IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR NAVIGATING THE AIR."
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Bright, of Sandwich Street, Burton Crescent,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR NAVIGATING THE AIR."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Bright at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
October 1859.
I, HENRY BRIGHT, of Sandwich Street, Burton Crescent, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-"
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR NAVIGATING THE AIR," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object the navigating of the air in a more simple
and efficient manner than by the means hitherto adopted for that purpose, and
is as follows:-I propose suspending a suitably constructed car to a solid
vertical shaft, said shaft having attached at the top thereof a number of sails
somewhat similar to the sails of a windmill, set at an angle of about 45°, of a
light rigid material, and secured together by an outer band or other suitable
means; immediately under this set of sails is placed another set affixed to a
hollow shaft through which the solid one works, a suspension plate on the
upper part of the car rests upon friction rollers at the lower part of the hollow
shaft, the same kind of rollers being attached to the lower extremity of the

page_text: solid shaft, which passes through the bottom of the car, and work thereunder;
horizontal bevelled wheels are attached one to the solid and another to the
hollow shaft, between which a vertical bevelled wheel works, and by means of
a crank the whole is set in motion, the two sets of sails rotating in opposite
directions. I also propose applying these sails one set by the side of the
other upon the same plane, or the vertical shafts one by the side of the other,
and the sets of sails only partially one under the other, as inay be found best
in practice. The weight of the car invariably resting on friction rollers, in all
cases a horizontal cranked shaft and bevelled wheels are to be used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Bright in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th April 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BRIGHT, of Sandwich Street, Burton Crescent, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her inost Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Bright, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Bright,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Bright, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR NAVIGATING THE AIR," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Bright, my executors or
administrators, 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 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 Henry Bright, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-:

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention has for its object the navigating the air in a more simple and
efficient manner than by the means hitherto adopted for that purpose. A
suitably constructed car rests upon a plate connected to the lower end of a
vertical solid or tubular shaft, which is fitted at the top with a number of sails
working horizontally, set at a suitable angle, somewhat similar to the sails of a
windmill, the sails being made of any suitable material that is light and rigid.
Immediately under the above set of sails is placed another and similar set of
sails connected to an outer hollow shaft through which passes the one before
mentioned. In addition to the said plate, at the bottom of the shaft on which
the car rests, a plate is also fitted to the outer tubular shaft from which the
car is suspended. Each of these plates is provided with a set of friction rollers
upon which the car is borne above and also at the bottom. For the purpose
of imparting motion to the sails, horizontal toothed wheels are keyed, one to
the inner and another to the outer shaft gearing into a vertical wheel keyed
on a crank shaft (fixed within the car) which may be worked by the aeronaut
or other convenient means. When the machine is set in motion, each set of
sails is caused to rotate in an opposite direction to the other set, this is an
important feature of my Invention, it being by the reverse action of the sails
that a neutral effect is produced on the car, which is thus kept from gyration.
To raise the machine, if the top set of sails rotate to the right, the lower set
rotate to the left; to cause its descent the action of the crank shaft, and conse-
quently the sails, is reversed. In some cases I propose applying the sails one
set by the side of the other upon the same plane, or to modify their arrange-
ment, as may be found best in practice.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention I will now proceed
more fully to describe the manner of performing the same, reference being
made to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters of reference
marked thereon.

page_text: upon which the car is borne; h is the crank shaft; i, the vertical toothed
wheel keyed on the same; (k are the horizontal toothed wheels keyed on the
vertical shafts; are screw rods for adjusting the car on its bearings; and m is
an ordinary wind vane.
Having now fully described the nature of my said Invention, together with
the method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood
that what I claim is,―
First, the use of two or more sets of sails rotating in reverse directions on
the same axis as herein shown and described.
Second, the supporting of the car on friction wheels as herein shown and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Bright, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.