IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES, AND THE APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lane, of Liverpool, in the County of Lan-
caster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES,
AND THE APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Sealed the 8th July 1864, and dated the 12th January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lane at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
January 1864.
I, JOHN LANE, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER
ENGINES, AND THE APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH," to be as follows (that is to
say):-
This Invention has for its object an improved motive power engine to be
actuated by steam, water, or other fluid, and an improved description of
boiler for supplying steam thereto, and a refrigerator for condensing the
exhaust steam, which improved boiler and refrigerator are alike applicable to
the generation and condensation of steam generally, and the improved refri-
gerator may also be used for cooling liquids. This improved engine consists
of a hollow cylinder revolving on its axis, and which is fitted internally with
a disc or flat cylinder or drum, which revolves eccentrically in an opposite
direction to the outer cylinder in which it is enclosed. This internal disc or
flat cylinder may bo of (say) two-thirds of the circumference of the inner
circumference of the outer cylinder, and revolves on the same axis as the
outer cylinder, but in the opposite direction, being mounted eccentrically on a

page_text: hollow shaft, so as to be in close contact with the circular inner surface of the
outer cylinder upon which it travels.
The outer cylinder is formed with a projection on its edge, in which is fitted
a transverse cylindrical "faucet," through which works a sliding diaphram or
tongue-piece, the inner end of which is provided with a circular saddle which
rests against the internal rolling cylinder, and is kept in position, and partakes
of the advancing and receding motion of the internal cylinder, by means of an
eccentric keyed on to its own hollow driving shaft through the eccentric rod
and a cross head. The cylindrical piece through which the diaphram and
eccentric rod work turns on its axis the required distance to compensate for
the oscillation of the diaphram. The supply and exhaust passages are formed
through the hollow axles of the inner and outer cylinders, and open out at
opposite sides of the diaphram within a recess formed in the inside of the
projection on the side of the outer cylinder, and into which the saddle piece
of the diaphram recedes as it passes round.
The improved steam generator consists of a number of pipes of varying
diameters placed horizontally one above another, and in sets parallel to each
other, the lowest pipe of each set being of the smallest diameter, and increasing
as they ascend. These pipes are all formed with a box at each end, into
which they open; these boxes (except the top and bottom ones) are open at
the top and bottom, and are formed with flanges to attach them together in
sets, as required, by bolts and nuts or rivets. The upper box is closed at the
top and the lower one at the bottom, thus forming a water space at each end
of the several sets of pipes, by which arrangement a boiler may be constructed
in parts, and put together in the hold of a vessel without cutting the decks,
as now commonly practised, and any part of the boiler may be removed for
repair or renewal with great facility. Each set of pipes is connected by a
junction pipe to an horizontal pipe or cylinder, which forms the steam space
in the take-up of the flue. The several stacks of pipes are placed suffi-
ciently apart to admit of a furnace being placed between them. The pipes
form a truncated conical cover for the furnace, and the flame thereby contracts
as its ascends, and passes into the take-up of the flue in which is situated the
steam space, cylinders, or pipes; after playing on these, the flamic escapes
through the flue.
In place of the horizontal parallel pipes described, the boiler may be made
in sections, which in cross section would resemble an inverted cone with a
circular top, any required number of these sections being placed parallel to
each other, and provided with furnaces in the same way as the sets of pipes.
herein-before described. The cylinders forming the steam space are placed

page_text: immediately above the respective sections, but sufficiently elevated therefrom
to allow the flame to play around them.
The improved refrigerator may consist of a square or other shaped closed
vessel with two bottoms. Above the false bottom the interior is divided by a.
number of partitions so as to form wedge-shaped cavities, the smaller ends of
which open out through the false bottom. The partitions forming these
chambers are in close contact with each other at their upper edges, and do
not extend to the top of their external casing. The steam, water, or other
fluid to be cooled is introduced at or near the top of the outer casing into the
wedge-shaped chambers, and passes down their interiors below the false
bottom, being cooled in its passage by contact with the surface of the con-
denser, a current of cold water being supplied within the vessel between the
interstices of the wedge-shaped passages.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Lane in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th
July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
LANE, of Liverpool, in the County of Laucaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelvth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and four, in the twenty-seventh year o
and successors, give and grant unto
Iler reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs
me, the said John Lane, Her special licence that I, the said John Lane, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Lane,
my exccutors, 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, withi n
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES,
AND THE APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Lane, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Lane, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say)-
This my said Invention has for its object an improved motive power engine
to be actuated by steam, water, or other fluid, and an improved description of
boiler for supplying steam thereto, and a refrigerator for condensing the
exhaust steam, which improved boiler and refrigerator are alike applicable to
the generation and condensation of steam generally, and the improved
refrigerator may also be used for cooling liquids. This my improved engine
consists of a hollow cylinder revolving on its axis, and which is fitted internally
with a disc or flat cylinder or drum, which revolves eccentrically in an opposite
direction to the outer cylinder in which it is enclosed. This internal disc or
flat cylinder may be of (say) two-thirds of the circumference of the inner
circumference of the outer cylinder, and revolves on the same axis as the
outer cylinder, but in the opposite direction, being mounted eccentrically on a
hollow shaft, so as to be in close contact with the circular inner surface of the
outer cylinder upon which it travels.
The outer cylinder I form with a projection on its edge, in which I fit a
transverse cylindrical faucet, through which works a sliding diapligram or
tongue-piece, the inner end of which I provide with a circular saddle which
rests against the internal rolling cylinder, and is kept in position and
partakes of the advancing and receding motion of the internal cylinder by
means of an eccentric keyed on to its own hollow driving shaft through an
eccentric rod and cross bead. The cylindrical piece through which the
diaphgram and eccentric rod work turns on its axis the required distance to
compensate for the oscillation of the diaphgram. The supply and exhaust
passages I form through the hollow axles of the inner and outer cylinders, and
open out at opposite sides of the diaphgram within a recess formed in the
inside of the projection on the side of the outer cylinder, and into which the
saddle piece of the diaphgram recedes as it passes round.
My improved steam generator consists of a number of pipes of various
diameters placed horizontally one above another, and in sets parabel to each
other, the lowest pipe of cach set being of the smallest diameter, and
increasing as they ascend. These pipes are all formed with a box at each
eside, into which they open. These boxes (except the top and bottom ones)
are open at the top and bottom, and are formed with flanches to attach them
together in sets as required by bolts and nuts, or rivets. The upper box is
closed at the top, and the lower one at the bottom, thus forming a water space

page_text: at each end of the several sets of pipes, by which arrangement a boiler may
be constructed in parts and put together in the hold of a vessel without
cutting the decks, as now commonly practised, and any part of the boiler may
be removed for repair or renewal with great facility. Each set of pipes are
connected by a junction pipe to an horizontal pipe or cylinder, which forms
the steam space in the take-up of the flue. The several stacks of pipes are
placed sufficiently apart to admit of a furnace being placed between them.
The pipes form a truncated conical cover for the furnace, and the flame
thereby contracts as it ascends, and passes into the take-up of the flue, in
which is situated the steam space, cylinders, or pipes. After playing on these
the flame escapes through the flue.
: In place of the horizontal parallel pipes described the boiler may be made
in sections, which in cross sections would resemble an inverted cone with a
circular top, any required number of these sections being placed paralel to
each other and provided with furnaces in the same way as the sets of pipes
berein-before described. The cylinders forming the steam space are placed
immediately above the respective sections, but sufficiently elevated therefrom
to allow the flame to play around them.
My improved refrigerator may consist of a square or other shaped close
vessel, with two bottoms. Above the false bottom the interior is divided by a
number of partitions, so as to form wedge-shaped cavaties, the smaller ends
of which open out through the false bottom. The partitions forming these
chambers are in close contact with each other at their upper edges, and do
not extend to the top of their external casing. The stean, water, or other
fluid to be cooled is introduced at or near the top of the outer casing into the
wedge-shaped chambers, and passes down their interior below the false
bottom, being cooled in its passage by contact with the surface of the con-
denser, a current of cold water being supplied within the vessel between the
interstices of the wedge-shaped passages. The products of condensation is
drawn off from the chamber formed between the bottom and false bottom of
the apparatus.
That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and understood I
have hereunto annexed Drawings illustrating the best mode I am at present
acquainted with of carrying my Invention into practical effect. Like letters
marked on the Drawings are used to denote similar parts.
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) is a plan or top view of my improved motive-power
engine, the internal and external cylinders and hollow axles being shown in
section throngh the line c, d, Figure 2. Figure 2 (Sheet 1) is a vertical
section of the internal and external rotating cylinders taken from a to b, Figure 1.

