, AND ALSO ASSISTING IN THE GENERATION OF STEAM
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Richard Needham at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th May. 1855.
I, RICHARD NEEDHAM, of Hollinwood, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO STEAM BOILERS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ECONOMIZING FUEL,
AND ALSO ASSISTING IN THE GENERATION OF STEAM," to be as follows:-
The Invention consists in the arrangement and combination of a double
cylinder, the one within the other, and so constructed, that while the inner one
may form a flue, a space is left between the cylinders for the free circulation of
water supplied to the space between them. This apparatus may be placed in
any appropriate and convenient portion of the boiler flue or flues, and, by
means of the residual heat and gases passing through and around the cylinders
from the furnace or furnaces, the feed water is considerably raised in temperature
previous to its passing to the boiler or boilers, whereby great saving is attained
in the consumption of fuel, as well as quickness in the generation of steam.
The apparatus is furnished with safety valve, man-holes for cleaning, and con-
stitutes an auxiliary boiler for the purpose of heating the water previously to
its introduction to the ordinary boiler or boilers.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SMELTING OR PRODUCTION OF IRON FROM ITS ORE IN BLAST FURNACES
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Mickle at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th March
1855.
I, WILLIAM MICKLE, of Willington, in the County of Durham, Colliery
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE SMELTING OR PRODUCTION OF IRON FROM ITS ORE IN BLAST FURNACES" to
consist in the infusing, blowing, or injecting coal gas or other inflammable
or combustible gas or gases into a blast furnace or blast furnaces, for the
purpose of smelting or assisting in the smelting of iron, or obtaining iron from
iron ores.
The gas is to be infused, blown, or injected into the blast furnace or furnaces
through ordinary or other air blast pipes or tuyeres of the blast pipes, and the
gas may be introduced into a furnace through separate pipes or tuyeres, or
through the same pipes or tuyeres as the ordinary blast of air, or through pipes
within the air pipes and tuyeres, or in any other way. And the blast pipes and
tuyeres may either be placed so as to inject or introduce and direct the gas in
the same way as the ordinary hot or cold blast within the interior of the furnace,
or so as to direct the blast of air and gas to a focus within the furnace, or in
any other way. The gas may also be used either with the hot blast or with
cold blast. The gas may either be pumped or blown into a blast furnace by
means of any ordinary blast apparatus furnished with gas from a gasometer or

page_text: other reservoir, or the gasometer may have sufficient pressure put upon it to
force the gas into the blast furnace, or in any other way, the air blast to be
forced into the furnace at the usual or any other pressure; and the gas may be
used instead of or partly in lieu of any of the usual quantity of coal, coke,
or other fuel used in the smelting of iron ores, or the production of iron from
ore in the blast furnace.
AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REFLECTING AND DIFFUSING SOLAR LIGHT
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Christopher Witty at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
April 1855.
I, ROBERT CHRISTOPHER WITTY, of No, 9, Torriano Avenue, Camden Road
Villas, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REFLECTING AND
DIFFUSING SOLAR LIGHT" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of a reflector or reflectors made of white porcelain
or white earthenware highly glazed, with a flat or plain or corrugated surface,
and made of such size, form, or shape that may be required, and placed or
fixed within a suitable frame of wood or metal, and placed or fixed in such a
position and at such an angle or at such angles as may be best to receive,
reflect, and diffuse solar light.
AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF FILTERING LIQUIDS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Britten at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th January
1855.
I, JOHN BRITTEN, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF FILTERING LIQUIDS "to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists in promoting or expediting filtration by the
atinospheric pressure produced by a column of the liquid being filtered, the
said column being situated below the level of the liquid in the reservoir. One
method of carrying my Invention into effect consists in the use of a long pipe
or tubé to an ordinary funnel, as shewn in the Drawing. The said tube a is
closed at bottom until it is filled with the filtered liquid, when it is opened (its
end being immersed in the liquor in the receiving vessel). The filtration after-

page_text: wards goes on under a pressure, the amount of which depends upon the length
of the tube a, and may be varied at pleasure.
IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ENGINES
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Shand at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd April 1855.
I, JAMES SHAND, of the firm of Shand and Mason, 245, Blackfriars Road,
in the County of Surrey, Fire Engine Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ENGINES" to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of the working levers of
fire engines for factories and other buildings or works, & to a peculiar arrange-
ment of the pumps, air vessel, and suction reservior of such engines, whereby
greater lightness, compactness, & cheapness is attained that has hitherto been
effected in fire engines of this class.
The improvements in the construction of the working levers consist in
hanging the two side levers to studs fixed into wrought-iron standards, which
are bolted to the sides of the cistern, and project a short distance above the
upper edge thereof. The levers are bushed at their working centres, and fit
on to the fixed studs in the side standards. Two stay irons are fitted on to
each side of the cistern, to serve as a stop to the levers, and limit the stroke of
the engine. These stay irons are made to form a receptacle or holder for
carrying the suction pipes and working handles when detached.

page_text: The pumps are worked from transverse bars between the two side levers,
thus allowing of a central space for containing the air vessel and suction
reservoir. The suction reservoir is unscrewed or detached when the engine is
supplied or worked from the cistern, thereby leaving a perforated surface for
the admission of water to the valves, and thus obviating the necessity of the
two-way cocks and other means hitherto employed for working the engine
from the cistern.
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEERING APPARATUS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Wilkinson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st October
1855.
I, GEORGE WILKINSON, of 17, Evan Street, Poplar, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEERING APPARATUS" to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object a peculiar combination of mechanism for
steering, for which purpose the upper part of the rudder or rudder post has
fixed horizontally on it a cog wheel, with interior teeth, which do not extend
all round the circumference. On a horizontal axis is fixed a portion of a two-
threaded screw of such diameter as to be equal to the interior diameter of
the cog wheel. The steering wheel is fixed on the axis of the screw. By this
combination, when one thread of the screw completes its action, the other
thread comes into position to prevent the rudder going or being driven over
too far.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HANGINGS OF PAPER AND OF TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Auguste Frédéric Godfrid Seegers
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th May 1855.
I, AUGUSTE FRÉDÉRIC GODFRID SEEGERS, Leather Printer, of Paris, in
France, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HANGINGS OF PAPER AND OF TEXTILE FABRICS" to be as
follows:-
These improvements consist in printing in gold, silver, copper, or colours
upon flock hangings, that is to say, paper or a textile fabric) covered with
flock of wool, cotton, silk, or other similar material, by means of blocks of
copper engraved en creux or in relief, and impressed hot upon the paper or
fabric by means of a fly press, or any other suitable means. The adhesion
of the metal or color is effected by applying to the parts where the engraved
block will strike, a mordant in powder, as gum lac, or other fusible material,
and placing upon it a thin sheet of metal or stratum of color. The pressure
of the heated block will impress the design, and the surplus material is
removed by a brush. By omitting to use metallic leaf or color in powder
and employing the blocks cold, imitations of Utrecht or Amiens velvet may
be obtained.
IMPROVEMENTS IN SEPARATING COTTON, FLAX, HEMP, JUTE, AND OTHER VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FROM MANUFACTURED FABRICS CONTAINING WOOL, AND IN PREPARING THE WOOL FOR REMANUFACTURE
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Vincent Gardner and John
Hutchinson Walker at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 11th June 1855.
We, EDWARD VINCENT GARDNER, of 24, Norfolk Street, Middlesex Hospital,
in the County of Middlesex, and JOHN HUTCHINSON WALKER, of Cole Street,
Dover Road, in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEPARATING COTTON, FLAX, HEMP, JUTE, AND
OTHER VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FROM MANUFACTURED FABRICS CONTAINING WOOL, AND
IN PREPARING THE WOOL FOR REMANUFACTURE," to be as follows, videlicit :-
Our Invention consists in immersing manufactured fabrics containing wool
in commercial sulphuric acid, undiluted, of about 1.854 specific gravity, by
which means the vegetable substances are prepared for solution, which is
effected by immersing them in warm or cold diluted acid, or in warm or cold
water alone, as may be preferred, whereby the cotton, flax, liemp, jute, and
other vegetable substances are dissolved or removed, leaving the wool unin-
jured. Although we have indicated the sulphuric acid as being preferable, on
account of its action requiring essentially no heat, yet we do not confine our-
selves to the use of this acid, as we can use the diluted acid, any of the

page_text: sulphates, the chlorides, acid sulphates, the sulpho-chlorides, with heat, if con-
venient. We use sometimes the metallic salts instead of the acid, in order to
preserve the colour of the material.
The wool being thus freed from the cotton or other vegetable substance, is
cleansed by suitable agitation in water or an alkaline fluid, and then dried by
means of a current of air produced by the action of a jet or jets of steain in
the upper portion of the drying-house. It is then ready to be submitted to the
ordinary processes adopted in the manufacture of wool.
2
AN IMPROVED DYNAMICAL APPARATUS FOR MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Toussaint Auguste Radiguet at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
August 1855.
I, TOUSSAINT AUGUSTE RADIQUET, Civil Engineer, of Longjumeau, French
Empire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
DYNAMICAL APPARATUS FOR MOTIVE POWER" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in obtaining motive power by the following combi-
nation of means:-A motor wheel, provided all round its circumference with
square cases, is fed by a feed wheel containing heavy iron balls into these
cases through a distributor for conveying the weighted balls from the feed to
the motor wheel. There is a supplementary distributor to regulate the feed
of the balls, and to contain a reserve of them, while discharge distributors
convey the balls back from the motor wheel after having made it rotate to the
feed wheel. Equilibrium wheels and levers are added to regulate and control
the power. The heavy balls being fed to the motor wheel just above or before
the centre, cause it to make a half turn, when the balls become discharged
into the return distributor to the feed wheel; a succession of these balls causes.
the motor wheel to keep up a continuous rotation, which can be regulated,
stopped, and reversed, by the aid of equilibrium wheels and levers.
IMPROVEMENTS IN DAYLIGHT REFLECTORS
Year: 1855

page_text: I, ENOCH PRICE, of Bute Docks, Cardiff, do bereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DAYLIGHT REFLECTORS" to be as
follows:-
The material of my improved daylight reflectors is silvered glass, bedded or
fixed in wooden or other frames or cases.
The glass reflectors hitherto made for the purpose of daylight are composed
of one or more comparatively large sheets of glass, all or any of which are
liable to be broken by a single blow or accident, thus destroying the reflector,
and occasioning a serious loss. The cutting of the glass, too, for such reflectors
occasions an unavoidable waste in that material, which adds materially to the
cost of the article. I avoid both these evils by constructing my improved
reflectors of small pieces of glass, of various shapes and patterns, to suit par-
ticular designs, but of the uniform size of 16 inches, or one-ninth of a foot
super, or thereabouts. These pieces are bedded in any suitable cement spread
upon a frame, and the spaces between painted according to fancy or design.
Pieces of glass so bedded possess a greater power of resisting concussion than
glass glazed into a frame in the ordinary way, and it is evident also that a

page_text: stone coming into violent contact with such a reflector would break merely
the small piece upon which it struck, which, on being replaced at the cost of a
few pence only, would leave the reflector as perfect as before. It is otherwise
with the reflectors hitherto constructed, in which a similar accident would
necessarily break a large square, involving considerable loss and much trouble
and inconvenience before it could be made perfect again.
The advantage in point of economy of cutting up a quantity of glass into
small pieces of the size here indicated instead of into large squares to suit
various sizes of reflectors, and treating the surplus as waste, must also be
obvious without further explanation.
Another advantage that my improved plan possesses is, that the silvering of
small pieces of glass being much more convenient and perfect than that of
arge, the process is less expensive, while securing greater power of reflection.
All the unsightly defects, too, observable in the silvering of the large sheets
on the present plan, are altogether avoided by the adoption of detached
pieces.
The bedding in cement, together with the air and waterproof backing
previously applied to the separate pieces, effectually secures the silver from
damp, or any possibility of atmospheric contact, whereby its brightness is
insured, and the effect rendered permanent.
My improvements are applicable to all forms and descriptions of daylight
reflectors at present in public use, but particularly so to certain combinations
of reflectors, in systems which shall be accurately described in my final
Specification.
IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER WHEN GRAVITY AND STEAM OR EXPANSIVE FLUIDS ARE USED
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Leues
by the Act.)
tent tous
not given
prescrwea
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Adolph Staadt at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th October 1855.
-Partly a communication.
I, ADOLPH [STAADT, of 3, Grande Place, Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER WHEN GRAVITY AND STEAM OR EXPANSIVE FLUIDS ARE
USED," (being partly a communication from Bernard Schroeder,) to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists of employing weighted pistons in cylinders, which
are fixed radially in respect to the axis of motion of an engine. The cylinders
may be enclosed in a drum or cylinder, from which the power may be trans-
mitted by a strap or band or by cog
wheels.
For this purpose two or more cylinders are fixed to a suitable axis, which
turns in bearings carried by proper framing. In each cylinder is a weighted
piston, and the steam (or it may be other elastic fluid) is alternately admitted
to the two ends of these cylinders in such manner as to lift the pistons from
those ends of the cylinders which are for the time being below the axis of
motion to the ends of the cylinders which for the time are uppermost, in order
that the pistons may, as the cylinders pass the vertical position, be at the highest

