IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING ATMOSPHERIC AIR AND OTHER ELASTIC FLUIDS FOR MOTIVE-POWER PURPOSES, AND IN ENGINES AND APPARATUS TO-BE EMPLOYED THEREWITH
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald Brooman
at the Office of the, Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on, the
C. 9th December 1861.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING ATMOSPHERIC AIR AND OTHER ELASTIC FLUIDS
FOR MOTIVE-POWER PURPOSES, AND IN ENGINES AND APPARATUS TO-BE EMPLOYED
THEREWITH," (communicated to me from abroad by Charles Dickson Archibald,
of New York, United States of America,), to be as follows:-.
The nature of the Invention consists, first, in the hydration or moistening, of
common air or other elastic fluids to the extent of their capacity to retain and
'transport the watery particles in the condition of vapour when the same are
to be employed for purposes of motive power, in combination with heated
surfaces.
-Second, in the circulation of the fluids thus treated. through heated
chambers or passages under conditions that will allow-of-the-dilatation or
expansion of the whole volume at each stroke of the engine.
1
Third, in the construction of an engine to be worked by such fluids, in
which the cylinder and air pump are combined in one common vessel.

page_text: Fourth, in the construction and use of a movable furnace or fire-grate
capable of being raised, or lowered, or withdrawn at pleasure, and simul-
taneously starting or stopping the engine.
Fifth, in the employment of a reciprocating rotary valve, with movable port
lips adjustable by screws, to compensate for friction and wear..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th June 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMÁN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 TREATING ATMOSPHERIC AIR AND OTHER ELASTIC
FLUIDS FOR MOTIVE-POWER PURPOSES, AND IN ENGINES AND APPARATUSES TO BE
EMPLOYED THEREWITH," (a communication from abroad by Charles Dickson
Archibald, of New York, in the United States of America,) upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing-under-my
or their, or one-of-their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same 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 Richard Archibald Brooman,. do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same, is
to be performed; to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the

page_text: 1
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:.
The nature of the Invention consists, first, in the hydration or moistening of
common air or other elastic fluids to the extent of their capacity to retain
and transport the watery particles in the condition of vapour when the same
are to be employed for purposes of 'motive power, in combination with heated
surfaces.
Second, in the circulation, of the fluids thus treated through heated-
chambers or passages under conditions that will allow of the dilatation or
expansion of the whole volume at each stroke of the engine.
Third, in the construction of an engine to be worked by such fluids in which
the cylinder and air pump are combined in one common vessel.
Fourth; in the construction and use of a moveable furnace or fire-grate
capable of being raised, or lowered, or withdrawn at pleasure, and simul-
taneously starting or stopping the engine.
Fifth, in the employment of a reciprocating rotary valve, with moveable port,
lips, adjustable by screws, to compensate for friction and wear.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation of an engine and
heating apparatus constructed according to this Invention; Figure 2 is a longi-,
tudinal section of the heating apparatus and cylinder, with pipes for effecting
a communication between them; Figure 3 shows in section and front view a
flat mouthed tube or pipe, by which the fog injection or water in a spray or;
finely divided state is admitted to another pipe containing air; Figure 4 is a
sectional elevation of a chamber for the reception of air and water.
Common air in its normal condition holds more or less aqueous vapour in
suspension in a visible or invisible state. This condition of moisture is due.
to surface contact of the air with water, and to the action of the sun and:
wind, and other natural causes. This natural moisture in great measure
furnishes the expansive value developed in air engines, and to increase this
moisture by artificial means, and so enhance the expansibility of the fluid; is
the first object of this Invention.
In order to accomplish this result I find it necessary to comminute the
water to its extreme possible. tenuity by pressure through small orifices. In
practice I have found that elongated flattened apertures, with intermittent.
pressure, most effectually disintegrate the water, and allow it to issue in a con-
dition approaching fog or vapour. Water thus comminuted may be injected
into a volume or current, of air, or steam; and at once absorbed, and the
operation repeated till the requisite degree, of moisture is attained. Water in.
this state of fine division appears to liave lost its attraction of cohesion, and.

