CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING VESSELS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BULKELEY, late of Albany Street, Regents Park, but now of Upper Gloucester
Street, New Road, both in the County of Middlesex, M. D., send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Nineteenth day of July, in the first year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Bulkeley, His especial licence, that I, the said Thomas Bulkeley,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Thomas Bulkeley,
my exors, admiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
PROPELLING VESSELS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Thomas
Bulkeley, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in
His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Bulkeley, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, aro particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention consists in an arrangement of machinery, whereby paddle
wheels may be applied to vessels in such a manner that when not required the
various parts are readily disconnected from the vessel's sides; and also from the
facility of taking to pieces and putting together, the paddle wheels may be
affixed at any time..when desired, with but little loss. of time. I would here
observe that my Invention is not applicable to what are called steam boats, but
is applicable to merchantmen, men-of-war, and the like. The objects of the
Invention being the construction of paddle wheels, the various parts of which
may be readily taken apart, and thus removed when not required to be used,
and such paddles are to be worked by machinery applied to the capstan, as will
more particularly described hereafter.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a paddle wheel constructed according to my Invention.
Fig. 2 shews a circular metal plate having teeth cut around its circumference,
and thus forming a ratchet wheel; this circular plate is bolted on one side of
the nave of the paddle wheel. Fig. 3 is another circular plate of metal which is
fixed on the other side of the nave, and Fig. 4 is a side view of the nave, having
the two plates fixed to it by screw bolts in the manner shown in the Drawing. In
cach of these Figures the same letters refer to similar parts; a being the nave,
which is formed with wood, and is bound with iron at 6; c.is the ratchet wheel,
and d the plate which is fixed on the other side of the nave, and which binds the
whole together; e, e, e, e, e, e, e, e, are eight spokes which enter into grooves cut
in the nave to receive them, and these spokes are firmly fixed in the grooves by
screw bolts f. passing through the nave of the wheel, and through the plates c
and d. The ratchet wheel.c is affixed to the nave a by four screw bolts I. and
the plate d is fixed to the nave by four screw bolts h, which bolts pass through
the nave; and these bolts are formed with square beads at one end, and with
a screw at the other, for the purpose of receiving a nut; i, j, k, l, is the run,
which is formed into four parts, each part
pieces of flat iron together with rivets or
one of the pieces shall extend beyond the
wheel is put together the connections shall
sented by dotted lines; and the four parts of which the rim of the wheel is
composed is bolted together with screw bolts as represented at m; n, n, &c..
being constructed by placing two
screw bolts in such a manner that
other, and when the whole of the
be made to break joint, as is repre-

page_text: represent the float boards or paddles fixed around the rim ; and o, o, &c. are
float boards fixed to the side of the rim; one of each of these paddles or float
boards is shewn separately at Figs. 5 and 6, and which paddles or float boards
may be formed of wood, as shewn in the Drawing, or of sheet iron or other
material.
Having described the various parts represented in these Figures, I will now
describe the manner of putting the same together, in doing which I will suppose
the nave with the plates c and d affixed at the side of the vessel, and placed on
the squaro end of the shaft with its bush by which it is turned, as represented
at Fig. 4. I then proceed to place two spokes into the nave, and pass two
screw bolts through the nave and the spokes, which firmly secure these two
spokes. And I would here observe that one of the four parts of which the rim is
composed is borne by two of the spokes, these two spokes being fixed to the nave,
and let into the mortices of the rim. I then turn the shaft or axle of the wheel
about a quarter of a revolution, which will bring the nave of the wheel into a posi-
tion to receive two more of the spokes, which are to be bolted to the nave
as before, and the part of the rim which is affixed to these two spokes is to be
bolted to the part of the rim which is carried by the two first spokes; the
nave is then to be turned another quarter of a round, when a third pair of the
spokes are to be put into their places and bolted to the nave, and the third
part of the rim bolted to the other parts already set up, when the wheel is again
to be turned another quarter of a revolution, and the remaining two of the
spokes put into their places and bolted to the nave, and the fourth part of the
rim is to be fixed to the other parts of the rims already set up by the screw
bolts, as above described. The wheel having been thus put together, the float
boards or paddles are to be next screwed in their places, and it will be evident
that by having holes at any distances on the side of the rim of the wheel any
number of paddles or float boards may be put on this wheel.
I will now proceed to describe Figures 7 and 8, which represent a plan and
side view of the machinery applies to a capstan for the purpose of working the
paddle wheels. I will first remark that this machiney may either be placed on
deck or below it; in the first case it will be necessary to have bearings affixed
on each side of the vessel for supporting the shafts or axles of the wheels, but
if the machinery be fixed below deck, then the shafts or axles of the paddle
wheels pass through the sides of the vessel and are sustained thereby. The
Drawing represents the machinery below deck, A being the deck, and B the
lower deck on which the machinery is placed; C the capstan on the deck, and
D the capstan below; these capstans are placed on a common spindle E, and
the one at C may be made fast to the spindle or permitted to turn, whereby,

page_text: when the capstan C is required for raising the anchor, it may be used without
working the machinery for driving the paddle wheels; F is the pin or bolt
which makes the capstan C fast to the spindle E, which pin or bolt passes
through the capstan and spindle, as is shown by dotted lines in the Drawing; G
is a drum or windlass mounted on a metal spindle, and having, a, cog wheels at
each end at H, H, which cog wheels drive the toothed pinions I, I, which are
fixed to the shafts or axles J, J, of the paddle wheels; K is an endless rope,
chain, or band taking one or more turns around the capstan D, and the drum
or windlass G. Now it will be evident that if motion be given to the capstan D,
either by handspikes applied thereto, or by handspikes applied to the wind-
lass C, the motion will be communicated to the drum or windlass G by the
rope K, and by the cog wheels H motion will be communicated to the toothed
pinions I, I, aflixed on the shafts of the paddle wheels, and in proportion of the
size of the capstan 1) to the drum or windlass G, and of the cog wheels H, H,
to the pinions I, I, so will be the greater or less velocity given to the paddle
wheels. But as there would be a probability that in working the paddle wheels
by the capstan, if the wheels were not by some means prevented turning back
by the paddles being struck by a sea, I have (to prevent such an accident)
fixed the ratchet wheels b, Figures 1 and 2, to the naves a of the paddle wheels,
the object of which is to prevent the back turning of the paddle wheels when
struck aback by a sca. These ratchet wheels are affixed on the side of the
nave which comes next the side of the vessel, and to the sides of the vessel
are fixed pauls or clicks which enter into and hold the ratchet wheels b, and
thus prevent the paddle wheel being forced back; it will consequently follow
that the paddles being struck by a sea from behind will, by the resistance
offered by the paddles to such sea, tend to drive the vessel forward; and in
case it be desired to back the paddles for the purpose of making stern way, then
it will be necessary to raise the pauls fixed on the sides of the vessel out of the
ratchet wheels, when the capstan being turned in an opposite direction will
cause the paddle wheels to back water, and force the vessel to move sternwise.
The pinions I, I, are made to slide along the shafts J, J, so that should it be
desired to turn only one of the paddle wheels, then the pinion which drives the
other paddle wheel is to be made to slide along its shaft or axle till it is out of
geer, when only one paddle wheel will receive motion by the turning of the
drum or windlass G. Should the rope or band K become slack, and not give
suflicient friction to the windlass G and the capstan D, then a weight X is to
be suspended by a block Y, by which the rope may be made sufficiently tight
without stopping the machinery, but such weight is to be tied to the deck,
otherwise it would be carried by the rope K, or the weight put on to give

page_text: tension to the rope is put on by fixing a snatch block on one or both parts of
the band, and passing the end of the block rope through the deck; it is made
fast to a grating or other vessel for receiving short iron ballast, or other weighty
substances. There are two pulleys fixed in the deck for the block ropes to
work in. In addition to the above method of applying the rope, chain, or
band, one or more bands may be applied, as the 'one shewn in the Drawing,
with the upright cylinder before the capstan, and over that and the drum or
windlass with its blocks, as explained. In every case the rope or band may be
well rubbed with pitch or other adhesive substance.
Having now described the various parts which are represented in the
Drawings, and the manner of combining and working the same, I would have
it understood that although I have described various parts which separately aro
well known and in use, yet I lay no claim to them in their separate or distinct
form. But what I claim as my Invention is, the combining the various parts in
the manner above described, and applying them so combined to the purpose of
propelling vessels or other engines; and it will be evident that these my
improvements may also be applied to the propelling of barges and boats. And
I therefore further claim their application to these purposes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Bulkeley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of January, in
the year of our Lord 1831, the aforesaid Thomas Bulkeley came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
.And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.