IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Spink Swift, of Peckham, in the County of
Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
Sealed the 17th August 1866, and dated the 20th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Spink Swift at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th February 1866.
I, HENRY SPINK SWIFT, of Peckham, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING SHIPS OR VESSELS BY HYDRAULIC
PRESSURE," to be as follows:-
It is a well-known law of mechanical forces that action and reaction being
equal and contrary motion only is gained when the point of least resistance is
overcome; my application of this force is reactionary. A stream of water
being admitted or forced into a case or reservoir at right angles or otherwise
is ejected from slots or openings in the case or reservoir parallel to the keel,
thereby producing motion by unequal internal pressure opposite the line of

page_text: least resistance. It is necessary that whatever the volume, force, or speed with
which the water in the case or reservoir is ejected or driven out it must flow
or be forced into the reservoir in an equal ratio; that is to say, the case or
reservoir must always be full of water when in action, thereby preventing the
formation of a vacuum or partial vacuum, which would otherwise destroy the
propelling principle by equalizing the pressure outside the case or reservoir
opposite the point of least resistance on the inside of the case or reservoir.
I apply a case or reservoir of suitable size having a slot or opening at each
end, which slots or openings are to be each fitted with a valve or shut-off
motion, each valve or shut-off to be attached one to the other by means of a
lever fixed on a centre fulcrum or by other connecting rod, and to be so
adjusted that when the propeller is not in action both the slots or openings are
half open, when by deflecting the lever or otherwise actuating the connecting
rod one valve or shut-off is caused to open full and the other to shut close.
Through the bottom of the case near the centre is to be inserted and fixed a
cylinder opening into the case; within the said cylinder are to be arranged
two marine screw propellers, also of suitable size to fit the cylinder, each
screw to be attached to a separate shaft and to be placed vertically or one
close over the other and to be caused to rotate in opposite directions, thus
constituting right and left handed screws; the solid shaft of the outer or
lowermost screw is to be made to pass through the hollow shaft of the inner or
uppermost screw, and the double shaft to pass through a stuffing box in the
upper part of the case into the vessel; the inner or solid shaft to emerge from
the outer or hollow shaft through a stuffing box or other moveable water-tight
joint, or to be otherwise arranged by suitable machinery for that purpose, and
to be worked by steam or other motive power; by this plan a pressure may
be attained equal to the strength of the machine or the power of the engine.
The case to be so fitted in the ship, vessel, or boat, or other craft to which
this Invention may be applied that the bottom of the case shall to flush with
and be made to form part of the outside of the vessel to which it may be
attached; the slots or openings in the case are to be made close to the bottom
and to discharge along a groove or channel equal to the breadth and depth of
the slot or opening; the groove or channel to be made to bevel off at an angle
of not more than 30 degrees; as the power is decreased the more the released
pressure is deflected from the straight line; the groove or channel may be
protected with a flange to be attached to the valve or shut-off and to open or
shut with it. When only one propeller is used it should be placed midship
in the bottom of the vessel as above described, and be made the full width of

page_text: the vessel. Each end of the case should have two slots or openings close to
the sides of the case and pointing to the head and stern; the valves or shut-off
motions on either side are to be connected as above described, and to be
worked accordingly. When a number of propellers are used all the levers or
connecting rods on the starboard or right-hand side should be connected, and
the same on the port or left-hand side, so that one impulse may direct the
whole force on either side of the vessel.
To more clearly describe the application, of this Invention I will adopt a
supposed measurement. I assume the case to be ten or twelve feet long and
as wide as the breadth of the bottom of the vessel amidships, and three feet
deep. At each end of the case near the bottom and close to the sides I form
the two slots or openings, twenty-four inches long and six inches wide, which
are to be furnished with shut-off valves to be acted upon as before, described.
In one end of the case between the two slots or openings is to be inserted a
cylinder about four feet long and two feet in diameter, open at both ends, and
to be fixed in the case with one end, flush with the end of the case; within the
cylinder I arrange a right and left handed or other screw propeller which is
to be caused to work by steam power and by suitable machinery and gearing
for that purpose. The case is to be let into and fixed in the bottom of the
vessel, the bottom of the case being flush with and forming part of the bottom
of the vessel, and placed in such position that the end of the case in which the
cylinder is fixed shall point towards the head of the vessel. A bevilled groove
or channel is to be made in the bottom of the vessel equal to the diameter of
the cylinder and leading thereto, and the same to the four slots or openings,
which grooves or channels may be protected by flanges to be worked by
machinery and gearing suitable for the purpose; or a series of pumps may be
used, each having their bottom valves opening from the bottom of the case,
the piston rods of the pumps being caused to pass through stuffing boxes
into the vessel and to be worked by machinery or gearing suitable for the
purpose.
In the above description I do not confine myself to any particular method
of applying the pressure, but I intend to claim the application of unequal
pressure opposite the line of least resistance by means of water as a motive
ΠΑΝΟΣ

