CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING VESSELS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS CAN ALSO BE APPLIED TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1827

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PAUL
STEENSTRUP, of Basing Lane, in the City of London, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eleventh day
of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
twenty-seven, and in the eighth year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Paul Steenstrup, His
especial license, that I, the said Paul Steenstrup, my exors, adññors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Paul Steenstrup, my exors, adññors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of " CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING VESSELS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS CAN ALSO BE APPLIED
TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said Paul Steenstrup, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
hereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Paul
Steenstrup, do hereby declare that my aforesaid Invention has three distinct
objects of improvement in view, all of which are connected with and lead
to the propelling of vessels and other useful purposes; and these are, first,
a new and improved form and construction of boiler for generating and
producing the steam, which I make use of as the power for producing the
necessary motion for propelling vessels or other useful purposes; secondly,
a new form and modification of machinery in the nature of a rotary steam
engine for producing the said necessary motion from the action of the steam
produced in my aforesaid new construction of boiler, or from any of the usual
and accustomed steam boilers which have been heretofore in use, and which
said new form and modification of machinery is well suited to produce rotary
motion to be applied to paddle wheels for propelling vessels, or for working
the pumps of the same, or for other useful purposes; and, thirdly, for a new
form and modification of machinery for using and disposing of the power
and motion obtained as aforesaid in a new arrangement and construction
of paddle wheel or wheels for propelling or moving vessels on the water. And
I hereby declare that the several particulars of my said several improvements,
and the manner in which the same are to be made, formed, constructed, and
used or applied, are herein-after particularly and fully set forth and described
and illustrated by the Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to say):-
Figure 1 in the annexed Drawings represents a vertical section of my
aforesaid new form and construction of boiler or vessel for producing and
generating steam, taken upon the line a, a, in Figure 2, which is an horizontal
plan or section of the same through the central part of Figure 1; Figure 3
is a transverse section of the same boiler upon the line b, b, of Figure 2; and
Figure 4 is a view of one of the external ends of the said boiler as it appears
in its completo state, and shewing the fire doors, the ash hole, the gauge and
emptying cocks, the fire bars, and part of the funnel or chimney pipe and of
the steam pipe. The same letters of reference denote the same parts when-
ever they occur in these four Figures. The shape or form which I prefer
for these boilers is sufficiently indicated by the above Figures, and the boiler
may be made of the usual wrought iron or copper plates of which boilers are
generally formed, or of cast metal, but I prefer the former materials. It is
composed of two distinct cases, which have water between them in every part,
except at the two ends; c, c, c, c, being the external case of the boiler, and
d, d, d, d, the internal part of it, which is made so much less than the
external case that a quantity of water, c, e, e, e, may encompass it all round,
as most distinctly seen in Figure 3; and f, f, f, f, are legs or supporters

page_text: of metal fixed to the bottom of the internal part, to support or bear it up.
The internal and external parts are firmly screwed together by bolts and nuts
in an air and steam tight manner at their two ends, as shewn at 9, 9, in
Figures 1 and 2, and thus any water that may be introduced between
them, as at e, c, can only escape or be drawn off by the cock h, which is
introduced for that purpose, and any steam that may be produced will
rise into the cavity i, and can only escape by the steam pipe k, or the
man-hole j, if it happens to be open. A number of metal pipes, which
I prefer making of wrought iron or copper, pass through the top and
bottom of the interior vessel, and are secured thereto at both their ends
by screw nuts applied both within and without the said vessel, as will be
distinctly seen at 1, 1, 1, 1, &c., in Figures 1, 2, and 3, or these pipes may
be otherwise fixed to the said vessel, provided the joints are perfectly steam
and water tight. As these pipes are quite open they afford immediate
communication between the water in the top and the bottom of the boiler.
The fire bars m, m, are supported by cross bearing bars as usual, and a stop
or bridge n is applied at the end of the ash hole to compel any air that enters
therein to pass through the fuel upon the bars, and this bridge rises above
the upper surface of the bars to stop or impede the fuel from falling over
them at their extreme ends. A certain proportion of the pipes 1, 1, 1, &c.,
it will be observed, pass through and between the fire bars, which must
be cast or made of such shape as to fit them as shewn in Figure 2, and
the burning fuel on the bars therefore lies in contact with that proportion
of the pipes, and gives a higher temperature to the water contained in them
than in any of the others, on account of which that water will always have
a tendency to rise while it is descending in the other pipes and at the sides
of the boiler, whereby a constant motion and circulation of the water is at
all times kept up and maintained. o, o, is the lower end of the flue or
funnel pipe for conveying away the smoke from the fire, and this part
of that funnel pipe, as well as the posterior end of the boiler, are made double
or hollow, to contain a quantity of water p, p, Figures 1 and 2, for charging
or replenishing the boiler as it may be required, such water being kept hot
by contact with such flue; but I do not claim this, or the gauge cocks q, 9, 9,
or the fire doors r, r, r, as any part of my Invention, as they are all similar
to what have been before used. The operation and use of this boiler will
be evident without further description, and its advantages are, that from the
nature and construction of the fire bars they may be diminished or increased
to any extent within the boiler by throwing the bridge n further back, or
bringing it forward, according to the strength of the fuel used; and thus this

page_text: boiler is capable of being worked by coals, wood, peat, or any kind of fuel
that can be procured. By being surrounded by water, this boiler may be
safely placed in the vicinity of timber, without any apprehension of its setting
fire to it, which is of great importance in ships and steam vessels. Any part
of it may be easily removed for repairs in case of need, and from the small
quantity of water it contains its weight is inconsiderable, as compared to other
boilers, and the water cannot flow to one side, and destroy the ballast of
the vessel. In constructing this boiler I increase or diminish the number
of the tubes, as well as their distance asunder, according to the strength
or power of the fuel to be employed; but the annexed Drawing represents
that number and proportion which I consider to be the best to be adopted
when pit coal is to be used as the fuel. The pipes in Figures 1 and 3 are
drawn as being quite straight, but I occasionally bend them, and make them
cross over at their upper ends, as shown in Figure 5, to counteract any effect
that might arise from their expansion by heat, as they will become hot sooner
than the other parts of the boiler. Figure 6 represents a side section and
Figure 7 an end external view of the apparatus or machinery in the nature
of a rotary steam engine which I make use of for producing rotary motion,
to be applied to the propelling of vessels or for other purposes. In Figure 6,
8, 8, is a hollow cylinder of cast iron or other metal, which is truly bored or
turned within, and which has external flanches at its two ends, to which flat
end plates that are made perfectly flat and smooth on their insides are fixed
by screw bolts, as seen at t, t, t, t, in Figure 7, in the usual manner of fitting
up and constructing rotory engines that have similar parts. The revolving
piston is marked v in Figure 6, and is a parallelogram of metal extending from
one end of the cylinder to the other, and is attached at one of its sides to the
hollow cylinder u, u, which is attached or connected at its two ends within the
external cylinder to the main or central axis w, by which the power is to be
communicated to the paddle wheels or for other purposes, and which said
nain shaft projects through the middle of the two flat sides of the external
cylinder, as seen at w, w, in Figure 7, it being kept steam tight by stuffing
boxes. The revolving piston is made perfectly air and steam tight in its rotary
motion within the external cylinder by pieces of brass or other metal let into
its three edges, which come into contact with the two flat sides and the inner
circumference of the external cylinder, which said pieces of brass or other
metal are pressed forward by springs. One of them is seen in cross section at x,
in Figure 6. The internal cylinder u, u, must be very truly turned on its
outside, and be so hung or fixed upon the main shaft W as to be perfectly
concentric with it, in order that while it revolves the lower edge of the brass or

page_text: other metalic curved valve or slider y, which I call a resistant slider, may res
upon it in an air and steam tight or nearly air and steam tight manner. The
resistant sliders move up and down through long slits prepared to fit them in
the external cylinder, and when they shut or fall down upon the internal
cylinder u, u, they are guided in their motion and kept in their places by
grooves prepared to fit them in the two end plates, and when they open or pass
upwards out of the cylinder they are received into steam tight boxes or cases
seen in section at A, Figure 6, and as they appear externally at A in Figure 7,
such boxes being screwed or otherwise fixed upon flanches or projections from
the outside of the external cylinder in a manner that will be evident on
inspecting the Figures. The resistant sliders are moved by polished curved
rods of metal, which slide through air-tight stuffing boxes on the upper part
of the said cases. The upper ends of the said rods are attached to levers B,
which turn on the shaft or arbor C (best seen in Figure 7), and to which they are
fixed, and these lovers are further continued by additional arms D fixed on to
the end of the arbor C, and their lower ends are attached by the links or con-
necting rods E to cranks F upon the short axles F, G, which are placed without
the external cylinder, and supported by the standards H, H. The cranks F
must be of such a throw or radius as will draw up or let down the resistant
sliders, and cause them to press gently upon the internal cylinder u, u, by the
révolution of the short axles F, G, to be produced in a manner to be herein-after
described, and the curvature of the resistant slides, and of the rods by which
they are moved, and of the boxes into which they enter when they are clevated,
must be portions of circles described from the centre of the lever axis C
wherever it may happen to be placed. The resistant sliders. in rising must
likewise move to such an extent that their lower edges may just move out of the
circumference of the cylinder so as not to impede the motion of the piston as it
revolves, but no further. In the Drawing two resistant sliders are shown, the
one being raised or open, and the other depressed or closed; but only one of
such sliders is necessary in an engine to produce rotary motion in one direction,
and the other is for reversing the motion, or causing the piston and main shaft
to revolve in the opposite way. Thus, to cause the piston to revolve in the
direction of the arrow drawn within the cylender, the resistant slider that is
shown as down or closed is alone necessary, and the other in the elevated
position must be thrown out of geer, and be retained in the position in which it
is drawn, that it may be out of the way of the piston. Each resistant slider
requires a separate opening for the admission of the steam into the cylinder,
but only one opening for its escape is common to them both; and these open-
ngs, which are made in either of the before-mentioned end plates of the

page_text: external cylinders, but not in both of them, are shewn at I, K, and L. The
openings I and K are for the admission of the steam, and they both present
long slits whose length is in the direction of radii of the cylinder, in order
that they may be more suddenly passed by the piston on the outside of the
external plate on which they are formed. They continue by a pipe or pipes to
like the boiler in which the steam is produced, but they must be furnished with
separate cocks or valves, so that the steam may be made to enter either of
them at pleasure, but never to enter them both at the same time. L is the
opening for the escape of the steam, which may either be a mere hole or slit like
the others, or a number of smaller holes, the sum of whose area or opening is
sufficiently spacious, and this latter form is shown in the Drawing. If the
engine is on the high-pressure principle, and the steam when done with is to
be discharged into the open air, a mere hole or holes for the escape of the steam
will alone be necessary; but it is always better to apply a pipe to the outside of
this orifice of discharge to conduct the steam into the chimney, or to any place
where it may not be annoying; and if the engine is to be on the condensing
principle, then such pipe must lead to the condenser formed in the usual way,
and an air pump will in this case be necessary, and may be worked from the main
shaft or w, w, or in any other convenient manner. The action of this machine
will, after the above description, be obvious, because in the position of the parts,
as shown at Figure 6, if we imagine steam to be entering the cylinder at the
orifice I, it cannot escape past the closed resistant slider y, but will pass into
the part of the cylinder marked with the arrow, and will press against the right
hand side of the piston v, and will drive it round; meanwhile, any air or steam
that was previously within the cylinder on the left hand side of the piston will
be compressed, and will escape through the orifice L. The resistant slider y
will remain down and closed until the piston arrives at the dotted line 1, 1,
when it will begin to open, and will be at its greatest elevation, and quite out of
the cylinder, as the piston passes it, and it will again fall, and be quite closed,
by the time the piston arrives at the dotted line 2, 2, at which instant the steam
valve, having communication with the orifice I, opens, and the steam enters
The steam valve again shuts when the piston is at the dotted line 3, 3, and the
steam now acts by expansion, and that, assisted by the momentum of the pistor
and the fly or paddle wheel upon the main shaft w, w, carries the pistor
forward until it has began to cross the grooves Z, through which some of the
steam will escape, but the resistant valve will immediately begin to move, and
thus will the action be continued as before described. In order to produce the
aforesaid opening and shutting of the resistant sliders at the proper instant
and with that celerity which is necessary to their due performance, I fix spu

page_text: cog wheels M, M, upon the main shaft w, w, which act into two wheels N, N,
of only one fourth of the diameter of the larger ones, and which are hung loosely
upon the short axles F, G, consequently the small wheels N, N, will make four
revolutions for each turn of the main shaft, but will not carry the short
axles with them. 0, 0, are clutch boxes, also hung upon a square part of the
short axis, or connected thereto by a rib or feather, in such manner that the said
clutch boxes can slide laterally upon the short axis, to engage with and lay
hold of the small wheels, but cannot move round upon such axis. The said
clutch boxes are so moved by a forked lever such as is constantly used for the
purpose, which lever is acted upon by a can or curved projection, or a curved
groove cut or fixed upon the main shaft w, w, but not shown in the Figure, in
such manner that when the main shaft is in such a position as to require the
resistant slides to move, the clutch box O belonging to that slider is thrown
or pushed into connection with the small wheel N, consequently the short
axis G and its crank F will be made to turn; but by the time the crank has
made one revolution to open and shut the said resistant slider the clutch box o
will be withdrawn from the wheel N, and consequently the resistant slider will
remain down and stationary until it is again required to move, and the motion
thus communicated to the levers B, D, also serves to open and shut the steam
cocks or valves at the proper instant, which may be done by a variety of means
so obvious that I feel it unnecessary to describe them.
It will be observed, on inspection of Figure 7, that the same cog wheels, short
axles, cranks, standards, and clutch boxes are formed on each side of the machine,
but they are connected to the two distinct resistant slides shown in Figure 6; con-
sequently the machinery on one side is for operating upon one resistant slider,
and that on the opposite side operates upon the other; they therefore cannot both
act at the same time; but that which is necessary to produce the proper direction
of motion in the piston must be kept in action, while the opposite side should be
thrown out of geer, to prevent unnecessary wear of the machinery. I apply
two of the propelling machines above described to act upon the main shaft of a
steam vessel, but I connect them both in common with that shaft, taking care
to place the revolving pistons of the two engines diametrically opposite to each
other, or so that their center lines shall be 180 degrees distant from each other,
by which arrangement the propelling power becomes very nearly equally dis-
tributed over the entire revolution; and this disposition should be attended to
whenever it is desired to produce equable rotary motion and power for any
purpose. The paddle wheels of the steam vessel are applied at the two ends
of the main shaft, as usual, and the dimension of the machine and the strength

page_text: of its several parts must be proportioned to the power which it may be desired
to derive from it.
The third and last division of my aforesaid Invention consists in a new
arrangement of machinery for the using and appropriating of the force and
power generated and produced by the machinery and apparatus herein-before
described, or for the use and appropriation of rotative motion, or force derived
from any other source, when that motion and power is intended to be applied.
to the moving or propelling of ships, boats, or vessels of any description
through or upon the surface of water; and this I bring about by a new
form and modification of paddle wheel, in which, at the same time that the
wheel is revolving round its center, the paddles themselves are made to move,
and to place themselves in such positions as shall be most effective in pro-
moting the motion of the vessel, and in diminishing the resistance of the motion
of such of them as may not be in action. My said improved paddle
wheels, like all others, consists of two side rims or cheeks supported by radii
or arms proceeding from the centre, while the paddles or float boards are
placed between them, but, instead of being fixed as usual, cach separate
paddle is placed upon trivots, so that it can turn round upon its central line;
and the said paddles are so constrained or obliged to turn round while the
entire wheel makes two revolutions by certain chains, cog wheels, or other
mechanical means, the application of which I have invented, and employ to
produce such motion.
Figure 8 of the annexed Drawings accordingly represents one of the simplest
forms of my improved paddle wheel, in which a, a, a, a, &c. are the arms or radii
proceeding from the center, and made of cast or wrought iron or other suitable
material, and of such shape or form that they may cut the water and pass through
it with the least possible resistance. To give greater strength to these arms
I tie or unite their external ends by the circular band or ring of wrought
iron b, b, b, b, and each wheel consists of two such sets of arms united by
surrounding rings, and placed parallel to each other.upon the same main shaft
or axle w, as such distance apart as may be deemed necessary for the breadth
of the paddles or floats which constitutes the breadth of the wheel. The
paddles are made of wrought iron, and are shown as they would appear when
viewed from their ends at c, d, e, f, g, h, & i; each paddle has an axis upon
which it can move, and the ends of these axes are received and supported in a
pair of brasses in which they turn, and which brasses are borne and supported
in forks at the end of each arm. Each paddle axis likewise carries a toothed
wheel k, k, k, k, &c., upon one of its ends, which wheels may be of any required

page_text: diameter, but they must be all alike as to size and number of teeth, and will
be found most convenient when made rather less in diameter than the radius of
the paddles, as shown in the Drawing: A spur cog-wheel is fixed to the side
of the vessel to which the paddle wheels are applied, or in any convenient
manner so that it cannot revolve, but that the main shaft w may revolve
through its center; and m is another spur cog-wheel of twice the diameter
and number of teeth of the wheel l, which act into each other; and as
the wheel m is supported upon a bearing between any two of the arms
a, a, it will be carried round the central wheel l, as the entire paddle wheel
revolves, and will make one entire revolution whilst it revolves twice round
the smaller wheel l. On the axis of the wheel m is fixed a toothed wheel n,
exactly similar in form, dimensions, and number of teeth to the toothed wheels
k, k, k, k. On the paddle axis and 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, is a metal chain, formed of
two series of flat plates, united together by cross pins, which encompasses and
passes round all the toothed wheels k, k, k, k, &c., and likewise round the
similar wheel n; and as the pins or links of this chain are so adjusted as to
length that the teeth of the several wheels marked k and n will pass into and
between such plates, and lay hold of the pins that connect them, it follows that
any motion that the wheel n may have will be communicated to all the wheels
marked ; the consequence of which will be, that each and every of the
paddles will, as before described, make one entire revolution while the whole
wheel makes two, and, consequently, if any paddle at the bottom of the wheel,
as at i, stands in a vertical position, that same paddle will have made an
eighth part of a revolution, and will therefore make an angle of forty-five
degrees with its former position when it has been carried round one quarter of
a revolution by the whole wheel, and arrives at either of the situations marked
f; and it will have made a quarter revolution, and stand at right angles to its
first position, when it arrives at c; and when it returns again to the lowest
position i it will once more be erect, but with the reserve edge upwards to that
which was upwards in the first instance, and of course all the paddles that are
in intermediate positions will vary in their angular position to the perpen-
dicular, but will always be in the samé angular position when they are in the
same place or part of the revolution of the entire wheel; and the chain which
produces this effect I call the general regulator. Figure 9 represents a manner
in which the same effect as to the angular position of the paddles is brought
about by a different modification of machinery. In this Figure the several
parts of the wheel will be obvious, as far as regards the wheel and paddles just
the same, and are indicated by the same letters of reference; but instead of
producing the motion of the paddles by a chain that encompasses them, I

page_text: produce it by larged cogged wheel p, p, p, p, &c., which is placed within the
arms of the paddle wheel, and turns upon the main shaft in a free and inde-
pendent manner, and its teeth engage with the teeth of all the small wheels
k, k, k, &c. upon the axis of the paddles. At each extreme end of the main shaft
is placed a small wheel q, having its teeth properly formed to act into the chain
r, r, which goes round it, and likewise round a similarly formed wheels of
twice the diameter of the wheel q, and which may be fixed on to the axle of
any one of the paddle wheels, or similar wheels may be fixed on to the axes of
any two contiguous paddles, so that the said chain may go over the one and
return over the other to the small central wheel q, which is rivetted, screwed, or
otherwise firmly fixed to the strong bar t, t, so that it cannot revolve; and this
bar is fixed over the entire paddle wheel, and may be strengthened by bracing
bars, if required, to insure the steady and fixed position of the small wheel q;
and for its greater security the pin, which appears in the Drawing to pass
through its center, and appears like a pivot, may pass some distance into the
end of the main shaft, but is not so connected as to move with it. In this
arrangement the arms a, a, a, &c., the external rings b, b, b, and the paddles
c, d, e, f, g, h, i, which together constitutes the paddle wheel, will be carried
round altogether by any power applied to the main central shaft; and as
the toothed wheel S, by its connection with the small wheel 9 through the
medium of the chain », r, will have motion communicated to it as it revolves
round the center, so that motion will be likewise communicated by a toothed
wheel similar to the other, marked k, and which is behind the wheel S, and
therefore invisible in the Figure, to the large toothed wheel p, p, p, which thus
becomes the general regulator, and will again distribute the motion to all the
paddle wheels marked k, whereby the several paddles will be kept in the same
relative angular position to each other and to the paddle wheel itself which
has already been described when speaking of Figure 8.
It will thus be seen that the object of the third division of my Invention, as
herein-before stated, is to cause each paddle that may be introduced into a
paddle wheel to so move or revolve on pivots that it may make half a turn or
revolution while the entire paddle wheel makes a whole one; and likewise
that I produce this effect by a general regulator acting on all the paddles at
once by but one intermediate movement between such paddles and the main
shaft. And this I claim as the third division of my Invention, however the
said effect may be produced, because, although I have so far only described
two means of bringing about this effect, yet it will be evident to any mechanic
that my principle of using a general regulator may be modified in a great
variety of forms. Thus, for example, the small wheel 1, and larger wheel m,

page_text: in Figura 8, may be dispensed with, and likewise the large wheel p, p, r,
in Figure 9, because, having everything else in Figure 9 precisely as it stands,
with the exception of giving the teeth of the paddle wheels k, k, k, &c. a form
proper for acting into a chain instead of into a toothed wheel, the proper or
desired effect will be produced by crossing the chain r, r, and conducting it as
a perpetual chain over all the paddle wheels k, k, k, &c., as in Figure 8; or,
instead of crossing the said chain upon the wheel S, of Figuro 9, it may sepa-
rate, and pass in opposite directions over to such wheels, as it is seen to do in
Figure 8. And, again, the large toothed wheel or general regulator p, p, p, in
Figure 9, instead of deriving its motion from its circumference through the
wheels q, s, and k, and the chain r, r, may have the proper and requisite
motion given to it from a toothed wheel of sufficient diameter and strength
immoveably fixed upon its own arms, and to which motion may be given by a
second toothed wheel of equal size and number of teeth fixed upon a short
shaft projecting through the side of the vessel, or placed wholly on its outside,
but which shaft must in either case carry a third toothed wheel so fixed upon
it that the second and third wheel may always movo together, and the third
wheel derives its motion from a fourth that is fixed upon and revolves with the
main shaft. In the event, however, of using such a train of wheelwork, care
must be taken to so calculate the number of teeth in the several wheels that
the paddles may move as aforesaid, (that is to say,) that each of them may
turn half way round while the entire wheel turns quite round; and with this
view it will be convenient to make the third wheel rather less than the first,
second, and fourth, which in that case may be all alike. I do not, however,
recommend this form of machinery, which is more complex than the others
I have described, but merely mention it as one of the many forms in which
this aforesaid part of my Invention may be carried into effect.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention in all its bearings
and particulars, I shall conclude by a few observations upon the manner of
using and appropriating the same.
In the first place, I have stated that my said Invention consists of three
parts or divisions, all connected with and leading to the accomplishment of the
same end, namely, the propelling or moving of ships or other vessels on the
water; but, nevertheless, they are applicable to any other purposes where the
5 kind of power, motion, and effect that they produce can be made available, and
they may be used for the same or any other purposes, jointly and in connection,
or separately. Thus, for example, my boiler or apparatus for generating steam
is not only applicable to the apparatus for producing motion which I have
described as the second division of my Invention, but likewise to the working

page_text: of any other kind of steam engine for the production of steam for heating
processes, or any other purpose for which steam may be required; and it will
answer for the boiling of fresh or salt water, or any other fluid, if suitable
metal be chosen for its formation. If it is used to produce steam from sea
water, the salt will, by the constant circulation of the water, and the propendi-
dicular position of the pipes, fall down upon the inclining bottom, and may be
blown out at the bottom discharging cock by the force of the steam above;
and from the manner in which the internal part of the boiler is fixed to the
two ends of the external part peculiar facility is given for repairing any of the
parts, or for shifting or repairing the pipes, as the whole inside may at any
time be drawn out and replaced. It will also be evident that the rotary machine
or engine described as the second division of my Invention may be supplied
with steam, and worked by any other boiler or generator of steam, as well as by
that which I have as above described as the first division of my aforesaid
Invention; and likewise that the said machine or rotary engine is not confined
in its operation to the working of the particular form and construction of paddle
wheels described as the third division of my said Invention, but it is equally
applicable to the driving of any other kind of paddle wheel, or to any mode of
propelling vessels, or to any other purpose in which a powerful rotary motion
can be made available, but if not applied to a paddle wheel a fly wheel upon
the main shaft will be necessary to carry the piston forward while the resistant
slider is moving.
As to the third and last division of my said Invention, namely, the paddle
wheels, it will be seen from the foregoing description that its characteristic
quality, and that which I consider of the greatest importance, is, the par-
ticular angular direction which I give to each of the paddles in succession
by means of one common regulator, be the same a chain or a toothed wheel,
acting at once upon all the paddles, and producing such an effect upon. them
that when any paddle reaches its lowest situation its plane shall stand ver-
tically, while the plane of every paddle when it reaches its highest position
shall be horizontal, as seen at a and b in Fig. 10 of the annexed Drawings,
and that the planes of all the other paddles shall at all times point as nearly as
possible to the center of the upper paddle 6, the consequence of which will be
that each paddle will at all times form very nearly a tangent plane to the
cycloid that the circumference of the paddle wheel will perform when moving,
and will therefore enter and leave the water in that direction which produces
the least resistance to its motion, while as soon as the paddle gets below the
centre of the wheel it will be thrown into that position that is most favorable
for propelling or giving motion to a vessel, as will be evident from an

page_text: inspection of the Figure, in which c, d, e, f, is a common cyloid, or that which
any point in the circumference of the wheel would describe by running along
the fixed flat surface c, g, h, f; and c, i, k, l, m, is a prolonged cycloid, or such
a one as would be produced by the compound motion of the wheel revolving and
the vessel being in motion, and the red lines n, n, n, &c. drawn upon the
central wheel are parrallels to tangents of the common cycloid, while the black
lines or representatives of the paddles at the same points are very nearly.
parallels to tangents of the prolonged cycloid, which proves what I have
before asserted. It follows, therefore, that a paddle wheel constructed
according to my principles and directions, as herein-before laid down, will
suffer very little in its power of propelling if it should be totally submerged.
in the water, and on this account I feel that it is particularly applicable to
vessels of war, and to many other purposes where the common external
paddle wheels could not be so well applied, and that it must in every case meet
with less resistance, and be more efficient.
Figure 11 of the annexed Drawing represents end views of several vessels
for illustrating the manner in which paddle wheels are or can be applied with
respect to the water, the surface of which is represented by the line. A, B, C,
is the depth and manner in which common paddle wheels, as heretofore
constructed, are generally applied, and D is the manner in which I wish mine
to be applied, (that is to say,) dipping about one third of their diameter, or
rather more, into the water. E, F, G, H, and I, show applications which may
be made of my wheels, in which they are made to work entirely under the
water, either vertically at the two sides of the vessel, as at E, or obliquely, as
at G, or horizontally, as at H, where there is sufficient width in the beam of
the vessel, or horizontally and in advance of each other when that is not the
case, as at I.
The said wheels may likewise be applied astern of the vessel,
and wholly under water, as at F, or be elevated to about two thirds of their.
diameter above it, as shewn by the dotted lines in the same Figure. It will
hardly be necessary to remark, that whenever my said paddle wheels aro
fixed below the water line of the vessel the main shaft by which they are
worked must pass through proper water-tight stuffing boxes of the ordinary
construction in the sides of the vessel, but no hollow or double shaft will in
any case be necessary, as in many other forms of propellors. In applying my
aforesaid wheels to coppered vessels, and particularly if intended to work
wholly under water, it will likewise be expedient to make all those parts of
the machinery that come into contact with the copper, or are near to it, of
copper, gun metal, or such alloy as will not injure the said coppering of the
vessels, but the particular materials of which the several parts of my aforesaid.

page_text: machinery are to be constructed I must leave to the judgment of the work-
man and the power required, or the peculiar situations in which the same
may be applied, as these, and the principles of obtaining steam from heated
tubes, or producing rotary motion within a cylinder, and making the paddles
of paddle wheels moveable on pivots, have already been done in many ways.
And all, therefore, that I claim under my aforesaid herein-before in part
recited Patent is, the particular forms and arrangements of machinery that
I have invented, and the facilities, conveniences, and advantages that result
from the same, and by means of which power may be obtained and applied
more economically, and with greater advantage than by any other forms or
modifications of machinery I am acquainted with, or which now exist to the
utmost of my knowledge and belief.
... In witness whereof, I, the said Paul Steenstrup, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
Inrolled the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-eight.