A METHOD OF AND AN APPARATUS FOR GENERATING STEAM AND VARIOUS GASSES TO PRODUCE MOTIVE POWER, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1828

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
HALL, of Basford, in the County of Nottingham, Cotton Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirty-first day of May, in the ninth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Hall, His especial licence that I, the said Samuel Hall, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Hall, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, 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, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and also within all
His said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "A
METHOD OF AND AN APPARATUS FOR GENERATING STEAM AND VARIOUS GASSES TO
PRODUCE MOTIVE POWER, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Samuel Hall, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His said 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Hall, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, is described and ascertained
as follows, that is to say:
The nature of my said Invention consists in the combustion of coal, wood,
or other suitable materials in an artificial atmosphere greatly superior in
density, pressure, and elasticity to the natural atmosphere surrounding the
carth, for the purpose of generating steam.and various gasses to produce motive
power, and for other useful purposes, by which means fuel is economized. I
will, firstly, explain my method of putting it in practice, and then describe my
apparatus for, that purpose.
My method of generating steam and various gasses is by creating within a
part of the apparatus an artificial atmosphere, of much greater elasticity and
density than the atmosphere surrounding the earth, in which artificial atmo-
sphere, which should be of at least double the density of the common atmosphere,
the combustion of fuel is made to take place for the purposes mentioned in my
Patent.
The fire so subjected to the action of the artificial atmosphere is to be sur-
rounded by water, contained in an arrangement of cylindrical channels which I
call water tubes; they are cast or formed in the sides of the cylinder or vessel
containing such fire, and a portion of the steam generated by the fire is to be
caused to pass through such fire to carry away the heat as it is generated, and
prevent its becoming so intense as rapidly to destroy such cylinder or vessel,
or produce the great quantity of scoria or slagg, which is formed by steam
engine fires in general. The gasses thus generated by the combustion of the
fuel are, as well as the steam which is also generated thereby, to be applied in
the following manner to produce motive power:-The steam and gasses in their
condensed state are to be made to act upon a piston working within a cylinder,
and they are to be allowed to escape into the atmosphere after having acted
upon the piston in the manner practised with high pressure steam engines.
And now, in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Samuel
Hall, shall proceed to explain the manner in which my said Invention is to be
performed by the following description thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon; but before
so doing, I shall give a general description of the vessels which form the
principal parts of my apparatus; namely, one which I call the atmospheric
cylinder; another, which I call the generator; another, which I call the reser-
voir; and another, which I call the working cylinder. (There may be any
number of generators, according to the power of the engine, but it is only

page_text: necessary to describe one, as they are all alike, but there ought never to he
fewer than two generators.) There is a piston to work in the atmospheric
cylinder, as well as another to work in the working cylinder. The general
description I am about to give will be best understood by reperusing it, after
having carefully examined the Drawings and the explanations thereof. The
atmospheric cylinder is of a proportionably less internal capacity than the
working cylinder, according to circumstances, videlicet, the power of the engine
and the degree of pressure of the artificial atmosphere. The engine described
by this Specification has an atmospheric cylinder, whose internal diameter is
fifteen inches and a half, the piston making a sixteen-inch stroke; and a
working cylinder, sixteen inches internal diameter, with the piston making a
twenty-four inch stroke. The atmospheric cylinder is furnished with a bettom
and cover, to each of which is attached a branch pipe. In the cover are fixed
two valves, and two similar ones are fixed in the bottom; one of those in the
cover opens inwards, and admits the atmospheric air into the cylinder; the other
opens outwards into the pipe attached to the cover, through which the air is
expelled and forced through other pipes into the generator, (which is a cylindrical
vessel with a fire-place in the centre, and two sets of cylindrical channels sur-
rounding it; one set to contain water, and another set for the passage of the
gasses from the fire in commixture with steam;) and precisely the same operation
takes place with the valves fixed in the bottom of the cylinder. The two
branches attached to the cover and bottom are united together by flanches, and
connect with the other pipes to convey the air to the generator, and pass it
through the fire contained therein, and then through a system of cylindrical
channels, which, for the sake of distinction, I call gas tubes, similar to the water
tubes already mentioned, between which they are arranged intermediately
and alternately, anil, like them, surround the fire, being cast or found in the
sides of the generator. When the various gasses and steam have passed through
the whole of this system of gas tubes, they are conveyed by pipes leading to and
connecting with the reservoir, which is a cylindrical vessel with a hemispherical
bottom, and with a cover fixed to the top, and from thence by other pipes to the
working cylinder, which is similar to the cylinder of a high-pressure steam
engine, to act alternately upon and underneath the piston contained therein, in
a similar manner to the action of steam upon the piston of a common high-
pressure steam engine. The generator and reservoir, as well as the pipes which
connect the four vessels together, contain the artificial atmosphere of which I
have spoken, which may be produced of any density and elasticity which the
strength of the materials forming those vessels and pipes is capable of bearing
with perfect safety. The supply of steam and gasses to the working cylinder

page_text: must be so regulated as not to allow the artificial atmosphere to be lowered.
This is to be done by cutting off such supply at a proper point of the stroke of
the piston by any of the usual methods practised by engineers, so that the
gasses and steam may act by expanding during the remainder of its stroke, and
any superabundant steam may be allowed to escape by a valve into the atmo-
sphere. In order to illustrate the mode of first producing and then maintaining
an artificial atmosphere of any required density and elasticity within the gene-
rator and reservoir and connecting pipes, I must suppose those parts of the
apparatus to be filled with air of the density of the atmosphere, and that by
forcing air into them by an air-pump, or by any other suitable means, the inter-
nal pressure is brought up to the required point, which, for example, we will
suppose to be one hundred and fifty pounds on the square inch, and we will
suppose that air of the atmosphere condensed into a tenth part of its volume is
of a density equal to one hundred and fifty pounds upon the square inch. Now,
supposing the atmospheric cylinder to be ten times the internal capacity of the
working cylinder, and that the two pistons are put in motion by some extrane-
ous power, every stroke of the atmospheric piston will cause the air contained in
the cylinder in which it works to pass into the generator and reservoir and con-
necting pipes, where it is compressed into one-tenth part of its original volume.
When, therefore, it has passed through those vessels and pipes, the same quantity
escapes by the working cylinder at each stroke that is introduced by the atmo-
spheric cylinder at each stroke; therefore the intermediate artificial atmosphere
within the generator and reservoir and pipes will always be kept up to its
pressure of one hundred and fifty pounds upon the square inch; or in case the
working cylinder be of the same internal capacity as the atmospheric cylinder,
the supply of air to the working cylinder from the generator and reservoir
must be cut off by a valve or otherwise when the piston has made one-tenth
part of its stroke, so that the atmospheric air compressed into one-tenth part
of its bulk, which is so introduced into the working cylinder at each stroke of
the piston, is allowed to expand during the remaining nine-tenths of the stroke
thereof to its original volume. This calculation, which is merely for the pur-
pose of illustration, is made upon the supposition that no loss takes place from
the imperfections of pistons and other parts of machinery, nor from the heat pro-
duced and lost by condensation; but as both of these effects will, of necessity,
take place, an allowance in practice must be made for them. It may be proper
to mention here, that if in the above mode of illustration the working cylinder
were of greater internal capacity than one-tenth of that of the atmospheric
cylinder, and the supply of air were not cut off, the equilibrium between the
natural and artificial atmospheres would soon be restored, by the latter being

page_text: reduced to the same density as the former. It is evident, then, that the capacity
of the working cylinder must be of a proper relative proportion to that of the
atmospheric cylinder. I use an atmospheric cylinder and a working cylinder
of the dimensions already mentioned, with one hundred and fifty pounds pressure
upon the square inch. It is obvious, that in the above illustration, where no fire
is applied nor steam produced, the relative sizes of the atmospheric cylinder
and working cylinder pointed out must be proper; but when heat is applied and
steam produced to pass along with the heated gasses into the working cylinder,
the relative proportions of the capacities of the two vessels must be very
different, as above stated.
Having given the general description or summary account of the principal
parts of my apparatus, as mentioned in an early part of this Specification, I
now proceed to give a particular description and detailed account of the more
minute parts of my apparatus by referring to the annexed Drawings. In order
to do this, I shall, firstly, describe all the parts of the atmospheric cylinder;
secondly, all the parts of the generator; thirdly, all the parts of the reservoir;
fourthly, all the parts of the working cylinder, and then proceed to shew how
they are all connected together, and in what manner they act to produce the
effects I have described; similar letters and numerals being used to denote
similar parts of the apparatus in all the Figures, whether in the plan, the
elevation, or the section thereof, some parts of the apparatus being shewn in
one Figure only, and some in another, while others are shewn in several
Figures.
Firstly, the atmospheric cylinder A, Figures 1 and 2, is composed of a
cylinder H, with flanches at the top and bottom, to which are attached by screw
bolts a cover and a bottom J, the latter having four ears or projections g, g,
9, 9, to support the whole vessel by four pillars L, L, &c. placed underneath.
One of the pipes Z, Z, branches from the cover, and the other from the bottom
of the atmospheric cylinder; both of which are united by flanches to pipes P, P,
&c., which lead to and connect with the bottom of the generator, as will be
hereafter explained. In the cover of the atmospheric cylinder are fixed two
valves a, b, and two similar ones are fixed in the bottom; the valves a opening
inwards, to admit the atmospheric air into the cylinder, and the valves b opening
outwards, to allow the air to pass from it into the pipes Z, Z, from them to the
pipes P. P, &c., connected therewith, and leading to the bottom of the gene-
rator; c is a piston, with a piston rod d, which works through a stufling box on
the cylinder cover, and is connected with one end of the working beam G, a,
by the working of which it is put in motion; and at the other end of the beam
is attached a rod connecting it with a fly wheel fixed on a shaft, for communi-

page_text: cating the power of the engine in the usual manner. The atmospheric cylinder
is firmly fixed to the bottom of the iron framework X, X, &c., being attached
thereto by bolts passing through the supporting pillars aforesaid.
In the
Secondly, the generator B, Figures 1, 3, 4, and 5, is constructed of
three principal parts; one I call the main cylinder G, another the bottom
cylinder I, a, and the third the cover J, a, all being attached together by
flanches and screw bolts, so as to form one entire air-tight vessel.
centre of the main cylinder, which shall first describe, is a cylindrical
space of about fourteen inches diameter, to contain the fuel for conibus-
tion under an artificial atmosphere. In the sides of the main cylinder of
the generator, from the top to the bottom, are cast or formed the system of
water tubes k, k, k, k, &c., already mentioned. They are connected together at
the top by the circular or curved grooves 1, 1, 1, 1, &c., and are also connected
together precisely in the same manner as the bottom of the cylinder, by similar
grooves. All the water tubes are two inches in diameter. On the generator
cover, exactly over and connecting with one of the water tubes, is fixed a stop
cock W, which is attached to a pipe X, to convey away part of the steam
from the water tubes to the bottom cylinder of the generator. This steam
passes of course, through this fire along with the air from the atmospheric
cylinder on its way to the gas tubes. There is another similar stop cock y,
fixed over and connecting with another water tube attached to the short pipe
%, which is to convey into the curved pipe a, a, on the top thereof, such part
of the steam as is required to pass above or beyond the fire, and proceed along
with the gaseous matters arising from the fire into and through the gass tubes,
and from them to the working cylinder, passing in their course thereto through
the reservoir, as will be hereafter more fully explained. The grooves con-
necting the tubes both at the top and bottem are one inch wide and three
inches deep by these grooves the water in the tubes is freely connected at
the bottom, and the steain at the top, so that the height of the water is the
same in all the tubes. There is also another system or arrangement of inter-
mediate and alternate tubes m, m, m, m, &c., similar to the others, which for
the sake of distinction I call gas tubes. They are also two inches in diaineter,
except the two marked with an *, cach of which latter is two inches and three-
quarters diameter. These gas tubes are all connected together, being united at
the top by grooves, n, m, n, &c., and at the bettom by grooves 0, 0, 0, 0, shewn by
dotted lines. These grooves both at the top and bottom of the tubes are of the
same width and depth as those connecting the water tubes. Over one of the large
tubes mis cast or formed in the cover a curved pipe or tube a, a, which forms a
connection to that tube from the interior of the generator containing the fire,

page_text: whereby the air and steam which pass through such fire, or the various heated
gasses formed thereby, as well as the steam that enters above the fire, are con-
veyed to the gass tubes and passed through them, first entering by the said large
tube m, with comes in connection with the curved tube a, a, in the cover, and
having passed down to the bottom of that tube, branch off right and left by the
two adjoining grooves, shewn by dotted lines marked o, o, then rising up the two
nearest gas tubes to the top, they branch off in a similar manner right and left
by the next two adjoining grooves, shewn by the plain lines and marked n,,
and thus proceed, descending and ascending by the remaining gas tubes and con-
necting grooves till they arrive at the other large gas tube m", from the upper
part of which branch pipe p, which leads by the pipes attached to it, to be
shewn hereafter, first to the reservoir, and then to the working cylinder.
