IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS.
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, of Tew Park, in
the County of Oxford, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS.'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Matthew Piers Watt
Boulton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 30th October 1873.
I, MATTHEW PIERS WATT BOULTON, of Tew Park, in the County of
Oxford, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to the propelling of a vessel moving in water
where the propulsion is effected by means of propellers working inside
or at the bottom of the vessel, or in channels attached to the vessel, and
has for its principal object to avoid the inconvenience of using very
bulky instruments by employing a number of instruments of smaller
size move conveniently disposed.

page_text: The passages of inflow and outflow are curved so as to open into the
outer water in a direction as nearly as possible fore and aft..
When the action of the propellers is reversed the inflow passages serve
for outflow, and vice versa.
Any propeller whose action is reversible may be employed in the
manner above described. I prefer however to employ helical propellers
of the kind described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me the
said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton and to John Imray on the 4th
December, 1868, No. 3694.
The bulk of each propeller may to a certain extent be reduced by
tapering the passages of inflow and outflow from a larger area at the
mouth to a smaller area next the propeller. When the propeller is to bo
worked frequently in both directions it is preferred to make these
passages alike, so that their action may be similar whichever way the
vessel moves, but when the propeller is intended to act generally only
in one direction it is preferred to make the taper of the inflow somewhat
more abrupt than that of the outflow.
A number of propellers may be applied, as described, in various ways.
One arrangement is to place the propellers in two or more lines with
their axes parallel to the longitudinal axis. of the vessel, the shafts of
the propellers in each line being coupled together.
Another arrangement is to place the propellers with their axes at
right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vessel, connecting these axes
by cranks and connecting rods, or by gearing, so that all those arranged
in one line work together.
When the shafts of the several propellers are coupled or connected
together they may be worked from one set of engines, or separate

page_text: .
engines may be employed to work each propeller or to work the pro-
pellers in pairs, or in groups of such numbers as may be desired, and
these separate engines may communicate with a common boiler and
condenser.
In order to secure compactness of arrangement and avoid complexity
of passages I prefer to place the helical propellers in juxtaposition, so
that one helical guide serves for the inflow of one propeller and for the
inflow of the one next behind it.
When the propellers are arranged in two lines parallel to the longi-
tudinal axis of the vessel the inlets or outlets on the inner sides of
the propellers may open into a common channel formed in a hollow
keel.
When it is intended that the vessel should sometimes sail without the
aid of the propellers I prefer to provide the mouths of their inlets and
outlets with sliding or other covers, by which they can be shut off from
communication with the outer water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 28th April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW
PIERS WATT BOULTON, of Tew Park, in the County of Oxford, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Matthew Piers Watt Bolton, Her
special license that I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, 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, exercise use, and vend, within the United

page_text: Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPA-
BATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, 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 date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton,
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, reference being
had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the propelling of a vessel moving in water
where the propulsion is effected by means of propellers working insido
or at the bottom of the vessel or in channels attached to the vessel, and
has for its principal object to avoid the inconvenience of using very a
bulky instruments by employing a number of instruments of smaller
size more conveniently disposed.
For this purpose I place within the vessel, or at the bottom of the
vessel, numerous propellers, arranged in a line one behind the other
lengthwise of the vessel. All the inflow passages of the propellers on 2
each line open into the outer water on one side of the line, so that the
mouths of the inflow are arranged in a line one behind the other parallel
to the line of propellers, and all the outflow passages of the propellers. on
each line open into the outer water on the other side of the line, so that
the mouths of outflow are ranged in a line one behind the other parallel a
to the line of propellers, or nearly so.
The passages of the inflow and outflow are curved or directed so
as to open into the outer water in a direction as nearly as possible fore
and aft.
When the action of the propellers is reversed the inflow passages a

page_text: Any propeller whose action is reversible may be employed in the
manner above described. I prefer however to employ helical propellors
of the kind described in the Specification of à Patent granted to me
the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton and to John Imray on the 4th
December, 1868, No. 3694.
The bulk of each propeller may to a certain extent be reduced by
tapering the passages of inflow and outflow from a large area at the mouth
to a smaller area next the propeller. When the propeller is to be worked
frequently in both directions it is preferred to make these passages alike,
so that their action may be similar whichever way the vessel moves,
but when the propeller is intended to act generally only in one direction
it is preferred to make the taper of the inflow somewhat more abrupt
than that of the outflow.
L
A number of propellers may be applied as described in various ways.
One arrangement is to place the propellers in two or more lines with
their axes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vessel, the shafts of
the propellers in each line being coupled together.
Another arrangement is to place the propellers with their axes at
right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vessel, connecting these
axes by cranks and connecting rods or by gearing, so that all those
arranged in one line work together.
When the shafts of the several propellers are coupled or connected
together they may be worked from one set of engines, or separate
engines may be employed to work each propeller, or to work the
propellers in pairs, or in groups of such numbers as may be desired,
an these separate engines may communicate with a common boiler and
condenser.
In order to secure compactness of arrangement and avoid complexity
of passages I prefer to place the helical propellers in juxtaposition, so
that the channels of inflow and outflow of the successive propellers
have to be separated only by diaphragms.
When the propellers are arranged in two lines parallel to the
longitudinal axis of the vessel the inlets or outlets on the inner sides
of the propellers may open into a common channel formed in a
hollow keel.

page_text: .
When it is intended that the vessel should sometimes sail without the
aid of the propellers I prefer to provide the mouths of their inlets and
outlets with sliding or other covers, by which they can be shut off from
communication with the outer water.
outlets with sliding or other covers, by which they can be shut off from
communication with the outer water.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a plan of part of the midship portion or engine room of a
vessel, shewing one mode in which a number of pumps may be arranged
and worked so as to propel the vessel according to this Invention; Fig. 2
represents a transverse section; Fig. 3, a part of a longitudinal section
of the vessel; and Fig. 4, a part of the plan, these Figures being drawn
to an enlarged scale.
A are the boilers and B the steam engines, the arrangement and con-
struction of which may be varied to suit vessels of different forms and
dimensions, for example, the cylinders may be arranged vertically and at
a higher level so as to leave more space for propellers on the floor of the
vessel. According to the arrangement shewn there are sixteen helical
pumps C arranged in four sets, each set consisting of four pumps, but it
is obvious that a different number and arrangement might be adopted,
and a number of the propellers may be placed fore and aft of the engine
room under the lower deck.
The mode shewn of working the pumps is by means of cranks c on
their rotating shafts coupled by connecting rods r as for the coupled
wheels of locomotives, each pair of connecting rods being worked by a
pair of the engines B. Each of the pumps might however be worked
by a separate engine, and the several engines might be supplied with
steam from one set of boilers and discharge into a common con-
denser.
'Each of the pumps C is of the kind described in the Specification of
the Patent above referred to, consisting of a wheel with blades p made
to revolve within a cylindrical casing b, which casing is provided with
sides of helical form, and with an inlet passage i and an outlet
passage o led tangentially to the circle of the pump and obliquely
through the bottom of the vessel to the outer water.
When the wheels of the pumps are caused to revolve in the direction
of the arrow a stream of water is in each case caused to enter-by the

page_text: passage i to flow round the cylindrical casing 6 along with the floats of
the wheel p, and to issue by the outlet passage o, so as to propel the
vessel in the direction of the arrow D.
When the wheels of the pump are turned in the opposite direction
the direction of the water streams and of the vessel's propulsion is.
reversed.
When the pumps are arranged, as shewn in Fig. 1, in two sets, one
set on each side of the longitudinal centre line of the vessel, the one
set may be worked in the one direction and the other set may be worked
in the opposite direction, so as to steer or assist the steering of the
vessel.
The inlet and outlet passages i and o are expanded towards their
mouths. In the Drawings this expansion is shewn alike for both, so
that when the action of the pump is reversed the outlet may serve for
inlet and the inlet for outlet with equal efficiency.
The inlet and outlet passages should be made to be as nearly as
possible in the direction of the ship's movement, that is to say, as little
sloped as possible, and for this reason it is preferred to swell them only
in width, as shewn in the Drawings, because in order to find room for
swelling them in depth it would be necessary to make them more
inclined to the line of the keel.
By the arrangement shewn the successive inlet passages as well as the
successive outlet passages are separated only by singlé diaphragms.
When a vessel provided with apparatus for propulsion such as I have
described is intended also for sailing it is of advantage to provide means
of closing the inlet and outlet passages when the pumps are not in
action. For this purpose each of the passages may be provided with a
lid, as shewn at L in Fig. 3, hinged to the lower lip of the passage at h
and worked by a screwed rod 7 passing through a stuffing box to the
interior of the vessel, where it is provided with a handle. When the
pumps are in action these lids are lowered to the oblique position shewn
at L so as to form continuations of the passages, but when the vessel
is put under sail they are raised so as to close the mouths of the
passages and present an even surface along the bottom of the vessel.
It is obvious that apparatus such as described above may be combined
with other propellers, as for example, with screws at the bow and stern
of the vessel.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I claim,→
First. The method substantially as herein described of effecting
hydro-propulsion of vessels by means of numerous rotary pumps
arranged with their mouths of inflow and outflow longitudinally in
rows, each pump producing an independent stream.
Second. In applying pumps with helical guides for hydro-propulsion
in the manner above referred to, the arrangement of the inlet and the
outlet passages so that each is separated from the next in order by a
sloping diaphragm, substantially as herein described.
Third. The use for the passages above referred to of lids constructed
and operating substantially as herein described.
Fourth. In effecting hydro-propulsion in the manner above referred
to, the expansion of the passages towards their mouths, substantially in
the manner and for the purpose herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
'