List of American Patents which issued in the month of November, 1841, with Remarks and Exemplifications. By CHARLES M. KELLER, Examiner of Patents.

1. For improvements in the Saw Mill for resawing boards and other lumber; Pearson Crosby, Freedonia, Chautauque county, New York, November 3.

The object of these improvements, as expressed in the title, is for resawing, or slitting, boards of any thickness, and of any irregularity, and as the claim refers to, and is wholly dependent on, the drawings, we will be under the necessity of omitting them; they are confined, first, to an arrangement of vertical rollers which sustain and present the board to the saw; one set of these are feed rollers, geared to the machinery, and operated by the ratchet wheel, and the board is held and pressed against them by another set suspended to appropriately arranged levers, which bear them up, and admit of their yielding to any irregularity in the thickness of the board; second, to the arrangement of these rollers in sections and connecting the axles of the dif ferent sections by joints to slit the boards diagonally, so that two clap-boards may be cut from one board, the jointed parts of the axles of the feed rollers being connected with slides governed by screws to adjust their position, and the joints of the pressure rollers free to adapt themselves to the position given to the feed rollers; third, to an arrangement and combination of the parts for working the feeding apparatus. And finally, to an improvement in the mode of straining the saw, by means of three stirrups at each end instead of one, the main stirrup being attached in the usual manner to the gate, and the other two jointed to the first--one being attached to the front, and the other to the back edge of the saw.

2. For Safety Boxes for Railroad Axles; Peter and William C. Allison, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 3.

This is for the purpose of giving additional strength to the parts of the axle inside of the wheels where they are most liable to break, and consists of divided boxes made in two parts, with flanches at the end and sides, the former to secure them by screw bolts, &c., to the wheels, and the latter to bolt the two halves together, embracing the axle which is grooved in the direction of the circumference to receive fillets on the inside of the boxes.

Claim. "What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the construction and arrangement of the safety boxes on the axles of the car wheels, having tongues (fillets) inside said boxes, fitting into corresponding grooves in the peripheries of the axles in the manner and for the purpose set forth, and rods, or hooks, with screw nuts for securing the safety boxes to the car wheels, as above described, or whether constructed in any other manner substantially the same, and for a similar purpose."

3. For an improvement in the Steam Engine; Joseph Frost, Brooklyn, New York, November 3.

The patentee says,--"I denominate my improved engine the reciprocating expansion engine, and I so denominate it because I use the same steam expansively in two, three, or more, cylinders in succession, each of larger capacity than that which precedes it. The first, or smallest, cylinder is to receive its supply of steam directly from the boiler, or generator, which is constructed and heated in the ordinary way. Along side of this boiler I place steam receivers, or reservoirs, which I usually make cylindrical, and of the same length with the boiler; these I make capacious, say of half the diameter of the boiler, more or less; they are intended to receive the steam after it has acted in one cylinder on its way to that in which it is next to operate. These steam receivers I keep heated by causing the gaseous products of combustion to pass through flues below them, on their way to the chimney, instead of allowing them to pass directly thereto; the heat, therefore, which otherwise would be wasted, I employ to heat these receivers, and thus preserve and increase the elasticity of the steam during its passage from one cylinder to another. As the heat thus communicated to these steam receivers, will, in general, be sufficient not only to preserve the elasticity of the steam, but also, as above indicated, to augment it, I cause them to receive a small supply of water, which may be evaporated by this excess of heat, and thus operate in increasing the power of the engine without increasing the consumption of fuel."

Claim. "What I claim as my invention, is the use, in combination of two, three, or more, steam cylinders in which the same steam is to be used expansively, its supply being cut off at any preferred part of the stroke, and the successive cylinders being of increased capacity, as set forth, and in combination with said cylinders, and as making a part of my particular arrangement I claim the employment of the steam receivers, intermediate between the respective cylinders; said receivers being heated by the heated air from the furnace in its passage to the chimney; the whole being combined, arranged, and operating substantially as described. I do not claim any of the component parts of this apparatus taken individually, nor do I claim the right of using the same steam in two or more cylinders successively, that having been done by James Watt, and by others; nor do I claim the exclusive right of using steam in an engine with double cylinders of unequal dimensions, where the steam is used expansively in the larger cylinder, while the steam reacts with a great and variable force. against the piston of the smaller cylinder propelled by unexpanded high steam, this having been done and is still done in Woolf's engine."

4. For an improvement in Air-Tight Stoves; Joseph E. Fisk, Salem, Essex county, Massachusetts, November 3.

Claim. "I shall claim arranging the fire pot in the fire chamber of an air-tight stove, in the manner described, so that the smoke and heated products of combustion, after being conducted through the

several chambers and pipes, as specified, and imparting heat to the room, are again brought into direct contact with the burning fuel by passing between said fire pot and chamber to the surface of the fuel in the fire pot, when such parts as are capable of further combustion, are more effectually consumed, and then again circulated as before, the whole arrangement and operation being substantially as set forth."

5. For an improvement in Shears for Cutting Metals; William Bulkley, and Otis M. Inman, Berlin, Hartford county, Connecticut, November 3.

This is for an improvement in shears used by workers in tin plate ware, for cutting circular plates of sheet metals. The shears are, as now generally used, composed of two rotating plates, the sharpened edges of which act together in performing the cutting operation, and have their bearings in studs connected with an open elliptical frame, (incorrectly called in the claim a "bow,") by slides and set screws for adjustment to each other, and to the cutting of plates of different diameters. This frame, or bow, turns on the gudgeons, or bearings, of the clamp plates in which the sheets of metal are secured, so that it can turn thereon, and carry the shears around to cut the circle.

Claim. "We do not claim as our invention the bow, or frame, or its application to the arbor, nor do we claim the attachment of the shears, so as to carry them around the arbor, as these have all been known before; but what we do claim as our invention, is attaching the studs, in which the shears work, to the bow, or frame, which receives the gudgeons, or bearings, of the arbor, and which travels around on it substantially in the manner described.”

6. For an improvement in the mode of rendering Fabrics WaterProof; Thomas B. Rogers, New York City, November 3.

The following is the specification, viz.,-My improvement consists in rendering cloth water-proof by saturating it with a material which is insoluble in water, but which admits of the free passage of air through its fibres-a feature in which it differs from fabrics rendered water-proof by means of caoutchouc and similar articles. The following is a description of the process which I employ:—

"In a vat of a suitable size I form a solution of sulphate of soda, or glauber salts, generally in the proportion of three quarters of a pound of the salts to a gallon of water, and in this I immerse the cloth; when it has become fully saturated, I convey it to another vat containing a solution of acetate, or sugar of lead, and permit it to remain there a sufficient time to enable a chemical reaction to take place between the solution of sulphate of soda with which the cloth was saturated before entering the second vat, and the solution of acetate of lead in this vat. The effect of this reaction is to make a soluble acetate of soda, and an insoluble acetate of lead-the former of which is dissolved in the vats, while the latter is precipitated among the fibres of the cloth, and forms the principal means by which I render

the cloth water-proof. After taking the cloth out of this last vat I immerse it in another containing a solution of sulphuric acid in the proportion of about sixteen drops to the gallon of water, for the purpose of rendering the lead in the fibres of the cloth a perfect sulphate. The cloth I afterwards pass through a solution of camphor in water, but which is not necessary to my invention, for the purpose of removing the unpleasant odour arising from the use of the acetate of lead. After which it is scoured with warm water and soap to remove the excess of acid, and any of the materials, or ingredients, referred to, that may remain on its surface. I have mentioned sulphate of soda as one of the articles used in this process; this I employ only for the purpose of decomposing the sugar of lead as stated, and as there are several other sulphates which will produce the same effect, I do not intend to limit myself to the use of this, but to employ any of the others should I find it expedient to do so.

"What I claim as my invention, therefore, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the mode of rendering fabrics water-proof by passing them through successive solutions of sulphate of soda, or its equivalent, acetate of lead, and sulphuric acid, as herein set forth."

7. For an improvement in Bedsteads; John P. Allen, Manchester, Essex county, Massachusetts, November 3.

On each end of the rails there is a left handed screw cut next to the shoulder which receives a nut, and beyond this a right handed screw of less diameter, which screws into the post, there being sufficient space left between the face of the post and the shoulder on the rail for the nut to be turned up, by means of a small winch, or lever, against the face of the post to render the joint tight. By loosening the nut, the rail, or beam, can be turned at any time to tighten the sacking, after which the nut can be screwed up and the joints made firm.

Claim. "What I claim is the method described of making the joints of bedsteads firm and tight, and giving sufficient play to the screws on the ends of the rails for tightening the sacking by means of the nuts in combination with the rails and right and left handed screw on the ends of the rails, as described.".

8. For improvements in Saw Mills; Frederick Goodell and Thomas. W. Harvey, New York City, November 3.

The claim refers throughout to, and is wholly dependent on, the drawings, which we are therefore under the necessity of omitting. The first claim is limited to the arrangement of the gearing which operates the crank shaft and the feeding motion of the carriage, (which is continuous,) these two motions being connected by a set of cone pulleys, that the feeding may be changed and regulated during the operation of the mill. The second is to the arrangement for setting the log in which the screws, that move the slides, on which the log rests, on the head and tail blocks, are connected together by a cord passing over a pulley on each screw shaft, (and giving motion to it by a ratchet,) and

the ends attached to a longitudinal slide on one of the rails of the carriage, which slide, at each motion of the carriage, is moved by appropriate fixtures attached to the floor of the mill. The third is for the manner of trussing the upper and lower ends of the saw frame, or gate, by means of arch pieces abutting against notches in the ends. of the cross, or tie, pieces, with wedges between the two, and the whole embraced by the stirrups; the object of which arrangement is to give the requisite strength to resist the strain of the saw with less weight than heretofore. And the fourth is for "feeding the stuff to the saw by means of a continuous motion, in combination with a reciprocating saw having sufficient rake to clear itself in raising, so as to admit of such continuous motion of the carriage."

9. For a machine for Cutting Stone; Thomas J. Cornell, Worcester, Massachusetts, November 3.

In this machine the stone is to be cut by means of cutters projecting radially from a wheel, and sliding in radial grooves therein; the operation, therefore, is very similar to a circular saw, except that the cutters rotate slowly. The cutters are moved out as fast as they wear, by means of pinions on screw shafts parallel with the cutters, there being a nut on each screw that actuates the cutter. The nuts are turned at each revolution of the cutter wheel by taking into a segment so connected with a set of levers that the cutters are only advanced as fast as the cutters wear away.

Claim. "What I claim as my invention, is the mode of adjusting the tools to one and the same length, from the edge of the wheel, however much, or little, they may wear off in cutting the stone, by means of the operation of the regulators acting upon the pinions to turn the screws, and to move the nuts, as is fully set forth and described in the specification."

10. For an improvement in the Action of Piano Fortes, for modifying the tone; Daniel B. Newhall, Boston, Massachusetts, November 3.

Claim.—“What I claim as my invention, is the mode of varying the points at which the force is applied to the hammer, so as to produce at pleasure a piano, or pianissimo, tone by means either of an under hammer rail, and hammer made movable, as described, and operated substantially as set forth; or by making the cheeks movable instead of the hammer rail, and operating them in the same manner, so as to produce a similar effect."

This rail is simply made to slide by connecting it with a pedal, so as to place it entirely under the control of the performer, to increase and decrease the leverage of the hammers.

11. For an improvement in the Cocoonery for Feeding Silk Worms; J. B. Tillinghast, Norwalk, Huron county, Ohio, November 10. The patentee says,-"In the feeding of silk worms the greatest dif VOL. IX 3RD SERIES-No. 4-APRIL, 1845.

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