AN IMPROVED GRAVITATION ENGINE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Monson, of New Haven, in the County of
New Haven and State of Connecticut, United States of America, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED GRAVITATION ENGINE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Monson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th March 1863.
I, CHARLES MONSON, of New Haven, in the County of New Haven and
State of Connecticut, United States of America, do hereby declare the naturo
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED GRAVITATION ENGINE," to be as
follows:-
I employ two vessels of similar construction connected together by a pipe
or tube and exhaust the air therefrom; I then partially fill one of the said
vessels with water or other fluid, and generate steam within it, which steam
will, by its pressure upon the surface of the fluid, cause it to flow from the
vessel so filled with fluid through the connecting pipe or tube into the second
vessel, and by employing the weight of the fluid caused by such change from
vessel to vessel, or from the second back to the first, I obtain a power which
may be used for the various purposes for which motive power is required. I
construct the said vessels of thin light metal, only of sufficient strength to with-
stand the pressure required in the operation, and allow at the same time heat
or cold to act readily on their contents, for the purpose of expansion by heat

page_text: I exhaust the air
or condensation by cold. The tube or connecting pipe uniting the two vessels
has a passage opening into each at or near its lowest point, and is attached to
a hollow axle suspended in a supporting frame, which is the centre of motion.
I extend the connecting tube by coiling or returning it into a cylinder sur-
rounding the axle, or into the hollow axle itself, if sufficiently large. I place
two other vessels to act as baths, which I fill with water or other suitable
fluid, so that in the vibration or ascent and descent of the two vessels first
named they will alternately in their descent plunge into the said baths. I
employ a shaft and cog wheels, which obtain motion from the action of the
ascending and descending of the vessels, one of which being filled or partially
filled with a fluid through an opening made for the purpose, by preference a
fluid that will boil at a less degreo of heat than water.
which now remains in the two vessels and connecting tube through the opening
by which they were filled in any convenient manner, so as to form a partial
vacuum, and then close the said opening. The two baths being filled with
water, it is evident that as ono vessel is in the bath and the other out of it,
one will be heavier than the other. I then apply heat to the bath, so as to
cause a generation of steam from the fluid in the vessel. Thus heated, and
steam generated in the vessel from which it cannot escape, it will create a
pressure on the surface of the fluid and force it to ascend through the con-
necting tube into the other vessel which was elevated. I also introduce into
the hollow axle a current of cold water or air to surround the coil of the
connecting tube for the purpose of cooling the fluid on its
passage to the
upper
vessel, that the fluid being thus slightly reduced in temperature may condense
the steam if it meets any in the upper vessel. When a sufficient quantity of
the fluid shall have passed into the upper vessel to overbalance that remaining
in the lower vessel, and the resistance of power required to move the shaft,
the upper, and now the heavier vessel, will descend until it plunges into the
other bath. In this descent a paul catches in the cogs of a wheel which acts
upon the shaft before named, giving it a partial revolution proportional to the
distance traversed by the vessel in its descent to the bath. The lower vessel
now becomes the upper one, their positions being reversed. The heated water
in the bath now generates steam in the second vessel as done in the first vessel,
and the fluid retraverses the connecting tube to the now up vessel, until, as
before described, it becomes sufficiently beavy to overcome the resistance to its
descent, and so repeat the operation, which will be continuous reciprocating
motion. For a multiplication of power I either encrease the size of the vessels
or unite two or more to the same axle, as may be found most convenient. It
may also be advantageous to use two fluids within the vessel, one a heavier (as

page_text: mercury), the other a lighter fluid, employing the lighter for the purpose of
rapid generation of steam to force the heavier fluid into the up vessel, to act
as the weight, which will not require any change in the construction
described.
As a modification of the aforesaid process, in order to gain a more rapid and
certain cooling or condensing, I introduce cooling buckets by surrounding the
upper part of the vessels with a casing closed at its edges and lower end, the
outer end being left open to the atmosphere. The edges are inclined, so that
as the vessel rises from the bath, none of tho heated fluid will remain therein.
I apply the same principles to rotary motion as well as reciprocating by fixing
upon the periphery of a wheel, at points equidistant from each other and from
a common centre or axle, vessels not unlike those already described. I unite
one with the next by a tube closed by a valve opening inwards, thus con-
necting any convenient number. I use a bath similar to the one before
described. I fill or partially fill one of the vessels with fluid, and exhaust the
air from all of them; the lower one being the heaviest will be immersed in the
bath, which is heated till steam is generated, and as the valve in the said
vessel opens inward, the fluid cannot escape, but will be forced through the
open tube into the second vessel through the valve until that vessel becomes
heavy enough to overcome the resistance required to revolve the shaft, then it
will descend into the bath, and in the course of the descent the remaining
fluid will have passed into the next vessel, and the process of generation
repeated, thus causing a continuous rotation. To gain an increase of power
in the rotary motion I fill two or more of the vessels with fluid, uniting the
first with the third, the second with the fourth, and so on, or for still more
constant movement I place two or more of the wheels or sets of vessels so as
to act upon the same driving shaft, but to act between those of another wheel,
so that one of the sets may be always moving.
Another modification for cooling or condensing, and the application of
several vessels to act simultaneously for an increase of power, consists of
attaching tubes to a vessel, as already described; and in addition I use a
central tube or hollow shaft encased by a cylinder; within this outer cylinder
and surrounding a hollow shaft I introduce a second cylinder, into which the
connecting tubes open, the second cylinder being air-tight; I pass a supply of
cold water through the hollow shaft into the outer casing and around the
cylinder, for the purpose of cooling the fluid in its passage from one vessel to
the other through the tubes and to cause an equal distribution of the fluid, into
the several vessels thus connected. I connect all the vessels on either side by
a tube, through which the fluid will flow until the same level is maintained in

page_text: all the vessels on the same side. If there is still a greater amount of cooling
surface required, I make the hollow axle longer, and place one set of the
vessels at one end and the other set at the opposite end, causing the fluid to
traverse the length of the axle before it can pass into the up vessels.
It is evident that, if desirable, I can generate the steam in separate vessels
from those which contain the fluid for the weight, and lead the steam from the
said separate vessels by a conducting tube into the weight vessels above the
fluid to act upon and force it to another similar weight vessel, as in the first
manner described, where I have described the steam as being generated in the
weight vessel only.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Monson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
MONSON, of New Haven, in the County of New Haven and State of Con-
necticut, United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Charles Monson, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Monson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Charles Monson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN
IMPROVED GRAVITATION ENGINE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Charles Monson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Monson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say :-
I employ two vessels of similar construction connected together by a pipe
or tube and exhaust the air therefrom; I then partially fill one of the said
vessels with water or other fluid and generate steam within it, which steam
will, by its pressure upon the surface of the fluid, cause it to flow from the
vessel so filled with fluid through the connecting pipe or tube into the second
vessel, and by employing the weight of the fluid caused by such change
from vessel to vessel, or from the second back to the first, I obtain a power
which may be used for the various purposes for which motive power is
required.
This Invention will be clearly understood by referring to the figures and
letters on the accompanying three Sheets of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a
side view, and Fig. 2 a plan, of my improved gravitation engine; Figs. 8
and 4, views of a modified arrangement of some of the parts; Fig. 5, a trans-
verse section shewing the application of the principle to a rotary engine;
Fig. 6, a plan of a mode of obtaining a multiplication of power and a different
method for cooling or condensing; and Fig. 7 a side view of another arrange-
ment of the main parts of the gravitation engine.
In Figs. 1 and 2 A and B represent two metal vessels or chambers of about
equal capacity. They may be of various forms and made as thin as possible
to withstand the pressure required in the operation, so that heat or cold, as
required, may act more readily on their contents for the purpose of expansion
by heat or condensation by cold, as more fully shewn hereafter. C is a pipe,
tube, or conduit uniting the two chambers or vessels A and B, and through
which is a passage opening into each at or near its lowest point. D is a hollow
axle, to which is attached the said tube C, and the said axle, when suspended
in a supporting frame E, becomes the centre of motion around or from which
the said vessels A and B may vibrate. At or near this centre of motion I
extend the tube C by coiling or returning the tube, as shown in Fig. 2. I
surround the axle with a cylinder F, or enlarge the hollow of the axle to
enclose the coil or extension of the tube. G and H are two baths of water
placed so that in the vibration or ascent and descent of the said vessels they
will alternately, in their descent, plunge into the said baths. I is a shaft to
which power is to be communicated from the action or movement of tho
vessels A and B through the pawis a and a' and cog wheels b and b'. The
machine being now ready for operation I fill or partially fill one of the vessels,
say A, through an opening C made for the purpose, with a fluid, preferring
that which boils at a less degree of heat than water for the boiling point, or

