matthewleechen/300YearsOfBritishPatents huggingface dataset:
IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ESCAPES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Matthew Power at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his l'etition, on the 25th
November 1863.
I, MATTHEW POWER, of the City of Worcester, Head Constable of City
Police, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invertion for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FIRE-ESCAPES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the employment of a light frame, by preference
of iron, to hang on to the window sill of a house or other building, with
rollers or pulleys and guides attached thereto, and a cage, bag, or other
receptacle depending therefrom, whereby a person or persons may be lowered
to the ground by means of a rope or chain from the house, ground, or
receptacle itself, all as hereafter described. The frame is composed of, by
preference, two bars with struts firmly forged or united to them for resting
against the outside of the wall, with tongues or claws free to slide on the
inner ends of the bars and capable of being adjusted thereto to adapt the
apparatus to any wall, and at the same time, in combination with the struts,
to preserve the horizontal position of the whole frame. The rope or chain
is spliced through a ring stud and is let down through a sheaf block, to which
latter the cage is connected. The rope or chain is then led up over a pulley
and down over a sheaf in a block which is hinged, and at the same time free
to move about a pin or stud on the struts, and in such manner that the block
by means of this double joint is capable of making a compound motion so as
to bring the rope up in one direction and turn it over in the other. By this
means, the rope or chain, without being unshipped from sheaf or pulley, and

page_text: without getting out of position, may be used to regulate the descent of the
cage either from the ground or from the house. When from the ground the
bight of the rope passes over the sheaf, and when from the house, under
the same. There is a guide pulley to prevent the rope when drawn taut
from coming in contact with the window sill, and it at the same time renders
the work of regulating the descent of the cage easier. Friction gear is
sometimes fitted to the frame to check the too quick descent of the cage
through any neglect or slackening of the rope or chain taking place from the
window of the building or from the ground, or even the cage itself. Instead
of the frame being made double, as before described, I sometimes make it of
An
a single bar with a fork at foot to steady it against the building.
apparatus of this description is exceedingly light, and may be with great
facility conveyed to the top window or to the top of any building, and this
may even in some cases be accomplished by throwing a weighted rope to the
window or top of the building and drawing the apparatus up by it.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING PORTMANTEAUS AND TRUNKS OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES, LIGHT, STRONG, AIR-TIGHT, AND WATER-TIGHT CAPABLE OF BEARING IMMERSION IN WATER WITHOUT INJURING THE CON- TENTS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Wilks, Portmanteau Maker, Cheltenham, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING PORTMANTEAUS AND TRUNKS OF
VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES, LIGHT, STRONG, AIR-TIGHT, AND WATER-TIGHT,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Wilks at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd-June
1863.
I, EDWIN WILKS, Portmanteau Maker, Cheltenham, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING PORTMANTEAUS AND
TRUNKS OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES, LIGHT, STRONG, AIR-TIGHT, AND WATER-
TIGHT, CAPABLE OF BEARING IMMERSION IN WATER WITHOUT INJURING THE CON-
TENTS," to be as follows:-
The body, and top and bottom of the portmanteaus and trunks are.made of
two thicknesses of thin wood laid crosswise of the grain between three thick-
nesses of canvas made with hemp or flax, the one thickness of canvas in the
middle, the other two thicknesses of canvas outside folded over the edges,
and cemented together with a waterproof cement made of gum, shellac, and
spirits, in the proportion of one quart of spirits of wine to one pound of gum
shellac, the ends of the portmanteaus and trunks are made of elm half an inch

