US416323A - Adjustable propelling mechanism for vessels - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet 1. P. E. COLLINS & H. TAYLOR. ADJUSTABLE PRUPELLING MEGHANIS M FOR VESSELS No. 416,323. Patented Dec. 3, 1889l [7217/6 71/5076, 2%145 1'7. CvZZthg,

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' P. E.' COLLINS & ErH. TAYLOR. ADJUSTABLE PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR VESSBLS.

No. 416.323. Patented Dec. 3, 1889.

(No Model.)

"in: ill I any.

- UNITED STATES PATEN'I" OFFICE.

PAUL i1. cOLLIN-s, OF nos'roN, AND EUGENE n. 'rAvLoa-or LYNN, AssIeNoRs TO sAID ooLLINs, EDWARD DE LA GRANJA, AND PARKER sPINNEY, ALL

OF BOSTON,1\lASSAO1-IUSETTS.

ADJUSTABLE PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,323, dated December 3, 1889.

7 Application filed December 12, 1888. Serial No. 293,382. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PAUL E. COLLINS, of Boston, county of Suffolk, and EUGENE H. TAYLOR, of Lynn, county of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented anlmprovement in Boat-Propelling Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing 10 like parts. I

Our invention relates to an apparatus for propelling boats or vessels in which a paddlewheel is used.

The invention consists, mainly, in the com- I 5 bination andarrangement of the-propellingwheel an d its actu ating-engine and the frame work. connecting said wheel and engine; and the object of the invention is to enable the wheel to rise bodily with relation to the hull of the vessel, the said wheel being preferably placed at the middle of the hull longitudinally, and projecting below the bottom of the hull far enough to immerse the blades at the lower part of the wheel in the water, and the 2 5 purpose of making the wheel so that it can rise is to enable the vessel to pass through any water that is deep enough to float the hull. To accomplish this result, the framework connecting the engine-cylinder and the o wheel-arbor is pivotally supported on the hull of the vessel, so that the said entire framework and wheel and engine may easily move about said pivotal support in a vertical plane,

enabling the wheel to rise and fall, and the 3 5 weight of the wheel is normally nearly counterbalanced by some suitable device, shown in this instance as the pressure of fluid on a piston connected with the said frame and working in a cylinder supported on the hull of the vessel. By admitting more steam to the said cylinder the wheel may be raised; but usually when the vessel is moving through shallow water steam is admitted in such amount as to nearly, but not quite, overbalance and raise the wheel, so that if the latter at any time touches the bottom it Will rise easily and pass over the bottom of the shallow water with a rolling motion, like that of a wheel rolling on ground.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in lon- 5o gitudinal section, of a vessel provided with propelling mechanism embodying this invention; Fig. 2, a plan view thereof; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the engine and a portion of the wheel-case on a larger scale; Fig. 4,a sec- 5 tional detail on line 00, Fig. 3, to be referred to.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the invention is shown applied to a steam-launch, in connection with which it is especially useful on account of the facility of running in shallow water, and also of the, non-liability of the wheel to entanglement with eel-grass or other material.

The wheel A, the construction of which will be described more fully later on, works in a central opening in the hull, near the stern of the vessel, which is preferably made open at the rear of the wheel to a point above the water-line, as shown at B, Fig. l, and provided with two rudders 0, one at each side of said opening, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 2. I

The wheel is shown as actuated bya reciprocating engine D of the usual type, the cylinder of which is. connected by frame-work E with the bearing for the shaft a of the wheel. The said frame-work is pivotally supported on a frame F, stationary with relation to the hull of the vessel, so that the said frame may oscillate in a vertical plane, perlnittin g the wheel A to move in an are around the pivotal axis of said frame.

' The construction of the engine, its frame, and the inclosing-case for the wheel is best shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The said wheel is inclosed in a'case G, (see Fig. 5,) rising above the water-line and making a tight well in which it works. The frame-work supporting the wheel-shaft a and connecting the same with the engine consists of two members e e extending one at each side of the wheel-well .G, the former having the engine-cylinder cl rigidly fixed upon it, and also the guides d for the cross-head d of the piston-rod, which is connected by the usual connecting-rod or p'itman cl with the crank a on the wheel- 9 5 shaft a. 7 Both the said frame-pieces e e are supported on a rock-shaft f, having its bearings in the stationary frame F, and they are rigidly connected by a cross-bar 6 which is engaged by one arm h of the wheel-balancing lever H, which is fuloru med on the rock-shaft f and has its other arm 72 connected with the piston-rod 72, of a piston working in a cylinder h, that is fixed with relation to the hull of the vessel.

As shown, in this instance a single engine is employed to actuate the wheel, and the valve-actuating eccentrics d and link d are on the opposite side of the wheel-well G from the crank a said reversing-link operating an arm connected with a rock-shaft (Z extending through both parts 6 e of the frame and being connected with the arm d that operates the valve-rod d", as will be readily understood from Figs. 3 and 5, the said reversinglink-valve mechanism being of usual construction.

In order to admit of the oscillating movement of the engine and wheel-frame about the rock-shaft f, the steam and exhaust pipes on m are provided with swivel-joints m m, coaxial with the rock-shaft f, as best shown in Fig. 4.

By admitting steam to the upper part of the cylinder k through the pipe 7L (see Fig. 5,) provided for that purpose, thepressure of said steam will tend to rock the lever h and to swing the wheel and engine-frame about the said rock-shaft f in the direction to raise the wheel-shaft a, and when desired by admitting sufficient steam the said wheel-shaft and wheel may be raised bodily, and it may be subsequently lowered by permitting the steam to escape from the cylinder 72 through the pipe h and a passage h therefrom leading to the exhaust-pipe m The admission and exhaust of the steam from the cylinder may be controlled by valves 717 h in the pipes h h, respectively, one of said valves being always closed when the other is open.

In order to admit of the wheel rising and falling on its shaft, the sides of the wheel-case G are provided with curved slots gabove the wheel-shaft and concentric with the rockshaft f, and the oscillating frame e c has connected with it plates 6 e that cover the said slots as the shaft rises and falls therein, the said plates e being connected at their upper ends with a peripheral band g that covers substantially the upper half of the wheel-case and rises and falls with the wheel.

The side walls of the case G will usually be made of wood, and in such case they are provided along the edges of the slot g with iron plates g against which the movable plates 6 2 rest. The said members e e of the wheel and engine-frame have hubs or bosses extending into the slot in the wheel-' case and constituting a bearing for the wheelshaft, and the plates 6 e are fastened to the frame'pieces at the outside of the wheel-case.

It is obvious that the pivoting of the engine and frame-work connecting it with the wheel-shaft is applicable to any kind of propelling-wheel, or may be used with a pair of wheelsone at each side of the hull of the vesselinstead of a single centrally-located wheel; and it is very useful in freight-barges of small draft for river-navigation, as a powerful wheel of large diameter can be used, which will be very effective where the water is of sufficient draft, in which case the lower blades of the wheel will project substantially their entire length below the bottom of the vessel, but may be raised temporarily up to the level of the bottom of the vessel, so that the latter can pass without damage to the wheel wherever there is sufficient water to float the hull of the vessel.

lVhen the vessel is moving in deep water, the steam may be wholly cut oif from the cylinder h, and the wheel may remain in its lowest position; but when the vessel is passing through water that is shallow in places steam may be admitted to the cylinder 71* in an amount nearly but not quite sufficient to raise the wheel, which will then be nearly counterbalanced, so that upon arriving at shallow places it will rise easily and upon striking the bottom will pass over the shallow places with a rolling motion.

WVhile a paddle-Wheel of any construction may be mounted to rise and fall, with an OS- cillating frame connecting it with the engine, as has just been stated, it will be apparent that a deeply-immersed paddle-wheel would not be eflicient if the blades were fixed in radial position at right angles to the plane of rotation; and in order to obtain good results with a deeply-immersed wheel we have devised a wheel with feathering-blades, which will now be described in order to furnish sufficient information to enable this invention to be effectively practiced, although the construction of the Wheel and devices for controlling and operating the blades thereof is not claimed in the present application for Letters Patent.

\Ve claim 1. A boat-propelling mechanism comprisinga propelling-wheel and engine, and frame connecting the said engine with the bearings for the wheel-shaft, the said frame being pivotally supported upon the hull of the vessel and normally free to turn on said pivot, and the weight of the wheel being substantially counterbalanced, thus enabling the wheel to rise if its periphery strikes a solid obstacle below, substantially as described.

2. A boat-propelling mechanism comprising a propelling-wheel and engine, and a frame connecting the said engine with the bearing for the wheel-shaft, said frame being pivotally supported upon the hull of the vessel, combined with a lever engaged with said pivoted engine and wheel-frame, and a cylinder and piston therein connected with said lever, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. A boat-propelling mechanism comprising a propelling-wheel and engine, and a frame connecting the said engine with the IIO of the engine and Wheel-frame, and plates connected with said engine-frame and covering said slots, and a peripheral Wing or cover for the said Wheel-case, connected with the oscillating engine and Wheel-frame, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our.

names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

PAUL E. COLLINS.

EUGENE H. TAYLOR. \Vitnesses:

Jos. P. LIVERMORE, JAS. J. MALONEY.

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