IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Nasmyth, of Stafford Street, Bond
Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE
POWER."
Sealed the 18th April 1858, and dated the 27th October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Nasmyth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th October 1852.
I, JAMES NASMYTI, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF OBTAINING AND APPLYING
MOTIVE POWER" to be as follows:-
In carrying out this Invention I mount a kind of steelyard beam on
a pivot, fixed in a column or standard, and above the pivot, carried
by the same column or standard, I mount an antifriction pulley. I
attach a cable or rope to the outer end of the beam, and carry that
cable or rope over the pulley and down to the bottom of the column,
where the said rope or cable is attached to a weight of any required
amount of ponderosity. I fix to the outer end of the beam a box, to
which the rope or cable is secured, and in this box I place a weight,
lighter than the weight fixed to the pendent end of the rope or cable.

page_text: On placing this lighter weight in the box at the end of the beam
the beam will fall, agreeably to the steelyard principle, and draw up the
heavier weight pendent from the cable or rope; and by removing the
lighter weight from the said box, the heavier weight at the end of
the cable or rope will fall and draw up the beam to its former elevation;
and thus, by alternately withdrawing and replacing the lighter weight
in the box, a continuous reciprocating motion will be the result.
In practice the like motion may be obtained by using the expansive
'force of steam or air, or the weight of water or other fluids in lieu of
the weight before mentioned; and the reciprocating motion thus obtained
may be converted in any well known manner into a rotary motion, and
applied for driving machinery.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Nasmyth in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JAMES NASMYTH, of Stafford Street, Bond Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in
the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said James Nasmyth, Her special
licence that I, the said James Nasmyth, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Nasmyth,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE
POWER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Nasmyth, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 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 James Nasmyth, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):
The object of this Invention is to obtain motive power by the depres-
sion of a lever by means of a falling body, or by the pressure of water
or other fluid, or of compressed air or other elastic body, and when
thus obtained to transmit it by suitable contrivances to a crank shaft,
with which any machinery or apparatus required to be driven may be
brought into connection.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1, shews in elevation one arrange-
ment for carrying my Invention into operation. A, B, is a column which
carries a pulley C, the axle of which turns in suitable bearings at the
top of a column A, B. E, F, is a lever beam; its end E, moves on a
fulcrum pin D, fixed in the column A, B. On the end F, of the lever
beam E, F, is fixed a box H, for containing a weight G. J, J, J, J,
is a rope or chain attached to the end F, of the lever beam E, F; this
rope or chain passes over the pulley C, and to its pendent end a weight
K, K, is attached. R, is a beam, carried by a standard and connected
at N, to the rope J, J, J, J. O, is an ordinary crank rod connection;
and P, a fly wheel for steadying the action of the machine. L, L, L,
is a cord attached to the weight G. This cord passes over the pullies
M, M, and is worked by the movement of the fly wheel shaft, or otherwise.
To work this engine let the weight G, descend into the box H, placed
at the end F, of the lever beam E, F; the weight G, when in the box
H, presses down the lever beam E, F, and as it descends the weight K,
on the other end of the rope or chain J, J, J, J, ascends. The beam R,
which is fixed at N, to the rope or chain J, J, J, J, moves up as the
weight of the rope or chain rises, and this movement is transmitted
through the crank rod O, to the fly wheel P. As soon as the lever beam
E, F, has descended, the weight G, is drawn from the box H, by means

page_text: of the cord L, L, L, which is actuated by the fly wheel shaft or by other
means, and the weight K, descends by its own gravity and draws up
the lever beam E, F, to its former position. Additional power may be
acquired in two ways, by lengthening the lever beam E, F, or by
increasing the weight G, at the end of the lever beam.
Fig. 2, shews n modification of the above described arrangement.
A, B, is a column, carrying at its upper part a pulley C; E, F, is
a lever beam, one end E, of which works on a fulcrum D. K, is a
reservoir of compressed air or steain for supplying a cylinder G, wherein
a piston G, works. The rod II, of this piston is connected with the
end F, of the lever beam E, F. A valve is provided at J, for opening
a passage for the air or steam to the cylinder G, and cutting off the
supply when required, and openings are made in the lower part of the
cylinder to allow of the escape of the air or steam when the piston has
been driven past those openings. L, I, is a rope or chain attached to
the end F, of the lever beam E, F. This rope or chain passes over the
pulley C, and is secured at M, to the piston rod N, which carries a
piston P. This piston is fitted to and works in a cylinder O. Q, R,
is a beam attached to the piston rod N, by the bolt Q. T, is a pillar
on which works the beam Q, R; and S, is an ordinary fly wheel.
To work this engine the valve J, is opened, and the compressed air
or steam from the reservoir K, is admitted into the cylinder G, and
by acting upon the upper side of the piston it depresses the end F, of
the lever beam E, F. As the lever beam descends, the rope or chain
L, L, L, which is attached to its end F, pulls up the piston P, in the
cylinder O, to the position shewn in the Drawing, and by the ascent
of the piston a vacuum is formed beneath it in the cylinder O. The
beam Q, R, which is attached to the piston rod N, is at the same time
vibrated, and is thus made to communicate motion to the fly wheel shaft.
When sufficient compressed air or steam is admitted to the cylinder G,
the valve J, is closed, and on the piston passing the vents before men-
tioned the pressure above it is removed. The cylinder O, having been
put into a state of vacuum by the upward movement of the piston P,
and that piston being now by reason of the movement of the rope or
chain L, L, free to descend, the pressure of the air on the top of the
piston drives it down, and thereby, through the rope or chain L, causes

page_text: the end F, of the lever beam E, F, to rise; at the same time the beam
QR, fixed to the piston rod N, is again rocked on its fulcrum, and
thereby made to give motion to the fly wheel shaft.
Fig. 3, shews an arrangement of engine which is precisely similar
to that of Fig. 1, with the exception that a cylinder and piston are sub-
stituted for the weight K.
The piston M, in the cylinder N, is drawn up by the descent of the
lever beam E, F; by the rising of the piston a vacuum is produced
beneath the piston M, and the weight G, being removed from the end
F, of the lever beam E, F, the pressure of the air drives down the piston
M, and the lever beam E, F, is drawn up. The working of the beam
and fly wheel are exactly the same as in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4, shews an arrangement very similar to that of Fig. 2, the only
difference being that the cylinder P, is closed, the cover being fitted
with a stuffing box through which the piston rod T, works. As the
piston Q, ascends the air is compressed and conveyed through the valve
R, to any convenient receptacle, ready to be applied as a substitute
for steam to drive motive power machinery, or to work machinery for
effecting the depression of the lever beam. By elevating the pulley and
lengthening the lever beam the stroke of the piston in the cylinder for
compressing the air may be lengthened in the same proportion.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the Mode
of Obtaining and Applying Motive Power," I wish it to be understood
that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim utilizing
the power produced by the vibrations of a lever actuated in the manner
above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Nasmyth, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of April, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFAtt.
66, Chancery Lane.
JAMES NASMYTH. (L.B.)