A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MECHANISM OR MACHINERY BY WHICH STEAM POWER IS APPLIED TO GIVE MOTION TO SHIP3 OR OTHER FLOATING VESSELS IN On THROUGH WATER
Year: 1835

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WILKINSON, of Lucas Street, in the Parish of St. George in the East, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Second day of June, in the year of His reign,. did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Wil-
liam Wilkinson, His especial licence that I, the said William Wilkinson, my
exors, adññiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Wilkinson,
my exors, adñiors, 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 "A CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MECHANISM OR MACHINERY BY WHICH
STEAM POWER IS APPLIED TO GIVE MOTION TO SHIP3 OR OTHER FLOATING VESSELS IN
On THROUGH WATER;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
obliging me, the said William Wilkinson, 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 said 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 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 Wilkinson, do hereby declare that my said Invention consists in such
an arrangement of certain of the working parts of the machinery or mechanism
of a steam vessel as allows of the easy and prompt detachment and re-connec-
tion of the two paddle wheels, so that they may be separately worked or stopped
at pleasure to facilitate the turning or working of the vessel. By this con-
trivance a very superior command over the direction and course of the vessel
is obtained, which is of vast importance in navigating in crowded rivers or
harbours. With this prompt method of disconnecting the two paddle wheels,
the propelling force can be instantaneously restricted to one side of the
vessel as readily as it may in a row boat, so that the vessel will begin imme-
diately to deflect from her former right onward course; and, in boats which
have two engines the paddle wheels may be made to revolve in opposite
directions, or to back and fill, as it is technically termed, at the same time,
whereby the boat may be made to turn about a point within her own plane of
floatation. And in further compliance with the said proviso, I proceed as
follows to describe the mode or modes in which I execute or perform my said
Invention, referring for the elucidation of this description to the Drawings
annexed, in which the several parts alluded to are distinguished by letters or
figures, the same parts which are shewn in different representations being
marked by the same letters or figures.
Sheet A, Figure 1, shews a plan of the crank shaft and its connected
parts, according to my method of construction, for a boat worked by two
engines. The main shaft is composed of three principal pieces, the axis of
which lye in a right line; the two outer pieces, which, as they carry on their
outward extremities the paddle wheels, I call the paddle shafts, are marked
in the Figures A', A; the intermediate piece, which for distinction I call the
connecting short shaft, is marked B. The paddle shafts are supported near
their inner ends on bearings in the framing adapted for that purpose, marked
a, a; the connecting short shaft is also carried in two bearings near its ends
supported by the framework marked b, b. The paddle shaft on one side of
the vessel is connected permanently with the short shaft by two crank cheeks
and a pin, in the ordinary way of making large cranks, see C; to this crank
the connecting rod of one of the engines is attached, as is usual. The paddle
shaft of the other side has keyed on its inner extremity a single crank cheek
or lever, into which the crank pin is firmly fixed, see D; to this crank pin the
connecting rod of the other engine is attached. On the end of the connecting
short shaft, which is opposite to this paddle shaft, a circular plate or disk is
fitted, marked E; the boss of the disc is prevented from turning upon the shaft

