CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING VESSELS
Year: 1850

page_text: STOPPORTON'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
STOPPORTON, of the Isle of Man, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twelfth day of June, in the thirteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Stopporton, my exors, adññors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Stopporton, my exors,
adñiors, or assigns, and such others as I, the said John Stopporton, my exors,
admiors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the continuance of the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England and Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the Islands of
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING
VESSELS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the
said John Stopporton, to cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after 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
John Stopporton, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and.

page_text: ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed (that is to say) :-
My said Invention consists in a mode of propelling ships and other vessels
upon the water by means of a piston or pistons operating against the water at
or near the stern of the vessel beneath the surface of the water. In the
accompanying Drawings Figure 1 represents a section elevation of tho
machinery; and Figure 2 a plan of the same. The outline of the after part
of the vessel is shewn in both these Figures, by which the position of the
propelling machinery, as placed in the vessel, is seen. A, A, are two cylinders
placed and fixed in the interior of the bottom of the vessel in au horizontal
position. The outer ends of the cylinders are open to the water in which the
vessel floats, and protrude through the bottom of the vessel; so that there is
free communication for the water to and from the interior of the cylinder. The
inner ends of the cylinders are closed by the covers A', A', through stuffing
boxes, in which pass the piston rods B, B, to which are secured the propelling
pistons C, C, fitting the cylinders A, A, in a water and air tight manner. The
packing for these pistons, and for the stuffing boxes on the covers A', A', arc
constructed in a peculiar manner, which I will hereafter more particularly
describe. The piston rods B, B, carry upon their other ends the steam pistons
D, D, within the ordinary steam cylinders E, E, fixed in proper lines with the
propelling cylinders A, A, so that the pistons traverse and work in their respec-
tive cylinders in unison. The steam cylinders are provided with piston valves
E', E', to regulate the admission of steam to the cylinders, and they may be
worked and actuated by any convenient and known means. The space A", A",
within the propelling cylinders between the pistons C, C, and the covers A', A',
will contain atmospheric air, which may be either in a state of compression, by
which a pressure upon the piston against that of the water will be obtained, or
it may be in a state of exhaustion approaching more or less to a vacuum.
Either of these modes of working the propelling pistons may be adopted, as
may be most convenient, and will be equally advantageous for propelling the
vessel through the water. The action of the machinery is as follows:-Tho
steam pistons traverse the strokes in the steam cylinder by the pressure of
steam in the usual manner, and being connected by the piston rods to the
propelling pistons, effect their strokes in the respective cylinders, so that at
cach outward part of their strokes the whole force of the pressure of the steam
upon the steam pistons will be exerted against the water at the stern of the
vessel, and thereby propel the vessel forward. Nearly the whole force of the
steam used is here usefully employed, whereas in the ordinary method of
pulsion a considerable degree of force is lost by friction, slips, and other causes.
pro-

page_text: Although I have shown two only of my improved propellers arranged in a
vessel, I do not confine myself to use that or any particular number. I prefer
to use four propellers of the kind described. In the above arrangement I have
shewn the propelling pistons as being single-acting only, that is, acting to
propol the vessel in one direction only of their stroke. I will now describe the
arrangement and construction shewn in Figure 3, which represents a sectional
plan, in which the propelling pistons operate to propel the vessel during both
directions of the stroke. For this purpose I construct the propelling cylinder
as a double or syphon cylinder, the two branches of which are parallel, and the
ends protrude through the vessel and open to the water. The general letters
of referenco applied to the Figures 1 and 2 are likewise applicable to this
Figure. The pistons C, C, work and traverse, as before described, in one of
the branches only, and upon the direct propelling portion of the stroke taking
place, instead of the spaces behind the piston being occupied with atmospheric
air, as before described, the water will flow in through the other branches, and
upon the back portion of the stroke of the pistons taking place, that water must
be expelled back through the cylinder thus exerted to propel the vessel through
the water. In this arrangement the propelling effect of the pistons will be
continuous.
In both the above arrangements I have shewn a means of lubricating the
propelling pistons in their cylinders by means of a small oil reservoir F, which
communicates by means of two small pipes with the interior of the cylinders.
Thus the propelling pistons are duly supplied with oil. Figure 4 represents a
section and plan view of the stuffing box and packing, which I use for my
improved propellor piston rods. I form the stuffing box of several pairs of
blocks a, a, placed one above another, the rod 6 passing through them. The
packing blocks have tongues e, e, fitted in a steam-tight manner into each pair,
so as to prevent the passage of steam. The blocks are maintained in close
contact with the rod by means of spring screws or other means.
The pairs of
blocks are so arranged that the joints of one pair are placed at right angles to
the joints of the next adjoining pair, and as the surfaces in contact are ground
together the passage of steam is prevented. Figure 5 shews a construction of
piston which I adopt for my improved propelling machinery. It consists of a
ring d, the inner surfaces of which are inclined, as shewn. e, e, are two inclined
plates, one placed above and one below the ring, and are screwed or bolted
together, by tightening which the plates will be made to approach and expand
the ring. The ring has a groove around its periphery, in which hemp or other
soft material is placed to ensure a tight joint between it and the cylinder. I
sometimes make use of the propelling cylinders as an auxilliary to the steam
engine by employing it as a condenser.

page_text: What I claim as my Invention is, Firstly, the mode of propelling
vessels by means of pistons,.applied and arranged as herein-before described.
Secondly, the packings for piston rods and pistons, herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stopporton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of December, in the year One thousand
eight hundred and fifty.
(D)
Signed, sealed, and delivered in
the presence of
CHARLES BARLOW.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twelfth day of December, in the
year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid John Stopporton came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, 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.
Enrolled the Twelfth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty.