IM- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING VESSELS AND IN FORCING WATER
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT
Terrace, in the
to Walter Watson
to Walter Watson Hughes, of 48, Porchester
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING VESSELS AND
IN FORCING WATER."
I
Sealed the 25th September 1868, and dated the 27th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Watson
Hughes at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 27th March 1868.
I, WALTER WATSON HUGHES, of 48, Porchester Terrace, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING VESSELS
AND IN FORCING WATER," to be as follows:-
I propose to propel ships and boats on seas, rivers, and canals by
either of the following methods:-
According to one method I propose doing so by the direct action
of steam on one or more pistons working in one or more cylinders
fixed about the centre of the ship or boat in the following mauner :-
I construct each cylinder in two parts or compartments connected
[Price 8d.1

page_text: distances.
together, but of different dimensions. The smaller part placed the
farthest away from the stern of the vessel and on a line with its keel
is provided with a piston, which works in it by the action of steam.
The piston rod turns a crank shaft, which carries the gearing for
opening and shutting the valves and working the pumps. The other
and larger cylinder is provided with two pistons working in it at fixed
This cylinder I use as a condenser, and the piston in it,
and consequently nearest the steam cylinder, is to prevent the cold water
from coming in contact with the plate of the steam cylinder. The
other and remaining piston works in the end of the cylinder nearest
the stern of the vessel; it is perforated with a number of small holes
to allow the cold water required for condensing purposes passing
through it into the interval between it and the other piston just
mentioned. I propose that these two pistons should each have at
least 3 times larger superficial area than the steam piston. All three
pistons are connected together by means of a shaft passing through
their centres, to which they are fixed, and which sustains their weight
as the said shaft passes through both ends of the steam cylinder and
through an upright fixed in the trunk or channel abutting
on the
after part of the cylinder. It is the resistance of the water admitted
from the stern of the vessel through this channel to the action of these
pistons which causes the forward movement of the vessel, and it is the
escape of the steam into the condenser which enables the water to drive
back the piston with which it is in contact, there being thus no occasion
to employ any mechanical power for that purpose, as is done in all
similar plans for propelling vessels. Water is also admitted to the
channel or channels abaft the cylinder through the bottom of the vessel.
The same arrangement placed forward will either stop or turn the
vessel.
་
According to my other method I propose propelling vessels and
also pumping water or other liquids by means of centrifugal force.
For this purpose I construct a wheel or turbine of, say, 4 or any
other number of feet diameter with any number of blades or arms.
The length of each blade or arm may be two, three, or more feet.
If the length of the blade be three feet, whilst the diameter of the
turbine is 4 feet, then the superficial area of the turbine will be
36 feet; and in order to give the disc upon which the water is to
exert the forward pressure 36 or more feet of surface the casing in

page_text: which the turbine works must be 9 or more feet, and the two tubes
through which the water is propelled towards the stern of the vessel
must have a diameter of more than 4 feet. The turbine may be driven
by a crank or wheels in the usual way, and the water is taken from any
part of the vessel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Walter Watson Hughes in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 26th September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
WATSON HUGHES, of 48, Porchester Terrace, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,. by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Walter Watson Hughes, Her special
licence that I, the said Walter Watson Hughes, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Walter Watson
Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of.
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING
VESSELS AND IN FORCING WATER," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Walter Watson Hughes, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Walter Watson Hughes, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
propelling and steering vessels and in lifting or forcing water.
For propelling vessels I employ a wheel or turbine mounted on an
axis driven from a steam engine or in other convenient manner. The
water is taken in at the centre of the wheel around the axis and is thrown
off at the periphery by the action of inclined blades or arms with which
the wheel or turbine is furnished. The wheel or turbine is enclosed in a
casing concentric with it and of such a size that an annular space is
left around the wheel or turbine of an area equal to or greater than the
area of the periphery of the wheel or turbine from which the water is
thrown off. It is preferred that the discharge pipe or pipes should be
of the same sectional area as the casing, but the area of the discharge
pipe or pipes should in most cases be as large as the area of the periphery
of the wheel or turbine. For propelling vessels two discharge pipes are
employed, one, on either side of the keel or centre line of the vessel, and
parallel to it; they open towards the stern of the vessel. To aid in the
steering of the vessel and in stopping it and moving it astern other
openings are provided for the escape of the water; these are at the sides
of the vessel and inclined towards the bows.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of apparatus for forcing water.
a, a, is
the bed plate of the apparatus, suitably supported on strong timbers, as
is shown; it has an opening in the centre, to which the suction pipe b
descending into the water to be raised is adapted, at the bottom of which
are two large flap valves b', 61,; c is the casing for the wheel fixed on
the top of the bed plate; it has a door or cover at c¹ and opens into the
discharge pipe at c2; d is a horizontal axis passing through the casing;
one end of it is carried by a bearing on the standard e and the other end
by a bearing on the door or cover c¹. The axis enters the casing through
a stuffing box c³, and it has keyed upon it the wheel or turbine f, the
form of which is clearly seen in Figure 2, which is a transverse section
taken through it. It consists of the inclined blades or arms f¹ formed

page_text: +
with or fixed to a disc f2 and a ring f³ together with the central arms/
which serve both to strengthen the wheel or turbine and to prevent the
churning of the water within it. The ring f³ is turned to fit a hole
bored accurately to receive it in the partition which divides the
casing c into two parts, one open to the suction and the other to the
discharge; is a pulley upou the axis d to receive a belt by which it
is driven from a steam engine or otherwise. The water rising up the
suction pipe when the wheel or turbine is driven enters it through the
ring and passes out to the discharge through the spaces between the
blades or arms f at the periphery of the wheel or disc. It should be
observed that the casing surrounding the wheel or disc is of such a size
that the area surrounding the wheel or turbine (marked g in Figure 2)
is as large as the combined area of the several openings or passages
between the blades or arins at the periphery of the disc. It will also
be seen that the sectional area of the discharge pipe is the same as that
of the casing, but this may be varied; it should not, however, in
ordinary cases be made smaller than the area of the riug g and of the
passages in the wheel or turbine, but in special cases, where it is desired
to increase the speed of the water at the point of discharge at the
expense of quantity delivered, the discharge pipe or pipes may be made
smaller.
-
Figure 3 is a side view partly in section, Figure 4 a plan, and Figure 5
a transverse section to a larger scale of a vessel propelled by hydraulic
a is the hull of the vessel;
apparatus similar to that above described.
b, the boiler; c, the engines driving a shaft d with a spur wheel d¹ upon
it; this wheel gears with a pinion e on an intermediate shaft also
carrying a spur wheel e', and this drives a pinion on the axis of the
wheel or turbine g; h is the suction or inlet opening by which the water
passes to the wheel or turbine up through the bottom; i, i, are two
discharge pipes having a sectional area equal to the area of the casing
where the wheel or turbine works; ', ', are the mouths of the pipes i
at which the water is discharged; k, k, are valves by which the pipes i, i,
can be closed when desired, so as to cause the water to issue by the side
openings, . When both of the pipes i, i, are closed and the engines
are at work the vessel is propelled astern or its forward speed is checked,
or if one of the pipes is closed, the other remaining open, the head
of the vessel will be inclined towards the side on which the pipe is.
closed.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that what
I claim is,―
First. The combining apparatus for lifting or forcing water and for
propelling vessels in such manner that the water is caused to enter at
the centre of a wheel or turbine having inclined blades or arms, and to
be thrown out at the periphery thereof into a casing of such a size that
the area around the wheel or turbine is as large as the area of the
passages out from it between its blades or arms.
I also claim the arranging apparatus for lifting or forcing water,
substantially as herein described.
I also claim the arranging apparatus for propelling vessels, substantially
as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Watson Hughes, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of
September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-eight.
W. W. HUGHES. (L.S.)