A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FLUID CURRENTS, AVAILABLE FOR VENTILATION, PROPULSION OR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Lorrain of Townshend Terrace Richmond in
the County of Surrey for an Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR PRODUCING FLUID CURRENTS, AVAILABLE FOR VENTILATION, PROPULSION
OR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Lorrain at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th December 1883.
ANDREW LORRAIN of Townshend Terrace Richmond in the County of Surrey
"A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FLUID CURRENTS, AVAILABLE
FOR VENTILATION, PROPULSION OR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
"
My invention relates to apparatus for producing fluid currents, such apparatus,
when acting on the air, being available for ventilation or blast, or by the reaction
of the current produced, for propulsion of the vessel carrying the apparatus. The
apparatus may also be applied to produce a current of water or other liquid, so as
to cause a stream thereof, or to effect propulsion by the reaction of the current
produced.
For this purpose, I provide a sail or web of fabric or other flexible material
which may be of rectangular, trapezoidal, or triangular shape. I pass one end of
this sail round a stationary round bar, or link it thereto in such a manner that it
can freely revolve round the bar. I in like manner connect the other end of the
sail to the pin of a crank, this pin being of length equivalent to the breadth of that
end of the sail. The crank is on a revolving shaft mounted in any. convenient
framing, and the stationary bar above mentioned is held parallel to the shaft by a
framing arranged at one side of that which carries the shaft, the crank pin and the
stationary bar projecting from their respective framings in opposite directions.
On causing the crank shaft to revolve, the sail is made to sweep round with the
crank, expanding itself to nearly its full length when the crank.pin farthest
from the bar, and bellying as the crank pin approaches the bar. By this movement,
a strong current is produced in the fluid medium in which the sail works, the
direction of this current being dependent on the position of the stationary bar

page_text: relatively to the shaft. By shifting the position of the bar, the direction of the
current can be altered, and, as a convenient means of effecting this, the bar may be
the elongated pin of a crank which can be turned round the axis of the working
shaft or round an axis in line therewith, and set in any required attitude relatively
to it. There may be several revolving crank pins on the one shaft, each of which
carries one end of a sail, the other ends of all these sails being connected by rings
⚫ or sleeves to one stationary bar.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Andrew Lorrain in the Patent Office on the 18th June 1884.
ANDREW LORRAIN of Townshend Terrace Richmond in the County of Surrey
"A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FLUID CURRENTS AVAILABLE
FOR VENTILATION, PROPULSION OR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
My invention relates to apparatus for producing fluid currents, such apparatus,
when acting on the air, being available for ventilation or blast, or by the reaction
of the current produced, for propulsion of the vessel carrying the apparatus. The
apparatus may also be applied to produce a current of water or other liquid, so as
to cause a stream thereof, or to effect propulsion by the re-action of the current
produced. I will describe the construction and action of the apparatus referring
to the accompanying diagrams.
Fig. 1 is a front view and Fig. 2 a side view illustrating one form of the
apparatus. A is a sail or web of fabric or other flexible material which may be
rectangular as shewn, or might be of triangular or trapezoidal shape. One end of
the sail A is passed round or linked to a stationary bar B, so that it can freely
revolve round the bar. The other end of the sail A is in like manner connected
to the crank pin C projecting from the crank arm D, the crank radius being
somewhat greater than the distance of the bar B from the centre of the crank
shaft E. On causing the crank to revolve, the sail is made to sweep round with it,
expanding to its full length when the crank pin C is farthest from the bar B, and
bellying as the crank pin approaches, passes under and recedes from the bar B, as
indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.
This movement of the sail produces a strong current in the fluid in which it
works, the direction of the current being dependent on the position of the
stationary bar B relatively to the shaft E. By shifting the position of the bar B,
the direction of the current can be altered; and as convenient means of effecting
this, the arrangement illustrated by the front view Fig. 3 and side view Fig. 4 may
be adopted. In this case the radius of the crank pin C is less than the distance
from the shaft E to the bar B, which, instead of being fixed in position, is itself
made to project as a crank pin from a radial arm F that can be turned round the
shaft E and held in any desired attitude by means of worm gear G or otherwise.
Two, three, or more sails can be used as illustrated by the front view Fig. 5 and
side view Fig. 6 where there are three sails A¹ A² A³ connected at the one end to
their respective crank pins C1 C2 C3 and at the other end to one stationary bar B.
As each sail must be free to turn to a certain extent on the bar B, the three are
connected to B by rings or loops interspaced with one another. In cases where the

page_text: crank pin C revolves within the bar, B, as in Figs 3 and 4, the end of the sail
attached to the bar B does not revolve quite round it, but only turns part of the
way round and back again. In such cases the end of the sail may be fixed to any
stationary floor or framing.
Having thus described the nature of my invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, I claim :-
Apparatus for producing fluid currents, consisting of a sail or flexible sheet, one
end of which is held stationary in position, while the other end is caused to revolve
by its connection to a revolving crank pin, substantially as and for the purposes
herein set forth.
In Witness whereof I the said Andrew Lorrain have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Sixteenth day of June in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty-four.