IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Carl Erik Samuelson, of Hamburg, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS," a communi-
cation from abroad by Samuel Arnold Samuelson, of Hamburg.
Sealed the 28th May 1867, and dated the 7th December 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Carl Erik Samuelson at
the Office, of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th December 1866.
I, CARL ERIK SAMUELSON, of Hamburg, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for propelling
vessels. In order to propel by steam power a passage is formed through the
vessel from end to end, this passage is by preference of an oblong section, the
breadth considerably exceeding the depth, and it communicates with the
external water at either end; around this passage at a convenient point in
its length an annular space is enclosed, to which steam from a steam boiler is
admitted, and at the top and bottom of this space the partitions which separate
the steam space from the passage are in part moveable and turn on centres,
so that they act as valves, and the steam may be allowed to escape from the
steam space into the passage by moving these partitions or valves on their
centres. The steam so escaping is directed by the partitions or valves so as

page_text: to flow in the direction of the length of the passage; in this way a rapid
current of water is established through the passage, and so the vessel is pro-
pelled. A second annular steam space, similarly provided with moveable
partitions or valves, is also provided for propelling the vessel astern. The
current of water from the passage may be discharged either below or above
the surface of the external water and by one or more apertures.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Carl Erik Samuelson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th June 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CARL
ERIK SAMUELSON, of Hamburg, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Carl Erik Samuelson, Her special licence that I, the said Carl Erik
Samuelson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Carl Erik Samuelson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING VESSELS," a communication to me from
abroad by Samuel Arnold Samuelson, of Hamburg, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Carl Erik Samuelson, 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 perfornied, 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 Carl Erik Samuelson, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for propelling
vessels. For this purpose a stream of water is put in motion by means of a

page_text: current of steam, and the stream is discharged from the vessel in a direction
opposite to that in which the propulsion is desired. The water passage is
of a rectangular section, of a width greater than its depth, and the steam is
admitted all along the width of the rectangle in a thin flat stream.
And in order that the said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annowed
Figure 1 is a vertical section, and Figures 2 and 3 are transverse sections
of the apparatus according to one of the forms which may be given to it.
Figure 4 is a side view drawn to a small scale, and Figure 5 a plan of a
vessel with the apparatus applied.
a, a, is the bottom of the vessel, and a' an opening through it; b, is a
passage of rectangular section proceeding from this opening and contracting
in depth until it comes up to the point or free end of the partition c which
separates the steam pipe d from the water passage b; c¹ is an axis on which
the partition c is fixed, it passes by a stuffing box out through the end of the
casing, and by it the partition c can be turned partly round on its centre, so
as to act as a valve to regulate the flow of the steam and water. The par-
tition c also serves to direct the current of steam along the passage b, so that
it may cause a stream of water to enter by the opening a¹ in the bottom of
the vessel. After leaving the point or free end of the partition c, the passage b,
which now contains the combined currents of water and steam, contracts in
depth and area for a short distance, and then again increases as the Drawings
show. The steam pipe d should have a stop valve upon it. The passago b
within the vessel, as the Drawings Figures 4 and 5 show, may be branched
out on each side of the stern, and it may also have other branches 6¹ upon it,
each passing round a half circle, the one set of branches is employed in pro-
pelling the vessel ahead, and the other astern; a valve at 62 directs the water
to one set of branches or the other as required, or each branch may be fitted
with a separate valve to render the propelling apparatus applicable in steering
the vessel. The exit orifices, as the Drawing indicates, may be either above or
below the surface of the water.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 7 is a transverse section of
apparatus very similar to that already described; the partition c is however
in this case fixed, and the water current is adjusted by means of a flap e
turning on an axis in the same way as the partition c in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Figure 8 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 9 is a transverse section of

page_text: another similar arrangement, in which however a further adjustment is
effected by means of a slide valve f.
Figure 10 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 11 is a transverse section of
another arrangement like the others above described, but with the adjusting
mechanism omitted. The apparatus may be modified so as to be fitted to the
exterior of the vessel on either side.
Figure 12 is a longitudinal section, Figures 13 and 14 are transverse
sections of the apparatus. Figure 15 is a side view, Figure 16 an end view,
and Figure 17 a plan of a vessel with this apparatus applied. Two separate.
apparatus are employed and they are fixed, as is shown, to the sides of the
vessel; is a passage open at each end to the water; c, c, are partitions or
valves, one of which is always closed when the other is open; c', c', are the
axes of these partitions; d, d, are steam spaces, the steam, however, is
admitted only to the space which has its partition c open. Thus this arrange-
ment is double acting, and by closing one partition and opening another, and
at the same time reversing the steam valves, the direction in which the vessel
is propelled may be reversed.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
propelling vessels by the discharge of a stream of water put in motion in a
channel of which the width is greater than its depth by a thin flat stream of
steam admitted all along the width of the channel, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Carl Erik Samuelson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
CARL ERIK SAMUELSON. (L.S.)