CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON MY FORMER PATENT, DATED DECEMBER THE FOURTH, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE, FOR AN ENGINE OR INSTRUMENT FOR EFFECTING A VACUUM, AND THUS PRODUCING POWER, BY WHICH WATER MAY BE RAISED AND MACHINERY PUT IN MOTION
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
BROWN, of Eagle Lodge, Old Brompton, in the County of Middlesex, Gentle-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by Ilis Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and
twenty-six, in the seventh year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Brown, His especial
licence that I, the said Samuel Brown, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Samuel Brown, my exors, adiñiors, or assigus, 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 in all His said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,my
Invention of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON MY FORMER PATENT, DATED DECEMBER
THE FOURTH, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE, FOR AN ENGINE OR
INSTRUMENT FOR EFFECTING A VACUUM, AND THUS PRODUCING POWER, BY WHICH
WATER MAY BE RAISED AND MACHINERY PUT IN MOTION;" in which said last
mentioned Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Samuel
Brown, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Iuvention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Ma-
jesty's High Court of Chancery withinsixcalendarmonthsnextandimmediately

page_text: after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso. I, the said
Samuel Brown, do hereby declare that the nature of my said improvements
upon the Invention and machines or instruments described in my aforesaid
Patent are herein-after particularly set forth and described (that is to say):-
In the first place 1 find, from my experience in the use of the machine that
instead of using hydrogen gas or inflammable air, whether the same be
produced from the distillation of coals or any other inflaminable materials or
otherwise in its pure and unmixed state, I now use the said gas in combina-
tion with atmospheric air, which is attended with great advantage, since, when
so mixed,it unites more readily and produces as perfect a vacuum with a much
less consumption of gas. In so mixing atmospheric air with the inflaınınable
air,before it is permitted to enter the cylinders, care must be taken not to add
such a quantity of atmospheric air as to produce an explosive compound, as
that might be attended with the danger of taking fire within the pipes into
which I pump or force it, which is better than nixing it in the gasometer or
other reservoir in which it is kept. If inflammable gas from coals is made use
of rather more than half its bulk of atmospheric air may be added without any
danger of explosion, and thus will a very considerable diminution in the
quantity of
gas required to produce the vacuum be effected. I find likewise
that the steam or vapour of alcohol or any ardent spirits, or of oil of turpentine
and the essential oils, when heated in a close boiler, will answer the purpose of
working my engines when hydrogen gas or inflammableair cannot be procured
with facility. And I, therefore, now claim the exclusive right under my
present Patent of using hydrogen gas or inflammable air mixed or deluted in
all proportions with atmospheric air, and likewise the ignited steam or vapour
of boiling alcohol or ardent spirits, essential oils, naptha, and all other articles
capable of producing inflammable steam or vapour for the purpose of working
or producing a vacuum in any or all my said engines or instruments.
to the engine or instrument itself, its principle of action remains the same as
was described in the Specification of my former l'atent of the Fourth of
December, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three; (that is to say,) by
introducing inflammable gas into an open cylinder or vessel, while a flame
placed on the outside, but near to the cylinder, and kept constantly burning.at
times comes into contact with and ignites that gas, and the cylinder is then
closed in an air-tight manner and the flame is prevented from communicating
with the gas within the cylinder, which continues to flow for a short time and
then is stopped off, during which time by its combustion it acts upon the air
As

page_text: within the cylinder, and at the same time a part of the rarified air escapes
through one or more valves and thus a vacuum is effected, the cylinder or
vessel being kept cool by water; but for the general disposition and operation
of my said machine I refer to the Specification of that aforesaid Patent
enrolled in the High Court of Chancery on the Fourth day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-four; but the apparatus and means by
which I now bring about and produce the effects described in my aforesaid
Specification, and of which I now claim the sole and exclusive right as a new
combination of machinery under my present Patent, are so varied, altered,
diminished, and simplified, as to render a short description of the entire
machine necessary on the present occasion; and I shall therefore now describe
the same, specifying as I proceed the parts which I consider to be new
improvements, and to which I therefore now claim the sole and exclusive
privilege and advantage (that is to say) :-
Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, of the annexed Drawings shew the present form
of one of my machines, as I now construct them, for raising water to
