AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING VOLATIle LIQUIDS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE-POWER
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lako, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING VOLATIle
LIQUIDS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE-POWER." Acommunication from
abroad by Israel Long Landis, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States of
America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of tho Commissioners of Patents on the 13th June 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltino, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS
FOR UTILIZING VOLATILE LIQUIDS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE POWER."
[A communication from abroad by Israel Long Landis, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
United States of America.]
The object of this Invention is to provide a new motor by an adaptation of tho
principle of the pulse-glass for the working of machinery and other purposes.
To accomplish this object I employ tubes, which are partly filled with volatile
liquid, and provided with receptacles at each end. These tubes and receptacles
are exhausted of air and hermetically sealed, and the receptacles are so arranged
that the application of heat to one of them will vaporize a part of the liquid in it
and the expansion of the gas thus formed will force the remainder of the liquid
into the receptaclo at the other end of the tube. The preponderance thus given
will cause that end of the tube to descend, and by alternately subjecting the
receptacles to this action of heat and of gravity a continual motion can be kept up,
which may be either of a rotary or of an oscillatory nature, the tubes being
attached to their support in such manner as to allow of such motion. The liquid
employed is preferably alcohol, but any liquid may be used which will vaporize at
a low temperature.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a series of tubes attached
to a hub at the central part of each tube. These tubes are provided at their ends

page_text: with hollow bulbs or with other forms of receptacles. In some cases the bulbs
of each tube are turned in opposite directions, and in other cases the bulbs are
centrally arranged on the ends of the tubes which extend nearly through them.
The tubes and their terminal bulbs or receptacles are partly filled with liquid, and
then exhausted of air and hermetically sealed, so that said liquid may move from
receptacle to receptacle in vacuo. This liquid may be alcohol or any of the
numerous substitutes which vaporize at a comparatively low temperature.
A lamp or other calorific device is arranged under the wheel, formed as above set
forth, to heat the bulbs as they successively pass in rotation immediately over it. The
effect of this heating is to vaporize a part of the liquid in said bulb, whereupon the
pressure of the gas thus formed will force the remainder of the liquid out of said
bulb and through the tube into the upper bulb, thus causing the latter to pre-
ponderate and the hub drum or shaft to turn. The heating of the successive bulbs
and the consequent shifting of the enclosed liquid will give to the wheel as a
whole a continuous rotary motion about its centro.
When the bulbs are arranged centrally I am enabled to use perfectly straight
tubes and avoid the double adverse leverage, which has to be overcome when the
ends of each tube are bent in opposite directions and attached to the sides of their
respective bulbs; moreover, the transfer of liquid from bulb to bulb will be
complete almost immediately after the tube passes from a vertical position, and
the preponderating bulb will have the advantage of all the alcohol for a greater
part of its downward motion than when the other construction is adopted; while
the rising bulb instead of counter-balancing it in some degree at the start will
contain nothing but light gases. The extension of the ends of the tubes nearly
through the bulbs ensures the transfer from bulb to bulb of the entire body of
enclosed liquid.
I may in some cases employ a tank of hot water instead of the lamp. This
tank may be supplied by hot water pipes, or it may be heated by lamps or other
devices contained in an apartment formed in the lower part of said tank. The
latter is supported by chains which pass over pulleys on the top of standards, said
chains being provided at their ends with weights, which should be of sufficient
gravity to hold said tank at any point to which it may be adjusted. The bulbs
in the lower part of their rotation dip into the hot water to an extent which is
regulated by the chains and weights above mentioned or any equivalent adjusting
devices which may be substituted therefor. The water in the tank stores up
the heat of the calorific devices, and applies the same equally to all parts of every
bulb.
A bracing band may be conveniently applied to the tubes, and the middle part
of the straight tubes may be bent around the central shaft of the motor to make
the tubes extend each way exactly as if they passed through the shaft.
In some cases a series of compartments (as substitutes for bulbs) is united to form
the rim of a wheel or drum, each opposite pair of compartments being provided
preferably with more than one tube, in order that the flow from compartment to
compartment may be as speedy as possible. Also a number of cylindrical receptacles
are sometimes attached to the outside of a cylindrical shell or drum, each opposite
pair of cylinders being connected by several tubes as before. The duplication or
multiplication of tubes facilitates the shifting of the alcohol from one receptacle
or compartment to the other.
To aid the lamp, when a lamp is employed, it is best to use a trough-shaped
reflector, which is curved longitudinally to the shape of a quarter circle and
arranged just inside of that fourth of the wheel where the heat is applied, so as to
be over the bulbs from the time they reach their lowest position until they reach
the end of the next quarter of their rotation. This reflector is slotted from end
to end along the middle of its arch to allow the passage of the stems of the tubos
as they rotato. Its edge and concavity are presented outward and downward.
Its office is to concentrate by reflection the heat of the culorific device upon the

page_text: bulbs, and thus increase the efficacy of the said device and of the motor itself;
other forms of reflector may be substituted for it.
Instead of the heating devices hereinbefore described a current of hot air may
be directed upon the bulbs at one side of the motor, and a current of cold air upon
those at the other side thereof.
It
It will be obvious that many other modifications may be made in the con-
struction, combination, and arrangement of the different parts of the motor.
may also be arranged to rotate in a horizontal or inclined plane instead of in a;
vertical plane, or to oscillate instead of rotating.
With this motor a very slight degree of heat will produce rapid motion, and
considerable power can be obtained without the use of furnaces such as are
necessary for steam engines. Even the heat of the band will drive the liquid from
the lower bulb of a small tube to the upper bulb thereof, and nothing more is
required to maintain rotation.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th December 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS
FOR UTILIZING VOLATILE LIQUIDS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MOTIVE-POWER."
A communication from abroad by Israel Long Landis, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
United States of America.
This Invention relates to an improved method of and apparatus for utilizing
volatile liquids for the production of motive power,
The object of the said Invention is to provide a new motor by an adaptation of
the principle of the pulse-glass or pulsometer for the working of machinery and for
other purposes.
In the accompanying Drawing
Figure 1 represents an elevation of a wheel formed of tubes and bulbs embodying
my Invention, one half of the reflector being removed, and
Figure 2 represents a detail view of one of the alcohol tubes employed therein.
Figure 3 represents an elevation of a motor embodying a modified and improved
form of the said tubes; and
Figure 4 represents a detail view of one of the said improved tubes and bulbs.
Figure 5 represents a central longitudinal section of my improved motor, having
the receptacles in the form of chambers united in a wheel or drum.
Figure 6 represents a detached perspective view of cylindrical receptacles and
tubes somewhat similarly united in the form of a drum, and
Figure 7, a detail view of two of the cylinders and connecting tubes.
A designates the hub of the wheel, and B a series of tubes attached thereto at
their central part. These tubes are provided at their ends with hollow bulbs b, b,
as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, or with other forms of receptacles, as shewn in
the remaining Figures. In Figures 1 and 2 the bulbs b, b, of each tubo are turned
in opposite directions, while in Figures 3 and 4 the bulbs are centrally arranged on
the ends of the tubes which extend nearly through them. The tubes and their
terminal bulbs or receptacles are partly filled with liquid, and then exhausted of air
and hermetically sealed so that the said liquid may inove from receptacle to receptacle
in vacuo.
This liquid may be alcohol or any of the numerous substitutes which
vaporize at a comparatively low temperature.
C, Figure 1, desiguates a lamp or other caloric device arranged under the said
wheel formed as above set forth to heat the bulbs as they successively pass in
rotation immediately over it. The effect of this heating is to vaporizo a part of
the liquid in each bulb, whereupon the pressure of the gas thus formed will force
the remainder of the liquid out of the said bulb and through the tube into the
upper bulb, thus causing the latter to preponderate and the hub drum or shaft A
to turn. The heating of the successive bulbs and the consequent shifting of the
enclosed liquid will give to the wheel as a whole a continuous rotary motion about
its centre.
The central arrangement of bulbs shewn in Figures 3 and 4 permits the use of
perfectly straight tubes and avoids the double adverse leverage which has to be
overcome when the ends of each tube are bent in opposite directions and attached
to the sides of their respective bulbs, as in Figures 1 and 2; moreover when the
tube and bulbs have the construction shewn in Figures 3 and 4 the transfer of
liquid from bulb to bulb will be complete almost immediately after the tube passes
from a vertical position, and the preponderating bulb will have the advantage of
all the alcohol for a greater part of its downward motion than when the first
described construction is adopted, while the rising bulb instead of counterbalancing

page_text: it in some degree at the start will contain nothing but light gases. The extension
of the ends of the tubes nearly through the bulbs ensures the transfer from bulb to
bulb of the entire body of the enclosed liquid.
In Figure 3 a tank F of hot water is substituted for the lamp C, shewn in
Figure 1. This tank may be supplied by hot-water pipes, or it may be heated as
shown by lamps G or other devices contained within the compartment F formed in
the lower part of the said tank. The latter is supported by chains B, which pass over
pulleys h, on the top of standards I, the said chains being provided at their ends
with weights J, which should be of sufficient weight to hold the said tank at any
point to which it may be adjusted. The bulbs in the lower part of their rotation
dip into the hot water to an extent which is regulated by the chains and weights
above mentioned or by any equivalent adjusting devices which may be substituted
therefor. The water in the tank stores up the heat of the calorific devices, and
applies the same equally to all parts of every bulb. By the use of heated water the
bulbs are not discolored, while it has other advantages over the direct application
of flame, which need not here be dwelt upon, the general principle being the same
in both cases.
A bracing band E may be conveniently applied to the tubes, and the middle
part B of the straight tubos may be bent, as shewn in Figure4, so as to pass around
the central shaft of the motor and extend each way exactly as if they passed
through the shaft.
As shown in Figure 5 a series of compartments K are substituted for the
bulbs b, b, which compartments are sometimes united to form the rim of a wheel or
drum, each opposite pair of compartments being provided preferably with more
than one tube in order that the flow from compartment to compartment may be as
speedily as possible. Moreover, as shown in Figure 6, a number of cylindrical
receptacles L are sometimes attached to the outside of a cylindrical shell or drum M,
each opposite pair of cylinders being connected by several tubes as before. The
duplication or multiplication of tubes facilitates the shifting of the alcohol from one
receptacle or compartment to the other, as above stated.
To aid the lamp C, when such is employed, it is best to use a trough-shaped
reflector N, Figure 1, which is curved longitudinally to the shape of a quarter of a
circle, and arranged just inside of that fourth of the wheel where the heat is applied,
so as to be over the bulbs from the time they reach their lowest position until they
reach the end of the next quarter of their rotation. This reflector is slotted from end
to end along the middle of its arch or curve to allow of the passage of the stems of the
tubes as they rotate, and its edges and concavity are presented outward and down-
ward. Its office is to concentrate by reflection the heat of the calorific device C
upon the bulbs, and thus increase the efficacy of the said device and of the motor
itself; other forms of reflector may be substituted for the one shown if desired.
Instead of the heating devices herein before described a current of hot air may be
directed upon the bulbs at one side of the motor, and a current of cold air upon
those at the other side thereof.
It may
It will be obvious that many other modifications may be made in the construction,
combination, and arrangement of the different parts of the said motor.
also be arranged to rotate in a horizontal or inclined plane instead of in a vertical
plane, or to oscillate instead of revolve.
With this motor a very slight degree of heat will produce rapid motion, and
considerable power can be obtained without the use of furnaces such as are necessary
for steam engines. Even the heat of the band will drive the liquid from the lower
bulb of a small tube to the upper bulb thereof, and nothing more is required to
maintain rotation.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The method of operating a motor consisting in forcing a vaporizable
enclosed liquid by the action of heat into an upper receptacle or space from which

page_text: the air has been exhausted and using the weight and downward motion of the said
liquid, as above set forth.
Second. A motor consisting of a tube or tubes having a receptacle at each end,
and provided with liquid adapted to be vaporized by a slight amount of heat, and
driven from receptacle to receptacle, substantially as above set forth.
Third. A wheel provided with a series of alcohol tubes having a receptacle at
each end in combination with a device or devices for applying heat to the said
wheel, substantially as above set forth.
Fourth. A tube containing volatile liquid, and having a bulb at each end, the
said bulbs being on opposite sides of the said tube, as above set forth.
Fifth. In combination with a calorific device and a motor operating by heat and
gravity, substantially as above set forth, a heat director or reflector operating to
throw the heat of the said device on the bulbs of the said motor, as above set forth
and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. The combination of a curved concave trough with a tube or tubes
having a bulb at each end, and containing volatile liquid, the said tube or tubes
being arranged and adapted to operato as a motor, as above set forth.
Seventh. In a motor operating by the shifting of enclosed volatile liquid,
substantially as described, a straight tube having a receptacle attached centrally
to each end, as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Eighth. In a motor operating by the shifting of enclosed volatile liquid,
substantially as described, a straight tube having each end extended nearly
through a centrally attached receptacle, as above set forth and for the purpose
specified.
Ninth. The method of operating a motor composed of tubes and terminal
receptacles partly filled with liquid and exhausted of air consisting in causing
each receptacle to dip into heated liquid during a part of its revolution,
substantially as above set forth, and for the purposes specified.
Tenth. An adjustablo tank for heated water in combination with the rotating
tubes and terminal receptacles, substantially as above set forth, and for the
purpose specified.
Eleventh. A series of elongated compartments or cylinders and connecting tubes
provided with volatile liquid shifting in vacuo under the influence of heat and
operating by gravity, substantially as above set forth.
Twelfth. In combination with a series of straight tubes a series of receptacles or
compartments arranged at opposite ends of the said tubes, the said receptacles being
united to one another to form a wheel or drum, substantially as above set forth,
and for the purpose specified.
Thirteenth. A tank provided with a compartment for calorific devices in
combination with the rotating motor, constructed substantially as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.