IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM TIDAL WATERS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolph Julius Lehmann, of West Hartlepool, in the
County of Durham, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM TIDAL WATERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolph Julius Lehmann at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th January 1882.
ADOLPH JULIUS LEHMANN of West Hartlepool in the County of Durham.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM TIDAL
WATERS."
My Invention relates to the construction of a machine for converting the natural
forces developed by the flow and ebb of tidal waters into mechanical energy to be
utilized for a variety of purposes similar to the application of a Steam Engine or
other prime mover.
In carrying out my Invention I provide buoyant chambers or vessels attached to
endless chains or bands the endless chains or bands being arranged in pairs and
conveyed over upper and lower pulleys in the usual manner the upper pulleys
being mounted on a shaft in a convenient position above high water mark the
lower pulleys being mounted on a spindle or shaft fixed in such a position below
low water mark as to allow the said Chambers or vessels to descend with the water
to the lowest point of ebb tide or to other point below high water mark as may be
found convenient or desirable one of these shafts preferably the upper one is
connected by suitable multiplying gear to a shaft from which motive power for
driving machinery or other use will be taken.
In order to sustain a regular continuous motion to the shafts in all states of the
tide I provide a number of tanks or water compartments varying according to the
character of the Tide and other local conditions each tank or compartment being
the receptacle of a nest of buoyant chambers or vessels with a pair of endless chains
or bands and lower pulleys and is so placed and constructed as to admit water to a
height corresponding to the height of the external tide waters each inlet being
provided with a valve or water trap so as to confine the water in the several tanks

page_text: or compartments when full to be discharged during ebb tide when required for the
descent of the chambers or vessels. By liberating a buoyant chamber or vessel at
the bottom of one tank or compartment I avail myself of its efforts to reach the
surface of the water to communicate by means of the pair of endless chains or
bands and pulleys a rotary motion to the driving shaft and as soon as the surface
of the water is reached by one chamber or vessel another connected with the same
pair of endless bands or chains is immediately released and the operation repeated
until the whole nest of chambers or vessels in the Tank or compartment have
ascended one after another when the same operation is repeated in another tank
and so on until a sufficient number of these Chambers or vessels have ascended one
after another from the bottoms of their respective Tanks or compartments to sustain
the motion of the machinery until the Tanks or compartments are again filled by
the next high tide when the process repeats itself.
In order to provide for the descent of each nest of chambers or vessels to the
bottom of the tank or compartment in which they work the valve or water trap
will be opened when the nest of Chambers or vessels have reached the surface of
the water by which means the water is discharged as the tide ebbs and the
Chambers or vessels descend to the low water position.
It must be understood that each Chamber or vessel is arranged to fasten itself
automatically at low water to await its turn for another ascent and will be auto-
matically released by the action of the machinery in motion in the same manner
the valves or water traps will be closed as soon as each tank or compartment is
full and again opened after the nest of chambers or vessels contained therein have
arrived at the surface of the water.
By this means at least one Chamber or vessel will be exerting a rotary motion
on the driving shaft by its effort to reach the surface of the water in the tank or
compartment in which it is immersed.
In order to maintain a uniform rate of speed in the revolving driving shaft its
motion will be controlled by a pendulum motion such as is used to regulate the
descent of clock weights acting in combination with a fly wheel revolving on a
shaft driven by and geared to the driving shaft.
The ascent of the chambers or vessels may be vertical or inclined to a greater or
less degree according to circumstances and the number of Tanks or compartments
'must be arranged according to the amount of power to be developed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Adolph Julius Lehmann in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th July 1882.
ADOLPH JULIUS LEHMANN of West Hartlepool in the County of Durham.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM TIDAL
WATERS."
My said Invention relates to the construction of a system of machinery for
converting the natural forces developed by the flow and ebb of tidal waters into
mechanical energy to be utilised for a variety of purposes similar to the application
of a steam engine or other prime mover.
In carrying out my said Invention I provide buoyant chambers or vessels to
work endless chains or bands the endless chains or bands being arranged in pairs
or otherwise according to the size and form of the buoyant chambers or vessels
and conveyed round upper and lower pullies in the usual manner the upper pullies
being attached to shafts placed in convenient positions above high water mark and
the lower pullies revolving on or attached to shafts or spindles fixed in such
positions below high water mark as to allow the chambers or vessels to descend
with the water to the lowest point of ebb tide or to such a point as may be most
suitable to any particular application of my said Invention.
The upper shafts will be preferred as the driving shafts to the machinery to be
set in motion as being generally more convenient but the lower shafts may also be
used in cases where there is a special reason to prefer them.
In order to sustain a regular continuous motion to the driving shafts in all states
of the tide I provide a number of tanks or water compartments, three being the
smallest number that will effect the purpose but the number may be increased
according to the character of the tide and other local conditions each tank or
compartment being the receptacle of a nest or series of buoyant chambers or vessels
with a system of endless bands or chains and lower pullies and is so placed and
constructed as to admit water to a height corresponding to the height of the
external tide water each inlet being provided with a valve or water trap so as to
confine the water in the several tanks or compartments when full to be discharged
during ebb tide or at low water when required for the descent of the chambers or
vessels. By liberating a buoyant chamber or vessel at the lower part of one tank
or compartment I avail myself of its efforts to reach the surface of the water in
which it is immersed to communicate by means of the endless chains or bands and
pullies a rotary motion to the driving shafts, and as soon as the surface of the
water is reached by one chamber or vessel another connected with the same
system of endless chains or bands is immediately liberated and the operation
repeated until the whole nest of chambers or vessels in one tank or compartment
have ascended one after another when the operation is repeated in another tank,
If there are only three tanks the first tank will supply motive power for the whole
of one tide say the ebb tide and the second tank will then supply motive power for
the whole of the next rising tide, the third tank will discharge itself of water
during the working of the first tank and will refill during the working of the
second tank and will be in readiness to take its turn to supply motive power when
the second tank is exhausted the first tank baving exhausted at the lowest point of
ebb tide can at once discharge itself and refill as the tide rises and be in readiness
for supplying motive power again when the third tank exhausts thus the first tank
would supply motive power during the ebb tide the second tank during the flow
tide and the third tank during the ebb tide and so forth each tank taking its turn
to work during one tide. In this way three tanks can sustain a regular continuous

page_text: motion to the driving shafts in all states of the tide. More than three tanks may
be used when it is required to obtain greater speed for the driving shafts by
working each tank for a shorter period than one whole tide or where a greater
power is obtained by supplying Motive power from more than one tank at the
same time. The valves or water traps of each tank will open automatically by the
action of a small buoyant chamber connected with them and liberated immediately
the last buoyant chamber for driving the machinery has completed its ascent by
which means the water is discharged from the tank with the next ebb tide or at
once if the tide below and the buoyant chambers descend toftheir respective positions
at the lower part of the tank the small buoyant chamber closing the outlet valves
as before. The inlet valves will be simply flap valves admitting water freely as
the tide rises but closing from the pressure of the water inside when the tide
begins to fall. It must be understood that when the chambers or vessels descend
to their positions at the lower part of the tank they will be automatically secured
to await their turns for a fresh ascent and will be automatically released at the
proper time by the action of the machinery in motion. The machinery in motion
will also transfer the supply of motive power from tank to tank at the proper times
and in the proper order by the action of pullies and levers which will put the
driving shafts in or out of gear as the case may be but I also provide that this may
be done by hand after the system of working signals for railways.
In order to maintain a uniform rate of speed in the machinery its motion will
be controlled by the action of a pendulum such as is used to regulate the descent
of clock weights acting in combination with a fly wheel, as the driving shafts will
revolve at a very slow speed multiplying gear will be used the number of shafts
depending upon the speed required to be developed one of these shafts will be
selected on account of its suitable speed to be subjected to the control of the
pendulum and the fly wheel will be connected preferably to the shaft running at
the highest. speed.
The ascent of the chambers or vessels may be vertical or inclined to a greater
or less degree according to circumstances and the number and size of the tanks or
compartments must be arranged according to the amount of power required to be
developed also the number and form of the buoyant chambers in each tank may be
varied to suit the conditions of each particular case.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to
the several figures on the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a plan of one tank and a
portion of an adjacent tank together with a system of shafts worked by a
multiplying gear and also the levers pullies and ropes for automatically operating
according to my Invention.
Figure 2 represents a vertical section of one tank on line X X of figure 1 while
Figure 3 is a vertical section of a tank on line Y Y of Figure 1.
In Figures 2 and 3 a nest or series of buoyant chambers C1, C2, C3, &c. are shown
one of which C is shown at the surface of the water and the others C² C³ &c. are
shown in position ready for ascent at the lower part of the tank A. D) is also a
small buoyant chamber which is not used for motive power but is used for auto-
matically controling the outlet valves or water traps E which it effects by being
liberated after all the chambers have ascended and by ascending in the same
manner withdraws the plugs e from valves E out of which the water is free to
flow as the tide ebbs or if the tide be at its lowest point; when the tide rises the
water will again flow into the tank through the flap valves F which act as inlet
valves only and are closed by the pressure of the impounded water when the tide
recedes.
But in order that the buoyant chambers shall rise in due order and at the proper
consecutive intervals I provide vertical shafts G at the corners of each tank which
are caused to revolve very slowly by means of worm wheels H driven by worms I

page_text: on the driving shafts J which can be put in or out of gear as required. The
vertical shafts G are provided with stops plates or projections K¹ K³ K³ &c. which
bold the buoyant chambers C1 C2 C3 &c. in position and are arranged in the
following manner.
Suppose each tank to contain say six buoyant chambers for motive power in
addition to a seventh smaller one to work the outlet valves then the first stop plate
must be made of such a form (which may be sector of a circle) that when the
vertical shafts have completed a certain small portion of a revolution the
chambers C is liberated and at once ascends. The said Chamber comes in contact
O as it rises with the chocks attached at frequent intervals to the endless bands or
chains B and thus communicates motive power to the driving shafts which have
been first set in motion by being put into gear with the main shaft Z. The said
driving shafts by being correctly geared into the vertical shafts turn them round
at such a speed that when chamber C¹ arrives at the surface of the water the stop
plates K2 are turned out of the way and chamber is then liberated and now
supplies the motive power in the place of Chamber C¹ and so on successively one
chamber after another. As soon as Chamber C which in this case is the lowest
motive power chamber or the last of the series has completed its ascent then the
smaller chamber D is liberated and the outlet valves opened for the discharge of
the tank. By means of levers or tappets V attached to the vertical shafts G and
acting upon pullies L the levers M will be worked so as to put the pinious N out
of gear with bevel wheels O and by the same action pinions N' of the adjoining
apparatus are put into gear with bevel wheels O' so as to turn the vertical shafts
of the next tank so as to liberate another series of buoyant chambers so that the
supply of motive power may be transferred from one tank which is exhausted to
another tank which is ready for action. A system of levers and connections
should also be provided in order to control the arrangement above set forth by
hand power which can be readily effected by any well known means as for example
such as those employed for working signals on railways &c.
In order that the continuous motion of the endless bands may not interfere with
those chambers held fast in position at the lower part of a tank I provide them
with limbs or projections working on spindles or hinges so that the chocks R when
passing upwards can lift them out of the way but when the limbs or projections on
the buoyant chambers catch the chocks R they are then unable to turn or move in
the opposite direction and therefore carry or drive up the endless bands. I also
provide guides S to keep the buoyant chambers in such a position as to insure
them engaging with the chocks on the endless bands as well as to be able to descend
to their proper respective positions without fouling the stop plates on the vertical
shafts G. In order to facilitate this I arrange these stop plates so that when they
are all turned out of the way one side of the descending chambers will just clear
the edge of the highest stop plate and the adjoining side will also just clear the
edge of the lowest stop plate the intermediate stop plates being also clear from
fouling the chambers. The vertical shafts will then be put into gear until the
buoyant chambers are all again secured by the stop plates being turned on to them
as previously described.
By a suitable arrangement of multiplying gear I transmit the motion obtained
from the driving shafts to others until the requisite speed or power has been
obtained according to requirements. For this purpose I provide a dy wheel W on
a quick running shaft and a pendulum P in connection with one of the shafts
running at a suitable speed so as to prevent any acceleration of speed of the driving
shafts.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein before in part
recited letters Patent is :-
The utilisation of the natural forces developed by the ebb and flow of tidal

page_text: waters by means of buoyant chambers working in connection with endless chains
or bands placed in water tanks or compartinents and connected with a system of
machinery so as to be able to supply a continuous motive power by their tendency
to ascend from the lower parts of the said tanks or compartments to the surface of
the water in which they are immersed and by again being allowed to descend or
return to their normal respective positions at the lower parts thereof from which
the water has been discharged at low tide substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In witness whereof I the said Adolph Julius Lehmann have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal this seventeenth day of July One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
ADOLPH JULIUS LEHMANN. (L.S.)