CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE USE OF ELECTRO-MAGNETISM, AND ITS APPLICATION AS A MOTIVE POWER, AND ALSO OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN ITS APPLICATION GENERALLY TO ENGINES, SHIPS, AND RAILWAYS
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL
WHOM THESE PRE
SHAL
IE, 1, SOREN
HJORTH, heretofore of Jewry Street, Aldgate, in the City of London, but now
residing at No. 2, Shaftesbury Crescent, Vauxhall Road, Pimlico, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of
October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Sóren Hjorth, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and, authority, that I, the said Sóren Hjorth,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Soren Hjorth,
my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE USE
OF ELECTRO-MAGNETISM, AND ITS APPLICATION AS A MOTIVE POWER, AND ALSO OTHER
IMPROVEMENTS IN ITS APPLICATION GENERALLY TO ENGINES, SHIPS, AND RAILWAYS;"
in which said Letters Patent is' contained a proviso that I, the said Sóren
Hjorth, should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the

page_text: date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Sóren Hjorth, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, and the Drawings therein
referred to (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to certain improvements in the use of electro-
magnetism, and its application as a motive power for general purposes, and
also to certain improvements in the application of electro-magnetism to
engines, ships, and railways. In this Specification the word " magnet,"
unless otherwise defined, is used generically to signify either a permanent
magnet or metal, or other substance made, magnetic by a current of electri-
city. My improvements in the use of electro-magnetism, and its application
as a motive power for general purposes, relate to a mode of obtaining
such power by the reciprocal or rotary motion of magnets or electro-magnets.
My Invention consists in obtaining such power by means of magnets or
electro-magnets, both fixed and moveable, formed and arranged in such a way
that during the motion of the moveable magnet or magnets separate points or
parts of the surface of the moveable magnet or magnets, or metallic curva-
tures, or the poles of the several moveable magnets, shall be brought separately
and successively to act upon or be acted upon by the separate points or parts
of the surface or poles of the fixed magnet or magnets, or metallic armatures,
and so that the attraction or repulsion of one point or part of the surface or
pole shall be followed up by the attraction or repulsion of another point or part
of the surface or pole, so that a rotary or reciprocal action may be obtained
and sustained over a greater length of stroke or circuit than by the simple
action of magnets or electro-magnets arranged in the ordinary manner.
I will now proceed to illustrate my Invention, by describing some of the
forms of apparatus by which it may be carried out.
Figure 1 represents the elevation of the engine made on this principle, and
Figure 1 a section of the same engine.. a, a, is a horse-shoe-formed. hollow
magnet, conical on the inside, coiled with copper or other wires, and suspended
in such a way that it oscillates on the centre b, with suitable bearings and
plummer blocks, as shown in Drawing. In the interior of this magnet is
fixed a number of conical rods of different lengths. c, c, is another horse-shoe-
formed magnet, conical on the outside, with apertures corresponding to the
conical rods in the magnet a, a, and likewise coiled with wire.. This magnet
moves on the guide rods d, d,. which. are connected together at the top by

