Frank Shuman


Frank Shuman was an American inventor, engineer and solar energy pioneer known for his work on solar engines, especially those that used solar energy to heat water that would produce steam.

Career

In 1892 Frank Shuman invented wire glass safety glass. Additional patents were issued relating to the process of making wire glass and machines for making wire glass. In 1914 Shuman invented a process for making laminated safety glass, called safety glass, and manufactured by the Safety Glass Company. In 1916 he patented a "Danger Signal" for railroad crossings, as well as the use of liquid oxygen or liquid air to propel a submarine.
On August 20, 1897, Shuman invented a solar engine that worked by reflecting solar energy onto one-foot square boxes filled with ether, which has a lower boiling point than water, and containing black pipes on the inside, which in turn powered a toy steam engine. The tiny steam engine operated continuously for over two years on sunny days next to a pond at the Shuman house.
In 1908 Shuman formed the Sun Shine Power Company with the intent to build larger power plants. He, along with his technical advisor A.S.E. Ackermann and British physicist Sir Charles Vernon Boys, developed an improved system using mirrors to reflect solar energy upon collector boxes, increasing heating capacity so much that water could now be used instead of ether. He also developed a low-pressure steam turbine, since most 1910 vintage steam engines were built for steam and not sun-heated water. Shuman's turbine processed energy four times faster than any engine of his day. Shuman then constructed a full-scale steam engine that was powered by low-pressure water, enabling him to patent the entire solar engine system by 1912. Scientific American again featured Shuman in its issues of February 4, 1911 and September 30, 1911.
Shuman built the world’s first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt. Shuman’s plant used semi circle shaped troughs to power a 60-70 horsepower engine that pumped 6,000 gallons of water per minute from the Nile River to adjacent cotton fields. His system included a number of technological improvements, including absorption plates with dual panes separated by a one-inch air space. Although the outbreak of World War I and the discovery of cheap oil in the 1930s discouraged the advancement of solar energy, Shuman’s vision and basic design were resurrected in the 1970s with a new wave of interest in solar thermal energy.
His large home and laboratories still stand in the Tacony section of Philadelphia, as an apartment house and garages. They were added to the historic register in October 2019, meaning they cannot be demolished or significantly altered without the Historical Commission's permission.

Patents

NumberDate filedIssue dateDescription
D37803Design for Sheet-Glass
D43349Design for Sheet-Glass
483020Process of Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass
483021Machine for Embedding Wire-Netting in Glass
510716Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
510822Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
510823Machine for Manufacturing Wire-Glass
531874Process of Cutting Wire-Embedded Glass
542539Apparatus for Removing Obstructions from Car-Tracks
545826Ladle for Dipping Glass
546196Apparatus for Embedding Wire in Glass
561920Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
574458Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
593440Process of Treating Metal Structures
605754Process of and Machine for Embedding Wire in Glass
647334Process of Making Rolls
661649bMercerizing-Machine
670438aMachine for Molding Glass
671240Process of Extinguishing Fires
673067Mercerizing-Machine
727004aMeshed Wire for Wire-Glass Manufacture
727005aManufacture of Wire-Glass
727006aMethod of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
727007aProcess of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
733286Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piles
733287Process of Making Concrete Piles
733288Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling
733335Process of Forming Openings in the Ground
733336Process of Forming Concrete Piles
733337Process of Forming Concrete Piles
735680Process of Making Concrete Piles
739268Process of Making Concrete Piles
752003Process of Forming Concrete Piles
756805Removable Pile for Forming Concrete Piling
763212Preparatory Pile for Use in Forming Concrete Piles
763213Method of Forming Concrete Piles
786058Process of Manufacturing Wire-Glass
792172aProcess of Making Wire-Glass
805936Concrete Piling and Method for Making the Same
806755Pile for Piers or Pier Casings
806587Pier and Pier Casing
817595Setting Concrete Piles
831481Constructing Piles
875857Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass
876307Method for the Manufacture of Wire-Glass
889341Roll and Process for Making Same
898517Concrete Pile and the Process of Constructing the Same
899339bExtracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool
899440bApparatus for Extracting Grease and Potash Salts from Wool
905469aWire-Glass Structure
957477Method of and Means of Annealing Glass
979579Utilizing Waste Heat of Compressors
992814Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation
1002768Utilizing Heat for the Development of Power
1014418Process for Utilizing Waste Heat of Distillation
1156186Method of Making Composite Piles
1167944Method of and Means for Melting Metals
1200893Steam-Engine
1218219Steam-Engine
:File:US_Patent_1240890.pdf|1240890cSun-Boiler
1258482Pile Form and Method of Driving the Same
1281860Apparatus for Forming Piles
1310253Submarine and Method of Operating the Same
1420345Danger Signal

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