matthewleechen/300YearsOfBritishPatents huggingface dataset:
IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING SIGNALS POR RAILWAYS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Ilenry Moorhouse at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th December
1856.
I, HENRY MOORHOUSE, of Denton, near Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Tailor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING SIGNALS POR RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
To work the ordinary stationary lamp signals I fix near the bottom of the
signal post a disc or circular table, working or turning on its centre, with a
few teeth on that part of its periphery near the post, the said teeth working
into a bevil wheel at the bottom end of a vertical rod in communication with
|the
the signal lamps. To the said circular table I fix an arm projecting towards
the rails, so that on the arrival of a train the front of the engine will push the
said projection aside and turn the table; this acting on the bevil wheel afore-
said, will turn the vertical rod, thereby shewing the required signal lamp, or
changing them without the interference of any person. At a distance from
this circular table I fix another of the same description, and connect them by
a wire, chain, or any convenient material, but with the arm fixed at a different
angle, so that when the arm of one table is at a right angle with the rail so as
to conic in contact with the engine, the other will be at an angle to escape it;
by this means they will work the signal whichever way the train approaches;

page_text: or, instead of the teeth in the table and the bevil wheel on the vertical rod, I
use, if found preferable, a chain and pully, which will have the same effect
of turning the signal lamps.
Another part of my said Invention relates to a stationary signal to make a
loud noise instead of a light, which is essentially necessary in dark foggy
weather, and consists of a fan of the ordinary construction attached to a bell-
mouthed tube of any convenient length. At or near the mouth of the tube I
place horizontally several plates of thin metal, which will vibrate a little, so
that when the fan is put in motion the concussion of the air against the plates
will make a very loud noise. This apparatus can be fixed at any convenient
place at or near a station, and by means of a train of wheels, similar to a
clock movement, can be wound up, so that it may be acted upon by a similar
apparatus to that last described, when the engine coming in contact with a
lever or arm will liberate the fan and allow it to revolve by means of a self-
acting weight, similar to the motion of an alarm clock, and thus give a loud
signal for foggy weather.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OP PORTABLE RAILWAYS
Year: 1856

page_text: opucation jor
by the Act.)
given
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Colborne Cambridge at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
August 1856.
I, WILLIAM COLBORNE CAMBRIDGE, of the City of Bristol, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OP PORTABLE RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in the construction of portable railways
consists in adapting to the running wheels of portable engines used principally
for agricultural purposes, or to the running wheels of various agricultural
implements, waggons, carts, or carriages, of a flexible metallic road or railway,
composed of sections or parts of any convenient length, and adapted to the
outside of the wheel in such a manner, that the said sections or parts of the
portable railway may,, as the carriage, engine, or implement advances, be laid
down on the ground so as to allow the wheels of the carriage to pass over the
same, in the same way that the wheels of a locomotive engine or railway
carriage pass over the fixed rails of a railway.
In making my portable railway, I construct it of broad plates or sheets of
iron, which will have an extensive bearing on the surface of the ground, so
that on a soft soil the carriage may be supported on the surface without
sinking in. On the top, and along the centre of these plates or sheets, is fixed

page_text: a raised rail of such a length as to admit of the several successive lengths of
rail meeting or abutting against each other, end for end, so as to form a con-
tinuous rail under the wheels. I propose that the broad plates or sheets of iron
be provided at each side with flanges or angle iron, to prevent the earth from
squeezing over the edges of the plates, and being lifted thereby. The several
sections, or parts of which the portable railway is composed, are connected to
centres by means of arms, which, as the carriage advances, lay down the
sections successively in front of the wheels, and take them up again when the
wheels have passed over.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SUPPORTING THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1856

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Beech and Edward Jeffreys
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on
the 22nd January 1856.
We, JoпN BEECH and EDWARD JEFFREYS, both of Shrewsbury, Engineers, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MEANS OF SUPPORTING THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS, to be as follows:-
Our Invention of improvements in the means of supporting the rails of
railways relates to an improved mode of constructing the chairs and sleepers
of railways, and consists in constructing these articles of a cruciform or star
shape, so as to obtain a considerable amount of bearing surface for the sleepers,
and which surface is also so arranged that it may be more conveniently and
effectually packed than other sleepers of large bearing surface.
In carrying out our Invention, we prefer to form the chair and sleeper of
one piece, and make this combined article of cast iron. This is the plan which
we consider most economical and convenient, and which we propose to adopt
in constructing a new permanent way, as it will not only be the most effectual
and secure mode, but will in the long run be found the cheapest; but as many
cases may arise in which it may be desirable to adapt or apply our improve-
ments to lines of railway in which sleepers of the ordinary kind are already in
use, we also propose to construct the chairs alone of a cruciform shape, and

page_text: fasten the same by pins, bolts, or in any other convenient manner, on to the
ordinary sleepers; and sometimes we propose to adapt these cruciform chairs
to sleepers made of a cruciform shape, on which such chairs may be secured in
any convenient manner.
In some cases it may be found desirable to renew the sleepers, which may 5
have been worn out or destroyed by use and time, and yet. retain the old form
of chair; in which event we propose to employ cruciform sleepers, made either.
of cast iron or wood, upon which the ordinary cast-iron chairs may be secured.
A NEW OR IMPROVED GAS STOVE
Year: 1856

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Jabez Goode at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th January
1856.
I, SAMUEL JABEZ GOODE, of Aston, near Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"A NEW OR IMPROVED GAS STOVE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of a gas stove, in which the gas is burned and the
heated air and products of combustion made to circulate in the following
manner: The gas is allowed to escape from a jet or burner into a metallic
chimney, the top of which is closed with wire gauze. The gas mixes with the
air in the said chimney, and the inflammable mixture is ignited above the
wire gauze. The said chimney is situated in a conical flue, up which air from
the apartment circulates; the said flue opens into a chamber constituting the
body of the stove, into which said chamber the heated air and products of com-
bustion pass, and from which the air, after having partly given up its heat to
the said chamber, may either enter the room, or pass off by means of a flue.
Instead of making the flue in which the burner is situated conical, I prefer to
make it cylindrical, when it is wished to conduct the products of combustion
out of the room. In this case, the heated air arising from the combustion
impinges against the closed top of the cylinder. The top of the cylinder sepa-

page_text: rates the body of the stove into two compartments. Air from the room may
be supplied to the upper compartment by means of tubes, and the heated air
rising, may be impeded and partially deprived of its heat by means of a
perforated diaphragm in the upper part of the stove..
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF OPENING AND CLOSING THE SLIDE VALVES OF ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER POWER
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Webster and James Webster
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on
the 21st October 1856.
We, GEORGE WEBSTER and JAMES WEBSTER, both of Fountain Yard,
Bridge End South, Leeds, in the County of York, Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF
OPENING AND CLOSING THE SLIDE VALVES OF ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER
POWER," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in arranging certain mechanism within the cylinder
of an engine worked by steam or other power, instead of at the outside thereof,
as heretofore practised, thereby dispensing with the use of an eccentric and
rod as commonly employed for actuating the slide. The means by which these
improvements may be effected are as follows:-To the piston of the engine,
and alongside of the ordinary piston rod, I connect another rod of smaller
dimensions than the piston rod, said small rod passes through a hole in the
piston which should work air-tight over said rod. The ends of this rod are
connected each to slide valves situated respectively at the top and bottom of
the cylinder, same being enclosed in boxes attached to the top and bottom of
the cylinder; there are ports or openings made in said boxes, which are con-
nected with the induction and eduction pipes leading to the top and bottom of
the cylinders, and there are projecting pieces of metal fixed upon the before-
mentioned slide rod, against which the piston in its upward or downward

page_text: course strikes, and thus either lifts or lowers (as the case may be) such said
rod and valve affixed thereto; the effect of which is to open or uncover the
eduction port at one end of the cylinder and close the steam port, and at the
other end to produce the reverse effect, namely, to shut the eduction and open
the steam port, so as to admit the motive power into the cylinder at this end
for moving the piston in the opposite direction, and so on at each stroke of
the piston. There is a lever connected to the aforesaid slide rod at one end
of the cylinder for reversing the direction of the piston's movement during
any part of its stroke.
IMPROVEMENTS IN WROUGHT-IRON WHEELS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Gedge at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd January
1856.
I, JOHN GEDGE, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WROUGHT-IRON WHEELS," communicated by M. Charpentier,
of Paris, France, to be as follows:-
I propose to compose the box or nave of the wheel of a piece of iron; this
piece is prepared by means of a mould stamp acted upon by hammering. The
circle in the nave for reception of axle can be prepared, the metal being in a
cold state, with a planing or mortice machine, or in a heated state in a mould
by the operation of the hammer. The grooves in the circle prepared for the
axle can also either be made in a cold state by the mortice or plane machine,
or in a heated state in a mould and hammered. These grooves traverse the
entire circle prepared for the axle. A ring is soldered or welded on the axle.
The mould is so formed, that in the boss will be left a number of holes (of any
desired form) equal to the number of spokes to be used in the wheel, which
may be made at once to fit into these holes by being made to their form or
shape. These spokes, so prepared, are put each into its socket, and the felloe
is then put on in circle in the usual manner.

page_text: The wheel is now placed in the fire or furnace, and when the axle has
attained a proper heat, a ring in the same state is placed in that part of the
boss where the ends of the spokes meet, and then the whole is soldered or
welded together by hammering. The pieces composing the felloe are united
in the ordinary manner with a wrought-iron tire. And by constructing or
making a wrought-iron wheel in this manner, I propose to remedy the effects
attendant on iron wheels made in the ordinary manner, in which it frequently
happens (amongst other. defects) that the corners or ends of the spokes, which
constitute a great part of the strength of the boss, are insufficiently soldered,
and endanger the solidity thereof.
IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND PROJECTILES
Year: 1856

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Paton and Charles
Frederick Walsh at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 12th September 1856.
We, EDWARD PATON and CHARLES FREDERICK WALSH, of the Town and
County of Perth, North Britain, Gunmakers, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND PROJECTILES," to be
as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to an improvement in the form of the grooves in
rifles, and of the wings of lateral projections upon the ball or projectile, whereby
the desired axial rotation or spinning of the ball is obtained with a less twist
of the rifle grooves than hitherto, and increased accuracy of aim and length of
range are secured.
The grooves of the improved rifle are of such a form as to have one side
square or radiating from the axis of the bore, whilst the other side is brought
with a gradual curve to what without the grooves would be the inside surface
of the bore.
The ball or projectile is made with wings or projections fitting this improved
form of groove, and the twist is given to the grooves in such a manner that the
ball will be made to spin with the inclined side of each groove in advance of

page_text: the square side. By using this form of groove the resisting action of the air
to the spinning or rotation of the ball is rendered much less than an ordinary
ball, so that a less twist of the grooves will suffice, and less of the propulsive
power will be lost in turning the ball.
AN IMPROVED BIRD CAGE
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Benjamin Carless at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th December
1856.
I, BENJAMIN CARLESS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED BIRD CAGE,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of making bird cages of ribs, tubes, bars, strips, or
canes of glass, in lieu of wire ordinarily used. The kind of glass I prefer for
the purpose is that known as drawn cane. But instead of the above, I may
use a thin wire, on which glass beads may be strung, giving the appearance
of the solid material.
AN IMPROVED MODE OF PREPARING WHALEBONE, GUTTA PERCHA, AND OTHER ELASTIC BANDS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WEARING APPAREL
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Léon Germain Riant at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th November
1856.
I, LEON GERMAIN RIANT, of 39, Rue de l'Ecbiquier, Paris, in the Empire
of France, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Gentleman, do
hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF
PREPARING WHALEBONE, GUTTA PERCHA, AND OTHER ELASTIC BANDS EMPLOYED
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WEARING APPAREL," to be as follows, that is to say :-
The material, such as whalebone, gutta percha, and cane, employed for the
bands, is cut or notched at equal distances on both sides, the result of which is
to give it an amount of elasticity unattainable in its ordinary state.
It may
be employed of any convenient thickness.
AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVE- MENTS IN BUTTONS, AND IN ATTACHING THE SAME TO ARTICLES OF DRESS
Year: 1856

page_text: by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Thompson and Charles
Wilson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 28th February 1856.
We, WILLIAM THOMPSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Agent, and CHARLES WILSON, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BUTTONS, AND IN ATTACHING THE SAME TO ARTICLES OF DRESS," to be
as follows:-
Our said Invention consists in making buttons with shanks, having the
form of an open tube. The said tubular shank is passed through a hole in
the article to which the button is to be attached, and a washer is placed
on the end of the said tubular shank. The end of the tube or shank is now
opened or spread out, so that the washer can no longer be withdrawn from
the shank, when the attachment of the button to the garment is complete, the
said garment being grasped between the back of the button and the washer-
on the shank. We prefer to make the shank and washer of metal, but do
not limit ourselves thereto. Our Invention is applicable to metal covered and
other buttons.
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALVES
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Furnevall at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th May
1856.
I, JOHN FUBNEVALL, of Haslingden, in the County of Lancaster, Iron
Founder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALVES, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in an improved mode of constructing disk valves for
water, steam, gas, and other fluids or liquids. One of the disks of which the
valve is composed is stationary, and attached to or cast with the body of the
valve; and the other is moveable, and furnished with a spindle fitting in a bush
reaching from the fixed disk to the body of the valve; the spindle passes
through the body of the valve, and has a handle or hand wheel, by which the
position of the moveable disk is changed, so as to make the openings in both
the disks coincide if the passages are to be opened, or to bring the openings
in the moveable disk opposite the blank spaces in the fixed disk if the passages
are to be closed. A spring acting against the moveable disk may be employed
to keep the faces of the disks in contact. By these improvements in the
construction of valves the stuffing box hitherto required is dispensed with.
IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND HOES AND CULTIVATORS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Newington at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th December
1856.
J; SAMUEL NEWINGTON, of Ticehurst, in the County of Sussex, M.D., do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND HOES
AND CULTIVATORS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in a method of constructing hand hoes, which by
changing certain of the parts can be converted into cultivators. The instru-
ment consists of a stem or handle, which is bent so as to adjust the draft.
On the end of this handle is a cross bar, having two slotted holes at its ends
for receiving the stems of the cutter, which is formed of a bar of steel, turned
up at a right angle at its two ends so as to form stems. The bar is made
thicker in the middle than at the centro edges, which are both sharpened, so
that it can be turned round when one edge becomes blunt. The cutter is
fastened to the cross bar of the handle by means of two clamp screws (in
connection with the cross bar), which press against the stems of the cutter and
retain them at any desired angle in the slots of the cross bar. The width of
the cutter is somewhat less than the space between the rows of the crop.
The cross bar also carries behind the cutter two instruments or coulters, which
turn over the weeds when cut. The instrument is furnished with moveable
weights, one or more of which is placed on the cross bar, as the nature of the
soil requires. When it is desired to convert the instrument into a cultivator,

page_text: the cutter and coulters before described are removed, and two or more hoeing
and stirring blades, carried by an iron bar, are screwed to the cross bar of the
instrument; or, in place of the cutter first described for cutting weeds, a
V-formed cutting blade may be used when the object is to stir the land in the
centre of the furrow to a considerable depth. The instrument, with the cutter
first described, may be used for paring turf.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, PUNCHING, AND SHAPING METALS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Kemble Hall at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd November
1856.
I, WILLIAM KEMBLE HALL, Engineer, of the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CUTTING, PUNCHING, AND SHAPING METALS," to bo as follows:-
With the machinery hitherto used for making hexagonal nuts from ordinary
straight bars the exterior angles have been wasted, and the most economical
adaptation of material has consisted in rolling the bar with serrated edges,
corresponding to the size and angles of the nuts to be manufactured. The
latter operation is manifestly an expensive one, and the former occasions the
loss of twenty-five per centum of the material.
The object of my Invention is to avoid both these sources of loss in the
manufacture of nuts and other similar articles; and it is accomplished by.
cutting from the bar only the quantity of metal necessary to form the nut, and
compressing it into the shape required by means of dies or a variable matrix,
in addition to the ordinary punches. The movements of the dies and punches
are obtained by cams or eccentrics, with their pressure and action regulated by
weighted levers, and they are so combined that the blanks cut from the bar or
plate are uniform in size, involve the entire material, and finish the nut into
shape without fracture or straining its texture. The size of the finished nuts
may be so proportioned to the blanks that they may be made of any desirable
degree of hardness and strength greater than the bar from which they were

page_text: formed. This arrangement of machinery is also applicable to the manufacture,
without waste of material, of bolts, hammers, axes, and other similar articles
which have heretofore been submitted to the action of two or moro sets of
dies.
IMPROVED MEANS OF LIGHTING AND VENTILATING MINES
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Abram Longbottom at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th April
1856.
I, ABRAM LONGBOTTOM, of Moorgate Street, in the City of London, and
of Baltimore, in the United States of America, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVED MEANS OF LIGHTING AND
VENTILATING MINES, to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to generate illuminating gas by the appli-
cation of the heat derived from the fuel used in creating a down draft to coal
and other mines. For this purpose I introduce into the mine to be ventilated
any suitable arrangement of oil gas apparatus, preferring, however, to use that
which forms the subject of a Patent granted to me on the 13th September
1855, and this apparatus I set to work by supplying the furnace with fuel,
and the retort with oil or melted fat. A draft proportionate to the amount of
fuel consumed will thus be created, and the heat generated by the burning
fuel will heat the retort or retorts, and vaporize the oil as it falls therein from
a reservoir. The resulting gas I conduct by means of pipes into all parts of
the mine requiring illumination, and consume it in fixed gas burners; when
needful I guard the gas burners by means of wire gauze similar to the Davy
lamp arrangement, and use reflectors where such may be found desirable.
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1856

