178 



TH£ CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



QJuNE, 



sifrn.il (11- (itlionvise; and consists, firstly, in certain arrangements 

 for tninsinittiiii; sijfiials from one part of the train to another; and, 

 secondly, in certain arranijements for bringing tlie lireaks into 

 action by or throiigli the system of buffers. It is well known that 

 various suggestions have, from time to time been made for effecting 

 or facilitating a communication between different parts of a train 

 with certainty; and, amongst others, it was suggested some time 

 ago by James Edward McConnell (one of the present patentees) that 

 tlie carriages should be cmistructed with a continuous platform, so 

 arranged that a guard might travel from one carriage to another 

 while the train was in motion. But it is desirable that some more 

 expeditious means should exist of communicating from one part of 

 a train to another, and of bringing into action all the breaks 

 throughout the train. 



The last-described part of the invention, viz;, the arrangement 

 whereby the buffers or their line of action are preserved at one 

 and the same heiglit, affords the means of attaining the object; 

 for, by employing hollow buffers, and carrying a chain through 

 them, every carriage througliout the train may be communicated 

 with; and by the adoption of hollow or tubular buffers, breaks 

 may be ap|died to any or all of the wheels of the carriages or 

 wagons in the train; by means of levers, &c., a chain, rod, or rope, 

 extending through the buffer-tubes, is connected to levers or 

 «heels, whicli act on the breaks when the chain is drawn tight. 

 ,/./,,/, represent the levers, which are acted on by the chain by 

 means of a toothed quadrant, working in the tube; and which 

 levers are fixed to the breaks A', k,!{. 



One or more chains, lines, wires, or other mediums of communi- 

 cation, may be introduced, as considered desirable, for signals, 

 breaks, &c.; and when the carriages have been coupled up, the 

 ends of the chains, rods, or other medium of communication, may 

 be connected together through a slot or openings at each end of 

 the hollow buffer-rods. The various modifications of which this 

 )iart of the invention is susceptible will be obvious. 



The patentees claim, as their inii)rovements in effecting a com- 

 munication between one part of a railway train and another, the 

 giving signals by means of a chain, line, wire, or other medium of 

 communication, passing through lioUow or tubular buffer-rods, and 

 connected with different parts of a train, as above described; they 

 also claim the means of retarding engines and carriages on rail- 

 ways by actuating the breaks by means of a chain or rope, passing 

 through hollow or tubular buffer-rods, as above described. 



STEAM-ENGINES AND HYDRAULIC MACHINERY 



Alonzo Buonaparte Woodcock, of Manchester, for ^^itiiprove- 

 iiitnits in stmm-nigiiiex, mid in apparatus fur raising^ Jorciiiy, and 

 cimreying water and otiier fluids." — Granted August 22, 18-18; En- 

 rolled February 22, 184.9. 



The invention relates — Firstly, to the improvement of the 

 jiiston of the steam cylinder, the stufling-box of the piston-rod, 

 and the bucket or piston of the air-pump. 



Secondly, to the improvement of pumps or apparatus for raising 

 or forcing water and other fluids in those parts known as the 

 buckets or pistons of such pumps, blowing cylinders, and other 

 similar apparatus. 



Thirdly, to the improvement of the apparatus used in conveying 

 water and other fluids in those parts of such apparatus known as 

 valves, taps, and cocks. 



Fourthly, to improvements in the cylinders or barrels of pneu- 

 matic and hydraulic machines. And in order that the invention 

 may be fully understood, the patentee says in those parts of the 

 machines above described, as the cylinders and pistons, it is 

 usual for the circumference of such piston or bucket to fit ac- 

 curately into and press hard against the internal circumference of 

 such cylinder, so as to prevent the fluid that may be contained in 

 one part of the cylinder from passing to another; in other words, 

 that the piston shall be steam-tight, water-tight, or air-tight, as 

 the case may be. When this tight fitting is obtained and the ma- 

 chine set to work, the piston or bucket slides against the circum- 

 ference of the cylinder, thus causing great friction, loss of power, 

 and wear of the rubbing surfaces. 



The object of the first, second, and third parts of this inven- 

 tion is, the substitution of a rolling packing for pistons or buckets 

 for those of the sliding character, herein described, and the ai)idi- 

 cation of such rolling packing generally to the purposes herein 

 named, and others of a like nature. 



The elastic rings are made of a cylindric or other suitable form, 

 and of any suitable elastic material as india-rubber (caoutchouc), 

 any variety thereof, or compounds; but rings of india-rubber, 



prepared by Messrs. Macintosh and Company, under a patent 

 granted to Mr. Thomas Hancock, are preferred. 



The internal diameter of the ring is made smaller than the pis- 

 ton for which it is intended, and the piston of so much less 

 diameter than the cylinder in which it is to work as that when the 

 ring is stretched on to the piston and the whole inserted into the 

 cylinder, the ring, by reason of its elasticity, shall be compressed 

 into an elliptical figure in its section; and as the permanent elas- 

 ticity of the ring has a continued tendency to regain its original 

 figure, it consequently presses firmly against the external circum- 

 ference of the piston and the internal circumference of the cylin- 

 der, thus making a perfect air-tight or steam-tight joint. The 

 piston being now put in motion the ringrevolves upon its own axis, 

 and at the same time rolls along the circumference of both piston 

 and cylinder, thus jireserving the tightness of joint without any 

 contact or rubbing of the piston against the cylinder, so that there 

 is no friction or wear, and no oil required for lubricating. The ring 

 by reason of its elasticity adapts itself to any irregularity in the 

 surfaces of cylinders or pistons, and where such rolling pack- 

 ings are used, the cylinders and pistons need not be bored and 

 turned, but may be left rough from the casting, and consequently 

 the first cost of such apparatus be very much diminished. 



Fig. 1 is a sectional drawing of so much of a lifting-pump with 

 the rolling packing applied thereto, a, a, is the working barrel 

 of a common lifting-pump, h, i, is a hollow bucket or piston, c, 

 is a valve made to open upwards, rf, d, is the elastic packing 

 forced into an elliptical form by pressure against the circumference 

 of the barrel n, a, and that of the bucket b, b, the result being the 

 formation and continuance of an air-joint. The elastic packing 

 being made to roll upwards by the motion of the piston, the air is 

 withdrawn from the lower part of the pump; the water follows, 

 and passing through the valve c, is delivered at the mouth c. 

 These rings are applied to the pistons and cylinders of steam- 

 engines in the same manner as for air-pumps. 



The elasticity of the rolling packing permits the passing of 

 mud or particles of coal, stones, sand, and other substances, con- 

 sequently pumps made according to this invention are not liable to 

 become choked or injured by the friction of granular particles, 

 hence they are well adapted for excavations, mining purposes, and 

 ships. For such purposes barrels or other portions are made of 

 the usual materials as wood, lead, cast-iron, or other metal; but 

 for purposes in which wood would be destroyed, and the pre- 

 sence of lead or other metal injurious, as in chemical operations, 

 or where great cleanliness is required, as, for domestic purposes, 

 the barrels and other portions of the pumps are made wholly or in 

 pai't of glass, china, or earthenware. 



Fig. 2 is a sectional drawing of the invention applied to such 

 apparatus as is used in conveying water and other fluids as valves, 

 taps or cocks, a, o, is the outer cylinder or casing which is fur- 

 nished with two or more openings as the inlet b, and the outlet c. 



