IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER, AND IN MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Alexander Rippingille
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th April 1868.
I, EDWARD ALEXANDER RIPPINGILLE, of Holborn Hill, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER, AND IN MEANS OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in obtaining motive
power, and in means or apparatus employed therein, and relates to novel
combinations and arrangements of parts whereby the products of com-
bustion in addition to being employed to raise steam are ultimately
mixed with such steam, and employed in any suitable manner to obtain
motive power. The direct products of combustion are caused to enter
a chamber in which a number of plates and troughs are arranged in such
manner that water, which is allowed to enter at the top of such chamber
in suitable quantities is caused to fall on to the uppermost plate or
trough, from which it drops into the troughs or plates immediately
below, and when such trough or troughs are filled with water the water.
begins to fall on to the plate next below, and thence into the next

page_text: trough, and so on until it arrives at the lowermost troughs, whence it is
allowed to fall through suitable overflow channels to the bottom of the
chamber, where it is maintained at a given level, there being suitable
means provided to allow the water to flow off when it has exceeded a
certain level. The products of combustion are caused to pass through
zig-zag passages formed by the plates and troughs, so as to give off such
an amount of the heat contained therein as to reduce the temperature
thereof to a safe working point, and in doing so to raise a certain
amount of steam which mixes therewith, and thereby provides a moist
vapour to be used as the motive power to be employed in any well-known
manner. The water falling into the evaporating chamber may be
supplied continuously thereto from a suitable "head," or it may be
pumped into a suitable receiver, in which the pressure is maintained at
the same point as that in the evaporating chamber by a pipe com-
municating therewith, as will be well understood, and the supply is so.
arranged that after the troughs have been filled and the required level
of water is obtained in the bottom of such evaporating chamber, only
about the quantity of water is allowed to enter the evaporating chamber.
which can be continuously vaporized therein.
According to one arrangement I employ ordinary coal gas as the
fuel, and I prefer to mix about one volume of gas with about two
volumes of air which are pumped into a suitable receiver working in
liquid as an ordinary gasometer, and enclosed in a close vessel, into
which I pump pure air so as to fill the space in the close vessel not
occupied by the gas and air receiver and the liquid in which it works.
The combination of gas and air is supplied by such receiver to a
suitable ring or other burner, and a stream of pure air from the
before mentioned close vessel is also supplied so as to issue in close
proximity to the burner, and thereby supply air to support, com-
bustion; and in order to simplify the arrangement I employ an air
pump, the piston rod of which is connected directly to the piston of
the engine, and I arrange the pump with a set of valves at each
end so that one side of the pump may be employed to supply pure air,
and the other side to supply a mixture of gas and air as above
described, and I arrange the inlets for the mixture of gas and air
so that only the required proportions shall be supplied to the receiver,
and I couple the cocks of the air and gas supply pipes to the pump, so
that when once set to the required proportions they shall be capable of
1º

page_text: being simultaneously operated upon to increase or decrease their openings
in the same proportion; or the cocks may by the same means be suddenly
shut off at any portion of the stroke. And I also couple together the
cock supplying air and gas to the burner and that supplying pure
air to support combustion.
* By the above arrangements the pressure at which the mixture of
gas and air is supplied to the burner, and that at which the pure
air is supplied to support combustion are maintained at a relative
uniform rate.
I do not, however, confine myself to these arrangements as separate
pumps may be employed to supply the gas and air, and instead of
burning a mixture of gas and air in the proportions above mentioned,
other proportions may be used or pure gas may be employed, in which
case a larger proportionate quantity of pure air will be required to
support combustion.
In some cases I employ a ring or other burner applied outside the
vaporizing chamber in any suitable manner to assist in raising it to
and maintaining it at the desired temperature.
The mode in which I light the gas or gas and air is by preference
by means of a sliding tube or piston which fits tightly within a hole
or socket in the vaporizer, and is perforated at one end and con-
nected at the other end to the pipe supplying the gas and air to the
burner. In the interior of this tube or piston a jet of gas is lighted
and the tube or piston is then pushed through the hole or socket into
the vaporizer so as to bring it immediately over or in contact with the
ring or other burner. The gas or gas and air and the pure air and
water I by preference heat in any suitable manner by means of the
waste steam and products of combustion issuing from the exhaust port
of the engine.
I would have it understood that although I have only mentioned
ordinary coal gas other descriptions of gas may be employed.
When employing mineral oils, coal tar, and such like products as the
fuel I employ by preference a combustion chamber separate from the
vaporizer, but communicating therewith by suitable tubes or passages.
In the lower part of the combustion chamber I place a close vessel
in which a suitable quantity of mineral oil, coal tar, or such like
products is placed, and I force through such products air which may

