Improvements relating to the Propulsion and Steering of Ships and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements relating to the Propulsion and Steering of Ships and
to Apparatus therefor.
We, ROBERT HAMILTON, of Burnham Market, Draper & Grocer and JOHN WALKER,
of St. Martins, Norwich, Draper both in the County of Norfolk, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
"
Our invention relates to the propulsion of ships by means of a jet or jets of water
and it comprises the improved mechanism hereinafter described for producing
Buch jets.
According to our said invention we arrange at the stern of the vessel to be driven
a chamber of spherical or other suitable shape having an orifice. This chamber
contains a cylinder having within it a piston, the rod of which extends. through the
wall of the said chamber and which is adapted to be driven by any suitable means.
If the piston rod is connected directly to a crank on the driving shaft the chamber
is adapted to oscillate upon a horizontal or nearly horizontal axis.
The chamber is divided by a diaphragm into two portions each of which communi-
cates with one end of the cylinder, so that during the operation of the piston or
pump the water is alternately drawn in and ejected from each portion of the
chamber through the said orifice.
In order to provide for steering the vessel the chamber is adapted to partially
rotate on an axis which coincides with the axis of the piston rod so that the said
chamber can be turned to direct the jets of water more or less laterally relatively to
the vessel. The said chamber is operated from the deck by any desirable means, such
as a chain and wheel.
1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,...
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements relating to the Propulsion and Steering of Ships and
to Apparatus therefor.
We, ROBERT HAMILTON, Draper and Grocer, of Burnham Market, and JOHN
WALKER, Draper, of St. Martins Norwich, both in the County of Norfolk, 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 :-
Our invention relates to the propulsion and steering of ships by means of jets of
water, and it comprises the improved mechanism herinafter described for producing
such jets.
According to our said invention we arrange at the stern of the vessel to be driven,
a chamber of spherical or other suitable shape having an orifice. This chamber
contains a cylinder having within it a piston, the rod of which extends through the
wall of the said chamber and which is adapted to be driven by any suitable means.
If the piston rod is connected directly to a crank on the driving shaft, the chamber
is adapted to oscillate upon a horizontal or nearly horizontal axis.
The chamber is divided by a diaphragm into two portions each of which communi-
cates with one end of the cylinder, so that during the operation of the piston or pump,
the water is alternately drawn in and ejected from each portion of the chamber
through the said orifice."
In order to provide for steering the vessel the chamber is adapted to partially rotate
on an axis which coincides with the axis of the piston rod so that the said chamber can
be turned to direct the jets of water more or less laterally relatively to the vessel.
The said chamber is operated from the deck by any desirable means such as a chain
and wheel.
To enable our invention to be fully understood, we will describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ship's hull having our improvements applied
thereto.
Figure 2 is a stern, elevation of the same, and
Figure 3 is a plan.
Figure 4 is a vertical section drawn to an enlarged scale through the propelling
apparatus proper, and
Figure 5 is a horizontal section on the line x, x, figure 4.
a is the chamber, and 6 is the orifice formed in the same.
c is the cylinder which is located in the said chamber and d is a piston or plunger
working in the said cylinder and having the rod e.
fis the diaphragm which serves to carry the cylinder c and which, with the piston
serves to divide the chamber a into two compartments a¹, a³ and the orifice 6 into two
portions 61, 6 or nozzles.
The operation of our apparatus, as thus far described, is as follows: Assume the
piston to be travelling in the direction indicated by the arrow in figure 4, in this case
the water is ejected from the upper part of the cylinder and the compartment a¹
through the opening b¹ in the form of a jet, and at the same time water is drawn
through the opening 6 into the compartment a² and the lower end of the cylinder.

page_text: On the return stroke of the piston, the water is ejected through the opening b³ and
drawn into the compartment a' through the opening 61. In this manner it will be
obvious that a continuous succession of jets of water are ejected from the upper and
lower compartments of the chamber 6 alternately, so long as the piston is kept
in motion.
To effect the steering of a ship to which the apparatus is applied by means of the
jets of water, it is obvious that it will be necessary to provide for directing such jets
of water at any desired angle to the centre line of the ship. For this purpose we
adapt the chamber a to rotate on an axis and this axis coincides with the axis of the
piston rod thus enabling the latter to work uninterruptedly whatever may be the angle
of the chamber. As shown in the drawing, the chamber a is mounted in a frame g,
the piston rod e serving as one centre while the step serves as the other. The
rotation of the chamber on its axis can be effected by any desired means. In the
drawing it is represented as being effected by means of a wheel i and a windlass j, the
said windlass carrying a chain k which passes under suitable guide pulleys 7 and
around the said chamber in a groove m to an arm n to which it is secured.
The piston d may be operated by any desirable means; in the drawing the piston
rod is represented as being directly connected to the crank-shaft o of the engine. To
allow the oscillation of the cylinder which takes place with this arrangement, the
frame g carrying the chamber a is provided with trunnions p, p mounted in suitable
bearings, as shown in figure 1, so that the oscillation of the chamber will not interfere
with its rotation for steering purposes.
Although we have shown the chamber as being of spherical shape it is to be under-
stood that it may be made of any other desirable form. Also in some cases we may
find it advantageous to provide a second set of openings in the walls of the chamber a
so that the suction of the water may take place through one set of openings and
the ejection through another set.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
:-
(1.) The method of propelling ships which consists in producing jets of water by
means of a piston or plunger working in a cylinder and adapted alternately to draw
water into and eject it from each end of the said cylinder through suitable openings or
nozzles, substantially in the manner described.
(2.) Apparatus for propelling ships by means of jets of water comprising a cylinder,
a piston or plunger working in the said cylinder, and suitable openings or nozzles
through which water drawn into the said cylinder is discharged, snbstantially as, and
for the purpose, specified.
(3.) In apparatus for propelling ships by means of jets of water produced by the
reciprocations of a piston or plunger working in a cylinder, enclosing the said cylinder
in a chamber at the stern of the vessel, the said chamber being adapted to rotate on a
horizontal axis to provide for steering, substantially as described.
(4.) The manufacture and use of the improved apparatus herein before described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawing for the purpose specified.
Dated the 13th day of March 1889.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London.
Agents for the Applicants.