Year: 1889

page_text: 1 ROBERT AUGUSTUS CHESEBROUGH of No. 24 State Street in the City of New
York in the State of New York, U.S.A., Engineer, 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 relates to the propulsion of vessels by the ejection through a pipe
entering the water astern, or outside of the vessel, of steam generated on board the
vessel. The improvement will be first described with reference to the drawings, and
its novelty will be pointed out in claims.
Fig. 1 in the drawing is a plan of the interior of a vessel fitted with my pro-
pelling apparatus.
Fig. 2 represents a vertical sectional view of the after part of the vessel and of
the propelling apparatus.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the Figures.
AB designate the principal members of the steam generator, the member A
consisting of a hollow coil or worm made of copper or other metal pipe; the
C designates a steam
member B consists of a furnace for heating the said coil.
pump for forcing water into the coil at that end thereof nearest the furnace.
pipe proceeding from the other end of the coil, and projecting from the stern of the
vessel in the form of a nozzle, as shown at d in Fig. 2.
D is a
The coil A is represented as arranged horizontally in the form of a cylindrical
helix, and as having a flue a running directly through it, and is also represented as
enclosed within a setting or casing E, the interior of which forms a flue 6 surround-
ing said coil externally. Communication between the said flues and furnace is

page_text: provided by an opening c fitted with a damper c¹, by which it may be closed when
desired. An up-take F, and a smoke stack F¹, are provided at the end of the
setting or casing E farthest from the furnace, and an uptake G and smoke stack G¹
are provided for the furnace B, the last mentioned up-take being fitted with a
damper e, by which it may be closed.
H designates a small boiler for generating steam for the purpose of driving the
steam-pump C. This boiler is here represented as heated by the same furnace B
which is employed to heat the coil A. C₁ designates the suction pipe of the steam-
pump (see Fig. 1), through which water is supplied to the said pump from any suit-
able point outside the vessel.
The coil is represented as surrounded by a jacket 1, which is filled with lead or
other fusible metal which is intended to be kept melted by the heat within the
flues b, for the purpose of preventing the coil from being rapidily burned out by the
heat of the flues, and for ensuring better distribution of the heat, throughout
the length of the coil. The said jacket is represented as having a mouth piece M
furnished with a cover which may be opened to introduce the fusible metal. A safety
valve N¹, and an escape pipe N, are represented on the outlet pipe D, to permit the
escape of steam, in case of excessive pressure being at any time, from any cause,
developed in the coil.
The operation of the propelling apparatus, so far as I have at present described it
as for propelling the vessel in a forward direction, is as follows:-
The dampere being closed, and the damper c¹ being open, the flame and heated
gaseous products of combustion from the furnace B circulate through the flues ab,
and escape by the up-take F and the smoke stack F'. The steam pump C is at the
same time set in motion by opening the stop valve fin its steam pipe f. Water
taken from outside the vessel through the pipe C is then driven forcibly into and
along the coil, and as it passes along the coil, steam is generated from it until, at
the other end of the coil farthest from the furnace, the water has all been converted
into steam, in which form it issues from the coil through the pipe D and nozzle d,
whence it is projected against the water at the stern of the vessel, and thereby caused
to propel the vessel forward.
In the above described operation, the circulation through the coil A is so intense
and rapid, that salt water and steam generated therefrom will pass through without
leaving any deposit of sediment.
In Fig. 1 I have represented pipes D₁ D¹ as branching off from the exit pipe D,
and running forward on opposite sides of the vessel, terminating in the nozzles d¹ d¹,
which project through the sides of the vessel near the bow thereof. The pipes D¹ D¹
are each provided with a separate stop valve g, for the purpose of closing it whenever
necessary, but these valves will generally be open. The said pipes are also fitted with
stop valves, which are to be within control of the steersman from the front part of
the vessel..
When the vessel is to be propelled in a forward direction, or under ordinary
circumstances, the stop valves h in the pipes D' D' are closed, while the valve g¹ in
the pipe D is left open. The vessel may then be steered by the ordinary rudder, but in
case of its being desired to turn the vessel rapidly, or within a short distance, the
stop valve g in the pipe D may be closed, and the valve 7, in either of the pipes D',
opened, when the steam issuing from the nozzle d¹ of the open pipe D', will cause
the vessel to be turned in the opposite direction to that in which the steam issues from
the said nozzle. The addition of the pipes D₁ D', therefore, constitutes a steering
apparatus.
For backing the vessel, it is necessary to have a pipe proceeding from the exit end
of the coil or worm in a forward direction through the bow of the vessel. I have
represented such a pipe J, in Fig. 1, as connected with the pipes D D1, and furnished
with a stop valve j, to be opened when it is desired to propel the vessel backwards, the
said valve being within the control of the steersman.
When it is desired to stop the operation of this propelling and steering apparatus,
the dumper is to be closed, and the damper e opened. The heated products of

page_text: combustion from the furnace will then pass through the uptake G and smoke stack G¹,
and the generation of steam in the coil A will soon cease. The pump C may however
still be kept in operation to keep a gentle circulation of water through the coil. But
to obviate all danger of explosion, the safety valve N¹, and escape pipe N, are
provided.
The size of the coil or worm used will be determined by the size of the vessel.
The coil or worm may be of any suitable form, but for very large vessels, which would
require so large a coil or worn that it would be difficult to make it in the form of a
helix, a worm may be made of a number of straight lengths of large iron pipe
arranged side by side, and connected at their ends by return bends.
Experience will determine the pressure and temperature of the steam which it
shall be best to use, but I now believe that steam of over 200 lbs. pressure per square
inch, and of a temperature at least 400° F., will prove the most efficient for the
purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination in an apparatus for propelling a ship or other vessel, of a
steam generator consisting of a hollow coil or worm, and a furnace for heating it, a
force pump connected with one end of said coil or worm, to force water thereinto,
and a pipe or nozzle proceeding from the other end of the said coil or worm into the
outside water, for the ejection therefrom of steam generated in said coil or worm
from the water forced thereinto by the pamp, substantially as herein described.
2. The combination, in an apparatus for propelling and steering a ship or other
vessel, of a steam generator consisting of a hollow coil or worm, and a furnace for
heating it, a force pump connected with one end of the said coil or worm, for forcing
water thereinto, two or more pipes or nozzles proceeding in different directions from
the other end of said coil or worm into the outside water, for the ejection of steam
therefrom, and stop valves in said pipes or nozzles for closing either of them at
pleasure, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.
Dated this 2nd day of March 1889.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.