IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE- POWER ENGINES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Prince, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE-
POWER ENGINES."
Sealed the 18th January 1867, and dated the 25th July 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Prince at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th July
1866.
I, HENRY PRINCE, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES," to be as follows:-
In a vessel or tank I fix standards having bearings, in which is fitted a
shaft carrying a wheel composed of two sides at any required distance apart.
Each side consists of a boss, a rim, and any suitable even number of radial or
diagonal arms or spokes, the opposite arms of each side being connected
together by transverse rods or tie bars. To the transverse rods of each pair of
arms I connect an air bag carrying a weight, and each air bag has a screw
valve for enabling the bags to be supplied with air. The air bags at one side
of the shaft communicate with those on the other side by means of tubes

page_text: without valves, that is, one air bag communicates freely with the one air bag
opposite to it, but not with any other air bag. When all the air bags are
empty and closed the wheel is equally balanced, as all the weights are equal,
and for enabling the wheel to be set in motion it is only necessary to let half
the bags be filled with air, and supply the tank with water to nearly the top
of the wheel. For example, let us suppose there are twelve air bags, six
filled with air and the other six closed and empty, and that the air bags com-
municate with each other in pairs, so that the air may pass from one air bag
to another as they successively pass the perpendicular. If the six right-hand
air bags are filled with air, and the weights on that side below, the other six
air bags will be closed and the weights on the top, the wheel will revolve
because of the water lifting or floating the full air bags on the right-hand side,
whereas the air bags on the left-hand side of the wheel having their weights
on the top are always empty, and have no lifting power whilst they are on
that side. When the wheel revolves, and the top air bag has passed the
perpendicular, the weight instead of being underneath is at the top, and at
once compresses the top bag and drives the air through the tube into the
lower opposite bag, the weight of which has changed from the top to the under-
neath; and the weight assists in expanding the bag for readily receiving the
air from the top bag, and thus the lower bag will at once become a rising
power and rise in the water, thereby assisting in causing the wheel to
revolve. The next full air bag at the top and empty air bag at the bottom
pass the perpendicular, and the operations of emptying and filling are
repeated, and so on with each pair of bags in rotation continuously, each air
bag as it fills being lifted or raised by the water; and as there are always five
full bags on the right-hand, side and five empty ones on the left-hand side
the wheel is caused to revolve with power, and thereby enable the shaft to
which the wheel is fixed to become a driver. When desired I employ
hydrogen gas instead of atmospheric air, and thus obtain an increase of
power.
In another arrangement, instead of connecting one air bag to the transverse
rods of each pair of arms, I connect two air bags to the said rods, one at each
side, and fix the weight to the top of one air bag and to the bottom of the
other, so that the weight when closing the bottom air bag shall open the
upper one, which arrangement enables the wheel to turn without water.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
'by the said Henry Prince in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
January 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
PRINCE, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send.
greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Prince, Her special license that I, the said Henry Prince, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the. said. Henry
Prince, 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 MOTIVE-POWER
ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Prince,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or.
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-,
tain 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 Henry Prince, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Figures on the accompanying
two Sheets of Drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon (that
is to say)
Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet 1, are longitudinal and transverse sections of one
arrangement of my improved motive-power engines; and Fig. 3, Sheet 2, a
longitudinal section of a modification of the same.
In a vessel or tank a, Figs. 1 and 2, there are bearings b, in which is fitted.
a shaft c carrying a wheel composed of two sides at any required distance.
apart. Each side consists of a boss e, a rim f, and any suitable even number
of radial or diagonal arms or spokes g, the opposite arms of each side being.
connected together by transverse rods or tie bars h. To the transverse rods of
:

page_text: each pair of arms I connect an air bag k carrying a weight l, and each air
bag has a screw valve m for enabling the bags to be supplied with air. The
air bags at one side of the shaft communicate with those on the other side by
means of tubes n without valves, that is, one air bag communicates freely
with the one air bag opposite to it, but not with any other air bag. When
all the air bags are empty and closed the wheel is equally balanced, as all the
weights are equal; and for enabling the wheel to be set in motion it is only
necessary to let half the bags be filled with air, and supply the tank with
water to nearly the top of the wheel. For example, let us suppose there are
twelve air bags, six filled with air and the other six closed and empty, and
that the air bags communicate with each other in pairs, so that the air inay
pass from one air bag to another as they successively pass the perpendicular.
If the six right-hand air bags are filled with air, and the weights on that side
below, the other six air bags will be closed and the weights on the top, the
wheel will then revolve because of the water lifting or floating the full air
bags on the right-hand side, whereas the air bags on the left-hand side of the
wheel having their weights on the top are always empty, and have no lifting
power whilst they are on that side. When the wheel revolves, and the top
air bag has passed the perpendicular, the weight instead of being underneath
is at the top, and at once compresses the top bag, and drives the air through
the tube into the lower opposite bag, the weight of which has changed from
the top to the underneath, and the weight assists in expanding the bag for
readily receiving the air from the top bag, and thus the lower bag will at once
become a rising power and rise in the water, thereby assisting in causing the
wheel to revolve. The next full air bag at the top and empty air bag at the
bottom pass the perpendicular, and the operations of emptying and filling are
repeated, and so on with each pair of bags in rotation continuously, each
air bag as it fills being lifted or raised by the water, and as there are always
five full bags on the right-hand side and five empty ones on the left-hand side
the wheel is caused to revolve with power, and thereby enable the shaft to
which the wheel is fixed to become a driver. When desired I employ
. hydrogen gas instead of atmospheric air, and thus obtain increase of power.
In another arrangement, 'shewn in Fig. 8, instead of connecting one air bag
to the transverse rods of each pair of arms, I connect two air bags o to the
spokes p, one at each side, and fix the weight q to the top of one air bag and
to the bottom of the other, so that the weight when closing the bottom air bag
shall open the upper one, which arrangement enables the wheel to turn without
water by the addition of two air bag reservoir cylinders r; the air discharged
from the said bags is sent into the cylinders alternately, and the said air bags

page_text: recover air from the common atmosphere. The cylinders are connected with
beams s which work a crank t (as they fill and empty themselves alternately),
and the said cranks are connected with the said wheel, and which thereby
cause it to revolve. The crank works on a cam which shifts the air tube
which communicates with the cylinder by means of slide valves u.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood
that I claim the improvements in motive-power engines, as herein described
and illustrated in the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Prince, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
HENRY PRINCE. (L.B.)