IMPROVEMENTS IN PNEUMATIC AND HYDRAULIC WHEELS AND FANS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William England, of Dudley, in the County of
Worcester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PNEUMATIC
AND HYDRAULIC WHEELS AND FANS."
Sealed the 7th November 1854, and dated the 22nd May 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William England at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
May 1854.
I, WILLIAM ENGLAND, of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PNEUMATIC AND HYDRAULIC WHEELS AND FANS" to be as follows, that is to
say:
The Invention consists in a form of apparatus to be employed ceither as
fans for pneumatic or wheels for hydraulic purposes, and is of such a nature
that the back passage of the fluid is avoided. It consists in substituting a
bent axle in the place of the straight one now in use for fans, (used in blowing
blast furnaces and other similar purposes,) which is encased in a double drum,
the external drum being fixed and secured to framework. The inner one is
hung upon the extreme ends of the bent axle, the leaves of the fan being
mounted on the centre; these are made to pass through slots or grooves in
the inner drum, and, being radial with the outer one, work in the space
between the inner and outer drums. This inner drum, revolving with the
leaves of the fan, but in an eccentric direction, it follows, that one portion of

page_text: the periphery of the inner drum is constantly in contact with the inner cir-
cumference of the outer drum; consequently, escape of fluid by back passage
is obviated. The samo principle of construction and form of apparatus,
somewhat extended, will apply to wheels for hydraulic purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William England in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st November 1854.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ENGLAND, of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing dato the Twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William England, Her special licence that I, the said William England,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William England, any executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
PNEUMATIC AND HYDRAULIC WHEELS AND FANE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William England, 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 Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William England,, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists of improvements in the construction of wheels or
fans for pneumatic and hydraulic purposes, the fans being of the description
applicable to blast furnaces, and the wheels being for the purpose of acting as
marine propellers, and other similar purposes, the principle in both being
identical, that by means of my improved construction of apparatus a uniform

page_text: whole column of water presented to the fans or paddles.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus intended for the use of
blast furnaces, shewing also in dotted lines a cross section of the interior.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same.
It will be seen, on reference to these Drawings, that the apparatus consists
of two drums or cylinders A and B, the inner one (B) being hung upon
the arms of a bent axle (C), which passes through the outer drum (A),
(which is stationary), and is carried by the bearers (D, D), between which,
as at D', is mounted a driving pulley; or, if preferred, toothed wheel
gearing may be employed in lieu thereof. Upon the centro of the bent
axle (C) the fans or paddles (E) are secured, passing through slots cut
in the periphery of the inner drum, and almost touching the inner circum-
ference of tho outer drum. The inner cylinder I prefer to make about five-
sixths of the diameter of the larger or outer cylinder, and I fix it in such
position, that wlien it revolves on the arms of the bent axle (C) it shall at all
times touch or nearly touch the inner periphery of the larger cylinder at one
fixed point, and at an angle of about forty-five degrees, thus leaving a space
between the cylinders at the widest point of about one-sixth the entire dia-
meter. This is effected by mounting this inner cylinder and causing it to
revolve upon the arms or crank ends of the fixed bent axle (C); the other, or
centre portion of this axle, which works eccentrically inside the inner drum
or cylinder, and upon which the fans or paddles are mounted, maintaining a
position exactly central in the larger cylinder. (F) is an aperture left in the
front of the outer cylinder for the admission of air, and is in extent about
one-fourth of the circle towards the upper portion, and corresponding to tho
space left between the outer and inner cylinders; the other parts of the
cylinders being so constructed that the working of the fans or paddles pro-
duces a result similar to that which would arise from a number of pistons
following each other in regular succession through a cylinder, each passing
out at the bottom simultaneously with another entering at the top. The fans
or paddles are constructed so as not quite to touch the inner periphery of the
outer cylinder, the space being filled up by some suitable lubricating matter,
which will be quite sufficient to prevent any considerable loss, and which will
also avoid friction that would be produced by immediate contact. Thus, the
rotary action of the inner cylinder with its fans, carrying forward a regular

page_text: column of air, and delivering it at a point near to the point at which the
inner and outer cylinders almost touch, maintains a uniform current of air
without producing even a partial vacuum. In the application of this appa-
ratus as a propeller driven by steam, and for other similar hydraulic purposes,
some slight modification is rendered necessary to admit of the ingress and
egress of the water being in a direct horizontal line; I therefore fix the
inner cylinder so that it shall impinge or nearly so upon the upper part of the
inner periphery of the larger cylinder in a direct vertical line, thus leaving
the greatest breadth of space between the two cylinders exactly in the centre
and at the lowest point. The same rule being observed with regard to the
apertures for the ingress and egress of the water, that has been before
described with respect to the pneumatic apparatus, it follows, that each fan
or paddle of the wheel has a direct action upon the whole column of water
presented to it. The most complete and uniform action is also secured from
the submerged position in which this description of wheel is capable of being
placed, loss of power being effectually obviated.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise form or details herein described, so long as
the main features of my Invention be retained; but I claim the improve-
ments in the construction of wheels and fans for pneumatic and hydraulic
purposes, by which I am, enabled to economize power, and avoid a vacuum
or any mere modification involving the same combination of mechanical parts,
as herein fully set forth and specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William England, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
WILLIAM (L.8.) ENGLAND.