IMPROVE- MENTS IN OBTAINING POWER
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS BAINBRIDGE, of Park Place, Saint James', in the County of Middlesex,
Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Thirteenth day of April, in the third year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward
Thomas Bainbridge, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Edward Thomas Bainbridge, my exors, adñors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Thomas Bainbridge, my
exors, adiñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OBTAINING POWER;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Edward Thomas Bainbridge, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edward Thomas Bainbridge, do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are

page_text: fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures
and letters marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to a mode of obtaining power by taking advantage of
the percussion of the accumulated force of a body in motion, caused by the
rush of the atmosphere into vacuum, or by that and gravitation; and in order
to give the best information in my power, I will proceed to describe tho
Drawing hereunto annexed, first remarking that the force of a body in motion,
when accelerated by having passed through a space without resistance, is now
commonly applied in driving piles, and when using tilt hammers, it is well
known that the simple weight of the body, when without the accumulated force
of accelerated motion, would have no effect on the pile to be driven, or surface
to be beaten. Now my Invention has for its object the taking advantage of
such accumulated force for obtaining rotatory motion for actuating machinery,
and I so arrange suitable apparatus or combined mechanical instruments that
the body or bodies in motion shall be successively permitted to move for some
time through space by the rush of the atmosphere into a vacuum, or more
preferably by combining this mode of accelerating motion of bodies with
gravitation, and they having so moved without resistance, the apparatus and
combined mechanical instruments are so arranged that the force will be
communicated to an axis or shaft to which the machinery to be driven thereby
is connected.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shews a side elevation, partly in section, of an engine constructed
according to my Invention, wherein the pressure of the atmosphere into a
vacuum is combined with gravitation to obtain the desired acceleration of
motion. Figure 2 is an end view of the same machine. a, a, is a cylinder
closed at the lower end by a cover, the upper end being trumpet-mouthed
and open to the atmosphere. This cylinder is accurately bored in the inside,
and has an air-tight piston with a piston rod moving therein, and a vacuum
is supposed at the bottom, and I make such piston and piston rod strong
and of sufficient weight to overcome friction when the cylinder is vertical.
In the piston rod is formed a rack, or it has a series of holes into which the
teeth of the wheel b take in the revolution of the wheel b, when the piston
rod is down and requires to be raised, there being a space on the wheel where
there are no teeth, which is for the purpose of allowing the piston rod to
go free when raised to its greatest elevation, and in order to allow time for the
piston to descend before the teeth on the wheel b again come into action. c is
a guide for the piston rod to retain it vertical.

page_text: Now it will be evident that if by any power the piston be raised to its highest
position in the cylinder a, and then released, it would fall to the lower part
of the cylinder with increasing velocity consequent on the rush of the atmo-
sphere to a vacuum, and the gravitation due to the weight of the piston and
its piston rod, and by the time the piston rod arrived at or about the lower
end of the cylinder a the force would be very great, and this would be the
case if there were no cylinder a, but then the accelerated motion and conse-
quent force would only depend on gravitation. It will, therefore, become
evident that, supposing the force be taken from the piston and its rod, and
communicated to machinery just before the piston reaches the lower end of
the cylinder a, there will be a power obtained at that point far greater than
what would be obtained if the piston were to operate in driving machinery or
raising a weight all the way from the upper end to the lower end of the
cylinder a, for in the latter case the only power which would be obtained would
be the pressure of air on the area of the piston and the simple weight of the
piston, which in fact would only offer a power equal to that which raised
the piston and its rod; but when, as above stated, the machinery is so arranged
that the piston may move through space for a time without communicating
its movement to machinery, and thus become accelerated in its motion by
means of the rush of the atmosphere to a vacuum, together with gravitation
of the weight of the piston and its piston rod, and the power only communi-
cated after having so travelled through space, the force so obtained and com-
municated will be very great, depending on the length of stroke of the engine
and the weight of the parts moving through space. The piston rod is connected
to the cranked lever d, which moves freely in the main axis or shaft e, the
connection being by means of two links f, which are connected with the shorter
end of the lever d, such end being forked to receive the circular block g,
through which the piston rod slides freely but air-tight, or nearly so, and as the
links are attached to the lever and to the block g by pin joints, there is
sufficient play between the parts. On the upper end of the piston rod is
affixed a short inverted cylinder h, which is open at the lower end and closed
at the upper end, and on the upper surface of the block g is formed a piston
accurately fitting the cylinder h, consequently, when the piston rod is travelling
with great speed and force, just before the completion of the stroke, the
cylinder h will come on to the piston 9, and the air in the cylinder will modify
the shock, which would otherwise take place in communicating motion to the
lever, whilst the elastic force will be exerted to again raise the piston d. I
would remark, that, in place of having the short cylinder affixed on the upper
end of the piston rod, it might be carried by the lever d, and the piston g,

page_text: affixed on the piston rod. At the upper end of the lever d is attached a
driver d', which takes into the teeth on the ratchet wheel i affixed on the
main shaft or axis; and it should be understood that there is a stop applied to
prevent the lever & going too far back, as indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 1. is a fly wheel affixed to the main shaft or axis, by means of which
the power communicated to the main shaft or axis is regulated, such power
being applied thereto by successive impulses or percussions; and I would.
remark that there may be one, two, or more cylinders a, with their pistons and
piston rods, to work the same shaft, in which case the impulses or percussions
thereof should succeed each other.
The Drawing shews the parts in the position they would be in at the moment
the piston in the cylinder a has arrived at the end of its downward action,.
and it will be understood that, if the piston be raised to its highest position, the
driver on the lever d will fall by its own weight back to its stop as indicated
by dotted lines in Figure 1, and these take into a tooth farther round on the
ratchet wheel, and the descent of the piston in the cylinder a will, just before
completing its stroke, and at a time when it has received accelerated motion,.
and has obtained the accumulated force consequent thereon, caused. by gravi-
tation and the rush of the atmosphere to a vacuum, cause the power to be
transmitted through the lever d and the ratchet wheel to the main shaft or
axis. It will be evident that some part of such power so obtained to the
main shaft might be constantly used to give motion to the wheel which raisess
the piston in the cylinder a; but as the necessary driving wheels or bands
would readily be applied by a competent workman, and as the shewing the
same would only complex the Drawing, I have not thought it necessary to
shew the means of driving that wheel from the main shaft, nor have I have
shewn any machinery as being driven from the main shaft, but have simply
shewn a drum k by an endless band, from which motion may readily be com-
municated to machinery, as is well understood. Or, in place of the drum k, a
cog wheel might be affixed on the main shaft.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood that
I do not confine myself to the particular arrangement shewn so long as the
mode of obtaining power above described be retained. But what I claim
is, the mode herein described of obtaining power by taking advantage of the
force of accelerated motion caused by gravitation and the rush of the atmo-
sphere to a vacuum as above described.
I also claim the right of using an elastic body to aid the return of a piston.

page_text: pon which the rush of the atmosphere to a vacuum has exerted its power as
bove described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Bainbridge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid Edward Thomas Bainbridge came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty.