IMPROVE- MENTS IN PROPELLING;
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
HALL, of Basford, in the County of Nottingham, Civil Engineer, send 'greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Seventh day of October, in the third year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel
Hall, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Samuel Hall, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Samuel Hall, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and also in all Her
said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PROPELLING;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that I, the said Samuel Hall, should cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Hall, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same are to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):-
The objects of my improvements in propelling consist, first, in the with-
drawing of the float boards, more or less, from the peripheires of paddle wheels
toward their centres, and in the returning of them back again at pleasure, for
the purpose of regulating the depth of their immersion in the water wherein the
vessel to which they are applied is floating, according to circumstances, such as
the depth of water the vessel is drawing, the roughness of the sea, the violence
of the weather, or any other occurrences which may take place to render such
variations of the situations of the float boards desirable.
Second, not only in the regulating of the float boards, as above described,
but in the withdrawing of them entirely out of the water, or as nearly so as
possible, when any circumstances render it desirable, such, for instance, as
when the wind is so favorable as to render it desirable to sail the vessel entirely
thereby, and to cease altogether during that time from working the engines,
and when that is no longer the case, in the returning of the boards to their
proper situations in the water, for the engines to be again put into operation.
Having stated the objects of my Invention, I now procced to describe the
modes by which they are respectively obtained, reference being had, as before
mentioned, to the Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
the same letters shewing the same parts of the apparatus and machinery
respectively in all the Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 are Drawings of a paddle wheel, with my improvements
applied thereto; Figure 1 being a section of it taken through its centre in the
direction from a to a, in Figure 2; and Figure 2 is a view or elevation of it on
the side next the vessel, except as to the slide boxes F, F, hereafter described,
which are shown in section. A, A, Figures 1 and 2, show the paddle wheel
shaft; B, B, are the wheels (one of which is shown separately at Figure 3,) to
receive the paddle arms, such wheels being firmly fixed upon the shaft. b, b,
are straight grooves_in_the_arms of the wheel, the grooves being as much
deeper as the thickness of the paddle arms at the ends of the grooves most
remote from the centre of the wheel, to receive such arms, which are to be
firmly affixed in the deepened ends by bolts r,r. The grooves are consequently
rendered of an uniform depth from end to end by being thus filled up at the

page_text: deepened ends by such insertion of the paddle arms. C, C, are other wheels,
one of which is shown separately at Figure 4, having grooves c, c, in them of
a spiral form. D, D, are the paddle wheel arms bolted, as before mentioned,
into the outer and deepened ends of the grooves b, b. E, E, are the float
boards, which are to move towards and from the centre of the wheel, as and
when required, being fixed upon the arms with proper tightness by slide boxes
F, F, one of which is shewn separately in section at Figures 5 and 6, the
former Figure being taken through the middle of the box lengthwise, and the
other Figure through it crosswise or transversely; they consist of a metallic
plate d, d, which forms the bottom of the box, and of another metallic plate e, e,
which is constructed so as to form the sides and top of the box. ff, are two
blocks of steel or other suitable material affixed within and at each end of
each of the boxes, to fit as accurately as possible upon the paddle arms, so as
to allow the boxes to slide thereon; and between these blocks is inserted within
each of the boxes a spring 9, of hammered brass or other suitable material, to
cause the boxes and of course the float boards, which are attached thereto by
bolts h, h, Figures 5 and 6, to slide steadily along the arms, and bear with con-
siderable firmness thereon. Plates of steel i, i, or other suitable material are
inserted loose within the boxes between the arms and the springs, to prevent
the wear of the latter, which would take place if, when sliding, they were to
come in contact with the former. G, G. are flat sliding bars, shown separately
at Figures 7 and 8, the former Figure shewing the flat side, and the latter the
edges of them; they are for the purpose of moving the float boards toward
and from the centre of the paddle wheel. One end of each of these bars enters
into the slide box F, in which they are secured by two strips of metal j, j;
there is another strip of metal k at the other end of each bar of a curved form,
to enter and traverse in the spiral groove c, c, hereafter mentioned; there are
also two other strips of steel or other metal p, p, on the other sides of the said
bars, to keep them from bearing upon the paddle arms D, D. The spiral
grooves of the two wheels C, C, must exactly correspond with and face cach
other, so that when the metallic strips k of one set of sliding bars are brought
as near to the centre of the paddle wheel as the grooves will allow, the other
set in the other wheel shall be in a corresponding situation; thus, in that
situation as well as in all others, the two wheels containing the spiral grooves,
which are connected together by the coupling box H, will cause the strips k, k,
and of course (through the means of the sliding bars) each end of the float
boards respectively, to assume a corresponding situation. It will be apparent,
that when the spiral wheels C, C, turn round along with the arms and other

