INVENTION OF A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING AND WORKING ENGINES OR MACHINES FOR LIFTING OR RAISING OF WEIGHTS, TURNING OF MACHINERY OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS, DRAWING CARRIAGES ON RAILWAYS, AND CAPABLE OF BEING APPLIED TO ALL PURPOSES WHERE MECHANICAL POWER IS REQUIRED
Year: 1813

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RANGELEY, of Oakwell Hall, near Leeds, in the County of York, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, and bearing date at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of April,
in the fifty-third year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Rangeley, my executors, adiñors, and
assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, during
the term of fourteen years from the date thereof, by myself or themselves, or
by mine or their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I,
the said John Rangeley, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
said term, to make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales,
and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my "INVENTION OF A NEW OR IMPROVED
METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING AND WORKING ENGINES OR MACHINES FOR LIFTING OR
RAISING OF WEIGHTS, TURNING OF MACHINERY OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS, DRAWING
CARRIAGES ON RAILWAYS, AND CAPABLE OF BEING APPLIED TO ALL PURPOSES WHERE
MECHANICAL POWER IS REQUIRED," in such manner as to me, the said John
Rangeley, my exors, aduiors, or assigns, or any of them, should, in mine or
their discretions, seem meet, but subject nevertheless to a proviso or condition

page_text: contained in the said Letters Patent, that if I, the said John Rangeley, should
not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same was 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, then the same Letters Patent,
and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly
cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the said Letters Patent,
recourse being thereto had, will more fully appear.
な
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso or condition,
I, the said John Rangeley, do hereby declare that my said Invention consists
of or comprehends an engine or-machinery, to work generally after the manner
of a steam engine, by a combined or separate use of the pneumatic and hydro-
static powers without employing the agency of steam, and by the adaptation of
principles not hitherto practised or understood; and that the manner in which
the nature of my said Invention, the mode or manner of making or constructing
the said engine or machinery, and the different operations thereof, and of
accomplishing the objects to which my said Invention will extend, will be ren-
dered most apparent, and more clearly understood, by the Drawings, figures,
and letters hereunto annexed, and hereby respectively referred unto, and by
the following explanation thereof (that is to say):
upon
The letter A, in such Drawing, represents a cylinder placed in an horizontal
position. The letters B and C represent pipes placed in the same direction,
the one above and the other underneath (or on each side) the cylinder, and
communicating with it by the valves respectively marked or numbered 1, 2, 3,
and 4; underneath, and communicating with the pipe distinguished by the
letter C, is another pipe marked D, turned at right angles at the letter E to
any convenient length, and turned up again perpendicularly at the letter F,
which is placed another pipe or tube marked K, having two arms, each
of them marked with the letter G, in the form of a cross, in an horizontal
, direction; near the extremity of those two arms are two conical valves opening
outwards. Those arms, connected with the pipe K, work in a neck or joint
at "a" (rendered as nearly water-tight as possible), which is immersed in a
cistern of water in order to prevent the introduction of air. There is another
pipe, distinguished by the letter H, connected with the pipe B, the end of which
is immersed in a cistern of water below the cylinder, in the bottom of which is
a valve opening upwards, but which remains always open during the perform-
ance of the engine; the piston rod goes quite through the cylinder (working in
stuffing boxes at each end), and is communicated to the fly wheel marked with

page_text: the letters X, X, which is communicated to the cross arms G, G, by the crank
marked with the letters Y, Y. The gearing necessary to open and shut the
valves is worked by the fly wheel, and may be made to suit the taste of the
engineer, as may also the valves, the same as in other engines; but they
must be made to fit as tight as possible, working through stuffing boxes. All
the parts of the machine being made air-tight, or as nearly so as possible,
before setting it to work, the whole must be charged with water, viz, tho
cylinder pipes and cross arms, the valves in which are kept down by springs.
Two of the valves (viz'), those marked with the Figures 1 and 4, must be
open, and the two others marked with the Figures 2 and 3 must be shut,
or vice versà. The machine may be put in motion by a winch communicating
with the cross arms by cog wheels, and when the same are put in quick motion
the centrifugal force of the water in the arms will overcome the pressure of
the atmosphere, open the valves, and discharge itself into the cistern placed
underneath for that purpose. It is evident that as soon as any water is dis-
charged out of the cross arins a vacuity will be left in same part of the pipes
communicating with the cylinder, which will be supplied by the pressure of
the atmosphere acting on the surface of the water in the cistern, which it
will force up the pipe H, and through the valve 1, which, in conformity to the
law of hydrostatics, will communicate the pressure it receives (from the; pressure
of the atmosphere) to the water in the whole area of the cylinder, driving the
piston to the opposite end, the water before it being evacuated by its own gra-
vitation by the valve 4, and discharged out at the ends of the horizontal arms.
When the piston makes the returning stroke, or when the fly wheel passes the
centre, the valves 1 and 4 will be shut, and the valves 2 and 3 will be opened,
so that the piston will be forced in a contrary direction, and the water dis-
charged as before out at the valve 3, and thus a rotatory or reciprocating motion
will be continued. The size of the evacuating pipes of the cross arms, and of
the valves in the same, and the degree of velocity with which they are to run,
must be calculated according to the quantity of water required to be discharged
out of the cylinder in a given time. The charging pipes and valves must, in
the same way, be calculated according to the quantity of water with which the
cylinder is to be charged in a given time, reckoning the velocity with which
he water will enter the pipes, impelled by the pressure of the atmosphere if
required.
A more convenient way to set the machine in motion may be to erect a
perpendicular pipe, as represented by the letter I, upon the pipe B, to any
convenient height, with a cistern at the top, which may be charged by a hand
uup, when the pressure of the column of water in this pipe will be communi-

