IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF MOTIVE POWER TO THE PROPELLING OF VESSELS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Godfrey Gumpel, of 2, Gordon Cottages,
Holland Road, Brixton, in the County of Surry, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF MOTIVE POWER TO THE PROPELLING
OF VESSELS."
Sealed the 13th March 1860, and dated the 14th September 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Godfrey Gumpel at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th September 1859.
I, CHARLES GODFREY GUMPEL, of 2, Gordon Cottages, Holland Road,
Brixton, in the County of Surry, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF MOTIVE POWER TO THE
PROPELLING OF VESSELS," to be as follows:-
The formation of a tubular channel placed longitudinally under and fixed to
the bottom of the vessel or boat open at both ends for the admittance and exit
of the water, the openings into the same being, however, under complete
controul for the purpose of either adjusting or completely closing them. The
water in this channel to be acted' upon by means of an improved arrangement
of machinery and valves situated in the vessel, for which purpose any suitable
motive power may be employed.
The walls of the above channel (in case steam is the motive power
employed) to be so formed as to serve for the condensation of the steam.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Godfrey Gumpel in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th March 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
GODFREY GUMPEL, of 2, Gordon Cottages, Holland Road, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Charles Godfrey Gumpel, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Godfrey Gumpel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
J, the said Charles Godfrey Gumpel, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF MOTIVE POWER TO THE PROPELLING OF
VESSELS, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Godfrey Gunipel, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed; and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the late of the said Letters Patent....
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Godfrey Gumpel, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto.
annexed, that is to say:-
•
My Invention consists in the formation of a longitudinal tubular channel or
channels under and fixed to the bottom of a vessel or boat, which channel is
open at both ends for the admittance and exit of water; the openings to the
channel are under complete control, so that they can be partially or completely
closed. The water in the channel is acted upon by means of an improved
arrangement of machinery and valves placed in the vessel, and driven by any
suitable motive power.

page_text: The walls of the channel (in case steam is the motive power employed) are
so formed as to serve for the condensation of steam.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a vertical section of so much of
a vessel fitted with my improvements in propelling as will be necessary to
illustrate the manner in which I carry my Invention into effect; Figure 2 is a
longitudinal section on the keel of the same vessel.. a, a', are passages beneath
the bottom of the vessel c. The lower end portions of the frames forming
these passages are jointed or hinged at d, d'; the opposite ends of these frames
are connected to rods e,.e¹, the rod e working through a tube f, and the rod e'
through a tube and stuffing box g. I show the plain tube reaching above the
water-line on one side, and the stuffing box on the other, in order to illustrate.
the different methods which I dopt; they can, however, be used together or:
separately, as may be found. most suitable. The rods e, e¹, are connected to:
the ends of the franies in order that the size of the entrance to the passages:
can be adjusted from the interior or the deck of the vessel. h is a grating fitted
to the mouth of the passage a for preventing any substance likely to choke the
passage from entering; a plan view of this grating is shown at Figure 3.
Although not shown in the Drawing, a grating similar to that just described
is fitted, if considered requisite, to the mouth of one or both passages. The
passages a, a, lead to a central compartment i, the whole or nearly the whole-
length of which is occupied by a valve or blade 2, mounted on a shaft j, to.
which a vibratory motion is imparted, as will be hereafter explained. k, k',:
are pumps, the cylinders of which open into the compartment i; 1, 1, are the
pistons; m, m, are the connecting rods, which are linked to cranks keyed to a
cross shaft n, in a diametrically opposite position, so that when one piston.
begins to ascend the other begins to descend. This shaft n receives rotary
motion from a steam engine or other prime mover, to which it is attached by
cranks and connecting rods, and so the pumps are driven.. o is a small drum..
or roller keyed to the shaft n, a sectional view of part of which roller is given.
at Figure 4. This drum has a groove or template of cut on its periphery, into.
which a small guide pulley p, mounted on a bracket p¹, connected to the.
upper part of the shaft j takes. As the drum o rotates the roller p follows. the
course of the groove o¹, whereby motion is imparted to the bracket or curved.
lever p', the shaft j, and finally to the valve or blade i. This latter has for
its object to direct or guide the water alternately to one of the two pumps; for
instance, when the two pistons are at the end of the stroke (the cranks at the
dead point) the valve or guiding blade is in a position parallel to the keel of.
the vessel, so as to offer no resistance against the water which flows through

page_text: the channel when the vessel is in motion; but when one piston, for example, in
the pump ascends, the blade i, i, will be moved into the position indicated.
in Figure 5, in which position it will remain during the greater part of the
stroke, whilst at the end of the stroke it will return to the central position, to
be moved to the opposite direction simultaneously with the piston of the
pump k¹ beginning to descend. It will be evident that when the piston of
the pump k, whilst ascending draws or sucks the water in at one end a of the
channel, it will, in consequence of the altered position of the valve i, i, expel it.
at the other end a' of the channel when descending. The combined simul-
taneous action of the two pumps, the one sucking, the other pressing, will
cause a pressure to be exerted upon the valve or guiding blade i, i, whereby
the vessel will be propelled. Instead of fixing the drum o immediately above
the shaft j, I place it, if convenient or required, on any suitable part of the
rotating shaft n, and connect the pulley p by means of rods and levers to the
vertical shaft, which carries the blade so as to admit of reversing the motion of
the blade without reversion the motion of the rotating shaft n, for the purpose of
propelling the vessel in a contrary direction backwards or forwards, as the case
may be. When the vessel is under sail, at anchor, or at other times when
desired, the mouths of the passages a, a¹, are closed by raising the lower end
portions of the channels by means of the rods e, e¹, from the interior or deck of
the vessel. Although not shewn in the Drawings, I sometimes fit two keels
to the vessel, one on each side of the channels.
Figure 5 is a view taken through the line 1, 2, of Figure 1, showing in
sectional plan the pump cylinders k, k¹, the shaft j carrying the blade or
valve, and the passages a, a¹, for the admittance and exit of the water.
Figure 6 is a similar view to Figure 5, but shewing an arrangement of three
cylinders instead of two, and two blades in the place of one; the action is
similar to that before described, except that the larger central pump acts in
opposition to the two external ones, and the two blades meet on one side
respectively instead of touching the sides of the passages. Figure 7 shows the
same arrangement as Figure 6, with the exception of having the valves or
blades curved, which admits of the passages a, a, being narrower than in the
preceding arrangement.
Figure 8 is a vertical section, and Figure 9 is a horizontal section of part of
a vessel fitted with a double set of pumps, one set on each side of the keel.
This arrangement shows how the channel can be shaped in conformity with
the bottom of a vessel (not flat bottomed) with deep projecting keel, whilst the
position of the valves indicates that the two sets of cranks which actuate the

page_text: pistons are keyed to the rotating shaft at right angles to each other, as that
while one set is in full operation the other set is at the dead point.
Figure 10 is an end view partly in section, and Figure 11 a plan of a
semicylindrical pump, applied to my improvements in propelling. In the
semicylindrical case da piston c is keyed to the shaft b, which shaft is placed
concentric to the case d, and extends outside the latter, where it carries a
crank a to receive a semi-rotary reciprocating motion from a steam engine or
other prime mover.
This pump is in connection with the central compart-
ment of the channel, which latter compartment is provided with a partition p;
Figure 10, extending longitudinally the whole length of the pump, and
vertically from the piston, where it is fixed to the shaft 6 to the bottom of the
channel. At each end of this partition a vertical shaft s, s, is placed, carrying
a valve or blade g, g', which two blades form a continuation of the partition p,
and are intended for guiding the water from or to the passages e, e¹, to or from
one or the other side of the partition p and the piston c. The two vertical
shafts-s, s, which extend above the pump-case d, are connected by means of
the cranks i, i, and rod k which may be applied on both sides of the vertical
shafts, although not shown in the Drawing) to insure their simultaneous'
motion. This motion is imparted to the two shafts s, s, and the blades g, g¹,
through the crank y, Figure 11, by means of the arrangement of machinery"
shown in Figure 12, in which a is the crank as before, carrying at or near its
extremity a roller и, which roller acts upon an arched cross-piece h, which
latter is guided by rollers i, i, and carries at or near the centre of its upper
part an arm or rod j, also working between guide rollers k, k. At or near each:
end of the arch, where the latter forms a cavity for the roller u, the cross-piece
h is supplied with a projection or arm v, v. Two rods 1, 1, are suspended, one
on each side of the cross-piece, which rods form hooks at their lower'
extremities to clasp the projections or arms v, v¹, unless prevented by the
roller u of the crank a. A helical spring o attached to the two rods l, l, draws"
one or the other according to the position of the crank on the projection or
arm vor v. The rods l, l, are linked to the cross-head m, which latter
moves round the axis x, and carries arms n, n¹, at right angles. To these
arms n, n', is attached a rod z, on which a boss t is placed'; this boss can slide"
up or down on the rod z, and is connected to a lever q by means of a rod p.
The lever q moves on a centre r, and is linked to a rod s, which latter is con-
nected with the crank y, Figure 11. By reference to the Drawings it will
be evident that as the crank a performs a semi-rotary motion, the rods and
levers just before described will impart to the valves or blades 9, g¹, of

