CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND IN THE MODE OF UTILIZING STEAM
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Pragst, of Moscow, in the Empire of Russia,
at present. residing at Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND IN
THE MODE OF UTILIZING STEAM."
Sealed the 29th December 1864, and dated the 27th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Pragst at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th August
1863.
I, FRANCIS PRAGST, of Moscow, in the Empire of Russia, at present residing
at Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
AND IN THE MODE OF UTILIZING STEAM," to be as follows:-
My improvements are applicable to steam engines, and consist, first, in
combining two oscillating steam engines together, one placed at each side
of a wall, through which wall a shaft passes having a fly wheel fixed at
each end. The piston rods are coupled to the pins fixed in the fly wheels
which pins are placed at right angles to each other.
Secondly, in fixing slides to the cylinders of oscillating steam engines for
guiding the slide block to which the piston rod is connected, these slides
keep the piston rod parallel to the cylinder, and the fly wheel pin fits in the
slide block.
Thirdly, in fixing the condenser and air pump to the cylinder so that they
all oscillate together upon the same fulcrum or shaft.

page_text: Fourthly, in working the slide valves and the hot water pumps of my
improved oscillating steam engines by levers jointed or connected to the.
condenser, which levers are connected to the spindles of the valve and to
the piston rod of the hot water pump by oscillating cross shafts and levrse.
Fifthly, in the arrangement of a compound oscillating steam engine, the
high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders of which are placed at each side
of a wall or otherwise. The pipe for conveying the steam from the high-
pressure to the low-pressure cylinder is in line with the fulcrum on which the
cylinders oscillate.
My improvements in utilizing steam are applicable to compound engines in
general, and they consist in conveying the steam from the high-pressure
cylinder through pipes in which it is made available for heating buildings,
or for heating the feed water of the boilers, or for any other purpose where
steam in pipes is employed, and then delivering it to the low-pressure cylinder
from which it is taken to the condenser in the usual manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Francis Pragst in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
PRAGST, of Moscow, in the Empire of Russia, at present residing at Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and, successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Francis Pragst, Her special license that I, the..said Francis Pragst, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Francis
Pragst, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
ENGINES AND IN THE MODE OF UTILIZING STEAM," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Francis Pragst, 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,

page_text: 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 Francis Pragst, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
My improvements consist, first, in combining two oscillating steam engines
together, one placed at each side of a wall, through which wall a shaft passes
having a fly wheel fixed at each end. The slide blocks of the piston rods of
either compound or single steam engines, work in slides fixed to the cylinders
and are coupled to pins fixed in the fly wheels.
Secondly in fixing the condensor and air pump or the exhaust pipe to
the cylinder so that they all oscillate together upon the same fulcrum or
shaft.
Thirdly, in working the hot water pumps of my improved oscillating
steam engines by levers or links jointed or connected to the condensor,
which levers or links are connected to the piston rod of the hot water pump by
oscillating levers.
Fourthly, in the arrangement of. a compound oscillating steam engine
the high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders of which are placed at each side
of a wall, or otherwise. The pipe for conveying the steam from the high-.
pressure to the low-pressure cylinder is in line with the fulcrum on which the
cylinders oscillate.
Fifthly, in the use of flexible inlet and exhaust pipes for oscillating steam
engines.
:
My improvements in utilizing steam are applicable to high pressure
and compound engines in general, and they consist in conveying the steam from
the high-pressure cylinder through pipes in which it is made available for
beating buildings, or for heating the feed water of boilers, or for any other
purpose where steam in pipes is employed, and then allowing it to blow off' or
delivering it to the low-pressure cylinder from which it is taken to the con-
densor in the usual manner.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into operation, I will proceed to describe the three accompanying Sheets of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2, a front view; and
Figure 3, another side elevation of a pair of oscillating steam engines arranged
and constructed according to my improvements, the main feature of which is

page_text: to obtain a long stroke, to dispense with the cranks, to reduce the number of
stuffing box joints and to diminish the cost of foundations.
a, a, are the two cylinders vibrating on the axles b, b; c, c, are two air.
pumps; d, d, the two condensors fixed to the cylinders a, a; e, e, are the side
pipes and the slide valves, and f, f, are the guiding slides fixed to the
cylinders; 9, 9, are the piston rods, and h, h, the cross pieces connected to the
ins i, i, fixed to the fly wheels j. j, these pins are placed at right angles to
cach other, and the fly wheels are fixed on the shaft K revolving in the
pedestals 7, 7.
The circumference of the fly wheels are toothed and gear into the pinions.
m, m, fixed ont he lines of shafting in the first and second storey and from the
second story line shafting is an upright shaft for driving the third storey
line shafting; n, n, are the slides for guiding the rod of the air pumps
c, c; o, o, are the links which actuate the air pump buckets; these
links are jointed at one end to studs fixed to wall plates, and at the other
to the cross head of the air pump bucket; p, p, are the steam pipes; q, the
stop valve, opened and shut by means of the wheels r, r; s, s, are the
flattened, circular vibrating steam pipes, or ordinary pipes with stuffing
boxes may be used; t, t, are the throttle valves. The levers u, u, for
working the throttle valves are opposite the centres of the axles b, and
they are acted upon by the governor rods w, w, connected by the levers a", "x,"
and shaft y, to the governor balls z. The upright shaft a transmits motion
by means of the wheels b', c', shaft d¹, and mitre wheels e', to the shaft g¹
which shaft has cranks or eccentrics upon it, and gives motion to the expan-
sion slides valves e, by the connecting rods h', h². The other slide valves
nearest to the cylinders are acted upon by the connecting rods ¹, levers 7¹,
and shafts k¹ and , one of which is inside of the other, and the levers m²,
which are made to vibrate by means of the links n', fastened to studs fixed in
the condensor, so that the condensor stud o¹ acts upon the slide valve
rod p. The other condensor pin q' acts by means of the links n¹ in a similar
way upon the shaft k', lever j', the connecting rod 2, and slide valve rod i'.
From the throttle valve t the steam passes through a pipe t. Cast inside the
condensor to the slide valve chests e; are the blow-through valves pro-
ceeding from the pipe & into the condensor. After the steam has performed
its duty in the cylinders a it is conveyed into the condensor by the pipes v,
represented by dotted lines, cast inside the condensor; the air and water are
pumped out of the condensor through the pipes also cast inside the con-
densor, represented by dotted lines, proceeding from the condensors d to
the air pump c through the foot-valves w¹, and empty themselves into the

page_text: pipes w cast inside, represented by dotted lines, through the orifices y¹ which
convey the air and water into the off pipes z³. Upon the off pipe =¹ is
fixed the hot water pump z³ acted upon by the lever ;, is the injection
cock connected to the circular pipe passing through the condensor, or
the injection cock can be connected to the condensor by a flexible pipe
made of vulcanized india-rubber with a spring inside. The cross beam A
which serves as a foundation plate, is hollow to carry off the overflow
water.
In coupling horizontal oscillating engines I propose fixing the axles at each
side of the cylinder, under which is the condensor, and the air pump is placed
vertically at the end opposite to the cylinders, so as to partially counterbalance
the cylinder.
On Sheet 2, Fig. 4 is a side elevation; Fig. 5 a front view, and Fig. 6
another side elevation of a compound oscillating steam engine, constructed
according to my improvements; as many of the parts in these views are
similar to those before described, it will only be necessary to explain those
parts which are different.
a is the high-pressure cylinder; b is the low-pressure, cylinder, which are
connected together by the pipe c, through which, and the pipe shewn by
dotted lines, the exhaust steam is transmitted to the slide valves e. The
exhaust steam proceeding from the slide valves e is sent along the pipe f,
represented by dotted lines, into the condenser g. The air pump g pumps.
the air and water out of the condensor along the pipe j, represented by dotted
lines, leading to the bottom of the vertical air pump, which is worked as
represented in the Drawing by means of the links k and slides l. By this
arrangement the air pump counterbalances the valve chest. From the top
part of the air pump the overflow water is conveyed along the pipe m,
indicated by dotted lines, this pipe is cast inside of the condensor and empties
itself into the trough u. The fly wheel pins are opposite one another so as to
produce a similar oscillation on one side as the other, the fly wheels are
heavy enough to carry the pistons over the dead centres. The slide cross
heads have flanges at both sides for guiding them in a more perfect
manner.
On Sheet 8, Figs. 7, 8, and 9,- are three views of a high-pressure non-con-
densing steam engine, constructed according to my improvements. The steam
at a bigh pressure enters along the pipe a, ascends up to the throttle valve b,
then passes down again, and through the joint or stuffing box 6' into the
cylinder. c, at the same time the steam for the other cylinder proceeds
through the bottom part of the cylinder into the pipe d, and through the

