A NEW MODE OR APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Otto Trossin, of 4, Museum Street, London,
Citizen of Prussia, for the Invention of "A NEW MODE OR APPARATUS
FOR OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER."
Sealed the 31st January 1871, and dated the 2nd November 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Otto Trossin at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd November 1870.
-
I, OTTO TROSSIN, of 4, Museum Street, London, Citizen of Prussia, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW MODE OR
APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER," to be as follows:
The Invention is founded on the application of compressed heated
nitrogen gas.
If gas of the expansion of one atmosphere from 0° is heated to 273° it
gets the expansion, of 2 atmospheres. I discovered however taking
compressed gas of 10 atmosphere and heating it from 0° to 273° it gets
an expansion of 20 atmospheres. In both cases the heat is the same,
but in the second one the effect is tenfold. In consequence you get the

page_text: same power with a want of only the 10th part of fuel. Three boilers
filled with this gas are heated and then the gas is brought alternately
from one or the other boiler before and behind the piston. The used or
employed gas before the piston escapes in a cooling cylinder, from which
it is again brought back into the respective evacuated boilers. The
piston moves a fly weehl. The rules of the piston are turned to action
by some conical wheels.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Otto Trossin in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st May 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OTTO
TROSSIN, of 4, Museum Street, London, Citizen of Prussia, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign; did, for Herself, Her. heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Otto Trossin, Her special licence
that I, the said Otto Trossin, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Otto Trossin, 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 "A NEW MODE OR APPARATUS FOR
OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Otto Trossin, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Otto Trossin, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
The principle of the Invention consists in the application of heated
compressed gas as motive power.
The great advantage of applying heated compressed gas will be easily
seen if we consider that the specific temperature of gas becomes always
less when the compression is increased, but, on the other hand, that the
expansion or elasticity of gas increases in the same proportion as the
compression.
The adjoined Drawing, Figure 1, represents a sectional view of a
machine of four-horse power working with ten atmospheres as the highest
pressure applied in this machine.
In the furnace A provided with a grate and door is a closed cylindrical
vessel B (made of wrought iron), the right-hand bottom of which has a
large round opening in its centre, which is closed inside of the vessel by
a round plate a, on which is fastened a thick round plate of plaster.
From the centre of the plate a leads a short rod ; this rod b is fastened
in the centre of the bottom of a cylinder h, which is closed only at one
end. The side walls of the cylinder h are double, and separated by an in-
termediate space filled up with ashes. In the middle of the bottom of the
cylinder there are round the rod 6 four openings closed by the valve d.
Round the plain outer surface of cylinder is placed a ring e consisting
of four picces which are pressed by springs against the cylinder. Between
the plate a and the bottom of the cylinder h there is fastened on the
rod a round plate to retain the warmth that might go through
plate a off the bottom of cylinder h. Cylinder h is surrounded by
another cylinder g fitting almost tightly, and being in gas-tight con-
nection with the vessel B. In the interior of cylinder h is a third
cylinder c also fitting almost tightly and filled up with a bad conductor.
The two cylinders g and c have a common bottom which is connected
with a larger gas-tight fitted cooling vessel C. The side walls i of cooler C
is made so that it can be taken off. An eking out piece of rod 6 passes
gas-tight from the bottom of cylinder h, through cylinder c and the side
wall of cooler C, and through a metallic packing k, and is connected by
a joint with a lever of unequal arms 1. The lower shorter arm of this
lever joins a second lever m also with unequal arms. The upper shorter

page_text: arm of lever m consists of two parts n and n; these are bent sideways a
little so as not to be parallel to each other. Between the levers arms n
and n is placed the axle o of the fly wheel (or crank shaft o). On this
crank shaft just opposite to the lever arms n and n is a flat round
compartment p closed only at one end, and on one-half of its circum-
ference are two thumbs q, q; each of which is opposite to one of the
lever parts n and n. The above described parts are double in the
machine, one set by the side of the other so as to make the machine a
doubled actioned one. The only parts excepted are the furnace A;
cooler C, and the crank shaft o, which are single only. From the
cylinder c leads a long serpentine pipe X filling up the room under the
cylinders g, g, to the cooler C. The cylinder g, pipe X, and cooler C are
surrounded by a box y not fitting closely, and being open at the top:
This box is filled with cold water, the upper and warmer part of which
can run away through a pipe in proportion as the pump furnishes fresh
cold water. One end of the crank shaft o goes (gas-tight closed by
a plate) through the walls of cooler C and box y, and carries outside
of the machine the fly wheel, working also two pumps fastened to the
machine. One is a force pump always bringing cold water into the
water box y; the other is a gas compressing pump into the cylinder
of which some water is put to obtain a tighter fitting. In connection
with the vessel B is a manometer to show the expansion of the gas
which is in the machine. Instead of oil melted sulphur is used to
lubricate the heated parts of the machine. Over the furnace A is the
working cylinder D with the piston E. The piston rod_ passes gas-tight
through a metallic packing 8. The piston rod is fastened by a joint
to the connecting rod t, which moves the fly wheel by means of the
crank u. At the working cylinder D is fastened gas-tight the big
pipe to serve the piston rod as a guidance through the narrow plate w
fastened in it. The other end of the pipe o goes extending itself gas-
tight into the cooler C.
The regulation of the machine is done by a turning valve in the gas
chest 4, the plan of which see in Fig. 4. The same consists of two
massive conical cylinders 1 and 2 connected by a screw 3, the latter
has a shutting off. If the screw 3 is turned parts 1 and 2 of the valve
will approach each other, and in consequence fix themselves gas-tight
against the walls of gas chest 4, which are also turned conically. By
the side of the working cylinder D are two pipes 5, 5, one over the

page_text: other, and separated from each other by an intermediate space of the
height of one pipe. These pipes lead from the middle outer part of
cylinder D to the respective ends where they enter. The ends of the
pipes near the middle part of cylinder D enter into the wall of the
gas chest 4, and have opposite to themselves in the other wall of
the gas chest 4 two openings 6, 6, of their own size (see Fig. 2, which
represents a section of part 1 of the turning valve. By the side of the
openings 6, 6, in a horizontal direction are the two openings 7, 7.
From each of the two vessels B leads a pipe 8, 8, to the gas chest 4,
and enters into it just opposite to the two openings 6, 6. The two
pipes 9, 9, lead from the part 2 (see section in Fig. 3) of the gas chest
to the vessels B where they enter. The part 1 is crossed by the
canal 10, and has two depressions 11, 11, opposite to each other. The
size of the depressions in a horizontal direction is equal to those of, the
openings 6 and 7. Part 2 (see Fig. 3) is crossed in its length by two
canals 12, 12, opposite to each other, and near the outer side of the
gas chest, the walls of the canals 12; 12, are at a distance from each
other of a third of the width of the canal opening 10 in part 1. The
inlet openings of the pipes 9, 9, are of the same size as the canal
openings 12, 12. From part 2 leads an axle 14 surrounded by a gas-
tight fitting pipe 13 (the latter goes to the cooler C) to the crank
shaft o.
On the latter is also fastened a mitre wheel which catches
into another of double the size fixed on axle 14. When therefore the
crank shaft o has made two revolutions the turning valve will only
have made one, caused by the different size of the mitre wheels. The
packings which are round the piston rod and cylinder rod 6 are
represented on Fig. 5; but the Drawings of them are made as suitable
for the construction of a larger machine in order that they may be more
distinct. It may also be said here that the vessels B of larger machines
contain boiler tubes which enter gas-tight near the periphery of the
vessel's bottom, go along inside of the vessel, and then go out through
the second bottom of the vessels, also near the periphery of the same.
Here they enter into a compartment communicating with the chimney
pipc.
:
The packings are as follows:-The rod 6 passes through a cylinder M,
but not closely; cylinder M has on each end a border; one end is quite