page_text: parts of the cylinders, and by gravity cause the ends of the cylinders which for
the time being are uppermost to descend to the lowest position, by which means
a constant rotatory motion is obtained. The valves are suitably arranged to
reverse the action of the engine when desired.
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING OR SHAPING NUTS
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Andrew Shanks at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th August
1855.
I, ANDREW SHANKS, Engineer, 6, Robert Street, Adelphi, Westminster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING OR SHAPING NUTS " to be as follows:-
I employ a revolving cutter placed on a mandril, the nut being fixed on a
similar mandril, but revolving in a contrary direction, the axes of both
mandrils being on the same plane; one of the mandrils has a sliding or
vibrating movement, so as to permit the nut being shaped to the pattern or
template affixed thereon.
IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Bevan at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th October 1855.
I, JOHN BEVAN, of Number 2, High Street, Deptford, in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES " to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in casting or constructing a chamber at the back or
hinder part of a projectile, such chamber to be filled with gunpowder, or any
other suitable explosive substance or substances, so that when fired in a cannon
the said chamber is burst and rent, thus imparting a greater force and range
to the projectile.
As a variation, the chamber may be dispensed with, and a disc placed
behind the gunpowder, or other explosive substance or substances, which may
be bound or secured to the projectile by means of wire or slips of metal, or in
any other suitable manner.
AN IMPROVED CONDUCTOR TO BE USED IN THE DECANTATION OF WINE OR OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1855

page_text: www
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas George Shaw at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st May
1855.
I, THOMAS GEORGE SHAW, of Old Broad Street, in the City of London and
County of Middlesex, Wine Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONDUCTOR TO BE USED IN THE DECANTATION OF
WINE OR OTHER LIQUIDS" to be as follow:-
This improved conductor is designed to facilitate the pouring off wine or
liquor clearly from any lees or sediment from one vessel or bottle to another.
In decanting wine or other liquids the "gurgling" that always takes place
prevents the liquid running smoothly, and consequently disturbs the sediment,
however carefully the bottle may be held.
My improved conductor consists in a tubular instrument, like a hollow cork,
which is to be inserted or placed in the neck of the bottle after its cork has
been drawn, and is provided with a small inner orifice for the insertion of a
small air tube; the outer orifice of the small air tube is to be closed with the
finger whilst inserting it through the conductor into the bottle. When the
tube is so far inserted that its other orifice has been passed up into the vacuum

page_text: caused at the top of the bottle by the liquid that has occupied the space of the
neck, owing to the laying down of the bottle, and consequently has left that
small part void, on removing the finger from the air tube the outer air rushes
in, presses upon the liquid, and causes it to flow perfectly smoothly, and enables
it to be poured from one vessel into another without the slightest disturbance.
IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Christian Ernst Offhaus at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
December 1855.
I, CHRISTIAN ERNST OFFHAUS, of Newark, in the State of New Jersey, and
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY STEAM ENGINES" to be as follows:-
I attach to a suitable main shaft, from which the power of the engine is
communicated, a thick circular block, into which three semicircular recesses
are formed, into which curved pistons are so fitted, that when they are turned
on their shaft, which runs parallel to the main shaft, the convex back of said
piston will coincide with and form part of the periphery of the circular block,
and into this position each piston is successively turned to pass beneath the
stop or abutment for the steam to act against. On each side of, and attached
to the circular block, before mentioned, are disks or circular plates, the edges
of which move steam-tight against the inside of the metallic case containing
the parts of the engine, and these plates also carry the shafts on which the
pistons turn, the one part of said pistons moving in the semicircular recess of
the circular block, and the other receiving the pressure of the steam within the
annular chamber, formed between the exterior casing and the two circular
plates on the sides of the centre circular block. The passage ways for the