page_text: A is a pipe for supplying steam or other fluid to actuate the engine, and
which opens into B a cavity in C a stationery bearing, in which revolves D,
hollow axle, keyed to E the external cylinder, which encloses F an internal
cylinder, which is keyed to G a hollow shaft, through which the exhaust passes
and which revolves in II a journal which is formed with I an annular cavaty,
similar to that seen in the bearing (C), to which is connected J the exhaust
pipe ;
K and K', fly wheels, to which is coupled L and L' connecting rods,
which are coupled to M and M' cranks on N driving shaft (which is shown
broken off); e, latteral holes in the side of the shaft (D) through which the
steam or other fluid passes in the direction indicated by the arrows; f
passage, through which the steam or other fluid enters the cylinder, and
which by its force acting against the eccentric internal cylinder (F) and the
internal surface of the external cylinder (E) being confined by P sliding
diaphgram or tongue-piece, causes the external and internal cylinder to rotate
in opposite directions; g, the exhaust passage formed through the shell of the
outer cylinder, and which opens into h an annular recess formed in the side of
the internal cylinder, and which communicates by passages, as seen by the
arrows in Figure 1, with the hollow shaft (G), and which escapes through i
latteral openings for allowing the exhaust steam or other fluid to pass into
the annular space of the stationary bearing (H), and from thence into the
exhaust pipe (J); R, a cylindrical faucit through which the tongue-piece (P)
works, and which is actuated and kept in position by eccentrics and rods,
which coencide with the internal eccentric cylinder, which insure the tongue-
piece (P) being at all times in close contact with the surface of the internal
revolving cylinder.
The action of this my improved motive-power engine is as follows:-Steam,
water, or other fluid is admitted through the supply pipe (A), passes into the
annular cavaty (B) in the stationary bearing (C), and through the latteral
openings (e) in the hollow shaft (D), and through latțeral openings throug
the passage (f) into the interior of the external cylinder (E) in the direction
indicated by the arrows, the pressure of which causes the external cylinder to
rotate in one direction and the internal cylinder in the opposite direction, as
indicated by the arrows seen in Figure 2, until the internal cylinder passes]
the exhaust port (g), through which the steam, water, or other fluid escapes,
when the internal piston is again brought into position for the admission of a
fresh supply of steam, water, or other fluid, the contents of the cylinder then
being allowed to escape through the exhaust port. It will be observed that
the fly-wheels K and K rotate in opposite directions, but are connected to
the driving shaft (N) by the connecting rods L and L' in such a manner.

page_text: that they both communicate motion in the same direction to the driving
shaft (N.)
Figure 3, Sheet 2, represents a vertical transverse section of one modifica-
tion of my improved steam boilers; and Figure 4, Sheet 2, is a longitudinal
section of the same.
A and A¹ are two wedge-shaped chambers, which form the longitudinal
sides of my improved boiler, and which enclose B, the stack of longitudinal
pipes, which at each end open into C, water spaces, which are so formed as
to fit within the wedge-shaped sides A and A',) and which are screwed or
rivetted thereto, and communicate therewith by suitable latteral openings;
D, steam pipes, which open into E, an horizontal cylindrical steam cliest,
which is situated in F, the take-up of G, the flue; H, the furnace. The
steam is conveyed from the steam chest (E) through a suitable pipe to the
cylinder of the engine. It will be readily seen that the berein-before
described steam generator will be a convenient form of boiler for marine and
other purposes, as the same may be readily divided into parts which will
admit of their being introduced into positions where a boiler of the ordinary
description could not be placed, and thereby the same may be readily erected
in the hold of a vessel or other confined situation. I may here remark, that
the object I have had by narrowing the take-up by means of the two hollow
wedge-shaped sides of the boiler is for the purpose of exhausting the heat
generated from the from the the furnace as much as possible, on the principle
that when the human lips are nearly closed the breath expelled from the
lungs is cold, whereas when the mouth is open the breath is warm.
Figure 5 (Sheet 3) is a vertical longitudinal section of one of my improved
condensers or refrigerators; and Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section of
the same taken from V to W.
S, external air-tight casing, which is fitted internally with T, a false bottom,
and is divided transversely by U, obligue transverse partitions, into wedge-
shaped chambers, and into the upper part of which opens W, the pipe through
which the vapour is carried into the interior of the chamber, and which,
coming into contact with the oblique partitions, is condensed, and falls down
the sides thereof into the cavaty below the false bottom, and is drawn off
through X, an exhaust pipe. Y, fold water supply pipes; Z, outlets for
condensing water.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my said
Invention, and how I believe the same may be best carried into practical
effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise
details, relative proportions or demensions herein-before described and set

page_text: forth, as it will be readily seen the same may be considerably varied without
departing from the Invention; but what I claim is,―
Firstly, the peculiar arrangement and combination of the parts herein-before
described and set forth, as applied to the construction of motive power engines
to be actuated by steam, water, or other fluid, substantially in the manner and
for the purposes herein-before described and set forth.
Secondly, the peculiar form and construction of steam generators, sub-
stantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described and
set forth.
And, lastly, the peculiar form and mode of constructing condensers or
refrigerators, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before
described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Lane, have hereunto set my hand
and affixed my seal, this Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
JOHN LANE. (L.S.)