IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Clayton Mewburn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th November 1869.-A communication from abroad by Jules
Leopold Romuald Boutrouille and Jean Baptiste Henne, both of
Roizel, France.
I, JOHN CLAYTON MEWBURN, of 172, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent and Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE
POWER, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
The property of certain liquids of evaporating at a low temperature
and of developing great pressure without their being heated to a high
degree is well known. Among thesé liquids is sulphurous acid, which
becomes capable of elastic force sufficiently powerful when it is brought
to a temperature of only 125° to 140° Fahrenheit. The preference given
to sulphurous acid over the other very volatile liquids is owing to its
non-inflammability. It is with the view of producing a great economy
in fuel and at the same time developing great dynamic force that the
present Invention based on the exclusive employment of sulphurous acid
has been brought to a practical result with the aid of special apparatus.

page_text: Advantage is also taken of the property possessed by liquid sulphurous
acid of producing great cold when evaporated in order to condense the
sulphurous acid vapours which escape from the driving cylinder and to
re-employ the product of the condensation.
The liquid sulphurous acid to be evaporated is enclosed in a generator,
which is immersed or partly immersed in a boiler heated by petroleum
burners or otherwise. The hot water heats the sulphurous acid to a
temperature of from 125° to 140%, which is maintained, a thermometer
being fitted for this purpose. The vaporized acid issues from the
generator by a pipe, which leads it to an ordinary valve box; the acid
then passes by orifices or ports into a cylinder and produces its useful
effect upon the piston therein, and thus puts in motion the mechanism
connected therewith, namely, the connecting rod, crank, fly wheel,
excentric, and other parts. The excentric is jointed to a lever, which at
its upper part actuates the slide valve, and at its lower part works a
suction and force pump, the object of which is hereafter explained.
When the acid has exerted its useful effect on the piston it issues by the
escape orifice, and passes by a pipe to a surface condenser. The con-
densation is effected by the refrigeration caused by the evaporation of
small quantities of liquid sulphurous acid brought by an annular tube;
the product of the condensation falls into a reservoir below; the pump
before mentioned draws the condensed sulphurous acid and discharges it
into a feed reservoir. The acid in this reservoir is kept at the same level
by a feed tube communicating with an upper reservoir. A second pump
draws the liquid from the feed reservoir and discharges it into the
generator. The various parts of the apparatus are provided with the
usual devices for ensuring safety, such as a safety valve, a manometer,
and a gauge; and the boiler is provided with a small tube to allow
steam to issue therefrom.
The apparatus before described may be much modified according to
the requirements of each particular case. In many cases the con-
densation of the escape or spent sulphurous acid may be dispensed
with.