IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH SCREW PROPELLORS FOR SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, of the Firm of
Harris and Mills, of 35, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH SCREW PROPELLORS FOR SHIPS AND OTHER
VESSELS."-A communication from abroad by James Leander Cath-
cart, of Washington, in the District of Columbia, Mechanical
Engincer, and James Scott Negley, of Pittsburgh, in the State of
Pennsylvania, Gentleman, both in the United States of America.
Scaled the 1st April 1873, and dated the 5th February 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Joseph
Barnard Mills at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 5th February 1873.
I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of the Firm of Harris and
Mills, of 35, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH SCREW PROPELLORS FOR SHIPS
AND OTHER VESSELS," a communication to me from abroad by James
Leander Cathcart, of Washington, in the District of Columbia,

page_text: Mechanical Engineer, and James Scott Negley, of Pittsburgh, in the
State of Pennsylvania, Gentleman, both in the United States of
America, to be as follows:-
:-
This Invention relates to the class of propellors in which the screw is
mounted in a frame adapted to turn on a vertical axis, so that the axis 5
of the screw propellor may be deflected laterally to assist or effect the
steering of the vessel or for other purposes.
Appliances are provided by which the pivotted frame of the propellor
may be adjusted and fixed at any desired angle relatively to the line of
motion of the vessel when it is not to be used for steering. The pro- 1
pellor may thus be by trial or actual use accurately adapted in position
to the requirement or movement of the particular vessel to which it is
applied, and the common necessity of steering against the propellor is
entirely avoided.
When the moveable propellor is to be used in conjunction with the 1
rudder, to assist in steering the vessel it is connected with the rudder by
an adjustable and detachable chain, the said chain passing around a
shcave on the rudder post, and its ends being carried around the seg-
mental ends of a cross head or arms projecting horizontally from the
lead of the vertical shaft of the propellor frame, the ends of the said 2
chain being attached by screws and nuts so that cither end may be taken
up while the other is relaxed, and the angle of the screw relatively to
the rudder may be varied as required, while they are still connected so
as to move simultaneously. When the rudder and propellor frame are
thus used in connection for steering it is preferred that the deflection of 2
the propellor frame shall be to a much less extent than that of the
rudder. To effect this the cross head to which the ends of the chain
arc attached is made of a radius greater than that of the sheave on the
head of the rudder.post.
To adapt the propellor to be used for steering without the rudder the 3
vertical post or stem of the propellor frame is extended above the cross
head before described, and is squared at top for the reception of a
tiller. The rudder may thus be entirely dispensed with.
To facilitate casting off the connection between the propellor frame
and the rudder so that either may be used for steering without the other, 3
the screws forming the ends of the connecting chain are passed through

page_text: removable caps which form the means of attaching them to the sector
arms and are confined by the nuts before referred to.
To permit the free rotation of the screw while deflected to any angle,
its shaft is connected to the engine shaft by a universal joint of peculiar
construction, consisting of forked arms on the adjacent ends of the said
shafts, and a coupling piece made with four arms, the ends of which are
swivelled in boxes adapted to slide longitudinally within the aforesaid
forked arms.
The entire apparatus is so constructed and applied that it may readily
be taken apart and unshipped when desired. The propellor frame or
crane consists of a vertical post and a curved horizontal arm separable
from each other, and a stem extending above the deck and separable from
both. The bearings of the propellor shaft and the sliding boxes of the
universal joint are all made detachable to permit of taking out the
propellor.
While the propellor is in position its shaft serves to tie the extremity
of the cranc arm to the vertical post thícrcof. For this purpose the
after end of the propellor shaft, beyond its bearing, is provided with a
removable collar secured by a screw or pin.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 1st August 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of the Firm of Harris and Mills, of 35,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, Her special
license that I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin
Joseph Barnard Mills, my executors, administrators, and assigns,

page_text: should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, usc, excrcise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, tho Channel Islands, and Isle of
Mau, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH SCREW
PROPELLORS FOR SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS," a communication to me from
abroad by James Leander Cathcart, of Washington, in the District of
Columbia, Mechanical Engineer, and James Scott Negley, of Pittsburgh,
in the State of Pennsylvania, Gentleman, both in the United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Benjamin
Joseph Barnard Mills, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 mouths next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the class of propellors in which the screw is
mounted in a frame adapted to turn on a vertical axis so that the axis of
the screw propellor may be deflected laterally to assist or effect tho
steering of the vessel, or for other purposes. .
Appliances are provided by which the pivotted frame of the propellor
may be adjusted and fixed at any desired angle relatively to the line of
motion of the vessel when it is not to be used for steering. The propellor
may thus be by trial or actual use accurately adapted in position to the
requirement or movement of the particular vessel to which it is applied,
and the common necessity of steering against the propellor is entirely
avoided.
When the moveable propellor is to be used in conjunction with the
rudder to assist in steering the vessel it is connected with the rudder by
an adjustable and detachable chain, the said chain passing around a
sheave on the rudder post and its ends being carried around the segmental
ends of a cross head or arms projecting horizontally from the head of

page_text: the vertical shaft of the propellor frame, the ends of the said chain
being attached by screws and nuts so that either end may be taken up
while the other is relaxed, and the angle of the screw relatively to the
rudder
may be varied as required while they are still connected so as
to move simultaneously. When the rudder and propellor frame are thus
used in connection for steering it is preferred that the deflection of the
propellor frame shall be to a much less extent than that of the ruddor.
To effect this the cross head to which the ends of the chain are attached
is made of a radius greater than that of the sheave on the head of the
rudder post.
To adapt the propellor to be used for steering without the rudder the
vertical post or stem of the propellor frame is extended above the cross-
head, before described, and is squared at top for the reception of a tiller.
The rudder may thus be entirely dispensed with.
To facilitate casting off the connection between the propellor frame
and the rudder so that either may be used for steering without the other
the screws forming the ends of the connecting chain arc passed through
removable caps which form the means of attaching them to the sector
arms and are confined by the nuts before referred to.
To permit the free rotation of the screw while deflected to any angle
its shaft is connected to the engine shaft by a universal joint of peculiar
construction, consisting of forked arms on the adjacent ends of the said
shafts and a coupling piece made with four arms, the ends of which are
swivelled in boxes adapted to slide longitudinally within the aforesaid
forked arms.
The entire apparatus is so constructed and applied that it may readily
be taken apart and unshipped when desired. The propellor frame or
crane consists of a vertical post and a curved horizontal arm, separable
from each other, and a stem extending above the deck and separable
from both. The bearings of the propellor shaft and the sliding boxes of
the universal joint are all made detachable to permit of taking out the
propellor.
While the propellor is in position its shaft serves to tie the extremity
of the crane arm to the vertical post thereof. For this purpose the after
end of the propellor shaft beyond its bearing is provided with a
removable collar secured by a screw or pin.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan or top view of the stern of a vessel with the Inven-
Lion applied; Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the propellor frame or crane detached;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the universal joint which connects the
engine and propellor shafts; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the
coupling thereof; Figure 6 is a plan (partly in section) of the outer end
of one of the arms of the propellor crane illustrating a mode of attaching
the chains which connect it with the rudder. Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 arc
on a larger scale than Figures 1 and 2.
A may represent the stern of a vessel and B a screw propeller of any
common or suitable form, the shaft of which is mounted in a
crane C, C', which rests at bottom in a step D, and is secured above in a
box E. The forward end of the propellor shaft bis journalled in the
post C of the cranc, one half of the bearing forming a removable
cap c; the after journal is held by a removable bearing c¹ attached to
the extremity of the arm C' of the crane; upon the inner end of this
arm C' is formed the upper journal of the propellor cranc, the said
journal being formed with a square cyc fitting a square on the upper end
of the post C and receiving also the square end of the crane shaft F, said
shaft being in line with the post C; keyed or otherwise rigidly secured
to the top of the crane shaft F above the deck is a cross head G, on the
ends of which are grooved sectors H adapted for the attachment of a
chain I which passes around a pulley J on the post of the rudder R, so
that the turning of the rudder will impart a simultaneous deflection to
the propellor crane but to a much smaller extent, the radius of the cross-
head G and sectors H being greater than that of the pulley J; the
extremities of the chain I are attached to eye bolts i passing through
removable caps K fitting over the forward ends of the sectors II and
secured by nuts, by which means the propellor crane can be adjusted
relatively to the rudder, or the connection between them can be cast off
at will. The rudder is operated by the wheel L, tiller chains M, and
tiller N, or in any usual manner; 0, 0, represent segmental racks or
perforated blocks adapted for the reception of pins P, P, to stop the

