IMPROVED SELF-ACTING MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED CONJOINTLY WITH A CERTAIN MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING CHING AND ADITED NAVIGABLE VEgant. OR FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1873

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Baldwin Fulford Weatherdon, of Law Chambers,
Chancery Lane, C.E., Major Honble. John Colborne, of the
Junior Conservative Club, St. James's, both in the County of
Middlesex, and Francis Lyon Barrington, Esq., of Hetton Hall,
in the County of Durham, J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED SELF-ACTING MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE
EMPLOYED CONJOINTLY WITH A CERTAIN MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING
CHING AND ADITED NAVIGABLE VEgant. OR FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Baldwin Fulford
Weatherdon, John Colborne, and Francis Lyon Barrington at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the
16th July 1873.
5 We, BALDWIN FULFORD WEATHERDON, of Law Chambers, Chancery
Lane, C.E., Major Honble. JOHN COLBORNE, of the Junior Conservative
Club, St. James's, both in the County of Middlesex, and FRANCIS
LYON BARRINGTON, Esq. of Hetton Hall, in the County of Durham,

page_text: J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED SELF-ACTING MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE
EMPLOYED CONJOINTLY WITH A CERTAIN MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING SHIPS AND
OTHER NAVIGABLE VESSELS, OR FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES," to be as follows (that
is to say):
:-
Our Invention has for its object the propulsion of ships, life boats,
yachts, or other navigable vessels in a simple and inexpensive manner
upon the direct action principle, by employing in place of the ordinary
steam and other motive power machinery an apparatus for converting
aqueous liquids, "holding chemically combined substances in solution,"
into powerful gases by heat so as to act within submerged tubes upon
the external body of the water, and propel the vessel by ejecting the
water in a line of motion with the keel, either from the stem or stern,
or through the medium of concentric tubes working horizontally upon
an axis suitable for being employed as a rotary propeller, or as a water
wheel for actuating other mechanism, and consists in fitting horizontally
curved propelling trunks or tubes to each side of the keel of suitable
capacity to the propelling force required, to each of which one or more
communicating pipes or passages are employed extending upwards
above the deck, having upon their upper ends closed chambers or retort
heads heated by furnaces or other means, and provided with valves
opening and closing by the reaction of the gases from within and the
admission of air from without, by the self-acting construction and
arrangement of which charges of the said aqueous composition are feed
through the mouth openings of the valves, and received upon the heated
floor of the retort, or carried forward upon horizontal disks revolving
upon a vertical spindle within bearings immediately above the heated
retort floor, in connection with which a self-regulating feeder is employed
actuated by the valve motion aforesaid for uniformly supplying the
chemical safety liquid to the apparatus, and maintaining the machinery
or apparatus in working self-acting order.
Our Invention also consists in employing other modifications of the
above for giving rotary or reciprocating motion to hydraulic wheels,
turbines, or similar mechanism by a concentric arrangement of the tubes
aforesaid upon the periphery of a wheel reacting within the water;
through the medium of the gaseous power upon the above principal of
construction.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Baldwin. Fulford Weatherdon, John Colborne, and
Francis Lyon Barrington in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, BALDWIN
FULFORD WEATHERDON, of Law Chambers, Chancery Lane, C.E.,
Major Hone. JOHN COLBORNE, of the Junior Conservative Club, St.
James', both in the County of Middlesex, and FRANCIS LYON BAR-
RINGTON, Esq., of Hetton Hall, in the County of Durham, J.P. and
Deputy Lieutenant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Baldwin Fulford Weatherdon, John,
Colborne, and Francis Lyon Barrington, Her special licence that we, the
said Baldwin Fulford Weatherdon, John Colborne, and Francis Lyon
Barrington, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Baldwin Fulford Weatherdon, John Colborne, and
Francis Lyon Barrington, our 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 "IMPROVED SELF-ACTING MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE
EMPLOYED WITH A CERTAIN MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING SHIPS AND OTHER.
NAVIGABLE VESSELS, OR FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Baldwin Fulford Weatherdon, John Colborne,
and Francis Lyon Barrington, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said Baldwin Fulford Weatherdon,
John Colborne, and Francis Lyon Barrington, do hereby declare the

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and the Drawings therein referred to (that is to
say) :-
Our Invention has for its object the propulsion of ships, life boats,
yachts, or other navigable vessels, and also giving rotary motion to
reacting wheels in a simple and effectual manner upon the direct action
principle by employing in lieu of steam or other motive power machinery
apparatus for converting water chemically surcharged with suitable
solvent matters into powerful gases or vapours by heat, and causing the
said products thus generated to react within submerged tubes upon the
external body of the water, so as to eject the same in the line of motion
to the keel of the vessel, or from concentrically arranged tubes working
upon an axis in like manner to a screw or rotary propeller, and consists
in fitting externally to the vessel propelling trunks or tubes horizontally
arranged on each side of the keel, of suitable capacity to the propelling
force required, to each of which of the said tubes or trunks one or more
communicating pipes or passages are employed extending upwards above
the deck or other position having upon their upper ends closed
chambers or retort heads heated by a furnace or other suitable means,
and provided with valves opening and closing by the reaction of the
pressure of the gases within the retort heads, and the admission of
atmospheric air from without, by the self-acting construction and
arrangement of which the said charges of the aqueous power aforesaid
are intermittingly and uniformly fed through the valves during the
intervals of the opening and closing of the same, and received within
the retort heads direct from a tank or other receptacle provided with
supply pipes and feeding scoops, or through the medium of stop-cocks
or syringe pumps in connection with link or other motion gear direct
from the oscillating movement of the feed valves aforesaid. Thus in
propelling vessels or giving motion to other mechanism upon our
improved principle the cup floors of each of the retort heads are first
heated by means of a small furnace, lamp, galvanic battery, or otherwise;
charges of the chemical menstruum are then passed through the valve
ways into the retort heads, and suddenly dilated with percussive force
so as to eject the water from the submerged tubes, and impel the ships
or supply revolving motion to other mechanism upon the principle of
hydrostatic reaction.

page_text: And in order that our said Invention may be more fully understood
and readily carried into effect, we now proceed to describe the same by
aid of the accompanying Drawings, reference being had to the letters
and figures thereon marked (that is to say) :-
Fig. 1 represents an external side elevation partly in section of a ship
or vessel fitted with our improved propelling machinery or apparatus;
Fig. 2, plan or keel view of same, showing the construction and mode
of employing the propelling trunk or tube; Fig. 3, end or stern of
vessel; Fig. 4, midship section taken through the dotted line in
› Figure 1; Fig. 5, enlarged detached view of the retort head and furnace
complete; Fig. 6, sectional side elevation thereof; Fig. 7, top or plan
view of same; Fig. 8, detail side section of the self-acting feeding gear;
and at Figs. 9 and 10, a modification of the above showing the employ-.
ment of the principle for giving motion to rotary screw propellers or
actuating other mechanism in like manner to reacting submerged wheels
of various forms and uses. In each Figure the same letters of reference
denote similar corresponding parts.
A, A, hull of the ship or vessel; B, B, propelling trunks or tubes.
rivetted or otherwise secured to the bilge and keel of the ship in manner
shown; C, C, communicating pipes or passages leading vertically
upward to the deck from the said trunks; D, D, retort heads or dilating
chambers secured to the deck or otherwise in manner shown; E, E, stove
or furnace for heating the retorts; F, F, valves leading into the retort
chamber; G, G, tank or receptacle holding the liquid power; H, H,
dipping scoops rising and falling by the action of the retort valves
and connecting rods and lever gear H¹ so as to scoop the liquid power
up and cause it to descend into the retort chamber as each valve opens,
and is again refilled whilst closing; I, I, connecting rods; J, J, fixed
shoots, down which the fluid falls into the retort; K, K, reversing slide
plates moving vertically within grooves in the propelling trunks for
changing the direction of the power and controling the direction of the
vessel with full power on; L, L, chain coupling connecting the slide
plates with the hand wheels M, M, on deck for raising and lowering the
reversing plates aforesaid; N, N, box enclosing sliding plates arranged
in the centre of the vessel and carried above waterline to protect the
pipes and prevent leakage in the hull; O, O, reacting screw propeller
or wheel caused to revolve in connection with the apparatus and power

page_text: described, either for the purpose of propulsion or for giving motion to
other machinery; P, P, deck of the vessel.
In conclusion to the foregoing description we would here briefly note
that the retort heads and mode of heating and feeding the same,
together with the disposition and arrangement of the reversing gear and
construction of the propelling tubes and other parts of the apparatus,
can be otherwise modified as in practice may be found necessary.
And we would further note that any chemical composition of an_
aqueous form of power may be employed for the above purposes in like
manner.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed
and carried into effect, we would have it clearly understood that we do
not by any means intend to confine ourselves to the precise details
herein-before set forth and described, as the same may be otherwise
varied without departing from the general principle of this our said
Invention, nor do we claim as new and of our said Invention the
exclusive use of the several parts, combinations, and processes herein-
before described, except when the same are employed in and for the
purposes of our said Invention which we hereby declare to consist in the
direct action propulsion of ships and other mechanism through the
medium of the aqueous safety power and mode of employing the same
upon the above principle, substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before set forth and described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Baldwin Fulford Weatherdon and
John Colborne, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-four.