page_text: by keys or other obvious means, but is capable of being slided endways upon it,
so as to approach to or recede from the extremity of the shaft, as occasion may
require. In one place in the face of the disc or crank plate, as it may be called,
is a perforation, made to correspond in size and situation with the end of
the crank pin c, which it receives when the crank plate is pushed outwards
towards the extremity of the short shaft. When the end of the crank pin is
engaged in the pin hole of the crank plate the two paddle wheels are con-
nected together, and are driven in conjunction by the two engines, as in the
case of an ordinary crank shaft, but when the crank plate is drawn back the
connection is broken, and the two engines work independently, each driving
when in action its own paddle wheel. The pin hole of the crank plate is of
course so situated as to set the two cranks when in connection at a right
angle to each other. The boss of the crank plate is extended on the inner
side to such a length as to allow of a turned groove or neck to be formed in
it, into which is fitted a loose clip or collar, permitting the boss to turn within
it. The clip, marked d, has two lugs opposite to one another d, d, to which
are attached two links e, e, that are extended and pinned to two short lever
arms f, f, on a cross shaft in bearings F. The cross shaft has fixed upon it a
long lever arm G, reaching upon deck, or within the command of the
engineer, which lever on being moved draws back or pushes forward the crank
plate on the connecting short shaft to release or engage the crank pin. When
the connection between the paddle wheels has been broken by the withdraw-
ing of the crank plate, and it is intended to re-establish the connection by a
reversed action of the lever G, the circular face of the crank plate comes in
contact with the end of the crank pin c, against which it rubs, until the pin
and pin hole come into correspondence, when the pin is engaged with the
plate, and the connection of the two paddle wheels is re-established. Figure 2
shews the face of the crank plate E. i, the pin hole, which should have the
edge chamfered off to allow it to drop more readily upon the pin. The arm
opposite the end of which the pin hole is placed having to perform the office
of a crank, and consequently to bear the strain of the engine, is strengthened
by being spread out laterally, and having a strong back feather and boss, in
which the hole is perforated. Instead of being prevented from turning upon
the shaft by keys driven into key beds, the shaft end may be a hexagon, or
other polygonal figure, and the hole of the boss made to fit it easily, so that it
would slide endways without difficulty. Figure 3 gives a side view of the
crank plate, with the links and levers to throw it in and out of gear. Sheet B,
Figure 1, shews the arrangement called for by my Invention in a boat having
only one engine. In this case there is a fixed crank cheek and pin on each

page_text: end of the short connecting shaft, and there is a sliding crank plate on the
inner end of each paddle shaft, and the crank plates are thrown in and
out of gear by the same contrivance which has been; shewn in the former
description. Similar parts in the two Sheets being marked by the same. letters,
the same references explain both forms of the apparatus. In this single
engine apparatus two connecting rods of the engine work the two cranks at
the extremities of the short connecting shaft B. In this arrangement the
paddle wheels cannot, as in a double engine boat, be separately backed and
filled at the same time; we can only in this case detach either wheel at
pleasure from the moving power, leaving the motive force to act exclusively.on
the other side of the vessel; this gives great power in turning the vessel, but she
cannot be brought round so sharply as when each paddle wheel can be driven in
opposite directions by an independent engine. The size and strength of the
several parts now described as belonging to my Invention will vary according
to the dimensions of the vessel and machinery to which they are to be applied,
but since they only required to be adjusted to parts of already settled propor-
tions; as the cranks and crank shafts, no practical engineer can be at a loss to
proportion the new parts. The Drawings annexed are on a scale of one
twelfth for two engines of thirty horses power each.
I claim, as the basis of my said Invention now herein fully set forth and
described, the substitution for one of the crank cheeks or arms of one or
both cranks, on the crank shaft of a steam boat, of a disc or circular plate,
having only end motion on a part of the compound shaft, so that one end of
the crank pin can be received into or disengaged from the pin hole in the
face of the plate at pleasure whilst the machinery is at work, the said crank
plate being moveable endways on the shaft by the motion of levers and links,
as described, or by other means equally obvious and simple, and by the
means of such sliding of the crank plate the connection or disconnection of
the two paddle wheels is effected instantaneously. I claim the application
of such a circular crank plate in the way or ways herein set forth for the
purposes therein named; however, its end motion or steadiment on the shaft
may be effected differently from the methods now described. I claim the
several parts in combination which are now shewn to be necessary to the
execution of my Invention. I do not claim such parts, separately, or as
applied to other purposes.
And such my Invention being to the best of my knowledge and belief
entirely new, and never before used within that part of His said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion
of. Wales, or Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be

page_text: my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said
Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve or disguise
with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
contained; wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and
privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wilkinson, bave hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of December, One thousand eigh
hundred and thirty-five.
WILLIAM (L.S.) WILKINSON.
Inrolled the Second day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.