page_text: Figure 10 and Figure; 11 such motion, and retain during the action of the
pistons these valves or blades in such a position, as to guide the water in its
passage to and from the pump through the passages e, e¹, of the. channel or
channels. It will likewise be evident that by sliding the boss t, and with it
the rod p up or down on the rod z, the motion of the valves g, g', is reversed
and the vessel propelled in a contrary direction backwards or forwards, as the,
case may be.
Figure 13 is a horizontal section of a centrifugal fan wheel working in a
case for drawing and forcing water also applied according to my Invention.
a, a, is a case in which the fan wheel b, mounted on a vertical shaft c, revolves;
d, d', are the passages for the entrance and exit of the water. Quick rotary
motion is communicated to the shaft c from a steam engine or other prime
mover, which imparts a fast rotary motion to the fan b, which sucks and forces
water through the passages 'd, d', and so propels the vessel.
Figure 14 is a view in plan of the under side of part of a vessel fitted with a
blade, which I use either whole or divided, as shown, for propelling in an
oblique direction or for steering. Figure 15 is a plan, and Figure 16 a
longitudinal section of the apparatus, I prefer to adopt for working the said
blade when divided. a, a¹, are two shafts, the former a, carrying at one end
the pulley b, and at the other the blade c; the latter shaft a', which is hollow and
surrounds the shaft a, carries at one end the pulley b', and at the other the
blade c. If required, I form a recess through the hold of the vessel for the
purpose of either withdrawing the blade or blades from below the vessel or for
raising them to the deck. The shafts a, a¹, pass through the deck and hold,
or through the after part near the stern post to the blades c, c¹; d, d, are ropes
or chains passing round the pulleys b, b', and round the double-grooved pulley e
on a shaft to which rotary motion is communicated through a hand-wheel f.
On motion being imparted to this wheel f; the shafts a, a', move at different
speeds by reason of the large and small pulleys 6, 6, and consequently the
blades c, c', move at different angles. By this means when the water rushes
out of the passage g, it strikes against the blades, and consequently forces the
head of the vessel in whatever direction the blades may be placed, or in other
words she is steered or propelled in an oblique direction; the arrows show the
direction the water would take when the blades c, c', are in the position
indicated in Figure 14. A similar arrangement of blade or blades can be
applied to each opening of the channel if desired.
Figure 17 is a vertical section, and Figure 18 a horizontal section of the.
arrangement which I adopt in forming the walls of the channel for the purpose,

page_text: of condensing the steam, in case the latter should be the motive power
employed for propelling the vessel, when such an arrangement is considered
desirable. In these Figures a is the plate forming the top of the channel or
passage marked a and a' in Figure 2. The top a of the channel is corru-
gated longitudinally and is covered by a plate b, which is corrugated in relation
to the plate a at right angles, the two plates forming a compartment into
which steam is led from the cylinder to be exposed to the action of the water
in the channel. The sides of the channel I cover with a plate c, Figure 17,
which has cavities formed in it communicating with each other for the passage
and exposure of the steam. The sides of the central parts of the channel I
cover in like manner with a corrugated or cup surface plate, to form a compart-
ment in addition to curved tubes extending into the central part of the channel
for the passage and exposure of the steam to the action of the water in the
channel. These various compartments, as just before described, are used
either separately or in any number conjointly for the condensation of steam,
and are connected or disconnected by means of valves, taps, or other suitable
contrivances with or from the tube d, Figure 17, which latter is intended
for the purpose of carrying off the condensed water to the air or feed pump of
the engine.
I do not limit myself to the precise arrangements of machinery herein-
before described and illustrated for carrying my Invention into effect, although
the plans described are those which I prefer to adopt.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my improve-
ments in the application of motive power to the propelling of vessels,―
First, the formation of a tubular channel or channels at or near the bottom
of a vessel or boat through which channel or channels water passes, which is
guided by a blade or blades, valve or valves, and acted on a by pump or pumps
in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described and illustrated in
the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the employment of a blade or blades placed at or near the mouth of
one or each of the passages, the said blade or blades guiding the water in such
manner as to propel the vessel in an oblique direction, as herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Third, the forming of the walls of the channels through which the water
passes in such manner that they shall serve for the condensation of the steam,
as herein-before described and illustrated at Figures 17 and 18 of the accom-
panying Drawings.

page_text: Fourth, the general arrangement of machinery for working the pumps and
communicating motion to the valve or valves herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Godfrey Gumpel, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of March, One thousands
eight hundred and sixty.
CHARLES GODFREY GUMPEL. (L.S.)