AN IMPROVED STEAM ENGINE, SPECIALLY APPLICABLEGRICULTURAL OPERA
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Holcroft, of No. 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris,
in the Empire of France, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED STEAM ENGINE, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE
Sealed the 24th March 1857, and dated the 30th October 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Holcroft at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th October 1856.
I, HENRY HOLCROFT, of No. 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, in the Empire
of France, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, do hereby declare the
nature of my Invention for "AN IMPROVED STEAM ENGINE, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE
TO AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in an improved construction of steam engine,
specially adapted for the tillage of land, which engine derives motion from a
traction screw or propeller. Instead of the latter, a drum or pulley may be
substituted, when it may be employed for driving machinery for manufacturing
drainage pipes, thrashing grain, and other agricultural operations. In this
engine the traction screw, which is placed in front at a right angle to the axis
of the boiler, is composed of a cylinder, having one, two, or more threads formed
upon it, or it may consist of a propeller formed of a single or double series of

page_text: blades, placed at a suitable angle, and fixed to the axis, which works in bearings
on the lower part of a vertical telescopic tube or cylinder, which slides
vertically up and down, as well as a motion round its axis, in an outer case or
cylinder firmly fixed to a plate on the boiler. At the upper part of the
telescopic cylinder is a steam cylinder and piston, the rod of which actuates by
a crank the traction screw. On the top of the boiler is a moveable plate fixed
to the telescopic cylinder; upon this plate is firmly bolted or otherwise
secured a vertical steam cylinder, formed with a steam chest and valve or
stop-cock. Above this cylinder, and on the same vertical axis, is an hydraulic
cylinder containing water, which cylinder is supported by columns or other
suitable means, and is also furnished with a valve or stop-cock. In each
cylinder is a piston, the two being connected together by one rod working
steam-tight in the stuffing box of each cylinder. The piston rod, made to
project above the hydraulic cylinder, is attached to a cross head, to the
extremities of which is a connecting rod fastened to the end of a lever, the
fulcrum of which rests on suitable bearings. At the opposite end of each
of the levers is a connecting rod fixed to the upper part of the telescopic
cylinder for the purpose of raising or lowering it. This cylinder receives its
circular motion, so as to alter the direction of the traction screw, by a segmental
rack on the plate before-mentioned placed on the boiler. In this rack gears
a worm on a shaft, to which is keyed a bevel pinion taking into another pinion
fast to a vertical shaft, upon which is fixed a horizontal wheel; by turning the
latter the position of the engine is changed. The boiler, placed longitudinally
on a suitable frame, and supported by leading and driving wheels, is composed
of three or a suitable number of cylinders placed in a smoke box, so that the
heat and smoke from the fire box (rivetted or otherwise secured to the end of
the boiler) is made to return to heat the feed water placed in a reservoir or
vessel on the top of the boiler previous to entering out of the chimney.
In order to put the engine in action, the engine driver turns the cock or
valve to admit steam into the cylinder contained in the telescopic cylinder, by
which means the traction screw is made to rotate. Steam is then admitted to
the bottom of the other cylinder by turning the lever, which at the same time
opens the cock or valve of the bydraulic cylinder, so that the water can enter
under the piston. By this means it raises the levers, which cause the screw or
propeller to enter the soil to the required depth, and as it rotates causes the
engine, and with it the plough or other implement attached to it, to advance a
distance according to the pitch of the screw. The water contained in the
hydraulic cylinder being incompressible offers a firm resistance to the piston,
and thus prevents the traction screw from being raised until when required,

page_text: which is done by turning the cock to allow the water and steam to enter above
the pistons. Instead of this method of raising and lowering the traction
screw, a system of pulleys, on which passes a chain attached to the telescopic
cylinder, may be employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Holcroft in the Great Seal Patent Oflice on the
30th April 1857..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HOLCROFT, of No. 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, in the Empire of France,
and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Holcroft, Her special license, full power, that I, the said Henry
Holcroft, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Henry Holcroft, my executors, administrators, and assigns, sliould 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 Islo of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED STEAM
ENGINE, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Henry Holcroft, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of my 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 Henry Holcroft, 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
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
:
This Invention relates to an improved construction of steam engine, specially
adapted for the tillage of land, which engine is propelled by means of a
traction screw or propeller. By the addition of pulleys it may be employed for