page_text: by broad rings O just fitting on the rod b. These rings are all cut,
and the cut sides are at some distance of each other. As the rings are
turned conically, inside and outside, they can be pushed a little one
over the other in the interior of cylinder M; this is done by another
cylinder P well fitting on the rod b and pushed in a little into cylinder M.
Cylinder P has on its middle part an oval border Q. The pushing in
of cylinder P into cylinder M is done by means of two screws R, R,
opposite to each other, and which bring into junction the borders of
cylinder M and P. When the screws R, R, are worked cylinder P will
be pushed into cylinder M. The former presses upon the conical
rings O whereby they push themselves a little into each other. But
when the outsides approach each other the diameter of the rings O will
grow smaller and in consequence will close gas-tight the rod b. If the
machine is put to work fire is brought on the grate of the furnace A and
plays round the vessels B; the smoke goes out through a chimney pipe
which is not made in the Drawing. In the machine there is now only
air (or any kind of gas) of one atmosphere. After having heated it in
the vessels B we must open the valve 15 by the side of the gas chest 4,
which 15 had closed the pipes 8, 8. Now the gas from the first vessel B
will pass through the pipe 8, canal 10, and canal 5, behind the piston E,
and drive the latter forward. When the piston arrives at the middle of
its way canal 5 and pipe 8 will be quite opened by the canal 10, as is to
be seen in Fig. 4. . When the piston arrives at the end of its way the
turning valve will have made a quarter revolution and thereby shut
pipe 8 and canal 5, see Fig. 2. When the piston E, driven by the
momentum of the fly wheel, goes back, valve canal 10 will come into
communication with pipe 8 (of the second vessel B) and piston canal 5,
whereby the heated gas of the second vessel B goes also behind the
piston E and drives it back. The gas which is now before the piston
escapes through canal 5 and enters the depressure 11 (which is now
before the openings 6 and 7), and goes from thence to the cooler C,
passing opening 7, canal 16, canal 12 of part 2, and the pipe 13. While
the heated gas of the second vessel B is driving the piston E the first
vessel B is to be filled again with dense cold gas, which is effected by
cylinder h. The latter works like an exhaustion pump, and is pushed
by thumb q, lever and m, and cylinder rod b, into the first vessel B,
while it fills itself through valve z and cooler pipe x with dense cold
gas. The remaining and heated expanded gas that is still in vessel B is
partly condensed by the cold walls of cylinder h, it escapes partly through

page_text: pipe 9, canal 12 of part 2, Fig. 3, pipe 13, into the cooler C to be
condensed again. The last-named canal 12 keeps open pipe 9. during
the whole entering action of cylinder h into the first vessel B. As soon
as the whole cylinder is inside of vessel B canal 12 will have passed
the pipe hole 9, and thus have shut the vessel B. When cylinder / goes
back (by means of thumb q, lever I and m, and cylinder rod 6) valve z
closes itself, and valve ḍ opens itself to let the cold condensed gas of
cylinder enter into vessel B. When this is done it is immediately
heated, and a short time after cylinder / has gone out the heated is
gas
brought into the working cylinder to drive the piston as has been
previously described. While the piston E is driven by the heated gas of
the first vessel B the second vessel B undergoes the same proceedings to
be filled as has just been described in the other. If the machine works
it will also work the two pumps, the water pump to bring cold water
other
into the water box y, and the gas pump to suck in air (or any
kind of gas), and to press it into the cooler C. While the machine is
working all empty chambers of the same will be filled from the cooler
with compressed nitrogen gas, as the oxygen of the air will soon have
been absorbed. When the gas has attained an expansion, of 5 atmo-
spheres (for this machine here described) the gas compressing pump is
taken off, and the machine works alone with the compressed gas in it.
It need scarcely be said that according to the construction of the
machine a higher pressure than 5 atmospheres may be employed. Also
if not too great a power is wanted the second vessel B with all its parts
may be let alone, ànd the machine is more simple but single working.
This machine is to be used where any motive power is wanted, and
can be applied as well to stationary engines as to drive railway trains,
sea vessels, &c. For ships especially it is of the greatest importance
because of its small demand for fuel.
In witness whereof, I, the said Otto Trossin, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.