1844.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



113 



STEAM ENGINE, BOILER AND PROPELLER. 



Peter Borrie, of Princes Square, St. George's in the Kast, Middlesex, 

 engineer, and Mayer IHenry, of Crutched Friars, in the City of London, 

 merchant, for "Improvements in steam engines, boilers, and propeUing ma- 

 c/iiwen/."— Granted Aug. 3, 18« ; enrolled Feb. 3, 1844. 



The first improvement is for a rotary engine, and consists of a cylindrical 

 case, within which revolves a cylinder having four longitudinal openings or 

 recesses in its periphery, into which are fixed four sliding pistons, each oppo- 

 site piston being connected together and acted on by springs. This cylinder 

 is eccentric with the case, and turns upon its axis, which passes through the 

 ends of the case and also through stuffing bo.xes. Steam is admitted at one 

 side and near tlie upper part of the case, the force of which acting upon one 

 of the pistons causes the Interior cylinder to revolve, the steam escaping as 

 the piston upon which it impinged passes the eduction port, which is on the 

 opposite side, and in this manner the pistons are alternately acted upon, and 

 rotary motion is obtained. 



This engine differs from one for which a patent was granted June 7th, 1S42, 

 to Mr. John Woodcock, of Manchester, in this particular, that Mr. Borrie 

 employs a double acting air-pump, which is worked from a crank fixed atone 

 end of the main axis, and which may probably have some claim to novelty. 

 Fig. 1, shows a section of this air-pump, which is open at both ends ; a a, we 

 will suppose to be the induction passages leading from the condenser, and 

 each being provided with a valve opening inward ; bb, are the eduction ways 

 and which are also provided with valviis opening outward ; it will be clearly 

 seen that the motion of the piston within the pump barrel e, will be double 

 acting. 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



3_ 



:w 



Fig. 3. 



The patentee does not claim the application of this air-pump to the rotary 

 engine as above described in particular, as the engine may be worked as a 

 high pressure engine. The second improvement consists in the arrangement 

 cf two viljratory cylinders, inclined at an angle of about 45 degrees ; three 

 pistons of both cylinders are connected to one crank pin, from which pin is 

 worked a double acting air-pump. The third improvement relates to tubular 

 1 jilers ; these boilers are constructed with a water space all around the fire 

 he flame and heated vapours of which instead of passing from the fire box 

 immediately through the tubes, pass underneath the tubes to the farther end 

 of the boiler, and from thence through the tubes and to the chimney, (which 

 is now generally done by most engineers with marine boilers.) The fourth 

 improvement relates to a mode of disconnecting padjle wheels. And lastly 

 to a stern propeller, of which we have given a side and end view ; d. Fig. 2 &3 

 is a shaft p:\ssing through the slern of the vessel ; eee, are three plates fixed 

 on the end of the shaft, each of which are broader at the outer end, and are 

 of a curvilinear or spiral form with regard to the a.xis. The patentees claim 

 the general arrangement and combinalioa of the several improvements 

 described and set forth in the specification. 



STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS. 



George Bennetts, of Gunnis Lake, Cornwall, civil engineer, for "Improve- 

 ments in steam engines and boilers and in generating steam." — Granted August 

 15, 1843; enrolled February 15, 1844. 



This invention relates to the construction and arrangement of certain ap- 

 paratus in connexion with the engine and its boiler, for the purpose of ren- 

 dering the steam which has been employed in working the engine, and is in 

 its passage to the condenser or into the atmosphere available for heating the 



water, from which the steam is to be generated. And also in generating 

 steam by injecting water in small jets into generators, which are maintained 

 at such a temperature as to convert the water into steam on its coming into 

 contact with the surface of the generator, whereby the cost and size of the 

 boilers is reduced, and a saving of fuel eS'ected. Fig. 1, is a vertical section 



of parts of a condensing steam engine ; a, is the cylinder with its piston rod, 

 &c. ; i, the eduction pipe ; c c, the air-pump and condenser, all of which are 

 well known ; e e e, represents a vessel formed of three cylindrical pieces, 

 bolted together at the flanches ; at each of the places where these pieces 

 join there is an internal projection, which is of such area as to allow only a 

 thin sheet of water to pass at each stroke of the pump between these pro- 

 jections and the outside of the eduction pipe, which pipe passes through the 

 vessel, and at the ends of the vessel where the pipe protrudes a steam tight 

 joint is formed. This vessel should be capable of containing as much water 

 as the engine will require to supply it with steam for eight or ten minutes ; 

 g, is a double acting forcing pump, connected at its eduction passage by 

 means of the pipe h, to the vessel eee, and at its induction passage by means 

 of the pipe/, with the discharge cistern d ; i, is a pipe leading from the vessel 

 e e e, to the generators or boilers ; k, is a valve, which the patentee places in 

 pumping engines in the position shown in the drawing. This valve should 

 be kept open during the time the engine is in motion, so as to offer no re- 

 sistance to the steam in passing from the cylinder ; but when the engine is at 

 rest this valve should be closed, and the steam in the cylinder allowed to pass 

 into the eduction pipe, where it will give out its heat to the water in the 

 vessel eee. This valve may alternately be opened and shut by any conve- 

 nient means. The mode of action of this part of the invention is as follows. 

 If the vessel e e c, is filled with water, and the pumpg-, set in motion, the 

 water which it forces into the vessel at It, will force an equal quantity of 

 water out of the vessel through the pipe i, into the generators or boilers, 

 and the water thus forced into the vessel at h, will c'rculate through it for 8 

 or 10 minutes, until arriving at i, it is forced onwards into the generators or 

 boilers, and during the time it has remained in the vessel e, will have taken 

 up as much heat as the steam is capable of communicating, and the water 

 entering at the part of the vessel next the condenser, is forced into a hotter 

 position at each stroke of the pump, whilst the area of the vessel at four 

 and five being contracted so as to allow only sufficient room for the water 

 forced in by the pump to pass freely, prevents the water that has already 

 passed these places from returning. By these means the steam which has 

 been employed to work the engine will be available for raising the tempe- 

 rature of the water which is supplied to the boiler ; and a partial condensa- 

 tion of steam may also be effected whereby jless water than otherwise is 

 required for condensing the steam in the condenser, and a smaller discharge 

 pump than otherwise necessary will effectually free the engine from water 

 and air, thus having a greater available power in the engine, at the same 

 time economising fuel. Mr. Bennetts for this part of the invention claims 

 the mode of using steam after it has performed its work, for the purpose of 

 heating water when applied according to the means herein described. 



The second part of this invention 

 consists in a mode of generating 

 steam by injecting the water upon 

 the surface of metals raised to such 

 a temperature as to convert such 

 water immediately into steam. Fig. 

 2, is an end elevation, showing the 

 arrangement of the generators, which 

 will be sufficient to give an idea of 

 this invention; A, is the furnace, 

 from which there is a flue leading 

 underneath the three generators 

 marked /) b b, and which are shown 

 in the side elevations, (in the draw- 

 ings of the specification,) as being 

 about three times as long as from front to back of the fire place ; the flue after 

 arriving at the further end of the generators, turns upwards and joins the 

 flue C, formed by the arrangement of generators, along which the gases and 

 other vapours pass until they arrive at the end immediately over the front of 



10 



Fig. 2. 



