IMPROVE MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING MOTION OR ENERGY FROM FLUIDS, AND FOR IMPARTING IT TO THEM, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR PROPULSION OR IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, of Tew Park, in
the County of Oxford, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING MOTION OR ENERGY FROM FLUIDS, AND
FOR IMPARTING IT TO THEM, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR PROPULSION
OR IN CONNECTION THEREWITH."
Sealed the 9th October 1868, and dated the 14th April 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Matthew Piers Watt
Boulton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th April 1868.
I, MATTHEW PIERS WATT BOULTON, of Tew Park, in the County of
Oxford, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING MOTION OR ENERGY FROM
FLUIDS, AND FOR IMPARTING IT TO THEM, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR
PROPULSION OR IN CONNECTION THERE WITH," to be as follows:-
In the ordinary construction of turbines or of instruments in which
a vortex created by fixed guides acts on a wheel the water or fluid is

page_text: guided in the whole of its course through the wheel by curved guides
or passages, I alter this construction by using only terminal passages
so as to determine the issue of the fluid in the right direction, the fluid
between these terminal passages being allowed to guide itself.
In the Specification of my Patent No. 915, 28th March 1867, 1 havo
already described one construction of this form, but I now extend a
similar construction to other forms of turbine. Instruments thus
constructed may be used for the same purposes as turbines of ordinary
construction. By forcibly turning the wheel they may be employed to
force fluids or act as propellers. In this case the terminal passages
serve to determine the entrance of the fluid into the wheel and into
the guides
In these instruments a portion of the passages may be
composed of flexible material so that its precise form may be determined
by the water or fluid. When a propeller works within a channel I cause
the stream created by it to pass in some part of its course through
an expanding passage so that its velocity is gradually reduced, and I dis-
charge the stream with this reduced velocity I prefer that the
expansion of the passage should be gradual, so that the loss by fluid
friction may be as small as possible. This method is generally
applicable when a stream is created within a channel by any propeller.
It is applicable when it is desired to propel or to counteract gravity
by a jet or jets. It is also applicable to a stream set in motion by a
jet, or to a succession of such streams.
When this method is applied to the propulsion of vessels moving
through the water one apparatus which I employ is the following.―
I employ a propeller of cylindrical form, using, by preference, a parallel-
flow turbine, and I give a rectangular section to the terminal portions
of the channel, this being gradually cased off to a cylindrical section
at the propeller At each end of the channel is a moveable valve or
diaphragm which when the passage serves for inflow allows ingress to
the water as desired, and when the passage serves for outflow is opened
outwards to a certain distance, so as to widen the orifice and make an
expanding passage in which the velocity of the stream is reduced
previous to its discharge A perforated guard may be employed to
prevent motion of the valve or diaphragm further than is required.
The valve may be composed of flexible material so that its form may
be partially determined by the action of the water More than one
side of the passage may be treated in this manner, otherwise the

page_text: inflowing current previous to arriving at the propeller may be caused to
sweep through a curved expanding passage, in which its velocity is
reduced, its deflection creating an unbalanced pressure which urges
the vessel forwards, this method is also applicable when jets are used,
as previously mentioned.
In the Specification of my Patent No. 915, 28th March 1867, already
referred to, I described a propeller consisting of a modification of a
parallel-flow turbine, and I described modes of changing the form of
the blades for the purpose of reversal, the required movements being
eflected by means of the reversal of the engine. When the blades are
flexible the pressure of the water caused by the reversal of the movement
of the wheel may be employed to bend the blades; but otherwise the
change of form of the blades may be effected without reversal of the
engine and while the wheel of the propeller revolves continuously in
one direction For this purpose the propeller is fitted with blades set
in opposite directions which can be protruded and retracted, so that
while the wheel revolves in the same direction propulsion can be
produced in either direction. To effect the protrusion or retraction of
the blades in the revolving wheel the pressure of water acting through
a hollow or tubular shaft may be employed. The water may act on
any suitable instrument so as to produce rotary motion, this being
employed to effect protrusion and retraction of the blades in the manner
described in my former Specification previously mentioned. Otherwise
pistons worked by water pressure may act directly on the blades or may
move jointed rods connected with them so as to cause their protrusion
and retraction. The water pressure may be created by a piston acted
on by steam or by the fluid employed to work the engine. The blades
of the guides may be acted on in the same manner, or as they do not
rotate their protrusion or retraction may be effected by any suitable
mechanism worked from the interior of the vessel.
Another arrangement which I employ for propulsion is as follows:-
I employ a conoidal wheel and conoidal guide chamber, connected
together by a central neck. The water enters the wheel at its outer
circumference and acquires in it a vortical movement which is destroyed
as it passes through the guides out of which the water issues radially.
A volute or spiral guide is employed to guide the inflow to the wheel,
and also to guide the outflow from the guides, turning it into a stream

page_text: in one direction which is discharged into the outer water. The inflow
is drawn in through a passage opening to the front and the outflow
expelled to the back. The velocity of the stream may be reduced to
the extent desired in the guides, or this may be done in the subsequent
passage between the guides and the spiral or volute. In order to effect
reversal of the vessel's movement two orifices in opposite directions
are provided both for inflow and outflow, and a pair of volute or spiral
guides is provided for each. These spiral guides are moveable so that
either pair can be brought into position as desired, so as to cause the
flow to take place through either pair of orifices as desired. For this
purpose the spirals or volutes are attached to a partition or diaphragm
capable of moving within a chamber, and they are capable of sliding
water-tight or nearly so through slots or openings in the sides of the
chamber in a direction parallel to the axis of the wheel. Their motion
may be effected by any suitable mechanism; a piston actuated by steam
or by the fluid used in the engine, or by compressed air, or by water
pressure, may be employed to cause it. The power employed may be
obtained from the pressure of the water in the channel for outflow or
from the reduction of pressure in that for inflow, these being brought
to bear on a piston by means of suitable communications opened and
closed at pleasure. The orifices of the various passages may be
furnished with self-acting valves which open when the flow takes place
through them and close when it does not do so, serving in this case
as diaphragms to prevent fluid friction. I prefer to connect the inflow
passages with the bilge of the vessel so that they serve to pump it.
These communications are made large and fitted with valves so that in
casc of extensive leakage the full power of the propeller may be applied
for the purpose of pumping. Propellers such as above described may
be placed in different positions and may be used in pairs, so as to
counteract tendency to rotation and to steer the vessel; also they may
be used for propulsion in air Rotary motion may be communicated
to the propellers above described in the ordinary way by means of a
crank, but otherwise it may be communicated to them by means of a
turbine or instrument of that nature worked by water, this water being
forced into an air vessel under pressure by a pump or forcing apparatus
actuated by the engine power The same water may be used over and
over again, or otherwise it may be discharged from the turbine so as
to serve for propulsion, and in certain cases the turbine may work
outside the vessel. This mode of imparting rotary motion may be

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 9th October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, ], MATTHEW
PIERS WATT BOULTON, of Tew Park, in the County of Oxford, Gentle
man, send greeting
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, Her special
licence that 1, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Matthew Piers
Watt Boulton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, usc. exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING MOTION OR ENERGY FROM
FLUIDS, AND FOR IMPARTING IT TO THEM, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED FOR PRO
PULSION OR IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Bulton, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-

page_text: In the ordinary construction of turbines or of instruments in which
a vortex created by fixed guides acts on a wheel the water or fluid is
guided in the whole of its course through the wheel by curved guides or
passages. I alter this construction by using only terminal passages so
as to determine the issue of the fluid in the right direction, the fluid
between these terminal passages being allowed to guide itself.
In the Specification of my Patent, No. 915, 28th March 1867, I have
already described one construction of this form, but I now extend a
similar construction to other forms of turbine. Instruments thus con-
structed may be used for the same purposes as turbines of ordinary
construction. By forcibly turning the wheel they may be employed to
force fluids or act as propellers. In this case the terminal passages
serve to determine the entrance of the fluid into the wheel and into the
guides In these instruments a portion of the passages may be composed
of flexible material, so that its precise form may be determined by the
water or fluid. When a propeller works within a channel I cause the
stream created by it to pass in some part of its course through an
expanding passage, so that its velocity is gradually reduced, and I
discharge the stream with this reduced velocity. I prefer that on the
side of inflow the orifice should have the form of the contracted vein,
and that on the side of outflow the expansion of the passage should be
gradual This method is generally applicable when a stream is created
within a channel by any propeller. It is applicable, when it is desired,
to propel or to counteract gravity by a jet or jets. It is also applicable
to a stream set in motion by a jet, or to a succession of such streams.
When this method is applied to the propulsion of vessels moving
through the water, one apparatus which I employ is the following .—
I employ a propeller of cylindrical form, using by preference a parallel
flow turbine, and I give a rectangular section to the terminal portions of
the channel, this being gradually cased off to a cylindrical section at the
propeller. At each end of the channel is a moveable valve or diaphragm,
which when the passage serves for inflow allows ingress to the water as
desired, and when the passage serves for outflow is opened outwards to
a certain distance, so as to widen the orifice and make an expanding
passage in which the velocity of the stream is reduced previous to its
discharge. A perforated guard may be employed to prevent motion of
the valve or diaphragm further than is required. The valve may be
composed of flexible material, so that its form may be partially deter-

page_text: mined by the action of the water. More than one side of the passage
may be treated in this manner, otherwise the inflowing current previous
to arriving at the propeller may be caused to sweep through a curved
expanding passage in which its velocity is reduced, its deflection creating
an unbalanced pressure which urges the vessel forwards. This method
is also applicable when jets are used as previously mentioned.
In the Specification of my Patent, No. 915, 28th March 1867, already
referred to, I described a propeller consisting of a modification of a
parallel-flow turbine, and I described modes of changing the form of the
blades for the purpose of reversal, the required movements being effected
by means of the reversal of the engine. When the blades are flexible
the pressure of the water caused by the reversal of the movement of the
wheel may be employed to bend the blades. But otherwise the change
of form of the blades may be effected without reversal of the engine,
and while the wheel of the propeller revolves continuously in one
direction For this purpose the propeller is fitted with blades set in
opposite directions which can be protruded and retracted, so that while
the wheel revolves in the same direction propulsion can be produced in
either direction. To effect the protrusion or retraction of the blades in
the revolving wheel the pressure of water acting through a hollow or
tubular shaft may be employed The water may act on any suitable
instrument so as to produce rotary motion, this being employed to effect
protrusion and retraction of the blades, in the manner described in my
former Specification previously mentioned. Otherwise, pistons worked
by water pressure may act directly on the blades, or may move jointed
rods connected with them so as to cause their protrusion and retraction.
The water pressure may be created by a piston acted on by steam or by
the fluid employed to work the engine. The blades of the guides may
be acted on in the same manner, or as they do not rotate their protrusion
or extraction may be effected by any suitable mechanism worked from
the interior of the vessel.
Another arrangement which I employ for propulsion is as follows:-
Iemploy a conoidal wheel and conoidal guide chamber connected together
by a central neck The water enters the wheel at its outer circumference
and acquires in it a vortical movement, which is destroyed as it passes
through the guides out of which the water issues radially. A volute or
spiral guide is employed to guide the inflow to the wheel, and also to
guide the outflow from the guides, turning it into a stream in one

page_text: direction which is discharged into the outer water. The inflow is drawn
in through a passage opening to the front, and the outflow expelled to
the back. The velocity of the stream may be reduced to the extent
desired in the guides, or this may be done in the subsequent passage
between the guides and the spiral or volute.
In order to effect reversal of the vessel's movement two orifices in
opposite directions are provided both for inflow and outflow, and a pair
of volute or spiral guides is provided for each; these spiral guides are
movable so that either pair can be brought into position as desired so
as to cause the flow to take place through either pair of orifices as
desired. For this purpose the spirals or volutes are attached to a par.
tition or diaphragm capable of moving within a chamber, and they are
capable of sliding water-tight or nearly so through slots or openings in
the sides of the chamber in a direction parallel to the axis of the wheel;
this motion may be effected by any suitable mechanism. A piston
actuated by steam or by the fluid used in the engine, or by compressed
air, or by water pressure may be employed to cause it. The power
employed may be obtained from the pressure of the water in the channel
for outflow, or from the reduction of pressure in that for inflow, these
being brought to bear on a piston by means of suitable communications
opened and closed at pleasure The orifices of the various passages may
be furnished with self-acting valves, which open when the flow takes
place through them, and close when it does not do so, serving in this
casc as diaphragms to prevent fluid friction. I prefer to connect the
inflow passages with the bilge of the vessel so that they serve to pump
it; these communications are made large, and fitted with valves, so that
in case of extensive leakage the full power of the propeller may be
applied for the purpose of pumping. Propellers such as above described
may be placed in different positions, and may be used in pairs so as
to counteract tendency to rotation and to steer the vessel; also they
may be used for propulsion in air. Rotary motion may be commu-
nicated to the propellers above described in the ordinary way by
means of a crank, but otherwise it may be communicated to them by
means of a turbine or instrument of that nature worked by water; this
water being forced into an air vessel under pressure by a pump or forcing
apparatus actuated by the engine power. The same water may be used
over and over again, or otherwise it may be discharged from the turbine
so as to serve for propulsion, and in certain cases the turbine may work

page_text: 25
appned generally to rotary propeners or шг шиг, апи
particularly applicable when a high velocity of rotation is desired.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig 1 represents a sectional plan of an inward flow turbine or
rotary instrument constructed according to my Invention.
a is the supply chamber, which the working fluid enters by the pipe b.
The exterior of this chamber may be of any convenient form; c, c, are
fixed guides which cause the fluid in passing through them to acquire
a vortical movement; d is the wheel, on the inner circumference of
which are passages similar in form to those of the guides, but set in a
reverse direction The fluid issues through these, and flows away
through the central passage e It is obvious that the number of
passages in the guides and wheel may be varied as desired. The guides
and blades c and f may be shaped in various ways, they may be arcs of
circles, they may be straight, and as their number is increased the dis-
advantage arising from this form diminishes, so that when they are very
numerous they may be made straight with little loss of efficiency. I
prefer to make them of sheet metal, and fasten them by flanges to the
faces of the casing and wheel respectively. The blades employed are
terminal portions of blades, such as may be used as an inward flow
turbine of ordinary construction, in which the blade extends from the
inner to the outer periphery of the wheel. The dotted lines f', f, indi-
cate the portions of such blades omitted in the instrument constructed
according to my Invention. As will be seen I retain so much of the
blades as is requisite to determine the issue of the fluid in the right
direction I prefer to give to the orifices of the guides a larger area
than to those of the wheel, making the proportion of these about the
same as in turbines of ordinary construction.
Instead of guides such as shewn in Fig. 1, a spiral or volute guide
may be employed as shewn in Fig. 2; also the blades of the wheel may
have the curvature shewn in Fig. 2; these being terminal portions of
blades used in one form of construction of the inward flow turbine The
dotted lines shew those portions of the blades of this construction which
are omitted in the instrument constructed according to my Invention.
Fig 3 represents a sectional plan of an instrument of outward flow
constructed according to my Invention. a is the central inflow passage,

page_text: by which the working fluid is admitted to the guide chamber; b, b, are
fixed guides which cause the fluid passing through them to acquire a
vortical movement; c is the wheel, on the outer circumference of which
are blades d, d, similar in form to the guides b, b, but set in a reverse
direction. These are terminal portions of blades of an outward-flow
turbine of ordinary construction. The dotted lines d', d', indicate the
parts omitted in my construction. I retain so much of the blades as is
necessary to determine the issue of the fluid in the right direction, as
previously explained in reference to Figs 1 and 2.
Fig. 4 represents an elevation of a parallel-flow turbine constructed
according to my Invention, the tube or chamber in which it works being
represented in section in order to shew the interior. a, a, are fixed
guides, which are to be understood as having all the same form and
inclination though the projection of the Drawing makes them appear
different. The fluid in passing through the passages between those
guides acquires a vortical movement and enters the wheel, which is
fitted with blades b, b, similar in form to the fixed guides a, a, but set in
a reversed direction; these are terminal portions of blades of a parallel-
flow turbine of ordinary construction. The dotted lines 6', 6', indicate the
parts omitted in my construction. I retain so much of the blades as is
necessary to determine the issue of the fluid in the right direction, as
explained in reference to the preceding Figures. In the instruments
above described the parts extending between the revolving wheel blades
and the fixed guides may either be fixed or revolve.
Fig. 5 represents a diagrammatic section of propelling apparatus con-
structed according to my Invention, wherein the direction of flow and
of propulsion is reversed by shifting volute guides. a is a conoidal
chamber, within which a conoidal wheel works on the axis b creating
a stream in the direction of the arrows; c is another conoidal chamber,
in which are fixed guides; d and e are cylindrical mouths or apertures,
the water entering the conoidal chamber a by the former and quitting
the conoidal chamber c by the latter; ƒ and g are passages round the
mouths d and e bounded on the interior by volutes. Sectional views of
these volutes are represented in Figs. 6 and 7. In these Figures d and e
are the outlines of the cylindrical openings of the conoidal chambers,
and and are the volutes, there being passages between these volutes
and the cylindrical openings leading to the mouths h and k. The
direction of these mouths for inflow and outflow is opposite, thus, if h

page_text: in Fig. 6 is the mouth for inflow, in Fig. 7 is the mouth for outflow,
as indicated by the arrows; these mouths communicate with the exterior
water as directly as possible. A pair of volutes having these opposite
curvatures is provided for each orifice, and when it is desired to reverse
the vessel's movement, they are moved so that the direction of inflow
and outflow is reversed.
เ
Fig 8 is a diagrammatic section where f is one of the volutes dis-
charging the stream into the outer water in the direction indicated by
the arrow, being the side of a sloping channel in the side or bottom of
the vessel. The dotted line f' indicates the other volute which would
discharge the stream in the opposite direction along l".
Fig. 9 represents a diagrammatic section of the apparatus fitted to
the bottom or exterior of a vessel m. a and c are the conoidal wheel and
guide chambers; f the volute for inflow, and g the volute for outflow;
f is another inflow volute with its mouth turned in the direction
opposite to that of the mouth of f, and g' is another outflow volute
with its mouth turned in the opposite direction to that of g; these
volutes, as well as the volutes ƒ and g are arranged so that they can
slide parallel to the axis of the instrument b. When it is required to
reverse the direction of the vessel's movement the volute f¹ is caused
to slide into the place of f, and g' into the place of g, and thus the
directions of the inflowing and outflowing currents are reversed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this First day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight
Witness,
ALEX. P. WRIGHT,
M. P. W. BOULTON. (L.s.)
30 Secretary to the Inventors' Patent Right Association, Limited,
21, Cockspur Street,
Charing Cross, London.