IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED WHEN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Alexander Rippingille
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou
the 24th October 1868.
I, EDWARD ALEXANDER RIPPINGILLE, of Holborn Hill, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED WHEN OBTAINING MOTIVE
POWER, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES,"
to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in means or apparatus
employed when obtaining motive power, parts of which improvements
are also applicable to other purposes.
The Invention relates, firstly, to novel combinations and arrangements
of parts whereby the products of combustion in addition to being
employed to raise steam are ultimately mixed with such steam and
employed in any suitable manner to obtain motive power. The direct
products of combustion are caused to enter a chamber forming part of
or in close connection with a chamber in which a number of plates and
troughs are arranged in such manner that water which is allowed to
enter at the top of such chamber in suitable quantites is caused to fall

page_text: on to the uppermost plate or trough, from which it drops into the troughs
or plates immediately below, and when such trough or troughs are filled
with water the water begins to fall on to the plate next below and
thence into the next trough, and so on until it arrives at the lowermost
troughs, whence it is allowed to fall through suitable overflow channels
to the bottom of the chamber where it is maintained at a given level,
there being suitable means provided to allow the water to flow off when
it has exceeded a certain level. The products of combustion are caused
to pass through zig-zag passages formed by the plates and troughs so as
to give off such an amount of the heat contained therein as to reduce
the temperature thereof to a safe working point, and in doing so to
raise a certain amount of steam which mixes therewith and thereby
provides a moist vapour to be used as the motive power to be employed
in any well known manner. The water falling into the evaporating
chamber may be supplied continuously thereto from a suitable "head,"
or it may be pumped into a suitable receiver in which the pressure is
maintained at the same point as that in the evaporating chamber by a
pipe communicating therewith, as will be well understood, or the water
may be pumped direct to the upper trough, and the supply is so arranged
that after the troughs have been filled and the required level of water is
obtained in the bottom of such evaporating chamber only about the
quantity of water is allowed to enter the evaporating chamber which
can be continuously vaporized therein.
According to one arrangement. I employ ordinary coal gas as the fuel,
and I prefer to mix about one volume of gas with about two to four
volumes of air which are pumped into a suitable receiver working in
-liquid as an ordinary gasometer and enclosed in a close vessel into which
I pump pure air so as to fill the space in the close vessel not occupied by
the gas and air receiver and the liquid in which it works. Or a pair of
cylinders or receivers may be employed communicating with each other
at their lower ends, and being supplied with water to a certain height, a
mixture of gas and air being supplied to one receiver, and pure air being
supplied to the other. Or two receivers separate from each other may be
employed, into one of which a mixture of gas and air is pumped and into
the other puro air. The combination of gas and air is supplied by such
receivers to a suitable ring or other burner, and a stream of purc. air
from the before-mentioned close vessel, cylinder,. or receiver is also
supplied so as to issue in close proximity to, the burner, and thereby
supply air to support combustion; and in order to simplify the arrange

page_text: ment I employ an air pump the piston rod of which is connected directly
to the piston of the engine, and I arrange the pump with a set of valves
at each end so that one side of the pump may be employed to supply
pure air and the other side to supply a mixture of gas and air as above
described, and I arrange the inlets for the mixture of gas and air so that
only the required proportions shall be admitted to the pump to be
supplied to the receiver, and I couple the cocks of the air and gas
supply pipes to the pump, so that when once set to the required pro-
portions they shall be capable of being simultaneously operated upon to
increase or decrease their openings in the same proportion, or the cocks
may by the same means be suddenly shut off at any portion of the
stroke, and I also couple together the cock supplying air and gas to the
burner and that supplying pure air to support combustion."
By the above arrangements the pressure at which the mixture of gas
and air is supplied to the burner and that at which the pure air is
supplied to support combustion are maintained at a relative uniform rate.
I do not, however, confine myself to these arrangements, as separate
pumps inay be employed to supply the gas and air, and instead of burning
a mixture of gas and air in the proportions above mentioned other pro-
portions may be used, or pure gas may be employed, in which case a larger
proportionate quantity of pure air will be required to support combustion.
The gas burner I prefer to employ and which forms part of my said
Invention is constructed so as to admit only the amount of air required
for combustion and at the same time to prevent the circulation around
the flame of any unconsumed air. To effect this I employ two chambers
one placed above the other. From one chamber a mixture of gas and
air is conveyed by small round or flattened tubes up through the upper
chamber, in the cover or top of which are holes in position to allow the
tubes to come in the centre thereof and terminate at about the same:
height, thereby forming an annular space around each jet of gas or gas.
and air mixed for the admission of air thereto, pure air being admitted
or forced into such upper chamber for this purpose..
The burner above described may be employed with slight modifications
to generate steam in other descriptions of steam generators or for
domestic or other purposes. In some cases. I employ a ring or other
burner applied outside the vapourizing chamber in any suitable manner
to assist in raising it to and maintaining it at the desired temperature.
The mode in which I light the gas or mixture of gas and air is, by

