CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING VESSELS, CARRIAGES, AND MACHINERY, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO DRAWING AND PRO- PELLING FLUIDS, ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VESSELS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
TAYLOR, of Hollinwood, near Manchester, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twentieth day of January, in the ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Peter Taylor, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Peter
Taylor, my exors, admiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter
Taylor, my exors, admors, 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
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING VESSELS, CARRIAGES, AND
MACHINERY, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO DRAWING AND PRO-
PELLING FLUIDS, ALSO IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VESSELS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Peter Taylor, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part 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
Peter Taylor, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention relates, first and principally, to certain combinations, including
new arrangements both of vessels and of machinery and apparatus for propelling
vessels, whereby I am enabled to get rid of the resistance, and consequently to
obtain a much higher velocity, with less expenditure of power, than heretofore;
and here I may premise that my Invention is principally based upon the follow-
lowing general propositions, which I hold to be paramount:-First, it is neces-
sary to do away as much as possible with resistance; secondly, that the dimen-
sions the vessels carrying the steam power should be as narrow as may be for
receiving the power required, and to draw as little water as possible; thirdly,
in order to attain the highest velocity, the vessels employed must be upon
rather than in the water; fourthly, that it is important to bring up inland
navigation to compete with railways in speed and convenience to the public;
fifthly, that for canals extreme lightness and narrowness (as compared with
boats of ordinary construction), rather than excessive power, is a principal
desideratum; sixthly, that in order to the combining extreme lightness with
great strength, it will be obvious that, for inland steam navigation, long narrow
boats, with boilers of greatly extended length, but proportionably reduced
diameter, affixed and placed so as to form a sort of back bone for each, by being
placed down upon the bottom of, and extending considerably along, the boat.
My second improvement refers to rotatory steam engines, which are
suitable for driving such machinery, and for propelling vessels, and also for
propelling the wheels of locomotive engines, and generally to actuating
machinery; also to the drawing and propelling of fluids; and thirdly, to
improvements in the construction and arrangement, and modes of connecting
vessels when worked in trains, whether for canal, river, or ocean navigation;
and fourthly, to improvements in the construction of vessels.
But in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to
describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1, 2, and 3; Sheet-1, show a longitudinal section, a plan, and a
cross section of a boat, with parts arranged according to my Invention:-a, a, is
the framing of the boat which is of the ordinary construction excent at the

page_text: stern, where the sides are extended at a beyond the stern a², in order to carry
the propellers, as shown; and it will be seen that between the parts a² and a³,
where the rudder port is shown carrying the rudder, the bottom is removed,
in order that the propellers may more readily act on the water, the sides and
rudder post being sustained, at their ends by the frames a', the rudder post
being steaded at its lower end by an extension of the keel. In some cases,
however, I remove this part of the keel between the parts a² and a³, and
support the lower end of the rudder post by suitable stays from the side
framing; b, b, is the propeller frame, which is capable of being adjusted
to different angles of inclination; b', 6', being axes upon which the frame b
turns, and 62, 63, being chains which are each connected to the frame b, as
shown, and pass over the pulleys 6, 63, to the windlass 6', which is turned
by: means of handles in the usual way, so as to raise the outer end of the
frame b to any angle which may be found most effectual in propelling the boat;
c, c, are the propeller shafts, which turn in bearings c', c', in the frame b (which
is shown on a larger scale in Sheet 2); c, c, are the propellers fixed thereon;
these propellers, it will be seen, are shorter in their radial length as they recede
from the body of the boat, and may thus be said to form parts of a cone; but
I do not confine myself to this arrangement, the object being that, in working,
each paddle may be equally acting upon the surface of the water, which at that
part becomes thrown upwards into an inclined direction, as shewn by the
Drawings; c, c, are bevilled pinions on the ends of the shafts c; these bevilled
pinions are geared into and receive motion from the bevilled wheels d, d, on
the shaft d', which has motion given to it by rods from the cylinders e, e, in the
ordinary manner.;.f, f, is the boiler, which, it will be seen, is arranged with
fire boxes g in the centre, each fire box being separated from the other by a
portion of the boiler, as shewn at h; i is the fire grate (which in one fire box
is shown removed); j are the fire doors; % are fire bridges formed of parts
of the boiler; the flame and heated particles pass from each fire box through a
series of tubes 1,1, to the smoke boxes m; as is now commonly the case with
locomotive engine and some other. boilers; n, n, are the chimnies; o is the
steam dome or chamber. And I would here remark, that I have only thought
it necessary to show the general arrangement of the boiler; and I have omitted
to show the steam pipes, as the arrangement of them which I make use of,
being of the ordinary kind, and forming no part of my Invention, its. being
shewn would only have tended to make the Drawings complex. The boiler, it
will be seen, is carried upon rollers f'; f', which run upon the rails.a, such rails
forming parts of the main framing of the boat; but in some cases I should
apply pieces, instead of the rollers f, sliding on Vguides; and in order that

page_text: the sliding of the boiler on such rails in the boat may be readily effected, I
apply strong screw axles q, which are turned by a suitable instrument passing.
through the holes in the head q' in the manner of screw jacks. The object of
having such adjusting means is to provide against the boats being heavier, and
consequently drawing more water at one end than the other, according to the
speed at which the vessel is travelling, or otherwise to adjust the weight to
circumstances, so as to obtain the trim desired. The Drawing, Sheet 3, shows.
on an enlarged scale, a modification of the frame b, the only difference being in
the mode of arranging the shafts c, which it will be seen in this case approach
nearer to each other as they recede from the body of the boat; but as it will be
evident that any slight variation of that kind may readily be made to contract,
and cause the same to diverge, I have only thought it necessary to show one
modification. Figure 4,-Slieet 1, shows part of the bow of one of such boats,
such as are shewn at Figures 1 and 2, Sheet 1, with apparatus applied to cut
away and remove ice in the manner of a plough by the passage of the vessel
through the water. Figures 1 and 2, Sheet 4, shew a longitudinal section and
a plan of another boat, the only material difference being in the arrangement
of the boiler, which in this case, it will be seen, has its fire boxes or furnaces at
each end; and I have made use of the same letters of reference to indicate
similar parts. The flame and heated particles pass from each fire box through
tubes to a central smoke box and chimney; o, o, are the steam domes or
chambers; r,, are the steam pipes to convey the steam to the engines, and in-
order to allow of the sliding motion which may be given to the boiler, I con-
struct the steam pipes at r¹, so that one part may slide within the other, those
parts being suitably packed so as to be steam tight, is well understood; or,
instead of having a joint in the steam pipes, I affix the cylinders to the boiler
carriage, and form the connecting rods from the piston rods to the cranks of
the shaft d, so as to be adjustable to the variable distance of the boiler
from the axle d.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention, which
relates to improvements in rotary steam engines, and engines for drawing and
propelling fluids; the peculiarity of which consists in so combining two
revolving drums, with teeth and recesses (the teeth in one drum working into
corresponding recesses in the other drum), that the steam, when such engine is
being used as a steam engine, may more readily act on such teeth to cause the
drums to revolve. In Drawing, Sheet 5, Figure 1 shows an external side view;
Figure 2, a side view in section; Figure 3, a plan; Figure 4, a section through
the lines A, B, in Figure 2; and Figure 5, a section through the lines C, D, of
Figure 2. a, a, is the casing of the engine in which revolve the drums b; b,

page_text: each drum having a series of teeth 6', leaving recesses 62 between such teeth,
by which the two drums are caused to revolve together; and in addition to the
teeth and recesses b', 62, there are other teeth 63, which are to be packed on
their outer surface, so as to form a close joint with the casing; these teeth 63,
in the revolution of the drums b, pass into the recesses b'. And I would here
remark, that I am aware that it has before been proposed to construct rotary
engines with two drums, each having teeth and recesses, the teeth of one
drum passing the recesses in the other; but in such case the steam was
directed on the tooth wheel for the time being was between the two drums,
so that the drums were caused to revolve towards each other. Now, I
consider it important that the steam should be directed to act with its full
force against the sides of the teeth, so as to cause the drums to revolve
from each other, as indicated by the arrows, for which purpose I construct
the steam passages c, c, as well as the outlet passages d, d, as near as may be
on a line drawn between the internal peripheries of the two parts of the case,
as shown; e, f, are pipes communicating with the valve box g, containing the
valve h, for the purpose of reversing the engine when necessary, by causing
the passages d, d, for the time being to be those through which the steam passes
to the drums; i is the inlet pipe for the steam, and the outlet pipe; k shows
packing applied to the various parts. Figure 6 shews a modification of the
above arrangement, in which only two teeth and two corresponding recesses
are used to each drum; and Figure 7 shews a section of another modification,
in which the teeth 6', and corresponding recesses 63, only are used, without
the teeth 6 and recesses 6', as described with respect to Figures 1 to 5. When
it is intended to use these arrangements of engines for the purpose of drawing
and propelling fluids, it will only be necessary to apply the left pipe to the end
of the passages d, d, and the force or supply pipe to the passages c, c. I would
here remark that I consider the above arrangement of rotary steam engine
peculiarly applicable to those vessels which are propelled by propellers placed
on two separate shafts, similar to those above described.
I will now proceed to describe the third part of my Invention, which is
shewn in Sheet 6, and which consist of combining a number of boats together
in the form of a train, similar to what is now practised with respect to carriages
on railways.
Figures 1 and 2 show, in plan and side view, a series of boats of a lighter
kind, and intended to carry pass. The boat A carries the boiler (which
in this case is similar to the long boiler of locomotives) and engines; the.
boat B serves as a tender to carry the fuel, while the boats C, D, E, carry
passengers. Figures 3 and 4, shown in plan and side view, a similar arrange-
ment of boats; the engines in this case, in the boat A, are shewn to be of the

page_text: rotary kind, the axes are shewn at once to give motion to the axes of the
propellers; and Figures 5 and 6, shown in plan and side view, another series
of boats intended to carry heavy goods; and in this case the boat A is shown to
have a double boiler, similar to those shewn in the first part of my Invention;
and, in loading the boats, I prefer that each boat in the rear should draw less
water than the preceding. In each case I propose to connect the boats by
means of the connecting parts shown in Drawing, Sheet 7; where it will be seen
that the end of one boat is provided with a stern z, which is received into a
socket y in the next boat, in such manner that the parts not only serve
to connect the boats together, but also that one boat may be capable of aiding
to support the preceding one; the socket y has a stem to it, which has a male
screw formed thereon, which passes through the boss of the wheel x, and the
wheel has motion given to it by means of a pinion won the axle w¹; v is the
framing for supporting the parts x, y, and w'.
I will now proceed to describe the fourth part of my Invention of my Inven-
tion, which is shewn in Sheet 8, and which consists in constructing vessels so
as to be especially adapted to passing through heavy seas without the liability
of being filled by the waves.
Figure 1 shews a side view, and Figure 2 a section. The upper part a
is formed with stout glass, so as to admit light; b is the funnel, and c, c,
are pipes rising considerably above the surface of the vessel; these pipes
are for the purpose of admitting air to the interior, and conducting off
foul air; d is the rudder, which in fine weather may be worked from
the platform e, through which entrance is obtained to the vessel; at other
times the rudder is operated upon by lines passing through stuffing boxes f;
g is part of a shaft to which suitable propellers may be attached. Sheet 9
shews several views of a vessel for sea service, in which the propellors are
placed in the midships.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the various details shown and described, so long as the peculiar feature of
either part of my Invention be retained. But what I do claim is,-
First, the mode of arranging propellers so that they may form a portion
of a cone, and be made of portions of a screw, whether the axles be arranged
parallel to each other, as shown, or otherwise.
Secondly, I also claim the placing the propeller frame on.axes so as to adjust.
at pleasure the depth at which the propeller shall work, and this arrangement
of fan is applicable where one or more propeller shafts are used. And also-I
claim the adjusting the trim of the vessel, by moving the boiler or boilers and
engines on suitable rails or ways formed in the boat, as herein described:

page_text: I also claim the applying an ice-plough steam-propelled boat for inland waters,
as herein described. I claim also the mode of constructing rotary engines, as
herein described, whether such engines be used for the purpose of steam, or for
drawing and propelling fluids.
Thirdly, I claim the so connecting a series of boats into a train that the
after boats may receive or have transferred to them some of the weight of the
preceding boats.
And, fourthly, I claim the mode of constructing sea-going vessels so that
the same are capable of passing through the waves as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Taylor, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-six
Enrolled the Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-six.