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Spink Swift in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
SPINK SWIFT, of Peckham, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, send
greeting.
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Spink Swift, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Spink
Swift, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Spink Swift, my executors, administrators, and assigns, 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, 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 PROPELLING SHIPS OR VESSELS BY HYDRAULIC
PRESSURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Spink
Swift, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Spink Swift, 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:
This Invention relates to certain improvements in machinery or apparatus
for propelling ships or vessels by hydraulic pressure. The apparatus consists
of a cylinder in which right and left handed archimedean screw propellers
work in order to draw water from the bottom of the vessel through a tube
into the cylinder, and to force it into a transverse cylinder communicating
with a chamber or case on each side of the vessel, such cases projecting
beyond the sides of the vessel or being set in grooves cut in the side or
bottom of the vessel, so that the forcing of the water through slots or openings
in the cases shall cause the vessel to be propelled through the water by the

page_text: force of reaction. The cases have slots or openings at each end, provided
with shut-off valves attached to suitable levers and bearings, so that the front
or rear of the chamber may be closed or opened in order to permit of the
discharge of water towards the head or stern of the vessel as it may be
required to go ahead or astern. When the front slots are opened the rear
openings are closed, and vice versa. When the vessel is stationary both
valves are half open. The valves and levers of both chambers are connected
together, so that one motion will actuate each simultaneously. In lieu of the
archimedean screws force pumps may be used, the cylinder and outer chambers
being the same. These propellers must be placed below the water line of the
ship, vessel, boat, or other craft to which they may be applied to enable the
water to be ejected in a straight line parallel with the keel; the case con-
taining the water to be ejected should be made in accordance with the shape
of that part of the vessel to which it is intended to be affixed, but I prefer to
apply the propeller to the widest part and at the bottom of the vessel; and I
also prefer to form the bottom of the cases so that they may project so far
beyond the lines of the vessel that the slots or openings of the case or cases
shall be just outside the vessel to enable the water to be ejected from the
slots or openings in a perfectly straight line fore and aft, but always parallel
with the keel; the projecting portions of the case other than the slots or
openings should be continued by a gradual curve, so as to meet the line of the
vessel, but leaving a clear or flush surface and channel for the direct passage
of the water from the slots or openings. The cylinder should also contain the
bearings of the screws, to be arranged as follows:-A water-tight chamber is
made in the centre of the bottom of the vessel longitudinally on each side of
the keel, sufficiently large to contain the screw cylinder. The cylinder to be
formed of a T shape, the perpendicular stem containing the double screws to
be fitted in the water-tight chamber in an inclined position, with the head
opening towards the head of the vessel. Each end of the transverse portion
of the cylinder to be made to fit into the middle of one of the sides of the pro-
pellers arranged on either side of the bottom of the vessel. The archimedean
screws to be arranged and worked as follows:-The portion of the cylinder in
which the screws are to be worked to be evenly bored out, and the screws turned
in a lathe to fit the same easy tight; the end of the cylinder to be fitted with
a strong centre bearing to receive a solid shaft of suitable size; the solid
shaft to be made to pass through the centre of a right-handed archimedean
screw, and to be firmly attached thereto; a hollow shaft also of suitable size
to be made to pass over the solid shaft and to fit the same easy tight; the

page_text: hollow. shaft: to be made to pass through the centre of a left-handed archi-
medean screw, and firmly attached thereto at the end of the shaft, that the
two screws when in their places shall lie one on the top of the other; the
upper or left-handed screw on the hollow shaft supported on the boss of the
lower or right-handed screw, with a thin washer or friction wheels between
them:
At a suitable distance above the left-handed screw the hollow shaft should
be made to pass through a centre bearing fixed inside the cylinder, at a
suitable distance above which bearing the hollow shaft should terminate. A pair
of corresponding cog wheels with bevelled teeth are to be placed and firmly
attached as follows:-One wheel on the end of the hollow shaft, and one on
-the centre or solid shaft, with the teeth of both wheels facing each other,
and at a suitable distance apart. A third corresponding cog wheel to be
firmly fixed on the end of a solid shaft to be supported on suitable bearings,
and arranged horizontally, one end to be made to pass through an orifice in
the side of the cylinder, or otherwise, and the cog wheel at the other end of
the cylinder to be made to fit into the cogs of the wheels attached to the
shafts that pass through the screws, at a suitable distance above the cog
wheels. The solid centre shaft to be made to terminate in another bearing.
The driving shaft is to be conducted through a stuffing box to be then
attached to the machinery for driving or revolving the screws. By this
method. a continuous stream of water is forced into the propellers at a pressure
only limited by the strength of the machinery and the power of the engine,
and every pound pressure on the square inch of the interior area of the cases,
opposite the line of least resistance, which is the slot or opening for the egress
of the water, becomes a propelling and constantly accelerative force in the
right direction without the drawback of any retarding power.
The annexed Drawings will serve, sufficiently to illustrate the main features
of the Invention.
.
Fig. 1 is a plán partly in section, and Fig. 2 an under plan of part of a
Ivessel, shewing the keel a and the position of the propellers 1, 1.
a, a, is the cylinder containing the screws; b, the transverse head of the
cylinder communicating with the propellers; c, the bottom bearing of the solid
shaft; d, the right-hand screw on solid shaft; e, the left-hand or hollow shaft
Iscrew; f; the internal centre bearing; g, cog wheel on hollow shaft; h, cog
:: wheel on solid shaft; j, cog or bevel wheel driving the bevel wheels g and h;
i, driving shaft from engine; K, K, multiplying cog gearing in connection
therewith;,, the propellers or cases with slots or openings, P.

page_text: In the Drawing I shew one pair of screws supplying one pair of propellers,
one on each side of the vessel. It is absolutely necessary that the cylinder in
which the screws are fixed should contain one-third more in volume than the
slots or orifices through which the water in the propellers is to be ejected. I
do not limit myself to any particular shape of the propellers, nor to any par-
ticular method of applying the working power; but I claim the application
of the machinery or apparatus described for the purpose of propelling
ships or vessels upon the principle of unequal internal pressure opposite the
line of least resistance through the medium of water, substantially as herein
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Spink Swift, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
5 Witness,
HENRY SPINK SWIFT. (LS.)
J. C. H. SIEVIER,
Clerk to Messrs. Prince & Co.,
4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross.