An Improvement in Steamships or other Mechanically Propelled Vessels for the purpose of Diminishing the Skin Friction and Lessening the Resistance of the Water.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 6th
h July
Complete Innrifination Inft
6th Ann
1000
1807
tarantad And Lu
1000
Complete Specification Loft, 6th Apr., 1900 Accepted, 2nd July, 1998
4000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Steamships or other Mechanically Propelled
Vessels for the purpose of Diminishing the Skin Friction and
Lessening the Resistance of the Water.
I, CLIFFORD ROBERT STEPHEN JOHN HALLE, of 8, Abingdon Villas, Kensington,
London, W, Lecturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to steamships or other mechanically propelled vessels and
consists of improved means of obtaining buoyancy and of lessening the skin fric-
tion and resistance to the progress of the vessel through the water, whereby
increased speed may be obtained.
According to my invention the displacement necessary for the flotation of the
vessel is obtained by means of cylindrical drums or roller buoys coupled together
in the form of endless chains extending fore-and-aft from stem to stern at either
side of the vessel and driven by the vessel's engines. The propulsion of the
vessel is effected by means of the ordinary propeller the motion of the drums
being so proportioned to the progress of the vessel that the immersed drums back-
wardly moving relatively to the vessel will be stationary relatively to the water,
the drums successively emerging at the stern, passing forward out of the water,
and entering at the stem, so that the vessel is not driven through the water but
glides upon constantly renewed lines of buoys, the displacement of the drums
comprised in the lower members of the chains being sufficient, or nearly so, to
afford the buoyancy required for the flotation of the hull proper and the super-
structure of the vessel.
The chains of drums run around sprocket drums which engage with the pivot
pins of the connecting links of the chains the sprocket drums being carried on
shafts driven by the engines and the chains of drums run in guides, those of the
lower members of the chains being open to the water and wholly or partially
below the hull of the vessel so as to be completely immersed, whilst the guides
of the upper members of the chains may be boxed in to prevent injury to the
drums by the waves.

page_text: An Improvement in Steamships or other Mechanically Propelled
Vessels for the purpose of Diminishing the Skin Friction and
Lessening the Resistance of the Water.
I, CLIFFORD ROBERT STEPHEN JOHN HALLE, of 8, Abingdon Villas, Kensington,
London, W., Lecturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:—
My invention relates to steamships or other mechanically propelled vessels and
has for its object to lessen the skin friction and the resistance caused by the waves
set up by the rapid advance of the vessel through the water.
According to my invention the displacement necessary for the flotation of the
vessel is obtained wholly, or mainly, by means of cylindrical or other drums or
roller buoys coupled together in the form of an endless chain or chains extending
fore-and-aft from stem to stern and passing completely under and over the vessel,
the chains of buoys being driven by the vessel's engines at a speed correlated
to the speed of propulsion of the vessel by ordinary means so that the immersed
drums which are backwardly moving relatively to the vessel will be stationary
relatively to the water, the drums successively emerging at the stern, passing
forward out of the water, and re-entering at the stem. The endless chains of
roller buoys being in. rolling contact with guide rails, the vessel glides upon
constantly renewed lines of buoys as on an endless floating railway, the displace-
ment of the drums comprised in the lower members of the chains being sufficient,
or nearly so, to afford the buoyancy required for the flotation of the hull proper
and the superstructure of the vessel.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings
wherein Figure 1 represents a sectional side view of the two ends of the vessel,
the middle portion being broken out. Figure 2 is an end view and Figure 3 is
a longitudinal view of one of the buoys.
P represents the framing of the ends of the hull proper of the vessel which
may be of any desired length, and D D, D D, represent pairs of rails (of
which there may be one, two, or more pairs) extending longitudinally from stem
to stern above and below the hull so as to form endless tracks around the ship.
To avoid friction at the stem and stern these rails match with the peripheries of
pairs of large wheels C which complete the tracks at the ends of the hull. Upon
these rails run the endless chains of buoys A which may be cylindrical, as shewn,
or have their ends coned or rounded. Each buoy is traversed longitudinally by
an axle E on whose ends turn pairs of flanged wheels B which run on the rails D.
Or the wheels being of lesser diameter than the buoy the latter may serve in lieu
of flanges to keep the wheels on the rails. The ends of the axles are coupled
together by pairs of solid or hollow links M to form endless chains that pass com-
pletely round the hull of the ship. The ends of the axles project beyond the
wheels B and are engaged by the arms of sprocket wheels K fast upon the axles
of the wheels C and driven by steam or other motive power so as to carry round
the endless chains of buoys. Or the wheels C may be driven and be provided
with sprockets which engage with the chains to carry them round. The upper
members of the chains of buoys which pass forwards above the water line may
be boxed in as indicated so that there may be an upper deck T and deck-house H,
the engines and accommodation of the vessel being of course within the hull P.
The propulsion of the vessel is by screw propeller or paddles as usual, the action
of the buoys being as follows.

page_text: As the buoys are so calculated that those below the bottom of the hull furnish
the whole floating power required, the hull proper of the ship is above the water
line.
As the hull is propelled forwards by the screw the endless chains of buoys
are driven round the hull at a speed corresponding to that at which the hull is
driven forward so that the roller buoys when immersed though travelling back-
wards relatively to the hull are stationary relatively to the water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
The herein described system of roller buoys connected in endless chain form
and adapted to run by wheels and guide rails round the hull of a ship indepen-
dently propelled as described, the buoys being driven at a speed correlated to the
speed of propulsion of the vessel substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dotal thich lov of Al 1000
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.