Mechanics' Register.

LIST OF AMERICAN PATENTS WHICH ISSUED IN FEBRUARY, 1839,
With Remarks and Exemplifications by the Editor.

1. For an improved Loom for Weaving Fringe and Trimmings; Eliza A. B. Judkins, Portland, Maine, February 2.

This loom does not differ in its general construction from those already in use, but to obviate some inconveniences experienced in the ordinary loom, a new arrangement of certain parts is described and represented, and to these the claim is confined; a transcript of the claim would be of no use without the drawing.

2. For improved Cast Iron Wheels for Cars, &c.; William W. Pennell, city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, February 8.

This wheel is without spokes, one side of it consisting of an entire plate, which is supported by radiating brackets connected with it and with the hub. Towards the rim there is a circular cavity, extending all around the wheel, which is formed by a core supported through openings left in the face of the wheel for that purpose.

The claim is to the constructing this wheel and combining the several parts together; "that is to say, in combination, the forming of the part towards the rim hollow, in the manner described, whilst the part towards the hub consists of a single plate, the two parts being connected and supported by brackets, as set forth."

3. For a Machine for making Oakum; James Tibbals, Haddam, Middlesex county, Connecticut, February 8.

A cistern, or trough, is to be made which may be of wood, and this is to contain water to be heated by means of a furnace below the bottom of the cistern. The junk, cut into proper lengths, and opened by hand, is to be hung upon bars forming part of a vibrating carriage, traversing upon railways, so that the junk shall hang within the water, where it is to be subjected to the action of said water, assisted by a rapid vibratory motion of the carriage: when one end of the junk has been acted upon, the ends are to be reversed. The claim is to "the combination of the said horizontal carriage and its appendages with the other parts of the said machine, as above set forth; carrying junk in strands equally back and forth in hot water; and the application of the principle of vibratory motion, in the manner set forth, to the manufacture of oakum."

4. For an improvement in Bedsteads, Chairs, Sofas, &c.; Edmund Chenington, Boston, Massachusetts, February 9.

The apparatus here patented is for raising and lowering the head part of beadsteads, sofas, &c., in a manner so analogous to what has been before, and frequently, done, that it is not worth while to attempt a description, or to give the claim; the latter, indeed, would not afford any idea of the peculiar arrangement of levers, &c., as made by the patentee, and to this, of course, he is limited.

5. For improvements in Tanning; William Brown, Thompson, Sullivan county, New York, February 9.

The improvements are said to consist in the changing the position of hides, sides, and skins, in the liquors, in all the different processes of tanning; viz, Liming, Bating, and Tanning, as a substitute for the ordinary mode of drawing, hauling, and laying away.

The hides, or skins, are to be suspended so as to hang down vertically, and parallel to each other, by taking two pieces of timber, and keeping them apart by a stretcher of the proper length for the vat, a, a, the short pieces a, a may represent the ends to which the skins are attached, and the long line the stretcher. The workman, walking upon a plank laid along the vat, is to remove this apparatus back and forth, by means of two handles extending up from the end pieces. The claim is to this arrangement.

6. For Temples for Looms; Jonathan Dennis, Jr., assignee of Kendall Gibbs, South Berwick, York county, Maine, February 13.

The patentee says that the nature of his invention "consists in constructing the temples with a joint, so that if the shuttle stops between the temple and the reed, the temple will be pressed back by the shuttle as the lathe strikes against the cloth, without injury to the shuttle, temple, or reed; this joint also allows the temple to vibrate towards the reeds, as it opens, and after it shuts; as the lathe leaves it, it vibrates from the reed with a reacting motion which makes the selvage, or threads, at and near the edge, tight, to any degree that the operator may require, thereby facilitating the entrance and exit of the shuttle."

After describing the particular arrangement of the temple, a claim is made thereto, referring to the matters so described. The temple is of the kind which holds the selvage between jaws, which are opened in the ordinary manner of such jaws, and the whole bears a very near resemblance to some temples which have been previously in use; the claim, if inserted, would not point out the particular difference.

7. For a Paint Mill; Joseph W. Webb, Mount Morris, Livingston county, New York, February 15.

A horizontal plate, which may be sixteen inches in diameter is to receive the paint to be ground. Towards the opposite sides of this there are to be two mullars, which may be cast six inches in diameter, and these are to be made to revolve on their own axes, by means of proper gearing, as well as around the plate. The mullars are to be surmounted by cups, or hoppers, into which the paint is to be put, which descends through an opening in the middle of the mullars. The bed plate is to be surmounted by a ledge to keep the paint from running off. The claim is to "the employment of two or more mullars constructed as herein described, which revolve around the centre of the bed plate whilst they rotate upon their own centres, as herein described."

8. For a Liquid for burning in Lamps; Augustus V. X. Webb, city of New York, February 19.

The liquid here patented the patentee denominates Camphine, or Camphine oil, and the patentee says that the nature of his discovery consists in "distilling with potash, or other alkali, and water, turpentine, or the spirit or oil of the turpentine, or other essential oils, whether separate or combined;

the results of which distillation is a liquid I denominate camphine." A still is described which is so constructed as to allow only the lighter parts of the fluid to pass over to the condenser, and the following claim is then made.

"What I claim as my discovery and desire to secure by letters patent, is the manufacturing of the liquid here denominated camphine, or camphine oil, which is produced by distillation with water and potash, or other alkali, turpentine, or other spirits, or the oil of turpentine, or other essential oils, whether separate or combined, and by whatever apparatus or mode the distillation may be effected."

We do not know of any substantial change that would be produced in the composition of the essential oil by the proposed process, and most assuredly, the process itself of distilling the essential oils from potash and water, has been performed times without number, although not for the purpose here proposed.

9. For a Lamp for burning the liquid called Camphine; Augustus V. X. Webb, city of New York, February 19.

The lamp is of the kind formed by the frustums of two cones united at their edges, so as to leave the centre of the body free for the descent of the light from the burner; such lamps are in common use. The claims are to "the construction of the burner with a circular and continuous aperture between the upper edges of the frustums, to admit either a continuous cicular wick in the form of a hollow frustum of a cone, or a circular perforated ring or plate to be used for burning camphine or any other article." The peculiar form of the glass chimney is also claimed; which form differs but little from those in common use, but possibly it may be thereby better adapted to the burning of the spirit employed, a question to be decided by experience only. There is a claim also to the regulating of the light by the raising or lowering of the chimney.

10. For an improvement in Fire Arms; Libbeus Bailey, of Portland, Maine, John B. Ripley, of Claremont, and William B. Smith, of Cornish, New Hampshire, February 20.

The gun which is the subject of this patent is to receive its charges at an opening in the end of the breech. The particular arrangement of its parts cannot be given, these being too complex for verbal description, but the following quotation from the specification will afford some general idea of the general plan.

"This fire arm can be discharged about fifteen times to one loading; the operation is as follows: Fifteen sliding chambers are loaded with powder and ball, and a percussion cap pressed firmly upon each of the cones; these chambers are then passed into the cylindrical conducting tube through the opening at the breech of the gun, and then closed by shutting the cover; the gun is then brought to the shoulder and discharged; the gun is then brought down to a level with the hip, the cock drawn back with the thumb of the left hand, which leaves the drop free; the trigger is then pulled, the bolt drawn back, and the drop falls, and the discharged chamber falls into the left hand, the gun is then turned over with the barrel down, a slight motion will cause one of the sliding chambers to pass from the cylindrical tube into the receiving chamber, the apron, or drop, is then pushed down into its place, and the gun brought again to the shoulder and discharged, repeating the operation until the fifteen charges are expended."

VOL. XXV. No. 2. - FEBRUARY, 1840.

10

If this gun has not yet followed the course of the numerous " improved fire arms" which have been made the subject of previous patents, it is no doubt on the road. There are few subjects upon which so much misapplied ingenuity has been expended within four or five years, as upon that of fire arms. They have been destined to be the subjects of a report, and have then been laid upon the table; and, we believe that the single barrelled gun, with its single charge, will not be generally superceded, either for the use of the army, or of the sportsman.

11. For Revolving Flashing Lights for Light Houses; Benjamin F. Williams, Boston, Massachusetts, February 20.

The claim made under this patent is to the "rendering the revolving lights of light houses distinguishable from other revolving lights by means of vertical revolving shades, turned by wheels moving on a circular railway to the axis of which the shades are fixed, directly in front of the lights, which, when in motion, will cause the lights to appear and disappear in quick succession of sudden flashes."

12. For a machine for Pressing Hay, Cotton, &c.; Joseph C. Baldwin, Staunton, Augusta county, Virginia, February 22.

This press operates by means of double progressive levers, of the kind called the toggle joint. The levers are connected to each other by a curved rack which is moved back and forth by a pinion gearing into it, which straightens the pairs of levers alternately. One end of each pair works on a joint in the frame work, whilst the other ends operate on notches in the shaft of a follower, acting, respectively, on its opposite sides, and alternately forcing it on, whilst they also alternately act as palls in holding it in place. The press is placed horizontally.

The specification of this patent has been amended, and the patent reissued; when we arrive at the reissue we expect to present it with an engraving.

13. For Protecting Plastered Walls and Ceilings from fire; Peter Naylor, city of New York, February 22. (See Specification.)

14. For a Corn Sheller; Alonzo R. Dinsmore, Chester, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, February 24.

This is said to be an improvement on Harris' corn sheller, a notice of which will be found at p. 262, of vol. xvii. The rubbing boards, in this improved machine are to be curved, one of them being made convex, and the other concave, by which change of form it is said that the machine will be rendered more efficient. This may be so, but we see no reason to alter the opinion originally formed and expressed respecting it, which is that it will be found to be one of the least useful of the shelling machines.

15. For a Crane Excavator; William S. Otis, Civil Engineer, city of Philadelphia, February 24.

This apparatus is to be applied to the purpose of excavating in the constructing of railroads, and canals, and it has been used to a considerable extent by the inventor, and found to facilitate the operation to a very great extent. From the nature of the instrument its particular arrangement could only be made known by means of the apparatus itself, or of the drawings. The apparatus excavates "by means of certain appendages to a scraper of the ordinary construction, which scraper is to be worked by a crane, and is to take the earth immediately from the banks from which the excavations are to be made.

"Although the improvement consists mainly in the manner in which I employ the scraper for excavating by means of the crane, I do not make any claim to the mere using of the scraper by means of the crane, this having been before done; but what I do claim in the apparatus described, is the application of power to force the scraper forward against a bank, in the act of excavating, and to withdraw it at pleasure by the aid of a barrel, chains, and other apparatus, constructed and operating substantially in the manner described, by which its sudden recoil will be prevented as it encounters any unusual resistance."

There are some other claims referring to particular parts, as represented, which it is unnecessary to insert.

16. For an improvement in the manner of Preparing Caoutchouc, Gum Elastic, or Indian-rubber; Charles Goodyear, Boston, Massachusetts, Assignee of Nathaniel Hayward, Woburn, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, February 24.

(See Specification.)

17. For a Steam Apparatus; Abraham Patterson, Rush, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, February 26.

This apparatus is said to be a substitution for the ordinary steam cylinder, a steam gauge, or a safety valve; yet we venture to pedict that it will not be used for either purpose. In all its forms it consists of a cylindrical vessel, closed at its upper end, and open below, its lower end passing in between two concentric cylinders exactly in the manner of the gasometers used by chemists. Mercury is to be used to surround the first named cylinder, in the annular space within which it is to rise and fall, steam is to be admitted to cause it to rise, and to be condensed to cause it to fall. The claim is to "the employment of an apparatus constructed as herein described as a substitute for a steam cylinder and piston of a steam engine, and the safety valve of steam boilers. And I also claim the employment of mercury in the said apparatus for the double purpose of packing and steam gauge."

When this engine comes into beneficial use we will say more about it.

18. For improved Tuilor's Shears; Rochus Heinisch, city of Newark, New Jersey, February 27.

This improvement consists in widening out and so forming certain parts of the bows of the shears, as to constitute a bearing for the hand in grasping and using them, rendering it more easy to exert the necessary force in cutting. This is, no doubt, a real improvement; the claims are to the so con structing the shears, as described.