IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Lanphier Anderson, of Norwood, in
the County of Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
Hoxmo
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Lanphier
Anderson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 19th September 1853.
I, WILLIAM LANPHIER ANDERSON, of Norwood, in the County of
Surrey, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS" to be as
follows:-
The Invention consists in propelling ships and other vessels by.
means of "paddles" which are arranged and worked so as to feather
in a similar manner to the oar in rowing by manual labor.
Figure 1, of the Drawings annexed shews the form of paddle which
I propose to adopt, and the arrangement for working the same.
The blade or float of the paddle is made to detach from the arm by
any simple means, as shewn at a. The ball b, on the arm of the
paddle works in a socket in the ship's side in a position somewhat

page_text: lower than that at which a paddle wheel shaft is usually placed, and
its movement is similar to the well-known ball and socket movement,
combined however with an arrangement the nature of which is ex-
plained in the following description. The socket containing the ball
is bolted against the interior of the ship's side, a channel c, being cut
out to relieve the ball from bearing where the parts are taken away.
This is for the purpose of reducing the friction, and also to admit of a
packing being placed in the channel so left. Over the ball and socket,
and either suspended from the deck beams or to a projection from the
ship's side, is a rod d, which has a movement from its point of suspen-
sion like that of a pendulum, and passes through a slot in the paddle
arm below, the latter sliding upon it during its rotation. By this
means the paddle is caused to follow the same angle of inclination as
the suspended rod, and consequently feathers at an angle depending
upon the distance of the point of suspension, which may be altered and
regulated by removing the rod higher or lower, or in a direction with
the length of the paddle arm. The inner extremity of the paddle arm
is carried through a socket e, in a crank arm connected with the
engine, and in which it is made to turn freely, the arm of the crank
being slightly bent in order to bring the socket at its extremity parallel
with the length of the paddle arm. The arm of the paddle is carried
round by the crank, and, while turning in its socket, it follows the
movement on its axis produced by the guiding rod, as before described.
The socket in the crank arm is made to shift its position higher or
lower, by which means the paddle arm may be raised or depressed, and
the dip of the blade in the water accommodated from time to time to
the altered line of floatation of the vessel. The foregoing combination
completes the arrangement for giving a rotary and feathering move-
ment to the paddles, and for regulating their dip in the water.
Two pairs of paddles are proposed to be used, each pair entering the
water alternately; but a greater number might be used, if preferred,
regulating them so as to enter the water each pair in succession, and
the entry of the whole to occupy one revolution of the engine. The
socket joint in the ship's side is made water-tight, and in order to
afford additional protection against the admission of water a circular

page_text: plate, as at Figure 2, revolves in a groove on the exterior of the ship's
side, opposite to the socket, and the arm of the paddle passing through
an orifice therein, which is also made water-tight, carries it round
with its own revolutions..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Lanphier Anderson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 18th March 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM LANPHIER ANDERSON, of Norwood, in the County of Surrey,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Lanphier Anderson,
Her special licence that I, the said William Lanphier Anderson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Lanphier Anderson, 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 PROPELLING SHIPS AND
OTHER VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Lanphier Anderson, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
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 William Lanphier Anderson, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-

page_text: tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
.
My Invention consist in propelling ships and other vessels by means
of paddles which are arranged and worked so as to feather in a
similar or somewhat similar manner to the oar in rowing by manual
labour.
Figure 1, of the Drawings annexed represents one of my paddles
fitted to a ship's side, with the arrangement for working the same so
as to give it the feathering motion. A, is the ship's side shewn in
section; B, the paddle (the form of which may be varied); and C, the
arm on which it is fixed. The blade or float is made to detach from the
arm, as shewn at a, and is secured to the arm by the screw b, or by any
other convenient means. The paddle arm C, passes through the ship's
side, and is furnished at that point with a ball D, which works in a
socket E, in a position somewhat lower than that at which a paddle
wheel shaft is usually placed, its movement being similar to that of
the well-known ball and socket joint. The socket E, is formed in two
parts, one of which is fitted outside and the other inside the ship's
side; they are brought together so as to meet at the point where the
ball D, works in them, and are secured in position by screws c, c, which
connect them to the wood work, and by a feather or rib on one of the
parts taking into a corresponding groove in the other part, as shewn
at d. Or, instead of bringing the two parts of the socket in contact
where the ball works in them, a vacant space or channel may be left
between them, and a packing of any suitable material may be placed
in the space so left. I do not limit myself to this particular form of
socket joint, as any other construction admitting of a universal move-
ment may be employed. The paddle arm C, has connected to it a
rod F, which passes through an eye formed in the swivel piece G,
which projects a little from the ship's side, and is capable of turning
in its socket e, so as to follow the motion of the rod F, when the paddle
is in operation. The inner extremity of the paddle arm is carried into
or through a socket H, in the crank arm I, in which it is capable of
turning freely, the arm of the crank being bent so as to bring the
socket at its extremity in a line with the axis of the paddle arm. The

page_text: crank I, is keyed on the extremity of a transverse shaft J, which turns
in bearings in the frame K, and receives motion from the main shaft L
(which is driven by steam, hand, or other power,) by means of a cog
wheel M on this latter, which gears into a cog. pinion N on the.
shaft J. The arm of the paddle is carried round by the crank, and,!
while turning in its socket in the crank arm, it receives such a motion
through the intervention of the guide rod F, as to cause it to feather
the paddle blade B, as it emerges from the water. The feathering
movement may be varied in direction as well as in its amount of
obliquity by shifting the position of the swivel piece G, through which
the guide rod F works, either as regards its distance from the centre of
motion at the ball and socket joint, or its position above or below it.
The feathering movement may also be produced by other arrange-
ments than that before described, as, for instance, by a pendulous rod
passing through a slot in the paddle arm. The projection of the paddle
arm from the vessel may also be increased or diminished by making
it capable of being moved inwards or outwards through the ball C,
and through its point of attachment to the crank arm, so as to enable
the dip of the blade in the water to be altered and accommodated
from time to time to the altered line of floatation of the vessel.
In applying my feathering paddles to ships I should sometimes, if
thought necessary, employ two pairs of them coupled together so as to
enter the water alternately, one pair making the forward stroke while
the other is in the water; but a greater number of pairs of paddles
may be used, if preferred, and in such case they should be arranged
and worked so as to enter the water in succession, the entry of the
whole of them occupying one revolution of the engine shaft. The
socket joint in the ship's side is made water-tight, but in order to afford
additional protection against the admission of water a circular plate O,
Figure 2, may, if thought necessary, be fitted to a groove in the outer
part of the socket E, so as to come flush with the exterior of the ship's
side, the arm of the paddle passing through an orifice in the plate O,
which is also made water-tight, and carrying it round in the groove
with its own motion.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in

page_text: what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim
is, the propelling of ships and other vessels by means of paddles worked
by steam, hand, or other power, and arranged so as to feather in a
similar or somewhat similar manner to the oar in rowing by manual
labour, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lanphier Anderson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of March,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
W. L. ANDERSON. (L.S.).