CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF PRODUCING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE!
JENKINS, of Nassau Street, Soho, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
send greeting...
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Heri
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at.
Westminster, the Eighteenth day of March, in the thirteenth year of Her reign,.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said:
George Jenkins, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,"
that I, the said George Jenkins, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said George Jenkins, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times:
during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in
the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF PRODUCING MOTIVE POWER;" in whichr
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said George Jenkins,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately 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.:

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Jenkins, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon; (that is to say):-
My improvements in the means of producing motive power are effected by
a combination of the forces derived from hydraulic and pneumatic pressures,
which may be modified in various ways, the leading features being the applica-
tion of these forces to a piston to produce reciprocating actions in the manner of
the piston of a steam engine, and from such reciprocating actions of the piston
to obtain a motive power applicable to the driving of machinery. The
principles from which I obtain power are: first, by the pressure of a columin
of water or other fluid acting against one side of the piston, and thereby
forcing it in one direction, and when that force is withdrawn and a vacuum
produced, the pressure of the atmosphere acting on the other side of the
piston to drive it in an opposite direction.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 represents an arrangement of machi-
nery (shewn in section), by which my object may be effected. A is a vessel or:
container; it may be a reservoir of water or a cistern, into which water is
delivered by a pipe from any contiguous reservoir or flowing stream. B is a
long upright tube inserted into the cistern or vessel A, or connected to a
supply pipe or water main. The lower end of this tube is bent upwards and
inserted into tho under part of a cylinder C, which cylinder is open at the
top. In this cylinder is the working piston D. A long tube E, similar iú
diameter to B, is connected to or made to form a continuation of the tube B,
and which descends into a vessel F containing water. The vessel A has a
floating ball-cock a connected with the supply pipe for the purpose of regu-
lating the supply of water to the vessel A and tube B. Near the junction of
the tubes B and E two stopcocks b and c are inserted into the tubes, and-
should be connected together by a rod d and parallel levers e, e, in order that
when one cock is closed the other may be opened. The tubes B and E,
cylinder C and vessel F, being all filled with water previous to working, the.
stopcock c must be shut in order to close the passage into the tube E, and the
stopcock thrown open. The action of the machine will then be as follows:-
The water passed down the tube B will fill the cylinder, and by its pressure
lift the piston to the top of the cylinder, a small cock in the piston allowing
any air contained in the cylinder to escape. The piston being then at the top
of its stroke, the two stopcocks b and c must be simultaneously turned so as

page_text: to shut the cock b and open c, the water will then cease flowing down the tube
B, but that in the tube E will flow into the vessel F, acting as a water valve,
emptying the cylinder C and leaving it in a state of vacuum, which will cause
the piston to descend in the cylinder by the pressure of the atmosphere above.
The water passed through the tube E, descending into the vessel F, will then
flow away over the slot in its side into a receiving vessel G, or it may be
discharged as waste. By again shifting the position of the stopcocks, that is,
opening and closing.c, the water will be allowed to pass from the tube B and
to fill the cylinder as before, and thereby to raise the piston, which will be
caused to descend again, as described, by shifting the stopcocks so as to open
the way of c and close b. Thus a reciprocating action of the piston is produced
by the upward pressure of the water and the downward pressure of the
atmosphere. The power obtained by these means may be communicated
through the piston rod to actuate any kind. of machinery. The mode of
working the stopcocks b and c may be variously arranged. I find it conve
nient to extend the rod d, which is jointed to the levers e, e, of the stopcocks,
and connected to a vibrating tappet lever f, and to give that rod a sliding
motion through the agency of the working piston D. This is shewn in Fig. 1.
The rod of the piston is connected in the ordinary way to one end of a
vibrating beam I, mounted upon a standard J, the reverse end of which beam
carries a sweep rod K, and hence by the vibrations of the beam the fly wheel
Lis made to rotate. Upon the axle of the fly wheel is fixed a grooved cam
M, which, as it rotates, acts upon the pin of the vibrating tappet lever f, and
hence at every stroke of the piston the stopcocks b and c are alternately
opened and closed for the purposes above described. Instead of the two stop-
cocks b and c, I sometimes employ a three-way cock placed in the junction of
the pipes under the cylinder.
;
Having described the, construction of one of my improved machines, I
would observe that to ensure equal actions of the piston, the length of the
tube B from the level of the bottom of the cylinder upwards must be at least
equal to the mean height at which a column of water is supported in vacuo
by the pressure of the atmosphere, and the length of the tube. E from the
bottom of the cylinder to the level of the water in the vessel F must be
somewhat greater than the height at which a column of water is supported in
vacuo by the pressure of the atmosphere.. In order to regulate this distance
to the varying pressure of the atmosphere, I have found it convenient to cut
a long slot in the side of the vessel. F,, and to adapt an adjustable slider g, so
that I can with facility vary the level at which the water shall escape from the
vessel I: In situations where sufficient. height cannot. be obtained for the

page_text: water pressure to act efficiently, then two cylinders may be worked by atmo-
spheric pressure, assisted only by such hydraulic pressure as may be attainable.
Fig. 2 of the accompanying Drawing represents in section an engine con-
structed to work on the same principles as the engine above described; but in
this instance I can dispense with the great length of the tube B. I-employ two
cylinders with their appendages, and connect them by tubes having a four-way
cock, or by a slight variation might adapt four distinct stopcocks connected
together, and made to act simultaneously. The water occupying the cistern A
runs down the upright tube B, and I will assume, in the first instance, through
the aperture of the four-way cock and bent part of the pipe into the cylinder
C, which, being filled, the piston will then be at its most elevated position, at
the same time the other passage of the four-way cock will allow the water to
descend from the cylinder Z, through the tube E, 'into the vessel F below, in
the way above described, and the piston of Z will be at the bottom of the
cylinder. The rods of the two pistons, it will be perceived, are connected to a
crank shaft I, and as the pistons reciprocally ascend and descend the crank
shaft will be made to revolve, and the rotary power thus obtained may be' com-
municated to drive other machinery. Upon this crank shaft there is a cám M,
which, by means of the rod d, works the lever f, connected to the jointed lever
e, which, at the proper periods, changes the position of the four-way cock.
The starting of the engine may be effected by slightly turning the fly wheel,
and the engine may be stopped by simply turning the cock Y so as to close the
pipe B. To enable these engines to operate when it is impracticable to use a
pipe E of the length described, I employ an apparatus shewn in the Drawing
in section at Fig. 3. A close air-tight box R is provided, in which is to be
placed the water valve vessel F, above described, and below the surface of the
water in this vessel is to be inserted the lower end of the tube E, which is the
discharging tube of the engine. In the upper part of the air-tight box is a
valve k, with a tube over it communicating with an air pump, 'by means of
which the air is from time to time to be withdrawn from the box, or the box
inay be exhausted by any other convenient means. From the under part of
the box a tube S descends, in which is a chamber T, at least equal in cápacity
to the contents of the working cylinder of the engine, and in the tube
there are two stopcocks i, the one above the chamber and the other
below it. These stopcocks are opened and shut by two parallel levers con-
nected by a rod, and may be worked by any convenient means of connection
with the piston of the engine or otherwise. Supposing the tube E betweer:
the water level of the vessel F and'the bottom of the cylinder C, to be only of
one third the length at which a-column of water would be supported in vacuo

page_text: by atmospheric pressure, then I should, by the means stated, exhaust the box
R of two thirds of the air contained in it. This state of exhaustion renders
the air in the box pressing upon the water in F incapable of supporting a
column of water in the tube E of more than one third the height formerly
stated to be necessary, consequently the cylinder will (below the piston) be left
in a state of vacuum on the descent of the water in the tube. Thus it will bo
seen, that according to the length of the discharging tube E, so must in an
inverse ratio the air be exhausted from the box R. The stopcock i being
opened and the cock k closed, the water which has flowed over the edge of the
vessel F will descend through the tube S into the chamber T, and on reversing
the position of the stopcocks the opening of k will allow the water to escape
down the tube S, and flow away. The exhausting apparatus may be worked
by the piston of the engine to draw out that portion of air which has passed
into the chamber T by the discharge of the water.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Jenkins, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand oight hundred and fifty
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventeenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid George Jenkins came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty.