CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING CARRIAGES, BOATS, OR VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER PUR- POSES, BY THE POWER OF STEAM
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
WITTY, of Basford, in the Parish of Wolstanton, in the County of Stafford
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Thirteenth day of December, in the first year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, thesaid Richard
Witty, is especial licence that I, the said Richard Witty, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Witty,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING CARRIAGES, BOATS, OR VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER PUR-
POSES, BY THE POWER OF STEAM," within England and Wales and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed; in which Letters Patent there is contained a proviso,
obliging me, the said Richard Witty, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my Inven-
tion aforesaid, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause
the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said recited
Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Witty, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner the same is to be performed. are described and ascertained by the
following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings in the
margin of these Presents, that is to say:-
Instead of applying the power of steam to produce only angular or cir-
cular motion for the purposes of propelling carriages, boats, or vessels in the
usual manner, I construct and arrange the working parts of my steam engine
apparatus so as to divide the expansive or elastic force of steam betwixt the
piston and the end of the cylinder, in such a manner as to convert the reaction
of the steam upon the ends of my cylinders into a projectile force, which force
is employed in propelling the carriage, boat, or vessel forward or in a rectilinear
direction, while at the same time the force of the piston itself is employed in
producing angular or circular motion, being connected to a wheel or wheels
which are thus turned round, and proceed or move in the line of direction
in which the carriage or boat or vessel moves. And in order to attain those
objects I nse two, three, or more cylinders, but I prefer three, laid side by side
in the same horizontal plane, with their ends closed towards the front of the
carriage, boat, or vessel. These cylinders are single stroked, and firmly affixed
to a framework of a carriage, or in a boat or vessel, having their ends which
point towards the front of the carriage, boat, or vessel closed by a flange and
valve box, where the inlets and outlets of the steam are made by the usual
working gear, while the other ends of the said cylinders are open to the
atmosphere, so that each piston alternately receives the full pressure of the
steam on one side only, and the elastic force of the steam is exerted on,
the front or closed ends of the cylinders, and at the same time upon the pistons
which then move in a contrary direction; but the pistons rods, being applied
to produce angular or circular motion, turn a wheel or wheels, which are
staked or affixed to an axle, and move forward in the same direction as the
carriage, boat, or vessel is moving, by the projectile force of the steam, pressing
on the ends of the said cylinders in a rectilinear direction; and for more
readily backing a carriage, boat, or vessel with my apparatus, I fit up one of
the cylinders (the middle one)so as to convert it for a double or single stroke,
at pleasure, by closing the hinder end with a flange and stuffing box, through
which the piston rod works. This cylinder of course is provided with an inlet
and outlet valve at each end, so that by attaching the hinder valves to the
working gear the cylinder is made to work double stroked, and by detaching
them, and shutting off the inlet and opening the outlet, the cylinder again
becomes single stroked, the same as the other two cylinders.
The following is a description of the Drawings in the margin hereof:-
Figure 1 is a plan of the improvements of my steam engine apparatus as

page_text: affixed to a carriage, shewing a sectional view of the cylinders and pistons,
with their rods, connecting rods, &c. The boiler and its appendages are
omitted, but may be supposed to be placed over the said apparatus. A, A,
and B, are three cylinders, with their pistons ",", a, laid side by side in the
same horizontal plane. The ends of these cylinders d, d, d, are placed towards
the front of the said carriage, and are closed by a flange and valve box to
each, which valve box cannot be seen in Figure 1. The two cylinders A, A,
have their opposite ends at c, c, open to the atmosphere, and of course are
thus always single stroked; but the cylinder B has its other end also closed
with a flange and valve box, and the piston of this cylinder works through a
stuffing box at m; this is for more readily backing a carriage, boat, or vessel,
the cylinder B being thus converted to work with a single or double stroke at
pleasure, as before stated. The cylinders A, A, and B, are firmly bolted down
to a framework x, x, x, r. e, c, e, are the piston rods, with their connecting
rods f. f. f, and guides g, g, g, sliding between guide rods h, h,h,h, h, h; C,C, an
axle or shaft on which the hind wheels D, D, of a carriage (or paddle wheels
of a boat or vessel) are staked or fastened. In this axle or shaft are three
cranks i, i, i, being equal distances from each other, and placed at equal angles
in or round the said axle or shaft; and as each piston rod is thus connected
with its respective crank, and these cranks being at equal angles, a motion
nearly equal in the carriage, boat, or vessel will be produced. E, E, are the
fore wheels of a carriage; these wheels turn round upon an axle, like those
of common carriages, and to which axle the usual contrivance for guiding or
turning may be applied, providing sufficient room be left in the construction of
such carriage for the said axle and wheels to twist round in the usual manner.
Figure 2 represents a side view (the same letters refer to the same parts as
Figure 1); D, one of the hind wheels, and E one of the fore wheels, shewing
the relative position of the cranks i, i, i, at equal angles from each other, and
a longitudinal section of one cylinder A, with its piston a; piston rod e, and
connecting rod f, which is connected to one of the cranks . This Figure
shews a section of a valve box K, K, where the inlets and outlets of the
steam to and from the cylinders are made, by the proper openings and shut-
tings, to be alternately performed by the usual gear connected with eccentric
circles or cranks upon the shaft or axle C, C, (Figure 1); and I further
state that a similar valve box, as at K, K, is affixed to or placed upon each
cylinder A, A, and B, at the ends d, d, d, Figure 1, and also another similar
valve box at the opposite end of cylinder B, at m, (Figure 1); the latter
valve box is placed there in order to work the cylinder B with a single or
double stroke, at pleasure, as before stated. I must remark here, that although

page_text: the Drawings shew the application of my improvements to a carriage, yet
when applied to a boat or vessel the only difference is that the front wheels
E, E, are unnecessary, and are therefore omitted or done away entirely; and
instead of the hind wheels D, D, proper paddle wheels of sufficient diameter
are to be staked or affixed firmly on the cranked shaft or axle C, C, (Figure 1)
And it may be necessary for me to distinctly state that I use such valves or
cocks for the purpose of ingress and egress of steam to and from the cylinders
as are commonly used, and the openings and shuttings are performed by
eccentric circles or cranks affixed on the axle or shaft C, C, (Figure 1,) with
rods communicating from such eccentric circles or cranks to thesaid valves or
cocks in the usual mauner. And I do not claim any peculiar form, or shape
or construction of carriage, boat, vessel, or sledge, nor any exclusive method,
of turning them round; nor do I claim any peculiar kind of wheel or paddle,
nor any peculiar construction of boiler, but use the most approved of now in
use, with their usual appendages.
And whereas I do claim as my Invention the combination of the two prin-
ciples, namely, angular and rectilinear motion, as before described, produced
from the power of steam, in giving motion to carriages either on railways or
common roads, and ingiving motion to boatsor vessels, and for other purposes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Witty, have hereunto subscribed
my name and affixed my seal, this Fourth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named Richard Witty (being first duly
stamped), in the presence of
THO WARD, Solicitor,
Newcastle-under-Lyme.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Fourth day of June, in
the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Richard Witty came before our Lord
the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and
all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And also the
Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
in that case made and provided.