page_text: driving machinery, for manufacturing drainage pipes, for thrashing grain, and
other agricultural purposes.
In this engine the traction screw, which is placed in front at a right angle
to the axis of the boiler, is composed of a cylinder, having one, two, or more
threads formed upon it; or it may consist of a propeller formed of a single or
double series of blades, placed at a suitable angle, and fixed to the axis, which
works in bearings on the lower part of a vertical telescopic tube or cylinder,
which slides vertically up and down, as well as a motion round its axis, in an
outer case or cylinder firmly fixed to a plate on the boiler. At the upper
part of the telescopic cylinder is a steam cylinder and piston, the rod of which
actuates by a crank the traction screw. On the top of the boiler is a
moveable plate fixed to the telescopic cylinder; upon this plate is firmly
bolted or otherwise secured a vertical steam cylinder, formed with a steam
chest and valve or stop-cock. Above this cylinder, and on the same vertical
axis, is an hydraulic cylinder containing water, which cylinder is supported by
columns or other suitable means, and is also furnished with a valve or stop-cock.
In each cylinder is a piston, the two being connected together by one rod
working steam-tight in the stuffing box of each cylinder. The piston rod,
made to project above the hydraulic cylinder, is attached to a cross head, to
the extremities of which is a connecting rod fastened to the end of a lever, the
fulcrum of which rests on suitable bearings. At the opposite end of each of
the levers is a connecting rod, fixed to the upper part of the telescopic cylinder,
for the purpose of raising or lowering it. This cylinder receives its circular
motion, so as to alter the direction of the traction screw, by a segmental rack
on the plate before-mentioned placed on the boiler. In this rack gears a
worm on a shaft, to which is keyed a bevel pinion taking into another pinion
fast to a vertical shaft, upon which is fixed a horizontal wheel: by turning the
latter the position of the engine is changed. The boiler, placed longitudinally
on a suitable frame, and supported by leading and driving wheels, is composed
of three or a suitable number of cylinders, placed in a smoke box, so that the
heat and smoke from the fire box (rivetted or otherwise secured to the end of
the boiler) is made to return to heat the feed water placed in a reservoir or
vessel on the top of the boiler previous to passing out of the chimney.
In order to put the engine in action, the engine driver turns the cock
or valve to admit steam into the cylinder contained in the telescopic cylinder,
by which means the traction screw is made to rotate. Steam is then admitted
to the bottom of the other cylinder by turning the lever, which at the same
time opens the cock or valve of the hydraulic cylinder, so that the water can
enter under the piston. By this means it raises the levers, which cause

page_text: the screw or propeller to enter the soil to the required depth, and as it rotates
causes the engine, and with it the plough or other implement attached to it, to
advance a distance according to the pitch of the screw. The water contained
in the hydraulic cylinder being incompressible offers a firm resistance to the
piston, and thus prevents the traction screw from being raised until when
required, which is done by turning the cock to allow the water and steam to
enter above the pistons. Instead of this method of raising and lowering the
traction screw, a system of pulleys, over which passes a chain attached to the
telescopic cylinder, may be employed.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the accompanying Drawings, is an elevation of the
improved agricultural steam engine. A, A, is a cylindrical tube, composed of
strong sheet iron, in the upper part of which is fixed a steam cylinder L and
piston, which gives motion to the crank x, x. The cylinder L. and the bearings
of the crank axle are bolted to the inner sides of the tube A, A. B is a
cylindrical casing, which supports the tube A, A, as well as allows it to ascend,
descend, or turn on its axis. This case is fixed to the end of the boiler by a
strong plate F, F, F. C is a traction screw, intended to act in the soil, and is
worked by the steam cylinder and piston contained in the tube A, A. D is a
steam cylinder, and E a cylinder filled with water. The piston of the cylinder
D is fixed on the same rod as that of the hydraulic cylinder E. In turning
the lever M in a certain direction, I act on the stop-cock i, which admits the
steam below the piston D. This lever M also acts on the stop-cock O, which
permits the water placed above the piston E to pass under the same piston of
the cylinder E. The movement at once takes place; the steam raises the
piston of the cylinder D, and two levers T, T, (one being placed on each side of
the cylinder,) cause the tube A, A, to slide in its case B, and forces the.traction
screw C to enter the soil, When found that the screw no longer slips, but
causes at each revolution the engine to progress a distance corresponding
to the pitch of the screw c, the lever m is withdrawn by the workman to
its primitive position; and the escape of the water placed above and below the
hydraulic piston E being prevented by the stop-cock O, the tube A, A, becomes
firmly fixed in the position given to it. To raise the traction screw C, the
workman turns the lever in the opposite direction; the steam then acts above
the piston D, and the water passes from above to below the bydraulic piston E.
The water contained in the hydraulic cylinder E being an incompressible body
prevents the movement of the tube A, A, during the working of the engine.
S is a small hand wheel, by means of which two endless screws on the
axes r and p are turned. The upper screw cogs in the toothed rack, fixed to
the plate Z, Z, Z, on which are fixed the cylinders D and E. Through this

