GB Patent: GB-176,900,913
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| A Method of Lessening the Consumption of Steam in Steam Engines
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Patentee:
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| James Watt (exact or similar names) - Glasgow, Lanarkshire County, Scotland |
| Manufacturer: |
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Boulton & Watt - Birmingham, West Midlands County, England |
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Patent Dates:
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| Granted: |
Jan. 05, 1769 |
Espacenet patent
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Joel Havens
"Vintage Machinery" entry for Boulton & Watt
Patent Specification
Wikipedia biography of James Watt
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Description: |
| Note: Early English patents were not originally numbered but they were later assigned consecutive numbers that run from GB-1 of 1617 to GB-14359 of September 1852. From Oct 1852 until 1916, patents were numbered by the year and started at patent #1 at the start of each year in January. The patent number used in DATAMP represents the year of issue and the patent number. This patent is #GB-913 issued in the year 1769.
This is the very famous and important patent for the Watt steam condenser. A 1981 article in The New Scientist said that this and Watt's other improvements to the steam engine "converted it from a prime mover of marginal efficiency into the mechanical workhorse of the Industrial Revolution."
In 1775, Watt partnered with Matthew Boulton, who had ample experience in business, manufacturing, negotiating, and selling, along with a calm temperament to complement Watt's nervous and anxious ways, to produce Watt's steam engine designs. Rather than develop their own manufacturing methods, Boulton and Watt outsourced most of the actual parts for their engines. Over the years, Boulton and Watt gradually took over the manufacturing of most of the parts, until in 1795 they opened a new foundry of their own. Prior to that time, Boulton had been working out of his factory and Watt worked out of his house. Business records, which still survive, show that between 1775 and 1800, Boulton & Watt produced 41 engines. One of their engines can be seen at the Power House Museum, Ultimo, NSW, Australia. |
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