Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Apr., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 24th Jan, 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 24th Apr., 1889
We, CHARLES WELLS, of No. 53, Charlotte Street, Portland Place, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, and RALPH RHENIUS EVANS DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Major
Royal Engineers, of the same place, aforesaid, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :-
The object of our invention is to avoid the resistance offered by water to the speed
of bodies moving on its surface and partly immersed in it.
For this purpose, we use appliances which tend to raise the vessel driven by it,
and move it as much as possible on the surface of the water instead of driving it
through that element.
These appliances give the requisite buoyancy to the vessel, and are in form composed
of a certain number of floats attached to the ends of radial arms or round the
circumference of a wheel. Two or more of these wheels are combined to give sufficient
stability to the apparatus.
The floats are made sufficiently large and buoyant so that only a few of them
when partly or wholly immersed will sustain the whole apparatus and the vessel to
which it is attached. The mode of propulsion consists in giving to the wheels a
rotary motion so that in every revolution each float enters and leaves the water in
succession.
The forward motion of the vessel takes place when the floats are out of the water
and they are relatively stationary or nearly so when submerged.
Dated this 24th day of April 1888.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Water-borne Vessels.
We, CHARLES WELLS, of No. 115, Great Titchfield Street, late of No. 53 Charlotte
Street, Portland Place, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, and RALPH RHENIUS
EVANS DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Major Royal Engineers, of No. 53, Charlotte Street,
Portland Place, also in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
Our invention relates to improvements in water-borne vessels.
In order that our invention, and the means by which the same is to be carried
into practical effect, may be thoroughly understood, we will now describe them in
detail, referring in so doing to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken
as part of this specification and read therewith."
The appliances spoken of in our provisional specification consist of floats, preferably
made of a cylindrical form and fixed (Fig. 1) at the end of radial arms, or round
the circumference Ef a wheel; but they may be of any form other than cylindrical.
These floats may form part of one single vessel or drum (Fig. 3); and we
may place between the pallets or flat surfaces, to give a stronger grip on the
water.
These wheels are not intended to be used singly, but at least in pairs. When used
in pairs they are preferably placed one in front of the other, and the construction
representing the vessel placed between them may rest on the projecting ends of the
axis of each wheel. This vessel will offer more or less resistance according to its
immersion in the water, and no resistance whatever if the wheels are sufficiently
buoyant to sustain it quite above the surface of the water.
The vessel may be of any shape or construction whatever, varying to the infinite
from that of an ordinary ship more or less immersed, to that of a simple framework
simply holding the floating wheels in place and quite out of the water.
In this case
the apparatus may be compared to a cart or carriage with only this difference, that
in one case the wheels roll on the water, in the other on terra firma.
L
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1. The floats fixed at the extremeties of radial arms, or to the circumference of a
wheel, as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination of floats with imtermediate pallets, as and for the purpose
set forth.
3. The formation of the floats by the projecting parts of a circular vessel or drum,
substantially as described.
Dated this 24th dore of La 1000
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.