18-16.1 



TtlE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



219 



And Fourthly, to (he mode of applying this power to the I--';P"'^i<"' »f 

 passage-boats oVother vessel on water, by placing the mams herem de- 

 «!rribed on the banks of canals. , , v*«« 



Fiffl I'late XI, IS a transverse section of the main closed, w. h the p.ston- 

 carr f ge, c, and ai^-tubes././; for the removal of the air fron, the mam, t le 

 annaratJs for that purpose being attached to the p.ston-carriage. gg, the 

 vSwes or rorf of the main, to be Uned at the points where they close ^^.th 

 so . leat" e'rc oth, or other elastic material, attached to thm boards or other 

 flexible maerials and covered, as indicated, with a flexible cap u«, 

 wood navi"' with iron edge-rails between the blocks, level w, h the sur- 

 ^.ce 'ng 2 iVa transverse" section, with the main open aud carnages 

 passino- tiTrough it. h ft, steps for ascending to the roof or top ,of the ca, - 

 S 6 dwarf walls, c, concrete foundations, or ballas . d phmlung 

 or sleepe s. e, wall-plate and hinges. Fig. 3, long.tudmal section. The 

 ?,s'oncarra,e, in its practical application, is to be placed at a greater 

 Si'l'ceahefdof thelirst carriage of the train '1'- jV^P^-f;;^; »;;;■ 

 dicated by the break in the connecting-bar; a tram of '^^'"^Sesfo, heavy 

 goods may be continued from the piston to the passenger carnage, instead 

 of this connectio<--bar, if preferable. Fig. 4 is a ground-plan. 



The en"?avi g^hov^s a main of sufficient width to admit of trains mov- 

 ing inside, each carriage is provided with rollers to throw open the upper 

 sides if he mains are not of sufficient size fur that purpose, he carriage 

 .s to move in.ide, at a certain distance behind the piston, in order to throw 

 openTheTe valves by means of such horizontal wheels or rollers attached 

 to the upper parts of the side of the carriage, which carriage should also 

 serve to'connect the trains to the piston when moving outs.de ortoconnec 

 barges on water, by such mains being laid on the bank of the canals, and 

 this power substituted for horse-power for the purpose of »"«'"= ^"' 

 barges The roof, or valves, are to be composed of a series of rafte s, 

 aUached bv axles or hinges to a wall-plate bedded on the dwarf walls, 

 fnd tvere'd tntde and outside with asphalted felt, or "''>- A-'b-ia.e 

 rials, rendered impervious to air and water, and of sulhcient ^ ■•eng'h ° 

 resis the atmospheric pressure; a covering of india-rubber, o^oter im- 

 pervious material, should likewise extend to the dwarf walls in order o 

 render the joints air-tight. A comnmnication is also intended » be made 

 between the roof of the carriages, thus represented, and «,e n'" or 

 means of stairs, or a step-ladder, to enable passengers to ascend or le c "U 

 as from the deck of a ship to the cabin. It is proposed, also, to convey 

 goods and passengers by means of pistons moving on wheels, as thus de- 

 fcribed, and propelled by atmospheric pressure through close tunnels or 

 galleries, somewhat similarly constructed, but with arched roofs, and the 

 side-walls of greater elevation, in order to afford suflicient carnage room 

 and such tunnels or galleries may be illuminated by artdicial lights when 

 necessary, or by davlight through strong glass, and provided with doors in 

 the sides for the admission of passengers, placed at any convenient dis- 

 tances, opening outwards, so construcled as to exclude the external air 

 and resist the atmospheric pressure. It is likewise proposed to put car- 

 riages in motion by means of rapid currents of air ihus driven through 

 cylinders, traversing such carriages from front to rear, without the aid of 

 a pneumatic main ; the apparatus for such purpose being placed in such 

 carriages, and the velocity with which such carriages can be moved vvill 

 be in proportion to the amount of power applied to the area of the cy in- 

 ders, and the rapidity with which the air is propelled through such cy in- 

 ders or other channels, which should traverse these carriages from front to 

 rear. 



HILL'S P.\TENT PRINTING PRESS. 



John Reed Hill, of Stamford-street.— Granted August 2, 1844 ; En- 

 rolled September 2, 1845. (See Engruving, Plate A/.) 



This is a very ingenious invention, by which, by means of hand labour, 

 and without the aid of steam power, a hand printer is enabled to produce 

 impressions with a rapidity far beyond anything that the handpress, or any 

 press not worked by steam, has hitherto produced. The simplicity of con- 

 stuction is also a great advantage, for it has neither tooth wheels, rack, or pi- 

 nions for giving motion ; neither has it the tapes for conveying the paper 

 A strong lad can work off from 1,200 to 1,500 impressions per hour with 

 less labour and exertion than is required by the common hand-presses to 

 ■work off 300 impression." , . , ,. • , ,, 



We are indebted to our contemporary the Mechanic s Magazine, for the 

 following description. 



A A are the side-standards of the machine ; B B honzontal frame for sup- 

 port of type-table; C C tvpe-table running on wheels or rollers ; D, print- 

 ing cylinder, revolving on horizontal axis ; E E, inking rollers ; F, distribut- 

 ing rollers; G ink trough and supplying roller; H treadle for foot motion; 

 I flv-wheel for rendering the motion uniform ; J grooved wheel for driving 

 the machine ; K K lever for throwing off the printed sheets ; L receiver for 

 sheets when printed ; M register plate for receiving or " laying on the 

 sheets to be printed ; N part of top of machine, forming a table when in 

 use, but which is turned up to afford access to the type-talile . 



