A Vapour Spring, and Improvements in connection with the Utilization of the saine.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 16th June, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 16th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 8th June, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Vapour Spring, and Improvements in connection with the
Utilization of the saine.
1, PIERRE LAMENA, of Pauillac, Département de la Gironde, in the Republic
of France, Notary, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to an apparatus consisting of a cylinder in which works a
piston on the face of which acts a vapour which always in contact with an excess
of volatile liquid or of liquefied gas (such as carbonic acid) from which it has been
produced and which is contained in one or more bermetically closed vessels
communicating through a tube or tubes with the interior of the cylinder. If
sufficient force act on the piston-rod in an opposite direction to the action of the
vapour, the latter will become partially liquefied, and when the said force shall
have ceased to act or shall have diminished, the liquid will return to a state of
vapour, and the piston during either stroke will always be subjected to the same
pressure. My apparatus may therefore be termed a spring of constant pressure.
The communication between the cylinder and the vessel or vessels can be cut off
when required by means of cocks. The tubes can also be provided with distributing
cocks automatically controlled by the piston, and the cylinder can be provided with
a cock whereby it can be placed in communication with the atmosphere.
The piston rod is fixed or connected to the member which it is desired to submit
to the action of the spring.
The apparatus should be fixed in position and to enable this to be done the
cylinder is advantageously cast with feet through which screws can be driven into
a fixed body.
The apparatus can be used like any ordinary spring, and it can also be employed
as a regulator and distributer of force, by replacing fly-wheels in steam, gas,
petroleum and hot air engines and, in general, in all motors; it can be employed
as a divider of the work in engines and motors amongst several revolutions, that is
to say, as a distributer of the work stored during one revolution in the fly-wheel
over the other revolutions; it can be employed as a governor, even to stopping
point, of any movement resulting from the speed engine.
Two vapour springs such as those herein before described can be combined with
movable bearings sliding in guides and supporting a grinding cylinder so as to
exert a constant pressure on the said cylinder.
In this
The application of my vapour spring to a pump gives also good results.
case the spring is connected to a rocking bottom of a tank by means of a
connecting rod and two levers one of which is jointed to the piston-rod of a pump
so as to give a rising and falling movement to the tank which thus actuates the
piston of the pump.
When applied to a press the cylinder of the spring is fixed to the frame of the
press cast on one of the bed-plates, whilst the other bed-plate is fixed to the
piston-rod so as to cause the two plates by the movement of the piston to approach
and recede from each other.
When applying my apparatus to lifting mechanism the direct pressure of the
piston, the vertical rod of which is of suitable length, lifts the load placed on a
table provided on the under end of the piston-rod.

page_text: It is obvious that there are numerous other applications of my vapour spring
but the principle is always the same, that is to say, the employment of a gas or a
vapour for obtaining a constant tension.
The advantages arising from the use of my spring are as follows.-Constant or
variable tension as required, great power without any appreciable increase in mass
and volume, constant elasticity, non-liability to get out of shape, and increased
durability.
Dated this 16th day of June 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
A Vapour Spring, and Improvements in connection with the
Utilization of the same.
1, PIERRE LAMENA, of Pauillac, Département de la Gironde, in the Republic
of France, Notary, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to an apparatus consisting of a cylinder in which works a
piston acted on by a vapour, which is always in contact with an excess of volatile
liquid or of the liquefied gas (such as carbonic acid gas) from which it has been
produced and which is contained in one or more vessels hermetically closed and
communicating by one or more tubes with the interior of the cylinder.
If a sufficient force act on the piston rod in a direction opposite to that in which
the vapour acts the latter becomes partly liquefied, and when this force ceases to
act or diminishes in intensity the liquid will again become vapourized and the
piston, when moving forwards or backwards, will always be subjected to the same
pressure. My apparatus may therefore be termed a constant pressure vapour
spring.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe it with reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figures 1 and 2 are sections of a saturated vapour spring constructed according
to my invention and having respectively one and two containing vessels.
The remaining figures shew my spring applied in various ways viz. :—
Figures 3 and 4 are an end view and side view respectively of a crushing mill
provided with my vapour spring.
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of a pump actuated by my vapour spring.
Figure 6 is an elevation of a press furnished with my vapour spring.
Figure 7 is an elevation of an elevator also provided with my vapour spring.
The saturated vapour spring with only a single vessel (Figure 1) is composed of
a metallic cylinder a of sufficient thickness. The length of this cylinder varies
according to the desired length of stroke of the piston which consists of a metal
body b to the face of which is attached the cup leather kept in position by a
washer 6³. The extremity of the piston rod is conical and fits into the
body of the piston. With this construction the whole can be easily taken
to pieces.
A tube d is screwed on to the end a¹ of the cylinder a and the other extremity
of this tube is screwed into a neck of a vessel c containing the volatile liquid or the
liquefied gas.
The communication between the cylinder a and the vessel c may be interrupted
at will by means of a cock e.
Another cock f is screwed to the end a' of the cylinder a for establishing
communication between the cylinder a and the atmosphere.

page_text: If the vessel c is unscrewed, the tube d (the cock e being open) serves for introducing
the liquid and by closing the cock e the liquid and its vapour are stored up in the
vessel. If it is not convenient to remove the containing vessel the volatile liquid
may be introduced through a special opening provided with a tube and cock. In
this case the cock e is closed when the liquid is being introduced and when this
operation is finished the opening is hermetically closed and the cock e opened;
vapour forms immediately and fills the cylinder a.
When a liquefiable gas is employed it is introduced in the gaseous state at great
pressure and the cold produced causes the gas to be liquefied in the vessel c.
The piston rod is attached to the apparatus which it is desired to subject to
the action of the spring.
The piston packing may be metallic and if tlie apparatus be placed in a vertical
or inclined position the piston irrespective of the nature of the packing used may
be covered with a layer of a lubricating liquid which makes a joint and lubricates
the piston.
The lubrication below the piston may be effected by means of
spongy material
which follows the piston and dips into a lubricant with which it soaks the walls of
the cylinder when moving with the piston.
The apparatus should be fixed at one point. According to the position it is to
have it is screwed either at the top or at the bottom to a fixed body by means of a
foot or lug cast on the cylinder, or by flanges or other suitable means.
The apparatus may be used for any purpose for which ordinary springs are used
especially springs of moderate and great force. At the present time when it is'
necessary to employ a powerful metallic spring a great mass of metal is used in its
construction which deprives the spring of some of its elasticity.
It is also
impossible to make a solid spring, exerting a constant tension variable at will!
My apparatus does away with these disadvantages and has besides the following
advantages, viz. :—
Facility for obtaining great power with small volume and mass.
Possibility of allowing the spring to act in any desired direction.
Constancy of the elasticity: that is to say, the force that is necessary for
compressing the spring initially suffices for compressing it to the end of its stroke
and the reaction being also constant, performing an amount of work equal to that
expended in the compression, allowance being made for friction.
The saturated vapour spring cannot be deformed and its tension may be regulated
at will according to the temperature to which the generating liquid is raised or
lowered, and to keep it always active it is only necessary to have an excess of the
vapour generating liquid to keep the vapour saturated.
Besides the general application herein before mentioned my improved spring can
be applied in various other ways.
It is well known that in gas and vapour engines, in which the force of an explosion
is utilised for doing mechanical work, the gas or vapour is not easily controlled, at
great pressure, and that the gas or vapour has at the end of the expansion, which is
The fy
not always sufficiently prolonged, considerable expansive force or inertia.
wheel can only stop the motion of the piston by a great effort and if this fly wheel
is not sufficiently powerful it recoils or slows down thereby causing loss of useful
work.
In this case the application of my improved vapour spring will be advantageous;
it will do the work that would otherwise have to be done by the fly wheel and it
will do this work without at all impairing its force or causing a shock.
In all single acting engines it is necessary to use powerful fly wheels the mass of
which can be considerably reduced by employing a vapour spring, the duty of which,
identical with that of the fly wheel, consists in storing up energy, when being
compressed, to be given out during its expansion.
There are other applications of my spring, for instance, 1. Regalating the
movement of and governing engines and motors as hereinafter described.
2. Governing all motion resulting from velocity acquired, for instance, governing &

page_text: machine the motion of which is kept up by the inertia of the moving parts. If,
when it is desired to stop the machine quickly, it is subjected to the action of the
spring, the force of inertia will be overcome by the said spring, if it be caused to
act simply as a resistance preventing its reaction from producing an effect tending to
accelerate the movement that it is desired to destroy.
Instead of employing a single vessel c I can use two such vessels c, c¹ Figure 2
communicating with the cylinder a by means of the tubes d and d respectively. In
this manner the vapourization of the liquid may be effected in one of the two
vessels, c for example, which is heated and serves as a generator and the condensation
may take place in the other vessel c' which is cooled and serves as a condenser ;
then, by means of a pump or other suitable arrangement the liquid is forced from
the condenser to the generator c which is thus supplied continuously. In the
vapour spring with a single vessel as in the spring with two vessels, distributing
cocks g, gare provided which can, according to the manner in which the apparatus
is to be used, open and close alternately, at the desired moment, the communication
between the vessels c and c' and the cylinder a.
The vessel c may be heated in an ordinary manner or by hot air, steam or water;
by employing water there is certainty of not imparting to the generating liquid
in the vessel a temperature higher than that of boiling water. The cooling
of the condensing vessel c¹ is effected by a current of air, by water or any other
suitable means.
In crushing machines the weight of the rolls plays an important part and the
accidental resistances offered by the material to be crushed to the action of the
rolls are injurious to the proper working of the machine and sometimes cause a
breakage. In the machine shewn in Figures 3 and 4 the bearings h, h, which
slide in the guides h¹, of the framework, are continuously subjected to the action
of simple vapour springs a, a the pressure of which replaces the weight which the
roll of an ordinary machine would possess. Under these conditions the roll i can
follow every movement of the bearings h, h and is consequently subjected to
the action of the springs or acts on the springs if any accidental resistance is
produced.
The shaft of the roll i carries a keyed pulley and a loose pulley and may be
driven from any suitable source of power.
The same arrangement of springs could also with advantage be applied to rolling
mills.
Figure 5 shews my improved spring applied to a pump. The spring a is arranged
vertically and its piston rod 6 is connected by means of a link to the end of one
of the arms of a lever, pivotted at k³, the other end of which is connected, by
means of a rod ³, to a reservoir placed beneath a waterfall. This reservoir,
which is open above, is provided with a bottom l', pivotted to a horizontal axis *
around which it can oscillate in order to open or shut the reservoir l.
The reservior is provided at the bottom with two ledges ³, opposite one
another against the top and bottom of which respectively the edges of the oscillating
bottom rest when the reservoir is closed, as shewn in Figure 5. The two halves of
the bottom are of different weight, the half that bears on the top of the ledge
being heavier than the other half which bears on the bottom of the other ledge
so that the reservoir is closed naturally and the weight of water maintains it
closed.
The vapour spring a causes the reservoir to rise when empty but the motion is
stopped when the weight of water in the reservoir is sufficient to counterbalance the
force of the piston of the vapour spring a. Water continues entering the reservoir
so that the latter begins to descend. The rod is pivotted to the piston rod k of
a pump ko, which is therefore actuated when the reservoir / descends. When the
reservoir arrives at the end of its downward stroke its bottom l' strikes against
a fixed stop, which causes it to partially rotate on its axis thereby opening
the reservoir, which empties quickly and is again caused to move upwards by the
vapour spring a. This action will go on until the communication between the

page_text: spring a and the reservoir c is interrupted or until the bottom of the latter is kept
open.
press.
The
Figure 6 represents the application of my vapour spring to a
cylinder a of the spring is fixed to the frame m of the press, which is cast in one
with the lower platen m¹; the upper platen m³ is fixed to the piston rod of the
vapour spring.
Under the action of the vapour the platen m³ descends, thereby compressing the
body to be compressed between the two platens m'end m².
When the desired compression is finished the cock or tap e is closed and the
cock e, placed at the top of the cylinder a, is opened so as to cause the vapour in
the cylinder to escape into the air and enable the platen m² to be raised.
With the object of economising vapour and liquid the vapour spring may be
provided with two containing vessels of which one is heated and the other cooled ;
when the work of the machine is done a portion of the vapour can be condensed in
the cold vessel and the rest can escape into the atmosphere.
Figure 7 is a sectional elevation shewing my vapour spring applied to an elevator.
The apparatus consists of two metal cylinders n and n' fixed to the same base plate p.
The cylinder n is filled with water and communicates by means of the pipe d with the
vessel c, containing the generating liquid. The cylinder n' contains a plunger
to the top of which is fixed the platform for carrying the goods to be raised. The
two cylinders n and n' are in communication with one another at the bottom through
a tube n³ and the liquid is retained in the cylinder n¹ by a cup leather q' which
packs the plunger q securely.
To cause the plunger to rise the cock e of the vessel c is opened, the liquid
becomes partially vapourized and the vapour compresses the liquid in the cylinders n
and n' thereby causing the plunger to rise. When the plunger has arrived at the
top of its stroke it can be caused to descend by proceeding as in the case of the
press, that is to say, allowing the vapour to escape after having subjected it to
the action of the cold vessel c.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A saturated vapour spring consisting of a cylinder containing a piston the rod
of which can be connected to any apparatus; the cylinder communicating with a
vessel by means of a tube furnished with a valve or cock and being provided at the
bottom with another cock for the purpose described and as illustrated in Figure 1
of the drawing.
.
2. A saturated vapour spring consisting of a cylinder having a piston and
communicating, by means of two tubes, furnished with regulating and distributing
cocks, with two vessels for the purpose hereinbefore described and as illustrated in
Figure 2 of the drawing.
3. The combination of two saturated vapour springs of the kind described in
Claim 1 with bearings sliding in guides and supporting the roll of a crushing
machine for the purpose described and as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the
drawing.
4. The combination of a saturated vapour spring, of the kind described in the
first claiming clause, with a reservoir to which it is connected by means of a rod
and two levers or links one of which is pivotted to the piston rod of the pump, the
bottom of the reservoir being movable on a horizontal axis for the purpose
described and as illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawing.
5. The combination of a saturated vapour spring, of the kind described in the
first claiming clause, with a press one platen of which is cast with the frame whilst
the other is fixed to the end of the piston rod of the spring for the purpose set forth
and as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawing.
6. The combination of a saturated vapour spring of the kind described in Claim 1
with two vertical cylinders mounted on the same base plate, one of the

page_text: cylinders communicating by a tube with the vessel of the vapour spring and the
other cylinder containing a plunger to which is fixed a platform for the purpose
described and as illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawing.
7. A spring, formed by the saturated vapour of a volatile liquid or of a liquefied
gas, consisting of a cylinder in which works a piston actuated by the vapour which
is always in contact with an excess of the volatile liquid or liquefied gas from which
it has been produced and which is contained in a vessel hermetically closed and
communicating with the interior of the cylinder; this spring being applicable
As a weight for acting as a force, resistance or counterweight
As a substitute for ordinary springs
As a governor for steam engines, gas motors and the like, substantially as
described.
Dated the 16th day of March 1895.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.