CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES AND MACHINERY FOR OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY WILDING, of the New Road, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fourth day of
July, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the thirteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Henry Wilding, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Henry Wilding, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Henry Wilding, my exors, adñors, 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, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES AND MACHINERY FOR OBTAINING
AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said William Henry Wilding, should cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an Instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to
be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the-said-proviso,-I, the said.
William Henry Wilding, hereby declare that-the-nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the present Specification hereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
Firstly, my Invention consists in an improved method or combination
of mechanical means for converting a reciprocating into a rotary motion.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a model intended to exhibit the details of this
combination. Figure 2 is another elevation of it on the side opposite to that
represented in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a top plan of the same, and Figure 4
a transverse section on the line a, b. A, A, is the framework. B is a double
rack piece which is connected at top and bottom by slide pieces a, a, to guide
rails R', R. S is a steam cylinder piston rod which is supposed to be con-
nected to the outer end of the rack B, and to be used to impart a recipro-
cating movement to it. D is a shaft which is mounted transversely to the
rack piece B, and passes through between the two racks. W, a fly wheel
fixed on the end of the shaft D, to which wheel rotation is proposed to be
given through the medium of the reciprocating action of the rack piece B.
G is a shaft which carries the pinion H, by which the rack piece is actuated.
This shaft G turns in bearings raised on the top of two vibrating plates E, E,
suspended from the wheel shaft D, which allows of the shaft G rising and
falling according as it is acted upon by a cam K, fixed on the shaft G, along-
side of the pinion H. J, J, are two guide pieces for the cam to work in,
which are affixed to one side of the rack piece B, and run parallel to the two
racks. The office of this cam K is to reverse the line of action of the
pinion H, and shift it alternately from the upper rack to the lower, and vice
versa. The rotary movement thus given to the shaft G is transmitted
through the medium of the pinions M, N, one attached to the shaft G,
and the other to the shaft D to the wheel W. T is a recess in the one end of
the rack piece for the temporary reception of the wheel shaft D at each
reversal of the rack motion. P is a second cam which is affixed to the
shaft D on the side opposite to K, and at each reversal of the rack motion
comes into gradual contact with one or other of the projecting stop pieces V, V,
and thereby relieves the apparatus from the shock which such reversal would
otherwise occasion. The proper form to be given to the cam K is thus found.
Take the distance from the centre of the shaft G when the rack pinion. H is in
gear on one side of the rack to the guide J on the opposite side as a radius,
Figure 5. Then divide
and draw a circle A, as represented in the diagram,
this circle into three equal parts A, B, A, C, and C, B. Next from the point B

page_text: as a centre draw a line cutting the periphery at the point C, and prolong that
ne towards D. Draw also a line from the point C as a centre, cutting the
periphery in B, and extend also that line towards E. Next draw the chord
from D to E. Then all the parts of the circle beyond D and E are to be
removed, and the remainder or shaded part will give the form required for the
cam K. The cam P is not required to be of any determinate curve, but
when an apparatus such as before described is used as a substitute for the
crank in lathes and other like machines where the propulsive force is exerted
in but one direction, the form of which I prefer to give this cam is that
represented in Figure 6. Instead of the rack piece B, having only one steam
cylinder piston connected with it as before described, it may have a piston
attached to it at each end, and thus work or be worked by a pair of engines at
one and the same time. The two pinions which are used in the preceding
rack arrangement to communicate the rotary movement of the shaft to the
wheel shaft may be dispensed with by adopting the modifications shewn in
Figure 7, which is a side elevation. 7º, an edge view of a rack movement
applied to a lathe shaft. A is the shaft of the lathe. B, the double rack, as
before. C is a frame within which B has a limited range of movement from
side to side, which is facilitated and regulated by friction guide rollers a, a, a, a.
K and P are the cams that, instead of being fixed on a vibrating frame as in
the arrangement first herein-before described, are fixed upon the shaft A, along
with the rack pinion H. The form which I prefer to give the cam P in this
instance is that shewn in Figure 6. L is the rod that connects the treadle
with the frame C. In the arrangement represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 7,
and 7, each stroke of the reciprocating piston can but produce one turn or
revolution of the wheel, but three or any other odd number of turns of the
wheel may be given at each stroke by increasing the length of the rack, and
making the other modifications and additions represented in Figures 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, and 13. A, A, is a frame work. B is a double rack piece which slides
on rails R, R. D, wheel shaft. G, rack pinion shaft which has its bearings in
a vibrating frame E, which is attached by collars to and turns on the wheel
shaft D. H is the pinion wheel which works the rack, and K, the cam along-
side of it by which the wheel is shifted from one rack to the other. J, J, are
guides in which the cam K moves, which are placed underneath the rails Y, Y,
the ends whereof are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8. P is the cam on the
opposite side to K, which relieves the apparatus from concussion at each
reversal of the line of action, and V, V, the end stops, against which it acts.
N is the wheel which transmits the rotatory motion of the rack shaft G to the

page_text: pinion M on the wheel shaft. X is a locking or transferring piece which
slides on rails Y, Y, affixed to one side of the rack. a is an oblong aperture in
which a bearing piece a slides up and down through which the shaft G is
passed. 6, 6, are two bolts which are respectively moved to and fro by separate
bell crank levers c', c', and which, when pressed inwards, protude across the
apertures a, either above or below the shaft G. d, d, are springs which press
against the bolts b¹, be¹, e, are stops attached to the outside of the rails
Y, Y, which catch against and work the short arms a, a, of the bell crank
levers c¹, c, in the manner following:-Supposing the pinion H to be in gear
with the under rack, the sliding bearing a¹ of the shaft G will be at the
bottom of the aperture and kept down by the protusion across the space
above it of the bolt 6, as represented in Figure 12, then immediately on the
traverse of the under rack being completed, the short arm of the lever c² catches
against the stop e, which throws back the bolt 62, and leaves the sliding
bearing a of the shaft G free to rise when acted on by the cam K, in order
to the change of gearing from the under to the upper rack being effected,
while simultaneously therewith the spring d forces the bolt b' into the space
beneath the sliding bearing a', which it keeps up when the change of gearing
has taken place from the lower to the upper rack, and until another traverse of
the rack is effected, when all the preceding operations are repeated, but in the
reverse order, as represented in Figure 13. When the motion of the main
shaft is reversed the projections a", a", effect the same movement of the parts
as was effected by the bell crank levers c', c. Figures 14, 15, and 16 are
representations of a vibrating frame, the bearings of which are fixed in
plummer blocks A, A, instead of bearing upon the main shaft, and shewing
also how an additional pair of driving wheels may be employed when used for
engines of great power. The vibrating frame E used in the apparatus last
described may be substituted for the vibrating plates employed in the first
arrangement. When the reciprocating engine or engines used to actuate the
rack piece are worked on the expansive principle then I employ an arrange-
ment such as represented in Figure 17 for actuating the steam valve. A, A,
is the valve rod. B, a guide which is fixed on the side of the sliding rack,
and is cut away from the point a¹ to the end b'. C is an upright arm or lever
affixed to the rocking shaft c; upon the same shaft there is fixed a bent lever
which carries at its ends two friction pulleys d, d¹. D is a tappet upon the
guide B, which, when it comes against the upright arm C, throws it over into
an inclined position, and effects the movement of the steam valve, and thereby
allowing the steam to enter under the piston, and produce the reverse motion

page_text: of the rack. The moment, however, the inclined plane at a' comes in contact
with the friction pulley d¹ the arm C is again brought into an upright position
and the steam-cut off. "
Secondly, my Invention consists of an improved method or combination of
mechanical means for obtaining a reciprocating lifting action from a rotary
motion. This is effected simply by placing either of the apparatuses before
described in a vertical instead of a horizontal position, and applying the
steam or other power employed to turn the shaft G of the rack pinion H.
Thirdly, my Invention consists of a method of enabling steam engines to
make several turns of the main shaft for each stroke of the piston. I propose to
accomplish this by introducing a rack apparatus of the kind represented in
Figure 8, and before described, between two steam cylinders laid in the same
plane so as to serve as a piston or rather as a piston shaft to both; the rack
terminating at each end in a piston which fits into the adjacent cylinder. A
plan of an arrangement of this sort is given in Figure 18.
Fourthly, my Invention consists in certain improved methods of applying
motive power to the propulsion of ships through water by means of paddle
wheels. According to one method, the details of which are represented in
Figure 19, the paddle wheel is made to act only through the front half of each
revolution, and to exert no force either propulsive or otherwise during the
back half. Figure 19 is a top view of one of a pair of paddle wheels on this
plan. Figure 20 is a full side view of one wheel, and Figure 21 a view on an
enlarged scale of the principal portions of Figure 19. A is the propeller
shaft. B, a drum affixed to the side of the vessel. C is a curved groove cut
out of the surface of the drum. E, E, are the paddles on the front side of the
wheel, the shafts L of which. pass through the ring R, to which the spokes of
the wheel are attached, and terminate in half cranks D, D, to the pins of which
are attached friction rollers C', C, which run in the curved groove C. The
shafts of the paddles E, E, are connected to those marked I, I, on the opposite
or back side of the wheel by half cranks F and connecting rods G. The path
described by the rollers C¹ in traversing the curved groove C determines of
course that described by the paddles E, E, and I, I, and is such that the
set of paddles on one side must always be expanding or expanded to their full
extent, while the others are always closing or closed up into a quiescent or
neutral state. A modification of the .preceding plan is represented in Figures
22, 23, and 24, in which the paddles are made to work parallel to the shaft
and to turn on their centres. B, B, are rods which are connected at one end
by half cranks F to the paddle shafts, and at the other to friction rollers
E, E, which run, in a grooved channel C, as before. A third arrangement is

page_text: represented in Figure 25 (a side elevation), and Figure 26 (a plan) whereby a
vessel may be propelled by paddles placed under water. A is a vertical shaft
intended to be worked by steam power, as usual. B, a paddle wheel affixed to
that shaft, consisting of three arms with one paddle attached to each, the shafts
of which are connected at their inner ends by half cranks F to friction rollers,
which run in a grooved channel C, as in the wheels before described, the curve of
which channel is such as to cause one of the paddles always to present its full
side to the water during part of each revolution, and the others their edges only.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements which I
claim as constituting my said Invention are as follows:-
First, I claim the method. or combination of mechanical means for con-
verting a reciprocating into a rotary motion, as represented in Figures 1, 2, 3,
4, and 5, herein-before described, and also the modification thereof, repre-
sented in Figures 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18,
and before described.
Second, I claim the method of producing a reciprocating motion from a
rotary motion, as before described.
Third, I claim the method of enabling steam and other engines to make
several turns of the main shaft for each stroke of the piston, as before
described.
And fourth, I claim the improved methods of applying motive power to the
propulsion of vessels by means of paddle wheels, as before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Wilding, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
WILLIAM HENRY (L.s.) WILDING.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED. that on the Fourth day of January, in the