IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATING MINES AND TUNNELS."
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Lamb Scott, of Manchester, in the County.
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
VENTILATING MINES AND TUNNELS."
'
Sealed the 3rd April 1872, and dated the 5th October 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Lamb Scott at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th October 1871.
I, GEORGE LAMB SCOTT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,.
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATING MINES AND TUNNELS," to be as follows :—
My Invention consists in ventilating mines and tunnels by inducing
a draft through the agency of steam.
For this purpose I place a steam boiler towards the upper end of the
up-cast shaft and to extend a pipe therefrom to the interior of the said

page_text: '
shaft, such pipe being provided with a jet or jets through which the
steam issues; by these means a draft is established which causes a
circulation of air and effects the desired ventilation. If it be required to
close the up-cast shaft for winding or other purpose I take a branch
pipe from the shaft and to place the steam apparatus therein. In the 5
case of tunnels, shafts may be adapted for the purpose of my Invention
if they do not already exist, or the steam may act horizontally.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Lamb Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th April 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
LAMB SCOTT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
send greeting.
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1
WHEREAS Hor most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of 1
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George Lamb Scott, Her 'special license
that I, the said George Lamb Scott, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I; the said George Lamb Scott, 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 VENTILATING:
MINES AND TUNNELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
George George Lamb Scott, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and scal, should 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.
•
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Lamb Scott, do hereby

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (and accompanying Drawings) that is to
say) :-
My Invention consists in ventilating mines and tunnels by discharged
· steam ejected from apparatus placed towards the upper end or outlet of
the shaft.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents in section the up-
cast shaft of a mine with my improvements adapted. The shaft is
shewn at a, the top thereof being at b, and at c is a steam boiler of any
▸ ordinary construction, from which there extends a steam piped which
passes a short distance into the shaft and is there joined to an annular
pipe e supported in the shaft by suitable brackets and provided around
its circumference with a number of jets f. Steam having been admitted
to the pipe d' it issues through the jets f, and by carrying with it the air
above tends to cause a partial vacuum which is filled by air passing
from the mine and upward through the shaft and thus a ventilating
current is established.
Fig. 2 represents in section an arrangement I adopt when it is desired
to wind through the up-cast shaft as is sometimes the case, under which
circumstances it might be considered that the pipe e was an obstruction.
At a is the shaft, proceeding from the upper part of which is a trunk or
pipe g within which are the annular pipe e and jets f, and from which
there extends the pipe d leading from the boiler c. The action in this
case is the same as that already described, the inward part of the trunk
a pipe g being exhausted by the steam jets and drawing air from the
up-cast shaft. In order however to get the best effect it is necessary to
keep the mouth of the shaft closed so that the steam jets may not draw
air from the external atmosphere. I therefore apply a door h to the top
thereof, which door is lifted off by the ascent of the cage, which subse-
quently itself closes the orifice; this plan is however, as is well known,
now adopted in cases of ventilating by fans, and the said door may be
mounted after the manner of any of those known arrangements.
In some cases it is the custom to use one shaft only, divided so as to
convert it into and up and down cast. My Invention under such
circumstances will be applied as above described, excepting that the
pipe e will conform to the shape of the half of the shaft to which it is
applied. The quantity of air drawn will of course depend upon the

page_text: pressure of steam and number and size of the jets employed, and these
particulars will easily be attained by experience, the jets being capablo
of removal and substitution by screwing or similar means.
In applying my Invention to tunnels, ventilating shafts, if they do
not already exist, may be adapted expressly therefor and the steam jets
applied as above described. Or the said jets may be adapted so as to
cause the steam to issue horizontally a short distance within the end of
the tunnel and towards the said end. I am aware that it has before
been proposed to ventilate mines by the use of steam, but in such cases
the said steam has been applied at the bottom of the shaft, an arrange-
ment which was not found to answer for the reason that the whole
column of air in the shaft had to be forced upward, but according to my
Invention the said air is drawn upward to fill tho vacuum caused by the
displacement of a small quantity of air at the upper end of the shaft.
It therefore follows that the best effect is produced when the jets are 1
placed as high up as possible without being situate above the mouth of
the shaft, but it will be evident that they may be somewhat lowered
without interfering very much with the effect.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I a
desire it to be understood that I claim as secured to me under the above
in part recited Letters Patent and for the purpose above set forth, the
use of a jet or jets of steam applied to the upper ends of ventilating
shafts of mines and tunnels, and in the case of tunnels placing the said
jet or jets so as to act horizontally in the tunnel itself.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Lamb Scott, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.