page_text: thick, with a strip of pine of the same thicknes about five inches wide in the
front, and the back fastened to the elm ends, and forming the framework of
the portmanteaus and trunks, the body, top, and bottom are nailed to the ends
and framework, and cemented to it, and afterwards the whole outside is
covered with waterproof cloth, which is cemented on with a waterproof cement
made of tar, rosin, and gum shellac, 2 lb. of tar, and 1 lb. of gum shellac,
and 4 oz. of rosin melted together. The joint where the portmanteau or trunk
opens is made air-tight and water-tight as follows:-The edges of the wood
frame are hollowed, and an elastic cushion made of india-rubber tubing
fastened at the corners, is cemented on the wood frame at the top and bottom,
and the hinges, lock, and fastenings are so adjusted that when the portmanteau
or trunk is shut, the india-rubber tubes are pressed together tight enough to
entirely exclude air and water, the lock, and hinges, and fastenings, are so
fixed by being only let into the wood frame to about half the thickness of the
wood, that there is no connexion with the inside. The fastenings made
expressly for these air-tight and water-tight portmanteaus and trunks fasten
as follows, those for use by ladies act on the wedge principle by sliding a
handle which brings the edges together to the closeness required, the fasten-
ings for the portmanteaus and trunks to be used by gentlemen are two screws
adjusted by a key to the closeness required to exclude air and water.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF FITTING TOGETHER OR CONNECTING ARTICLES OR PARTS OF ARTICLES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Eli Ironmonger at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th November
1863.
I, ELI IRONMONGER, of No. 1, Friar Gate, Derby, in the County of
Derby, Auctioneer, Upholsterer and Furniture Dealer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF
FITTING TOGETHER OR CONNECTING ARTICLES OR PARTS OF ARTICLES," to be as
follows:-
I fit round or partly round a post, pillar, bar, or support, a ring, band, clip,
or piece, which, to avoid repetition, I herein-after call ring only, and which is
formed with one or more recesses, sockets, mortices, clips, or hollows to
receive an end or part of a rail, bar, board, or other object, or a socket, into
which such rail, bar, or object fits, or a block or piece, to, in, or with which
such rail, bar, or object is fitted, held, or connected; the said end part, block,
or piece being of wedge, dovetail, or other shape to correspond with the shape
of the recess, mortice, or socket in the ring, and fit closely in or upon the
same, which thus acts as a clip or holdfast, and retains firmly the end, wedge,
or object fitted therein or thereon. The socket fitted in the ring may have
one or more other sockets cast or formed thereon. This arrangement may be
applied to connecting parts of bedsteads by fitting the ring loosely or other-
wise round a bed post, one of its recesses receiving a socket holding or
forming one end of a side rail, and another recess receiving a socket holding
one end of the head or foot rail, and having a clip or socket cast on it at one

page_text: side to receive a rail, on which and on similar rails similarly held the laths
are laid, being kept in place by blocks or otherwise, so that they are thus sup-
ported on these rails instead of on the side rails as usual. The side, head, and
foot boards may be held at each end in grooves or recesses formed in clips or
rings fitted to the head or foot posts.
Partitions may be connected by fitting round a post a ring having recesses
holding forked wedges, in which are fitted boards or partitions; and fencing
may be constructed by fitting into a recessed ring wedges, to which chains,
wires, or bars are attached.
Sometimes the clip, socket, or recess may be formed in a piece, which instead
of fitting round a post or support is screwed or let into a post, wall, or other
object; and sometimes instead of or in addition to forming recesses in the
ring, I form or fix thereon projections, pins, or studs, on which I fit the bars,
boards, or other articles to be connected; or there may be projections thereon
taking or fitting into recesses formed in the rail, block, or article to be
connected.
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN KEYLESS WATCHES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Conrad Habicht at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
November 1863. A communication from abroad by Messieurs Frederic
Parrot and Charles Martin, both of Montbéliard, France.
I, JOHN CONRAD HABICHT, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN KEYLESS WATCHES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This arrangement of winder is visible and does not sensibly conceal the
ordinary works of the watch; it also avoids the use of a push piece for setting
the hands.
Through the pendant of the watch case passes an axis, the top of which is
square and is furnished with a milled knob, the other extremity is also square
and fits into the centre of the motive pinion, which is placed in an opening
made in the bridge and plate of the watch; this pinion gears with a double
toothed wheel properly fixed to the bridge of the winding work; this wheel
gears with another fixed on a balance lever placed under the bridge and kept
close against it by means of a spring, this latter wheel gears with a small
intermediate one which again gears with that placed on the square of the main-
spring, and which is provided with a click and spring, and can in consequence
only move one way; if, therefore, the milled knob is turned to the left the
works are wound up, but if turned to the right no effect is produced on
them.
The arrangement for setting the hands is as follows:-The axis of the
motive pinion is provided with a groove in which enters one end of a small

page_text: lever, the other end resting against a rod placed in a notch in the plate and
fixed to the balance lever. Now it follows that if the axis of the motive
pinion be drawn out it must move the small lever and cause it, by means of
the before-mentioned rod, to move the balance lever, and thus cause the wheel
which it carries to gear with a pinion for setting the hands, which may be
turned to the right or left as required.
IMPROVEMENTS IN SUPPLYING AIR, GASES, STEAM, OR FLUIDS TO IRON AND OTHER FURNACES, AND TO ENGINES AND VESSELS REQUIRING SUCH SUPPLY, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Brown Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 31st
January 1863.
I, EDWARD BROWN WILSON, of Parliament Street, in the City of West-
minster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SUPPLYING AIR, GASES, STEAM, OR FLUIDS TO IRON AND OTHER
FURNACES, AND TO ENGINES AND VESSELS REQUIRING SUCH SUPPLY, AND IN THE
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a system or mode of supplying air, gases, steam,
or fluids to iron and other furnaces, and to engines and vessels requiring such
a supply, and to a peculiar construction and arrangement of apparatus to be
employed therein.
According to this Invention it is proposed to effect the supplying of air,
gases, steam, or fluids to furnaces, engines, and vessels of all kinds requiring
such supply by the aid of a steam or air jet, the apparatus employed being
constructed on somewhat similar principles to the instrument known as
"Giffards' injector," Patent No. 1665, 23d July 1858, but is modified in the
manner herein-after described, so as to enable an accumulative pressure to be
obtained.
In the improved apparatus the jet pipe which may be of an annular or
other form is enclosed within an air chamber, which is contracted in front of
the nozzle, and provided if desired with a regulating plug or apparatus, a
branch pipe, which may be in the form of an inverted syphon, or otherwise

page_text: shaped, leads from the side of the air chamber to the air, gas, steam, or fluid to
be injected.
On passing a jet of steam or air through the jet pipe, a supply of air, gas,
steam, or fluid, as the case may be, will be drawn through the syphon or other
branch pipe into the air chamber, and injected thence at an accumulated
pressure by the jet issuing from the jet pipe.
By applying this Invention to the manufacture of iron and steel, the usual
blast engines will be dispensed with, the blast being supplied by a simple jet
of air or steam passing through the jet pipe, which will inject into the furnace
the desired blast of air, steam, or gases in combination or otherwise.
The same apparatus is equally applicable to the ventilation of mines,
houses, and vessels, and to the supplying of motive-power engines, hydraulic
presses, and for other like purposes.
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA- BATUS FOR SAWING WOOD OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Grove at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th.
January 1863.
I, WILLIAM GROVE, of Tenbury, in the County of Worcestershire, do
I hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
BATUS FOR SAWING WOOD OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows (that is to
say) :-
My Invention has reference to the mode of mounting and employing
circular saws for cutting or shaping wood, or otherwise rendering the same
available for the general purpose to which such apparatus is or may be
employed, and consists in arranging the said saws so as to receive motion
direct from the axis upon which the fly wheel is mounted, through the inter-
vention of tooth and pinion, or strap-wheel gear, in such manner as to admit
of being worked by the hands or feet, and regulated or adjusted to the
required speed.
THE APPLICATION OF A FIBRE OBTAINED FROM A CERTAIN PLANT AS A SUBSTITUTE ON TO BE USED WITH SILK, COTTON, FLAX, AND SUCH LIKE MATERIALS, WHICH FIBRE HAS NOT HITHERTO BEEN APPLIED TO ANY OF THOSE PURPOSES, AND FOR CERTAIN METHODS OF PREPARING THE SAME FOR SUCH PURPOSES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Alexander Cooper at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th
January 1863.
I, JOHN ALEXANDER COOPER, of Trowbridge, in the County of Wilts,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "THE
APPLICATION OF A FIBRE OBTAINED FROM A CERTAIN PLANT AS A SUBSTITUTE ON TO
BE USED WITH SILK, COTTON, FLAX, AND SUCH LIKE MATERIALS, WHICH FIBRE HAS
NOT HITHERTO BEEN APPLIED TO ANY OF THOSE PURPOSES, AND FOR CERTAIN METHODS
OF PREPARING THE SAME FOR SUCH PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in using the fibre which is found immediately under
the bark of the plant called the periwinkle, as a substitute for and using the
said fibre in combination with silk, cotton, flax, and such like materials, the
same when properly prepared being capable of being spun into thread and
woven into textile fabrics. The fibre may be separated from the rest of the
plant in the same manner as that used in preparing flax, but a preferable way,
and which is part of my Invention, is to proceed by either of the two following
methods, namely, after removing the leaves the stalks of the plant are placed
in a chamber through which a current of air, heated to a temperature of about
100 degrees of Fahrenheit, is passed, until upon bending the stalk the bark
separates readily. The other method is to subject the stalks, after removing
the leaves, to a current of steam from about five minutes to half an hour,

page_text: depending upon the length of time that the plant has been gathered, and after-
wards drying them in a kiln or by a current of hot air, until the bark separates
easily. Care must be taken that the heat used in drying is not so great as to
render the fibre brittle. After each of these methods the stalks are passed
through a scutching mill and hackled, and afterwards bleached in the ordinary
way.
IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER HANGINGS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Smith and Jabez Booth
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on
the 15th August 1868.
We, ROBERT SMITH, of the Firm of Messieurs Heywood, Higginbottom,
Smith, and Company, of the Hyde Road Paper-staining Works, in the City
of Manchester, and JABEZ BOOTH, of Gorton, near Manchester, aforesaid,
Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER HANGINGS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention is particularly applicable in producing paper hangings in
imitation of marble, but it may be employed for producing imitations of wood
and for other designs. In manufacturing paper hangings to imitate marble it
has heretofore been customary either to print the various colors for the veins
by blocks or rollers, or the colors are applied by hand; in the former case
the outlines are necessarily very harsh and unnatural and in the latter case the
process is slowand expensive.
Now our Invention consists, first, in printing the various colors on the paper
by blocks or by rollers, after which it is dried and wound on a roller in the
usual manner; it is then passed through a machine furnished with two sets of
sun-and-planet brushes revolving in contrary directions, which act on the printed
paper after it has passed through a trough containing any required grounding
color. The action of these revolving brushes on the paper when damp or wet

page_text: softens the outline of the pattern, and produces the most perfect imitation of
the veins in marble.
Our Invention may be modified by first applying the grounding color, then
printing the design or pattern, and afterwards softening when damp, with the
sun-and-planet brushes.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TURNTABLES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Skwarcow at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th May
1863. A communication from abroad by Signore Rombeaux, Chief
Engineer of the Victor Emmanuel Railway, Turin, Italy.
I, ALEXANDER SKWARCOW, of No. 24, Leadenhall Street, in the City of
London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TURNTABLES," which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by Signore Rombeaux, Chief Engineer of the
Victor Emmanuel Railway, Turin, Italy, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, firstly, in bolting or rivetting lengths of railway
bars on the under side of the H iron bearers at the point where the short.
pieces of the bearers butt against or are connected to the long pieces, by which
means the strength of the cross bearers is carried through from one side to the-
other, and the bearers made continuous.
Secondly, in forming the centre spindle, on which the table revolves, of
wrought iron, and of such a form as to allow the horizontal plane of the-table
to be out of the square with the vertical axis of the spindle without bringing
any bending strain on the spindle.
Thirdly, in forming the oil cup or box in the same piece of metal as the
spindle, and in fixing in the centre of the oil cup a steel stud, upon which
rests another steel stud, which is fixed to the wrought-iron cap of the table;

page_text: by this arrangement the surfaces of contact of these two steel studs are always
working in oil.
And, lastly, in connecting the circular rail with the casting of the central
spindle by means of round wrought-iron rods.
IMPROVEMENTS IN DOUBLE MOULDING OR RIDGING PLOUGHS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Mellard at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd June
1863.
I, JAMES MELLARD, of Rugeley, in the County of Staffordshire, Agricultural
Implement Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOUBLE MOULDING OR RIDGING PLOUGHS," to be as
follows:-
These improvements in double moulding or ridging ploughs consist in
arrangements for readily and conveniently adjusting the width between the two
turnfurrows or breasts of the plough. For this purpose a horizontal shaft
works in a central bearing on the plough frame, at right angles to the line of
draught. The two ends of this shaft are formed respectively into right and
left-handed screws, right and left-handed screw nuts to correspond are attached
by jointed links to the inside of the breasts or turnfurrows. Upon motion
being given to the screw shaft by a suitable handle, the two breasts or turn-
furrows of the plough approach to or recede from each other equally, according
to the direction in which the screw shaft is turned; or I employ a single
screw acting upon a traversing nut connected to the two breasts or turn-
furrows of the plough by jointed levers, the angular motion of which causes
the breasts or turnfurrows to approach to or recede from each other equally,
according to the direction in which the screw is turned.
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF PREPARING AND TREATING CODILLA FIBRE' AND 'Tow,' TO RENDER THEM AVAILABLE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTON, OR TO BE MIXED THEREWITH
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Hoefler, at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st August
1863.
I, JOHN HOEFLER, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE METHOD OF PREPARING AND TREATING CODILLA FIBRE' AND 'Tow,' TO
RENDER THEM AVAILABLE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTON, OR TO BE MIXED THEREWITH,"
to be as follows:-
The improvements consist in passing the material through the following
processes, which are similar to those to which some descriptions of cotton are
submitted. The "codilla fibre" or "tow" in a raw or rough state are first to
be submitted to the action of a blowing machine provided with iron beaters,
and with double rows of teeth arranged on a cylinder revolving within a
perforated zinc cylinder, the dirt and dust being exhausted and delivered as in
an ordinary blowing machine, the fibre being delivered outside the machine.
The fibre is fed to the machine by means of an endless "creeper" upon which
it is laid crosswise; by this process the dirt is removed and the long fibres are
broken; it is then to be carded in an ordinary "breaker" carding engine, and
afterwards to be steeped and partially bleached, and then passed through a
pair of squeezing rollers and thoroughly dried. The fibre having been so far
prepared is then to be submitted to the action of an ordinary "finisher " carding
engine, and to be made into laps twelve or fourteen inches diameter in a lap
machine, say two laps (for instance) are then passed through a machine, well

