IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR THE PROPULSION OF BOATS, AND PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lako,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR THE PROPULSION OF BOATS, AND
PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES." A communication from
abroad by Anton Gareis, Hydrographer to the Imperial Royal Austrian Navy,
and Superintendent of the Compass Department of the Hydrographic Office,
Pola. Austria.
Sealed the 19th August 1879, and dated the 1st March 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st March 1879.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR THE PRO-
PULSION OF BOATS, AND PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES." [A com-
munication from abroad by Anton Gareis, Hydrographer to the Imperial Royal
Austrian Navy, and Superintendent of the Compass Department of the Hydro-
graphic Office, Pola, Austria.]
The said Invention relates to improvements in means for the propulsion of boats
by manual power, parts of which improvements are applicable to the transmission
of power for other mechanical purposes.
In a boat constructed according to the present improvements a knec-lever or
toggle-joint is used for converting oscillating motion into rotary motion, and the
shaft rotated by these means is connected by a universal-joint with a propeller-
screw situated in the rudder. The connection between the lower end of the rudder
and the rudder-brace consists of a semi-ball and socket joint for the purpose of
enabling the rudder to be inclined for facilitating the unfastening of the universal-
joint when it is desired to lift out the rudder together with the propeller-screw. The
universal joint is so formed that the connection between the propeller-shaft and
the propeller can be unfastened by withdrawing a pin from the said universal
joint.

page_text: The toggle-joint is arranged vertically and pivoted at one end to a fixed part of a
frame, while the other end is pivoted to one end of a vertical sliding rod arranged
between cross-heads. The centre of the toggle-joint is connected to a horizontal
bar provided with cross-handles at each end. The vertical sliding-rod is connected
at its other end with a crank fixed to a horizontal shaft provided with a large bevel
wheel gearing into a smaller bevel-wheel or pinion fixed on the propeller-shaft. It
is evident that each full to and fro oscillation of the horizontal bar pivoted to the
centre of the toggle-joint will result in two oscillations of the aforesaid vertical
sliding rod or one completo revolution of the crank and shaft connected with the
same.
It is evident that this new mode of application of a toggle-joint for transmitting
power and motion is applicable to other mechanical purposes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th August 1879.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR THE PRO-
PULSION OF BOATS, AND PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES." A com-
munication from abroad by Anton Gareis, Hydrographer to the Imperial Royal
Austrian Navy, and Superintendent of the Compass Department of the Hydro-
graphic Office, Pola, Austria.
The said Invention relates to improvements in mechanism for the propulsion of
boats, parts of which improvements are applicable for other mechanical purposes,
and the said Invention comprises,―
Firstly. A new mode of employing a knee-lever or toggle-joint for transmitting
power and motion, that is to say, the said knee-lever is used for converting oscil-
lating motion into oscillating and rotary motion in such a manner that in the first
case the toggle-joint doubles the number of oscillations received, whilst in the
other case it causes a complete revolution of the shaft driven, the toggle joint during
its oscillation moving in each direction the same distance from each end of the
extended position of the two arms.
Secondly. The employment of a novel modification of a universal-joint for the
purpose of enabling the propeller-screw, which is situated in the rudder, to be readily
lifted out and replaced with the rudder.
Thirdly. The employment of a semi ball and socket joint for the rudder-braces
for the purpose of enabling the rudder to be inclined backwards for unfastening the
said universal-joint.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and
Figure 2, a front elevation of the said improved mechanism or apparatus.
Figures 3 and 4 shew portions of the same detached.
a, b, c, in Figure 1, represent a knee-lover or toggle-joint constructed according to
the present Invention. The bent arm a, b, is moveable around the fixed point a;
b and c are the two other links, the latter being provided with a cross-head, which
is shewn on the Drawing in its lowest position. On moving the link b to the right
it will describe an arc of the radius a, b. When in the position where the
points a, b, c, form a straight line the cross-head will attain its highest position and
then again descend, and as soon as a, b, and b, c, include the same angle to the right,
as shewn in Figure 1 to the left, it will again occupy its lowest position. The move-
iment of the link b from the right to the left causes the same travelling of the cross-
head, thus the latter makes two oscillations during each complete oscillation of the
toggle-joint, that is to say, the toggle-joint doubles the number of the oscillations.
It can therefore be advantageously employed for this purpose whether the motion
is to be converted into an oscillating or into a rotatory one.
Figure 1 shows in side elevation the apparatus as designed for boats, the one side
of the frame being omitted. The knee-lever or toggle-joint revolves by means of
the vertical sliding rod d, the crank e, and with it the large bevel-wheel f.ff.
gearing into a smaller bevel-wheel g and thus revolving the propeller-screw k; his
a suitable fly-wheel for overcoming the dead points of the mechanism. The toggle-
joint is actuated by the cross-handles 8, 8, in connection with the horizontal bars or
connecting-rods r,r. A hinge-joint q, q, embraces the link 6 of the toggle-joint and
carries the connecting rods r, r, provided with the required number of cross-
handles 8, 8, with which the crew work, as in rowing. The binge-joint q, q, cross-
handles 8, 8, and connecting-rods T, r, are shewn in Figure 3 in plan. Each cross-
handle may be manipulated by one or more men. The most space will be saved