page_text: 9,
means of the cross-head e, and fastened at the bottom of the magnet a, a.
The guide rods may also be fixed to the magnet c, c, and guided by rollers, as
represented in Figure 8. f is a connecting rod fixed to the magnet c, c, in the
centre and at the crank pin h, by means of a strap or any of the usual.
methods. i, i, are cranks fixed on the shaft k, which works in bearings I, sup-
ported on the frame m. n is a fly wheel fixed on the shaft . o is the commutator:
to change the electric current as required; similar in its mode of working to the,
slide valve of a steam engine, and moved in a similar way by an eccentric p,
and eccentric rod. The action of the engine may be reversed by the use of a
supplemental eccentric. The governor serves to regulate the proper supply
of the electric current to the commutator o, as herein-after described. The
current, after being regulated by the governor, is introduced through the com-
mutator into the helix of wires coiled round the magnet a, a, and thence
through the conducting wires to the helix or coil of wires surrounding the
magnets c, c, and thence through the conducting wires to the battery, or by the
reverse course, as may be found convenient. As soon as the electric fluid from
the batteries passes round the magnets, they.exercise, their power by a mutual
attraction, not only in the ordinary way, but in consequence of the magnets
being so shaped that the inside part of the outer magnet as well as the outside,
part of the inner magnet forms angles with the direction of motion of the
moving or working magnet, and at the same time rods of different lengths
presenting themselves at the poles of the respective. magnets, the attractive
power is sustained over the whole, stroke by successive points and successive
parts of the surfaces being brought to act upon one another during the whole
stroke. When the stroke in this manner has been made by one set of
magnets the current is changed, and the, other set of magnets are made
effective by the current passing round. them in the same manner as before
described. In order to prevent the current from being broken, and also to
check the momentum of the magnets, the slide in the commutator o is made so
long that it does not leave the conducting surface which communicates with one
set of magnets until it has reached the other set of magnets. By the arrange-
ment above described, a reciprocating motion is obtained similar to the common
oscillating steam engines; and it will be obvious that a motion may be obtained
similar to that obtained by any, of the, various forms of steam engines, by
suitable adaptions of beams, rods,, cranks, &c., Thus it may be carried out as
a single or a double action engine, as an ordinary beam engine, or as a direct
action, engine, according as it may be required for stationary, locomotive, or
marine purposes, and in all cases its form may be varied according to the
circumstances of the case.

page_text: Figures 2 and 2 represent, on a larger scale, my apparatus for regulating.
the current; its action may be readily understood from the Drawings; and I
choose, as the most convenient form, a forked piece of metal, with two wedge-
shaped prongs, sliding along two parallel surfaces. The current from the
battery passes, as indicated by the small arrows in the Drawing, from one of
the parallel surfaces through the wedge-shaped fork to the opposite surface,
and thence to the commutator, and the current will pass with greater or less
intensity according to the amount of the communicating surface given by the
larger or smaller part of the wedge. The particular form is immaterial, so
that taper pieces of metal are used, which, by the ordinary action of the
governor, may give greater or less communicating surface.
My commutator is shewn in Figure 3 on a larger scale. This apparatus consists
of three metal surfaces c, c, c, placed in a non-conducting medium, such as wood,
a, a. The metal surface or slide b is shaped and moved in such a way as to con
duct the electric fluid, according to the motion of the engine, alternately from the
centre surface, which is connected with the battery to either one of the other and
outer surfaces, which are connected respectively with the coils of the two sets
of magnets. I make the slide 6 sufficiently long to be always in contact with
one or other of the surfaces connected with the magnet coils, and by the
adjustment of this length and of the eccentric any required "lead," as it is
termed, in steam engines, may be obtained. d, d, is black lead, which may
be let into the insulating medium to facilitate the conduction, and at the same
time to act as an anti-friction. The whole apparatus or commutator may be
enclosed in an air-tight box with a glass lid or cover, the slide rod working
through a stuffing box. Where large batteries are required for producing a
sufficient quantity of electricity to work powerful engines, a compound commu-
tator or several commutators, may be employed, each being connected with a
certain number of cells and a certain number of coils. By this means the
destruction of the conducting points of the commutator will be avoided; the
governor may act so as entirely to detach one or more of the commutators,
and so throw off the cells of the battery communicating with such commutator.
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent some of the many variations in the form
and shape of the magnets a, a, and c, c, which may be adopted for the purpose
of carrying out my improvements in the use of electro-magnetism.
In Figure 4 the coiling of the magnet c is surrounded with a sheet-iron
casing of a conical form, corresponding with the interior of the magnet a, a, in
order to obtain a greater attractive surface, and to make the poles of this
magnet more effective.
Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the magnets a, a, and c, c, in Figure 1.