page_text: preference, by means of a tube within the vapourizer, the lower end of
which is bell-mouthed and terminates immediately over the burner.
The sidos of this tube are perforated, and the top terminates in the crown
of the vapourizer, and is provided with a valve or plug, which may be
opened and closed when required. When it is desired to light the gas
or mixture of gas and air the upper end of the tube is opened and the
gas is turned on; the gas then rises up such tube, and is lighted at the
top thereof; the flame then descends to the burner, and when properly
lighted the top of the tube is securely closed. The heated products of
combustion then rise into the tube, and pass out therefrom through the
perforations therein, and become diffused throughout the vaporizing
chamber,
The Invention also relates to the employment of means for shutting
off the gas when there is an excess of pressure in a steam boiler or when
the water has fallen too low. For this purpose I employ a float or body
of about the same gravity as the water, which I place within the boiler
or in a chamber communicating therewith in such a position that when
the water is too low the float or body is unsupported thereby, and its
weight acting upon an expansion plate or tube actuates a valve or cock
to shut off the gas. Upon an excess of pressure occurring the same or
a similar expansion plate or tube is acted upon by such excess of
pressure, or a bent tube similar to that used in various pressure gauges
may be employed to act on the valve or cock before described. By
preference I employ for the above purpose a corrugated tube which
elongates by internal pressure.
And my
Invention also consists in the employment of such corrugated
tube as a pressure gauge.
3 frec
The apparatus above described may if desired be employed to operate
a steam whistle, and is equally applicable to other descriptions of steam
boilers.
The gas or gas and air and the pure air and the water for evaporation
I by preference heat in any suitable manner by means of the wasto
steam and products of combustion issuing from the exhaust port of the
engine, or the waste steam and products of combustion may be employed
to obtain motive power in a low-pressure engine.
I would have it understood that although I have only mentioned
ordinary coal gas other descriptions of gas may be employed. When
employing mineral oils, coal tar, and such like products as the fuel I

page_text: omploy, by preference, a combustion chamber separate from the
vaporizer, but communicating therewith by suitable tubes or passages.
In the lower part of the combustion chamber I place a close vessel in
which a suitable quantity of mineral oil, coal tar, or such like products
is placed, and I force through such products air which may be previously
heated if desired; such air passing through the fuel in such vessel carries
off with it a certain proportion of combustible vapour, which passing
out of such air chamber through a suitable perforated pipe or pipes
surrounding the lower part thereof is there ignited, and the products of
combustion arising therefrom are employed in a somewhat similar
manner to that described in the previous arrangement, and at the same
time act to warm the oil or other product in the close vessel. A current
of air is admitted to the combustion chamber to aid combustion of the
mixture of vapour and air, and to assist in agitating the products of
combustion and causing a circulation thereof through the vapourizing
vessel. Suitable cocks and pipes are connected with the oil vessel for
supply and for discharge; or the products of combustion may be agitated
by a fan or other suitable means. When employing coal as the fuel
I employ a suitable close furnace through which air is forced in suitable"
quantities to support combustion, and I line such furnace with fire-brick,
as usual; and if desired I enclose the furnace in a jacket or casing of
iron, and in some cases surround it with water, the steam arising from
which is afterwards combined with the products of combustion, and
employed therewith in obtaining motive power. In connection with
such close furnace I employ a feeding apparatus consisting of a screw
working in a tube to which a suitable hopper is connected, and the fuel
is supplied in regulated quantities to the fire by turning the screw which
feeds the coal forwards from the hopper. A suitable cover is connected
to the hopper so as to prevent the passage of vapour or the products of
combustion therethrough, and the axis of the screw passes through a
suitable stuffing box for the like purpose. When it is desired to refill
the hopper the screw is pushed forward until a cylinder thercon comes
opposite the opening in the lower part of the hopper, and thereby shuts
off communication between the products of combustion and the outer
atmosphere, when the hopper may be readily refilled. I also provide
a suitable aperture through which the fire may be readily lighted and
raked when required. To this aperture I connect a tube in which a
suitable seat is fixed, and I employ a valve capable of being screwed
down upon such seat when it is desired to close the aperture, but which

