April 17. 1885.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE - 



337 



(Pur I-nbrntors' Column. 



y^e give here, week by tceek, a terse description of such of tlie many 

 inventions as ire think may be ofiise to our readers. Where it is 

 possible, the tiumfcer of the patent is quoted, to enable those who 

 desire fuller information to procure the specijieation from the 

 Patent Of\ee in Cursitor-street, Chancery-lane. We shall, gene- 

 rally speaking, confine ourselves to the more recent inventions; but 

 it often happens that an article comes under our notice which, 

 although not quite novel, is worthy of mention for its utility and 

 ingenuity. In such a case we should not hesitate to refer our 

 readers to it. And while we thus increase the interest of our pages, 

 we at the same time assist the inventors by giving greater publicity 

 to their inventions (Knowledge being a popular magazine) than 

 is accorded by the most ezcellent trade journals 



ATTACHMEN'T COMPASS. 



[Patent, Xo. 11,603, 18S4.] — Major Wilkinson has patented this 



instrument, which is 

 intended to simplify 

 the performance of 

 rouRh sketches on 

 active service, and 

 on other occasions 

 wliere a high degree 

 of accuracy is not 

 required. 



It is fitted with Col. 

 Richards' " Working 

 Meridian," a line en- 

 graved on the glass, 

 with which the needle 

 must coincide when 

 in use ; its north end 

 directed to the index 

 or projection at one end ot the line. The compass-box can 

 be turned round, so that the "Working Meridian" may be 

 placed in such a relation to the sketch-sheet that the ground 

 to be represented may occupy its centre. When this is 

 done, then, in order to draw the direction of a road or any 

 object, face the object exactly, and turn the sketch-sheet, to which 

 the compass is now attached, until the " Working Meridian " cor- 

 responds with the needle, which must be level enough to play freely. 

 This " sets " the sketch-sheet in a position corresponding with the 

 ^rotind. Then take a flat ruler, or straight edge (on which should 

 be marked the scale you are using), and lay it with its edge cor- 

 responding with the point on the sketch from which the line is to 

 be drawn ; the edge being at the same time directed on the distant 

 point towards which you are traversing — now draw a line along the 

 edge of the ruler, in the direction of the distant point. 



The advantage claimed for the compass is, that the compass-box 

 can be fixed by the clamp to any note-book, sketch-block, plane- 

 table, sabretache, map, &c., enabling any rough sketching to be 

 done without a special board, while it is no larger than the pocket- 

 compaSB which all oSicers would carry on service. 



AUTOMATIC BUTTON. 



This is an ingenious contrivance patented by Messrs. William 

 Tonka 4 Son. The button consists of a plate of brass furnished 

 with two conical projections, and attached to the door-post by 

 means of a screw. It is so attached that when the door is shut it 



cones and into its place, the button at the sanie time falling into 

 the normal position. The two cones are neco39ary in order to 

 secure the proper return of the button when the door is shut. 



POCKET RUBY LANTERN. 



[Patent No. G,898. 1881.]— This lantern, patented by Mr. II. J. 

 Hedding, is intended to supply a want long felt by photographers 

 when travelling. It is extremely portable, is guaranteed perfectly 

 non-actinic, and possesses all the qualities required in a practical 

 lantern, either for changing plates or for developing in the dark 

 room. The body of the lantern is composed of coloured fabric, so 





will be so held by means of the button. To open the door, the 

 button is moved to one side, and the door opened. To shut the 

 door, it is simply pushed in, when it will slide over one of the 



as to avoid the risk of breakage. The top and bottom are of 

 japanned tin, so constructed as to permit the passage of the air 

 necessary for combustion, without at the same time allowing any of 

 the actinic rays to escape. For illuminating purjjoses, night-lights 

 or any other convenient source of light may be employed. It is 

 compactly made, and, when not in use, occupies but a small com- 

 pass, being folded up flat and placed in a sliding case measuring 

 six inches long, four inches wide, and three-qnarters of an inch 

 thick. It is in every way commendable. 



CARPET-BEATING MACHINEPtY. 



[Patent No. 12,114. 1884.]— Mr. George Lamb, of Newtonhill, 

 near Aberdeen, lias introduced a machine for beating and cleansing 

 carpets, which consists of a large rectangular framework of wood, 

 about 20 ft. long by 6 ft. G in. broad, closed in, but provided with a 

 narrow opening along the side, into which the edge of the carpet 

 to be beaten is inserted. The carpet passes over an inclined plane, 

 constructed of bands of leather, and resting on fine steel springs, 

 which forms an elastic bed, through which particles of grit and 

 sand fall into a receptacle below. A shaft extending from end to 

 end of the machine, and adjusted so as to revolve at different 

 speeds, puts in motion three sets of beaters formed of connected 

 strips of leather, which strike the carpet with a succession of smart 

 blows, delivered uniformly over the whole surface. 



The shaft is formed of a wrought-iron tube about 3 in. in 

 diameter, into which solid ends are inserted. These receive the 

 driving pulleys and enter the bearings, which have a large bearing 

 surface. Perfect rigidity and steadiness of movement in the shaft 

 is preserved. 



The dust raised in clouds in the machine is instantly withdrawn 

 by an exhaust fan worked by the steam-engine, and expelled 

 through a tube leading outside the building. 



The carpet is drawn into the machine by the action of the beaters, 

 and received on a wooden grating placed behind the bed. It is 

 slowly pulled back by hand, the strokes being meanwhile continued, 

 and this process is repeated a second or third time, after which it 

 is generally found impossible, by the application of a cane, to detect 

 any remaining dust. 



The carpets, which may be of any make, being exposed to elastic 

 strokes on an elastic bed, run no risk of being torn or otherwise 

 injured. 



Theee is, it is said, every probability that Lord John Manners' 

 1 Amendment on the Telegraphs Bill, in favour of free addresses, 

 will be carried. In that event, the Postmaster-General will, it is 

 anticipated, abandon the Bill, and the introduction of cheap tele- 

 grams will be postponed for another year. 



The Pall Mall Gazette states that the sewers in Enfield have been 

 discovered to be laid with open joints, without cement or puddling, 

 so that the gravel beneath has become saturated with leakage. 

 There are said to be several well in the neighbotirhood, and serious 

 consequences are anticipated. 



At the half-yearly meeting of the North British Railway Com- 

 pany, the chairman stated that he was hopeful that the Tay Bridge 

 would be finished within the coming year, and the Forth Bridge 

 was making very satisfactory progress. The dock at Silloth is also 

 partially completed. 