It
is plain, therefore, that the heated gaseous matters from the fire by passing.
through all the gas tubes, and of course between all the water tubes, till they
escape by the said branch pipe p, must impart heat to the water within the
water tubes. The four ears or projections 1, 2, 1, 2, are attached to and form a
part of the bottom flanch of the main cylinder of the generator, by which it is
supported on pillows K, K, K, K, which are fixed upon a plate of iron s, s, s, s.
This being fixed on masonry work, and the pillars being hollow, a bar of iron
is passed through each of them, and by means of a screw and nutt at the top
of each bar, and a bolt or wedge at the bottom, or by any other suitable
micans, the foundation plate, the pillars, and the main cylinder of the
generator are all firmly fixed together; the bottom cylinder thereof can then
be attached to and detached from the main cylinder at pleasure, without at
all disturbing the latter. The fire within the generator is supported on a
grate or plate of iron t, perforated with small holes, which may be raised
or lowered by a rod u (to which it is attached) working through a stufling
box fixed underneath and in the center of the bottom cylinder, being cast
To the lower end of this rod a bar or
to it and forming a part thereof.
lever Vis attached, to raise or lower it when the apparatus is at work,
and the fire is, of course, within the generator; the grate ought to be raised
so high as that the fuel may be within the main cylinder and above the
bottom flanch thereof; the ashes, &c. that fall down through the grate may be
removed by taking the door or cover Y, Y, off the aperture upon which it is
firmly placed by a screw pressing upon it, which is fixed on the cross bar Z x,
the ends of which are held by being firmly bolted to two iron studs attached
to the side of the bottom cylinder. There is also a third stud similarly
attached, from which the door Y, Y, is suspended by an iron bar, which,
moves upwards and downwards upon a pin or axle. This door may be fixed

page_text: on the aperture by any other convenient means. By lowering the grate at the
bottom of the generator, the fire as well as the ashes may be withdrawn at the
said aperture; but before opening the door or cover for that purpose, the arti-
ficial atmosphere must be reduced to the pressure of the common atmosphere,
by shutting valves T, a, and T, b, and stop cocks W & Y, and then opening
the stop cock a, b, in the bottom cylinder of the generator. In one of the
water tubes is a float, shewn by dotted lines, to ascertain the height of
the water in that tube, and, of course, in all the other water tubes, in order
that they may be kept properly supplied. The float must be suspended
by a wire b, b, which passes through the cover of the generator, the small
passage hole being made as steam-tight as possible by the round ball or
weight through which the wire passes, for between it and the generator
cover a little thread is wrapped round the wire, which being pressed down
by the weight of the ball, makes the wire work as through a stuffing box.