page_text: steam are so formed that the pressure or a partial vacuum acting on alternate
sides of that part of the piston moving in the semicircular recess of the centre
circular block, turns said; pistons either into a radial position, to be acted on
by the steam, or shuts the same down into the circular block, to pass beneath
the abutment for the steam in the annular steam space; and for engines
requiring to be worked in both directions, a set of gearing is so arranged as to
reverse the position of the steam and exhaust ways, and cause the change in
the rotation of the main shaft.
IMPROVE- MENTS IN MANUFACTURING COVERS FOR FLOORS WHEN COMPOUNDS OF INDIA-RUBBER ARE USED
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Goodyear at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th July 1855.
I, CHARLES GOODYEAR, of Avenue Road, St. John's Wood, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MANUFACTURING COVERS FOR FLOORS WHEN COMPOUNDS OF INDIA-RUBBER
ARE USED" to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the manufacture of covers for floors, by
making colored and ornamental sheets of india-rubber, combined with sulphur
with or without other matters, and subjecting such compounds to heat, in order
to change the ornamented sheets into hard compounds of india-rubber. In
carrying out this Invention, the compounds of india-rubber may be combined
with cloth or woven fabrics; but this is not essential.
AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PREPARATION OF SULPHATE OF BARYTA, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS WHEN SULPHATE OF BARYTA IS USED
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Coulson, of Sheffield, Metallurgist, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PREPARATION OF SULPHATE OF
BARYTA, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS WHEN SULPHATE OF BARYTA IS
USED."
Sealed the 28th August 1855, and dated the 12th June 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Coulson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
June 1855.
I, SAMUEL COULSON, of Sheffield, Metallurgist, do hereby declare the nature
of the Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PREPARATION OF SULPHATE OF
BARYTA, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS WHEN SULPHATE OF BARYTA IS USED,'
to be as follows :-
This Invention has for its object the reduction of sulphate of baryta by heat
into the state of powder or very small crystals, in place of reducing the sulphate
of baryta by simple grinding, as heretofore; but the sulphate of baryta so
reduced to powder by heat may be separated into different degrees of fineness