page_text: joint or stuffing box e into the cylinder f. From the cylinders c and f
the steam exhausts itself through the elbow pipes 9 and h into the water
contained in cisterns i and j; when hot water is required, or otherwise,
it can be exhausted into the atmosphere out of these cisterns, in such a case
no water would be requisite in the cisterns. When water is used a constant
stream must be pumped through the cisterns. The elbow pipes are in a line
with the fulcrum on which the cylinders oscillate, these pipes are fixed to the
cylinders and consequently oscillate with them, the other ends of the pipes dip
into the water in the cisterns, thus dispensing with the stuffing box joint
in the exhaust pipes. (By thus constructing oscillating engines without con-
densors the weight of the cylinder and parts connected thereto is greatly
reduced and the construction simplified.
Figs. 10 and 11, represent two views of my improved high-pressure
expansion non-condensing steam engine, which is particularly adapted for
working a single line shaft in each floor of a cotton mill or other estab-
Jishment.
a is the steam pipe; b, the throttle valve; and c, the stuffing box; the steam
travels along the pipe a, which is placed inside of another pipe 9, to the bottom
part of the. cylinder e; and from thence to the valve chest-d, into the cylinder e,
from whence it is exhausted along the outside pipe g through the elbow pipe f
into the water in the cistern i. In both the improved steam engines above
described in reference to the Figures on Sheet 3, the piston rod is connected
direct to a crank pin projecting from the face of the flywheel, as in the engines
shewn in Sheets 1 and 2.
My improvements in utilizing steam may be performed in the following
manner-To the pipe leading from the high to the low pressure cylinder is
attached a brauch pipe which is conveyed. through the buildings to be heated,
or through the feed water for boilers, or through the different dye or other
fluids, and the other end of the pipe is fixed to the condensor, so that after
the steam has accomplished the required heating by surface heat it is exhausted
into the condensor together with the condensed water from it. In cases where
the steam from high-pressure cylinders is above the atmospheric pressure a
condensor is not required, but the steam can be exhausted into the atmosphere
as usual; or jets of steam from the pipes through which the steam is carried off
may be turned into water or other fluids to be heated. Or a branch from the
pipe leading from the high to the low pressure cylinder is connected to a con-
densor in which a portion of the steam is partially condensed by the intro-
duction of a jet of water; from this condensor the water is drawn and pumped
into the boilers, the remainder of the steam is conveyed to the low-pressure

page_text: cylinder where it works, and from whence it is taken to a condensor of the
usual construction, in the usual manner.
My improvements in the mode of utilizing steam are applicable to compound
engines of the ordinary construction as well as to my improved oscillating
engines above described.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described the manner of
of performing the same, I declare that I claim,―
First, the combination of two oscillating steam engines, one placed at each
side of a wall through which a shaft passes baving a fly wheel at each end,
each engine being coupled direct to a pin projecting from each fly wheel as
described.
I also claim the coupling of a single oscillating cylinder's piston rod to a pin
projecting from a fly wheel as described.
Secondly, connecting the condensor and air pump to the cylinder of an
oscillating steam engine so that all the parts oscillate together upon the same
fulcrum or shaft as described.
Thirdly, connecting the cylinders of an oscillating steam engine to the
exhaust cistern, as shewn and described in reference to the Figures on
Sheet 3.
Fourthly, the improved compound oscillating steam engine constructed and
arranged as shewn and described in reference to Sheet 2.
Fifthly, the use of flexible inlet and exhaust pipes for oscillating steam
engines.
And, lastly, the utilizing a pôrtion of the steam passing from the high to the
low pressure cylinder of compound steam engines, in the manner and for the
purposes described.
In witness wereof, I, the said Francis Pragst, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
FRANCIS PRAGST. (L.s.)