This wire must be connected to a chain d, d, which is attached to one end
of the lever w, 1, and at the other end thereof must be suspended by another
similar chain the weight or counterbalance e, e, the whole being sup-
ported by the pillar N. Besides the float, I have affixed to the apparatus
a glass water guage, attached to the top and bottom of one of the
water tubes in the usual manner, to ascertain the precise height of the water
within the tubes. The cover of the generator has in the centre, and forming a
part thereof, a short pipe or branch O with a flanch on the top, on which is
fixed a kind of box L, which forms part of an apparatus for supplying the fire
from time to time with fuel. This I call the slide box, it having a slide to
move backwards and forwards therein, which will be described hereafter. This
slide box is closed by a cover c, a, having a pipe M, forming a part of and
branching from it upwards, which I call the feed pipe; it rises up exactly
over the pipe O on the generator cover, forming therewith a vertical passage
for the introduction of the fire and fuel. Within the slide box is the slide b,
before mentioned, which, when moved so as to be underneath the feed pipe,
separates it from the generator, and this pipe is closed at the top by a cover
c, f, the four ears or projections thereof being firmly pressed upon by four
screws 1x, 1x, lx, 1x, fixed in the four bars xm, xm, &c., which are attached
to the sides of the feed pipe. The slide may be moved backwards and forwards
by a rod d, r, fixed to it, and working through a stuffing box attached to the slide
box; this rod is connected to a screw g, s, which is provided with a handle s, h,
by which the slide is moved at pleasure to shut or open the lower end of the
feed pipe. Underneath the slide are two springs, one of which is shewn by
letter j, fastened internally to the bottom of the slide box, pressing up the slide

page_text: to make it bear up in close contact with the cover c, a, of the slide box L, and
to close the lower extremity of the feed pipe. The fuel intended to be introduced
into the generator is first put into a cylindrical vessel xf, which I call the fuel
box, shewn both within the feed pipe and detached from it; it has a moveable
bottomf, b, of a conical or other convenient form, for the fuel to slide off* if
when it is lowered from the box. The conical bottom is fixed on the end of a
rod xh, which is kept in a vertical position by two internal stays xi, i, attached
to the insides of the box. The apparatus for supplying fuel is provided with a
small pipe x, and a stop cock k, a, to connect the slide box occasionally with
the feed pipe, as will be hereafter explained.
The manner of supplying the generator with fuel when the apparatus is
at work is as follows:-The bottom of the feed pipe being closed by slide b, the
cover being taken off, and the fuel box being removed, I fill the fuel box with
fuel, which is kept within it by the moveable conical bottom being kept within
the bottom of the box; I then put it so filled into the feed pipe, and put on the
cover, the rod xh passing through the stuffing box thereon; when the cover
is tightly screwed down, the fuel occupies a space above the fire-place, and
detached therefrom by slide b, which is now required to be withdrawn, but as
the high pressure of the gasses and the steam acting on the under side of the
slide makes it difficult to be removed, I open the stop cock k, a, to allow the
gasses and steam to pass into the feed pipe, whereby the pressure becomes the
same above the slide as below it. The equilibrium of the pressure above and
below the slide being thus effected, the slide is easily removed from underneath
the feed pipe by turning the handle s, h; that being done, the fuel box and its
contents are to be lowered by means of the rod *h till they rest upon a ring
xn, xn, which is fixed to and underneath the cover J, a, of the generator;
this prevents their further descent; but by pressing down the rod xh, the
conical bottom is lowered from the fuel box, so as to let the fuel descend from
it into the fire within the generator. The conical bottom is then to be drawn
up till it comes again into the fuel box, which it must then bring along with it
into the feed pipe, the bottom of which is then to be closed, by the slide being
passed underneath it. The cock k, a, must now be closed, to cut off the
communication between the generator and the feed pipe, and the cover may
then be removed to allow the fuel box to be taken out to receive a fresh supply
of fuel. xo is a safety valve fixed on the generator cover over and connecting
with one of the water tubes; it is fixed on a spindle xp, and can be turned
round by the handle fixed upon it, so as to bring the valve into accurate contact
with its seat. The lever x is fixed on the spindle with two collars, and is
held steady by the pillar xr, in the top whereof is a slit through which the

page_text: lever passes, and there is a screw that enters the top of the pillar to regulate
the height to which the lever should be lifted when the steam becomes of
Some of the peculiarities and excellences of the generator
too high pressure.
