IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING VESSELS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND
STEERING VESSELS."-A communication from Samuel Huse and Samuel
Huse, junior, of Chicago, in the State of Illinois, United States of
America.
Sealed the 1st February 1859, and dated the 22nd November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd November 1858.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING
AND STEERING VESSELS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to effect the steering of the vessel by the
propeller itself, for which purpose the following arrangement of apparatus is
proposed to be employed. To the stern post of the vessel a vertical post is
attached by straps. To this post is suspended, by similar straps, the rudder,
which forms a frame within which the propeller is mounted. The propeller
receives rotary motion through bevil gear from the main driving shaft, the

page_text: vertical post forming the axle for the middle bevil wheel. For the purpose
of resisting the thrust of the propeller, and effectually preventing the parts
from being strained and thrown out of position, the vertical post is caused
to bear upon the stern post the whole of its length, except where the latter is
necessarily cut away to accommodate the gearing. The portion of the shaft
thus left unsupported is surrounded by a sleeve, against which the end of the
propeller shaft is allowed to bear; the whole end thrust of this shaft is thus
transferred to the sleeve, and through the vertical post to the stern. When
the rudder is directly fore and aft, the propeller will act only as a propeller
to urge forward the vessel, but whenever the rudder is inclined to either side,
if the propeller be in action, it will also steer the vessel to the side to which
it is inclined. For the purpose thus of moving the rudder the following
device is employed:-Projecting rearward from the rudder is a tiller, to which
is secured a beam, the exterior surface of which is the arc of a circle, the
centre of which is the centre of the vertical post. The tiller passes through
the centre of a cylindrical india-rubber spring contained within a rectangular
box or case, to the ends of which are secured, by staples, the ends of the tiller
rope or chain. This rope or chain, starting from one staple, passes over a
guide pulley along the edge of the curved timber, and thence by other guide
pullies to the steering wheel, then back over similar guide pullies over the
curved timber to the staple on the opposite side of the spring box, thus the
spring is interposed between the tiller and either end of the box, to which is
secured the tiller rope, and the steering apparatus is relieved from the heavy
blows and shocks to which the rudder is subjected by the waves.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, in the year of
our Lord 1858, in the twenty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred

page_text: Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
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 of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND STEERING VESSELS," being a communication from
Samuel Huse and Samuel Huse, jr, of Chicago, in the State of Illinois,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 calender months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereou (that is to say) :-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2, a plan, a portion of the deck being
broken away to show the parts beneath.
It has already been proposed to hang propellers in a frame capable of
swinging round the rudder post in such a manner that the propeller might be
made use of to steer the ship. No adequate means have however been
adopted of supporting the shaft of the propeller, or of receiving and resisting
its end thrust, and consequently such arrangement has failed to be of any
practical value. This Invention has for its object the accomplishment of this
desirable end, that is, to effect the steering of the vessel by the propeller itself,
which is accomplished in a manner which will now be fully set forth and
described.
In the accompanying Drawings, A is the deck of the vessel; B, a vertical
post, which is held firmly up to the stern post H by straps Z. To this post
is suspended, by similar straps X, the rudder C, which is enlarged, as at C³,
so as to form a frame within which revolves the propeller D, and in which
are boxed both ends of its shaft f. This shaft carries at its inner extremity
a gear E, that is driven through the intermediate gear F by a similar gear G
upon the engine shaft g. When the propeller is in operation, a great end
thrust is exerted in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1; and for the purpose of
resisting this thrust, and effectually preventing the parts from being strained
and thrown out of position thereby, the following device is employed :-The

page_text: post B is caused to bear upon the stern post H the whole of its length, except
where the latter is necessarily cut away to accommodate the gears G and F.
The portion of the shaft thus left unsupported is surrounded by a sleeve I,
against which the end of the shaft f is allowed to bear; the whole end thrust
of this shaft is thus transferred to the sleeve, and through the post B to the
stern H, the sleeve being of a thickness and strength that will enable it
to resist any pressure that can be put upon it by the shaft f, and of a length
nearly equal to the opening in the stern post H, so that the thrust is received
by the post B in the immediate vicinity of its bearing on the stern post, all
strain is thus taken off the gearing, which is left free to revolve without
restraint. When the rudder is directly fore and aft, the propeller will act
only as a propeller to urge forward the vessel, but whenever the rudder is
inclined to either side, if the propeller be in action it will also steer the vessel
to the side to which it is inclined. For the purpose thus of moving the rudder,
the following device is employed:-Projecting rearward from the rudder is a
tiller K, to which is secured a beam L, the exterior surface m of which is
the arc of a circle, the centre of which is the centre of the post B. The
beam L is further stayed and sustained by the side bars M. O is a cylindrical
india-rubber spring, through the centre of which passes the tiller K. This
spring is contained within a rectangular box or case S, to the ends of which
are secured the staples h, h¹, to which are attached the ends of the tiller rope
or chain P. This rope or chain, starting from the staple h, passes over the
guide pulley a, along the edge m of the curved timber L, beneath the pulley 6,
and over the pulley d; thence to a suitable steering wheel at R, not shown in
the Drawings; thence over the guide pulley i, and beneath the pulley n;
thence over the curve m, round the pulley r, to the staple h'. It is obvious
from the above, that the spring O is interposed between the tiller K and either
end of the box S, to which is secured the chain P, and the steering apparatus
is relieved from the heavy blows and shocks to which the rudder is subjected
by the waves. The staples h, h', are furnished with nuts y upon their shanks,
by which the slack of the tiller rope is taken up. The rudder may thus be
operated, as required, by the helmsman in his ordinary position upon the deck,
or in any other part of the vessel or boat.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that
under the above recited Letters Patent, I claim hanging the propeller within
the rudder, and driving it by means of the gear E, F, G, when the end thrust
of its shaft is received and resisted by the sleeve I upon the post B, arranged
and operating in the manner substantially as set forth.

page_text: 2nd, I claim the combination and arrangement of the curved beam L, the
springs O, and the tiller rope P, operating in the manner set forth for the
purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFatt,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)