CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE GENERATION AND APPLICATION OF STEAM, AND IN OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
FELL, of 54, Crown Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Plumber,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of May, in the eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Fell, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Richard Fell, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Richard Fell, my executors, admini-
strators, 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 mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE GENERATION AND
APPLICATION OF STEAM, AND IN OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Richard
Fell, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her
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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Fell, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
The first part of my Invention consists in improvements in generating
steam for the purpose of obtaining motive power; the manner in which the
same is to be performed or carried into effect" will be seen by a reference to
the annexed Drawings and description thereof. In the Drawings the same
letter or figure of reference is used to indicate the same part of the same
machine therein delineated.
Drawing A, Fig. 1, is a plan; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the machine; and
Fig. 3, longitudinal section of one of the tubes which I term generators. I
employ any required number of these generators (according to the power of
the engine), placed horizontally around the furnace or fire box, or rather the
furnace is placed within the circle formed by the set of tubes or generators, so
that they may the more readily absorb the heat therefrom. A represents the
water vessel for supplying the generators or tubes B, which are arranged
round the furnace or fire box, as shewn in end elevation, Figure 2. c, c, c, c,
are pipes connecting the upper part of each of the generators to the
steam chest D, which I also employ as a water vessel. D, steam and
water chamber, the lower part of which is divided across its length
into as many divisions or cells as there are generators, the pipes c, c, c, c,
connecting the generators to these cells, as before described and shewn in
plan Fig. 1. E, E, feed pipes through which the water is conveyed from
the water level in the vessel A into the distributing pipe E, closed at its
ends, placed horizontally within the chamber D, and perforated with holes
over each cell so as to ensure an uniform supply of liquid to each generator.
F is a pipe furnished with a stopcock and connected to distributor E for
supplying the generators with water from the water vessel A at the commence-
ment of working. G, safety valve connected to steam chest D. H, feed pipe
from force pump, worked by the engine or other power; this pipe is coiled
within the furnace, as shewn, plan Fig. 1, and terminates as shewn in water
vessel A; the water in its passage through this pipe of course becomes heated
to a high temperature before discharging into the water vessel A; from which
it subsequently flows to the generators, as before described, after rising to the
level of the mouth of the pipes E, E; by this arrangement there will be always a
supply of water in A equal to the contents of the water vessel below the top

page_text: of pipes E, E, for feeding the generators before starting the engine, or in
the event of the force pumps being deranged. K, water gauge. L, Fig. 3,
section of metal pans or troughs fitted within the generators, over which the
water from entering at the highest end of the shelf flows in a thin film, pre-
senting a large surface to the action of heat, until it flows into the bottom of
the generator or tube B, when it is evaporated into steam; the supply of water
must be properly regulated. M, receivers or cylinders placed at the back of
the bridge of furnace forming the bottom of the flue; these receivers are con-
nected to the bottom of the generators, the object being, should all the water
not be evaporated in its passage over the plates L and bottom of generators,
that it will flow into these cylinders, where it will again be subjected to the
action of heat; at the end of those receivers there is a pipe P for conveying
any water that may be still unevaporated again into water vessel A, which
may be effected by a connection to the force pump or by other simple means
N, fire bars of furnace. O, bridge of furnace, at the back of which the
receivers are placed, and the two bottom generators, which are necessarily
shorter than the other. P, pipe for conveying the unevaporated water from
the last receiver back to the water vessel.
Having described the Drawings of the first part of my Invention, I will
now proceed to explain the manner in which I carry out the same. In the
first instance, the fire is lighted, and when the tubes or generators have become
properly heated, I admit a sufficient supply of water through the pipe F by
opening the stopcock from the water vessel A, as is necessary for generating
sufficient steam for starting the engine; the water flows into the distributing
pipe E, is there equally distributed into each cell, from which it passes through
the pipes c, c, c, c, into the generators B, is there diffused over the surfaces
of the metal pans or troughs arranged within them, and readily absorbs the
caloric with which the air within the generators is charged, and is ultimately
evaporated by the heat radiated from the metal of the generators; and in its
passage over the hot metal plates or troughs L, which from their contact with
the inside surface of the generator are ready conductors of heat, by thus
spreading the water over so large a surface exposed to the action of heat;
the evaporation is much more rapid than if merely forced into the plain tubes,
for it becomes almost instantly flashed into steam, which passes up from
the generators through the pipes c, c, c, c, c, into the steam chest D, to which
the steam pipe of the engine is attached. Sufficient steam being thus gene-
rated to start the engine, the stopcock on pipe F is shut, and a force pump is
then set in motion, delivering the water through the pipe H coiled in the
furnace, into the water vessel A at a high temperature; it then flows into the

page_text: distributing and feed pipes E, E, the throw of the feed pump being regulated
to deliver just as much water at each stroke as will be flashed into steam, in
its passage through the generators, and equal to the purposes of the engine;
should any water however remain unevaporated in the bottom of the gene-
rators, either from the force pump not being properly regulated or from the
fire being too low in the furnace, I have provided the receiver M, placed
behind the bridge of the furnace, and forming the bottom of the flue; the first
receiver is connected to the lower ends of all the generators by means of pipes,
through which any unevaporated water flows into one of the receivers, traverses
that into the second, and so on to the end of the last receiver, where, should
there then be water, provision is made for conveying the same, either by the force
pump, or other simple method, through the pipe P, back into the water vessel A,
to be again passed through the generators, by which arrangement the only heat
lost is by radiation from the pipes; the water gauge will indicate the proper
height of water by which the engine now must regulate its feed.
The second part of my Invention relates to a new method of obtaining &
partial vacuum, whereby motive power is obtained, applicable to stationary,
locomotive, or marine engines. Drawing B, Fig. 1, a, a, represents two cold-
water cisterns. B, hot-water cistern or boiler, placed between the two cold-
water cisterns; c, c, c, c, are a series of tubes connected together and attached
to the hollow cranks s, s, communicating with the hollow shafts T, which are
worked on a centre by means of the toothed sway beam geered into the
pinions attached to the hollow shafts T, T; motion being given to this sway
beam, the pinions work the cranks 8, s, alternately immersing them with their
coils of tubes into the hot-water boiler and cold-water cisterns, with every
stroke of the engine. The hollow shafts T, T, are connected by means of
pipes furnished with suitable valves to the engine cylinder. By immersing one
set of the tubes attached to the hollow cranks into the hot water, the air
immediately becomes expanded, and is driven out at the valve D, which is
made to open; the engine, giving motion to the sway beam V, works the
pinions W, W, and immerses the set of tubes which was in the hot
water into the cold cistern, and that which was in the cold water into
the hot boiler, by which means the expanded air is immediately con-
tracted, producing a vacuum, and the other set of tubes having the air
expanding for the next stroke of the engine, which is worked by the vacuum
thus produced. X is a furnace to heat water in cistern or boiler. There are
also two chambers R, R, at the bottom of the cistern A, A, with a pipe from
cach, and connected with the washer and waster K; their duty is to extract
any part of the gas or nitrogen that might not be drawn off or forced out of

page_text: of
the discharging valve D, by the expansion when in the boiler B, and on its
return through the tubes C, C, from the cold-water cisterns into the hot liquid
boiler B, the air or gases which had been before extracted by the restorators or
chambers R, R, is then restored by the chambers R, R, which is always in a
state of partial vacuum in a greater or less degree, to receive the fresh discharge
any air then remaining. There are two cylindrical vessels, which I term
barometers, placed at each end of the engine, marked z; one of them (the
point of the arrow) represents the air in its course from the cylinder H, on the
rising or falling of the piston, passing from the engine through the cylinder,
and the pipe entering the valve and continuing its course through the stuffing
box, and into the tubes or worm chambers.
Figure 3 represents another mode of effecting the same object. A, A, are
cold-water cisterns, and B, hot-water boiler. C, C, is a tube coiled in the form
of an Archimedian screw, with a division at (a); this screw is attached to the
hollow shaft T, which works through stuffing boxes b, b. This shaft is made
to revolve forwards and backwards alternately, screwing the vacuum worm
from the hot into the cold cisterns, and vice versa, producing the necessary
vacuum for working the engine.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would remark, that I
do not confine myself to the precise details herein described, provided the
general character of either part thereof be retained. But what I claim is,―
First, the application of metal tubes or cylinders with the troughs or shelves
fitted within them, over which the water is made to flow, and by which
means a larger evaporating surface is obtained than any plan heretofore
practised; and,
Secondly, I claim the arrangement described, by which continuous thin films
or streams of water are kept up through the generators and receivers, whereby
the same are preserved, and a very rapid generation of steam is effected, with
a comparatively small boiler or generator. But I do not confine myself to any
particular form of boiler nor to the number of tubes or generators to be
employed, which must be regulated according to the duty required to be
performed.
And, lastly, I claim the alternate expansion and contraction of the air by
the means described for obtaining motive power by the partial vacuum thereby
produced.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Fell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, One thousand
night hundred and forty-five
RICHARD (L.S.) FELL.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-fourth day
of November, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Richard Fell came
before our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifi-
cation aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.