IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT OR CONSTRUC- TION OF MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING OR IMPELLING VESSELS, AND IN STEERING OR MANEUVRING THE SAME
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
ROSENBORG, of Kingston-upon-Hull, in the County of York, Gentleman, 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 eighth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Frederick
Rosenborg, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said Frederick Rosenborg, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Frederick Rosenborg, my executors, adminis-
trators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT OR CONSTRUC-
TION OF MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING OR IMPELLING VESSELS, AND
IN STEERING OR MANEUVRING THE SAME;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso obliging me, the said Frederick Rósenborg, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as, in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
said Invention,
Frederick Rosenborg, do hereby declare that the nature of my
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):
My Invention of Improvements, in the Arrangement or Construction of
Machinery or Apparatus for Propelling or Impelling Vessels, and in Steering
or Manoeuvering the same, relates in the first place to an improved mode
of constructing stern propellers, whereby a more efficient propelling power
and greater strength is obtained than by any of the modes hitherto adopted,
or with which I am acquainted. My improved stern propeller is constructed
in the form of a wheel, the parts of which are made of wrought iron, and
is furnished with inclined blades, mounted in such a.manner as to give the
greatest amount of propelling power and least possible drag or friction.
Although (as will be seen upon inspecting the Drawing) the blades of my
propeller are inclined or placed obliquely, the curve that is given to them
does not form any portion of a screw, but forms a curve or inclination of a
totally different character, as will be seen by the diagram Figure, Fig. 2,
which represents the blades as connected at one end to the centre shaft, and
at the other to the exterior rings or peripheries of the wheel. By attentively
examining this Figure, it will be seen that the curve or angle throughout
the whole of the blade is different at every point, and increases gradually
as the distance from the centre shaft is increased. The mode of generating
this curve will be clearly understood by the following description, (reference
being had to Fig. 3):-The blades consist, in the first instance, of flat plates
of sheet iron, of the form shewn at A, Fig. 3; and when the wrought-iron
arms a, a, to which the blades are affixed, are fastened on to the main shaft
6, one side of the plate which is intended to form a blade is firmly secured,
either by bolts or in any other suitable manner, to one of the radial arms (as
shewn by dots at 1, 2, in Fig. 3), and the other side of the plate is then drawn
forward and firmly secured to another radial arm, belonging to the opposite
ring, as shewn at 3, 4, and in advance of its fellow arm on the opposite side,
thereby giving the plate the twist or curve shewn in the Drawing at Fig. 3.
I would here, however; observe that in practice the plates of sheet iron which
form the blades are shaped into the requisite curves by hammering, so that,
when they are applied to the wheel, they will be found to fit exactly in their
proper places. Upon referring to the diagram Fig. 2, it will be seen that the
edge of the lower end of the blade is parallel to the main shaft, whereas the
"

page_text: top edge is at about an angle of thirty degrees to the main shaft; this giving
the peculiar twist or curve shewn in Figs. 1 and 3, and which has been found
to act in an exceedingly satisfactory manner. I do not, however, intend to con-
fine myself rigidly to the angle above mentioned. One of the principal objec-
tions to the ordinary stern screw propellers is, that the blades are mounted
at the end of radial arms, like to the blade of an oar, and that in order to give
sufficient strength and solidity to the propeller, these radial arms are obliged
to be made stout and thick near the shaft; the consequence of which is that
the lower part of the radial arm, or that nearest the shaft, materially and
injuriously affects or counteracts the impelling power of the propeller, which is
also always liable to be broken off short by heavy seas, or the propeller may be
rendered totally useless by ropes or weeds getting twined round the arms and
shaft. To remedy these and other inconveniences to which this description of
propeller is liable, I have in the first place carefully disconnected the propeller
blades themselves of my propeller from the main or centre shaft, and have
removed them a proper distance therefrom, so as to admit of a free and undis-
turbed flow of the dead water round the said shaft, which does not take place
with the ordinary screw propeller, on which the dead water acts as a drag, and
materially interferes with the speed of the vessel. I also construct the radial
arms, which carry the side exterior rings, and to which the propelling blades
are connected, of as thin metal as is consistent with strength and safety;
and these arms I place so as to present their edge obliquely to the water, and.
thus make them act in some degree as propelling blades. The blades being
firmly secured, as before stated, to these radial arms, instead of direct to
the shaft, as is generally the case with stern propellers, a clear open space is
left all round the main shaft, as shewn in Figs. 1 and 3, so that without any
or at any rate very little counteraction, the propelling blades are allowed to
exert their full power against the water. One great advantage arising from
constructing the radial arms of forged iron, and thereby presenting but little
useless resistance to the water, is a considerable reduction of the friction,
which is incidental to and inseparable from the present construction of stern
propellers. In order to secure the radial arms and the blades that are affixed
to them in their proper position, the radial arms are bolted to the external
rings c, c, which are also connected together by cross pieces d, d; whereby a
very strong, firm, light, and effective propeller is produced, and which is not
liable to any of the inconveniences which so seriously interfere with the
effective operation of the ordinary stern propellers. My improved propeller
may be placed either in the dead wood and before the rudder, as is generally
the case with stern propellers, or it may be placed behind the rudder, as seen.

