IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE-POWER MACHINERY
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Cudbird, of Hingham, in the County of
Norfolk, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE-POWER
MACHINERY."
Sealed the 22nd October 1869, and dated the 24th April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Cudbird at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th April 1869.
I, JAMES CUDBIRD, of Hingham, in the County of Norfolk, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MOTIVE-POWER MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in employing a circular rotating lever in
combination with wheelwork in the construction of machinery for
obtaining motive power. This circular rotating lever operates upon the
same principle as the well-known lever of the first order (a poker for
example), with this difference, the poker has a vibratory or up-and-down
motion imparted to it, whereas the lever I employ instead of being

page_text: formed of a straight bar or rod of iron, is formed as a wheel with a
circular rim.
Having now described the principle upon which this Invention is
based, I will proceed to describe the construction of the improved
machinery and manner of operating therewith, as follows:-On a suitable
bed plate or foundation two uprights or standards are fixed side by side,
leaving space between them for the adjustment of pulleys and toothed
wheels, as presently described. About midway of the height of the said
standards and to each of them bearings are fitted, each carrying a short
shaft inclining upwards and sideways. Upon the outer ends of these shafts
I place loosely a large wheel with projecting pins fixed in its periphery
at equal distances asunder, the said pins being intended to take into
spaces between the links of an endless flat chain made of plates of solid
iron. On the inner end of each of the aforesaid short shafts I fix a
bevil wheel gearing into other bevilled wheels fixed on the axis of a
pulley working in bearings in the aforesaid standards. The teeth of
these last-mentioned bevilled wheels are formed on the inner periphery
of a rim of metal fixed in a recess formed in each end of the aforesaid
pulley. Pins or bars of metal are also fixed in or across the periphery of
the said pulley for taking into the spaces between the links of the before-
mentioned endless chain above referred to. A plain pulley is also
mounted on a revolving axis at the top of the aforesaid standards. This
pulley is employed to guide and direct the endless chain on to the
peripheries of the two outermost large wheels before mentioned. These
wheels have each a ring of metal fixed to or formed centrally thereon at
the outside of the said wheels, and the said rings have teeth formed
on their inner periphery, the said teeth gearing into the teeth of other
wheels fixed on the outer ends of each of the before-mentioned short
inclined shafts.
The operations of the machinery thus constructed are as follows:-
Suppose the flat chain to be partly on the peripheries of the outermost
large wheels and partly on the lowermost pulley, it will appear evident
that the weight of the chain on the peripheries of the large wheels being
at a considerably greater distance from that part of the centre of the
axis of the lowermost pulley than the chain that is on the periphery of
this pulley will cause a preponderance of weight on the large wheels,
and cause them to operate as levers to raise that part of the chain that
depends from the plain pulley over the pulley below, the effect being in

page_text: proportion to the difference between the distance from the axis of the
lower pulley and its periphery and the distance from the said axis to
the periphery of the outermost large wheels; and suppose, for example,
this difference to be as 10 to 1, it follows therefore that the gravitating
power of two hundredweight on the large wheels would lift one ton on
the lowermost pulley, constituting in fact an endless lever, the long arm
of which, so to speak, being weighted, will raise a heavier weight placed
on the short end of the lever, and it is this principle of constructing
motive-power machinery that constitutes the principal feature of novelty
in this Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Cudbird in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd October 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
CUDBIRD, of Hingham, in the County of Norfolk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Cudbird, Her special licence that I,
the said James Cudbird, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Cudbird, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE-POWER
MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
James Cudbird, 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, and in what manner the same was to bo 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Cudbird do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in employing a circular rotating lever in
combination with wheelwork in the construction of machinery for
obtaining motive power. This circular rotating lever operates upon the
same principle as the well-known lever of the first order (a poker for
example), with this difference, the poker has a vibratory or up-and-down
motion imparted to it, whereas the lever I employ instead of being
formed of a straight bar or rod of iron is formed as a wheel with a
circular rim.
Having now described the principle upon which this Invention is
based I will proceed to describe the construction of the improved
machinery and manner of operating therewith, as follows:-On a suit-
able bed plate or foundation two uprights or standards are fixed side
by side, leaving space between them for the adjustment of pulleys and
toothed wheels, as presently described. About midway of the height of
the said standards and to each of them bearings are fitted, cach carrying
a short shaft inclining upwards and sideways. Upon the outer ends of
these shafts I place loosely a large wheel with projecting pins fixed
in its periphery at equal distances asunder, the said pins being intended
to take into spaces between the links of an endless flat chain made of
plates of solid iron. On the inner end of each of the aforesaid short
shafts I fix a bevil wheel gearing into other bevilled wheels fixed on the
axis of a pulley working in bearings in the aforesaid standards. The
teeth of these last-mentioned bevilled wheels are formed on the inner
periphery of a rim of metal fixed in a recess formed in each end of
the aforesaid pulley. Pins or bars of metal are also fixed in or across the
periphery of the said pulley for taking into the spaces between the links
of the before-mentioned endless chain above referred to, or pulleys and a
chain band may be employed instead of bevil gearing. A plain pulley is
also mounted on a revolving axis at the top of the aforesaid standards.
This pulley is employed to guide and direct the endless chain on to the
peripheries of the two outermost large wheels before mentioned. These
wheels have each a ring of metal fixed to or formed centrally thereon at
the outside of the said wheels, and the said rings have teeth formed on
their inner periphery, the said teeth gearing into the teeth of other

page_text: wheels fixed on the outer ends of each of the before-mentioned short
inclined shafts.
The operations of the machinery thus constructed are as follows:-
Suppose the flat chain to be partly on the peripheries of the outermost
large wheels and partly on the lowermost pulley, it will appear evident
that the weight of the chain on the peripheries of the large wheels being
at a considerably greater distance from that part of the centre of the
axis of the lowermost pulley than the chain that is on the periphery of
this pulley will cause a preponderance of weight on the large wheels and
cause them to operate as levers to raise that part of the chain that
depends from the plain pulley over the pulley below, the effect being in
proportion to the difference between the distance from the axis of the
lower pulley and its periphery and the distance from the said axis to the
periphery of the outermost large wheels; and suppose, for example, this
difference to be as 10 to 1, it follows therefore that the gravitating
power of two hundredweight on the large wheels would lift one ton on
the lowermost pulley, constituting in fact an endless lever, the long
arm of which, so to speak, being weighted, will raise a heavier weight
placed on the short end of the lever, and it is this principle of con-
structing motive-power machinery that constitutes the principle feature
of novelty in this Invention.
And in order to explain this Invention more completely I now proceed
to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same
into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Slicct of
Drawings accompanying these Presents, and to the numeral figures and
letters of reference marked thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a motive-power machine con-
structed according to this Invention; Figure 2 is an end elevation at A,
Figure 1; Figure 3 is a longitudinal and vertical section of the said
machine through the line B, C, at Figure 1. At each of the above-
mentioned Figures I employ similar letters of reference to denote
corresponding parts whenever they appear at each of such said Figures
respectively.
A marks the base plate of the machine, to which are fixed the
standards B supporting the following parts:-C, C, are short axles
working in bearings in the standards B; D, D, are wheels, and

page_text: E, E, pulleys fixed on the axles C, C; G is a drum covered with felt
or other soft material; H is the axis of the drum G fixed therconto;
I, I, brackets fixed to the standards B by their lower ends, the upper
ends of the brackets I, I, supporting the ends of the axis H; K is a
toothed wheel fixed on an axis a working in bearings in the standards B ;
b, b, are small pullies fixed on the axis a; L, L, are endless link chains
passing over the pullies E, E, and b, b, for transmitting rotatory motion
thereto, studs being fixed in the pulleys E, E, and b, b, taking into the
links of the chains L, L, for ensuring rotatory movement of the said
pulleys and drum and wheel G and K; M is a drum employed to guide
the flat link chain N°, in its proper course, as presently described.
The construction of the chain N° is as follows:-c, c, mark flat links
of metal connected together at a so as to form an endless chain with
teeth ffixed to or formed thercon; each of the links c is formed with
pivots e, which are intended to take into the grooved rollers g; the axes
of these rollers are at right angles or nearly so to the pivots e, and the said
axes are supported by and are capable of rotating in holes made in the
hooked pieces O, which are fixed into the rims of the wheels D, D, at
equal distances asunder.
The operations of a machine of the above construction are as follows:-
Supposing the several parts to be in the position represented by the
Drawing and rotatory motion to be imparted to one or other of the
wheels D in the direction of the arrow's flight, the effect will be as
follows: By reason of the weight of that part of the chain N° being
upon portions only of the peripheries of the wheels D, as shewn, such
weight being a considerably greater distance from the axes of the
wheels D than the other links of chain arc from the axis of the wheel K
will be similar in effect to two equal weights placed at opposite ends of
a straight lever whose fulcrum is placed at a greater distance from one
end of the said lever than the other, thereby enabling the weight on the
longer arm to lift a heavier weight placed on the shorter arm, and upon
this principle the links of the chain N°, which are on the wheels D by
their superior weight will always be descending the toothed wheel K,
lifting the chain up at the same rate that the other part is descending.
And I would here observe that the standards B are inclined, as shewn
at Figure 1, to enable the pivots of the links of the chain Ne when they
arrive at or near the top of the standards to be conducted by the

page_text: drum M on to the grooved rollers g, g, in which they rest until they fall
by their gravity out of them as they descend.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my
said Invention for improvements in motive power machinery, together
with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that I hereby declare my
Invention to consist in and I claim, the general combination and
arrangement of mechanism above described with reference to the
accompanying Drawing, and the manner of operating the same, as
constituting improvements in motive-power machinery.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Cudbird, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-second day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.