IMPROVE- MENTS IN PROPELLERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ALEXANDER FERDINAND ALBERT VOGELSANG, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
U.S.A., Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PROPELLERS," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention has reference to propellers for the propulsion of vessels on water
and in air, and consists in a central hub provided with two or more blades or
wings substantially similar to those in ordinary screw propellers for marine and
aerial navigation but which blades are so placed or grouped about the hub as to
be unequally distributed, as is more fully set forth in the following specification
and shown in the accompanying drawings which form part thereof.
I have found by actual experiment both in air and water that propellers con-
structed in accordance with my invention have far more power with less revolutions.
than propellers as heretofore constructed, thus insuring a large reduction in the
consumption of fuel necessary to operate a propeller to produce a desired speed.
In the drawings :-
--
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a marine propeller embodying my improve-
ments in which there are two blades located wholly on one side. A third blade
may be located as indicated in dotted lines if desired but which still leaves an
unequal distribution of the wings or blades about the hub or shaft.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation in which the blades are arranged substantially
opposite each other but still on one side of the hub and not diametrically opposite.
Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 2 with the addition of an extra blade between the two
others shown.
A is the hub, and B are the blades, which latter may be helical or simply flat as
desired, their particular shape being immaterial to my invention. In practice
there is no jarring or undue vibration due to the unequally distributed mass of
metal forming the propeller.
In the case of aerial propellers the wings would of course be formed of canvass
or other light material.
The power of this propeller is so great that I have with facility driven a vessel
through the water by the rotation of the propeller very slowly in the atmosphere.
It is evident that the blades may be adjustable if desired as shown at O, and the
hub may be so shaped by the distribution of metal or formed with a projecting
counterbalance as to put the propeller in balance.

page_text: When a counterbalance is used its object is to counterbalance the weight of the
blades which are arranged upon one side of the hub and it is not necessary that
such counterbalance should have any propulsive effect whatever.
With propellers in which there are a large number of equally distributed blades
the water is so greatly churned that it is difficult for the blades to obtain a solid
hold in the fluid and consequently the loss by slippage is very great. By arranging
the blades as herein described and shown forming a more open space between them
they are enabled to take a firm hold upon the water and the slip is much reduced,
and this reduction is shown in an increase of speed with a given number of
revolutions. It is also evident that as the blades are located to one side of the
hub one side of the shaft will take the wear and will run upon the bearing box,
the pressure traveling around the box instead of around the shaft as heretofore.
This change of pressure is very advantageous as the box may be made with a
replacable bearing, and the life of the propeller shaft would be greatly lengthened.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st. A propeller consisting of a hub provided with two or more blades or wings
grouped upon but one side and unequally distributed about said hub or in which
the spaces between the blades are not uniform and in which no two blades are
diametrically opposite.
2nd. A propeller having its blades grouped upon one side of the hub or shaft
only and in which no two blades are diametrically opposite and in which the
distance between the blades is not uniform, and a non-propulsive counterbalance
arranged upon the side of the hub or shaft opposite to that in which the blades are
located.
3rd. A propeller consisting of a boss or hub provided with two or more blades
grouped upon one side only of the said hub and in which no two blades of the
group are arranged diametrically opposite, and a single blade arranged opposite
to the group of blades but in which the distance between the blades are not
uniform,