AN IMPROVED AUTOMATIC FEATHERING PADDLE WHEEL
Year: 1885

page_text: I FRANCIS JAMES CANDY of Highfield, Fen Ditton in the County of Cambridge,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my invention for AN IMPROVED
AUTOMATIC FEATHERING PADDLE WHEEL to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to reduce to a minimum the resistance offered by
the blades of a paddle wheel by imparting a perfect and automatic feathering action
thereto when the wheel is in operation.
To effect this I fit the rigid axis of the wheel with a fixed cage consisting of
any convenient number of horizontal rods or bars having their ends secured in two
metal discs placed opposite to each other-one at each end-while, to the bottom
of each of the blades, which are say four in number;-I fix a crown wheel having
twice as many teeth therein as there are horizontal bars in the cage.
I mount such blades loose upon a suitable framework in such a manner that
when the paddle wheel is in operation the teeth of the crown wheels gear into
and engage with the bars of the cage thus imparting rotary motion to the blades
and causing each blade to make a semi-revolution to each single revolution of the
wheel.
By this means as the blades in the course of their travel are successively sub-
merged, the face of each blade when at the lowest point is presented broadside to
the water thus exercising its full force thereon while on the contrary when such
blade has emerged and is at the highest point the edge of the blade is presented to
the air thus reducing the resistance to a minimum.
.
In lieu of the arrangement of a cage and crown wheels hereinbefore described
suitable bevel gears constructed and fitted upon a similar principle may be
employed.

page_text: An Improved Automatic Feathering Paddle Wheel.
I, FRANCIS JAMES CANDY of Highfield, Fen Ditton in the County of Cambridge
Gentleman 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 :-
The object of this invention is to reduce to a minimum the resistance afforded
by the blades of a paddle wheel by imparting a perfect and automatic feathering
action thereto when the wheel is in operation.
My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 being a front
elevation of one of my improved paddle wheels-Fig. 2 being an end elevation
thereof (for the sake of greater clearness the blades are not shewn in this view)
Figs. 3 and 4 being detail views of one of such blades and of the cage and Figure 5
shewing my invention applied to an ordinary small boat.
To carry my invention into effect I fit the axis a of the wheel with a fixed
cage Fig. 4 consisting of any convenient number of horizontal rods or bars
having their ends secured in two metal discs placed opposite to each other one at
each end while to the bottom of each of the blades I affix a crown wheel c having
twice as many teeth therein as there are bars in the cage. When there are more
than two blades in the paddle wheel I substitute for such cage a central fixed cog
wheel ( Fig. 1)-When this modification is used I fit each blade with two cog
wheels (e, f, Fig. 1)-The number of teeth on the cog wheel e correspond with the
number of teeth on the central cog wheel & but the outer cog wheelf has double
the number of teeth to those on each of the wheels d, e-Each of such outer
wheels has likewise a crown wheel g cast thereon or affixed thereto so that the
two wheels c. g together form a bevil gear.
The blades are mounted loose upon the periphery of a disc ( Fig. 2) in such a
manner that when the paddle wheel is in operation the teeth of the crown wheels c
either gear into the bars of the cage b or into the crown wheels g thus imparting
rotary motion to the blades and causing each blade to make a semi-revolution to
each single revolution of the wheel this result being obtained by making twice
the number of teeth in the crown wheel affixed to the bottom of each blade as
there are bars or teeth in the central fixed cage or cog wheel on the main axis By
this means the blades as they rotate enter the water at such an angle as to greatly
reduce the splashing and noise hitherto attendant upon a paddle wheel when at
work, that is to say, they have thus imparted to them an automatic feathering
action which renders them far more efficient and considerably enhances the speed
of the ship or other vessel to which they are fitted-Another great advantage
secured by my invention is that as the blades in the course of their travel are
successively submerged the face of each blade when at the lowest point is presented
broadside to the water thus exercising its full force thereon while on the contrary
when such blade has emerged and is at the highest point the edge of the blade is
presented to the air thus reducing the resistance to a minimum.
Each alternate pair of wheels e, f, is mounted close to the face plate i while the
intermediate pairs of such wheels are mounted at a sufficient distance from such

page_text: face plate to allow of their working freely without coming in contact with the
next pair of wheels.
My invention may be readily and advantageously applied to boats and other
small craft as shewn at Fig. 5 by fitting on each side of the boat a paddle wheel
consisting of two blades constructed and arranged in the manner hereinbefore
specified.
By this means oars may be dispensed with as when desired to turn the boat or
other craft only one of the paddle wheels is worked.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. Constructing and fitting an automatic feathering paddle wheel substantially
in the manner hereinbefore specified so as to cause each blade of the wheel to
revolve round an axis in its own plane which axis revolves around the main axis
of the wheel in such a manner that each blade makes a semi revolution for every
single revolution of the wheel.
2. When there are more than two blades in a paddle wheel fitting the same
with the modified arrangement of central fixed cog wheel d and auxiliary cog
wheels e, f, and crown wheel g all substantially as hereinbefore specified and
shewn.
3. The application of my invention to boats and other small craft as well as to
ships and vessels of a larger size.