page_text: known and called a "wet drawing frame," behind which a travelling creeper is
attached. The slivers are now to be dried and passed through a "hard cotton
waste willow" by which it is broken up to be again carded; it is then passed
through the blowing machine again and made into laps, and thence to a second
blowing machine, where it is mixed with cotton in variable quantities, say, for
instance, one lap of fibre to two of cotton, after which it is treated like cotton.
I would also remark, that an ordinary "drawing frame" adapted to the length
of "staple of the fibre may be employed instead of the wet drawing frame,
if required..
IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSPORT OF GOODS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSPORT OF GOODS."-A communication from
abroad by Paulin Gay, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, Contractor
for Public Works.
Sealed the 9th October 1863, and dated the 15th April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th April 1863.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 58, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSPORT OF GOODS," to be as
follows:-
The transport of all kinds of goods from storehouses, and the method of
conveying them to or from vessels by the ordinary means is very tedious and
expensive, and the object of this Invention is to remedy this by the employ-
ment of an apparatus which will convey with rapidity in a few minutes large
quantities of merchandize from the stores situate on or near the quay to the
barge, lighter, or vessel, and this with aid of a comparatively small amount of

page_text: power.
The apparatus consists of a carriage or platform which may be con-
structed of iron, and is furnished at the under part with small rollers running
on rails, which extend in all directions throughout the storehouses and wherever
the merchandize is to be conveyed, and especially along quays. These rails
are made portable, and possess the advantage of only occupying the way for a
few minutes until the loading is completed, when they are at once removed
without trouble or expense. These rails consist of a kind of ladder, the cross
bars of which are furnished with iron hooks to prevent the sides from opening,
and so keep the rails at an invariable width apart. The movable platform
will easily carry from one to two hundred tons of merchandize in proportion
to its size, which it moves about in mass with great facility, especially if the
rails be slightly inclined towards the quay. The platform is set in motion by
tackling fixed on board the lighter, while a windlass placed at the back of the
platform, the rope from which is furnished with a book for attachment to the
apparatus, regulates its motion towards the lighter. The platform is returned
to its original position in the store by simply winding the rope round the
barrel of the windlass in the reverse direction.
IMPROVEMENTS IN DINING TABLES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Parsons at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd March
1868.
I, WILLIAM PARSONS, of Earl Street, Edgeware Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN DINING TABLES," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in dining tables consists in the application
of certain apparatus for extending and contracting the framework of such
tables for the purpose of enlarging or reducing their size. I employ for this
purpose a system of cross levers, such as are usually denominated lazytongs,
the one end of such system of levers being connected with the one end of the
table and the other with the other end.
For ordinary or small sized tables I prefer to fix the pivot of the first pair
of cross levers to the table, and to the extreme end of such first pair of levers
apply a nut in which a screw works; this screw is of some eight or ten inches
in length, and rotates in the end frame of the table, where it is held and pre-
vented from moving in the direction of its length by suitable collars. The
screw is turned by a suitable key, and the action on the nut causes the cross
levers to extend or collapse, and with them the table to extend or contract. To
tables with three or more sliding bars in the frame I apply cross bars between
each pair of intermediate bars (sliding bars not fixed to the ends of the table)
and fix an intermediate pivot of the cross lever to each of such cross bars, under
each of which a leg may be disposed. The system of cross levers may be varied
in its arrangement from that above described, so as to produce the effect desired,

page_text: and even two systems of cross bars may be combined and arranged to act
simultaneously, if desired, in one table. The extra flaps are fitted and re-
movable, all as usual.
AN IMPROVEMENT IN GAS BURNERS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Emile Alcan at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th July 1863.
- A communication from abroad by Adolph Bay, Manager of the
Belgian Compressed Gas Company, at Molenbeck, Belgium.
I, EMILE ALCAN, of King Street, in the City of London, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
GAS BURNERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to those burners in which two currents of gas are
made to unite at the top of the burner, and on being lighted form a fan-like
flame. It consists in forming four conduits, and in bringing together four
currents of gas at the top of the burner, whereby an increased light is
obtained from a given quantity of gas, while at the same time the light is
more steady than that obtained by any other burner.
CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Westwood Osborne at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th March 1863.
I, THOMAS WESTWOOD OSBORNE, Lamp Maker, of Ashton New Town, in
the County of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS," to be as follows (that is to say):-
My improvements mainly relate to what may be termed hand lamps, and
thereby subject to violent and sudden motion, such as a policeman's lamp,
who is from necessity frequently compelled to run violently, climb walls, jump
suddenly, and put himself into various positions; and the same applies to
mounted and military police, coast guardsmen, or railway officials; but never-
theless, my improvements are also applicable to stationary or other lamps for
private or public use. And in the construction of such lamps my object is,―
Firstly, to greatly improve the light and so construct the reservoir that the
light shall not be flooded and thereby extinguished with any undulating or
violent motion imparted to the lamp; this I effect by surrounding that part of
the wick holder that dips into the oil reservoir with a perforated or woven
metal or other ring or tube to break the force of the oil in the body of the
lamp when shaken, so that the oil immediately connected with the wick is not
disturbed, and consequently the light is not flooded, and the oil being regu-
larly supplied by capillary attraction, the light is always brilliant.
Secondly, to render its working such as the opening and shutting the door
of such lamp, its attachment to the belt, the removal of the reservoir or

page_text: dressing and replenishing, as well as the removing and fixing the screen and
ventilator, more simple than the mode hitherto adopted, enabling the user to
manipulate his lamp with more facility than such kind of lamps can now be
used, and by providing a lock motion to combine the top and body of the lamp
together, prevent the possibility of a mischievous individual extinguishing the
light by removing the top or ventilator, and thereby exposing the flame.
And in giving effect to these general improvements I have adopted such
means as will render lamps so constructed less liable to be deranged or get
out of repair; and around the burners of table or other lamps subject to be
affected by draughts or currents of air, I admit the air through slots or per-
forations formed in or behind a crankled belt, which prevents the air acting
direct on the flame and yet permitting a free current for supporting com-
bustion, which may be regulated to any extent; and this principle I purpose
applying to hand lamps by putting the crankled screen round the top of the
lamp for the escape of the rarefied air or gas generated in the lamp, yet
preventing any downward current.
IMPROVE- MENTS IN CHAFF-CUTTING MACHINERY
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Lane at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th November
1863.
I, THOMAS LANE, of Cirencester, in the County of Gloucester, Implement
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CHAFF-CUTTING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in certain improvements in machinery for cutting
chaff, whereby greater rapidity and perfection of work are ensured than by the
machines at present in use. I propose to set the knives obliquely between two
driving wheels on a shaft running across the centre and upper part of the
frame of the machine, the extremity of the shaft being provided with a fly
wheel. The knives are attached by means of screws to raised bars across the
periphery of the wheels; the back or thick part of the knives is attached by
means of screws inserted through their upper surface, but the fore part or
thinner edge of the knives is attached by screws passing through the bar and
under the knives in order that the cutting angle of the knives may be regulated
and fixed by such screws. I propose to feed the machine by means of an upper
and under series of toothed rollers, the teeth on which extend the entire length
of the feeding box, which is made so that the upper portion may slide or rise
and fall in order to admit of two different thicknesses or lengths of hay being
fed to the cutters; and the toothed rollers and their driving pinions are also
made of two different sizes, their axles working in slots in the feed box to
admit of their gearing together. The knife plate is fixed to the top of the

page_text: feed box. The machine is driven by a large toothed wheel entering a pinion
on the driving shaft of the cutter wheels and fly wheel, which are supported by
brackets on the frame of the machine. In order to stop the machine instantly
in the event of accident or a foreign substance entering the feed rollers and
without stopping the main driving toothed wheel, I propose to employ a clutch
fixed to the pinion on the driving shaft, and to force the same out of gear by
means of a forked lever reaching to the front of the feed box, whereby the
teeth of the clutch may be disengaged from the driving shaft and vice
versâ.
IMPROVEMENTS IN OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE ARMS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Clark at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th May
1863. A communication from abroad by Célestin Dumonthier, of 29,
Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE ARMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the application of a dagger knife to all kinds of
pistols, and more especially to revolvers. The improvement consists in
making the knife or dagger to form part of the barrel of the pistol, which is
forged with it, and forms the back of the knife. The advantages resulting
from such an arrangement is, 1st, that the knife bayonet or sword being in
one piece with the barrel, is rendered completely rigid; 2ndly, it requires no
change in the method of constructing these pistols. In adapting it to
revolvers with a single barrel, the knife is screwed to the central axis, in front
of the revolving breech, by means of an internal screw, and also encloses the
ramrod. The other parts of the arm are exactly the same as in ordinary. An
extra barrel may also be applied, so as to have one barrel with a knife and
one without. For ordinary pistols the knife handle, so to speak, may be
extended so as to fit into the butt, where it is firmly held by the side plates.
Cutlasses, boarding pikes, and cavalry sabres may also be applied in a similar
manner, either to single pistols or those having several barrels, whether breech
loading or otherwise. The knife or dagger in this case is enclosed in a sheath,