page_text: parts of the paddle wheel, the boards will not have any traversing motion
given to them, towards or from the paddle wheel shaft; but it will be evident,
that if on the one hand the two spiral wheels be put in motion while the
paddle wheel is at rest, or on the other hand if the two spiral wheels be
retained at rest while the paddle wheels are in operation, the float boards may
be moved inwards or outwards by means of the curved strips of iron k, k,
traversing in the spiral grooves c, c, and thereby moving the slide bars G, G,
and the float boards with which such bars are connected, as above mentioned,
by the slide boxes F, F. In order, therefore, to effect the sliding of the float
boards, either while the engines and of course the paddle wheels are in motion,
or while they are at rest, I apply the toothed wheel I, I, which can move
round freely on the paddle wheel shaft, and the toothed rim J, J, of the same
size and pitch as the toothed wheel'; this toothed rim is bolted to one of the
spiral wheels C, C, and this toothed wheel and rim are then connected together
by means of the two small toothed wheels K', K², which are keyed on the
cross shaft L. When the float boards are required to be put in motion while
the paddle wheel is standing still, a winch or handle is to be applied at either
end of the cross shaft L, which are made square to receive it. By turning
this shaft, the wheel K will turn the spirals C, C, round in either direction,
and thereby move the float boards inwards or outwards, as may be required;
but in order to move the float boards inwards or outwards while the paddle
wheels are in operation, a stud pin is fixed on the loose toothed wheel I, I,
and a lever m with a projection upon it is applied for the purpose of being
pressed upon the stud pin, whereby the wheel I, I, is stopped; and by its con-
nexion with the wheels K¹ and K and the toothed rim J, J, the spiral wheels
C, C, are retained in a state of rest, so that the motion of the paddle wheel
shall cause the curved strips k, k, to traverse in the spiral grooves c, c, and
thereby move the float boards, as already described, inwards or outwards,
according to the direction of the motion given to the paddle wheels.
When it is desirable to draw or reef the float boards out of the water, or
close up to the wheels B and C, for the purpose of propelling the vessel by
wind instead of steam, or for any other reason, the paddle wheel shafts
may readily be disconnected from the middle shaft by the following means,
which I have devised for that purpose:-Figure 9 shews a paddle wheel
shaft M, coupled with the middle shaft N, by cranks O and P, and a crank
pin Q; this pin is tapped or screwed at one end, whereby it is firmly screwed
into the arm of the crank P, and is kept from unscrewing by a set screw q,
or any other proper means. The other part of the pin which is not tapped

page_text: or screwed passes with proper freedom into the other crank arm 0; and the
connecting rod of the engine, which is not here shewn, is fixed in the usual
manner on the pin Q between the two crank arms. There is a round steel or
other metallic plate n, n, attached by.screws with countersunk heads o, o, to
the inside of the boss of the crank arm P, in the centre of which plate there is
a hole precisely the size of the untapped part of the pin which passes through
it, and is held steady by it when the crank arms are not connected together by
it: When the shaft M is required to be: disconnected from the shaft N, the
paddle wheel must, by any suitable means, be held in a state of rest, which,
in consequence of the float boards being taken out of the water, will be
easily effected. The crank pin Q must then be drawn out by unscrewing it
until it has left the crank arm M, but it must be left projecting so far out of
crank arm N as to support the connecting rod, and render it unnecessary to
disturb its brasses or straps, one end of the pin being held steady by the
plate n, n, and the other end by the tapped part of the pin which is not
unscrewed from the crank arm P..
Having thus described the various parts of the apparatus which constitute
my improvements in propelling, I now proceed to define and explain the
extent of my claims, and that in numerical order, claiming every one of
the improvements independent of each other, as respectively new and useful
Inventions.
They consist, first, in any suitable inclined or incurvated eccentric surface
or surfaces, for sliding the float boards of paddle wheels inward and outward,
in whatever manner the inclined or incurvated eccentric surface or surfaces
may be formed or applied, whether in the form of a single spiral groove, as
shewn in this Specification, or of two, three, or some other number of spiral
grooves; or whether the spiral or spirals be in the form of a groove or grooves,
as above mentioned, formed in a wheel or boss, as herein described, or of a
spiral or spirals projecting from instead of sinking into such wheel or boss,
or in whatever other form it may be applied. It may be proper here to
remark, that when the spiral or spirals are in the form or forms of a groove or
grooves, only one of the curved metallic strips k is necessary to be applied to
each of the slide bars to move or traverse in its respective groove, but that
when the spirals project from the wheels C, C, two such metallic strips are
necessary; between which each of the projecting spirals is clasped, and travels
to move the slide bars inwards or outwards.
Secondly, I claim the combination of any inclined or incurvated eccentric,
surface or surfaces, as above described, with the arrangement of toothed:

page_text: wheels herein delineated, or any other suitable arrangement of machinery
for putting the inclined or incurvated eccentric surface or surfaces in motion,
or for stopping them for the purpose of sliding the float boards of paddle
wheels inwards or outwards, either while the engines and paddle wheels are
at rest, or while they are in motion, and without the necessity of stopping
them, as in the former case, viz., (while the sliding of the float boards is
effected,) as would be necessary where the inclined or incurvated eccentric
surface or surfaces only applied, without the arrangement of toothed wheels
herein delineated, or any other suitable machinery for effecting the same
purpose.
Thirdly, I claim the slide boxes and the springs herein-before described, or
any other suitable elastic material, for the purpose of attaching the float
boards firmly to the paddle wheel arms, and at the same time of allowing such
float boards to slide backwards and forwards on them with sufficient ease.
Similar springs or elastic material, the use of which I also claim, may be
applied at the sides as well as on the edges of the paddle arms; and I make
my claim to this mode of attaching the float boards to paddle wheels, whether
in connection with my Invention as before described or not, and whether for
moving or reefing them by any other machinery, or by manual labour; and I
claim this plan even as a mode of fastening the float boards, and without
moving or reefing them at all.
Fourthly, I claim the method herein described of connecting and discon-
necting the paddle wheel shaft and the main shaft, whether in connexion with
my reefing paddle wheels, as herein described, or with any other kind of
wheels or mode of propelling to which such method of connecting and discon-
necting the paddle wheel shafts and engine shafts is applicable.
Fifthly, I claim the above means of moving or reefing float boards for water
wheels for propelling machinery and other purposes, as well as for paddle
wheels for propelling boats, ships, or other vessels.
Sixthly, I claim the above-mentioned means of sliding the float boards,
whether for the purpose of regulating the depth of their immersion in the
water, or for the purpose of taking them out of the water altogether, or as
nearly as possible when required, whether for the purpose of allowing a steam
vessel to be propelled by the wind only, or for any other reason.
I would here observe that I do not limit my claims to the precise means or
apparatus or arrangements thereof which I have described in this Specifi-
cation, for the attainment of all or any of the various objects above mentioned,
as they are susceptible of many variations of form and mode of application,

page_text: which are essentially and substantially the same as those which I have given
as instances of my improvements; and the adoption of any of such variations
would, as I consider, be as much infringements of my Patent as the use of
any of the precise means, apparatus, and arrangements which I have herein
delineated and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Hall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
housand oight hundred and forty
Inrolled the Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty.