CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Antoine Ponçon, of Marseilles, in the Empire
of France, and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn, City, London, for the
"
Invention of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Antoine Ponçon at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 9th June 1853, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act 1852.
I, ANTOINE PONÇON, of Marseilles, in the Empire of France, and of
16, Castle Street, Holborn, City, London, do hereby declare the nature
of my Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER"
to be as follows:-
Fig. 1, front view of one of the sides of the apparatus; the other side
is the same, and has not been represented upon the annexed Drawing.
Fig. 2, lateral view of the same.
Fig. 3, plan view of one of the sides of the apparatus.
A, part of an iron balance, in communication with the motive power
by means of a vaucanson chain, the extremity of which is fixed upon the

page_text: arm of the balance, which, for this purpose, bears laterally a groove, as
represented by the Fig. 2. There is a balance upon each side of the
apparatus. B, is a reservoir of iron or other metal, filled with water, and
in which the cylinder E, works, serving as the motive power. C, hollow
cylinder, fixed to the lower part of the reservoir B. D, piston, in metal or
other material, which moves tightly in the fixed cylinder C. E, driving
cylinder, in any metal. This cylinder is formed of two parts fitting
tightly one to the other. This cylinder bears, besides, at its upper part
two valves, one of which is placed at the extremity of the pipe which
surmounts the cylinder, and the other laterally and at the upper part of
the said cylinder. F, upper valve, placed at the extremity of the pipe
surmounting the cylinder, and serving to introduce air into the driving
cylinder when the piston D, descends and opens the said cylinder. Upon
Fig. 1, this valve is supposed open, to shew it better; but, in reality and
in this position, it ought to be shut. G, lower valve, placed upon the
upper part of the driving cylinder, and serving to let the air escape at
the moment when the driving cylinder arrives at its greatest height;
thus permitting the lower part of the driving cylinder to be shut in
consequence of the pressure which the water of the vessel B, exercises
upon it. H, pipe, permitting the air to be introduced by means of the
valve F, in the driving cylinder when it has reached the bottom of the
reservoir B. I, I, iron rods, serving to guide the driving cylinder. For
this purpose this cylinder has four rings J, J, in which these rods pass,
and which serve to guide it in its movement to and fro. K, iron pivots,
fixed to the lower part of the driving cylinder, and serving, when it has
descended, to push it out by means of a hook catch. L, L, are the
hooks, which are in the form of a half circle: the two uprights which
they support are fixed to the piston D. These catches are arranged
in order to catch the pivots K, K. M, fixed length of wire, attached to
a stop which gears with the portion of the ratchet wheel with which
the circumference of the catches L, L, is provided: when these catches
are raised with the piston D, this stop, on the contrary, is disengaged
from the catches L, L, by being turned, which causes the catches to
hook on to the pivots K, when the piston D, falls. N, N, N, N, pulleys
of cast iron or other material, of which two are placed at the lower par

page_text: and two at the upper part of the reservoir, and upon which the
Vaucanson chains pass which connect the driving cylinder to the
balances A, A. O, O, Vaucanson chains, transmitting the motive power
of the cylinder to the balances. P, balance, which I designate "equi-
ibrium balance," of iron or of any other material, and which is fitted to
the lower extremity of the pistons D, D, serving to push out the
driving cylinders when they have reached the bottom of the reservoirs B.
Q, double joint, uniting the cylinder D, to the balance P.
The mode of working my new motive power, which I designate "hydro
aerial," is very simple, the apparatus being divided into two parts. I
will describe the manner in which the driving cylinder of one of the
compartments or vessel B, works, the driving cylinder of the other
vessel moving exactly in the same manner, with this sole difference,
that the movements are inversed; that is to say, when one of the
driving cylinders is up the other is down.
Supposing, as shown in Fig. 1, that the driving cylinder E, is at the
upper part of the vessel B; in this position the two valves F, and G,
are shut; but at the moment when the driving cylinder has reached its
greatest height a stop causes the valve G, to open, and the air which
was contained in the driving cylinder E, being able to escape by this
valve, this cylinder will be shut, that is to say, that the pressure of the
water will cause the lower portion of the cylinder E, to reenter the
upper part of the cylinder.
At the same moment that this cylinder is shut the cylinder contained
in the other vessel B, and which is at the lower part of this vessel, is
pushed out, and displacing thus a greater volume of water it will pro-
duce the lowering of the cylinder E. In descending, the conical portion
which terminates the driving cylinder will rest in the corresponding
conical space at the upper part of the piston D; this piston will fall by
M, will cause
the action of the balance P, and in falling the
the catches L, L, to turn and catch the pivots K, so as to be forced
along with them, and the lower part of the driving cylinder E, to follow
the piston D, in its descending movement.
The cylinder E, will be extended, and that this may be easily accom-
lished it is necessary for the atmospheric air to reenter into its

page_text: interior: for this purpose the upper part of the vessel B, is provided with
a stop which opens the valve F, when the cylinder E, is at the bottom
of the reservoir B: the air may thus freely circulate into the driving
cylinder, and fill it when it is extended.
The cylinder E, arriving in turn at the bottom of the reservoir B,
and being extended at the same time as the driving cylinder of the
other vessel B, will be at its greatest height and closed. This cylinder
must rise in its turn, since it will displace a greater volume of water; at
the moment of its ascending movement the valve F, closes, and the
driving cylinder remains extended until it arrives at the greatest height
and the valve G, is opened; the cylinder E, will then close again and
will immediately descend under the action of the cylinder contained in
the other vessel B. It is this alternate movement of ascent and
descent, produced by the difference of volume which the two driving
cylinders alternately occupy, which causes the balances to move and
thus form a new motive power. To transmit the motion of the driving
cylinders to the said balances I employ, as indicated in Fig. 2, the
vaucanson chains 0, 0, partly plunged in the vessel B, fixed by one of
their ends to the driving cylinder and by the other to the balances A, A.
These chains pass on cast iron pulleys N, N, N, N, which give them a
suitable direction to become fixed to the extremities of these balances.
I claim the new motive power, which I designate hydro-aerial, herein-
before described, consisting in the alternate motion of two driving
cylinders under the action of air and water applied and directed as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, J, the said Antoine Ponçon, have hereunto
set my hand and seal this Sixth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.