page_text: water may be used when desired. The air which now remains in the two
vessels and connecting tube I exhaust through the same opening C in any
convenient manner to form as nearly as possible a vacuum in the vessels and
then close the opening C. The two baths G and H, as before stated, are filled
with water, the vessel A, in which is the fluid, being heavier than the vessel B
by so much as the weight of the fluid it contains, will rest in the bath G, as
shown by the full lines, Fig. 1. I now apply heat to the said bath and raise
the temperature to a degree to cause generation of steam from the fluid in the
vessel; this temperature need only be increased as more rapid generation may
be desired. Thus heated and steam generated in the vessel, from which it
cannot escape, it will create a pressure upon the surface of the fluid and force
it to ascend through the tube C into the vessel B. Through the hollow
axle D I introduce a cold current of water or air on to and around the coil or
tube C for the purpose of cooling the fluid in its passage to the upper vessel,
so that the fluid being thus slightly reduced in temperature shall condense
whatever steam, if any, it may meet in the upper vessel. When a sufficient
quantity of the fluid shall have passed into the upper vessel to overbalance
that remaining in the lower vessel, and also the resistance by the power
required to move the shaft D, the upper and now heavier vessel will descend
until it plunges into the other bath H. In this descent the pawl a catches
into the cogs of the wheel b and turns the wheel, which is fixed to the shaft I,
and consequently gives a partial revolution to the said shaft proportionate to
the distance traversed by the vessel B in its descent. When the vessel B bas
fallen into the bath as described, the vessel A becomes the upper vessel and
their positions are reversed, as shown in the dotted lines, Fig. 1. The heated
water in the bath H now generates steam in the vessel B, in like manner as in
vessel A from the bath G as described, and from like causes; the fluid now in
the vessel B retraverses the tube C to the now upper vessel A until, in like
manner as before described, the vessel A becomes sufficiently heavy to over-
come the resistance offered to the vessel B in its descent, and thus the vessel A
will descend and plunge into the bath G as before. In this descent a second
pawl a' turns a second cog wheel 6', which gears into the cog wheel 6 fixed to
the shaft I. This operation will turn the shaft in the same direction and a
corresponding portion of a revolution as that given in the descent of the
vessel B. Again, the vessel A will be heated as before, and so the two vessels
will continue a reciprocating motion, alternately imparting thus power to the
shaft I, as described, from which it may be taken as from driving shafts of any
of the common motors.
This arrangement would evidently produce an intermittent motion of the

page_text: shaft, and for that reason would in most cases be objectionable, but to obviate
that objection I employ so many pairs of the said vessels, each pair acting
independent of the others, as shall give a constant motion to the said shaft,
that is, that one of the number shall be descending during an entire revolution
of the shaft. For a multiplication of power I increase the size of the vessels,
but if a power be required greater than it is desirable to make a single vessel
large enough I unite two or more, as in Fig. 6, fixed to the same axle, and
acting together as more fully described hereafter. It may be advantageous
to use two fluids within the vessels, one a heavier, such as mercury, and the
other a lighter fluid, employing the lighter for the purpose of rapid generation
of steam to force the heavier fluid into the upper vessel to act as the weight;
this would require no change in the construction described, but simply sup-
plying the two fluids in the manner described for the one fluid, and this use of
two fluids I believe to be much better than one, as I am enabled thereby to
employ smaller vessels for the same weight, and, of course, less fluid compara-
tively to cool and condense.
Another mode of construction involving the same principles I illustrato in
Figs. 3 and 4, the difference being chiefly in the manner of cooling or con-
densing the fluid.
A is a vessel similar in its construction to the vessel A, Figs. 1 and 2, and
connected with another vessel by means of the tube C and hollow axle D;
the other vessel similar to B, in Figs. 1 and 2, is not shown in this Fig., as the
two vessels are not required to describe the method of cooling illustrated in
these Figs. 3 and 4.. G is a bath for the same purpose as the baths shown in
Figs. 1 and 2; thus far the construction and operation may be the same as
that before described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but to afford a more
rapid and certain cooling or condensing process I introduce in these Figs. 3
and 4 what I term cooling buckets. I surround the upper part of the vessels
with a casing C (see Fig. 4), closed upon its edges, and at the inner or lower
end, the outer end being left open to the atmosphere, the edges are inclined
(see Fig. 3) so that as the vessel rises from the bath none of the heated
water will remain therein; O is a bath constantly supplied with cold water,
and P a bucket fixed to a beam R, which vibrates from a centre or bearing e.
In the bottom of this said bucket I insert a valve i, which opens inward, and
connect this bucket by means of a tube S, with the space enclosed by the
casing C; the said tube opens into both the space and the bucket, and is
jointed at d and d³, to allow the vessel and bucket both to rise, and by this
construction cause them to rise simultaneously. The bucket P resting in the
cold water bath O as represented, the water will of its own gravity flow through

page_text: the valve I, and fill the bucket to a level with the water in the bath; thus the
quantity of cold water to be taken is governed by the quantity in the bath, or
the depth to which the bucket is allowed to plunge, and as the bucket is
raised from the water the valve will close from the pressure of the water in
the bucket upon it, and consequently carry from the bath the water contained
therein. By the generation of steam in the vessel A in the manner before
described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the fluid therein contained will riso
into the opposite vessel through the tube C, in like manner as before described,
and from the same cause as in the first illustration the vessel A will rise and
carry with it the bucket of cold water in consequence of the connection tube S
before described, and when, in its ascent, the bucket P shall have inclined
towards its centre of motion sufficiently to allow it, the cold water therein con-
tained will flow from the bucket, through the tube S, into the space enclosed
by the casing C; this may take place sooner or later as the mouth of the tube
opening into the bucket is lower or higher, but the vessel must have risen high
enough so that the cold water thus flowing in cannot escape at the open end
of the casing, and when at its full height, as shewn in dotted lines, Fig. 3, all
or nearly all of the cold water will have passed into the said space and serve to
cool the vessel and condense what steam there may be therein; for the
purpose of diminishing the resistance which might otherwise be offered to the
rising fluid from the opposite vessel, I apply a similar apparatus to the other
vessel, or as many of them as may be in use. In the descent of the vessel A
the cold water in the casing C will, by the declination of the vessel, flow from
the casing and fall over the bath, or, if advantangeous, it might be conducted
into the bath to supply the waste of water in the bath occasioned by evapora-
tion or otherwise. The cold water may be supplied through pipes and valves
without the use of the bucket, but I believe this to be a simple method and
casy of government.
In Fig. 5 I illustrate the same principles as applied to rotary motion instead
of reciprocating. I fix upon the periphery of a wheel at points equidistant from
each other and from a common centre or axle A, vessels B, B1, B2, B³, B*, B³,
similar to the vessels before described. I unite one vessel B with the next B',
by means of a tube C, open into one, suy B, and in the next B¹ closed by a
valve a opening inward, and thus all are connected from one to the next. D
is a bath similar to those before described. I fill or partially fill one of the
vessels B with fluid as before described, and exhaust the air from all. The
lower one B being the heaviest will be immersed in the bath D, which is heated
until steam is generated, as in the first-described illustration. As the valve a in
this vessel B opens inward the fluid cannot escape thence but will be forced

page_text: through the open tube C into the second vessel B', through the valve a, until
that vessel becomes heavy enough to overcome the resistance required to
revolve the shaft, and the remaining fluid in the lower vessel will then descend
into the bath, in the course of which descent the remaining fluid in B will all
or nearly so have passed into B¹, which being now in the bath in the position
previously occupied by the vessel B, the same process of generation will be
gone through with and the fluid forced into the third vessel B, which in its turn
descends, and so on, continuing round in the same direction as long as steam is
generated in the lowest vessel. If other condensation or cooling is requisite
other than that imparted by the vessel itself, which is cooled by passing
through the air, the tubes may pass up through the centre part of the wheel in
a similar manner to the plan first described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.
For an increase of the power of this rotary plan I fill two or more, say B and
B', with fluid, unite the first B with the third B³, the second B¹ with the
fourth B³, and so on, in like manner as from first to second last described; or
for still more constant movement I place two or more of the wheels or set of
vessels so as to act upon the same driving shaft, but to act between those of
another wheel, that is, so that one of the sets may be always moving.
open,
In Fig. 6 I illustrate another different but equivalent manner of cooling or
condensing, as also the application of several vessels to act simultaneously for
an increase of power. C, C, are tubes to each of which may be attached a
vessel in like manner and operating substantially as before described and
illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.
A central tube or hollow shaft D is encased
by a cylinder E; within this outer cylinder, E and surrounding the hollow
shaft D; I introduce a second cylinder F, into which the tubes C this
said cylinder F must of course be air-tight. A supply of cold water is passed
through the hollow shaft D, and into the outer casing and around the
cylinder F, for the purpose of cooling the fluid in its passage from one vessel
to the other through the tubes C. To cause an equal distribution of the fluid
into the several vessels which may be thus connected together, I connect all
the vessels on either side by a tube through which the fluid will flow until the
same level is maintained in all the vessels on the same side. If still greater
amount of cooling surface is desirable I make the hollow axle longer and place
one set of the vessels at one end, and the other set at the opposite end, causing
the fluid to traverse the length of the axle before it can pass into the upper
vessels. I have used the expression "cooling' to mean simply a slight
reduction of the temperature, as this is all that is required to bring steam
back into a liquid state. I have also named "water bath" as a means of

page_text: heating for its great convenience, but can employ any other means for gene-
rating the steam.
Fig. 7 illustrates a somewhat different, and perhaps it may in some cases, if
not in all, be deemed a more advantageous method than those already described.
It consists in generating the steam in separate vessels from those which contain
the fluid for the weight. I lead the steam from the said separate or steam
vessels by means of a conducting tube into the said weight vessels above the
fluid to act upon the said fluid and force it to another similar weight vessel, as
in the first illustration, where I have described the steam as being generated
in the weight vessel only. In this Fig. 7, A, , are two vessels which in their
construction and connection with each other are like the vessels shown in
Figs. 1 and 2, and first described. I fill one of these vessels, say A, up or
about to the fluid line 1-2, with fluid which I purpose to use as the weight;
C, D, are two smaller or steam vessels, and are united to the axis E, so as to
vibrate at the same time with the vessels A, B; a tube F, G, leads from each
of the steam vessels C, D, into the weight vessels A, B, a little above the fluid
line 1-2. H is a bath of water heated to the required temperature to generate
steam in the vessels C, D. The air must have been exhausted from all the
vessels as before specified. The relative positions and size of the steam vessels
and the weight vessels are such that the steam vessels shall be alternately
wholly submerged in the bath H. Steam arising from the fluid in the vessel C
passes through the tube F into the vessel A above the fluid, and will by its
force upon the surface of the fluid cause the said fluid to flow from the vessel A
through the tube I into the upper vessel B, in like manner as first described
and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and then in the same like manner the weight
of the said fluid will cause the vessel B to descend and A to ascend, and with
this change a corresponding change of the vessels C, D, takes place, and the
before upper steam vessel D is now submerged in the bath H. In the ascent of
the said vessel A a cock a is by a mechanism turned to close the pipe or tubo F
to prevent an undue admission of steam from the vessel C, and in the descent
the said stop-cock is opened by the same mechanism. The steam thus filling
the vessel A will as it condenses add to the quantity of fluid in the said weight
vessel, and thus the steam vessel might eventually become exhausted of its fluid,
but that the fluid cannot rise much above the fluid level in the vessel A before
it escapes through the tube F and returns back into the vessel C, and thus
the fluid levels are maintained. When the positions of the vessels are secured
as described, that is B containing the weight and D in the bath, the same
operation is performed as before, the fluid returning to the upper vessel A,

page_text: and so continue to vibrate as before described, and in like manner imparting
motion to a driving shaft.
Some of the advantages of this method of separate steam vessels are, first,
that I reduce the quantity of fluid necessary to be heated, and, second, I
accomplish a perfect immersion of the generating vessels in the heating
baths.
These objects may however be accomplished in the manner first described
without these extra vessels C, D, provided mercury be used for the weight,
but where the fluid for the steam and the fluid for the weight are of the same
kind, the plan as illustrated by Fig. 7 has its superior advantages. There are
other reasons why this plan last described and illustrated in Fig. 7 may bo
preferable in any case but it is not necessary here to mention them.
The weight vessels in this plan or the fluid therein may be heated to a
certain degree by separate baths if desirable to prevent an untimely conden-
sation of the steam. I have illustrated my Invention as one result accomplished
by several different methods without going into minute detail of construction.
Having thus fully described and set forth my Invention, I do not broadly
claim as of my own Invention the generation of steam from fluid which boils
at a less degree of heat than water. Neither do I claim the mere movement
of a fluid by means of steam generated therefrom, for this has often been
illustrated in cominon philosophical toys (and which I think are suggestive
of my Invention), neither do I confine myself to the several devices described
by which the result is accomplished, but what I do claim as new and useful
and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-
First, the double utilization of the vapour and weight of the same
fluid for the purpose and substantially in the manner as herein set forth.
Second, the use of two fluids, a denser and a lighter, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose described.
And, third, the weight of a fluid as a power for driving machinery, when
the same is made available substantially as herein set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Monson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
CHARLES MONSON. (L.s.)