page_text: when the men are seated opposite each other, and thus work as represented by the
numbers 1 to 10 in Figure 3, which shows an arrangement for five persons at each
cross-handle. If more than two cross-handles are required, the connecting rod r, r,
has to be correspondingly lengthened.
As shewn in the Drawing this driving mechanism is equilibrated and arranged to
be taken to pieces.
The proportions of the gearing as well as of the two arms of the toggle-joint, the
length of the crank, and other details may be varied according to the size of the
boat and to other conditions.
The arm a, b, of the toggle-joint, which in Figure 1 is shown bent for leaving
room for the crank-motion, is in Figure 2 shown bent or cut out laterally in order
that it may not interfere with the motion of the crank-rod. The sliding rod d is
forked to allow the working of the toggle-joint and its connecting rods in the middle
plane of the crank. In this Figure the driving mechanism and other obvious details,
as screws, bearings, wedges, bolts, teeth of toothed wheels, and the like, are omitted
or only indicated.
The propeller-screw is situated in the rudder 1, Figure 1, and can be turned with
it on the pivots m and o to each side of the direction of the keel. The propeller-
scrow serves both for propelling and steering, as is already well known, but a special
feature of this Invention is that the screw is connected by a peculiar form of
universal-joint to the shaft of the driving-apparatus, so that it can be readily lifted
out and replaced together with the rudder. Each of the arms of the fork i of the
universal-joint is also forked, so that the two parts of the said universal-joint will
separate on withdrawing the pin o and inclining the rudder sufficiently backwards,
the fork i remaining on the main-shaft, and the other part remaining on the pro-
peller-screw. The rudder is then removed, together with the propeller-screw. The
removing and re-inserting of the rudder therefore takes place in a similar manner
as hitherto usual in boats. The best mode of releasing and coupling the universal-
joint is to place the fork i horizontally and the other one vertically. In order to
make a fixed rest for the rudder on the under side, and yet to allow it to be inclined
backwards, the rudder-brace m, n, is provided with a kind of ball and socket-joint.
The lower rudder-brace, which is shewn partly in section in Figure 1, rests on the
hemispherical support n and has free play within the aperture through which the
pin m passes, so that the rudder can be inclined in any desired direction without
disturbing its firm support. As the pivots of the fork i of the universal-joint must
lie in the plane passing through m and o in order to allow the rudder to be turned,
either the stern-post p is curved at the level of the propeller shaft, as shewn in
Figure 1, or when the stern-post remains straight its braces are extended so far that
the pivots m and o are situated in the plane of the motion of the pivots of the fork i.
The arrangement of the said toggle-joint allows of several modifications.
'instance, in Figure 2 I have indicated by dotted lines a¹, 6¹, c¹, and a¹¹, b, c¹¹, a
double toggle-joint, one on each side, parallel and acting simultaneously, the sliding-
rod being in this case not forked.
For
Figure 4 illustrates another arrangement, the toggle-joint being also double, but
the frame being turned at an angle of 90° against that shown in Figures 1 and 2,
and the two toothed wheels being internally geared. In Figure 4 the crank travels
in a direction perpendicular to the working-position of the toggle-joint. When
using a double toggle-joint the hole in the hinge-joint 9,9, (Figures 1 and 3) is
correspondingly enlarged and prolonged so that the frame of the apparatus will find
room notwithstanding the motion of the toggle-joint; or the arm a, b, is extended,
as shewn in Figure 4, so that the working-point m' oscillates over the frame. In
this latter arrangement, when from two to six men work the said apparatus, it will
be sufficient to pass only one single cross-handle through the part m². The cross-
head and the sliding-rod may be omitted and the lever-arm b, c, act directly on the
crank at c. The fixed-point a may also be arranged above and the point below,
as the toggle point may occupy any desired position, and instead of the toothed
wheels the transmission may be effected by belting.

page_text: For effecting a uniform motion of the propeller-screw without the aid of a fly-
wheel the power transmitted to the point c is divided in such a manner that about
one half of the same acts on the crank e in the manner described, whilst the other
half turns another crank placed at right angles to the former. Such a division of
operation is effected by the means shewn in the diagram Figure 4 in the following
manner is a pump-barrel, the piston-rod of which is actuated by the cross-head
or crank-rod d. By means of this pump-barrel any suitable fluid is pumped into
the air chamber k' in which a high air-pressure is maintained. From the said air-
chamber the fluid passes with its high pressure into the working-cylinder l' and
causes there the ordinary piston's movement, and with it the turning of the crank n¹.
It is evident that with the exception of a slight loss the power used for the pumping
is brought again into effect on the crank n'.
The universal-joint may also have any other suitable form in which the pivots or
studs are arranged on the links, and their bearings lie radially in the four quad-
rants of a ring. In this case the bearings of the pivots to the fork i are open in
front, while the ring remains suspended on the other fork when the universal-joint
for withdrawing the rudder is released.
The said apparatus may be adapted to large vessels, especially sailing vessels, to
enable them to be propelled and steered when required by means of their own pro-
peller-screw; in this case the arrangement for lifting out the rudder is not employed,
but the motion may be transmitted by belting instead of toothed wheels.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I claim,-
First. The employment of the toggle-joint for transmitting power and motion in
the manner described, that is to say, for converting oscillating motion into oscilla-
ting and rotary motion.
Second. The special construction of the apparatus represented in the right half of
Figure 1, and in Figures 2, 3, and 4, including the construction represented in
Figure 4, having for its object the division of the disposable power on two cranks
placed at right angles to each other.
Third. The construction of the universal-joint whereby the same may be readily
unfastened, both in the form shewn in Figure 1 and in the other form herein
described.
Fourth. The construction of the lower rudder-braces with their ball and socket-
joint, substantially as described.
Fifth. The adaptation of the apparatus to large vessels, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
WM. ROBT. LAKE (LS)