Ways, such as Canals or Rivers.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 19th Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 4th May, 1889
Water Ways, such as Canals or Rivers.
I, NORMAN BLEZARD of Guy Foundry, Padiham, in the County of Lancaster
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
According to this invention a vessel is caused to travel along a water way such as
a canal by means of an apparatus that runs on a fixed rail or way and is driven from
a motor carried by the vessel which is hauled by the rope or equivalent that serves to
communicate motion from the motor to the hauling apparatus. The nature of my
invention will be readily understood from the following outline description of a
convenient arrangement of apparatus according thereto which I will describe as
arranged to cause a vessel to travel along a canal. Along the bank or side of the
canal is arranged a rail or way of any suitable construction to carry the hauling
apparatus. This apparatus comprises a carrier provided with flanged wheels that
travel upon and are guided by the rail or way, and a frame which is pivotted or
journalled to the carrier and carries friction wheels or rollers so arranged as to grip
the rail or way between their peripheries in certain positions of the frame. The
shafts that carry the friction wheels or rollers are provided with toothed wheels that
gear with each other and are driven by another toothed wheel fast upon the shaft of a
grooved sheave or pulley round which is passed an endless rope or cable that passes
from the vessel to be hauled and is driven by a suitable motor on such vessel. Guide
pulleys on the frame serve to guide the endless rope or cable to and from the grooved
sheave or pulley. The arrangement of the pivotted frame and friction wheels or
rollers is such that these rollers will be forced against the rail or way with a force
proportional to the resistance of the vessel to be hauled. A wheel or roller or wheels
or rollers connected by bracket to the carrier and arranged to hear against the under-
side of the rail or way serves or serve to counteract the tendency of the driving rope
or cable to overbalance the apparatus, and also to counterbalance the overhanging
weight of the heavier end of the pivotted frame and gearing thereon when these parts
are not otherwise counterbalanced.

page_text: Apparatus may be constructed under various modifications to operate on the
principle of this invention. In lieu of friction wheels or rollers it might in some cases
be deemed expedient to employ toothed wheels gearing with fixed racks. For hauling
light vessels a modification of apparatus constructed without toothed gearing such as
hereinabove referred to might be employed. In some cases a rail or rails or way
for the hauling apparatus to travel along might be fixed in some convenient
manner (it might be for example upon piles) in some position between the banks of
the water way.
Although I consider it preferable to tow the vessel by the rope or equivalent that
serves to work the hauling apparatus from the motor, in some cases it might be
convenient to use an independent towing rope or cable.
NORMAN BLEZARD.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improved Means or Apparatus for Causing Vessels to Travel along
Water Ways, such as Canals or Rivers.
I NORMAN BLEZARD, of Guy Foundry, Padiham, in the county of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :--
According to this invention a vessel is caused to travel along a water way such
as a canal by means of an apparatus that runs on a fixed rail or way and is driven
from a motor carried by the vessel which is hauled by the rope or equivalent that
serves to communicate motion from the motor to the hauling apparatus. The nature
of my invention will he readily understood from the following outline description of a
convenient arrangement of apparatus according thereto which I will describe as
arranged to cause a vessel to travel along a canal.
Along the bank or side of the canal is arranged a rail or way of any suitable
construction to carry the hauling apparatus. This apparatus comprises a carrier
provided with flanged wheels that travel upon and are guided by the rail or way and
a frame which is pivotted or journalled to the carrier and carries friction wheels or
rollers so arranged as to grip the rail or way between their peripheries in certain
positions of the frame. The shafts that carry the friction wheels or rollers are
provided with toothed wheels that gear with each other and are driven by another
toothed wheel fast. upon the shaft of a grooved sheave or pulley round which is
passed an endless rope or cable that passes from the vessel to be hauled and is driven
by a suitable motor on such vessel. Guide pulleys on the frame serve to guide the
endless rope or cable to and from the grooved sheave or pulley. The arrangement of
the pivotted frame and friction wheels or rollers is such that these rollers will be
forced against the rail or way with a force proportional to the resistance of the vessel
to be hauled. A wheel or roller or wheels or rollers connected by bracket to the
carrier and arranged to bear against the under side of the rail or way serves or serve
to counteract the tendency of the driving rope or cable to overbalance the apparatus,
and also to counterbalance the overhanging weight of the heavier end of the pivotted
frame and gearing thereon when these parts are not otherwise counterbalanced.
Apparatus may be constructed under various modifications to operate on the
principle of this invention. For hauling light vessels a modification of apparatus
constructed without toothed gearing such as hereinabove referred to might be employed.
In some cases a rail or rails or way for the hauling apparatus to travel along, night
be fixed in some convenient manner (it might be for example upon piles) in some
position between the banks of the water way. Although I consider it preferable to
tow the vessel by the rope or equivalent that serves to work the hauling apparatus
from the motor, in some cases it might be convenient to use an independent towing
rope or cable.