page_text: cated to the water in the cylinder through the valve 1, and set the machine in
motion, when the water will be evacuated out at the cross arms with a velocity
nearly equal to that of the ends of the arms, when the valve in this pipe may
be shut, and the one in the other pipe, communicating with the lower
cistern, may be opened, and the motion will be continued. But, I mean,
in many cases, to work with a perpendicular pipe and a centrifugal pump (im-
proved as hereafter explained), erected to any height not exceeding 33 feet, as
it will render the machine more powerful, it being well known that a column of
water of the altitude of 33 fect is equal to the pressure of the atmosphere.. This
water will be returned into. the pipe by the centrifugal pump,.in.. order to
keep a supply for the cylinder. It is not my meaning, however, to confine
the construction of this machine in all cases exactly to the plan here described,
but I shall (still retaining the principle). vary it according to circumstances and
according to the work required, to be done, or the situation in which it is to
be placed. Thus it may be wrought upon the above plan, or the cylinder may
be placed in a perpendicular position, or it may be wrought by two cylinders
according to situation and circumstances, or it may be made merely an
hydraulic machine working without the presure of the atmosphere (except so
far as regards the pump), the water being returned by the centrifugal pump.
In some cases I mean to work a spiral in the cylinder instead of a piston,
when circumstances may require the power to be so applied. The centrifugal
pump consists of.a vertical tube, marked in the Drawing with the letters A, A,
of any height not exceeding 33 feet, (the pressure of the atmosphere not being
able to support it at a greater altitude,) and two horizontal arms marked in
the Drawing with the letters.B, B, together equal (or rather more) in bore
than the vertical pipe. There is a valve; distinguished by the letter c, opening
upwards at the bottom of the upright pipe which is, immersed in a cistern of
water. Near the ends, but on the contrary side of the two, arins, are two
valves opening outwards, which are kept closed by springs till the machine is
charged with water, which is done thro' a hole in the top of the vertical tube
the water being supported in it by the valve C), and when it is full, and con-
sequently void of air, this hole is closed by a screw so as to render it air-tight
and when the horizontal arms are put in quick motion, the water contained
therein acquires a centrifugal force, opens the valves against the pressure o
the atmosphere, and will be delivered into the cistern, and the supply continued
by the water in the lower. cistern being forced up the vertical pipe by the
pressure of the atmosphere. But instead of turning the whole of the vertica
tube with the horizontal: arms upon pivots at the top and bottom, as i
customary in working, centrifugal pumps. (which, when the bore is large

page_text: become very heavy and hard to turn), I work mine in a joint or neck near the
top, as represented at the letter T. Connected with the revolving horizontal
arms is a short pipe, made of copper or of other metal that will not corrode,
the bottom end of which is turned perfectly smooth and true, and a little
conical, which is nicely fitted by grinding into the end of the vertical pipe, or
rather into a box placed on the top, in which is a brass socket, which is also
turned perfectly true and a little conical, into which is nicely ground and fitted
the end of the copper or other metal pipe, no tighter than to admit a free
circular motion, and each of the pipes must have a shoulder which may support
the other, but should those shoulders be permitted to touch, the friction upon
them will be very great, as the section of the upper part of the vertical pipe
will be pressed down by the whole pressure of the atmosphere, while there
will be little or no corresponding pressure underneath to balance it, so that to
prevent this great friction I place a spindle in the horizontal arm, exactly in
the axis of the joint, and resting with its pivot (which must be made the
smallest that it will admit of), in a step fixed in a bar which goes across the
feeding pipes. Those shoulders may be set as near as possible so as not to
touch, and altered at pleasure by a screw which must be placed in the upper
end of the spindle and passed through the axis of the horizontal arms; or the
shoulders may work upon each other, and the enormous friction may be pre-.
vented by suspending a weight for that purpose by a cord over two pullies, and
connected with the top part of the horizontal arms, suspending it upwards so
as to counteract the downward pressure of the atmosphere; and there are
other means which I may probably apply to prevent such pressure. The joint
must be placed so near the top as to be immersed in the cistern of water in
order to prevent the introduction of air, and altho' a small portion of water
may pass thro' the joint into the pipe, as water is not an elastic body), it will
do no harm, but be evacuated again out of the valves in the ends of tho
horizontal arms; the same observation applies to the joint in the cross arms
under the cylinder, which are to be also immersed in water, and in case the
joints are made to run free and easy, the power required for turning them will
not be great; or in some cases, were it is necessary, those joints may work out
of water immersed in a little oil or other greasy substance. In some cases I
mean to work the centrifugal pump, with my improvements thereof, together
or along with other machinery, in order to add to the power, such as water
wheels, to return a part of the water back again to cause a supply where there
is a scarcity, and for other purposes; any other non-elastic fluid may be made
use of instead of water, and in case it should become necessary to guard against
the freesing of the water (or other fluid by other means than heat or warm air,

page_text: I intend to make use of muriate of soda, or such other chemical mixture as will
answer that purpose. I am aware that the construction of this engine, and
of the different parts thereof which are herein-before referred unto, may be
altered in a variety of ways; but I consider the principle of my Invention to
comprize or include the employment or using of water or any other non-elastic
fluid in the cylinder, which enables me (by the contrivance underneath the
same) to produce or create a vacuum, or rather to remove the pressure of the
atmosphere continually from one side of the piston whilst it is acting on the
other, rendering it tantamount to producing a vacuum by the successive con-
densation of steam, and an improved centrifugal pump, so that whoever shall
make use of water or any other non-elastic fluid for such purposes, or shall
adopt my improved centrifugal pump, will infringe upon the rights and
privileges granted to me by the before recited Letters Patent.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Rangeley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirteen.