AN IMPROVED FORM OF WHEEL FOR PROPELLING SHIPS, AND APPLICABLE ALSO TO PUMPS FOR RAISING OR FORCING WATER
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED FORM OF WHEEL FOR
PROPELLING SHIPS, AND APPLICABLE ALSO TO PUMPS FOR RAISING OR FORCING
WATER."-A communication from abroad by Colin Taylor Finlayson,
of Albany, in the State of Oregon, and Alfred Colburn Loud, of
San Francisco, in the State of California, United States of America.
Sealed the 18th March 1870, and dated the 7th October 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th October 1869.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
5 Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declaro the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED FORM OF WHEEL FOR PRO-

page_text: PELLING SHIPS, AND APPLICABLE ALSO TO PUMPS FOR RAISING OR FORCING WATER,"
to be as follows:-
:―
This Invention consists in placing in a ship's bottom or beneath the
line of light weight within a case or chamber fitting as closely as
possible short of actual contact a propellor wheel of the construction
hercin-after described. The lower portion of the case projects downward
into the water when the wheel runs vertically, and has in its lower edge
and not elsewhere one or more perforations at the sides and an opening
in the rim, so that the wheel may by its first few revolutions expel the
air from the enclosing case and form a vacuum therein. The water will
thereupon rush in through the perforations at cach side in powerful
transverse currents, which strike the front concave faces of the buckets
by their first impact, accelerating the velocity of the wheel, and meeting
at the middle of the rim of the wheel form liquid bars as it were, which
are cut across by the sharp rear edges of the buckets, and sections
thereof thrown out of the aforesaid opening in the lower part of the
rim of the enclosing case by the concave rear faces of the buckets
against the dense water outside, the reaction of which tends to still
further increase the speed of the wheel.
The propeller wheel is formed with buckets projecting radially from
the rim of the wheel, and having concave front faces for the side
currents to strike against, as before described, and sharp cutting edges
coincident with the sides of the wheel, and concave rear faces to throw
the water bars to the rear.
The principle of construction of the propeller wheel is also applicable
in a very advantageous manner to force pumps by suitably reducing the
size of the wheel and enclosing case and providing gearing for the
rotation of the former, and applying a spout or hose to the opening in
the rim, out of which water is thrown. The case should be placed in the
reservoir of water at a depth sufficient to keep the side apertures always
covered. A pump of this sort may be used as a fire engine, as it will
throw or elevate water to great distances according to the speed at which
the wheels may be run.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special licenco
that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, tho
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED FORM
OF WHEEL FOR PROPELLING SHIPS, AND APPLICABLE ALSO TO PUMPS FOR RAISING
OR FORCING WATER," being a communication to me from abroad by
Colin Taylor Finlayson, of Albany, in the State of Oregon, and Alfred
Colburn Loud, of San Francisco, in the State of California, United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:
This Invention consists in placing in a ship's bottom or beneath the

page_text: line of light weight within a case or chamber (and fitting as closely as
possible short of actual contact) a propeller wheel of the construction
herein-after described. The lower portion of the case projects downward
into the water when the wheel runs vertically, and has in its lower edge
(and not elsewhere) one or more perforations at the sides and an opening
in the rim, so that the wheel may by its first few revolutions expel the
air from the enclosing case and form a vacuum therein. The water will
thereupon rush in through the perforations at each side in powerful
transverse currents, which will strike the front concave faces of the
buckets by their first impact, thereby accelerating the velocity of the
wheel, and by meeting at the middle of the rim of the wheel will form
liquid bars as it were, which will be cut across by the sharp rear edges
of the buckets, and sections thereof will be thrown out of the aforesaid
opening in the lower part of the rim of the enclosing case by the
concave rear faces of the buckets against the dense water outside, the
reaction of which tends to still further increase the speed of the wheel.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the
improved wheel; Fig. 2 is a cross section of a vessel, and to which the
wheel is adapted as a propeller, which is shewn in end elevation; Fig. 3
is a side elevation of part of a vessel with a longitudinal vertical section
of the wheel; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the ship's bottom and wheel
guard, hereafter more particularly described; and Fig. 5 is a perspective
view of a modification of the wheel shewn at Fig. 1.
The propeller wheel, Fig. 1, is formed with buckets projecting radially
from the rim of the wheel, and having concave front faces for the side
currents to strike against, and sharp cutting edges coincident with the
sides of the wheel, and concave rear faces to throw the water bars to
the rear.
In the Drawings A is the ship, to which may be adapted either one
central wheel, as shewn at Fig. 2, or one wheel on each side of the keel.
The wheels are enclosed in vertical cases B of any suitable material
placed longitudinally of the ship, and at any point in her length where
it shall seem best, perhaps oftenest a little abaft midships, where paddle
wheels are usually placed. The cases B project below the ship's bottom
about to the under side of the keel, and have apertures b, b, at their
lower sides near the rim, and an opening 6' in the lower face of each
just in rear of the side apertures. Inclined guards a, a, run from

page_text: suitable points of the ship's bottom backward, as shewn at Fig. 4, so
as to cover the front sides of the projecting parts of the cases B, B, and
let the water slip over them. The rear ends of the guards a may
terminate at such points in the rims of the cases as may seem desirable.
Within the cases B are the wheels C, and as many wheels and cases as
may be desired may be employed, all being conveniently placed on one
shaft. The cases are tight, with the exception of the apertures and
openings before mentioned, and fit the wheels pretty closely. The shaft
on which the wheels are mounted is connected with the engine, which
latter sets the shaft in rotation when it is desired to get the ship under
weigh. A few revolutions of the wheel will expel the air from the case
into the water and will form a vacuum therein, to fill which water
immediately rushes through the apertures 6 at the sides of the case, it
being prevented from entering at the opening in the rim by the passing
of air out thercat and the rotation of the wheel in a direction unfavorable
to such entry. The side currents first strike the concave front faces of
the buckets, which latter are inclined along the face of the wheel, as
shewn in the Drawings, so as to confront the entering streams and
receive the impact of the latter, which immediately increases the speed
of the wheels. Whenever the currents enter from both sides, as they do
when the wheels are vertically placed, the latter are provided with
double concave buckets c, c, as shewn at Fig. 1; each pair incline from
the sides of the wheel toward and meet at a common point in the middle
line of the rim. Where the currents enter only at one side, as when the
wheels are horizontally located, the buckets are single, as shewn at
Fig. 5, and are inclined across the whole face of the wheel. The side
currents are arrested by meeting each other at the middle lino of the
rim of the wheel or the wall of the case, according as they enter at one
or both sides, and form bars of water, which lic transversely across the
case. These bars of water are cut by the sharp edges c' of the buckets
into sections that are thrown out of the opening 6' in the rim of the
case by the concave rear faces c¹ of the buckets. The dense water to
the rear of the cases will react upon the ejected volumes and materially
add to the speed of the wheel.
It will be seen that this is not an Invention of that sort in which
15
1911 19

page_text: of the Invention is, the formation of a vacuum within the case, and the
consequent sudden and forcible injection of the side currents against
the confronting inclined faces of the buckets, the water being (so to
speak) prepared for use and wrought up into a condition (differing from
its normal state) by its withdrawal from the main mass in the form of
the transverse streams, which previous preparation increases very highly
its efficiency when it comes to play upon the wheel. The side apertures
are controlled by slides in order to regulate the volume of supply.
The principle of construction of the propeller wheel is also applicable
in a very advantageous manner to the construction of force pumps by
suitably reducing the size of the wheel and enclosing case, as shewn in
the perspective view, Fig. 6, and providing gearing for the rotation of
the former, and applying a spout or hose to the opening in the rim, out
of which water is thrown. The case should be placed in the reservoir of
water at a depth sufficient to keep the side apertures always covered. A
pump of this sort may be used as a fire engine, as it will throw.or
elevate water to great distances according to the speed at which the
wheels may be driven.
Fig. 6 illustrates this part of the Invention, in which B is the
enclosing case, having the apertures 6 at its bottom, and a spout B¹
attached to the enclosing case. To the upper end of the spout B¹ a
hose may be attached. The shaft H" of the enclosed wheel has a cog
wheel II' fixed upon it, which cog wheel gears with a second wheel H
having for its axis a shaft projecting from the top of the case.
wheel H is provided with a handle or crank pin m. The gearing may
be multiplied so as to produce any degree of speed in the enclosed
wheel. The water is sucked in at the apertures 6 and discharged by
the spout B¹.
Tho
Having thus described the Invention which has been communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, what I claim as new and desire to
secure by Letters Patent is,-
First. The method herein described of propelling ships and raising
water by means of the direct action of side currents drawn by a vacuum,
the buckets of a wheel working within an enclosing case, and the rc-
action of the dense outside water upon the volumes thrown out of such
case by the wheel, as described.

page_text: Second. The radial buckets c inclined across the periphery of the
wheel, and provided with concave front and rear faces and side cutting
edges, as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and soventy.