AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS OF MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSE OF LESSENING THE CONSUMPTION OF FUEL IN WORKING STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1821

page_text: "TO "ALL "TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
"ALL"TO
PENNECK, of the Town of Penzance, in the County of Cornwall, Doctor of
Physic, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth, did, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-
seventh day of February, in the second year of His reign, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Penneck, my exors, admors, and assigns, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Henry Penneck,
my exors, adiñors, and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England.
Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS OF MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSE OF LESSENING THE CONSUMPTION OF
FUEL IN WORKING STEAM ENGINES;" in which said Letters Patent there is con-
tained a proviso that if I, the said Henry. Penneck, shall not particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is 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, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and
advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and
become void, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Penneck, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say):
My first improvement is applicable to the condensation of double engines,
in which I use two condensers, which may have tubes passing through them,
one condenser communicating with the bottom of the cylinder and with the
bottom of the air pump, and the 'other' communicating with the top of the
cylinder and the-top- of- the-air pump, or vice versa. These have the usual
valves, and I use an air pump with a solid piston and two discharging valves,
one at the top and the other at the bottom; thus oiie condenser is exhausted
in the ascent and the other in the descent of the air pump piston. I claim the
use of the two condensers, and the keeping each in a cistern of cold water
separate from the other and from the air pump, and in order that the water for
condensation may be in.as cold a state as possible I have a vessel in each
cistern, in which the condensers are immersed, rising about an inch above the
surface of the water, in which vessel the water for condensation is thrown; it
also contains the common injection apparatus; thus the water is not heated by
being allowed first to pass into the cistern where the condenser and air pump,
usually are, and by these means the condensation and vacuum of double engines
will be rendered more perfect and their effect increased, and on some occasions,
where the weight of the atmosphere is insufficient, I use a forcing pump, acted
on by the main beam, to drive the water into the condensers, and through the
tubes, if any may pass through them. And whereas a Patent was on the
Thirtieth day of February, One thousand eight hundred and thirteen, granted
to Robert Dunkin, of the Town of Penzance aforesaid, Gentleman, for methods
of lessening the consumption of steam and fuel in working fire engines, and
also methods for the improvement of certain instruments useful for mining or
other purposes; and the said Robert Dunkin afterwards, in pursuance-thereof,
duly inrolled his Specification of such methods in the said High Court of
Chancery, and has since, in consideration of several sums of
money at different
times, duly assigned and transferred the whole of the said Patent unto me, the
said Henry Penneck, with all advantages, gains, emoluments, privileges, and
profits to be derived therefrom, and by virtue thereof I became and now am
the sole assignee and proprietor of the said Patent so granted to the said Robert
Dunkin as aforesaid..
24
And whereas the said Robert Dunkin did, in and by his said Specification
(among other things) describe certain machines for regulating the stroke of the

page_text: engine as follows:-"Where the stroke of the engine begins in greater power
than it terminates, which may be done by shutting off the steam at half the
stroke, or otherwise;" in other words, which is commonly called working
expansive, as by reference thereunto will appear; and after having described
a machine to be applied to a single engine, he proceeds to describe one as
applicable to a double engine in the following words:"When I wish to regu-
late each stroke I apply different machines, according to circumstances.
I use
a lever with a single crank, with a pulley wheel fixed to the axle-tree, attached
by chains to the rod, as in Fig. 1, which only goes through half a revolution and
back again."
A is
Now I have improved this machine in the manner shewn on Figure 1 here-
unto annexed, which is a view of the improved machine; the same letters
represent the same parts in such figures as belong to the same machine.
the main rod of the steam engine; B is a wheel, a view and cross section of
which on a larger scale are shewn at Figures 2 and 3. C is a chain fixed by a
bolt on the top of the wheel B; it is passed to the right and brought round
under it to be connected with the rod A. by means of an iron strap projected
from A to give a perpendicular haul, and fastened to A by bolts; the strap is
turned up at the lower end, and has a hole passing through it to receive a bolt
from C; the hole is round above and oblong below, shewn by the dotted lines
in red ink; the bolt is square to allow the bur on it to be screwed tight,
between which and the strap is a washer, circular on the under side for the hole
to form to the vibration of the rod A. D is a similar chain, attached in like
manner to the top of B, and let down to be connected with A. B has a middle
rib in its periphery to prevent the chains C and D from interfering at A, is
forced up and down by the motion of the engine; B will turn forth and back
on the axle E, seen on a larger scale at Figure 4. F is a smaller wheel, fixed
on a square on E. F is seen on a larger scale at Figures 5 and 6. E has one
notch passing through its edge, which is for the catch G, which turns on a pin
fastened in the raised grove in B; when G is in the notch B is connected to F,
and instead of being forced by the rod A to revolve on E, it turns E with it;
on each end of E a crank is placed either by being keyed or wedged; according
as that part of E is round or square the cranks will be on opposite sides of B,
and in opposite direction to each other. E is supported on the frame work on
plummer blocks; the frame is loaded and secured down in the common manner.
H, H, are sweep rods placed on each crank, and each rod has two sliding loops
more than twice the length of the crank; these shoe on a pin placed across each
limb of a double lever I, which has a load in its box. Figure 7 is a perpendi-
cular view of I, with its gudgeon; if I is made of wood, it has a king post on