page_text: by sieves; and for special purposes it may be further reduced by grinding,
which will be accomplished at much less cost than when grinding the mineral
in its raw state. And my Invention also consists in applying sulphate of
baryta reduced to powder or very fine crystals by heat in the manufacture
of glass.
IMPROVEMENTS IN DEPOSITING ALLOYS OF METALS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles James Cheatley Elkington
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th July 1855.
I, CHARLES JAMES CHEATLEY ELKINGTON, of Hall Street, City Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Electro-Metallurgical Artist, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DEPOSITING ALLOYS OF METALS"
to be as follows:-
'This Invention consists in depositing alloys of metals, by employing a bath
of a solution of the metal in the particular alloy which is most difficult of
deposition, and in supplying to this bath the metal or metals which are more
easy of deposition only as they are required. And this I do, by preference, by
placing into the bath a pole, consisting of an alloy of the metals which I
wish to deposit; but the metals which are easy of deposition may be supplied to
the bath by other convenient means, if preferred. The article to be coated is
placed in the bath and connected with the zinc or negative pole of the battery
in the ordinary manner; and part of my Invention consists in depositing
alloys of nickel and silver with or without the addition of copper, zinc,
or tin.
IM- PROVEMENTS IN ROASTING JACKS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Holmes Bennett at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
May 1855.
I, EDWARD HOLMES BENNETT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN ROASTING JACKS" to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists in constructing roasting jacks, which differ from
ordinary roasting jacks in the following respects:-The conversion of the
rotatory motion of the axis on which the main spring acts into an alternating
motion is effected by means of a crank instead of the escapement used in the
ordinary jack. The said alternating motion is communicated to the line or silk
on which the joint or matter to be roasted is hung by means of a worm or
thread hung to the said line or silk; the teeth of a wheel, to which the aforesaid
crank gives an alternating motion, engaging with the said worm, and commu-
nicating an alternating rotatory motion thereto. In order to effect a saving of
room in the jack case, I make the spring box revolve with the uncoiling spring,
the said spring box being either fastened to the main wheel and actuating the
next pinion in the train of wheel-work, or one which is fitted with a ratchet,
and which may be used as the key of the jack. I enclose the whole of the
works (excepting the line and neck of the jack) in a case of iron sufficiently
strong to bear rough usage without damage.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF WHEELS FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES WHERE INDIA-RUBBER IS USED
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Goodyear at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd July 1855.
I, CHARLES GOODYEAR, of 25, Avenue Road, St. John's Wood, London, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF WHEELS FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES WHERE INDIA-RUBBER IS
USED," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the manufacture of wheels for carriages
and other vehicles of the hard compounds of india-rubber, and with or with-
out metal. It is now well known that india-rubber, when combined with
sulphur, with or without other matters, and subjected to high temperatures,
results in certain hard compounds.
My Invention consists of applying such hard compounds in the manufacture
of wheels, and in making wheels for carriages and other vehicles. Each wheel
is made in two parts, which are fixed together by means of screws and nuts,
and where the wheels are desired to move without noise vulcanized india-
rubber is shut in between the two parts, by which the surface which comes in
contact with the road is elastic, which mode of fixing vulcanized india-rubber
to the peripheries of wheels will be found superior to that heretofore resorted
to for a like purpose.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COMBS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Goodyear at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd July 1855.
I, CHARLES GOODYEAR, of 25, Avenue Road, St. John's Wood, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COMBS " to be as follows:-
In manufacturing combs, when the hard compounds of india-rubber pro-
duced by combining india-rubber with sulphur, with or without other materials,
are employed, it has been usual to make combs of such compounds alone.
Now, my improvements consist of introducing metal into the interior of such
combs, to give strength thereto or to parts thereof; for which purpose, in
moulding or forming the compounds of india-rubber into combs, metal combs
or parts of metal are introduced or inclosed by such compounds, by which the
combs so made will be stronger than when the compounds of india-rubber
alone aro used.
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DAGUERREOTYPE PLATES AND OF ELECTRO-PLATED SHEETS OF METAL, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE APPLIED TO THE PRODUCTION OF POLISHED SURFACES ON METALLIC ARTICLES
Year: 1855

page_text: This Invention received Provisional Protection, but notice to proceed with the
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act:)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Tony Petitjean and Louis Pêtre
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th March 1855.
We, TONY PETITJEAN and LOUIS PETRE, both of 45, Upper John Street,
Tottenham Court Road, London, Civil Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF DAGUERREOTYPE PLATES AND OF ELECTRO-PLATED SHEETS OF METAL, PART OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE APPLIED TO THE PRODUCTION OF POLISHED SURFACES
ON METALLIC ARTICLES," a communication, to be as follows, viz. :-
Our Invention consists of the following method for giving perfectly
smooth and polished surface to the plates or sheets of electro-plated copper.
We first coat one side of a piece of glass, or of substance similar for its
high polish and smoothness (taking care that the said piece is the size and
configuration of the plate or sheet of electro-plated copper that we wish to
produce), with a solution of a metallic salt, or we prepare the piece in any
other manner that may render it fit to receive the action of the galvanic
battery; we then dip the piece in a trough communicating with a galvanic
battery containing a silver bath, and silver is precipitated on the coated side
of the piece; when we judge that there is deposited a sufficient layer of silver,