page_text: be previously heated if desired, such air passing through the fuel in
such vessel. carries off with it a certain proportion of combustible
vapour, which passing out of such close chamber through a suitable
perforated pipe or pipes surrounding the lower part thereof is there
ignited, and the products of combustion arising therefrom are employod
in a somewhat similar manner to that described in the previous arrange-
ment, and at the same time act to warm the oil or other product in.
the close vessel. A current of air is admitted to the combustion
chamber to aid combustion of the mixture of vapour and air, and to
assist in agitating the products of combustion and causing a circulation
thereof through the vaporizing vessel; suitable cocks and pipes are con-
nected with the oil vessel for supply and for discharge; if desired, the
products of combustion may be agitated by a fan or other suitable means.
When employing coal as the fuel I employ a suitable close furnace.
through which air is forced in suitable quantities to support. com-
bustion, and I line such furnace with fire-brick as usual, and if desired
I enclose the furnace in a jacket or casing of iron, and in some cases
surround it with water, the steam arising from which is afterwards
combined with the products of combustion and employed therewith
in obtaining motive power.
In connection with such close furnace I employ a feeding apparatus
consisting of a screw working in a tube to which suitable hopper
is connected, and the fuel is supplied in regulated quantities to the
fire by turning the screw which feeds the coal forwards from the
hopper. A suitable cover is connected to the hopper so as to prevent
the passage of vapour or the products of combustion therethrough, and
the axis of the screw passes through a suitable stuffing box for the
like purpose. When it is desired to refill the hopper the screw is
pushed forward until a cylinder thereon comes opposite the opening
in the lower part of the hopper, and thereby shuts off communication
between the products of combustion and the outer atmosphere, when
the hopper may be readily refilled.
I also provide a suitale apperture through which the fire may be
readily lighted and raked when required. To this aperture I connect
a tube in which a suitable seat is fixed, and I employ a valve capable
of being screwed down upon such seat when it is desired to close the
aperture, but which may be readily unscrewed from its seat and turned
down out of the way when the fire is being lighted or raked. To

page_text: the tube in which the valve seat is fixed and beyond such valve seat
I connect another tube branching off therefrom and passing to the
flue, so that when the attendant is lighting or raking the fire the
products of combustion therefrom may pass off by the last-named tube
to the flue, thereby avoiding the necessity for a second opening for
such purpose.
The products of combustion from the coal are employed in a similar
manner to that described in the foregoing arrangements in which the
products of combustion from gas and oil are used to raise steam in
the vaporizer, and are employed mixed with such steam as the motive
power to propel an engine. And in order to prevent as much as
possible any ashes or dust passing away to the cylinder with the
steam and products of combustion, I employ a chamber through
which such steam and products of combustion pass in their passage
to the engine, and in which the ashes or dust are by gravitation
aided by the moisture of the vapour to a great extent separated
therefrom. And in order to keep the grate bars as cool as possible
I employ a suitable quantity of water under them, the vapour arising
from which would tend to cool the grate bars.
In connection with the various arrangements herein described I
employ a bar which is fixed at one end to the supply pipe of the
engine, and at the other carries a valve which when the temperature
of the steam and products of combustion is at a proper working
point rests upon a suitable seat, but when the temperature arises to a
higher degree than is considered safe the tube by its expansion draws
the valve away from its seat and thereby gives notice to the attendant
by the escape of the vapour and products of combustion, sounding a
whistle or otherwise.
For marine engines the troughs in the evaporating chamber are hung
upon suitable axes or universal joints so as to. maintain them in a
suitable position for retaining the water therein, and where salt water
is employed I pass an excess of such water through the evaporating
chamber in order to prevent as much as possible the deposit of salt
or earthy matter therein.