page_text: each limb, supporting the anterior limb by iron straps in the usual manner;
the outside straps are also brought to the after part in the common way, but
the inside straps cross each other, and to allow them to do so each strap is
turned half round and back again; thus they lie flat on each other, and the
strap: from the right king post is passed over to the left side, and the strap from
the left to the right side; thus are the four straps in the hinder part connected
to the lever by the same pin. K is the catch regulator seen on the machine,
and at Figure 8 the fork rests on the axle, and is secured to the plummer
block by. a limb from the washer, in the nature of a half staple, and above is
attached to a cross beam by a screw and bur sliding in a groove in an iron
plate on the beam, and in another groove in the limb of K, to enable it to form
to the proper radial line; the stem is in two parts, with sliding loops to raise
or depress it as required, or, instead of being placed on the axle, it may be
supported by similar grooves, plates, and screws, and fixed to two parts of the
beam, so as the flanch to form concentric to the axle. To understand the use
of K it is necessary to know the form of the catch G, of which different views are
given. Figure 9 is a side view. Figure 10, a front view of its flanch. Figure 11,
a perpendicular view. In Figure 12 it is seen with the spring over it; thus the
catch G being placed in one of the grooves of B, Figure 2, and the spring being
rivetted to a piece of flat iron which is bent over the groove, the same pin secures
the spring and serves for a centre for G. K has a flanch, about an inch and half
wide and seven inches long, moving on a hinge. This flanch is projected towards.
the wheel B, but above it; its end towards the main rod A is bevelled under, and
on. the other end it is bevelled over. L, L, L, is the catch lifter leading into the
engine house and there connected to a handle. When the engine first begins
to work the vacuum is imperfect, and it is with much difficulty it will raise the
load in the pumps; the lifter L is therefore drawn up, which raises the toe under
the shank of the catch C, and detaches the catch from the notch in F; the
wheel B then alone makes part of a revolution, and back again without acting.
on the axle E. By degrees, as the vacuum improves, the engine makes longer
and longer strokes, till the flanch of C, passing over the flanch of K, is at last,
carried sufficiently beyond it, when the lifter L being let down, C is forced by
the spring into the notch in F, when A rising draws down the crank from the
horizontal to the perpendicular line M, unwinding the chain C and winding up
the chain D, and in, so doing raises the load on the lever I; the motion of A
continuing, the crank goes on to N, the load on I subsiding, and thus winding
up the chain D. faster than the motion of the engine, and restoring the power it
took to raise it. If the engine is acting expansive in the first part of the stroke
the steam is in excess of power, and capable of raising both the load in the

page_text: pumps and the load on the lever I, but as the steam declines in power the lever
I assists the engine; this will be more clearly understood by the table con-
structed by the celebrated Mr. Watt, and detailed in the Encyclopedia
Britannica and in Recs's Encyclopaedia, where lic has shewn that the power
of steam decreases in proportion to the capacity of the vessels in which it is
expanded, and that "if the steam valve is shut when the piston has descended
quarter part down the cylinder, and the remainder of the stroke is performed
by the expansion of that steam, the effect produced is more than half the effect
which would have been produced by one whole cylinder full of steam if it had
been admitted on the piston during the whole length of the descent." When,
therefore, the engine is found capable of performing its stroke, and this machine
is connected by letting down the lever L, the screw must be brought down until
it works easy, and hence the saving of fuel by stopping off the steam sooner
from the cylinder. No paiticular attention will be then necessary, for whether
it makes a long or a short stroke the effect will be relative. The use of the
flanch on K is to prevent the catch from falling before it is sufficiently over-the
notch to imbed itself in it; for if it should fall sooner it would have the effect
of either slipping or breaking off the edge of the notch; and if by an accident
it should be possible that the catch should not have entered the notch in Fut
after it has passed over the flanch of K. should return, the flanch being moveable
will rise and let it pass under. And lastly, it is necessary that the notch should
be a trifle wider than the catch to allow it to enter easily under the box of the
lever. I also sometimes use a spring beam: The second crank is useful to
keep the notch in F perpendicular where the catch at the time of shutting, off.
and connecting must be brought, as before described. Shutting off the machine.
is absolutely necessary, otherwise it will not be possible to raise an equal weight
in the box of the lever I, and consequently much of the effect would be lost."
I sometimes use the catch and apparatus for shutting off with a single crank.
and common lever, with a chain instead of a sweep rod and a spring beam, and
allow the crank to traverse more than a hundred and eighty degrees; but some
alteration will then be necessary; thus, the wheel B must be proportionably less,
and the crank will be placed on the axle, suppose at 70 or 80 degrees instead of
90 from the centre of the notch in F, and if at the end of a full returning stroke
the wheel B is so regulated as to have the catch perpendicular, and the spring
beam is placed so low as to allow the load of the lever to fall so far as to elevate'
the crank till the notch in the wheel F is also perpendicular, the, catch will still
be capable of being detached and replaced at that point. In Mr. Dunkin's
aforesaid Specification he has described a machine, Fig. 2, for the same purpose
as the former. I convert this into a rotary machine by substracting the stops!

page_text: and the lever; it will then perform a continued circular motion by the force of
the engine exerted on the main rod; but I further improve this machine. The
parts in red ink represent such as cannot meet the eye on account of the
opacity of other parts intervening.
Figure 13 is a side view, and Fig. 14, a front view of the machine. A is
the main beam, which is the same as the lever I, Figure 7; excepting that
the hinder part, instead of having a box to contain the load, is connected with
the piston rod in the usual manner, and that one of the limbs is longer than the
other for the purpose of being connected with the two rods B and C, which are
kept in a rectilineal direction by slides and grooves, shewn in red ink on the
Drawing, and supported by some convenient part of the building or situation
where they are used, and the rods are also guided below the wheels by passing
through square holes in the frame work D, D, and I use friction wheels and
rollers whereever I find it necessary. B and C, by means of chains, as in Figure 1,
are connected with two wheels F and G, placed on the shaft H, H, which is
the reason why one of the limbs of A must be longer than the other, and also
that F must in the same proportion be of larger diameter than G, and as
one rod is on the right of the wheels and the other on the left, it is evident that
F and G will, by the up and down or reciprocating motion of the engine, be
turned in opposite directions. I, I, are two other wheels, with teeth in them,
firmly fixed on the shaft H, H. The parts where F and G are placed must be
turned perfectly cylindrical, and the centre holes of these wheels are also made
to fit the shaft, and lined with brass for them to work on, while the parts where
I, I, and the wheel to turn the machinery K, are fixed must be square or
polygonal, or else they must be keyed to the shaft. A competent workman will
have no difficulty on these points. The wheels F and G are kept in such close
contact with the wheels I, I, as to let them move pass each other with the least
friction, and should have a small head or ring on each side of them, or any
other mode commonly used to prevent or lessen friction. L is a catch which
turns on a bolt or centre fixed on the wheel F, over I; its head is between F
and K, and abrid le similar to the main spring of a gun should support its
centre, which, as well as the hole in L, and the whole bolt, except where it
passes through F, where it should be square, should be perfectly cylindrical, and
a washer and bur, to prevent its unscrewing, should be placed outside of the
bridle. The form of the catch is shewn on Figure 14, from which it will be seen
that either end, if depressed, will take in the wheel I, that it has a tumbler in
the centre, and is acted on by a spring M like the hammer spring in a gun lock;
thus, while the spring is acting on the right side of the centre the left limb will
be depressed into the teeth of the wheel I, and yet be allowed sufficient action,

page_text: when the motion of the wheel F is reversed, to slip over the teeth of I without
the tumbler rising the spring so much as to occasion it to upset and throw
down the other limb; and these circumstances must be particularly attended to
in the manufacture. A similar catch and spring is placed on the other
side the wheel G, and secured to it in the same manner. These catches
are in the same direction, but the wheels turning in opposite directions, the
reciprocating force of the engine through the medium of the chains and wheels
F and G is transferred to the shaft H, H, which thereby acquires a con-
stant. circular or rotary motion; and this kind of spring catch or a common
spring catch shewn in the Patent of the said Robert Dunkin before recited
will perform all that is required if the motion is in one direction only; and I
do not confine myself to the particular form or number of the teeth in the
wheels I, I; what I intend to represent on the Drawing are nearly square,
except that they are a little rounded towards their tops so as to take off their
angles, and also to have the spaces between them larger than the teeth; they
will have the same effect as ratchet teeth. Plummer blocks are so generally
understood to be necessary in all rotary machinery, that I have not thought it
of consequence to particularize the situations where they must be applied, and
those will greatly depend on the situations where the wheel which is to give
motion to machinery, and the fly-wheel when used may be fixed on the shaft;
nor do I confine myself to the situation where the wheel which turns the
machinery, which I have named K, shall be placed, nor of what kind it may
be, as at one time it may be of one sort, and at another of another sort,
according to the machinery with which it shall be used; but when the reverse
motion is to be performed, other machinery require to be brought into action, and
for this purpose I do not allow any such machinery that I may apply to touch
the shaft, for the wheels N, N, turn on hollow cylinders on but larger than
the shaft, which cylinders are fixed in the frames O, O; these will be better
understood from Figure 15, where P represents one of these hollow cylinders,
on which the wheels N, N, are placed; N, on a larger scale, is seen at 16.
I shall confine myself to the description of one of these wheels N, as the other
is exactly like it; thus the flanch on the end of P will keep N from moving.
towards the wheel I; the other end of the cylinder P is brought through the
frame O, and through a washer, which is secured by forelocks to P, and by
bolts to O, thus keeping P firm and steady; both sides of N are exactly alike,
and may be made of wood, and parts cut out for placing four oblong bolts in
it, shewn at 17; there are holes for the bolts to pass through, but the bolts
are retained by the springs u, u, from being thrown out of the holes back into
the frame O, further than the depth of their inclined planes. These springs act

page_text: against plates of iron, screwed on cach side to N, under which plates grooves
are cut, which are shewn by the lines of red ink, for the springs to move in ;
they also give a right direction to the bolts. The frames 0, 0, Figure 18, are
alike; they need only plates on their sides next the wheels N, N, and parts of
them should be made removeable, which should be taken off, in order to take
out the bolts in N, N, to repair their springs or otherwise, without taking the
other parts of the machine to pieces; the pinions Q, Q, Fig. 13, are larger or
smaller as required, and are fixed on a shaft R, square, except where it turns
in its plummer blocks, and Q, Q, are moved by the handle S. A strong lever T
on Figure 13, with a cutter edge, shewn more distinctly at 19, works on its
centre, attached to the beam over the wheels, Figure 13, which confines the
frames together; it works in strong guides, and when its lever is raised the
cutter is forced between the teeth of the wheel K, which is then prevented
from moving; thus, when the reversing motion becomes necessary, the engine
man stops the engine and raises the handle of the lever T, and forces the cutter
out of its strong guide, seen above the wheel K, into the teeth of the wheel K,
or thursts a bolt conducted in strong guides, if that is used instead of T
between the spokes of K, which will prevent the machinery moving whilst
he turns the pinions Q, Q, by the handle S. These move the wheels N, N, and
carry with them the bolts, Fig. 17, whose inclined planes acting on the edges
of the recesses c, c, c, c, in the frames 0, 0, project the bolts towards the
wheels I, I, which bolts are quickly brought in contact with the horns of the
catches L, and both the horns of the catches and the bolts being inclined
planes, the bolts will pass on and depress the catches, upsetting the tumblers,
and the springs taking on the opposite sides will drive down the points of
the catches between the teeth of the wheels I, I, raising the opposite limbs
which were down before, and this in whatever part of the circle the catches
happen to be, which will be apparent by observing the horns of the catches
L, and the Figure of the projected parts of the inclined planes; and as soon
as the wheels N, N, have traversed a quarter of a circle, their bolts will fall
into the recesses in the frames O, O; it is understood they must be turned in
the opposite direction to what the motion of K was before. The steam being
let on the piston, the shaft will then revolve in the reverse direction to what it
did before; these operations are almost instantaneously performed. The method
of depressing the one limb of the catch by the wheels N, N, by their pinions"
and the frames 0, 0, will be understood from the Drawing, as one method of
reversing the motion; but I do not consider myself as bound always to employ
it, but at liberty to use any other if more convenient. The machine, Figure 1,
is intended to be used with this as well as with common reciprocating engines,

page_text: by having a third rod fixed on a centre placed between the two limbs of the
beam A, and the machine may be applied on a shaft some distance below it.
The machine, Figure 13, 14, may also be used horizontally, and without a
beam, by connecting the chains to Fig. 20, where A represents the piston rod,.
and B, B, the limbs to connect the chains; these limbs are intended to be
wide enough to admit of the chains acting in a right line on both of the
wheels F and G; and these limbs are kept in a rectilineal direction by the.
usual. means of slides and grooves, and if Figure 1 is used it will be applied
over it. Holes are bored through the periphery, and through to the centres of
the wheels, which revolve on the shaft to supply them with oil; and I must
remark that, as well as using the lever T, or a bolt for the purpose of stopping
the motion of the machine by acting on the teeth or spokes of the wheel K,
either may be made to have the same effect by being brought to act on any
other wheel or segment of a wheel, or armis fixed on the shaft for that purpose,
or by pallets brought to bear on any such wheel or segments, or arms, by being
turned on a lever or otherwise, so as to prevent the weight which is raised on
the shaft from carrying it backwards and endangering the machinery, when
the catches are in the act of reversing the motion, and before the opposite ends
have taken in the tecth of the wheels I, I..
My next improvement applies to the kibbles of a steam whim or other
machinery of that kind, and consists in fixing a similar rope to that by which
the kibble is hauled up to the ring at its bottom, and extending it down the
shaft, and attaching it to the bottom of the other kibble, but so long as not to
affect the lower kibble by the action of landing the stuff' out of the upper one,
the two kibbles having the rope which connects. their handles passed with
sufficient rounds to give steadiness on the barrel, which may be fixed on the
shaft of the rotary machine last mentioned (and with which Fig" may be
connected), will be ballanced; and if a strong hook is suspended by a rope at
the mouth of the shaft, and a ring is placed on the rope at the bottom of each
kibble, but at a sufficient distance to admit the kibble to be drawn up to the
whim sheave, which carrys the rope to the rotary engine, and when the kibble
is drawn to that height the hook at the shaft's mouth is fixed in the ring before
mentioned; the motion of the rotary being reversed, the kibble will descend,
and sufficient slack rope will be given to admit of its being unloaded without
difliculty, when the motion of the machine should be again reversed, and the
kibble again brought up to the whim sheave, so as to tighten the rope; the
hook may then be removed, the motion of the machine again reversed, and the
kibble lowered away; and the one rope and kibble will so completely balance
the other kibble and rope, that, except from the shaft up to the whim sheave,

page_text: the engine will only have to lift the contents of the kibble then below it;
besides, the kibbles will be kept steady, and not be liable to be dashed about,
which they often are, to the great injury and expence of the adventurers in
the mine, and particularly when the shafts underlic, or have an inclined
direction; and in order that the miners may be able to draw their stuff from
lifts of different depths, the ropes may be made divisible by means of shackles
placed at such distances, similar to the method by which Mr. Acraman shortens
his patent cables, and at the different lifts hooks should be placed suspended as
before mentioned at the mouth of the shaft, and rings on the ropes at proper
distances from the hooks to hold by, and by such means little difficulty will be
experienced in the use of this method.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Penneck, have to these Presents
(written or engrossed on three skins of parchment, each being first
duly stamped) set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of August,
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-one.