page_text: in the plan and sectional views of a vessel, shewn at Figures 5 and 6.
I should here observe, that although I have represented my propeller as
consisting of only three blades, I do not mean or intend to confine myself to
that number; but I have shewn the propeller as being constructed of three
blades only, as I have generally found that number to answer the purpose
satisfactorily.
The second part of my Invention relates to a novel mode of steering and
manoeuvring vessels, and consists in the employment of tubes or pipes, through
which water is drawn in from the bottom, and forced out at the sides of
vessels, by means of suitable pumps and apparatus, for the purpose of turning
the head of the vessel round with greater facility. The arrangement of appa-
ratus which I employ to effect this object is shewn in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, in the
accompanying Drawing. The pipes, or water ways through which the water
is forced out at the sides by the pumps, as before mentioned, are placed across
the vessel at the head and stern, as shewn at A and B. These pipes are fur-
nished with stop-cocks and valves, for the purpose of changing the direction
of the water. These pipes communicate with a reservoir or cistern, situated
over the keel, and midway between the sides of the boat, and upon this
cistern or reservoir one or more pumps are mounted; and when these pumps
are set to work, they draw in water through the bottom of the vessel through
pipes conveniently placed for that purpose, and force it out through one of the
side pipes; and by this means the vessel is made to turn round on its centre,
as shewn by the large arrow at the bows and stern of the vessel in Fig. 5.
The water being admitted to the cistern or reservoir through the bottom of the
vessel, as before mentioned, the cock on one of the cross pipes must be opened,
for the purpose of allowing the water to flow out. The cocks which control
the exit of the water are worked simultaneously by rods and levers, which are
moved by hand levers placed on deck near the main mast, or the wheel, or in
any other convenient situation. I would here observe, that the cocks belong-
ing to the apparatus at both ends of the vessel, that is, at the bows and stern,
should be connected together by rods, so that they may be moved simul-
taneously when it is required to turn the vessel round on its centre, but this
connection is so arranged that it may be easily disconnected when it is required
to turn the vessel on a point situated either near the bows or the stern, as in
such a case only one of the apparatus must be employed; that is, if it is required
to turn the head of the vessel round without moving the stern, the apparatus
at the bows only must be brought into play, whereas if the stern is required to
be brought round, the apparatus at this end must be put in action, and that at
the bows stopped. It will, of course, be understood that the head or stern of

page_text: the vessel is moved round in precisely the opposite direction to that at which
the water is forced out, as shewn by the large arrow at the bows and stern
of the vessel in the Figures, and also that by means of this apparatus a vessel
may be turned round on any point without the necessity of any onward or
progressive motion being communicated to her by means of the propeller.
The advantage of being enabled to execute this manœuvre with facility in a
naval engagement, or in any other situation of danger, must be evident to
every nautical man. I would here observe, that in order to remove the rudder
out of the reach of danger, I place it in the dead wood of the vessel, and
below the water line, as seen at C in Fig. 6. It is worked by a tiller or
wheel in precisely the same manner as ordinary rudders, but being below the
water line, cannot very easily be damaged by shot. The pumps for forcing out
the water are shewn at e, e, and the cistern or reservoirs at f, f; these cisterns
or reservoirs are supplied with water from the bottom of the vessel, by means
of the short pipes g, 9, (see Fig. 4.) Above the cistern are other two short
pipes j, j, which are furnished with a conical valve k, that admits the water
with facility into the cylinder of the pumps when the pistons of the pumps
are raised, but prevent its egress except through the lateral pipes h, h, which
are also furnished with valves which open outwards only; each of these lateral
pipes is furnished with a cock i, by turning which the direction of the water is
regulated. These cocks may be connected together by rods, so that when the
apparatus is in operation, both may never be open at the same time, but that
when one is closed the other is open, and vice versa; this, however, is not
absolutely necessary. The pumps may be worked either by hand or by being
connected to the engines, if in a steam vessel. They may also be arranged
in such a manner as to be made to pump the hold dry when required, by
merely placing cocks on the short pipes j, j, and opening a communication
from the hold or well of the vessel to the barrels of the pumps f, f, by means
of suitable pipes.
Having now described my Invention, and the means of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not mean or intend to
claim as my Invention the employment of propellers at the stern of vessels, or
in the dead wood, nor do I intend to claim as new propelling vessels by means
of water forced out of apertures (made in the sides, bottom, or stern of vessels,)
by means of pumps or otherwise; but that which I consider to be new, and
therefore wish to claim as constituting the Invention for which I have
obtained the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, constructing stern propellers in the manner above shewn and
described (that is to say), with blades formed with a curve, generated in the

page_text: manner shewn in the Drawing, and which curve I consider preferable to any
portion of a screw; I also claim this curve as applied to the wheel, in the
manner shewn, or in any similar manner, and also the peculiar construction
and arrangement of the various parts of the propeller.
And, secondly, I claim manoeuvring vessels by means of water forced out by
pumps through apertures made in the sides of vessels, as above described,
whereby I am enabled to move vessels round on certain points without com-
municating to them any onward motion by means of the propeller.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Rosenborg, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
FREDERICK (L.S.) ROSENBORG.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twelfth day of December,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Frederick Rosenborg came before
our Lady. the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and everything therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Twelfth day of December, in the year above written.