page_text: Application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Johnson at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th September
1856. A communication.
I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS," (a communication from abroad,) to be
as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates more particularly to the boilers of locomotive steam
engines, but is also applicable in all boilers in which the arrangement and
construction of the furnace or fire box resembles that of a locomotive boiler;
the object of the improvement being to strengthen the top of the fire box,
and to render it less liable than hitherto to be uncovered by the water. It
is usual to make the top of the fire box of a locomotive boiler flat, or convex,
or curved outwards from the fire; but according to the present Invention it
is intended to make the top of the fire box concave, or curved inwards towards
the fire, that is to say, the top is made to bulge inwards into the fire box from
its outer edges, and such bulging may take the form of one, two, or more
hollows. In combination with this form of fire box top a stay or stays with
a curved under side may be used, the shape of the top admitting of the under

page_text: side of the stay lying in the hollows, whilst the two ends of the stay or stays
are attached in the usual manner. This form of fire box top is of great
strength, and the hollow always retains water, thus preventing injury to the
plates from the fire, whilst the increased strength also resists any tendency
to burst in the fire box, or cause it to collapse.
IMPROVEMENTS IN PASSENGER, EXHIBITION, OR DELIVERY TICKETS OR CHECKS, AND IN THE METHOD OF INDICATING AND RECORDING PASSENGER TRAFFIC OR DELIVERY OF GOODS, AND IN THE MACHINES USED AS TELL-TALES FOR SUCH PURPOSES
Year: 1856

page_text: (This Invention received Provisional Protection, but notice to proceed with the
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Robert Abraham at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd April 1856.
I, HENRY ROBERT ABRAHAM, of Essex House, Barnes, Surrey, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN PASSENGER,
EXHIBITION, OR DELIVERY TICKETS OR CHECKS, AND IN THE METHOD OF INDICATING
AND RECORDING PASSENGER TRAFFIC OR DELIVERY OF GOODS, AND IN THE MACHINES
USED AS TELL-TALES FOR SUCH PURPOSES, to be as follows:-
Tickets made to serve several, more than two occasions, which tickets are
made of pasteboard or card or any suitable material, and are subdivided by
lines, marks, design, or color, into the number of compartments concordant
with that of the journies, times, passes, or deliveries it is desired to denote,
indicate, or record. The marking, defacing, punching, or obliterating one of
these compartments denoting that use has been made of the ticket, and
recording a journey, pass, or delivery. When it is necessary to keep a check,
a press or punch is used, having a receiver in which the part of the com-
partment pressed out falls and is retained. The fares, routes, periods, class,
&c. may be distinguished by color or design in the compartments.
The improvements in machines used tell-tales for counting or recording

page_text: the passing by of a number of persons is that of causing the passenger
to displace by lever, or connected machinery, balls, pellatts, or substances
which fall into a receiver; each ball, pellatt, or substance indicating the
passing of an individual person or thing.
A NEW MATERIAL TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BONNETS, HOODS, HATS, OR CAPS
Year: 1856

page_text: (This Invention received Provisional Protection, but notice to proceed with the
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Jay and George Smith at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the
30th September 1856.
We, SAMUEL JAY and GEORGE SMITH, both of No. 246, Regent Street, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
of "A NEW MATERIAL TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BONNETS, HOODS,
HATS, OR CAPS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in employing the hair of an animal, known as the
angola or angora, as a new material for covering bonnets, hoods, hats, or
caps with, in lieu of fur, silk, and other materials heretofore employed for that
purpose. The hair is removed from the skin of the animal by any of the
known means, and is afterwards interwoven with an elastic woven or looped
fabric of any suitable material, according to the nature and description of the
article to which it is to be applied.
AN IMPROVED RAILWAY BREAK
Year: 1856

page_text: nvention received
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Pierre Charles Prévôt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd July 1856.
I, PIERRE CHARLES PREVÔT, of Agen, (Empire of France,) do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED RAILWAY BREAK,"
to be as follows:-
I form on the wheels of railway carriages notched or toothed flanches, and
furnish each wheel so fitted with a double pall or stop, which double pall or
detent enters the teeth or notches of the wheel when actuated so to do. This
double pall is supported on an axis raised and supported from the axle of the
wheel to which it is applied; longitudinal rods are placed in the direction of
the length of the carriage, one on each side, in close proximity to the double
pall or break lever. Each carriage of a train is furnished with two of these
rods, and the whole number of rods on each side are connected together end
to end; each rod is furnished with inclined projections, which, when the rods
are drawn in the direction of their length, come in contact with the double
detent lever, so as to withdraw the palls or stops from the teeth of the wheel
flanch, and thereby released the wheel. The rods are each furnished with a
spring which has a tendency to force the rods in the direction to keep the
stops or detents engaged with the teeth of the wheel. When the rods are

page_text: drawn in the opposite direction, these springs will be compressed, and the
detents or stops will be withdrawn from the teeth of the flanges of the wheels,
which may be done by drawing the rods by the last rod at the end of the train,
and fixing them in that position; thus, when it is desired to throw the whole
of the breaks into gear, it is simply necessary to release the rods, when the
several springs act on the rods, which by their inclined planes, cause the palls
or stop levers to engage with the teeth on all the flanches of the wheels, and
so stop the train.
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING STEAM VESSELS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Tisdall at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th March
1856.
I, THOMAS TISDALL, of Reynoldstown House, in the County of Dublin,
Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING STEAM VESSELS, to be as
follows, namely:-
-XX
A double propeller working in slides under the water to be attached to the
sides of the vessel (tonnag unlimited) under the stern quarters (horizontal
position), or any other part that may be considered advisable. The slides to be
placed one above the other, and the floats so arranged that when the upper
float is in the act of propelling, the under one is drawn forward to be ready to
perform the same operation when that of other has ceased, so that the action
may be continuous. The shafts which work the floats or propellers are to pass
through stuffing boxes fitted in the sides of the vessel, and to be attached to
the pistons of the cylinders, which are also to be placed in a horizontal position,
and communicate their power direct to the propellers, which rise and fall by
means of a crank attached to the working shaft, to avoid back-water. Thus,
the complicated machinery of the steam engine will be dispensed with, and the
room it occupies saved; the propelling power can be reversed by turning the
working shaft and altering the stops of the floats.
IMPROVE- NENTS IN FURNACES
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Ebenezer Thornton at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
December 1856.
I, EBENEZER THORNTON, of Huddersfield, in the County of York, Iron-
monger,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
NENTS IN FURNACES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the arrangement of the fire bars, or the mode or
method of placing them, and consists in placing a set of short bars or gratings
slanting downwards from the " dead plate," or dipping at an angle of about forty
or forty-five degrees towards the ash-pit, where the ends rest upon a suitable
bearer. I place the ordinary or long bars at an incline in the contrary. direc-
tion from this bearer to about the level of the dead plate at the other ends,
thus forming a recess or cavity for the fire bed, which enables me to have a
strong body of fire in front of the furnace, which being below the dead plate.
and supplied with air through the short bars I obtain a better draught, and
consequently a better combustion of the fuel and combustible matters, whereby
I greatly abate the smoke nuisance and economize fuel.
AN IMPROVED LIFE BOAT
Year: 1856

page_text: (This Invention received Provisional Protection, but notice to proceed with the
application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Jones and Joseph Reeco
Jones at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 17th November 1856.
We, GEORGE JONES and JOSEPH REECE JONES, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Boat Builders, do hereby declaro the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED LIFE BOAT," to be as follows (that is to say):-
To construct a boat according to this Invention, the keel, stem, and stern
post are formed as in an ordinary boat. Above the keel at a point above what
will be the water-line of the boat, there is a second keel, extending from
the stem to the stern post. From the sides of this second or upper keel the
bottom of a boat is constructed ("clinker" built by preference), after which a
number of cells or water-tight compartments are constructed between the
bottom of the upper keel and bottom and the lower keel, after which a com-
plete boat is built from the lower keel upwards, the sides of the upper bottom
being brought into combination with the sides of the boat. The boat is con-
structed with considerable sheer, and at the outsides she is provided with cork
fenders, and the bow and stern is fitted interally with partitions or bulksheads,
so that should the boat be inverted in the water, being sustained by her
extreme ends, she will fall over and right herself immediately. The upper
bottom of the boat is provided with suitable valves opening outwards to allow
the water shipped to escape through the sides and bottom of the boat.
IMPROVEMENTS IN FREEING TEXTILE FABRICS, COTTON WASTE, AND FIBROUS MATTERS FROM OILY AND OTHER IMPURITIES
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Dyer and George Dyer at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the
6th September 1856.
We, HENRY DYER, of Plaistow, in the County of Essex, Engineer, and
GEORGE DYER, of Gracechurch Street, in the City of London, Jeweller, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FREEING
TEXTILE FABRICS, COTTON WASTE, AND FIBROUS MATTERS FROM OILY AND OTHER
IMPURITIES," to be as follows:-
The peculiarity of our said Invention consists in employing certain chemical
preparations in a liquid state for cleaning the materials, and in adapting
mechanical arrangements for preparing and finishing the materials so operated
upon. We proceed by first steeping the textile fabrics, cotton waste, or
fibrous matters, which require being deprived of oily and other impurities, in a
pickle, variously compounded of alkalies and alkaline earths, combined together,
or separately, with urine or with water, as the case may be, particularly
when employed for recovering used oily and dirty cotton waste or wipings
now used in the cleaning of machinery or otherwise. The oil or grease being
by this process saponified, the materials can be subjected to boiling and
washing in water. When the cotton waste or wipings contains sufficient oil
part by pressure, we employ two or more hollow metal
to be removed in

page_text: rollers, either cold, or heated by steam or other means, placed horizontally in a
suitable strong frame, and fed with the material, by spreading it on a canvas
or other endless band working over the lower roller or rollers, and kept
stretched by an additional roller; after which the material is ready for the
pickle and washing, as before. When required, the materials so deprived of
oleagenous matter may be bleached, or iron mould, sand, or impurities removed
by customary processes and machinery. We sometimes employ cylinders
with spikes or prongs fixed thereon, arranged for the purpose of separating the
cotton waste, which said machinery will be fully described in our final
Specification.
IMPROVEMENTS IN GLASS CHANDELIERS, LUSTRES, AND OTHER SUCH MEANS USED IN LIGHTING
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Caleb Hall Peirce at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd July 1856.
I, JOHN CALEB HALL PEIRCE, of Upper North Place, Gray's Inn Road, in
the County of Middlesex, Commercial Traveller, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GLASS CHANDELIERS, LUSTRES, AND
OTHER SUCH MEANS USED IN LIGHTING," to be as follows:-
The improvements relate to the production upon the glass ornaments, em-
ployed in the composition of such means of lighting when a clear or uncoloured
glass is employed, effects corresponding with the use of colored and more
costly glass, as also of metal, by which economy, besides improved appearance,
is obtained. The glass, whether cut or otherwise, is coated on the inside, or
that which is not intended to be exposed to view, with gold or silver (in leaf by
preference), and then protected from injury by a coating of varnish or other
suitable matter, by which an appearance is obtained in the one case like
colored and more costly glass, or of lackered or gilt metal, and in the other
case of silver or other burnished metal. Other effects may be obtained by the
use of other colouring matters.
In- PROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PAPER HANGINGS AND OTHER ORNAMENTAL PAPERS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Brindley at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th November
1856.
I, WILLIAM BRINDLEY, of Moorgate Street, in the City of London, Paper
Manufacturer, hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF PAPER HANGINGS AND OTHER ORNAMENTAL
PAPERS," to be as follows:-
My said improvements consist in rendering wall papers or paper hangings,
and like stained or printed ornamental papers, impervious to moisture by a
peculiar process of oiling and drying, which has also the property of com-
municating to the water or body colours with which the same are stained much
of the character of oil painting; and, secondly, in glazing paper hangings and
paper generally prepared by my said process, by passing the paper and com-
pressing it between revolving smooth surfaced metal rollers, as practised in
calender machines.
To waterproof wall and other ornamental papers, I impregnate papier mache
or common paper pannel boards with linseed oil or other suitable oil, and press
the paper to be prepared between them in a screw or other press, and the
paper may be in layers alternating between a series of such oiled paper boards.
I afterwards subject the prepared papers to a temperature of 250°, or there-
abouts, in a hot chamber, which completes my said process.
AN IMPROVED SEAL OR FASTENING FOR ENVELOPES, DEEDS, AND DOCUMENTS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Squire at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th February
1856.
I, HENRY SQUIRE, of No. 41, Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SEAL OR
FASTENING FOR ENVELOPES, DEEDS, AND DOCUMENTS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel and improved mode of sealing or fastening
envelopes, &c. with metal, and consists in so forming and connecting together
the separate parts of which the fastening is composed, as that the said fastening
is rendered more secure and ornamental than heretofore.
The nature of this Invention will, however, be better understood by the
following explanation of the construction and mode of using the improved
fastening.
And, first, as regards the construction thereof:-The fastening is composed
of two principal parts, one part being formed somewhat like a button with a
pin of soft metal fixed therein or formed therewith, the other part is a flat
piece of soft metal with a hole formed through the same.
Second, as to the mode of using this fastening, it is as follows:-The pin of the
button-shaped piece is inserted from the inside and back of the envelope, thus
puncturing the paper. The upper part of the envelope is now brought down
and pushed over the aforesaid pin, after which the hole in the flat piece of
metal is placed over the pin, and pressure exerted thereon by any convenient

