Improvements in Hydraulic Propelling and Manoeuvring Apparatus for Ships.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 12th July, 1898-Accepted, 24th Sept., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hydraulic Propelling and Manoeuvring Apparatus
for Ships.
A communication to me from DR. KARL WEISBERGER, of Eipel, Bohemia, in the
Empire of Austria, Lawyer.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the Firm of Edwards and Co., Chartered Patent Agents
and Engineers, of 65 and 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying drawing, that is to say:-
This invention relates to improvements in the method of the hydraulic pro-
pulsion of ships, by the expulsion of one or more streams of water, and it consists
in expelling such streams of water directly by steam by means of injectors, instead
of making use of pumps as hitherto employed for this purpose.
The advantages obtained are:-The greatest security against breakage or
failure in working, as all moveable parts are omitted; the attention required is
of the simplest kind; all greasing or lubricating substances are unnecessary, on
account of the absence of all moveable parts; whilst the fullest utilization of the
steam is obtained, as its specific heat is utilized by condensation.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 being a
back view of a ship, partly in section, having the invention applied to it, and
Figure 2 a longitudinal section of the after part of the ship.
The ship is propelled by jets of water ejected into the water by means of
injectors a (Figure 2) through nozzles c on the ship's stern. For the backward
motion (or to go astern) a separate injector is arranged to discharge the water at
the bow, instead of at the stern.
For steering the ship, injectors e are provided whose nozzles h discharge the
water on each side of the ship at right angles to the ship's axis. According as
the ship is to turn to starboard or to port, one or the other nozzle is set in action.
The mixing chambers of all these injectors are so arranged as to be always
below the water-line, so that the water flows of itself into the injectors, and no
suction is necessary. By this means a full action of the injectors is always
secured.
To avoid shocks when the water enters the injector, and to increase thereby
the efficiency of the latter, the tubes d and g may be arranged in an inclined or
sloping position as shown in Figure 2.
The steam is supplied from the boilers by the conduit pipes 6 and f, provided
with stop valves by means of which the admission of steam may be regulated.
When the vessel is to be stopped, and the injectors a are stopped for this purpose,
in order to stop the vessel more quickly the injector in the ship's bow, or the
two steering injectors, may be set in motion.
In the latter case the two jets expelled laterally at right angles to the ship's
way act to retard and deaden the ship's way.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
In a hydraulic propulsion apparatus for ships, the combination of nozzles c, h,
with injectors a, e, ejecting the water into the sea by the said nozzles, substantially
as described and illustrated.