342 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[NOVEMBEK 



vacuum cylinder ; round this passes a chain which goes over the 

 two pulleys (H' B')i having the ends fastened to the two sus- 

 pended j)ulleys (C C'). The arrangement of the second chain is 

 similar to tliat of the single machine. Tlie two rams, being ex- 

 actly tlie same weight, will, of course, rise and fall at the same 

 time with each stroke of tlie piston. If it should be found that 

 one pile is driving faster than the other, and for this or any other 

 reason it should be desirable to give a shorter blow to one pile 

 tlian to the other, it can be done in the following simple manner : 

 » small chain or rope is attached to each ram, hanging freely ; the 

 ma7i in attendance can at any time, without stopping the machine, 

 fasten the end of this chain or rope so as to check the rise of one 

 ram to any extent — a very small force will do this, as the two rams 

 exactly counterbalance one another ; tlie other ram will, of course, 

 then make a stroke longer in proportion to the shortening of this 

 one. Or the working of one ram may, by tlie s.ame means, be en- 

 tirely stopped, the other then making a blow twice the length that 

 it did when both were working equally. 



A working model of the machine may be seen at 31, Parliament- 

 street, Westminster. 



BEGISTSR OP NETV PATENTS. 



SELF-ACTING GAS APPARATUS. 



John Watson, merchant, and Edward Cart, gentleman, both 

 of Hull, for '■^improvements in the manufacture of gas." — Granted 

 February !)■; Enrolled August 14, 18 18. 



The patentees describe the object of this invention to be the 

 combination of apparatus with an ordinary hot-air stove for 

 generating gas in proportion to the supply required, and so to 

 arrange the parts that the supply of material to the retort will be 

 cut oif by the filling of the gas-holder, so that if the supply of 

 gas from the retort he not consumed, the further feed to the retort 

 will be cut off. The figure represents a section of the apparatus. 



n, is an ordinary hot-air stove, with the retort set therein, or 

 the retort may be set in brick-work or masonry, in lieu of the iron 

 stove ; F, feed-pipe, to conduct the li(juid for gas manufacture 

 from the holder j, to the retort i ; k, tap opened and shut at the 

 commencement and conclusion of the process ; /, self-acting tap 

 connected with the gas-holder by means of the two rods, m and 

 n, and which are moved together at the joint o. The volume of 

 gas required for combustion being supported by a quantity of the 

 liquid flowing into the retort, the proportion is regulated by the 

 tap /, in e.xact ratio with the current consumption, and whatever 

 decrease or increase is made in the number of lights during tlie 

 apparatus being in operation, causes the gas-holder to ascend or 

 descend, until the self-acting tap /, admits only the quantity of 

 liquid to the retort commensurate with the flames burning ; p, 

 washer or purifier ; 7, worm-pipe fixed in a cylindrical vessel con- 

 taining cold water for condensation. The worm-pipe conveys the 

 gas from the washer or purifier, and terminates with a bend which 



dips into the water contained in the cylindrical vessel ; the gas 

 having forced itself through the surface of this water, rises into 

 the gas-holder, whose sides dip into water contained in the tank 

 surrounding the cylindrii-al vessel wlierein the worm-pipe is fixed ; 

 thus it will be perceived tliere are two cylindrical vessels, one the 

 longer as a tank for the gas-holder, and another the smallest to 

 contain water for condensation only. 



The heat used in generating gas may he employed to the ordi- 

 nary purpose of heating air, in addition to generating gas, or it may 

 be applied to other uses. 



STEAM-BOILERS AND ENGINES. 



William Exall, of Reading, engineer, for '■'■certain improve- 

 ments in thrashing machines, and in steam-boilers, engines, and other 

 apparatus for driving the same, which apparatus is applicable to 

 driving other machinery." — Granted March 8; Enrolled September 



8, 184.8. 



This is a very comprehensive specification, and includes nine 

 claims, the enumeration of which will sufficiently explain the 

 nature of the improvements patented. — The first and second claims 

 refer to thrashing machines, and to a mode of regulating the 

 distance of the concave from the drum that carries the thrashers. 

 In the third, the patentee claims the employment of two piston- 

 rods to each piston in what are known as the Brunell engine, with 

 a cranked cross-head, and the forming a recess in the top of the 

 cylinders and pistons, thereby obtaining a greater descent of the 

 cross-heads and their connecting-rods. Fourthly, the mode of 

 adjusting the eccentrics which work the valves or slides (without 

 stopping the engines) by means of a rack, acted upon by a pinion 

 contained within the shaft, this giving motion to another pinion 

 that gears into the toothed ring or arc on the side of the'eccentric. 

 Fifthly, in respect to " Hero's engine," he claims the introduction 

 of the steam into the arms through a hollow neck of prepared 

 india-rubber, with metal wasliers, employed to make the revolving 

 joint steam-tight, together with tlie partial or total clo.;iug of tlie 

 emission apertures, and the reversal of the motion of tlie engine, 

 by means of valves or slides receiving motion through tlie hollow 

 axle of the engine. Si.xthly, the combining of a vertical cylindri- 

 cal boiler and fire-box, having radiated horizontal flues, with a flue 

 surrounding the boiler, which is bounded by the external casing of 

 the boiler, and also the placing the surface of tlie fire-bars some- 

 what below the bottom of the boiler, for the admission of air on 

 all sides of the fire. The seventh claim refers to an improved 

 horse-gearing for driving machinery. Eighth, the application of 

 compressed wood to the manufacture of the teeth of wlieels, so 

 that when the teeth ai-e driven into the recesses or cavities of the 

 periphery of the wheel, the subsequent expansion will retain them 

 securely therein. Ninth, the forming of dove-tailed or other 

 suitable shaped grooves extending across the face to receive teeth 

 of a suitable shape formed of wood which has been previously 

 compressed. 



HIGH-PRESSURE AND EXPANSIVE STEAM-ENGINES. 



John Lawes Cole, of Lucas-street, Middlesex, engineer, for 

 " certain improvements in steam-engines." — Granted March 22 ; En- 

 rolled September 22, 1848. 



This invention has for its object a better arrangement of parts 

 in the combination of high-pressure and expansive steam-engines, 

 wherein two cylinders are used. In the first proposed arrange- 

 ment, the two cylinders are placed above one anotlier, and tlie two 

 pistons are fi.xed to the same piston-rod, the high-])ressure cylinder 

 being above, and the larger cylinder for the expanded steam being 

 below. Tlie piston-rod passes through a stufliug-box lietween the 

 two cylinders which separates them from each other. This stuffing- 

 box is packed by means of two horizontal openings in the plate 

 forming the stufling-box, opposite to each other, by which packing 

 is introduced, the packing being forced into contact with the rod 

 by blocks pressing behind by means of screws. In another 

 arrangement, two piston-rods are employed to the piston in 

 the expansive cylinder, unconnected with the piston-rod of 

 the high-pressure cylinder. These two piston-rods pass up 

 through the coyer of tlie expansion-cylinder and on each side 

 of the high-pressure cylinder to the cross-head or beam above, 

 to which they as well as the piston-rod of the higli-pressure 

 cylinder are secured. The other parts of the engine are con- 

 structed in the usual manner, or so modified as to be suitable to 

 the present arrangement of the cylinders. Another improvement 