page_text: removable or not, as it impedes the rotating motion of the breech chamber of
revolvers. I sometimes also enclose the blade and barrel of the pistol in a
case, in the interior of which the ramrod is placed and firmly connected
thereto, in this manner it will not be at all in the way, as is the case in
Lefaucheux's pistols. Instead of forming the knife blade and barrel of a
single piece, I may make them separately, and connect them together by
means of screws, rivets, brazing, or by other methods of attachment. I may
also secure the knife blade to the barrel by means of a groove, socket, or tube
placed underneath it, in which the tail end of the knife blade fits. The knife
might then be dismounted at will, and serve as an ordinary dagger. A
handle may also be applied to the knife, having a similar fitting to that of the
barrel.
AN IMPROVED METHOD OR PROCESS FOR OBTAINING PATTERNS AND DESIGNS FOR THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Francis Boult at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd June
1863. A communication from abroad by Thomas James Hussey, Clerk,
residing at Algiers, in Africa.
I, FRANCIS BOULT, of Liverpool, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OR PROCESS FOR OBTAINING
PATTERNS AND DESIGNS FOR THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES," to be as follows:-
When
I form a set of crystals upon a piece of smooth clear polished glass or other
suitable substance, and by means of a good microscope I examine the crystals
on the glass or on a suitable screen, and I copy or register the same with the
effects shewn in light and shade by hand or by photographic process.
I wish to cause the crystals to exhibit colors I interpose a polariscope, or
other such optical apparatus, and move the same in one or other direction, or
alternately, so as to obtain suitable colors and shades of color, or to blend the
Sometimes I obtain excellent patterns from scratching the surface of
a piece of glass so as to develope its crystals. Many bodies may be employed,
sometimes I employ such as do and sometimes such as do not contain either
acid or alkaline matter, and I avail myself of the results of or from such
solutions or mixtures of fluid substances as may have been caused to pass to or
are passing to the solid state by arranging their particles so as to form patterns,
whatever be the basis of the crystal, or the forms and colors belonging to the
different crystals or systems, and whether the crystals be formed or deposited
upon glass or other materials. Sometimes I use glass transparent, or semi-
transparent, sometimes I use opaque bodies whereon to form the crystals.

page_text: Archetypes or patterns obtained by this process or method are suitable for
ornamenting papers, metals, leather, textile or other fabrics.
I claim the use of the microscope for such process, whatever be its arrange-
ment when used in conjunction with the polariscope for such process, or when
used in conjunction with photographic apparatus for such process for obtaining
the above described crystallograph patterns or archetypes.
IMPROVED PREPARATIONS OR COMPOSITIONS FOR COATING AND COLOURING THE WALLS, CEILINGS, AND OTHER PARTS OF BUILDINGS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Hope Massey at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
February 1863.
I, EDWARD HOPE MASSEY, of 15, Pine Grove, Crown Street, Liverpool, in
the County of Lancaster, Painter, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED PREPARATIONS OR COMPOSITIONS FOR COATING AND
COLOURING THE WALLS, CEILINGS, AND OTHER PARTS OF BUILDINGS," to be as
follows:-
In the preparation or composition for coating or whitening the inside parts
of buildings, of whatever description, there are a number of substances or
articles employed, and although the use of such substances or articles in
combination is of my Invention, I prefer to employ them in the following
proportions:-Of whiting, well ground and sifted, 3 lbs. ; of gum arabic, lb. ; of
starch, lb.; of flour, lb.; of alum, ground, 2 ounces; of chloride of lime,
ounce. These substances are well mixed together in a dry state, and in
preparing the composition for use cold water is added in sufficient quantity to
form a stiff paste, and then boiling water is added to reduce the mass to a
proper consistency. For coating or whitening the outside parts of buildings
linseed oil is added to the materials described herein as suitable for coating or
whitening the inside parts of buildings.
In the preparation or composition for colouring the inside parts of buildings
of whatever description, I add colouring matter of the desired shade to the

page_text: materials of the coating or whitening preparation or composition first herein
described, and, as in the coating or whitening process, linseed oil is added if
the colouring is for outside work.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OP ZINC, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Healey at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th March
1863.
I, SAMUEL HEALEY, of Elizabeth Street, Hackney Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OP ZINC, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in constructing the furnaces employed in the melting
and annealing of zinc in close proximity to each other, so that the process of
annealing may be effected by means of the waste heat escaping from the
melting furnace. The melting furnace is constructed on the reverberatory
principle, and is so arranged that the contents when melted may be tapped or
drawn off into moulds, which moulds are carried along under tho tap hole to
receive the desired quantity of metal, and then they travel on to what aro
known as the breaking down rollers. The moulds are so constructed by being
mounted on centres or rockers, or equivalent appliances, that so soon as they
have received the required quantity of metal from the furnace, they will tilt
or balance, and thereby indicate that the requisite or desired amount of metal
has been received. The breaking down, moulding, and finishing are performed
by rolling both ways and gradually decreasing the space in such a manner as
not to harden or split the metal.
IMPROVE- MENTS IN ROTATORY ENGINES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the. Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ROTATORY ENGINES."-A communication from abroad by Wilhelm
Heinrich Christian Voss, of Berlin, in the Kingdom of Prussia, Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th April 1868.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTATORY ENGINES," a communication from abroad by
Wilhelm Heinrich Christian Voss, of Berlin, in the Kingdom of Prussia,
Engineer, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the general arrangement of that class of rotatory
engines wherein two discs set at an angle opposite to each other are rotated
by the direct action of cylinders and pistons upon their inner faces, and
consists, according to one arrangement, in connecting the centres of the two
inclined discs by a shaft and universal or ball joints, whereby the discs will
work in concert without the intervention of toothed gearing upon their
peripheries working in corresponding toothed wheels on a second motion shaft,

page_text: which arrangement may be used if desired; but when employed, it is requisite
in order to obtain the best action of the gearing that the angle of the teeth be
not less than 36°, nor more than 45°. By coupling the discs in the centre in
the manner above described, the machine is greatly simplified, as the gearing
and second motion shaft are dispensed with, and the driving pulley is fitted
direct on to one of the shafts of the two discs. The other shaft is made to
actuate a governor or speed regulator. It is further proposed to make these
engines double-acting as well as single acting, by making the steam ports in
both the discs, and providing each disc with a stationary slide valve, against
the face of which the disc revolves. These valves are divided into three
compartments by three radial partitions; one of these compartments serves as
the steam inlet, another for the exhaust, and the third for the expansion or
cut off. The amount of expansion depends on the contents of the expansion
chamber, and may be thus altered at pleasure without any special gear. The
cylinders and piston rods in the double-acting engines are both connected to
the discs by ball joints having steam ways through them in communication
successively with the several radial steam passages in the discs themselves, and
in some cases the engines are to be constructed as condensing engines, being
provided for that purpose with condenser, air pump, cold water pump, and
feed pump.
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CURING SMOKY CHIMNIES AND PREVENTING DOWN DRAUGHTS THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Jasper Capper at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd December
1863.
I, JASPER CAPPER, of Waterloo, near Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Accountant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR CURING SMOKY CHIMNIES AND PREVENTING DOWN DRAUGHTS
THEREIN," to be as follows:-
My improved apparatus, which can be applied or fitted to the upper part of
the chimnies of dwelling-houses and other buildings, and to chimney pots or
tops now in use, or made part of the upper internal portions of chimnies and
chimney pots or tops in their construction, consists of perforated sheets, plates,
or thicknesses of iron, zinc, terra cotta, or other suitable material so placed
or arranged that a chimney at the top thereof, or a chimney pot or top, shall
be divided internally into two or more passages or spaces. The said perforated
sheets can conveniently be fitted in metal to a chimney pot or top of the
ordinary construction, with air openings in the side, and at the present time I
prefer dividing the said pot or top in its length by perforated sheets crossing
each other at right angles in the middle of the said pot or top, thus making
four passages in or at the top of a chimney or chimney pot or top where
formerly there was but one passage. By this apparatus, the area of the
apertures being rather more than one half of the area of the whole sheets or
plates, I have found that smoke has free exit in all states of the weather, and
that down draughts are unobservable.