Motion is given to the machine by means of a treadle, which the pressman 

 works with his foot, whilst his hands are employed in laying on the sheets ; 

 but this is an arrangement intended to be confined to presses for small work : 

 in presses of larger dimensions it is proposed to use hand-wheels. 



Originality cannot of course be claimed, either for producing the impres- 

 sions by cylindrical pressure, or for the mode of working the cylinders, la 



both of which respects Mr. Hill's press differs in little, if anything, from the 

 (now) common steam-press. The chief novelties in this press we conceive to 

 be these ; />-s^ the peculiar arrangement for moving the ' m-'^^le ; and 

 second, the apparatus for taking off the sheets when printed. In both ot 

 thcie respects the simplicity of construction and working efficiency of the 

 machine are such as apparently leave nothing more in the shape of improve- 

 ment to be desired. tu t n( 

 The manner in which impressions are taken is as follows :— the form oi 

 tvpes being fixed and made ready for printing, and motion being given to the 

 wheel the pressman connects the motion of the wheel to the axis of the 

 printing cylinder by a sliding clutch ; he then lays a sheet on the register- 

 plate, with its front-edge and one of its ends in contact with a guide, and 

 on the printing cvlinder arriving at a certain position of its revolution the 

 front edge of the sheet is secured to the cylinder by claws, which carry it 

 round to meet the tvpes and receive the impression. By the time the im- 

 pression is completed, the cylinder has brought the front edge of the sheet 

 within the claws of the removing arm, which claws then close, and secure 

 the sheet; and simultaneouslv, beneath, the cylinder claws open and allows 

 the sheet to pass from the cylinder by the removing claws, and to be depo- 

 sited on a shelf ready for being removed by hand. 



On the end of the cylinder spindle outside the frame, there is a crank- 

 arm which pushes back the type-table after an impression has been taken, 

 and on its arriving at its most backward position, the crank-arm quits its 

 connection with the table, and a connection takes place between the end ot 

 the printing cylinder and the edge of the type-table, by which means a firm 

 contact takes place between the two surfaces, which produces the forward 

 motion of the tables and types to produce the impression. 



The supplv and distribution of ink are effected by the table and types 

 running under the inking rollers in the ordinary manner of steam printing 

 machines. 



EXCAVATING MACHINE. 



Moses Poole, of the Patent Bill Office, London, for "Improvements in 

 raishig and transporting earth and other heavy bodies." A comniunication. 

 Granted Nov. 18, 1845 ; Enrolled May 18, 184G. (Witli an Engranng, 

 see Plate XI.J 



This invention, for improvements in raising and transporting earth and 

 other heavy bodies, consists in the application of certam mechanical ar- 

 rangements or combination of parts for facilitating the removal of eartt^, 

 stone, and other matters, when constructing or forming cuttings for rail- 

 ways, canals, and other similar works, which will be understood by the 

 following description, reference being had to the drawing, which shows a 

 section of the earthwork and side elevation of the apparatus fo""""? '^e 

 subject of this patent, and consists in the application of endless pitch- 

 chains in the following manner :- a a is a framework of wood or other suit- 

 able material, forming an inclined rail or tram road, and supported by 

 props or standards 6 b b, capable of being lenglhened or shortened at plea- 

 sure. At the top and bottom of the incline there is a wheel c c , round 

 which is made to pass an endless chain d d. e e is also an endless chain 

 passing round a wheel fixed on the axis of the wheel e' and also round a 

 wheel keyed upon an horizontal shaft/, g is a vertical shaft, ''h.ch may 

 be driven by a horse or other suitable power, and gives motion to he shaft 

 /and pitch chains by means of a pair of bevil wheels, h h are the carts 

 which are drawn up by means of the chain d d, which is provided w. h <i 

 number of hooks that take into an eye or link attached to the tail part o 

 the cart. When the carts arrive at the top of the incline, they are alio" eel 

 a little fall on to the horizontal rail, which, together with the velocity they 

 have acquired in coming up, has the effect of liberating them from the 

 hook. Fig. 2 is a hack end view of one of the carts, showing the ar- 

 rangement of levers for disconnecting the hind part of the cart which is 

 effected by pulling a string which passes over a small pulley and along the 

 side to the frout part of the cart. 



SLUICE COCKS. 



William Henry Waller, of Vauxhall Water Works, Upper Kenning, 

 ton-lane, Lambeth, in the county of Surrey, engineer, for ! '7™''f "'"''' 

 m sluice-cocks."-Gr^ated October 31, 1845 ; Enrolled April il, 1846. 



The improvement consists in applying moveable bushes or facmgs to 

 sluice-cocks, and in constructing them in snch a "a"f ^ "^^/.^'^.'b^^ 

 harder, fit more truly, and be more readily applied, and replaced when 

 worn. Fig. I, is a vertical section of the improved sluice cock , fig. 2 a 

 Trt cal sec'tio; taken transversely to the last figure A is he case of tl e 

 cock, bored out at the points, and recesses, and '^e backsoHhe bushes 

 b b kre turned in a lathe, so as to fit the recesses thus foimed. The in- 

 ten'.orpreferr making the bushes of cast-iron, the "orking surfaces are 

 chdledinthe act of casting, and are ground with emery n a lath^^^^ 

 bushes are coated on their backs with marine P'oe, or sini lar mateiidl, 

 previously to introducing them Into the cock ; and after the bushes have been 

 irodnced inJo the cock, they are moved back in the recesses be ore men- 

 tioned, into a proper working position, by forcing down the valve ., into it, 

 place The patentee does not confine himself to the particular shape here 

 described as that may be varied. <i is a screw for raising and loweriug 

 the valve e a screw-nut,/, formed on the interior of the upper part of he 

 cock -and ^corresponding nbs on the outer surface of the upper part of 



26* 



