Year: 1885

page_text: I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL of N° 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the propulsion of vessels by the reaction of a jet of
water propelled by a turbine through a discharge tube at the stern of the vessel.
According to the present improvements the discharge tube is provided with
appliances whereby the action of the water jet can be so modified as to cause the
vessel to be steered, stopped, or moved backwards. For these purposes the '
discharge tube is provided near its orifice with two opposite lateral openings in
which are fitted flaps or doors mounted at or near their middles on vertical pivots
so that they can either be made to lie flush with the sides of the tube when closing
the openings, or to me any angular position relatively to the tube, at the same
time leaving the apértures more or less open. Thus when the flaps are in the first
named position the whole body of water will be propelled through the exit orifice
of the tube for effecting the forward propulsion of the vessel in the direction of its
longitudinal axis. When on the other hand one of the flaps is turned into an
angular position so as to project partly, across the tube while the other flap remains
closed, a portion of the body of water will be deflected by the first named flap and
made to issue at a corresponding angle through the side opening, thereby causing
the bows of the vessel to be steered or moved laterally in the same direction.
Again, if both flaps be inclined inwards so as entirely or partially to obstruct
the issue of the body of water through the end discharge opening, and cause it to
pass out on each side through the two lateral openings, the forward motion of the
vessel will either be retarded or stopped or, by reaction, it will be made to move
backwards.
Although I have spoken of vessels with a single discharge tube, yet the invention
is equally applicable where two or more discharge tubes are employed, in which
case it may either be applied to only one of the tubes or to all of them.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improved Apparatus for the Hydropropulsion and Steering of
Vessels.
I CHARLES DENTON ABEL of No 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent 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 :-
This invention relates to the propulsion of vessels by the reaction of a jet of
water propelled by a turbine through a discharge tube at the stern of the vessel.
According to the present improvement the discharge tube is provided with
appliances whereby the action of the water jet can be so modified as to cause
the vessel to be steered, stopped or moved backwards. For these purposes the
discharge tube is provided near its orifice with two opposite lateral openings in
which are fitted flaps or doors mounted at or near their middles on vertical pivots
so that they can either be made to lie flush with the sides of the tubes when
closing the openings, or to assume any angular position relatively to the tube, at
the same time leaving the apertures more or less open. Thus when the flaps are
in the first named position the whole body of water will be propelled through the
exit orifice of the tube for effecting the forward propulsion of the vessel in the
direction of its longitudinal axis. When on the other hand one of the flaps is
turned into an angular position so as to project partly across the tube while the
other flap remains closed, a portion of the body of water will be deflected by the
first named flap and made to issue at a corresponding angle through the side
opening, thereby causing the bows of the vessel to be steered or moved laterally
in the same direction.
Again, if both flaps be inclined inwards so as entirely or partially to obstruct
the issue of the body of water through the end discharge opening, and cause it to
pass out on each side through the two lateral openings, the forward motion of the
vessel will either be retarded or stopped or, by reaction, it will be made to move
backwards.
Although I have spoken of vessels with a single discharge tube, yet the invention
is equally applicable where two or more discharge tubes are employed, in which
case it may either be applied to only one of the tubes or to all of them.
In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 shews the stern of a vessel with 'the above
described apparatus applied thereto, and Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are sectional plans
thereof shewing the mode of operating with the same.
A is the discharge tube from the centrifugal pump or turbine, opening into the
water at any desired depth. It is provided with two side openings r r closed by
flaps nn, that can be turned upon central vertical or inclined axes as shewn at
Fig. 1..
When the flaps are in the position shewn at Fig. 2, closing both the openings,
the whole of the water propelled through the tube will issue at the end orifice e,
and will effect the propulsion of the vessel in a straight line forward. If now
the one flap, say n, be turned as at Fig. 3, the water will be caused to pass out

page_text: through the opening r in the direction of the arrow, and will thus cause a lateral
displacement of the ships stern in the opposite direction, this action being assisted
by the flap n, to a greater or less degree, according to its more or less angular
position.
If a third flap o be applied near the end orifice of the tube A, by means of
which the exit of the water through that orifice can be entirely stopped, as shown
at Fig. 2, the whole of the water would be made to pass through the opening r,
thus still further increasing the energy of the steering action.
If the flap n' were opened instead of n a steering action in the reverse direction
would ensue, while if both flaps where opened simultaneously as shewn at Fig. 4,
the action of the water column in the tube upon the surfaces of the flaps n n¹,
which meet at the middle of the tube, would be first to stop the vessel and then
to move it astern, the water passing out through the side openings as indicated by
the arrows.
The stopping may also be effected by closing the flap o. As before stated there
may be two or more such reaction tubes applied to the vessel instead of one only.
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:-
The use, for propelling and steering vessels, of a tube A having two side
openings closed by flaps n n¹, capable of being turned so as to cause the water
propelled through the tube to issue either through the one or the other side
opening or through both simultaneously, substantially as and for the purposes
herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1001 1
CTI
1002
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.