Engineering, Building, and Architecture

Not many museums collect houses. The National Museum of American History has four, as well as two outbuildings, 11 rooms, an elevator, many building components, and some architectural elements from the White House. Drafting manuals are supplemented by many prints of buildings and other architectural subjects. The breadth of the museum's collections adds some surprising objects to these holdings, such as fans, purses, handkerchiefs, T-shirts, and other objects bearing images of buildings.

The engineering artifacts document the history of civil and mechanical engineering in the United States. So far, the Museum has declined to collect dams, skyscrapers, and bridges, but these and other important engineering achievements are preserved through blueprints, drawings, models, photographs, sketches, paintings, technical reports, and field notes.

date made
1855
patent date
1855-07-31
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
MC.251279
catalog number
251279
accession number
48865
patent number
13,348
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 41,612 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on February 16, 1864.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 41,612 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on February 16, 1864. The patent was for an improvement in reciprocating steam engines that would reduce the destructive vibration effects of then current designs.
Many marine steam engines were mounted transversely in the vessel in order to facilitate operating crank arms to turn the propeller. With each successive cycle of the engine the oscillating masses of the engine’s pistons produced high concussive forces on the engine mounts and hull of the vessel. This was more serious for engines directly driving the ship’s propeller without gearing; the engine needed to run at higher speeds thereby making the vibrations more damaging.
Mr. Ericsson’s patent design provided a rolling counter balance weight that moved in the opposite direction as the motion of the of the engine’s piston. The weight would be matched to the combined weight of the piston and its pushrods and other oscillating masses. He provided for a crank lever mechanism that would translate the motion of the piston to that of the counter balance weight.
Mr. Ericsson was a prolific inventor; his inventions included many types of steam engines and associated apparatus as well as hot air engines. He was the designer of the USS Monitor for the North during the Civil War. The Monitor engine was based on his Patent Number 20,782 of July 6, 1858 . In that patent he began to address design issues that would reduce stresses on the engine’s components and its bed. In this patent, Number 41,612, he addressed the issue of concussive force effect of that engine and showed how his counterbalancing weight concept could be applied.
The patent model is shown in the image. It is constructed of wood and brass and illustrates the major elements of the patent. A brass plate on the model is engraved “J. Ericsson, Inventor, 1863.” A spring motor causes the model to simulate actual operation with the piston moving and the counterbalancing weight moving within a hollow space in the wooden base of the model. Diagrams showing the complete design of the engine can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864
patent date
1864-02-16
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
ER.308672
accession number
89797
catalog number
308672
patent number
41,612
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 226,052 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on March 30, 1880.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 226,052 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on March 30, 1880. The patent was for an improvement in air engines.
In this type of engine a charge of air is repeatedly heated and cooled as it is transferred from one end to the other of a single cylinder. One end of the cylinder is surrounded by a furnace, the other end of is water jacketed. The air expands and contracts beneath a work piston that travels through a short stroke near the upper end of the cylinder. The air is displaced from end to end of the cylinder at the proper time by a large loosely fitting transfer piston independently connected to the crankshaft.
Mr. Ericsson claimed his design improved the method of connecting the short stroke of the work piston so as to magnify the length of its stroke at the crankshaft. This also produced a longer stroke for the exchange piston in order to properly time its movement. He also made provisions for a water pump that was operated by the engine. It circulated water into the jacket surrounding the engine’s cylinder in order to more rapidly cool the hot air in the upper part of the cylinder.
Mr. Ericsson was a prolific inventor; his inventions included many types of steam engines and associated apparatus as well as hot air engines. He was the designer of the USS Monitor for the North during the Civil War, and that vessel included one of his then new marine steam engine designs.
The patent model is shown in the image. It is made of brass, steel and wood. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model including the crank mechanism and the water pump. The upper cylinder is cut away to illustrate the motion of the two pistons. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
Location
Currently not on view
patent date
1880-03-30
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
MC.251286
catalog number
251286
accession number
48865
patent number
226,052
eThis model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for Patent no. 22281, issued to John Ericsson, December 14, 1858.This is one of the earliest hot-air engines in which cold air is drawn into, compressed, heated, and expanded within the same cylinder.
Description
eThis model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for Patent no. 22281, issued to John Ericsson, December 14, 1858.
This is one of the earliest hot-air engines in which cold air is drawn into, compressed, heated, and expanded within the same cylinder. This and the Ericsson engine of 1855 were the basis of design for most of the later commercial hot-air engines introduced in the United States.
The model is of an engine having a very large horizontal cylinder, one end of which is occupied by the grate and flue of a furnace. In the cylinder beyond the furnace are two pistons, one of which is a transfer or pump piston, the other the working piston. The two pistons complete their outward stroke (away from the furnace) at about the same time, but the transfer piston, which is nearer the furnace, moves inward faster than the work piston and draws in a supply of cold air through a self-acting valve in the working piston. Upon the outward stroke the transfer piston closes up on the work piston and compresses the charge between the two and transfers it through valves to the space around the heater. The pressure produced by the increase of temperature during this transfer propels the working piston through the outward stroke and supplies the motive force. The return stroke is affected by means of a flywheel.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1858
patent date
1858-12-14
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
ER.308660
accession number
89797
catalog number
308660
patent number
22,281
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 20,782 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on July 6, 1858. The patent was for improvements in marine steam engines for powering a screw propeller. Mr.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 20,782 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on July 6, 1858. The patent was for improvements in marine steam engines for powering a screw propeller. Mr. Ericsson’s goal was to maximize the power and compactness of the engine so that it could be located transversely and very low within a boat.
His design consisted of two compact steam cylinders which were bolted together and mounted horizontally across the beam of the ship. They drove a single propeller shaft via a system of push rods and rocker arms. The design allowed for even application of power with reduced vibration and wear on engine parts and the frame of the ship.
Mr. Ericsson was a prolific inventor; his inventions included many types of steam engines and associated apparatus as well as air engines. He was the designer of the USS Monitor for the North during the Civil War, and the engine for the Monitor was based on this patent.
The patent model is made of brass and is mounted on a wood base representing a section of the hull of a ship. A brass plate on the base of the model is engraved “Screw Propeller Engine, J. Ericsson, Inventor.” All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model which was provided with a crank on the propeller shaft to allow operation for demonstration. A full description of the operation of the engine along with complete diagrams can be found in the patent document online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto.gov.
date made
1858
patent date
1858-07-06
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
MC.251295
catalog number
251295
patent number
20,782
accession number
48865
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 6,844 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on November 6, 1849.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 6,844 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on November 6, 1849. The patent was titled “Arrangement of Engine for Using Steam Expansively.” In a common engine design of the time, high pressure steam from a boiler was introduced to the engine’s cylinder for only a portion of the stroke. The steam “cut-off” valve was then closed, and the steam’s expansive force did the remainder of the work for that stroke. This saved fuel because of the reduced need for continuous high-pressure steam.
The goal of Mr. Ericsson’s invention was to improve the ability of an engine to use the expansive force of steam for efficiency while still providing uniform power throughout the stroke of the engine. In his design the resistance applied to the piston rod by the load on the engine decreased in the exact ratio of the decreasing pressure of the steam as it expanded in the cylinder. He achieved this by using two cylinders of differing sizes and exhausting the steam from the smaller cylinder into the larger. At the same time, steam pressure was balanced on both sides of the piston of the smaller cylinder. The relative sizes of the cylinders were carefully chosen to equalize the force on the engine’s crankshaft. The patent application claimed that this equal force was maintained even with the steam expanded by a factor of over twenty. This was a significant improvement over existing designs.
Mr. Ericsson was a prolific inventor; his inventions included many types of steam engines and associated apparatus as well as air engines. He was the designer of the USS Monitor for the North during the Civil War and designed its engine as well as numerous other marine steam engines.
The patent model as shown in the image is constructed of wood. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model including the arrangement of the crankshafts and the steam valves and their operating mechanisms. Diagrams showing the complete design of the patent can be found in the patent document online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto.gov.
date made
1849
patent date
1849-11-06
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
MC.251299
catalog number
251299
accession number
48,865
patent number
6,844
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to John Ericsson, October 9, 1860, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to John Ericsson, October 9, 1860, no. 30306.
This engine employs two “equilibrium" pistons in connection with two cylinders and a work piston to prevent diminution of the working pressure during the stroke of the work piston.
The engine consists of two “equilibrium” cylinders placed in line end to end and a short distance apart. Within each cylinder is a hollow equilibrium piston, both connected by a long piston of relatively small diameter, called the working piston, which passes through airtight stuffing boxes in the heads of the equilibrium cylinders. The cylinders are connected to a heater and to a water-cooled chamber, through suitable valves and passages, so that both ends of one equilibrium cylinder are simultaneously in communication with the cooler. The pressure being higher in the heater than in the cooler, the effect is to force the working piston out of the cylinder in communication with the heater into the other. The equilibrium pistons move with the work piston and circulate the air in the cylinders to the heater or cooler and back to the respective cylinders, maintaining a constant pressure in each cylinder throughout the stroke. When the piston has completed its stroke the valves are reversed and a continuous motion is produced. This engine includes the regenerator or “heat deposit vessel,” which was a feature of most of Ericsson’s engines. In this construction it is a vessel filled with disks of wire cloth, which are heated by the hot air passing from the cylinders to the cooler and, in turn, give up this heat to the air passing from the cooler to the heater.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860
patent date
1860-10-09
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
ER.309822
accession number
89797
catalog number
309822
patent number
30,306

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