Iм- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Fane Hobhouse, of Cadogan Place, Belgrave
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Esquire, for the Invention of "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS."-A communication
from abroad by Reginald Courtenay, Bishop of Kingston, Jamaica, of
Bishop's Lodge, Kingston, Jamaica.
Sealed the 9th April 1868, and dated the 10th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Fane Hobhouse
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th October 1867.
I, ARTHUR FANE HOBHOUSE, of Cadogan Place, Belgrave Square, in the
County of Middlesex, Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for propelling
vessels. The apparatus consists chiefly of a chamber intended to be immersed
in water, alternately contracting and expanding or closing and opening, and by
its contraction or closing expelling the water contained within it in the
direction required, and also thereby propelling the vessel to which it is
attached.

page_text: In the construction which I prefer the chamber consists of a plate so sup-
ported as to remain at all times parallel to the vessel's side, towards and from
which however it is capable of being moved. At its forward end it is jointed
to the edge of another plate which at its other edge is jointed to the vessel's
side. The binder end of the first plate is carried in a similar manner from
the vessel's side, but by rods or links in place of by a plate. There are also
fixed to the vessel's side two other plates projecting from it horizontally or
-nearly so, the one above and the other below the two moveable plates already
mentioned. Thus a chamber is formed enclosed at all sides but at the back,
and this chamber can be contracted and expanded by drawing towards and
thrusting from the vessel's side the plate which forms the outer side of the
chamber, and which as already mentioned is parallel with the side of the
vessel. This motion is given to it by linking it directly with the piston rod
of a steam cylinder which passes by a stuffing box through the vessel's side.
When in this way the chamber is expanded water enters it by valves through
the plate which forms its leading end, and on the return stroke when the
chamber is contracted these valves close, and the water in the chamber is
forced out at the back of the chamber towards the stern of the vessel, and the
vessel is thus propelled. Other valves may also be introduced into the top and
bottom plates to give freer admission to the water, also there may be a valve
between the vessel's side and the joint which connects it with the front plate of
the chamber.
It is an important part of this Invention that motion can be communicated
to the plates or surfaces without the intervention of any wheel or lever direct
from the piston rod of a steam engine (or other rod immediately connected
with the apparatus used instead thercof). To admit of the vessel being pro-
pelled astern a valve opening inwards may be applied at the hinder end of the
contracting and expanding chamber; this valve when the vessel is being pro-
pelled forward is held open, but when it is desired that the vessel should move
astern it is allowed or caused to close, when the chamber contracts, whilst the
valves in the forward end of the chamber are held open.
The arrangement may also be modified as follows:-The plate forming the
moveable side of the chamber is hung on a horizontal axis and receives its
motion direct from a steam cylinder as before. There is a large valve at the
top of the chamber, and there are valves also in its closed end. The bottom
of the chamber is formed by a plate fixed to the vessel's side and it is curved
so as to form the arc of a circle with the axis of the moving side of the
chamber for its centre. This form of the apparatus has the disadvantage of

page_text: opposing a larger resisting surface to the motion of a ship with the advantage of
equal force of propulsion both backwards and forwards.
The valves should when open present only the edges of the plates to the
water in the direction of the motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Arthur Fane Hobhouse in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th April 1868.
D
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
FANE HOBHOUSE, of Cadogan Place, Belgrave Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Arthur Fane Hobhouse, Her special licence that I, the said Arthur
Fane Hobhouse, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Arthur Fane Hobbouse, 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 APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS," a communication
to me from abroad by Reginald Courtenay, Bishop of Kingston, Jamaica,
of Bishop's Lodge, Kingston, Jamaica, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Arthur Fane Hobhouse, 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 im-
mediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Arthur Fane Hobhouse, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for propelling
vessels. The apparatus consists chiefly of a chamber intended to be immersed
in water alternately contracting and expanding or closing and opening, and by