page_text: Figure 6. In this Figure a long stroke and great attractive surface are
obtained by placing a spiral-shaped surface in the interior of the magnet a, a,
and corresponding grooves or apertures in the magnet c, c. By this arrange-
ment the magnet c will act or exercise an attractive power on the successive
points of the spiral-shaped surface before mentioned, in the same manner as
the magnet c, c, acts on the rods of different lengths placed in the magnet a, a,
in Figure 1.
Figure 7 represents a magnet c, consisting of taper ribs of wrought iron, of
different lengths, arranged round a coiled central magnet, with intervals between
them, so that corresponding ribs placed round and inside of the hollow-coiled
magnet a may pass between the ribs of the magnet c after being attracted by
the same.
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, represent horizontal sections of the magnets a
in the corresponding Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Figure 8 represent a horse-shoe magnet a, each leg of which is divided into
two pieces inclined on the inside, and with grooves inside to receive the wires,
which are coiled, as shewn in Figure 8³, by the red lines, the current passing
in the direction indicated by the arrows. The magnet c, c, is in this case not
coiled with wires, being a permanent magnet. I do not confine myself to the
use of wrought iron in the magnets or armatures, which may be made of cast
iron, or other metals or substances which may be made magnetic. It will
also be obvious that the repulsive as well as the attractive powers of metals or
other substances may be rendered available for the same purposes by means of
apparatus constructed and arranged in a manner similar to that herein
described. The motive power obtained by the arrangements above described
may be employed for all purposes in which power may be required, by the
addition of the ordinary apparatus used for such purposes. Thus the power
may be rendered applicable for raising weights, and especially for raising the
ram of a pile engine or a heavy hammer. In these cases I should prefer
applying a magnet constructed according to my arrangement immediately over
the ram or hammer connected with it by a rod, chain, or rope, and moving
with it in guides. On the side of the frame or guide adjusting tappets would
be fixed, by means of which the connection with the battery would be cut off
at any required portion of the stroke.
Figures 9 and 9 represent an arrangement by which magneto-electricity is
produced in an electro-magnetic or common locomotive for the purpose of
magnetising the wheels, and thereby increasing the adhesion. a, a, a, are
horse-shoe-formed permanent magnets, placed so that the inside part of their
poles face a certain number of pieces of soft iron or electro-magnets b, b, b,

page_text: fixed between the spokes of the wheels. As soon as the wheels are set in
motion electricity is induced in the coils surrounding the pieces
and passes
from thence to the coils surrounding a cylinder of sheet iron c fixed between
the wheels. By this arrangement the cylinder, as well as the wheels, will of
course be magnetic, and the magnetic power will be increased in proportion
to the speed of the wheels, giving thereby an increased adhesion proportionate
to the slipping which may take place from want of weight or any other
cause. The electricity produced in this way may also be made available for
moving the engine itself, by a number of electro-magnets fixed to the wheels
of the engine or carriages, and so revolving by the motion of the train and
brought within the action of fixed permanent magnets, the electricity produced
being conducted to the electro-magnetic engine as an auxiliary power. By
means of arrangements similar to those first described an auxiliary power for
stationary or marine engines may be obtained from the magneto-electricity
developed by the revolution of fly-wheels, paddle wheels, drums, or working
wheels.
Figure 10 represents another form of commutator or current changer. a is
the centre or shaft of one set of magnets in an oscillating engine, constructed as
in Figures 1 and 1°, or a shaft worked by a connecting rod and bell crank in a
common reciprocating engine. To this shaft in each set of magnets is fixed an
upright lever b, with two horizontal levers c and c', at the ends of which are two
cups fand f, with a syphon or tube, like the common syphon cups used for lubri
cating machinery. Below these levers two metallic springs, d and ', are fixed
to two pieces of wood e and e'; the springs are adjusted for the proper amount
of "lead" by the set screws hand he', and serve as conductors from the battery
to the magnet coil. The lever c and spring d are for the forward motion of the
engine, and the spring d is so set that the end of the lever c is brought into
contact with it just before the crank of the engine reaches its "top centre." By
this means the electric current from the battery is conducted from the spring
d to the levers c and b, and so to the magnet coil, and the power of the engine
is exerted for the down stroke on the side in question. A corresponding action
takes place in the springs and levers connected with the opposite set of
magnets. During the forward motion of the engine the spring dis kept
completely clear of the motion of the lever c¹ by means of a tappet or cam w¹,
or any ordinary mechanical arrangement. A corresponding arrangement, w,
is adapted to the other spring d; and in working the engine the two tappets or
cams may be worked by one handle, so that the spring & shall be depressed
out of the way, and the spring d' released into action, and thus the motion of
the engine be reversed. In order to avoid the spark, and to facilitate the com-

page_text: A
munication of the electric current from d to c or d¹ to c', diluted sulphuric
acid is constantly allowed to drop from the syphon cups f and f' through the
tubes g and g, by means of a wick, to moisten the surface in contact.
similar arrangement being applied on the other side of the engine, and the
springs adjusted so that the touching point or surface of the lever on one side
of the engine does not leave the corresponding spring before communication is
established on the other side of the engine, the same result is obtained as has
been already described in the other form of commutator.
Figure 10 represents a side elevation, and Figure 10 and Figure 10° a
plan and section of an arrangement by which a rotary motion, with a constant
and direct pull and succession of polarities, can be obtained, being one of the
modes in which my Invention can be applied in and for the construction of a
rotary engine. a. a, a, a, a, a, are the stationary magnets here represented as
rods of different lengths, put together in such a way that they form a case with
slits towards the centre for the arms of the moveable magnets b, b, b, b, b, b ;
the said rods are to be fixed in such a way that they do not touch one another,
and their ends or surfaces form angles with the direction of motion of the
moveable magnets; these are to be placed at such a distance from one another,
and in such a way that one set of magnets commences to exercise its power
before the current passing round or through the other is broken, in order
that a constant flow of electricity may be maintained without the current from
the battery being broken. The change of the current can be produced by a
modification of the common arrangement of a cylinder of metal worked by the
shaft, and inlaid with some non-conducting material, from which the con-
ducting wires extend to the coils surrounding the magnets.
Figure 11 represents an arrangement by which a semi-circular motion, or
a reciprocal rotary motion, can be obtained, which may be converted into
a rotary motion by cranks. a is the stationary, and 6 the moveable magnet.
The poles of the stationary magnet form cases, the interior sides of which, or
their poles, if built of several bars, form angles with the direction of
motion of the moveable magnet. In the said cases may be placed rods of
different lengths, with corresponding apertures in the moveable magnet. The
current may be broken in the same way as described in the oscillating engine
represented in the Drawing. Two sets of magnets will be ordinarily required,
working in opposite directions.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed. I wish it to be understood that I am aware of
various attempts having been made to obtain mctive power by means of
electro-magnetism; I do not therefore claim as of my Invention the exclusive

page_text: use of electro-magnetism, nor do I claim the exclusive use of the several
parts of the apparatus and arrangements herein-before described and referred
to, except when the same are employed in connection with and for the
purposes of my said Invention. And I hereby declare that what I claim as the
Invention intended to be secured by the said Letters Patent is as follows:-
Firstly, I claim the constructing, arranging, and combining magnets in such
a way that they exercise their attractive or repulsive power mutually by a con-
tinual and direct attraction or repulsion upon points presenting themselves
successively during the whole stroke, in and for the production of motive power,
by means of electro-magnetismi.
Secondly, I claim the regulating the current of the electric fluid by allowing
the same to pass through bodies with surfaces of different dimensions,
touching or rubbing upon one another in such a way that the areas of the
said surfaces are diminished or increased by being moved by a governor, thus
allowing a greater or smaller supply of the electric fluid to pass, according to
circumstances, in and for the production of motive power, by means of electro-
magnetism.
Thirdly, I claim the changing the direction of the current by means of a
commutator constructed as above described, in the use and application of
electro-magnetism as a motive power.
Fourthly, I claim the use of electro-magnets adapted to and in combination
with engines and carriages on railways, as above described, for the purpose of
increasing the adhesion of the wheels, and as an axiliary power for engines on
railways, or stationary and marine engines, as above described.
Fifthly, I claim the arrangements herein-before referred to for producing a
rotary motion by a direct pull or thrust, and continual succession of polarities,
as above described.
Sixthly, I claim the arranging and combining magnets, constructed as
herein described, so that a semi-circular motion or a reciprocal rotary motion
of the moveable magnet may be obtained, and the power transferred thence,
either directly to the work or through cranks and connecting rods, to a revolving
shaft.
Lastly, I claim the combining the several arrangements herein-before
described and referred to for the application of electricity as a motive power to
engines, ships, and railways.
In witness whereof, T, the said Sóren Eljorth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
SOREN (L.S.) HJORTH.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighteenth day of April, in
the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Sóren Hjorth came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifica-
tion aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped accord-
ing to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
Enrolled the Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine