IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING SHIPS OR DRIVING MACHINERY
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Sloper, of Oxford Street, in the County
of Middlesex, Builder and Decorator, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING
SHIPS OR DRIVING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 23rd April 1858, and dated the 28th October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Sloper at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th October 1857.
I, JOSEPH SLOPER, of Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex, Builder
and Decorator, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING
SHIPS OR DRIVING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improved means of and apparatus for obtaining motive
power for propelling ships or driving machinery, relates to a novel mode of
obtaining power from the wind, and which power, when obtained, may be
employed for actuating the paddle wheels or other propellors of ships or vessels,
or for driving machinery on land.
My improved apparatus consists principally of a series of arms or of a

page_text: vertical framework provided with sails or vanes made of any suitable material,
and connected to a central main shaft mounted vertically in bearings. These
sails or vanes may be adjustable on axes, so that they may be set at any
desired angle, and are arranged round the central shaft or axle in such a
manner as to admit of the wind, acting on them freely, and by so doing the 5
wind will force round the sails or vanes with their arms, and thus communi-
cate rotary motion to the central shaft. The rotary motion of this shaft is
transmitted, by means of suitable gearing, to the propellor shafts, or to the
driving shaft of any machinery that it is desired to actuate.
When adapting my Invention to the propulsion of ships or vessels, I so
construct and arrange the several parts, that they may either be detached or
removed with facility, and made secure from damage in heavy or tempestuous
weather.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Sloper in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
SLOPER, of Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex, Builder and Decorator,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Joseph Sloper, Her special license that I, the said Joseph
Sloper, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Joseph Sloper, 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 "IMPROVED MEANS OF
AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING SHIPS OR
DRIVING MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Joseph Sloper, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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
'

page_text: 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 Joseph Sloper, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,. and to.
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
.
My Invention of Improved Means of and Apparatus for Obtaining Motive-
Power for Propelling Ships or Driving Machinery," relates to a novel mode of
obtaining power from the wind, and which power, when obtained, may be
employed for actuating the paddle wheels or other propellers of ships or vessels,
or for driving machinery on land.
T
My improved apparatus consists principally of a series of arms, or of a
vertical framework provided with sails or vanes made of any suitable material,
and connected to a central main shaft mounted vertically in bearings. These
sails or vanes may be made adjustable on axes, so as to admit of their being
set at any desired angle; the sails or vanes are also arranged round the central
shaft or axle in such a manner as to admit of the wind acting on them freely,
and by so doing the wind will force round the sails or vanes with their arms,
and thus communicate rotary motion to the central shaft with which they are
connected. The rotary motion of this shaft is transmitted, by means of
suitable gearing, to the propeller shafts of ships or vessels, or to the driving
shaft of any machinery that it is desired to actuate.
When adapting my Invention to the propulsion of ships or vessels, I so
construct and arrange the several parts that they may either be detached
or removed with facility, and made secure from damage in heavy or tempestuous
weather.
In order, however, that my Invention may be clearly understood, I have
shewn in the accompanying Drawings various plans or arrangements of parts
whereby the power of the wind may be caused to act on vanes or sails, and
communicate motion to a central vertical shaft, which may be employed as the
prime mover or motive agent for driving any description of propellers or
machinery.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one mode of constructing the apparatus ;
Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same. In this instance the arms are
made of wood, metal, or other substance, and jointed and fixed to the wheel,
drum, or shaft, by means of centre pins, so as to open or shut the sails, and
made straight or curved; the vanes or sails are supposed to be made of thin

page_text: sheet metal or wood bent or curved of the required shape, as shewn in Fig. 2.
It will be seen that the.vanes or sails are extended out on one side of the
central shaft or cylinder, and are folded back or brought close to the latter
on the other side, so that the wind may be allowed. to; act with power on the
vanes or.sails on one side, while the other vanes or sails will offer but little
resistance until they are brought round into their proper position. The un-
folding, expanding, or 'opening of the vanes or sails may be effected in a variety
of ways, and by various well-known mechanical contrivances. In Fig. 2, this
object is effected by means of excentric grooves, in which pins or studs attached
to the extreme ends of the arms, vanes, or sails are made to work, and as the
apparatus is moved round by the pressure of the wind, the vanes or sails will
be successively brought into the several positions shewn in the Drawings.
a, a, are the arms of the drum or wheel, and b, b, the rim thereof; c, the
central shaft.; the arms, vanes, or sails d, 'd; are jointed to the circular rim b;
and when expanded so as to receive the pressure of the wind, are supported
behind by shoulder pieces or abutments e, e; these arms, vanes, or sails d, are
provided at. their ends with pins or studs f, f, which work in the excentric
grooves g, g. Fig 3 is a sectional plan view of a modification of the arrange-
ment just described; in this case, the extent of opening the arms, vanes, or
sails, may be limited, by means of curved arms h, h, or some other suitable
contrivance, and the arms may be made to close up to the drum ; and I propose
to have a curved wind conductor i, i, adapted to one side of the apparatus, for
the purpose of causing the wind to act more effectually on the vanes, or sails;
this conductor to be moveable so as it may be set to suit the wind. I would
observe that the... central part of the apparatus to which the vanes or sails are
attached, may be made to consist of a hollow. cylinder or .drum, constructed
either of metal or wood, or of a light and strong framework, covered externally
with some suitable material.: For some purposes I propose to construct this
central cylinder or drum of wood or metal. tubes, which may be made to slide
one within the other like the tubes of a telescope, so that the cylinder or drum
may slide down on the deck or building, and be made snug when required. The
vanes or sails may be constructed:so as to admit of being folded or reefed when
not in use. This object may be effected in a variety of ways, and the vanes
or sails may also be constructed of any suitable material; for instance, they
may be formed of sailcloth or other suitable flexible material stretched over a
framework, and adapted thereto by means of eyes or rings r, as shewn in the
sectional elevation, Fig. 4. As these eyes may be made to slide on the rods
-or bars forming the framework of the vanes or.sails, it will be understood that

page_text: the sails can be expanded with facility, by means of suitable cords or ropes,
or canvas fixed on rollers as a common roller blind, either drawing vertically
or horizontally.
Another mode of constructing the arms, vanes, or sails consists in connect-
ing a series of flat laths together, somewhat in the same manner as a Venetian
blind is made as shewn in the detached edge view, Fig. 5, and adapting the
laths, by means of rings, eyes, or other analogous contrivances to a framework
of similar construction to that shewn in Fig. 4. It will be seen that such a
construction of parts admits of the laths being raised or lowered like a Venetian
blind; or any convenient number of laths or flat boards may be mounted
on centres in a frame in such a manner as to admit of their being turned so
as to present, when required, an extensive surface to the force of the wind, or
to be turned edgewise so as to present but little surface when the machine is
not required to act on the central shaft.
Another plan of constructing the acting surface, of the vanes (or sails is
shewn in Figs. 6 and 6*, and consists in connecting a series of narrow laths or
pieces of wood, or iron, or any other material together, somewhat in the same
way as revolving shutters are now made, and adapting the flexible surface so
formed to a shaft or axle which may be turned by a winch handle or other
suitable mechanical contrivance; by this means the flexible surface may be
drawn out or rolled up when required.
It will be evident that the motion imparted to the central vertical shaft,
cylinder, or drum, by the pressure of the wind acting on the radial vanes or
sails, may be communicated by toothed wheel or other gearing to the main
driving shaft of any propellor or machinery that requires to be driven; I have
not, however, considered it necessary to shew or describe any arrangement of
gearing for transmitting power from any apparatus to any shaft that requires
to be driven, as such mechanical contrivances or appliances will readily suggest
themselves to any intelligent mechanic.
Having now described my Invention of improved means of and apparatus
for obtaining motive power for propelling ships or driving machinery, and
having explained various plans for carrying the same into effect, I would
observe that although I have shewn and described various arrangements of
and modes of constructing the several parts of my improved apparatus, I do
not mean or intend to confine myself rigidly thereto, as the arrangement and
construction of the parts may doubtless be varied without departing from the
nature and object of my Invention. But that which I consider to be new in
my improved apparatus, and therefore desire to secure by Letters Patent as

page_text: aforesaid, is the mode or modes herein shewn and described, or any mere
modification thereof, for obtaining power from the wind by causing the same
to act on fixed or moveable vanes or sails, adapted to a central shaft, drum, or
cylinder on the principle I have described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Sloper, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JOSEPH SLOPER. (L.S.)