CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PISTON PATENT
Year: 1816

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BARTON, of Silver Street, in the City of London, Civil Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirty-first day of
August, in the fifty-sixth year of His reign, did give and grant unto me, the
said John Barton, my exors, admors, and assigns, His special licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Barton, my exors,
admors, and assigns, should and lawfully might, during the term of years
therein mentioned, make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN PISTON PATENT;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
that if I, the said John Barton, shall not particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause
the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages
whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and become void, as
in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Barton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described

page_text: and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say) -
My Invention is to diminish friction, and for duribility, and is applicable
to all kinds of pistons to prevent the escape of steam, air, water, or any other
fluid, and likewise to prevent its escape by the piston rod. I make them of
any material that is suitable for the work they are to be applied to, but
generally of metallic substances. My Invention or improvement is on the
figure or shape of the segments or part of the piston, which, for steam engines,
pumps, cylinders, force pumps, or anything with a solid or close piston, is
shewn in Figures 1 and 2; and in a lifting or air pump, where a valve or
bucket is wanted, it is shewn in Figure 3 and 4. I likewise use my pistons
instead of valves, slides, or cocks, for steam engines; a method of applying
them is shewn in Figure 6 as adapted to any double-acting engine. My
Patent may likewise be applied to many other shapes beside cylinders, but
what I ground my Patent on is the wedges which keep the outer pieces or
parts tight to the inside of the cylinder or other shape by a spring or springs,
inclined plane or planes, wedge or wedges, or other mechanical powers; but I
use and prefer a spring or springs, according to circumstances, or the size
of the piston will require, nor do I confine myself to the number of segments
or pieces of the piston.. I use more or less, according to the size or truth
of the cylinder or other shape that is required to be fitted to be air, steam,

page_text: and cover, so that they can move to and fro with the rod, to which they
are kept tight by the surrounding springs. Figure 6 shews the way in
which I apply my piston, as shewn at Figure 1, to work in a cylinder
or other shape to a double-acting engine instead of valves, slides, or
cocks; but it may be applied in different ways to answer for a single
engine or a double engine with double cylinders, where more steam pas-
sages is wanted. The steam is shewn going in above the engine piston;
and the two pistons in the small cylinder, which are fixed on one rod, are up
to let the steam go away to the condenser, and at the change of the stroke
these pistons are brought down to admit the steam below the large piston.
The eight black spots shewn are apertures, which admit the steam to or from
the small cylinder to the large, which are made all round the small cylinder
to give good steam way, and to prevent the piston working unpleasant in
going over the passage. These passages or holes are encircled by two hollow
mouldings, as shewn at letter D, D, made steam-tight and connected with
the steam pipes to the large cylinder. Figure 7 is my piston, as used in a
lifting pump; 8 is shewn with more pieces in the piston; 9 shews another
way of making my piston; 10 is a way of applying it to a D slide or piston.
The yellow shews the various places where the piston is applied, and the
wedges on the Plan are shewn in darker shade; the springs are shewn by
black, and on the Plan by strong black lines.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-
seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight