Year: 1888

page_text: A communication from abroad by Marie Johanne JULIANE REECKE, of Berlin, in
the Empire of Germany.
I, GEORGE CECIL DYMOND M. Inst. M.E. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in the
County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, 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 :-
This invention has for its object a screw boat in which the screw propellor is rotated
by a rocking or circular motion of the feet so that the upper part of the body of
the operator remains at rest and he is free to use his activity in other functions in
connection with the propulsion of the boat, such as for example the steering of the
latter.
In all apparatus hitherto employed for the propulsion of boats by human force the
operator is so much engaged in the working that he cannot indulge in any other
occupation at the same time, and further, he loses the enjoyment of the boating if his
only object be not the formation of his muscles.
All these disadvantages are avoided by the application of this new apparatus for the
propulsion of boats, since with this apparatus, as already mentioned, the upper part
of the body of the operator remains at rest.
In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 to 6 show various forms of carrying out
the invention and Figures 7 to 13 the details of construction in the same.
The motive mechanism for the propellor may (as shown in Figures 1 and 2) be
either so arranged that the operator sitting at the side of one of the benches can also
regulate the steering apparatus, or there may be the arrangement as shown in Figures 3,
5 and 6, in which the operator is placed with his back to the rudder and the machinery
fills the stern of the boat, or the machinery may be hidden in the bottom of the boat,
as in Figure 4, while the operator has the same position as in the last case.
In the arrangement shown in Figures 1, 2, 12, and 13 a chain wheel a is fastened
to the shaft A of the screw B which passes into the inside of the boat, said chain
wheel being connected by a chain 6 with the chain wheel c. This wheel c is keyed

page_text: onto the axle C bent at d which rests in the bearings FG, and on which is a fly
wheel D. The said bent axle is rotated by means of the foot lever E which is
connected with the crank d by the connecting rod e. The foot lever is trunnioned
(Figure 12) so that it is rocked to and fro above its axle by a motion of the foot.
Now, if the operator carries out this motion he imparts to the propellor B the
speed of rotation required for the propulsion of the boat and while with the right
hand he holds the rudder f, he is free to join in the entertainment of the other
occupants of the boat or undisturbed to watch the view since only his feet, perhaps
even one foot, is active while the upper part of his body is at rest. The fly wheel D
is at the same time a brake disc and is for that purpose, provided with a brake band
the handle of which the operator can easily grasp and thus by pulling the brake
band check the action of the propellor if the boat is to be moved slowly forward or
to be stopped.
In small boats the variation shown in Figure 3 of the above specified mechanism
is recommended because in this case the stern is completely filled and the operator
can therefore work it easily. The screw shaft A in this case is at the end lying in
the interior of the boat bent at d and connected by means of the connecting rod e
with the eccentric disc e¹ which is fixed on the shaft C. The shaft C rests as before
in the bearings G and F, the latter which is not as before in Figure 1 mounted on a
pedestal but is placed on one of the cross beams which run from one side of the
boat to the other. The disc D ends the shaft C and in this case acts as fly-wheel,
crank, and brake-disc. The disc Dis therefore also provided with a brake apparatus,
the handle of which extends forward on one side to come within reach of the left
hand of the operator and said disc further contains the crank pin g which is connected.
by the connecting rod with the two armed intermediate beam H. On the other
arm of this intermediate lever H. rests the back end of the rocking pedal E, so that
when this latter is worked the intermediate beam H is also oscillated and thus the
fly-wheel D rotated. whence the rotary motion is further communicated to the
propellor.
.
The whole apparatus can in this case be shut off by a single wall I from the
rest of the boat, without forfeiting any considerable room that might be used for
other purposes.
In both the arrangements shown in Figures 1 to 3 the course of the boat is
checked by stopping the machinery. If. the boat is in full course it will nevertheless
continue for some distance after the stopping of the machinery before the boat will
come to a stand-still.
In coming to land the operator only lightly applies the brake and thus decreases
the speed, and while slowly moving the pedal E he can easily land at any fixed point.
But if it should be required from any cause to slacken or stop the course of the boat
so suddenly that it will only travel a very short distance before coming to a stop, or
if it should be necessary from danger of approaching collision to change the
forward motion as quick as possible into a backward motion, the motive mechanism
may be altered.
The further improvement in the machinery is therefore shown in Figures 4 and 11
by the application of which the speed with which the boat is propelled forward can
not only be reduced as much as desired, but it lies entirely within the power of the
operator to siop the motion in the shortest time, or to reverse the latter into a back-
ward one. At the same time with the introduction of these changes instead of the
rocking pedal motion a circular one is used for working the propellor, and the motive
mechanism thus greatly simplified.
In the keel of the boat is an upright shaft C (Figure 4) at the extremity, of which
is a fly-wheel D laid horizontally, and on which the rope or chain disc c is fixed.
From this disc c a chain or rope runs to the disc i fixed on a second vertical shaft 1,
on which the two bevel wheels 'k kare placed. These wheels can be adjusted by
means of the hand lever M (Figure 7).
On the end of the shaft A of the screw B inside the boat is placed a wheel.²
engaging the bevel wheels. kk. so that by moving the. bevel. wheels k¹ on the shaft L

