IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING VESSELS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS. PATENT to William Middleship, of Grove Terrace, South Grove,
Mile End, in the County of Middlesex, Officer of Her Majesty's Customs,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING VESSELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William, Middleship at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd-March 1859.
.
1, WILLIAM MIDDLESHIP, of Grove Terrace, South Grove, Mile End, in the
County of Middlesex, Officer of Her Majesty's Customs, do hereby declare the
mature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING VESSELS," to
be as follows:
My Invention of improvements in propelling vessels relates to a novel mode
of constructing, and actuating screw propellers...
In carrying out my Invention, the screw is to be made hollow or open at the
centre, and water is to be admitted at this part, and allowed to flow to the end
of the arms, blades, or plates of which the screw is composed. The water will
be discharged obliquely at the periphery of the screw.cand at either side, as
may be required. This discharge will take, place at right angles to the shaft,
and the reactionary force of the effluent water will cause the screw to rotate, as
is the case with the turbine. The opposite sides of the arms or blades of the
screw are to be rivetted at intervals to ribs, so as to withstand the internal
Price Sde
23

page_text: pressure of the water. The shaft of the screw is to be mounted and worked
in bearings, placed within the pipe, chamber, or channel that conveys the
water, sullicient space only being left for a free flow, according to the area of
the orifices for discharge. The portion of the pipe or chamber connected with
the screw is to be made to rotate and fit closely with the end of the fixed
supply pipe that leads from the vessel, so that little or no escape may take
place. It may be made to fit the opposite side, if it should be found desirable
to admit the water on both sides, the supply pipe in this case being carried
round the outer bearings of the screw. To obtain an oblique discharge, and
also to be enabled to reverse the action of the screw, supposing the apertures to
be circular holes of one inch in diameter and one inch apart in a direct line
across the end of the arms, on both sides of the screw slides are fitted
internally across the end of each arm, so as to move freely; these slides are
divided into oblique spaces, to correspond with the apertures of discharge, and
are supported at each end by pistons and rods, which are to work in short
cylinders; a pipe leads from each of these cylinders to another cylinder pro-
vided with a piston and piston rod, so as to contain the water from the
cylinders of both arms; this cylinder is placed on the shaft near the inner
bearings. The pipes and cylinders are filled with water, and permanently
closed, having an equal quantity on each side of the piston of the cylinder on
the shaft; when the latter is moved in either direction, the water will be
forced into the cylinder corresponding with the side emptied, and will be
withdrawn from the opposite onc.
The supply of water may be obtained in various ways, cither by a pipe of
suitable diameter leading from the bow of the vessel, with an incline to a
cylinder, which is to be alternately filled and discharged on each side of the
piston by steam power. The piston rod of the steam cylinder is to be
connected with the piston of the water cylinder, so that at each stroke the
water is to be forced into an air chamber corresponding to that of a fire
engine, where the air is to be sufficiently compressed to force the water
through a pipe to the screw, and work it effectively.
To dispense with water passing through the vessel, a cylinder containing air
may be substituted for the water cylinder, the piston rod of the steam
cylinder being connected as before. At each stroke the air is to be driven
into separate chambers at the stern of the vessel, into which water has been
admitted through a valve at the bottom; each stroke will compress the air
sufliciently to force the water into another air chamber, from which the screw
is to be supplied as before. The piston having passed the orifice at which the
air has been expelled from the cylinder, allows the compressed air to return to

page_text: the opposite side of the piston, and the return stroke, whilst driving the same
air into the other water chamber, produces a partial vacuum on the other side
of the piston, which serves to fill the empty water chamber. The orifice at
which the air is admitted at the top may be closed by a ball tap to prevent
the water being drawn into the air cylinder, and a valve may be used to close
the pipe at which the water is discharged, when by the stoppage of the engine
the compressed air would otherwise expel all the water, and pass off with it
into the next chamber. By this method the engine might be placed remote
from the stern, pipes to convey the air only being necessary, and the friction
of the water passing through the vessel would be avoided.
By fixing the screw in bearings independent of the vessel. and attaching
them to the stern post. so as to swing in a similar manner to a rudder. the
supply pipe being jointed to swing also. the course of the vessel could be
altered by changing the direction of propulsion, thereby making the screw to
act both as rudder and propeller.
To rotate a solid screw a turbine is to be fixed on the shaft as near as
possible to the screw, the bearings being fitted in the supply pipe, and the
water forced in as before. The turbine should be encased, so that the
discharged water may reflow to the cylinder, and be continuously returned, no
fresh supply being required. Short-jointed discharge pipes at each orifice on
the turbine, all being connected could be reversed at pleasure with a screw or
lever through the casing, as before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Middleship in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd September 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MIDDLESHIP, of Grove Terrace, South Grove, Mile End, in the County of
Middlesex, Officer of Her Majesty's Customs, send greeting.
WHEREAS Iler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of March. in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Iler
reign. did, for Ilerself. Iler heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Middleship. Her special license that I, the said William
Middleship, iny executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Middleship, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-

page_text: 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
PROPELLING VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Middleship. by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I. the said William Middleship, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed. to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed.
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in Propelling Vessels" relates to a novel
mode of constructing and actuating screw propellers.
In carrying out my Invention the screw is to be made hollow or open at the
centre, so that its interior space may communicate with the interior of a hollow
shaft. on which the screw is mounted. Water is to be admitted to the central
hollow shaft, and allowed to flow to the end of the arms, blades. or plates of
which the screw is composed. The water will be discharged obliquely at the
periphery of the screw, and if desired, it may be arranged to deliver the water
from suitable openings at either side of the blades. The reactionary force of
the effluent water rushing from the openings in the blades will cause the screw
to rotate, as is the case with the turbine: The opposite sides of the arms or
blades of the screw are to be rivetted at intervals to ribs, so as to withstand
the internal pressure of the water. The shaft of the screw is to be hollow, and
mounted and worked in bearings placed in communication with the pipe.
chamber, or channel that conveys the water from any convenient supply to the
screw, sufficient space only being left in the shaft for a free flow, according to
the area of the orifices for discharge. The portion of the hollow shaft or pipe
connected with the screw is to be made to rotate, and must fit closely with the
end of the feed supply pipe that leads from the vessel, so that little or no
escape or leakage may take place.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn the manner in which I
propose to carry my Invention into effect. Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in
section, of a screw propeller, constructed. mounted, and worked according to
a, a, are the arms or
my improvements; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.
vanes of the screw propeller. These arms are hollow,
and communicate at

page_text: their inner ends with the hollow shaft b, on which they are mounted. This
hollow shaft is provided at b with openings to allow water to flow from the
shaft into the arms, and from thence the water passes out through holes in
the face of the blade, as seen at a in the Drawing. The shaft bis mounted
in suitable bearings, and at its opposite end it carries a crank c. which being
connected with a steam engine or other prime mover admits of the shaft b
and screw. a being actuated in the ordinary manner. The hollow part of the
shaft b'passes through a hollow bearing d. and at this point is provided with a
number of holes as at b, whereby water supplied from the pipe c to the space
f of the hollow bearing d may be admitted to the interior of the shaft b.. The
propeller is enclosed. in a conical or other conveniently shaped casing a³, a³, at
the outer end of which is a three-way pipe provided with a suitable cock or
valve, whereby the effluent water may be directed either in a line with the keel;
or at right angles thereto; as may be required for manoeuvring the ship. The
operation of the several parts is as follows:-Motion is communicated to the
shaft band screw a by actuating the crank, and the screw having been set in
motion, water is pumped through the pipe c and hollow bearing into the
shaft b. and issues from the blades of the screw a out of the openings a* from
which it issues with force. and by its action against the water surrounding the
screw, the issuing water will materially assist the rotation of the screw, and
consequently, its propelling power. The effluent water, after striking the sides
of the casing a, is finally discharged through one of the openings at the outer
end of the casing.
The casing a is to be used when it is desired to place the propeller within
the vessel, but this casing may be dispensed with, and the propeller placed
outside, and attached to the stern framing as usual. To obtain an oblique
discharge of the water, the holes a are drilled in a direction oblique to the
face of the blades; and in order to be enabled to reverse the action of the
screw, the apertures. which are circular holes of one inch in diameter and one
inch apart, are arranged in a direct line across the face of the arms or blades,
and are made on both sides of the screw, and from either set of these openings,
that is, from the openings either at the front or back of the blades the water
is made to issue, according to the direction in which it is desired to rotate the
screw. The direction of the water in the arms is regulated by slides, which
are fitted internally across the end of each arm in which they are made to
move freely. These slides are divided into oblique spaces to correspond with
the apertures of discharge, and are supported at each end by pistons and rods
whereby they are worked. In order to avoid complication in the Drawing.
these slides and their accessories are not shewn, as they are not absolutely

page_text: necessary to the proper working of the propeller. A simpler mode of reversing
the action of the propeller would be to cut off the supply of water to the
interior of the screw by means of a cock placed at some convenient part of the
pipe e, and then the action of the screw may be reversed in the ordinary
manner.
The supply of water may be obtained in various ways, either by a pipe of
suitable diameter lending from the fore part of the vessel with an incline to a
cylinder which is to be alternately filled and discharged on each side of the
piston by steam power, or in any other convenient manner. The piston rod
of the steam cylinder is to be connected with the piston of the water cylinder.
so that at each stroke the water is to be forced into an air chamber corro-
sponding to that of a fire engine, where the air is to be sufficiently compressed
to force the water through a pipe to the screw and work it effectively.
To dispense with water passing through the vessel a cylinder containing air
may be substituted for the water cylinder, the piston rod of the steam cylinder,
being connected as before. At each stroke the air is to be driven into separate
chambers at the stem of the vessel, into which water has been admitted through
a valve at the bottom; each stroke will compresses the air sufficiently to force
the water into another air chamber, from which the screw is to be supplied as
before. The piston, having passed the orifice at which the air has been
expelled from the cylinder, allows the compressed air to return to the opposite
side of the piston, and the return stroke, whilst driving the same air into the
other water chamber, produces a partial vacuum on the other side of the
piston, which serves to fill the empty water chamber. The orifice at which
the air is admitted at the top may be closed by a ball tap, to prevent the water
being drawn into the air cylinder, and a valve may be used to close the pipe
at which the water is discharged, when by the stoppage of the engine the
compressed air would otherwise expel all the water, and pass off with it into
the next chamber. By this method the engine might be placed remote from
the stern. pipes to convey the air only being necessary, and the friction of the
water passing through the vessel, would be avoided.
By fixing the screw in hollow bearings independent of the vessel, and attaching
them to the stern post so as to swing in a similar manner to a rudder, the
water supply pipe e being jointed to swing also, the course of the vessel could
be altered by changing the direction of propulsion, thereby making the screw
to act both as rudder and propeller.
To rotate a solid screw, a turbine is to be fixed on the shaft as near as
possible to the screw, the bearings being fitted in the supply pipe. and the
water forced in as before. The turbine should be encased so that the dis-

page_text: charged water may reflow to the cylinder, and be continuously returned, no
fresh supply being required. Short-jointed discharge pipes at each orifice on
the turbine, all being connected, could be reversed at pleasure with a screw
or lever through the casing as before.
Fig. 3 represents a sectional view of a mode of applying a turbine to drive
the propeller shaft. In the Drawing I have represented the propeller and
propeller shaft as hollow, as in the other Figures. The same letters of
reference are marked on corresponding parts in this and the before-described
Figures; it will only be necessary, therefore, to state that the entire length of
the shaft bis made hollow, and water is pumped by the engine through the
pipe e into the hollow shaft b, and from thence into the turbine g, which by
the force of the issuing water is made to rotate and drive the shaft b, and
consequently the propeller a. The waste water from the turbine is conducted
from the case or envelope by a pipe i, and is delivered at any convenient
opening at the ship's side, or it may be conveyed back again to the pump.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as afore-
said, the mode herein shewn and described of constructing and working screw
or stern propellers; also the application of a turbine, as shewn, for actuating
the propeller shaft.
In witness whereof, 1 the said William Middleship, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. MIDDLESHIP. (L:S.)