turn an overshot water wheel for the purpose of giving rotary motion to
machinery of any kind. Fig. 1 is a general side view or elevation of the
entire machine; Fig. 2 an end view of the same, as seen from the end
next the overshot water wheel; Fig. 3 another end view, as seen from the
end opposite to the said overshoot water wheel; and Fig. 4 a ground plan
or bird's-eye view of the machine as seen from above; and the same letters
of reference are used to indicate the same parts in all the said Figures
The letter R, wherever it occurs, represents the timber or cast-iron
framing to support the machine, together with the overshot water wheel P,
which is to drive or communicate motion to the machinery to be worked;
E, E, aro the cylinders or vessels of my machine in which the vacuum is to be
produced; these cylinders or vessels are shewn round in the Drawings, and
firmly fixed upon the framework aforesaid by the side of each other instead of
on opposite sides of the engine as formerly used, and I occasionally substitute
square tubes of plate copper, iron, or brass, or other air-tight material for such
cylinders, in order to obtain the greatest area or space in the least possible
room: When I require the vacuums to be produced in more rapid succession,
I also use three or more of such cylinders or square tubes, which, together
with the mode of placing them close together, I consider as one of my aforesaid
improvements. Each cylinder, whatever may be their number, must have or
cominunicate with a suction or wind bore pipe G, G, G, proceeding from its
bottom to the water which is to be raised from the reservoir or cistern below,
and cach wind bore pipe must have a clack or valve opening inwards in some

page_text: part of it, as at H, H, as described. in my former Specification, and the
nozzle I, Fig. 1, together with its clack or valve J, opening outwards, is fixed
as heretofore near the lower part of each cylinder, for delivering the water
when raised into the box, lander, or reservoir N, from which it is let out as
required upon the overshot water wheel P, to give it motion, and to these
several parts therefore make no claim under the present Patent. Instead,
however, of admitting the inflammable gas or vapour which is to be
inflamed into the cylinders in the manner formerly described, I now bring it
from the gasometer or reservoir in which it is kept by the metal or other pipe
K, which passes upwards nearly to the entire height of the cylinder, and then
turus down again in the manner of an syphon to the horizontal pipe L, com-
municating into all the cylinders through the intervention of sliding cocks or
valves T, T, by which such gas or inflammable vapour can be admitted or shut
off from any or all the said cylinders in a manner herein-after described, and
the gas or vapour, instead of passing into a rose-head within the cylinders, is
permitted to escape into them through the open ends of the tubes, by which it
is brought close to the insides of the cylinders. The use of the syphon bend
in the pipe K is to prevent any water from getting into the gas pipe when it
rises in the cylinders. The cylinders, instead of being double as heretofore,
with a water space between them, are now made of single plate metal or other
substance, and a pipe (B) proceeds from the upper part of each cylinder
down into a small chamber or cistern E formed below the level of the cistern
or lander N to ensure its always being filled with water from N, and this
water by being drawn up into the cylinders E so soon as their covers fall down
and close serves to produce the first cooling of the cylinders or vessels, and to
begin the vacuum which is afterwards rendered more perfect by the cold
water rushing up the wind bore pipes G, G. The cistern F is so adjusted as
to size as to contain a sufficiency of water for this first cooling, and to prevent
atmospheric air following that water and destroying the vacuum in the
cylinders E, E, the lower end of the pipe B is equipped with a conical
metal valve shutting upwards, and worked by a copper ball or other float
within the cistern F, in such manner that when the cistern F is emptied to a
certain extent, which is adjustable by a screw to the float, that float will
descend and cause the valve to effectually close the pipe. The cylinder
lids or covers C, C, are the same in construction and operation as those
formerly used; but instead of being suspended by chains and permitted
to move about, I now work them between metal guides by separate
slings, rods, and levers, and the bridge D, D, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3
and instead of grinding and facing the said covers to make them shut in a

page_text: perfectly air-tight manner, which would be very troublesome in large cylinders
or when square tubes are used, I now bring their lower or shutting surfaces
to as true a face as possible, and cause them to shut upon a packing formed of
the substance called Thomas Hancock's Patent prepared Caouchouc or India
rubber Composition, and prepared by him according to the directions contained
in the Specification ofhis aforesaid Patent, dated the Fifteenth day of March,
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, and duly inrolled in the High
Court of Chancery,orothersufficiently soft and elasticpacking, which is secured
by a rim round the top of the cylinder or square tube, and must be kept moist
with oil or water, so as to make an air-tight joint. d, d, are the slings or rods
by which the cover is raised by the lever A, worked by the descending rod e,e.
carrying at its lower end the counterpoise weight g, Figs. 1 and 3, which is
very nearly equal in weight to the said cover,but so much lighter as to permit
the cover to descend when at liberty. All which said last-mention ed matters
being new, I claim as improvements under my present Patent. The several
floats, cranks, tumblers, and other apparatus formerly used for opening and
shutting the several gas and other valves, as well as the cylinder lids, are now
dispensed with as useless, and I perform the same operation in the following
more simple and certain manner, and I therefore claim it as a part of my
aforesaid improvements:-Asmall overshot water wheel W, is placed by the
side or in some convenient part of the frame of the machine, and receives a
sufficient supply of water to work it from the cistern or lander N, through the
pipe U, Figs. 2 and 3, which has a valve or cock in it to regulate the quantity
of water, as by this quantity the speed of the engine is regulated. This water
wheel W is fixed upon the shaft Y, Y, turning in plummer blocks x, x, and
carrying at its opposite end the small spur wheel X, which works into the
larger spur wheel Z, fixed upon a tumber shaft e,e, also revolving in plummer
blocks or bearings, as most distinctly seen in Fig. 3. This last shaft carries the
several tumblers, wipers, or snail wheels a,, and i, i. i,i, in their revolution
act alternately upon the two bottom parts of the open squares f, f, formed in
the descending rods e,e, and thereby will raise each of the two covers once by
singlerevolution of the shaft c, c; such covers descending again by their own
weight as soon as released from the said tumblers. The descending rods e, 6,
also carry the tappets h, h, and i, i, all adjustable by screws; the two first of
which tappets operate on the lever, best seen in Fig. 1, by which the slide
valve for lighting or inflaming the gaзor vapour within the cylinders is opened
nd shut at the proper moment, and the others i,, by means of the lever m,
pen and shut the sliding or other cocks T, T, by which the inflammable gas or
apour is let into or shut from the cylinders for producing the vacuum. The

page_text: tumblers, wipers, or snails așa, also upon the shaft c,c, are for opening the
atmospheric air valves S. S, near the top of each cylinder, which they do by
pressing in their revolution upon the levers t, Fig. 1, which are connected by
the rods, s, to the lever p, turning on the centre g, and thereby operating on
the atmospheric air valve S, which is kept constantly shut by the weight w,
unless when opened as aforesaid. The small overshot water wheel W maybe
placed immediately upon the shaft c, c, instead of upon the one marked Y, Y,
in the Drawing; but in this case it must be made proportionately larger, and
will not be so convenient, or the valves, cocks, slides, and covers may, if pre-
ferred, be moved by connection with the large overshot water wheel, as will be
obvious to any mechanic. The lightning or inflaming pipe L, a, Fig. 2, may
be supplied from a bottle of compressed gas M, or in any other convenient
manner, so that its flame is not subject to sudden variations or concussions,
and the magnitude of its flame is regulated by a stopcock to each burner as
heretofore. When the engine is to be applied to produce power and motion
by means of a vacuum alone, without the intervention of water raised and
thrown upon a water wheel, as last above described, I dispose the several
parts thereof as shown by Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, of the annexed Drawings:
Fig. 5, being a front view or elevation of such an engine, shewing the gas
cylinders and pipes; Fig. 6a back view of the same, with the piston cylinders
(hidden in the former Figure); Fig. 7, an end view of the same machine, in
which only one gas and one piston cylinder can appear, and Fig. & is a
ground plan or horizontal section of the three last Figures, shewing the distances
and relative positions of all the principal parts of the machine, in describing
which the same letters of reference are used to denote the same parts whenever
they occur. In the use of my machine, as I am now about to describe it, for
producing power by a piston cylinder, one gas cylinder might be applied to
work one piston cylinder, and thus constitute a complete machine; but inas-
much as a great loss of time would accrue during the combustion of the gas
and formation of the vacuum, so I find it better to employ two gas cylinders
to produce a succession of vacuums, to be used in one piston cylinder; and is
was for a like reason that 1. described two or more gas cylinders as being used
in the water wheel engine herein-before described, in order that a more con-
tinuous stream of water might be raised to flow upon the wheel. Accordingly,
a piston cylinder engine might be very well made with one and much better
with two gas cylinders operating upon one piston cylinder; but whenever the
piston cylinder is required to produce rotary motion by cranks or otherwise
two piston cylinders will be better than one on account of there being two
portions on the motion of a crank which are without power, and the vacuums

page_text: produced in two gas cylinders might, by the means hereina-fter described, the
made to operate on two piston cylinders at the proper intervals of times; and
I therefore claim these several modifications in the construction of themachine.
To produce a steady, even, and equable rotary motion, I find, however, that
threepistoncylindersoperatingupon whatisusually denominated a three-throw
crank, or a crank in which the three arms radiate from the central axis, and
form angles of one hundred and twenty degrees each with the other, is by far
the best; and as the operations of such cylinders are made to succeed each
other regularly, one gas cylinder will be sufficient for each piston cylinder, as
there will be ample time between the combustion of the gas and the formation
of the vacuum and the turn of that same cylinder to operate again. I shall
therefore describe such mode of construction, as being that which I consider
the best and most eligible when rotary motion is required. The arrangement
of the gas cylinders are so nearly similar to those already described as apper-
taining to the water wheel engine,that a mere enumeration of their parts with
their uses will be fully intelligible. E, E, E, in Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, are the
gas cylinders or square tubes, as described in the former engine, which are in
this case three in number, ranged by the sides of each other. They are single,
or without inner tubes or linings, as before mentioned, and are firmly fixed by
their bottoms to the platform or bottom R, R, of the framework, which also
supports the other parts of the machine. K is the pipe for supplying gas or
inflammable vapour from a condensed gas bottle, a gasometer, boiler, or other
receptacle not shewn in the Figure. T, T, T, the slide valves or cocks for
admitting such gas or vapour into the cylinders. C,C, the cylinder covers, I, I,
the lighting or inflaming valves for igniting the gas within the cylinders. M is
a cock for regulating the quantity of gas or inflammable vapour to be admitted
into the cylinders. 0,0,0, are the piston cylinders from which the moving
power of the engine is to be derived. These cylinders must be correctly bored,
and are similarin every respect to the cylinders of double-acting steam engines,
having air-tight pistons working within them, the rods of which move through
stuffing boxes in the cylinder lids. They have also side pipes and nozzles, as
at P,P,P, for transferring the vacuum and atmospheric air alternately above
and below the piston, by means of sliding or other valves Q, which are similar
in construction and operation to the valves for regulating the entry and dis-
charge of steam in steam engines. If these piston cylinders are firmly fixed
down to the frame of the machine, slings or some other parallel motion
apparatus, such as is usually applied in such cases, will be required to com-
municate the notion and power of the piston rods to the cranks but in the
present instance I have made the cylinders to hang on pivots gimbals, or

page_text: trunuions, as seen at a, a, in Figs. 6 and 7, by which these aforesaid con-
trivances become unnecessary. These pivots or trunnious may.be supported
in some part of the framework of the machine, as shewn in the said Figures,
or in any other convenient manner. V, V,in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, is the main
shaft of the engine carrying the three cranks h, h, h, radiating from the
center, so as to make equal angles of one hundred and twenty degrees
with each other, as more distinctly seen in Fig. 7. This shaft is supported
by the plumber blocks b, b, and intermediate ones may be used if required
for strength, since the whole power of this machine is communicated
through this shaft by connections with the first driving wheel U, or in any
other convenient manner. This shaft inay also carry a fly wheel if necessary.
Each of the cranks is connected to the upper end of the piston rod of the
cylinder placed beneath it, and the upper part of each piston rod carries
an adjustable tappet p, Fig. 7, which in its ascent and descent strikes
against the two levers c, c, which by the connecting rod d. d, moves the
slide valve Q up and down at the proper periods for admitting atmo-
spheric air, and the vacuum to opererate on the opposite side of the piston
at the same instaut.. These levers are supported by the column or frame e, or
in any other convenient manner, as will be obvious by the Drawings. One of
the ends or some other convenient part of the main shaft V carries a small
toothed wheel or pinion W, which takes into the larger toothed wheel Z, fixed
upon the smaller shaft X; X, best seen in Fig. 8, and which runs quite across
the machine from side to side, and is for the purpose of opening and shutting
the gas cylinder lids or covers, and the several valves or cocks connected
with the gas part of the engine, by which the vacuum is to be formed in
manner following (that is.to say):-The gas cylinder lids or covers c, c, c, are
hung to the polished slides-A, A, by universal joints. The slides, A; A, work
accurately through collars in the central parts of the bridge D. The top of
each slide A, A, is connected by the two slings f, f, to the two paralel levers
g, i, Figs. 7 and 8, which move or turn on centers or bearings, fixed upon
one of the supporters of the bridge D, and terminate at their ends in
the descending rods or bars, which have long holes or chases formed in them
at for the small shaft X, X, to pass through, and the lower ends of the rods j
terminate in the spiral springs m,inade to act by compression against the bars
n of the framework with such force as will very nearly counterballance the
weight of the gas cylinder lids or covers c, c, c, but will nevertheless permit
them to descend by their own weight whenever they are at liberty. The rods
are made to descend and thus open the gas cylinder lids by means of cams,
wipers, or excentrics F, F, F, Fig. 8, on the smaller shaft X, X, one being

page_text: placed against each of the descending rodsj. These cams, wipers, or excen-
trics operate upon small friction rollers, one being placed on each descending
rod, and they only force them downwards to open the lids and keep them
there as long as the lids need be kept open, since the moment they have passed
the rollers the superior weight of the lids will cause them to descend and shut.
The prolonged ends g of the levers g,i,are united by the cross piece o,which
slides up and down upon the polished rod G,which is for opening and shutting
the slides or other valves or cocks T, by which the gas or vapour to be
inflamed is let into or shut out from the gas cylinders, and this opening and
shutting is effected by such cross piece coming into contact with and alter-
nately striking the upper and lower bosses or tappets 9,9,best seen in Fig. 7,
and which are adjustable by screws to their right places. An inspection of
this Figure will show that whenever a gas cylinder C is quite down the gas
cock T will be quite shut, and that such lid must rise a considerable distance
before the end g of the levers g, i, will strike the upper boss or tappet q, for
opening the gas cock to admit the gas or inflammable vapour into the cylinder.
The descent of the lid again shuts the gas cock at the moment when it falls.
This same motion also operates on the lighting valve at I, I, which is also
nade on the sliding construction, and is kept constantly shut by its own weight
or an additional weight J or a spring, should it not be sufficiently heavy,
without such assistance, and is opened by simply drawing up the rod H
Figs. 5 and 7,which is effected in the following manner :-The rod H passes
through a hole made to fit it pretty accurately in a small arm which projects
at g from the side of one of the cylinder lid covers, and the upper end of the
samerod works through a similar hole in the cock or guide piece B, fixed upon
the bridge D. The valve rod H has a small spring, in the nature of an
umbrella spring,rising from one of its sides, so that as the small arm at grises
it comes in contact with the lower end of this spring and carries it, together
with the valve I and valve rod H, up with it, thereby opening the lighting
valve 1; but as the valve rod continues to rise it carries the close upper end
of the spring into the hole in the upper cock or guide B,and thereby closes
or shuts up the lower end of the spring and permits it to pass through the
hole in the small arm at g,when the rod and valve immediately fall by their
own weight and close the opening, the spring not being of sufficient strength
to hold the valve rod in either of the aforesaid holes by friction alone. L, L,
is the burner gas pipe,with its adjusting cocks and jets or burners, properly
directed into the cylinder in such manner that whenever the lighting valve I
is opened the flame may be in proper position to inflame the gas within it.
The mode of moving the gas cylinder lids and various valves, as last above

page_text: described, it will be seen, is different in construction, although nearly the same
in eflect and principle as that described as appertaining to the water wheel
engine; but as these motions result in the first instance from the circular
notion of the small shaft X, X, it is evident that either mode of producing
this motion and opening and shutting of the valve may be used in either of
the engines; nor indeed do I confine myself to the two varieties of machinery
above described, since the same effects may be brought about by floats or
bodies floating in water or other fluids contained in vessels to be filled and
emptied at regular and proper periods without the assistance of circular
motion at all, and in a variety of other ways. It is therefore the order and
proper succession of such motions, which is essential to my Invention, that I
claim, and not of the particular machinery by which that order and succession
can be brought about, since that will admit of too extensive a variation to
admit of description. This particular order and succession of motions is as
follows First, whenever the gas cylinder lid is down or shut, the gas cock,
lighting cock, and atmospheric air or releasing valve must be also shut. After
this the releasing or atmosphere air valve (not yet described as applying to
this engine) must be the first to open. The gas cylinder lid must next open
or rise, and when it has so opened to nearly its full extent the gas cock should
open to admit the gas or vapour to be inflamed, and almost instantly after-
wards the lighting valve should be open to produce such inflamation; this
being a momentary effect the lighting valve is done with, and should instantly
close. The atmospheric air valve should also close about the same time, while
the gas cock should remain open to supply gas and keep up a body of flame
within the cylinder until the very moment when its lid falls and closes, when
the gas should be instantly shut off and the cooling or injection water he let
on to insure a good vacuum; and I consider any and every modification of
machinery capable of producing these effects as a part of and belonging to my
aforesaid Invention. In the water wheel engine herein-before described, the
rise of the water up the injection pipe B, Figs. 1 and 2, and the subsequent
rise of the larger quantity of water through the suction pipe G, which nearly
fills the cylinders, are much more than suflicient to keep them cool. But in
the piston cylinder engine now under description no such quantity of water is
admissible, particularly in locomotive engines, not only because so large a
quantity of water could not be carried about, but principally because it would
fill or choak up the gas cylinder, the whole volume, or as much as possible of
which is necessary for producing as large a volume as possible of vacuum
Accordingly a small metal or other reservoir must in this construction o
engine be made and fixed in some convenient position, as at N, N, i

page_text: Figs. 5, 6. and 7, under the framework of the machine. This cistern mus: be
frequently replenished with cold water in locomotive engines, but in such as
are fixed, a larger well, basin, or reservoir of water will be preferable. This
water is conveyed into the cylinders by the atmospheric pressure that acts so
soon as a cylinder lid falls down. The water passes upwards into the interior
of the cylinders through a small external pipe S, proceeding from the water in
the well or reservoir N, N, and ending in the cylindrical rose head Y, Figs.
8 and 9, pierced with small holes, particularly at its upper surface, so as to
wet the cylinder lid and produce a general but minute division of the water
within the cylinder. These last described parts are more distinctly shewn in
Fig. 9, which is a vertical section of one of the gas cylinders with its lid,
cistern, and injection pipe. In boats or floating vessels this pipe may proceed
immediately down to the water and need have no cock or valve to close it, for
the rose-head holes are so small that the quantity of water they discharge into
the cylinder need scarcely bear any proportion to the contents of the cylinder.
and consequently will not materially injure the vacuum, and the quantity
of water so thrown into the cylinders is discharged again from them through
the short but large pipes t, t, in the cylinder bottoms. These short pipes dip
into the water of the well or reservoir to keep them air-tight, and they are
each closed at their lower extremities by light metal or other valves opening
downwards to a sufficient distance to merely permit the water to run out and
escape through them by its own gravity. These valves rise up and close or
shut by atmospheric pressure the moment a vacuum begins to be formed
within the gas cylinders. The same quantity of water will do over and over
again for cooling the gas cylinders, but the colder it is kept the better. Instead
of letting the gas supplying pipe simply enter the gas cylinder, as herein-before
mentioned, I find it better to turn its end down and carry it near the middle of
the cylinder, as shewn at K in Fig. 9, and to have a small branch pipe K"
proceeding from it and ending just within the lighting valve I, as the gas in this
small pipe instantly takes fire when the lighting valve is opened, and
communicates ignition to the larger pipe more readily and rapidly than
when the large pipe only is used. In large cylinders several pipes will
be necessary to distribute the gas or vapour. The vacuum produced in the
gas cylinders by the combustion of the gas or inflammable vapour as aforesaid
is transferred to the piston cylinders by a tube s proceeding from the lower
part of each gas cylinder to the slide valve or distributing cock Q of its
corresponding piston cylinder, as best seen in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, or from
two or more gas cylinders to one piston cylinder, should that mode of con-

page_text: ...
struction be preferred; and since it has been stated that the construction of
the piston cylinders is similar in every respect to those of the steam engine,
it is evident that when a vacuum so produced as aforesaid is made to exist
on one side of its piston, while the other side is opened by the action of the
valve or cock Q to the external atmospheric pressure, that motion and power
will be produced, and as by a due and proper succession of opening of the
valves, cocks, and communications between the gas cylinders and their
respective piston cylinders, as herein-before provided for, each piston cylinder
will act and produce its power, so will a succession of equable forces be made
to act upon the three cranks of the main shaft V, V, V, and cause it to
revolvewiththe most equable force and motion notwithst indinganydiminution
in the force or power of the vacuum of any particular cylinder. In this
last-described construction or modification of my engine no atmosphuric air
or releasing valve is necessary to the gas cylinders, because the slide or other
valve or cock Q answers this purpose by uncovering an air passage to the
upper or lower portion of the cylinder every time that it moves, the vacuum
passage always communicating with the central opening of the slide valve,
which has three apertures, as usual. The piston cylinders being made to swing
or vibrate on pivots or gudgeons as aforesaid, it becomes necessary that the
pipes of communications, s, between the slide valve Q and the gas cylinders
should be flexible, and this may be effected by making the usual cock or
air-tight joints in them, as used in moveable gas pipes; but as such joints are
liable to wear and get out of order, particularly in locomotive engines when
applied to carriages, and in all situations where they are liable to jolts or
concussions, so I prefer and use flexible pipes made of the aforesaid Thomas
Hancock's patent preparation of caotchoue or india-rubber, made upon
strong spiral wire springs to keep such pipes from closing or collapsing,
as I find them perfectly air and water tight, and very durable when not
exposed to high temperatures. The injection pipe S in Fig. 9 may be
made of the same material, but metal or other air-tight flexible pipes may
be used if preferred, or where Hancock's patent composition cannot be
procured and inflexible metal pipes may be used if the piston cylinders
are fixed instead of being made to swing or vibrate. From the elastic
quality of air it becomes necessary, whenever a piston cylinder is used, to
make the contents of that cylinder much smaller than the gas cylinder in
which the vacuum is to be produced, and I therefore vary their proportional
magnitudes accordingly. From experience I find that when the solid contents
of the gas cylinder is about eight times as great as that of the piston cylinder

page_text: the action is verypowerful and satisfactory, but this proportion must dependin
a great measure upon the number of strokes that the gas and piston cylinders
make with respect to each other. Thus in the Drawings, Figs. 7 and 8, the
small toothed wheel W, on the main shaft V, V,V, is but one sixth part of the
diameter of the layer wheel Z, consequently each piston cylinder will make
six double or up-and-down strokes for one stroke or vacuum made in its
corresponding gas cylinder, which should therefore contain from twelve
to eighteen times as much as the piston cylinder, according to the strength
or power with which the piston cylinders are required to work. It will
appear from the above description that the principles upon which the vacuum
is produced and brought about in the gas cylinders or vessels of this last-
described engine is precisely the same as that beforedescribed as appertaining
to the engine for raising water, but that the power is produced bytransferring
the action of that vacuum to the piston cylinder, which has been stated' to
be similar in form and construction to the cylinders of double-acting steam
engines. I do not therefore claim to be the inventor of such piston cylinder;
but inasmuch as by the combination of machinery herein-before described
that piston cylinder is made to act, not by the elastic power of steam, nor
by atmospheric pressure acting against a vacuum produced by an air pump
or other machinery, as in the air and steam engines hitherto constructed
by others, but against a vacuum produced by my peculiar method of using,
treating, and inflaming hydrogen gas or other inflammable airs, gasses, or
vapours, when mixed with atinospheric air, so I do claim the sole and ex-
clusive use of the said piston cylinder, with its appurtonances, as herein-before
described, whenever the same is used in combination with my herein-before
described means of producing a vacuum; and I do claim all the various parts
of the machinery connected with my aforesaid means of producing a vacuum
which have been herein-before described, but which were not described and
mentioned in the Specification my aforesaid first l'atent of the Fourth day of
December, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, and especially that
of producing the said vacuum by the combustion of hydrogen gas, or any
inflammable air, gas, or vapour, when mixed with atmospheric air, which I
consider to be one of the leading or principal points of my aforesaid new
improvements.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fifth day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1826, the aforesaid Samuel Brown cane before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also theSpecification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
.f