page_text: may be readily unscrewed from its seat and turned down out of the
way when the fire is being lighted or raked. To the tube in which the
valve seat is fixed, and beyond such valve seat, I connect another tube
branching off therefrom and passing to the fluc, so that when the
attendant is lighting or raking the fire the products of combustion there-
from may pass off by the last-named tube to the fluc, thereby avoiding
the necessity for a second opening for such purposo.
The products of combustion from the coal are employed in a similar
manner to that described in the foregoing arrangements in which the
products of combustion from gas and oil are used to raise steam in the
vaporizer, and are employed mixed with such steam as the motive
power to propel an engine. And in order to prevent as much as
possible any ashes or dust passing away to the cylinder with the steam
and products of combustion I employ a chamber through which such
steam and products of combustion pass in their passage to the engine,
and in which the ashes or dust are by gravitation aided by the moisture
of the vapour to a great extent separated therefrom. And in order to
keep the grate bars as cool as possible I employ a suitable quantity of
water under thom, the vapour arising from which would tend to cool the
grate bars.
In connection with the various arrangements herein described I
employ a bar which is fixed at one end to the supply pipe of the
engine, and at the other carries a valve which when the temperature
of the steam and products of combustion is at a proper working point
rests upon a suitable seat, but when the temperature rises to a higher
degree than is considered safe the bar by its expansion draws the valve
away from its seat and thereby gives notice to the attendant by the
escape of the vapour and products of combustion sounding a whistle or
otherwise. For marine engines the troughs in the evaporating chamber
are hung upon suitable axes or universal joints so as to maintain them
in a suitable position for retaining the water therein, and where salt
water is employed I pass an excess of such water through the
evaporating chamber in order to prevent as much as possible the deposit
of salt or carthy matter therein.
The Invention also relates to an improved piston. For this purpose I
employ a cut ring or rings for the wearing surface of the piston, the
back or inner faces of such rings being inclined and bearing against
the inclined face of another ring or truncated cone which may be cut

page_text: if desired in order to impart some degree of elasticity thereto. This
last ring or truncated cone is acted upon by screws so that as wear
takes place it may be moved in the direction of its axis and so cause
its inclined face to bear against the inner inclined faces of the outer
rings and thereby force them out to fit the cylinder. If desired suitable
caps may be applied over the heads of the screws so as to prevent the
passage of steam through the face of the piston at those parts, and in
order to provide means for adjustment to the edges of the outer rings
as wear takes place I form a slight incline on the edge of one of such
rings, and a corresponding incline on the end of the piston. By these
means as the inner ring is moved by the screws the rings in addition
to being expanded are also forced closer together.
The Invention also consists of an improved slide valve whereby facility
is afforded for cutting off at any portion of the stroke previously
determined upon. For this purpose I form the steam ports or passages
in the scat inclined at their outer or leading edges, and shape the valve
to correspond. I give motion to the valve for a certain distance in the
direction of its length, and then when it is desired to "cut off" I cause
the valve suddenly to travel sideways so as to completely cover the
steam port for the time being admitting steam to the cylinder. If
desired the working faces of the valve and valve seat may be curved to
the arc of a circle, and the required sideway motion may be given thereto
by the valve spindle which also gives the to-and-fro motion thereto.
When valves with flat faces are employed the the valve spindle is at
a certain portion of its stroke caused to turn on its axis and by
suitable gearing or connections suddenly move the valve sideways.