page_text: we then take out the piece, and place it in another trough containing a copper
bath, allowing it to be immersed sufficiently long to have a coat of copper
of tolerable thickness. Instead of plunging the piece coated with metallic salt
in a copper bath, we may plunge it in an iron bath or other metallic bath,
or we may, after the copper bath, plunge it in a bath of iron, and in fact
give it as many layers of different metals as we please. This method of
giving several layers of metal we think especially useful for daguerreotype
plates, as such plates would form a kind of voltaic pile, and render them more
sensible to the chemical action to which they are afterwards exposed. As to
the electro-plated sheets of metal used for reflectors and other purposes, we
think it sufficient, after giving a coat of silver as before described, to give a
single coat of iron or other metal, but we will not limit ourselves in that
respect.
By using proper moulds, metallic articles may receive a high polish by the
CONSUMING OR BURNING SMOKE
Year: 1855

page_text: proceea
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Kirrage at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd February
1855.
I, WILLIAM KIRRAGE, of Number 10, Edmund Street, Camberwell, in the
County of Surrey, Surveyor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "CONSUMING OR BURNING SMOKE" to consist of a new and improved method
of consuming or burning smoke in all cases in which it is now generated, by
collecting the exhausted smoke, after it has performed its usual functions, into
a reservoir or retort, and then conveying the hot air which is produced during
the process of consumption into the chimney shaft, whereby a considerable
saving of fuel now consumed under the present system will be effected. This
mode of consuming or burning the smoke does not in any way interfere with
the generation of steam, but materially assists in promoting it, and possesses the
advantage of securing an uniform temperature, whereas the means now in use
for consuming smoke greatly retards the production of heat. This Invention
can be applied with effect to the destruction of gases and vapours arising from
sewers in large and populous towns, and to various other purposes.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MELTING, BLOWING UP, AND FILTERING SUGARS AND OTHER SACCHARINE MATTERS
Year: 1855

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Leitch at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th December
1855.
I, JAMES LEITCH, Sugar Refiner, of Number One, Ellenborough Street, in
the Town of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MELTING, BLOWING UP, AND
FILTERING SUGARS AND OTHER SACCHARINE MATTERS," to be as follows:--
The Invention consists of two vessels connected by a tube carried to
within a few inches of the bottom of the lower; it is proposed to put the
requisite quantity of water (to reduce a given quantity of sugar to the required
density) into the lower vessel, where it is raised to the boiling point by the
introduction of either open steam through a perforated pipe immersed in it or
jacketed steam retained within a coil of pipe, or any other heating arrangement
most convenient. When the water boils pressure is produced, which forces a
portion of the water in the lower vessel up the connecting tube into the upper,
where it is mixed with the sugar and kept in agitation till all is dissolved; then
the beating medium being quickly withdrawn, the pressure allowed to escape
from the lower vessel, a vacuum is formed which draws the liquor (through a
sieve placed on the top of the connecting tube) from the upper into the under

page_text: vessel, or can be retained in the upper vessel by means of a stop valve in tube
(if more convenient), and drawn off therefrom, when it can be drawn off in a
partially clarified state at pleasure. A vacuum in the lower vessel may be
formed by any other means beside the withdrawal of the heat, such as injection
of cold water, or air pump, if necessary:
The advantages claimed are, the use of less heat in melting than in the
present process, and filtration.
IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE ELECTRO-COATING OF IRON AND OTHER METALS WITH ZINC AND OTHER METALS
Year: 1855

page_text: (This Invention received Provisional Protection, but notice to proceed with the
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Petrie Comfield at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
February 1855. Partly a communication.
ROBERT PETRIE COMFIELD, of Upper Holloway, in the County of Middle-
sex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE ELECTRO-COATING OF IRON AND OTHER METALS WITH ZINC AND
OTHER METALS "to be as follows:--
Heretofore it has been usual in coating metals by electro depositions to
employ prepared solutions of the metals to be deposited; in place of which, I
employ solutions of zinc and other metals produced in galvanic batteries, by
which I am enabled to use what have for the most part been considered in-
ferior or refuse products in producing the electric currents employed for coating
various metals; and I place the articles of iron or other metals to be coated
into such solutions, and connect the article in an electric circuit, as heretofore,
when using prepared solutions, by which means the exciting fluid originally
used in a battery will have the metal dissolved therein deposited on the article,
and the fluid may then be again used in a battery as an exciting fluid, and
thus be again and again used both in a battery and in depositing metals, by
which the cost of coating metals by electric currents will be cheapened and
improved. I amalgamate with mercury metals with which other metals are

page_text: coated by electro deposits, with the view to their better preservation from the
action of the atmosphere, acids, acidulated fluid, salt water, gases, acid fumes,
water, and other deleterious influences.
The peculiarity of the Invention consists in the repeated use of the exciting
fluids, and in the amalgamation of the metals with which other metals are
coated by electricity.
AN IMPROVED STAND PIPE FOR HYDRANTS
Year: 1855

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Wallworth and Daniel Taylor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on
the 30th April 1855.
We, JOHN WALLWORTH and DANIEL TAYLOR, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED STAND PIPE FOR HYDRANTS" to be as follows:-
Instead of working the stand pipe of the hydrant by a screw, we propose to
work it by a lever, as shewn in the accompanying Drawing, by which we avoid
the extreme amount of friction on the hydrant ball, which must necessarily
take place by the constant turning of the screw. The said lever is worked by
the handle a, the bottom part of it acting on the ball of the hydrant, which
is not shewn in the Drawing.
IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING OR COMBINING SHEET IRON AND STEEL WITH SHEET LEAD, ZINC, TIN, COPPER, OR ALLOYS OF SUCH METALS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Arthur Warner at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th February
1855.
I,' ARTHUR WARNER, of 11, New Broad St., London, Merchant, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COATING OR
COMBINING SHEET IRON AND STEEL WITH SHEET LEAD, ZINC, TIN, COPPER, OR
ALLOYS OF SUCH METALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of coating or combining sheet iron and sheet steel
with sheet lead, zinc, tin, copper, or alloys of such metals, by applying soldering
metal between them, and subjecting them to heat whilst pressed together in a
flat or nearly flat state, the heat being applied through one or both of the
metals, so as to melt the soldering metal which is between them.
The soldering metal may be most conveniently applied by coating one or
both of the sheets or pieces of sheet metal, which are to be combined, though
this is not essential.
IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METERS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Gedge at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st October 1855.
- A communication.
I, JOHN GEDGE, of No. 4, Wellington Street South, Strand, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METERS," communicated to me by Mathieu
Dauriac, of Toulouse, France, to be as follows:-
I propose to construct a gas "water meter differing from those at present
in use by several modifications. The object of the Invention is to ensure
both the supplier and consumer from fraud, and to enable the latter to use the
gas supplied more beneficially to himself. It is necessary that the level of
the water poured into the lower half of the cylindrical drum of a meter
should be regulated with accuracy, so as to allow the other half of the cylinder
used for the reception of the gas to be measured to act freely, otherwise the
perfect measurement thereof would be destroyed. I propose to place a regu-
lating cock on the supply tube to regulate the quantity of gas admitted into
the drum cylinder, preventing undue pressure while ensuring sufficient supply.
Gas meters are charged with a certain quantity of water which is regulated
by fitters, but of the mode of doing which the consumer is ignorant, nor does
he know, except by the non-action of the meter, or the irregular flaine of the

page_text: lighted gas, that too much or too little water is in the cylinder. 1 propose to
place a transparent plate (glass or other), on which at the proper spot will be
marked the word "level;" or to place a float on the water with a valve and
rod, which will rise or fall with the water, and shew first the level, and then
by an index the rise or fall. So much for the protection of the consumer.
But in order to prevent the supplier from being cheated by having the water
fraudulently lowered, I propose in my meters to have the supply pipe made
in form of a syphon, and to intercept the communication between the two
branches by a little grating; thus it will be impossible to withdraw more
than the trifling quantity of water contained in the syphon.
IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING AND TREATING THE FIBRES OF FLAX AND HEMP
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Cunliffe Lister at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
March 1855.
I, SAMUEL CUNLIFFE LISTER, of Manningham, near Bradford, in the County
of York, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PREPARING AND TREATING THE FIBRES OF FLAX AND HEMP" to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to subject the fibres of flax or hemp, after
they have been separated by chemical action, into fine and short staple, called
"flax and hemp cotton," to the process of combing, in order to seaparte the
long from the short fibres, and thus to render such "flax and hemp cotton
more usefully fit for spinning.