Improved Means for Towing Vessels on Canals and other Waterways.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Apr., 1892-Accepted, 28th May, 1392
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Towing Vessels on Canals and other
Waterways.
I, LEONHARD WOLLHEIM, of No. 2 Elisabeth-strasse, Vienna, Austria, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to improved means for towing barges or vessels on canals
and other waterways, consisting mainly in arranging on the barge or vessel to be
towed one or more accumulator batteries, while on the tow path is placed a vehicle
carrying one or more electro motors, so that the electrical energy given out from
the accumulator batteries being conveyed by conductors which may be conveniently
combined with the towing rope, to the electro-motor causes this to propel the
vehicle along the tow path, so as to tow the vessel along.
The accompanying drawing shews by way of example one arrangement for
carrying out my said invention;
Fig. 1 shews a side view and Fig. 2 a plan of the complete arrangement.
The barge or vessel A to be towed carries at B an accumulator battery of any
suitable known construction, the battery being preferably arranged in such a
position that it can be attended to by the helmsman.
The vessel is connected to the towing vehicle D on the tow path by a rope C,
with which are conveniently combined the conducting wires leading from and to
the battery to and from the electro motor E on the vehicle.
The framing of the vehicle rests on four spring supports a and carried
respectively by the two hind road wheels F and by the front steering wheel G.
The electro motor E is of any suitable known construction running at a com-
paratively low speed, and the transmission of its motion to the axle of the road
wheels is effected through the speed reducing gearing cd d', the shaft of the
spur wheel d being arranged in the same plane as the axle of the road wheels which
also carries the spur wheel that gears with d, so that the two wheels d d' remain
correctly in gear notwithstanding the vertical oscillating motion of the carriage
frame.
For steering the vehicle, the axle of the steering wheel G is mounted in the
fork 6 of a vertical axis b', the upper end of which carries a worm wheel e with
which gears a worn that is rotated by a crank wheel y for bringing the wheel G
into the required angular positions for steering.
Instead of a single electro motor there may be two such mounted upon the
vehicle, so that should the one get out of order, the vehicle can be propelled by the
other alone.
In this case the common axle of the two road wheels F is rotated by the spur
wheels of both the electro motors, a suitable arrangement being provided for
throwing the one such wheel out of gear with the axle if the corresponding electro
motor is ont of action.
With such an arrangement of two electro motors there are also provided two
accumulator batteries on the vessel.
With two electro motors the arrangement may be such that the vehicle is not only
propelled but also steered thereby.
In this case the vehicle is provided with four road wheels, but no steering wheel,
and each of the road wheels is fixed on a separate axle; the two road wheels on
one side of the vehicle are propelled by one of the electro motors, and those on the
other side by the other.
For running straight on, the two electro motors are made to drive the wheels on

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each side at the same speed; when however the vehicle requires to be steered to
the right or left, the road wheels on the one side are propelled at a slower speed
than those at the other side by introducing a suitable resistance into the circuit of
the corresponding electro motor.
The vehicle may either be made to run along the surface of the tow path, or it
may be made to run on a light railway or tramway laid on the tow path. In this
case the vehicle is by preference provided with two electro motors, each driving a
pair of road wheels in a similar manner to the arrangement employed on ordinary
électrical street tramways.
As in either of the above described arrangements, the accumulator batteries are
arranged on the vessel, they are not subjected to the detrimental shocks and vibra-
tions to which they would be subject on the propelling vehicle, and also, a less
amount of power will be required for propelling them on water than on land.
As the towing vehicle is not loaded either with heavy motor engines nor with
materials for working the same, it will be easily possible to propel the vehicles
directly upon the tow path with very little or even with no special preparation of
the latter.
The above described arrangement is applicable with special advantage to such
canals or waterways on which the charging of the accumulators can be effected
either by available water power or by cheap fuel obtainable in the immediate
neighbourhood.
It is intended more particularly to replace the animal traction now mainly used
for towing, more particularly in localities where an increased speed of the vessels is
required to satisfy the demands of the traffic.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The arrangement for towing vessels on canals and other waterways, of accu-
mulator batteries placed upon the vessel to be towed, in combination with a vehicle
running on the tow path, or on a rail or tramway thereon on which vehicle are
mounted one or more electro motors that are actuated by the electrical energy from
the accumulator batteries so as to propel the vehicle, this being connected to the
vessel by a tow rope and by electrical conductors for conveying the current,
substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of April 1892.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.