page_text: cross head G and fix the propellor crane in proper position when it is not
desired to use it for steering.
The engine shaft S is connected to the propellor shaft by a universal
joint constructed in the following manner:-The adjoining extremities
of the two shafts are cach formed with two bifurcated arms 8, 8, adapted
to receive sliding boxes t, t, through which are passed the pivot ends of
a cruciform coupling piece T which is shown detached in Figure 5.
Pins or screws U confine the boxes within the forks of the arms 8, or
permit their removal when required. The crane shaft F of the propellor
is formed at top with a square f extending above the cross head G for
the reception of a tiller when the propellor is to be used for steering
without the rudder. The forking or enlargement at the forward end of
the propellor shaft which is received within the cavity of the cranc
stem or post C affords an endwise bearing to the said shaft in backing.
The after end of the shaft on the outside of the bearing c¹ is provided
with a screw nut or removable collar secured by a pin w and serving
in connection with the forward bearing above referred to to tic the
extremity of the crane arm to its post or stem.
Apart from the value of the hinged propellor for steering purposes in
connection with or separately from the rudder, the improvements above
described possess great importance in the facility they afford for
accurately adjusting the axis of the propellor relatively to the line of
motion of the vessel, and so holding it when it is not to be used for
steering, or adjusting it relatively to the rudder when it is to be used
for steering.
The necessity which so commonly exists in steam vessels of steering
against the propellor to a greater or less degree, is thus entirely
obviated.
The entire apparatus is so applied that it may be readily separated
and unshipped for repairs or other purposes. The chains I are readily
cast off as already explained. The sectors H are removably attached to
the cross head G. The latter may be taken from the top of the shaft
or upper stem F of the crane. The propellor is readily unshipped by
detaching the cap c, bearing c¹, and two of the pins U, and may be
lifted on deck by means of grapples or any appliance customarily used
for such purpose. And finally the crane itself is readily unshipped by
first lifting off the arm C' and then taking the post C out of its
bearings.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and tho
mode in which the same is carried into effect, I would have it
understood that what I claim is,—
First. A propellor frame mounted on a vertical axis and connected
with the rudder post so as to be moved simultaneously to a less 5
extent therewith.
Secondly. A laterally adjustable propellor mounted in a framic
adapted to be secured at any desired angle with the line of motion of the
vessel, substantially as described.
Thirdly. The combination and arrangement of the propellor crane 1
shaft F, cross head G, sectors H, chains I, pulley J, and rudder R,
substantially as described.
Fourthly. The combination and arrangement of the chains I (connect-
ing the rudder and propellor frame), the adjusting devices i, k, caps K,
and sectors H, substantially as described.
Fifthly. The coupling piece T, sliding boxes t, and forked yokes 8,
constructed and combined to transmit rotary movement from the shaft S
to the shaft b, while permitting the deflection of the lattor, substantially
as described.
1
Sixthly. The propellor B, cranc C, C', bearing c', cap c, cranc shaft F, 2
and detachable boxes t, separably connected, substantially as herein
described to permit the unshipping and shipping of the parts.
Seventhly. The fastening 0, to, or its equivalent on the end of the
shaft b, employed to tic the extremity of the arm C₁ of the crane to its
post C, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills,
have hereunto set my hand and scal, this Thirty-first day of
July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-threc.
2