page_text: becomes extremely sensitive to the action of caloric, the act of dilatation
being the only function it is required to perform. This moistening may be
attained by a variety of means, but I prefer to introduce the fog injection
directly into the induction or eduction pipes of the air pump, as shewn at
Figure 3.
.
As it is practically impossible to heat the air or other fluid under all cir-
cumstances to the exact extent of its capacity, the quantity of moisture
introduced should be rather in excess in order to insure sufficiency; and it is
important, therefore, that the heater or generator be so constructed that the
circulation shall be perfect throughout, in which case the surplus water will
pass through and be exhausted through the ports of the engine. It is likewise
important that the capacity of the heater or generator. be of the least measure-
ment consistent with the easy passage of the required volume of fluid, for the
reason that as the force is generated at each stroke of the engine, and the
pressure used as made, the less the space for expansion in the heater and its
connections the greater the force in the cylinder. These heaters or generators
may be made in various forms, but I prefer the one represented in the
Drawing, which consists of two concentric cylinders E, E, Figure 2. In
order to maintain a perfect circulation between these walls, and to increase
the heating surface, a band H, Figure 2, is wound spirally round the inner
cylinder, and when rivetted through and through, the spiral passages which
form a continuous circuit become water and air tight. It will be seen that by
this arrangement there can be no pause or arrest of the watery particles, as
the fluid in passing through impinges equally and with equal velocities on all
parts of the heated surfaces. These heaters may have a conical or beehive
shape, and the furnace should be so arranged that the heat shall be applied
both externally and internally.
In combing the heater with a cylinder or engine for motive-power purposes,
it is necessary to have as few-and short pipe connections and throat and chest
spaces as possible, as every inch of space outside the cylinder is so much room
for the waste of the expansion. To limit these spaces-to-the-utmost convert
one end-of-the-cylinder into an air pump by means of a sleeve or trunk K,
Figure 2, of such diameter that the annular space L, Figure 2, shall have the
required air capacity, the induction and eduction valves being placed as shown.
in the Drawing, or in any other convenient positions as may be determined by
the constructor.
The single-acting engine of this construction may be converted into a
double-acting one by removing the valve P, and thus allowing the pressure to
act continuously on the upper side of the piston. . The area of the
upper side'

page_text: being less than that of the lower by the displacement of the sleeve, the power
of the engine will be as the difference of the two areas. Engines of this con-
struction may be driven without the use of the air by removing the induct
valve, so as to allow the piston to play simply under the ordinary pressure of
the atmosphere. The educt valve being left in place prevents the backward
pressure on the engine, and the steam or vapour will consequently be com
pressed in the connecting pipes, or forced into a chamber like that at
Figure 4, letter C. The following' stroke of the engine will cause a partial
vacuum in the coil, and the steam or vapour from the chamber or connecting
pipes will rush in by its own elasticity to supply the void, and become
inoistened by the action of the pump, and so prepared for expansion in
the heater.
.
'
In actuating engines generally, whether single or double acting, I employ
an arrangement analogous to that shewn at Figure 1. C is a chamber
attached to a heater or generator H; N is a nozzle, with flattened aperture,'
connected with the water.pump P. If now the heater, which may be a helical
hollow coil, or of any other convenient form presenting extensive heating
surfaces, be supplied with a small quantity of water or moistened air, steam
or other hot vapour will be generated in the heater, and will also fill the
chamber C. When this charge or volume attains the condition of dry or
heated steam a stroke of the pump Pinjects the required quantity of
mioisture, converting the dry steam in the chamber and pipes into wet
or moistened steam or vapour; simultaneously with this the valve of the
engine to which the heater is attached opens, and the pressure being thus
relieved, the moistened steam from the chamber circulates through the heated
passages, and so becomes superheated and expanded, and at each stroke of
the engine the operation will be repeated. A continuous.current.of.steam
may be dydrated in this manner, but the best results are obtained where the
circulation is pulsative or intermittent. In all cases it is important that the
It
0. moisture be introduced or injected in the finest possible, state of division.
will be obvious that by these and similar appliances steam boilers, with all
their. attendant dangers and liabilities to accident, may be entirely superseded.
In order to prevent unnecessary injury to the heaters from the continued
action of the fire.when the engine is at rest, as well as to regulate the heat
5 when in action,-I-suspend or fix the furnace or fire-grate under such con-
ditions that it may be raised or lowered, or withdrawn at pleasure. The
Drawing, Figure 1, shows one form of the arrangement. H is the generator;
F, the furnace; E, the external case; D, the elevator. To insure additional
protection to the generator during periods of rest, one or more openings

page_text: should be made through the external case to admit cold air between the fire
and the heater, these apertures being so contrived that they will be closed as
the furnace rises to its working position.
To simplify the construction of engines to be operated by elastic fluids I
use a semi-rotary valve, with moveable lips for the ports or apertures capable of
being adjusted by set screws to compensate for wear and friction. Figure 5 is
a side view and Figure 6 is a vertical section of this valve.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the hydration or moistening of air, steam, and other elastic fluids, and
the employment thereof in combination with heated surfaces for the purpose
of obtaining motive-power, substantially in manner berein-before described.
Second, the construction and employment of heaters or generators for the
dilatation or expansion of fluids in such manner as to compel a free cir-
culation for the fluid at each stroke of the engine, as herein-before described.
Third, the combination of the air pump and cylinder, as herein-before
described.
Fourth, the construction and employment of moveable furnaces or fire-grates,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
.,Fifth, the construction and employment of rotary valves, with adjustable
lips, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Sixth, the construction and arrangement of engines and apparatuses for the
production and transmission of motive power, substantially in manner berein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.S.)