IMPROVE- MENTS IN PADDLE WHEELS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CARTER, of Fleur de Lis Street, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifth day of May, in the
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Carter, my exors, adññors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Carter,
my exors, adiiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Carter, my
exors, admors, 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 expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PADDLE WHEELS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said John Carter, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said
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 John
Carter, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the said Invention is performed, are fully described in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention is a combination of mechanical principles for the purpose of
propelling steam vessels, whereby a great saving of power, with little friction
or increased weight, may be obtained. by avoiding the beating down and lifting
up of water usual in the paddles of steam boats, as well as the inconvenience
experienced in long voyages by the rising of the common paddle wheel from
the water when the vessel is lightened by the consumption of fuel. My prin-
ciples are an irregular railway. In the bearings on each side the wheel for
small rollers to run vertically round, and radiating railways fixed to the wheel
on each side for other rollers to run in concentric with those in the irregular
railways, by means of cross rods running from one side of the wheel to similar
rollers and railways on the other side of the wheel. To these rods, which run
between the spokes of the wheel, are attached pendulums hinged to the ends
of oscillating dips nearest the axis of the wheel, the said dips moving on centres
in the circumference of the wheel, and making two semi-revolutions, or near
it, on their own axis, while the wheel on which they move makes a complete
revolution. There are likewise levers on the outside of the wheel near the
vessel, with rollers below the axis, and near the oscillating line, above the axis
of the wheel, to secure the action of the dips when the pendulum and the dip
are in a line with the diameter of the wheel; there is a shield from the rollers
to keep the levers to their work, which work is done by means of a fork pass-
ing between the spokes of the wheel from one end of the lever to embrace the
pendulum, or from a pin at the end of the lever sliding in a slot in the pendu-
lum, the other end of the lever having an oblong pin to touch the lever rollers
when they might possibly take a wrong direction for want of this guide. This
Invention might with facility be put to any of the wheels now running.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a section through the middle of the wheel across the axis;
a, a, a, a, are the radiating railways; b, b, b, the wheel; c, c, c, the irregular
railway indicated by dotted lines, where it is hid by the radiating railway and
the wheel; d, d, d, d, the concentric rollers, showing the ends of the cross rods
e, e, e, e, which run from one side of the wheel to the other; fff, f, the pen-
dulums attached to the cross rods e, e, e, e, at one end, and hinged at the other
end to the end of the dips 9, 9, g, nearest the radius of the wheel; h, h, h, h, the

page_text: levers fixed on the wheel for the purpose of securing the position of the dips
when they are in a line with the pendulum and diameter of the wheel; i, i, i, i,
the lever rollers running on arms that start from the irregular railway; j,j,
the fork of the levers which embrace the pendulums; k, k, the oblong pin that
slides on the lever rollers to move the pendulum and dips; 1, 1, the lever's
fulcrum.
Figure 2 is a section parallel to the axis of the wheel, shewing the width of
the wheel, the length of the cross rods, and the width of the pendulums, rollers,
and the radiating and irregular railways, the space for the pendulums to play
in, and the distance of the rails from the wheel, and the levers from their rollers,
&c. The irregular railway c, c, c, indicated by dotted lines, being fixed to the
side of the vessel, and forming a bearing for the axis of the wheel b, b, b, rules the
position of the dips 9, 9, 9, on their own centres, as the radiating railways a, a, a,
press the cross rods e, e, e, through the irregular railway c, c,c; the irregular railway
c, c, c, being the radius of the dip g, g, nearer the axis of the wheel b, b, b, at
the bottom than at the sides, will by means of the pendulums f. f. f, pull the
dips 9, 9, 9, perpendicular as they cleave, and leave the water; and they will
make arks from their centers while they travel the ark of the wheel; but as it
is necessary the dips g, g, g, should retrogade before they re-enter the water, or
they would enter at the wrong end, for that purpose the irregular rail is again
brought a dip's radius nearer the axis of the wheel, that the dip g, g, and the
pendulum f, f, may be in a line with the diameter of the wheel b, b, b, to give
the dips g, g, g, room for oscillation. Then the levers h, h, being touched on
their oblong pins k, k, by the lever, rollers, and shields, will by their forks j, j,
which embrace the pendulums f, f, gently push the pendulums back above the
axis of the wheel b, b, b. Whichever way the wheel moves the pendulums
will be pushed gently back in the opposite direction to the wheel's motion
above the axis of the wheel b, b, b, but in the direction of the wheel's motion
below its axis. Thus the pendulums holding the dips are secure in their action
in the only parts of the wheel where they could err. By the aid of the levers
the dips will be perpendicular under the wheel out of the water as well as in
it, and can never fail in their oscillation.
A wheel will work well with a lever embracing two pendulums. Then its
fulcrum should be in the spokes of the wheel; but a single lever is most perfect
in principle, with the fulcrum half way between the spokes of the wheel. I
leave the shape of the irregular railway undefined; as I am not a seaman, I
leave it to them and engineers to determine what angle the dips shall make at
entering and leaving the water, content with showing them the means to vary
t by their judgement. It depends on the irregular railway, which may be

page_text: varied; it may be pear, oval, or kidney-shaped, &c. There may be a dead rail
attached to the irregular rail, with latches to admit the pendulum rollers into
the dead rail, so as to horizontalize the dips, if required, for sailing.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I am
acquainted with for performing the same, I wish it to be understood I do not
claim the mechanical parts separately, but combined; nor do I confine myself
to the details shown, provided the peculiar character of my Invention be
retained; but what I claim is,-
Firstly, the combination of the irregular and radiating rails by means of the
axis and bearings of wheel and cross rods and rollers, as before described.
Secondly, the oscillation of the dips, and laying hold of their ends by the
pendulum, as before described.
Thirdly, the use of levers having their fulcrum on the paddle wheel to guide
the action of the dips, the same levers having their guide from rollers attached
to the irregular rail or side of the vessel, as before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Carter, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One