IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR EXHAUSTING AND FORGING AIR AND GASES AND FOR PROPELLING VESSELS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Hughes, of Bagillt, in the County of
Flint, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR EXHAUSTING AND FORGING AIR AND GASES AND FOR PROPELLING
VESSELS."
Sealed the 28th May 1867, and dated the 29th November 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Hughes, at the
.Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th
November 1866.
I, EDWARD HUGHES, of Bagillt, in the County of Flint, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR EXHAUSTING AND FORCING AIR AND GASES AND FOR PROPELLING
VESSELS," to be as follows:-
For exhausting and forcing air or gases I employ a screw propeller con-
sisting of any required number of single, double, treble, or quadruple threads
or vanes connected to a cylinder or long boss fixed. to a horizontal shaft
revolving in a covered vessel or chamber open at both ends, and also in a
[Price 8d.]

page_text: greater or lesser depth of water contained in a cistern, which is much larger
than the covered vessel. The threads or vanes of the propeller are formed
of plates of metal revitted or bolted to spiral projections or flanges cast or
fixed to the cylinder or long boss keyed on the main shaft, which shaft is
driven by a steam engine or other motive power. To prevent the water from
being impeded in the covered vessel and cistern the pedestals which carry the
shaft and stuffing boxes are bolted on each side to a horizontal plate attached
to standards fixed to the bottom of the cistern if it is made of metal, or to
the foundation if made of stonework, there being a space between each
standard for the free circulation of the water. One end of the open vessel
containing the propeller communicates by a flue with the mine or other place
from which the air, gases, or fumes have to be drawn or exhausted, or to the
condenser, when one is used, and the other end of the cylinder is open to
another flue leading to the chimney, and when revolving motion is given to
the propeller the air, gas, or fumes are drawn above the water and forced out
with great power and certainty to the chimney.
For Propelling Vessels.-The propeller and chamber enclosing it are
entirely immersed in the water, the lower half of the chamber being fixed to
an open square chest or tube reaching from one end of the vessel to the other,
which chest or tube can be closed or shut with gates or slides placed at both
ends of the said chest or tube, so thatwhen the propeller is not in motion the
tube can be emptied and the propeller exposed for examination or repair by
removing the upper part of the chest or tube where the propeller is set and
the upper half or cover of the chamber enclosing the propeller. The pedestals
for the shaft are supported on two oblong horizontal plates connected to
narrow standards fixed to the bottom of the chest or tube, and at the four
ends of each plate there are top flanges to which are rivetted metal plates
forming a box or case extending to the upper part of the chest or tube and
rivetted to it, there being an opening in the chest or tube leading to the
⚫interior of each box or case, which openings are covered orclosed as required.
The plates near the ends of the propeller have openings for the shaft to pass
through, and stuffing boxes are employed for preventing the water from
passing to the boxes and bearings, and as the boxes are made sufficiently
large for a man to move up and down in them.the bearings can be lubricated
the packings adjusted, and repairs performed without any difficulty. One
mode of turning the propeller is to fix on its shaft a bevil wheel gearing into
a bevil wheel on a vertical shaft passing through the top of the chest or tube
to the deck above the propeller and communicating with the motive power

page_text: The footstep of the vertical shaft is fixed on one of the horizontal plates,
and the shaft works in the interior of the water-tight box fixed to the said
plate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
HUGHES, of Bagillt, in the County of Flint, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edward Hughes, Her special license that I, the said Edward
Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Edward Hughes, ny 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, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR, APPARATUS FOR EXHAUSTING AND FORCING AIR AND GASES AND FOR
PROPELLING VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edward Hughes, my executors or administrators, 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.
F.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Hughes, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the saine is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
This Invention consists in improved machinery or apparatus for exhausting
aud forcing air and gases, and is adapted for the ventilation of mines, for the
blowing of blast furnaces, cupolas, hearths, forges, and similar purposes, and
also in improved machinery or apparatus for propelling vessels.

page_text: The manner in which this Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by the following particular description thereof, referencebeing had
to the Figures on the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, and to the letters
of reference marked thereon.
Fig. 1, Sheet 1, is a longitudinal section, Fig. 2 a sectional plan, Fig. 3 an
end elevation with some of the outer parts removed, and Fig. 4 an outside
view of one of my improved arrangements of machinery or apparatus for
exhausting and forcing air and gases. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a longitudinal
section, Fig. 6 a plan with the top part removed, and Fig. 7 an end view of
my improved machinery or apparatus for propelling vessels, and Fig. 8 is a
sectional outline drawn to a reduced scale of a vessel with my improvements
attached.
For exhausting and forcing air and gases I employ a screw propeller
consisting of any required number of single, double, treble, or quadruple
threads or vanes a, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, formed of plates of metal rivetted or
bolted to spiral projections or flanges fixed or cast to a cylinder or long
boss e fixed to a horizontal shaft d working in pedestalskand driven by steam
or other motive power when the propeller is of large dimensions. The propeller
revolves in a chamber e open at the lower parts of both ends to a cistern f
much larger than the chamber and containing a greater or lesser depth of
water, a suitable level being shewn by the dotted line g, and the chamber is
made air-tight above the water by the top cover h and the end covers i. The
chamber and cistern may be made of brick work or masonry, as shewn in the
Drawings, or constructed of wood or metal, according to the requirements,
but it is incumbent that the sectional area of the water between the sides and
ends of the chamber and the sides and ends of the cistern, should not be less
than the sectional area of the water in the lower part of the chamber, so that
as the propeller revolves the water shall circulate freely in the chamber and
cistern, and thereby enable the propeller to be turned with comparatively little
power. To prevent the water from being impeded in the chamber and cistern
the pedestals & and the stuffing boxes are bolted on each side to a horizontal
frame m resting on the cistern wall and attached to standards » fixed to the
foundation or to the bottom of the cistern, there being a space between the
standards for the free circulation of the water. When the propeller
is to be used for exhausting, one end of the chamber, containing the
propeller, communicates by a flue or pipe o with the mine or other place
from which the air, gases, or fumes have to be drawn or exhausted, or to the
condenser when one is used, and the other end of the chamber is open to

page_text: another flue or pipe pleading to
and when revolving motion is given to the propeller the air, gas, of fumes are
drawn in at one end above the water and forced out at the other end with great
powerandcertainty.Forthepreservationof the propeller when usedincondensing
metallic fumes it is advisable that a constant supply of pure water should run
into the cistern at the top of one end and escape at the bottom of the other end
thewastewaterbeing used forcondensing fumes or other purposes, but when the
propeller is used for ventilating mines, collieries, or buildings this fresh supply
of water is not required. When the propeller is to be used for blowing purposes
one end of the chamber will communicate with the atmosphere, and the other
end be provided with the necessary nozzle or pipe and regulating cock, valve,
or siide.
For propelling vessels and canal boats the propeller g,Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8,
Sheet 2, and chamber enclosing it, are entirely iminersed in the water, the
lower half of the chamber being fixed to a square or round tube extending
from one end of the vessel to the other and open at both ends, which tube
can be closed or shut with gates or slides s, Fig. 8, placed near both ends of
the tube, and near the ends of the machinery there are additional valves or
doors t, Figs. 5, 6, and 8, so that when the propeller is not in motion the
tube can be emptied and the propeller exposed for examination or repair by
removing the upper part of the tube where the propeller is set and the upper
half or cover of the chamber enclosing the propeller. The pedestals u for the
shaft v are supported on two obloug horizontal plates w connected to narrow
standards & fixed to the bottom of the tube, and at the four ends of each plate
there are top flanges, to which are rivetted vertical plates y forming a box or
case extending to the upper part of the tube and rivetted to it, there being
an opening in the top of the tube leading to the interior of each box or case,
which openings are open or closed as required. The vertical plates near the
ends of the propeller have openings for the shaft to pass through, and stuffing
boxes z are employed for preventing the water from passing to the boxes and
bearings, and as the boxes are made sufficiently large for a man to move up
and down in them the bearings can be lubricated, the packings adjusted, and
repairs performed without any difficulty. One mode of turning the propeller
is to fix on its shaft a bevil wheel a gearing into a bevil wheel b¹ on the
vertical shaft c passing through the top of the tube to the deck above the
propeller and communicating with the motive power, the footstep d¹ for the
vertical shaft c' being fixed on one of the horizontal plates w, and the shaft
working in the interior of the water-tight box fixed to the said plate. For

page_text: small vessels and boats the chamber of the propeller and also the bearings of
the shaft may be suspended from the top or sides of the tube and the propeller
worked by hand, and in all cases the propeller may be placed at the bow or
stern of the vessel, or at any intermediate place.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Hughes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal,this Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Signed, sealed, and delivered. by the
within-named Edward Hughes, in
the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
EDWARD HUGHES. (L.B.)