AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPA- RATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPELLING VESSELS, AND ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Wilson, of No. 22, Parliament Street, Westminster,
Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPA-
RATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPELLING VESSELS, AND ALSO FOR OTHER
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 18th May 1880, and dated the 20th November 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Wilson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th November 1879.
"
GEORGE WILSON, of No. 22, Parliament Street, Westminster, Civil Engineer.
AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPELLING
VESSELS, AND ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
My Invention consists of an apparatus (moved by steam or other power) by
means of which water is forced from a vessel in a contrary direction to that which
the same is being propelled. The apparatus consists of what I term a wheel
having a cavity or cavities sunk in and extending around its periphery. The
transverse section or sections of the said cavity or cavities sunk in the periphery of
the wheel may be formed of parabolic, circular, elliptical, or of any other curves, either
concave or convex, or partly concave and partly convex, or the form may be angular
or partly angular and partly curved. The wheel is inclosed and caused to revolve
around its axis within an air tight casing. The flat ends or sides of the wheel revolve
close to the sides of the casing, but the portion of the casing inclosing and extending
around the periphery of the wheel may be a plain surface, or concave or convex of
a circular, elliptical, parabolical, or of any other shape. The suction and discharge
of the water respectively to and from the wheel is through a passage or passages
in the casing at the periphery. The water flows through the same passages
whichever may be the direction the wheel is caused to revolve, but the suction and
discharge passages for the water to flow through when the wheel is caused to
revolve in one direction respectively become reversed, or discharge and suction
passages when the wheel is caused to revolve in the contrary direction.
The action of the apparatus is as follows
The air tight casing inclosing the wheel and also the suction pipe being full with
water (in a similar manner to an ordinary centrifugal pump), the wheel is then
caused to revolve by steam or any other power with the requisite velocity in the

page_text: desired direction, and the action of the cavity or cavities sunk in the periphery of
the revolving wheel upon the water causes the latter to be forced round in the
direction the wheel revolves through the apparatus, and by the force of the reaction
of the water issuing from the apparatus the vessel is propelled.
My said Invention is also applicable as a pump for the purpose of lifting or
forcing water or other fluids.
In order that my said Invention may be clearly understood I will now give a
general illustration of the same, showing an arrangement for propelling vessels.
Referring to the hereinbefore description and to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
Figures 1 and 2 are sections through the apparatus in which one cavity is sunk in
and extending around the periphery of the wheel. The solid thick black lines show
the wheel which revolves on the axis g, on bearings h, h.
m... m is the casing inclosing the wheel.
o is the cavity sunk in the periphery of the wheel.
Figure 3 is a section of a wheel in which four cavities o.. o are sunk in its
periphery.
Supposing the apparatus to be fixed at the bottom of a vessel, as shown by the
line p, p, and the wheel caused to revolve in the direction of the arrow 8, the
water will enter the suction pipe at t, and after being forced through the apparatus
by the action of the revolving wheel o the same will be discharged through the
pipe at v, and by the force of the reaction of the discharged water the vessel will be
propelled in a contrary direction, as shown by the arrow w
If the wheel be caused to revolve in a contrary direction to that herein before
lastly described, then becomes the suction and t the discharge pipe, and the
vessel will be propelled in the direction shown by the arrow c.
The casing is formed in such a manner, shown at z, z, that between the points
y, y, (being the tangent points of the suction and discharge of the water to and
from the wheel) the water forced round the casing, by the action of the revolving
wheel, is caused to flow freely and wholly, as much as may be practicable, through
the discharge pipes or passages.
An apparatus may be fixed at the bottom, sides, end, or any other desired part
of a vessel above or below the water line, and the wheel arranged to revolve with
its axis vertical, horizontal, or inclined. The apparatus may also, if desired, be
fixed outside a vessel either above or below the water line, but when fixed above
the water line the height must, in all cases, be within the limits that the pressure
of the atmosphere will cause the water to flow through the suction pipes or
passages with the necessary velocity and volume.
My said Invention is also applicable for the purpose of steering vessels, and in
causing the same to be rapidly, either wholly or partly, turned round in fixing an
apparatus at the end or near the end of a vessel in such a manner that the axis of
the wheel of the apparatus will be in line or parallel with the keel of the vessel,
consequently the force of the reaction of the water forced through and discharged
from the apparatus will act at right angles to the keel or longitudinal axis of the
ship or vessel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
AN
the said George Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th May 1880.
GEORGE WILSON, of 22, Parliament Street, Westminster, Civil Engineer.
IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPELLING VESSELS,
AND ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
My Invention consists of an apparatus (moved by steam or other power) by means
of which water is forced from a vessel in a contrary direction to that in which the
same is being propelled. The apparatus consists of what I term a wheel, having
a cavity or cavities sunk in and extending around its periphery. The transverse
section or sections of the said cavity or cavities sunk in the periphery of the wheel
may be formed of parabolic, circular, elliptical, or of any other curves, either
concave or convex, or partly concave and partly convex, or the form may be
angular, or partly angular and partly curved. The wheel is enclosed and caused
to revolve around its axis within an air-tight casing. The flat ends or sides of the
wheel revolve close to the sides of the casing, but the portion of the casing enclosing
and extending around the periphery of the wheel may be a plain surface, or concave,
or convex, of a circular, elliptical, parabolical, or of any other shape. The suction
and discharge of the water respectively to and from the wheel is through a passage
or passages in the casing at the periphery. The water flows through the same
passages whichever may be the direction the wheel is caused to revolve; but the
suction and discharge passages for the water to flow through when the wheel is
caused to revolve in one direction respectively become reversed or discharge and
suction passages when the wheel is caused to revolve in the contrary direction.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The air-tight casing enclosing the wheel and also the suction pipe being full
with water (in a similar manner to an ordinary centrifugal pump), the wheel
is then caused to revolve by steam or any other power with the requisite velocity
in the desired direction, and the action of the cavity or cavities sunk in the
periphery of the revolving wheel upon the water causes the latter to be forced
round in the direction the wheel revolves through the apparatus and discharge
pipes or passages.
My said Invention is also applicable as a pump for the purpose of lifting or
forcing water or other fluids.
In order that my said Invention may be clearly understood I will now give
general illustrations of the same. Referring to the herein before description and
to the Drawings hereunto annexed Figures 1 and 2 are sections through the
apparatus in which one cavity is sunk in and extending around the periphery of
the wheel. The solid thick black lines show the wheel which revolves on the axis
g, g, on bearings h, h; m.... m is the casing enclosing the wheel; o is the cavity
sunk in the periphery of the wheel; Figure 3 is a section of a wheel in which four
cavities o..o are sunk in its periphery; Figure 4 shows section of a wheel, the
cavity or cavities of which are partly angular.
Supposing that the wheel is caused to revolve in the direction shown by the
arrow 8, the water will flow through the suction pipe or pipes at F and enter
tangentially the cavity or cavities of the wheel at Y', and after being forced through
the apparatus by the action of the revolving wheel o the same will enter tangen-
tially at Y, and be discharged through the pipe or pipes at G.
If the wheel is caused to revolve in a contrary direction to that herein before
lastly described, then G becomes the suction and F the discharge pipe or pipes for
the water.
The casing is formed in such a manner, as shown at Y, Y¹, that in either
direction which the wheel is caused to revolve the water forced partly round the
casing by the action of the revolving wheel flows tangentially from the suction
pipe or pipes into the cavity or cavities of the wheel, and also tangentially from the
latter into the discharge pipe or pipes.
The distance between Y and Y, the tangent points, for the entrance and dis-

page_text: charge of the water into and from the cavity or cavities of the wheel, is dependent
on the desired arrangement of the suction and discharge pipes with regard to the
casing. Figure 5 shows the suction and discharge pipes H, J, (one of which is
shown straight and the other curved) arranged in such a manner that the water
will be acted upon by the revolving wheel and forced round the casing through
the distance of a semi-circle.
For the purpose of propelling vessels my improved apparatus may be fixed at
the bottom, sides, end, or any other desired and suitable part of a vessel above, at,
or below the water line, and the wheel may be arranged so as to revolve with its
axis horizontal, vertical, or inclined. The apparatus if desired may also be fixed
outside a vessel, but it is preferred that the apparatus should be fixed within the
vessel and below or at the water line. The pipes or passages F, G, are continued
so as to communicate with the water outside the vessel, and the same are shaped
in such a manner that the water will be forced through the discharge pipes or
passages in a contrary direction to that in which the vessel is propelled. These
connections with the outside may be made as such connections have heretofore been
made when hydraulic apparatus has been applied to the propulsion of vessels, and
the arrangement of the connections will depend to some extent on the class and
the construction of the vessel to be fitted, it being understood that the bends in the
pipes should be suitably curved in order that the water will flow freely through
them.
The suction and discharge pipes and also the apparatus should be constructed in
such a manner as to cause the water to flow in continuous volumes of uniform or
nearly uniform sectional areas, thus securing my improved method for propelling
vessels by diminishing the loss of power which arises from the eddies and dis-
turbances of the water acted upon caused by other methods of propulsion.
In the application of my improved apparatus as a pump, for the purpose of
lifting or forcing water or other fluids, one of the pipes G or F would be the suction
and the other the discharge pipe for the water, the arrangements being as for
ordinary centrifugal pumps.
My said Invention is also applicable for the purpose of steering vessels, and in
causing the same to be rapidly either wholly or partly turned round. In fixing
an apparatus for this purpose it is placed at the end or near the end of a vessel in
such a manner that the axis of the wheel of an apparatus will be in line or parallel
with the keel of the vessel, and the force of the reaction of the water forced through
and discharged from the apparatus will act at right angles to the keel or longitudinal
axis of the ship or vessel.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it to be understood that I claim,―
My improved apparatus, consisting of a wheel enclosed in a casing and capable
of being rotated by steam or other power, such parts being so arranged that there
is a cavity or channel (or cavities or channels) between the periphery of the wheel
and the casing, extending partly but not completely around the wheel, and com-
municating at one end with a supply pipe or conduit and at the other end with an
exit pipe or conduit, substantially as described.
I also claim my method for propelling vessels by the use of my improved
apparatus, causing the water to flow in continuous volumes through passages of
uniform or nearly uniform sectional area, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Wilson, have hereunto set my hand
and seal the Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
GEORGE WILSON. (LS.)