IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER OR CONTINUOUS MOTION
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolph Coutinho, late of the Free Town of Hamburg,
in Germany, now residing at Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF OBTAINING MOTIVE
POWER OR CONTINUOUS MOTION."
Sealed the 25th March 1856, and dated the 6th October 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolph Coutinho at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
October 1855.
I, ADOLPH COUTINHO, late of the Free Town of Hamburg, in Germany, now
residing at Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF OBTAINING MOTIVE
POWER OR CONTINUOUS MOTION" to be as follows:-
Instead of causing the crank lever or other prime mover to work in a circle,
I cause it to move in an ellipse, or planetary sphere; and in order to give the
lever the varying length as it moves elliptically, I cause it to slide in a tube or
groove, by which it will accommodate itself to the required length, and by the
aid of toothed wheels I can extend or decrease the elliptical form to any
required dimensions; which improvements will be clearly understood by
reference to the accompanying outline Drawings, in which a represents the
main framing of the machine; b, the beam or lever; c, the connecting rod;
d, the crank or lever; and e, the tube or groove in which it slides.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adolph Coutinho in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th April 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ADOLPH
COUTINHO, late of the Free Town. of Hamburg, in Germany, now residing at
Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting. i
year
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Royal
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Adolph Coutinho, Her special licence that I, the said Adolph Coutinho,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Adolph
Coutinho, 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 MEANS OF
OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER OR CONTINUOUS MOTION," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Adolph Coutinho, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, should particularly 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 Royal Letters, Patent.
NOW KNOW; YE, that I, the said Adolph Coutinho, do hereby declare the
nature of the 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)
•
My Invention relates to an improved mode or, method of obtaining motive
power by encreasing the leverage power, and consists of a prolongation of the
lever, either sideways or transversely to the direction of the acting power, in
which a certain point of the lever moves in the form of an ellipse, which may
constitute a complete, oval motion of any size or length with the assistance of
eccentric, toothed wheels, or by an arrangement of mechanism to cause the
said lever, to, vibrate whilst forming a partial oval motion.. To the opposite
end, of the said lever I attach a connecting rod, which drives a crank in the
ordinary manner; which mechanical arrangement of encreasing, the power of
the leverage can be applied to any kind or description of engines used for
obtaining motive power. *

page_text: The nature of my said improvements will, be clearly understood by reference
!to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which the letters of reference refer
to each Figure separately.. 1
Fig.1'shews a full oval motion; and though I may not generally, adopt the
form of an oval crank, this illustration is sufficient to explain the principle of
*my Invention.
:
In the said Fig. 1, a represents the shaft or centre, upon which is fixed the
lever b; the shaft a moves in a pedestal in the usual manner, on which pedestal
the stationary toothed, wheelic is fixed. To the lever.b.the-stud-d is fastened,
on which the toothed wheels turns, having half the number of teeth of the
stationary wheel'c. To the said wheel e an eccentric wheel ƒ is fastened, both
of which turn on the same' stud d. Corresponding to and working in the
eccentric wheel is another eccentric wheelig, of the same number of teeth,
which is fastened to the shaft h, turning in the lever b.!. On the shaft h is
fastened the crank kits: length depending upon the form of the oval: To the
end. of the crank ik lis-attached the connecting rod'm, shifting the carriage n,
which carries a weight, or has some 'other power attached to it. To prevent
friction, the said carriage runs. on friction rollers' in-grooves, on the lever b.
The principle of my said Invention will be understood by considering a weight,
which it is well known'exerts its power by attraction to the centre of the earth;
so that if a weight of 50 lbs. has to be lifted one foot high in a given time, we
have to employ another 50 lbs. with a small additional 'weight to overcome
the friction, in order to raise that weight in the same time; but if the said
weight has merely to be removed in a horizontal direction,, it will only require
a small force to overcome the friction, which may be reduced to a minimum
amount. The oval, is seen at o'; 0,10³, and o: If I now consider the lever b,
in Fig. 1, in its vertical direction, which would be in a dine, with the short axis
of the oval, seen at o' and of, the carriage n; which may be considered as the
weight, would be in the position o³, which weight, only working on one side of
the lever b, brings the said lever out of the said position, causing it to fall
down, and in its downward course moves, by, the mechanical arrangement of
the concentric and eccentric wheels, with the assistance of the crank, through
the oval line described from oo, and o². In doing so, the weight works from
oto of
upon a lever continually elongating from o to, of, and shortening
from,o too. Now, in forming the oval motion so that its longer axis is
transverse to the direction of the acting power, the weight only moves in the
horizontal line, in which it requires no power at all; but by moving in that said
oval line all the power, w
which is caused by shifting the power upon the longer
lever is gained. This operation may also be performed by steam or any other

page_text: power, no matter in what direction, provided the longer axis of the oval is
maintained transversely to its direct connection. By this means I gain all
the power arising from the aforesaid encreased length of lever, which being
properly equalized and accumulated by an efficient fly wheel, or other means
of regulating power, will materially add to the power of the machine or engine
to which it is applied. It is evident that the lever b can be prolonged to any
reasonable length, and the power gained from the first application can also be
added to a second, and so on. The necessity of the eccentric wheels to cause
the point p to form the oval will be clearly perceived, because if there were no
eccentric wheels the crank k would be fast on the centre d of the concentric
wheel e. By the equal levers of the concentric wheel it would turn, the crank
always with the same velocity, which would be equal with the point p, and
instead of descending below the point of would ascend above it, and fail to form
the oval; but by the assistance of eccentric wheels, and their continual change
of the length of the levers, such as the short lever of the wheel d working in
the longer lever of the wheel g, and driving the latter slowly, and vice versa,
when in opposite positions, the desired oval can be formed; and also by
arranging the eccentric wheels of different proportions from one of its levers
to the other, and in applying two or more of them, any size of oval motion, and
a great variety of other motions, for the purpose of working in the same revo-
lution both slowly and quickly, may be obtained.
Fig. 2 shews another mechanical arrangement in which my said Invention
may be put into practical operation. In this arrangement a vibrating motion
is shewn causing a partially oval motion, which plan I prefer for general
adoption. The power obtained from the beam does not attain a circular
motion until it has passed through the intermediate action of a lever, to one
end of which the partially oval motion has been formed; the other end of the
said lever is connected by a rod to a crank shaft and fly wheel, and connected
with the work to be done, in the usual manner. In this said Fig. 2, a shews
the beam of an ordinary steam engine, and at the end to which the power from
the cylinder is transmitted. The said beam vibrates on its centre 6 on the
frame of the engine c, and its other end at a³ is connected to the rod d, attached
to the lever e, vibrating on its centre f.. The partially oval motion is shewn at
9, 9', and g, being formed as the lever'e vibrates, by means of a toothed wheel
fastened to the said lever e, which wheel works in a toothed quadrant k made
fast to the pedestal. By this arrangement, the partially oval motion may be
formed by only one concentric wheel, without the assistance of eccentric wheels,
as in the former arrangement. The power thus obtained, which is encreased
by the said mechanical arrangement, is transmitted by the other end of the

page_text: lever e and the connecting rod / to the ordinary crank m, which gives motion
to the work to be done in the usual manner. It is quite evident that according
to mechanical laws, the power which in the usual manner would move from
g to g², now caused to move from g to g¹ and g³ upon the prolonged lever e,
cannot perform that operation without having encreased the power, which I
call continuous motion, encreasing the power of the leverage being the principle
of continuous motion. And to make the said encreased power more lasting
or continuous, I use or apply in addition to the said arrangement of mechanism
condensed air by any of the well-known means.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I desire it to bo
distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein
set forth, as such may be varied or modified without departing from the
principle thereof; but I claim as my Invention, and which, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, has not been hitherto used within this realm, the mode
or method of obtaining motive power, by encreasing the power of the leverage,
by moving the power at a certain position of the lever backwards and forwards,
to whatever purpose the said power may be applied, as such motions or
improvements are herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolph Coutinho, have hereunto set my
hand and seal. this Fourth day of April. One thousand eight hundred
ADOLPH COUTINHO. (L.s.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-named
Adolph Coutinho, in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.