deserve pointing out. Common boilers, especially those of high-pressure steam
engines, although at first they be sufficiently strong to be perfectly safe,
and even may be so after having been a considerable time subjected to and
worn by the heat of an intense fire, will in process of time become so weak as
to burst, and from the impossibility of ascertaining the precise time when that
becomes the case, many serious accidents and explosions take place; but from
the construction and application of this generator it is not so liable to those
evil consequences, for the exterior thereof is not exposed to the action of the
fire, and the interior is protected therefrom, not only by the water, steam, and
gasses contained in the surrounding tubes, but also by the portion of steam
which is passed through the fuel, and which prevents such accumulation of
heat taking place as would rapidly destroy the materials of which the generator,
as well as the grate supporting the fire, is formed. The abundant formation of
scoria or slagg, which is produced from most kinds of coal by steam engine fires
in general, is also by this means prevented. It is worthy, too, of remark, that
one important peculiarity in this generator consists in the circumstance, that
when the external part thereof is sufficiently strong there is no danger of
explosion, when at work, arising from its destruction by fire, even if the
interior part thereof, which is alone exposed to the action of the fire, were to
give way, as there is the same pressure, or nearly so, within the fire-place out-
wards as there is within the tubes containing the water, steam, and gasses
inwards, therefore the result of the giving way of the interior side would merely
be the passing of water, steam, and gasses from the tubes into the fire and
extinguishing the same.
I now proceed, thirdly, to describe the reservoir shown by the letter C
Figures 1, 3, 4, 5. It is a plain cylinder or retort, with a hemispherical
bottom, and closed with a cover a, r. There are two pipes branch from it, one
at the lower extremity bx, and the other near the top cx; on the cover are
fixed a safety valve and an apparatus for suspending a float within the reservoir
to ascertain the height of the water therein. They are precisely the same as
those belonging to the water tubes of the generator, except that the float and
its counterbalance are heavier and larger; it is therefore unnecessary to mark
the parts with letters or repeat the description thereof. The branch pipe bx,
at the bottom of the reservoir, is to allow the gasses and steam from the
generator to enter and pass through it in their way to the working cylinder, as
well as to admit a supply of water from a force pump to the reservoir, and to

page_text: allow the water to be drawn therefrom by a stop cock attached thereto, as
occasion may require; and the other branch ex, near the top, is to allow the
gasses and steam to proceed on their passage from the reservoir to the working
cylinder. The reservoir is to be set on masonry work, forming an external
fire-place under it and flues around it in the usual ways, to heat the water
therein and generate steam for the purpose of creating the artificial atmo-
sphere within the apparatus, in the first instance, and for starting the engine.
When that is done the fire underneath the reservoir may be withdrawn. The
fire-place and ash-hole doors (for there must be a door to each, and a damper,
which must be fixed in the chimney) ought then to be closed in order to pre-
vent any draught of cold air from passing through the fire-place or flues; within
the water in the reservoir are placed three shelves or plates of iron at about
six inches distance from each other, perforated with a great number of small
holes and supported by an iron pillar passing through the centre of them, with
bolts or wedges put into the pillar to keep them suspended at the above men-
tioned distance from each other; these are to cause the gasses to be washed and
purified after the modes used for purifying gas for illumination, and a portion
of lime or other suitable material may be introduced into the water, if found
necessary, according to the nature of the fuel employed.
Fourthly, I shall now explain the parts of the working cylinder marked D,
Figures 1 & 2. It is similar to a common high-pressure steam engine cylinder,
being closed at the bottom and furnished with a cover to the top, provided with
a stuffing box for the piston rod to work through, which is attached to the
working beam G, a, being kept while working in a vertical position by the usual
apparatus for producing a parallel motion. The various gasses act upon a
piston working within this cylinder in conjunction with steam, and they are
both allowed to escape into the atmosphere after having acted upon the piston.
The cylinder in question has a passage 1, 1, in the side thereof, to admit the
gasses and steam to act underneath the piston during its assent, and to allow
them during its descent to escape into the atmosphere by passing thereto
through the middle aperture 3 and pipe 4 through vessel Y, which is sur-
rounded by the water, in which the force pump Q is placed, for the opening 6
into that vessel is connected to pipe 4 by a pipe, not shewn in any of the
Drawings. 2, 2, is a similar passage, to allow the gasses and steam to enter
into the upper part of the cylinder, to act above the piston during its descent.
and to escape in a similar manner into the atmosphere during its assent; f. f,
is a box into which the gasses and steam are admitted on their passage to
the working cylinder through the passages 1, 1, and 2, 2; 5 is a slide valve, to
slide over passages 1, 1, and 2, 2, to admit the gasses and steam from the box f,f,

page_text: to pass alternately in at the bottom and top of the working cylinder and out
again into the atmosphere. When this slide connects the box f, f, with the
lower part of the working cylinder by passage 1, 1, it connects the upper part
thereof with the atmosphere by uniting the passages 2, 2, and 3 together,
leading, as already explained, by pipe 4 through vessel Y.
When the piston
has arrived at the top of the cylinder the slide reverses the entrance and exit
of the gasses and steam by connecting the box f, f, with the upper part of the
working cylinder by passage 2, 2, and the lower part with the atmosphere by
the union of passages 1, 1, and 3, and the pipe 4 and the vessel Y.
Having now described the four principal parts of my apparatus, I shall
proceed to shew how they are all connected together. Firstly, the connection
of the atmospheric cylinder with the generator; secondly, the connection of
the generator with the reservoir, and thirdly, the connection of the reservoir
with the working cylinder.
Firstly, the pipes P, P, &c., Figures 1, 2, and 3, being attached to the
atmospheric cylinder by means of the branches Z, Z, connect it with the
bottom cylinder I a of the generator; secondly, the gas tubes of the generator
are connected from its branch pipe p with the lower branch pipe P× of the
reservoir by pipes R, R, R, Figure 1 and 3; and thirdly, the upper branch
pipe cx of the reservoir is connected with the working cylinder by pipe S,
Figure 3.
Some of the useful purposes to which the steam and various
grasses generated by my method and apparatus may be applied, are the heating
of liquids for bleaching, dyeing, and various other purposes, as well as for
warming rooms, factories, &c.; for if the steam and gasses are generated in
greater abundance than is required for the working of the engine, a part of
them may be conveyed from pipe S, by pipes branching therefrom, for all the
various useful purposes for which they may be required, just upon the same
principle that the boilers of common steam engines, when sufliciently large,
supply steam, not only for working the engine, but for heating fluids, and for
many other useful purposes, or a part of the steam may be conveyed away
for similar purposes from the upper ends of the water tubes before they enter
the
gas tubes and become mixed with the gasses.
I must now point out several valves and boxes which are fixed in different
parts of the apparatus, for connecting or cutting off the communication
between the different parts thereof; they are, like the valve T, shewn in section,
Figure 4, having two flanches a, f, and b. f, the valve itself being marked c, v;
there is one of these boxes T, a, Figure 1 and 3, containing a valve attached
by flanch b, f, to pipes P, P, &c., and by flanch a, f, to short pipe Px,
attached to and connected with the bottom cylinder of the generator. This is

page_text: to cut off the connection of the atmospheric cylinder with the bottom of the
generator, when requisite; there is a second similar valve box T, b, (with its
valve,) attached by flanch a, f, to pipe p of the generator, and by flanch b, f,
to pipes R, R, R, to cut off the connection of the generator with the
reservoir, when requisite; there is a third valve box T, c, (with its
valve attached by the flanch a, f, to branch pipe cx of the reservoir,
and by flanch b, f, to pipe S. This is to cut off all communication
between the working cylinder and reservoir; by this valve the engine may
of course be put in motion and stopped at pleasure. There is a fourth
valve box T, a, Figure 2, with its valve attached by its flanch a, f, to the
steam box f, f, and by flanch b, f, to pipe S, by means of a curved pipe of
a proper shape, not shewn in any of the Drawings, which unites them
together. This valve is to admit and cut off at any part of the stroke of the
piston the supply of steam and gasses to the working cylinder, as already
explained; besides these, there are two other valve boxes like E, Figure 4; one
of these, E, a, Figure 3, is fixed in and connects together the pipes P, P, &c.
This valve is to allow the air to pass from the atmospheric cylinder to the
generator, but to prevent its returning and passing in a contrary direction, the
other valve box E, 6, Figure 3, is fixed in and connects together the pipes R,
R, R, and is intended to allow the steam and gasses to pass from the generator
to the reservoir, but to prevent them from passing in a contrary direction. In
addition to the apparatus already described, there is a force pump Q. Fig. 2,
already mentioned, which is surrounded by water, to supply the reservoir and
the water tubes of the generator with water, the plunger or piston whereof is
worked by beam G, a, to which beam is also attached the rod of the piston
within the working cylinder, as already mentioned. There is a range of small
pipes U, U. U, Figs. 1 & 3, to convey the water from the force pump as
above stated, to the water tubes of the generator and to the reservoir. There
are two stop cocks t 1 & s 1, the former to admit the supply of water to the
reservoir, and the latter to do the same to the water tubes aforesaid; and there
is a third stop cock shewn, s 2, to convey water to the water tubes of a second
generator. The force pump can be detached from the working beam, and be
worked with a lever, by manual labour, to fill the reservoir and water tubes of
the generator to the proper height, preparatory to setting the engine to work.
There are two other stop cocks, s 3, and s 4, Figs. 1 and 2; to the latter is
attached a pipe, b, leading to and connecting with pipe,, which enters the
curved tube a, a, on the top of the generator. These cocks and pipes are for
the occasional introduction of water into the gas tubes k, k, k, &c., to wash and
clean them; for by opening cocks 4, and shutting cock s 3, the force pump is

page_text: connected with the gas tubes, while it is shut off from the water tubes and
from the reservoir. There is another range of small pipes F, F, F, Fig. 3,
with two stop cocks V 1 & V 2; these are to connect the reservoir with the
water tubes of the generator to heat the water, and get the steam therein up
to the proper pressure previously to setting the engine to work; when that is
effected the cocks V 1 & V 2 may be closed. In order to set the engine in
motion, the reservoir and water tubes must be filled with water to the proper
height indicated by the floats; the water tubes must be disconnected from the
gas tubes and internal part of the generator by closing cocks W and Y; the
valve T, a, being opened, fires must be made underneath the reservoir and within.
the generator. The door Y, Y, on the bottom cylinder being opened, the
slide b, within the slide box L, being withdrawn, and the cover of feed pipe c, f.
being taken off, the density of the steam within the reservoir and water tubes
must be brought up to the required point, videlicet, about one-tenth part
greater density than that at which the engine is required to work, as it will be
somewhat lowered in getting to work. The density of the steam is to be
regulated by putting proper weights on the levers of the safety valves on the
reservoir and generator; this being the case, and the steam being brought up
to the required density, the door Y, Y, on the bottom cylinder of the generator
and the bottom of feed pipe M, must be closed by the means already men-
tioned, after which the valve T, c, must be opened to admit the gases and steam
into the working cylinder to act upon the piston therein. This puts the work-
ing beam G, a, and of course the piston of the atmospheric cylinder, which is
attached thereto, in motion, as well as the plunger or piston of the force pump.
As soon as the whole is thus in motion, and the pressure of the air within the
apparatus is brought up to the required density, which is ascertained by the
valve fixed on pipes P, P, &c., the valve T, b, must be opened to allow the con-
densed air to pass from the atmospheric cylinder to the generator, and the
gasses and any undecomposed air to pass from thence to the reservoir, and
from thence to the working cylinder along with the steam. The cocks W
and Y, which are both of the same size, must then be opened, to allow the
steam to pass above and below the fuel, as already described. The fuel box
must be supplied with fuel, which must be introduced, as already described, into
the generator upon grate t by the feeding apparatus, and the supply repeated
as it is consumed, and as the fire requires replenishing. The best mode I am
acquainted with of uniting together the different parts of the apparatus is,
either by grinding the surfaces or flanches required to be united, or by inserting
between them a collar of lead well painted, and screwing them tightly together
by screw bolts. It will be advantageous to surround the generators and pipes,

page_text: I
as well as other parts of the apparatus, by proper non-conducting substances.
wrap
bands round them made of hay which answers very well. Although I
have delineated the pistons in the atmospheric and working cylinders, I have
to observe that any kind of piston suited for high pressure steam engines will
be proper for my Invention.
Having now described my method and apparatus, I proceed to state that I
do not claim the exclusive use of the cylinders, pistons, beam, valves, cocks, or
other parts of the apparatus separately; but I claim as my Invention the
method herein-before described, of generating steam and various gasses for
the purposes aforesaid, by causing combustion of fuel to take place in an artifi-
cial atmosphere, such as has been mentioned in the manner and by the method
above described. And also, I claim the combination of apparatus herein-
before described as a whole, for the purpose of generating steam and various
gasses for the purposes aforesaid, by producing, maintaining, and beneficially
applying the aforesaid artificial atmosphere, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Hall, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight.