IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS AND IN COMMUNICATING POWER THERETO, PARTS OF THE SAID IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO THE OBTAINMENT OF MOTIVE POWER FOR GENERAL PURPOSES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentle-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
EFFECTING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS AND IN COMMUNICATING POWER THERETO,
PARTS OF THE SAID IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO THE OBTAINMENT OF
MOTIVE POWER FOR GENERAL PURPOSES."-A communication.
Sealed the 2nd May 1854, and dated the 7th January 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th January 1854.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR EFFECTING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS, AND IN COMMUNICATING POWER THERETO,
PARTS OF THE SAID IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO THE OBTAINMENT OF
MOTIVE POWER FOR GENERAL PURPOSES," the same has been communicated to me
from abroad, to be as follows:-
These improvements relate principally to manchinery or apparatus for effecting
agricultural operations, for which Letters Patent for Great Britain were granted

page_text: to me on or about the 10th day May 1853, and consist of an improved con-
struction and combination of parts to be employed as the machinery described
in the Specification of the said Letters Patent; and also in driving the
mechanism by means of a rotatory engine, the construction of which will
be herein-after described. The boiler employed is of the vertical tubular
class, and is carried in the body of the cart. It consists of a series of water
tubes enclosed in a chamber, and opening at their lower extremities into a
water chamber immediately over the furnace.
The upper ends of the tubes open into another larger chamber which is fitted
with a steam dome and safety valve, both enclosed within the chimney.
Pressing is effectually prevented by the use of a vertical pipe which is open
at the bottom and descends from the steam and safety valve down to below
the level of the surface of the water in the upper chamber of the boiler. The
upper portion of this pipe is perforated laterally, and the steam passes to
the steam pipe through the perforations before mentioned, whilst the priming
by reason of its gravity falls down the pipe, into the boiler again. A per-
forated plate is also placed across the lower portion of the steam dome to
assist in preventing priming. The flame and heated air play round the out-
side of the vertical water tubes before mentioned, and eventually pass up
through a series of vertical tubes running through the upper water chamber,
and opening into the chimney or smoke box, such tubes being arranged in a
circle round the water chamber. The grate bars are all made in one piece
forming a grating which turns on swivil centres, so that the whole of the fuel
may be cleared out at once by reversing the grate: The engine proposed to be
adopted consists of a cylinder cast with a partition in it to divide it longitu-
dinally into two chambers or compartments, and forming two distinct cylinders
in one. Each of these cylinders.contains a piston fitted on to a main shaft,
passing longitudinally through the central axis of the cylinder.
may be either fitted on to an angular part of the shaft, or the
made round with one or more feathers upon it fitting into slots in the bosses
of the pistons. The pistons are thus free to slide longitudinally on the shaft,
but are prevented from moving round it. Each piston consists of a circular
boss with a rectangular projection radiating from one side, the length of such
projection from the centre of the boss corresponding to the radius of the
cylinder. A conical recess is made in each end of the boss, and a split conical
ring is fitted into the inside of each of the covers, such ring being kept hard
up against the outside conical recess of the piston boss by means of a spring,
the boss being thereby kept in close contact with a conical projection cast on
each side of the partition in the cylinder. The top and end packing of the
These pistons
shaft may be

page_text: piston is effected by four metal packing pieces with stepped or overlapped
joints, and arranged two in width, and two in depth. They are kept expanded
both from the centre and laterally by means of an internal, spiral, or other
spring acting on all four simultaneously. A sliding door or diaphragm is fitted
to cach cylinder to keep the steam on the proper side of the pistons which are
fitted on the main shaft at an angle with each other; these doors or diaphragms
are actuated by means of suitable cams fitted on to the shaft outside the
cylinder. The reversing of the engine is effected by suitable valves which
admit the steam at one port or the other, the two ports being alternately steam
or exhaust ports, as the case may be. On the shaft of the engine is fitted a
bevil wheel gearing with a corresponding wheel on a transverse shaft which
runs through the centres of the axes of the running or carrying wheels of the
cart, such axes being made tubular, and fixed to the sides of the cart. The
extreme ends of the transverse shaft are fitted with cranks set at right angles
to each other, and working outside the naves of the running wheels. These
cranks actuate the cultivating mechanism on the reaper, when a reaper is
attached, by means of connecting rods attached to corresponding cranks on the
extremities of the digging cylinder, shaft, or other part of the mechanism;
or, if found desirable, pitch chains and pulleys may be employed for giving the
motion to the digger or reaper.