A COMPOUND LEVER INTRODUCING GRAVITATION AS A MOTIVE POWER TO SUPERSEDE A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF STEAM POWER
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Side at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th March
1868.
ROBERT SIDE, of 130, Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, County
of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A
COMPOUND LEVER INTRODUCING GRAVITATION AS A MOTIVE POWER TO SUPERSEDE
A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF STEAM POWER," to be as follows:-
This Invention is a compound lever introducing gravitation as a
motive power to supercede a considerable amount of steam power, and
using the steam engine only as a help to balance the lever beam
somewhat after the manner in which we use the man in connection
with the lifting jack; a jack will raise many hundreds of pounds weight
when a man turns the handle of the jack; the man without the jack
could not raise more than two hundred pounds, so my lever assisted
by a small measure of steam or other power would raise many tons, in
short, it is a lever to whose power no limit can be assigned. It consists
of two shafts lying horizontally and parallel with each other, with cranks
revolving within each other by means of two small cog wheels working
within each other at one end of the shafts, or at any part of it, causing

page_text: one crank to fall outwards and the other to rise inwards, keeping the
rising crank near to the centre of gravity and removing all pressure off
the rising crank, the lever bar always falling with all its weight on the
descending crank carrying it to the bottom, and the rising crank to the
top ready for the other end of the lever bar to fall on it, and force it to
the bottom in its turn. By this combination of powers it obtains both
the back and front powers, the former of which scientific mechanics say
cannot be obtained. These men apply a certain number of pounds
weight of steam on the descending crank and call it one or one hundred
horse power.
I by means of my lever bar propose to apply the same number of
pounds of iron to perform the same work their steam performs. This is
done by having lever beams of the number of pounds weight according to
the number of horse power they are to represent; thus, as thirty pounds
of steam pressing on the descending crank is considered a one horse
power, a fifty horse power would give one thousand five hundred pounds,
and this must be the weight of the lever beam, and as the iron power
may when compared with steam be said to be a dead power, a small
amount of steam power will be required to carry the lever beam past
those points where the power of gravitation is nearly balanced, which
steam must be applied on the end of the lever beam as soon as it passes
the perpendicular point and begins to descend. By this means a small
amount of steam will be sufficient as it is not required to do the work,
but only to balance the lever beam.
The manner in which the lever beam acts on the cranks is as
follows: The lever beam has two circular or straight orifices, in which
two circular or straight slots move, one attached to each of the cranks,
and situated one on each side of the centre of gravity and near the centre
of the lever beam. By this means the upper end of the lever beam is
always the longest, and through this cause always falls on the descending
crank.