page_text: The effect of this is to flatten and spread that part of the pin which
is through the hole over the flat piece of metal, and thus to securely connect
the pin in and to the outer flat piece of metal. This last-mentioned piece of
metal may then be subjected to pressure from a die, in any convenient and
suitable manner, so as to emboss the metal with any desired device, inscrip-
tion, or crest, and in this manner and by these means, an ornamental metallic
seal and secure fastening may be produced. The above fastening may be also
employed with advantage as a legal seal for deeds and documents, and will be
found a great improvement upon the mode heretofore practised of affixing
seals.
A NEW COMPOUND OF INFLAMMABLE MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LIGHTING FIRES IN GRATES, STOVES, FURNACES, OR OTHER FIRE-PLACES
Year: 1856

page_text: plicar
by the Act.)
Jor Leue
given
prescrived
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Durand Gardissal at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th
March 1856.-A communication.
I, CHARLES DURAND GARDISSAL, of 10, Bedford Street, Strand, London,
and of 29, Boulivart St. Martin, Paris, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW COMPOUND OF INFLAMMABLE MATERIALS
FOR THE PURPOSE OF LIGHTING FIRES IN GRATES, STOVES, FURNACES, OR OTHER
FIRE-PLACES," to be as follows:-
The compound which forms the subject of this Invention possesses the
properties of igniting quickly, of burning with a large flame and with
an intense heat, and of burning for a long time, and at the same time it is
cleanly, not bulky, and free from any unpleasant odor.
To produce the compound, I take of white turpentine, gum olibanum, gum
camphor, and powdered charcoal, or other solid carbonaceous matter, in the
following proportions by weight:
White turpentine
Gum olibanum -
Gum camphor
Powdered charcoal
-
1
16 parts,
1 part,
1 part,
8 parts.

page_text: In a suitable vessel, heated to a suitable degree to melt the white turpentine
by any convenient means, but preferably by a steam pipe or steam jacket, I
first place the white turpentine, which is allowed to melt before the addition
of any of the other ingredients; I then add the gum olibanum and gum
camphor, which have been previously reduced as nearly as possible to a state
of powder. After the gum olibanum and gum camphor have been dissolved
in the turpentine, I add the powdered charcoal, and stir the whole together
till they are thoroughly mixed. The compound at this stage of the process of
manufacture is a pasty mass, and in this state I mould it into pastiles, cakes,
or any convenient form for use. When it cools it becomes hard and solid.
The proportions which I have given for the several ingredients forming the
compound are those which after careful experiment I have been ledd to adopt
as giving the best results, but these proportions may be varied to a considerable
extent without materially deteriorating the compound.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- PACTURE AND FIXING OF METALLIC CAPSULES AND COVERINGS FOR THE TOPS OF BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Griffiths at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition; on the 19th April
1856.
I, ROBERT GRIFFITHS, of 69, Mornington Road, Regent's Park, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
PACTURE AND FIXING OF METALLIC CAPSULES AND COVERINGS FOR THE TOPS OF
BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER VESSELS, to be as follows:-
My improvements consists in taking a disc of metal or a manufactured
capsule, and placing it on the bottle or vessel intended to be stopped or
covered, which is then brought against a small disc acted upon by a spring,
having only a sliding motion through the centre of a larger disc or face plate,
on which are one or a series of tools made to slide towards the center, and
acted upon by springs, so as to cause them to press closely against the sides of
the vessel to be capsuled or covered, so that when the larger disc is to made
to revolve or to reciprocate, the said tools or slides will press the metal tightly-
around the sides of the bottle or vessel, so as to cause it to assume the shape
and form of the same. The operation of fixing being complete, I cause one
or two small knives or cutters to come against the metal, which is thereby cut
off to the required lentch, and in some instances an embossed roller to come in
contact with the metal to ornament the same.

page_text: In some cases I employ the same principal, but the face plate and tools are
then put in a frame to work horizontally, and the vessel to be capsuled or
covered on a platform, which is then caused to slide up with the vessel and
metal covering upon it, or the face plate slide downwards untill it comes in
contact with the small sliding disc in the centre of the face plate; the face
plate is then made to revolve or reciprocate, as before mentioned. Or, after
the bottle or vessel is corked, I cut off the cork level with the top of the bottle,
I then place upon it a small portion of wax, paste, rosin, or other suitable
material to make it as air-tight as practicable; the foil or metal is then laid
on, and being brought in contact with the small disc in the centre of the
machine upon which the name or required design is engraved, the same is
impressed upon the metal, and the process is finished, as before described.
When the vessel to be capsuled or covered is without a cork, and the
contents of the same will not admitt of a design being impressed upon the
surface of the foil or metal covering, in that case I make use of a wooden or
other mould of the vessel to be covered, upon which I place a piece of paper
or any other suitable material of the thickness required, the foil or metal is
then aplied, and the impression taken by the machine, as before described; the
mould is then removed, and the jar or vessel is put in its place and finished, as
before described,