page_text: plate the tube A, A, passes.
When the workman acts on the wheel S, it causes
the plate Z, Z, Z, to turn; and by the levers T, T, and connecting rods T', T',
the tube A is turned on its axis in the casing B. The lower endless screw
gears with the toothed plate K, which carries the axle of the front wheels.
V is a rod, by means of which the workman opens or closes the stop-cock for
admitting steam to the cylinder L, contained in the tubo A, A. The action of
this engine is as follows:-The workman, after having put in action the piston
of the cylinder L, then turns the lever m until the traction screw penetrates to
the required depth in the earth for the progress of the plough or other imple-
ment attached to the boiler at the part 1, 2. When it is necessary to change
the direction of the engine, the workman commences by raising the traction
screw; then, by means of the hand wheel S, he causes the tube A, A, to turn,
and with it the traction screw C, and also the action of the fore wheels.
W, W, are two drums, fixed or free at will, on the axis Q, Q, by means of the
friction cones g, g. The axis Q, Q, receives its movement from the cranked
shaft X, X, by means of a bevel wheel fixed to a vertical axis, or by the aid of
a band and pullies.
Figure 2, on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, represents a mode of raising and
lowering the traction screw by means of an arrangement of pulleys and chains;
Figure 3 is a plan of the same; and Figure 4, a section of the tube A, A,
shewing the steam cylinder enclosed in the tube, and also the pulley arrange-
ment.
Figure 5 represents a front view of a modification of the traction screw or
propeller. In this Figure, C, C, C, C, C, represent five of the ten blades
employed.
Figure 6 represents an edge view of the boss B, in the form of a decagon, to
be fixed to the extremity of the cranked axle of the engine. The holes
m, m, m, made in the boss receive the cylindrical extremities of the blades
c, c, c, c, which may be placed at any angle by suitable adjusting apparatus.
Figure 7 represents a plan of the boiler, composed of a certain number
of cylinders (three in the Drawing), inclosing a number of tubes proportioned
to their diameter. These tubes are similar to those of the locomotives, and
serves for the passage of the smoke. These cylinders are enclosed in a sheet-
metal casing. The smoke and products of combustion, after having passed
through the tubes, return in a contrary direction, passing along the casing in
which are piuced the cylinders, so that the outer surface of the cylinders,
surrounded by the smoke and products of combustion, form a large heating
surface. A is the fire box; B, B, B, the three cylinders; c, c, c, c, the smoke
box enclosing the cylinders, which are rivetted to the partitions m, m, and

page_text: In the space included between the two partitions, they are pierced with
holes for the passage of the water and steam.
Figure 8 represents a section across the line 1, 2, of the plan. A, fire box;
B, B, B, the three cylinders, with their inner tubes m, m; n, n, the two par-
titions to which these boilers are rivetted, and between which they are pierced
with holes; c, c, c, c, box enveloping the boilers for the return of the smoke;
H, the chimney; K, a water case for heating the feed water.
Figure 9 is a section across the line 3, 4, of the preceding Figure. B, B, B,
the cylinders with their tubes; c, c, c, c, smoke box; K, case for heating the
feed water.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not
restrict myself to the precise mode of construction herein laid down, as many
modifications may be made without departing from the main principle; but
what I claim, and desire to be secured by the berein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is,--
First, the general arrangement and construction of the steam engine for
tilling laud, and for driving agricultural and other machines, as herein-before
described, and represented in the annexed Drawings.
Secondly, the method of propelling the engine by means of a traction screw
or propeller, as herein-before described, and shewn in the accompanying Sheets
of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Holcroft, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
HENRY HOLCROFI. (L.S.)