page_text: its contraction or closing expelling the water contained within it in the
direction required, and also thereby propelling the vessel to which it is
attached.
In the construction which I prefer there is a plate so supported as to
remain at all times parallel to the vessel's side, towards and from which
however it is capable of being moved. At its forward end it is jointed to the
edge of another plate which at its other edge is jointed to the vessel's side.
The hinder end of the first plate is carried in a similar manner from the vessels
side, but by rods or links in place of by a plate. There are also fixed to the
vessel's side two other plates projecting from it horizontally or nearly so,
the one above and the other below the two moveable plates already mentioned.
Thus a chamber is formed enclosed at all sides but at the back, and this
chamber can be contracted and expanded by drawing towards and thrusting
from the vessel's side the plate which forms the outer side of the chamber and
which as already mentioned is parallel with the side of the vessel. This
Inotion may be given to it by linking it directly with the piston rod of a steam
cylinder which passes by a stuffing box through the vessel's side. When
in this way the chamber is expanded, water enters it by valves through
the plate which forms its leading end, and on the return stroke when the
chamber is contracted these valves close and the water in the chamber is
forced out at the back of the chamber towards the stern of the vessel and the
vessel is thus propelled. Other valves may also be introduced into the top
and bottom plates to give freer admission to the water. Also there may be a
valve between the vessel's side and the joint which connects it with the front
plate of the chamber. To admit the vessel being propelled astern a valve
opening inwards may be applied at the hinder end of the contracting and
expanding chamber; this valve when the vessel is being propelled forward is
held open, but when it is desired that the vessel should move astern it is
allowed or caused to close, when the chamber contracts, whilst the valves in
the forward end of the chamber are held open. The arrangement may also
be modified by mounting the plate forming the moveable side of the chamber
on an axis, and causing it to receive its motion direct from a steam cylinder.
It is an important feature of this arrangement that motion can be communi-
cated to the plate or surface without the intervention of any wheel or lever
direct from the piston rod of a steam engine or other rod immediately connected
with the apparatus and instead thereof.
And in order that the said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1, 2, 3, show the manner in which this Invention may be carried
out practicably. in an iron steam ship. Figure 1 shows a horizontal section
and Figure 2 a vertical section of a chamber formed on the outside of a ship
in the manner above described.
a is the moveable plate so supported as to be capable of moving to and from
the side of the vessel, and yet so that it shall at all times remain parallel
thereto; this plate at its forward end is jointed to the plate 6, which again is
jointed to the ship's side, the other end of the plate is jointed to rods or
links c. On the axis which connects the plate 6 with the ship's side is a lever
arm to which is connected the piston rod of a steam engine; the plate a may
thus be drawn to the side of the vessel. and pushed away from it by the
alternate strokes of the steam engine. When the plate a is moved away from
the side of the vessel water enters the chamber. through valves in the plate b,
and when the plate a is moved towards the side of the vessel these valves
close, and the water in the chamber is thus expelled violently backwards, the
water being prevented from escaping at the top and bottom of the chamber by
top and bottom horizontal plates or sponsings fixed to the side of the ship, as
shown in the Drawing. These plates or ribs or sponsings may be shaped in a
curve extending beyond all the mechanism for the purpose of protecting it.
In place of the moveable plate a having motion transmitted to it from the
steam engine in the manner above described it might, although I believe not
so conveniently, have motion imparted to it directly from the piston of the.
engine in the manner shown at Figure 8.
Figure 3 shows a horizontal section of an apparatus in which the expanding
and contracting chamber is formed merely by attaching to the side of the ship
one end of a flat plate or frame on a hinge joint, and at or near the other end
it is attached to the piston rod of a steam engine so as to be drawn to the side
of the vessel or pushed away from it by the alternate strokes of the steam
engine. By this means the water is expelled violently backwards when the
plate closes on the vessel's side, and re-enters and fills the intermediate space
when the plate is driven out from the ship's side by the return stroke. To
prevent the escape of the water from the top and bottom of the chamber
during the closing stroke the chamber is completed by a top and bottom plate
fixed to the side of the ship, as shown in the Drawing, extending beyond the
moveable side of the chamber. In this arrangement the valves are carried by
the moving side of the chamber. The stuffing box by which the piston rod of
the steam engine passes freely through the side of the ship is fixed in a

page_text: moving plate, which by means of a second stuffing box at right angles to the
former yields to the fore and aft motion of the oscillating piston rod.
What I claim is the arranging apparatus for propelling vessels in such
manner that the propulsion may be obtained by the alternate opening and
closing or expansion and contraction of chambers at the sides of tho vessel.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Fane Hobhouse, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
ARTHUR FANE HOBHOUSE. (L.B.)