page_text: one or other of these wheels comes in contact with the bevel wheel 2, or both the
wheels are removed from contact. It is advantageous to make the fly-wheel D
as large as possible, and then to make the diameter of the disc-like nave of the same
which alone passes through the bottom of the boat, such as to suit the stroke of the
legs without placing the upper part of the body under any inconvenience. On the
plate-like nave there is then placed a fixed or, better yet, a revolving small stud on
which the front part of the foot of the operator rests. If now the boat is to move the
operator brings the bevel-wheels kk first of all into mid position so that they have
no effect on the shaft B, he then gives a circular motion to the fly-wheel C. It is
only when the fly-wheel acquires a sufficient impetus that the operator draws the
wheel (Figure 7) into place.
The active power which resides in the moving fly-wheel now easily overcomes the
resistance which the shaft finds in the water and gives to the shaft the necessary
amount of revolutions without the operator being obliged to significantly increase the
power which is wanted for the turning of the disc D, unless indeed he wishes to travel
at a very quick rate. If it is now necessary to suddenly stop the boat, the passenger
moves the conical wheel k¹ into position whereby shaft A and propellor B are placed
in opposite directions to that previously, whilst however the fly-wheel D can continue
still unimpeded in its same direction of movement. The operator consequently does
not find it necessary to discontinue his activity or trouble himself to check the impetus
of the disc D, but it rather lies in his power by increasing his former activity to not
only bring the boat to a stand-still but even to reverse it.
In this arrangement of the motive mechanism the speed of the boat is dependent on
the quickness of movement exercised by the feet. But it is known however that the
operator continues longer the carrying on of a motion which is of constantly the same
speed and which cannot exceed a certain measure than a motion which is sometimes
quick and at other times not so, and an arrangement is shown in Figures 5, 6, 10
and 11 in which this is attained, although however the speed of travel of the boat cau
be increased or diminished according to wish.
From the horizontally situated fly-wheel the circular motion is again transferred as
in the previously described manner to the upright shaft L on which the wheels k k¹
are arranged, which latter can be moved by means of the lever M.
These wheels are not however of the bevel type but are plane friction wheels which
are brought into contact with the face of the disc 2 and can be pressed against the
The motion of the plane disc is transmitted by means of the wheels c and a to
same.
the propellor.
At the commencement of the movement both wheels k and k¹ are moved away so
that the plane disc remains at rest. It is only when the fly-wheel D is placed in
proper motion that the friction wheel is moved into place (Figure 10). It first
catches the extreme edge of the dise & forming a long leverage and at the same time
places the disc in rotation so that the boat will move forward at a certain speed. If
this speed is then to be increased the lever M is further depressed and the friction
wheel thus pushed towards the centre point of the plane disc which naturally
increases the speed of rotation of the propellor while however that of the fly-wheel D
remains the same.
In stopping or going astern the lever M is moved in the opposite direction, the
activity of the screw B is thus diminished and as soon as the friction wheel k¹ comes
in contact with the plane disc 2 (Figure 11) is first, stopped and then again started in
the opposite direction.
Thus by applying this arrangement the speed of the boat may be regulated, it may
be stopped, driven astern or ahead by one and the same lever.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A mechanical motive apparatus, for boats distinguished by the combination of a
propellor B with a driving mechanism for the same, said mechanism worked by means

page_text: of the rocking or circular motion of the foot, in which the motive power is introduced
either by a rocking pedal E (Figures 1 to 3) or by a fly-wheel D (Figures 4 to 6)
rotating in a horizontal plane with the object of advancing the boat without
necessitating that the operator should work the upper part of his body, substantially
as described.
2. In the apparatus mentioned in Claim 1, the combination of swinging pedal E
with a driving shaft C laid along the length of the boat and provided with a fly-
wheel D, from which shaft the rotary motion is conveyed to the shaft of the
propellor A, either by a chain b and chain wheel c (as in Figure 1) or by an eccentric
disc e¹ and connecting rod e, substantially as described.
3. In the apparatus mentioned in Claim 1, the combination of the horizontally
revolving wheel D with adjustable bevel wheels k k¹ (Figure 4) adjustable vertically,
and either such, that being bevelled they will set in motion a bevel wheel connected
with the propellor, or that being smooth friction wheels kk (Figure 5) they will set
in motion a second fly-wheel from whence the motion is transferred to the propellor
shaft, with the object when necessary of making it possible to immediately stop the
boat and drive it astern or to regulate the speed of motion independently of the motion
of the feet, substantially as described.
Dated this 1st day of December 1888
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.