page_text: Referring to the accompanying four sheets of drawings
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively elevation and plan of a machine or apparatus according
to this invention for towing boats or vessels along waterways.
Fig. 3 is a section in line A-B, Fig. 2.
Figs 4 and 5 are respectively elevation and plan of the guide pulley frames.
1, 1 are sleepers arranged at frequent intervals along the towing path. On each
sleeper is secured a frame 2 having two standards, to each of which is bolted a rail
running parallel with the waterway. The lower rail 3 serves as a path for an apparatus
moving in one direction while the upper rail 4 serves as a path for an apparatus moving
in the opposite direction. Upon the rail 3 there runs a carriage 5 with six travelling
wheels 6, 6, four above and two below the rail. The rail is of the double headed section
and lies on its side. The four upper wheels 6, 6, are flanged and run on the edges of
the rail flanges, while the lower wheels have plain treads and run on the rail flange
furthest removed from the water.
Two friction wheels 7, 7ª, with removable tyres, run on the two faces of the rail,
one on one side and one on the other. These wheels grip the rail tightly between
them, and as they are made to revolve, by means to be hereinafter explained, they
travel forward on the rail carrying the entire machine.
Each wheel 7, 7 is mounted on a frame 9 pivotted on gudgeons.10 which are
supported in bearings on the frame 5. The inner wheel 7 is fixed to a spindle 8,
while the outer wheel 7 has a boss 13 the whole length of the bearing and bored at 8*
to receive a spindle *. The two friction wheels are connected together by spur
wheels 11, 11, one of which runs in gear with the spur pinion 13*. This latter has a
long boss, the entire length of the bearing in which it runs. Through this boss there
passes a spindle 12, which is the same size as the bore 8* and is fitted with a driving
wheel 14.
The bores of the bosses of the wheel and the pinion 13* are of the same diameter
in order that the spindle 12 may be worked in the bore 8* instead of in the position
in which it is shewn in the drawing when the towing is of a light character. In such
case the pinion 13* is put out of gear with the wheel by turning the eccentric bush 15,
in which it runs, by the handle H.
The driving wheel 14 is rotated by an endless rope 14* driven from a motor on
the boat which is being towed.
Swivelling guide frames are provided to lead the rope on and off the driving
pulley. The incoming rope passes over the pulley 16, under the pulley 17 and over
the pulley 18.
The two former are mounted in a frame 19 comprising two side plates that carry
a boss 19 upon which the pulley 17 is mounted to rotate. This boss is formed with
a curved hole through which passes a ring 20 that is of corresponding form in cross
section to the hole, the side plates being carried forward to the other side of the
ring 20 for which purpose they are forked as shewn. The ring 20 is made in two
parts connected at one side by a pin joint 20* and is provided with tail pieces or
shanks 21 by which it is secured by screw bolts 21° to the frame 9.
The pulley 18 is carried by a quadrant 22 secured to the frame 9, directly over,
and having the same radius as the ring 20, the pulley being mounted on a boss
similar to the boss 19" of the pulley 17. By this arrangement the guide pulleys can
swivel about a centre line which is in the perpendicular part of the driving rope and
passes through the centre of the ring 20 so that at whatever angle the driving rope.
may be working the pulleys will automatically adjust themselves, by the pull of the
rope, to such angle, and thus allow for curves in the water way, and also will also
permit of the same apparatus towing in either direction.
The pulley 18 in like manner. adjusts itself when the driving pulley is changed
from the pinion centre to the centre of the wheel 7. The outgoing rope has a
similarly arranged set of guide pulleys 16, 17 and 18. The pull of the driving
rope, when setting the swivelling frames into proper positions moves the friction
wheels, until they grasp the rail with sufficient pressure to give the required adhesion.
Instead of employing a flexible driving rope as shewn in Fig. 1. 2 and 3 of the drawings

page_text: a flexible shaft, such as is sometimes used for driving purposes may be employed as
illustrated in figs. 6 and 7 which are respectively a plan or top view and a transvere
section of so much of the apparatus as is necessary to illustrate this modified method
of driving the same. In this case the rope pulley 14 shewn in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is
replaced by a bevil spur wheel 14* driven by another bevil spur wheel 23 mounted in
a frame 24.
This frame is so arranged as to be capable of partly rotating about the centre of the
pinion 13 to automatically accomodate itself to any suitable driving angle of
the flexible driving shaft 25 which is secured to the wheel 23. The flexible driving
shaft may also serve for towing the vessel to be moved or a separate tow rope may be
used if desired.
The whole of the apparatus is covered by a sheet iron guard (which is partly shewn
at 26) in order to prevent any other towing rope becoming entangled in the apparatus
when passing.
The height of the rails 3 and 4 is such as not to prevent vessels being towed by a
horse in the usual manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. In an apparatus for causing vessels to travel along waterways a friction wheel
or wheels mounted in a swivelling frame and adapted to be connected to the vessel
being towed in such a way that the resistance of the said vessel will cause the frame
to swivel and the wheels to grip the rail on which they run.
2. In an apparatus for causing vessels to travel along waterways the combination of
the friction wheels 7, 7 and the pinion 13* with the driving spindle 12, the arrange-
ment being such that the driving spindle may be applied either to the pinion 13*, or
to the friction wheel 7 substantially as described.
3. In an apparatus for causing vessels to travel along waterways the combination of
a swivelling guide frame such as 19 with guide pulleys 16 and 17 and a guide pulley
such as 18 substantially as described.
4. For causing vessels to travel along waterways such as canals or rivers the
improved means or apparatus constructed, arranged and operating substantially as
hereinabove described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings or modified
according to figs. 6 and 7.
Dated this 19th day of February 1889
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.,
Agent for the Applicant.