IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OP PADDLE WHEELS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Ino,
in the County of Middlesex, and No. 87, St. Vincent Street, in the
City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OP PADDLE WHEELS."-A com-
munication from abroad by William Henry Holland, of Boston, Massa-
chusetts, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 26th November 1867, and dated the 4th June 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th June 1867.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County
of Middlesex, and No. 87, St. Vincent Street, in the City of Glasgow,
Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PADDLE WHEELS," (a
communication to me from abroad by William Henry Holland, of Boston,
Massachusetts, in the United States of America,) to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the combination of a series of main floats and
a series of auxiliary floats in connection with two wheels, the whole being
constructed and arranged substantially as herein-after described. Between
two thin wheels and attached to them at their rims and spokes is a series of
floats composed of metal or wood; these floats form an obtuse angle with
each other at their centres, and are attached at their outer ends on each side

page_text: to the wheels, being arranged at equal distances apart. In revolving the
paddle wheel for the purpose of propelling a vessel ahead the said wheel is to
turn in such a direction that the outer ends of the floats shall first enter the
water, and the force of the latter shall be exerted against the inner or concave
side of the bucket. Extending from the spokes of the side wheels are two
auxiliary wings or floats attached at their inner ends to the main floats and set
at a reverse angle to the same for the purpose of enabling the wheel when its
motion is reversed to propel the vessel "astern," these auxiliary floats also
serving as braces or supports for the main floats.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd December 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
and No. 87, Saint Vincent Street, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Davies, Her special licence that I, the said George Davies, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Davies, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF PADDLE WHEELS," being a communication to me from abroad
by William Henry Holland, of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Davies
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under iny, o
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
performed, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Davies, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manuer the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
in writing, and on reference to the accompaning Sheet of Drawings, that is
to say :-
This Invention consists in the combination of a series of main floats and a
series of auxiliary floats in connection with two wheels, the whole being
constructed and arranged substantially as herein-after described. Between
these two wheels and attached to them at their rims and spokes is a series
of floats composed of metal or wood; these floats form an obtuse angle with
each other at their centres, and are attached at their outer ends on each side
In revolving the
to the wheels, being arranged at equal distances apart.
paddle wheel for the purpose of propelling a vessel the said wheel is to turn
in such a direction that the outer ends of the floats shall first enter the water
and the force of the latter shall be exerted against the inner or concave side
of the bucket. Extending from the spokes of the side wheels are two
auxiliary wings or floats attached at their inner ends to the main floats and
set at a reverse angle to the same for the purpose of enabling the wheel when
its motion is reversed to propel the vessel astern, these auxiliary floats also
serving as braces or supports for the main floats.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improvements
in Paddle Wheels," I will now proceed to describe more in detail the manner
.in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect; and in order that the same may be distinctly understood I have annexed
hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same
with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof, that is to say:-
In the annexed Drawing Figures 1, 2, and 3 represent one modification
side elevation,
of the Invention, Figure 1 being a plan view, Figure 2
and Figure 3 a vertical section of a paddle wheel constructed according to the
Invention.
A, A, are two thin wheels properly secured to the shaft B, B, the main
floats are shewn at C, C, and the auxiliary floats at D, D. The main
floats C, C, in this modification form an obtuse angle with each other, and are
attached at their outer ends on each side to the wheels A, A, as shown, being
arranged at equal distinces apart. In propelling a vessel the wheel is caused
to revolve in the direction of the arrow so that the outer ends of the floats
shall enter the water first and the force of the latter shall be exerted against
the inner or concave side of the float. The auxiliary floats D, D, extend

page_text: from the spokes of the side wheels A, A, being arranged as shewn and attached
at their inner ends to the main floats C, C, so as to present a double concave
surface to the water when the rotation of the wheel is reversed whilst
backing or turning astern; they also serve as braces or supports for the main
floats C, C.
A modification of the above is shown at Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, Figure 4
being a plan view, Figure 5 a side elevation, Figure 6 a longitudinal section,
and Figure 7 a transverse section of a sectional part of a paddle wheel as
constructed with its main and auxiliary floats, having three series of radial
rods or arms and two series of auxiliary radial arms arranged and combined
together and attached to rings and hubs as herein-after described and repre-
sented in the said Figures.
As in the improvement first described the said wheel is constructed with
two auxiliary floats D, D, combined with each of the main floats C, C. The
auxiliary floats D, D, project each from the main float at a point about
midway between its vertex and the next adjacent end of the main float. The
main floats are jointed at the centre of the breadth of the wheel at an obtuse
angle, and are arranged in pairs, those of each pair as well as their auxiliary
floats D, D, being made to stand in opposite directions, as shown at Figure 4.
Furthermore, between the vertex of each float and that of the next float of the
next contiguous pair is a space a, a. Each main float at its vertex is secured
to one of a series of rods or arms 6, 6, extending radially from a hub E, E,
which is attached to the main or driving shaft F, F. The said float c, c,
is also secured at each of its outer ends to one of another set of radial arms or
rods c, c, there being two series of these latter arms, those of each series
projecting from one of two other hubs G, G, attached to the shaft on either
side of the hub E, E. Each outer set of radial arms is connected, for the
purpose of securing greater strength, to a series of concentric rings d, e, f,
which are also provided with two shorter or auxiliary radial arms 9, 9,
arranged between each pair of arms c, c, and connected to the rims of the
wheels; to each of these auxiliary arms one end of one of the auxiliary
floats D, D, is fastened, the auxiliary arm serving as a support for the said
'float. The main floats or paddles of this wheel (as seen in the Drawing) are
'disconnected at their centres, and they are so arranged as to leave spaces
between the vertices of every two of them as shewn.
Figures 8, 9, and 10 illustrate another modification of the Invention,
Figure 8 being a plan view, Figure 9 a side elevation, and Figure 10 a
transverse section of a portion of a paddle wheel. In this modification each
main float extends diagonally across the entire width of the wheel, and its

page_text: auxiliary float extends from the centre of the main float at an acute angle
thereto and is jointed to one of the side frames. Each main float and its brace
or auxiliary float are arranged obliquely on the wheel in directions opposite to
those of the next adjacent main float and its brace or auxiliary float.
In carrying out this modification a series of main floats A, A, and a series
of auxiliary floats B, B, of about half the size of the former are employed.
The main floats A, A, are of a rectangular shape, and are straight or nearly so
in the direction of their length and extend diagonally across the wheel. The
auxiliary floats B, B, are also rectangular in shape, and extend from the
centres of the main floats to the side frame, forming an acute angle with the
main floats. Each main float is supported by one of a series of radial
arms D, D, arranged midway between the side frames or wheels c, c, and
projecting from a hub E, E, fixed on the shaft F, F. All the main floats
may extend across the wheel in the same direction, but the Inventor prefers
to have every other one of the series so arranged that its obliquity will be in
a direction opposite to that of the next main float, in which case each auxiliary
float would range in like relation to the next adjacent auxiliary float, as seen
at Figure 8. This latter arrangement of the main and auxiliary floats is
preferable, inasmuch as the lateral strain upon the wheels induced by one
paddle or float whilst in action is wholly counteracted by that of the next
paddle.
In the operation of these wheels as constructed under their several
modifications the water will be ejected laterally therefrom in such a manner
that there will be little (if any) lifting of the water in the rear of and by the
wheel to impede its rotation; the wheels will also run very steadily and cause
very little jar to the vessel.
Figure 11 illustrates the application of the auxiliary floats or braces to the
ordinary straight form of main float. A, A, being the main float, and B, B, the
auxiliary floats; in this instance each main float is provided with two auxiliary
floats forming an obtuse angle therewith; the auxiliary floats also in this instance,
as well as in the preceding cases, serve as braces or supports for the main floats.
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention for
Improvements in Paddle Wheels," together with the manner in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would
remark in conclusion that I claim as the Invention communicated to me by
the aforesaid William Henry Holland,-
66
Firstly, the combination of a series of auxiliary floats D, D, with the
wheels A, A, and the series of main floats C, C, substantially as represented
in the Drawings at Figures 1, 2, and 3.

page_text: Secondly, I claim a wheel or propeller as constructed with its main and
auxiliary floats C, D, three series of radial rods and arins, and two series of
auxiliary radial arms, substantially as described and shewn at Figures 4, 5, 6,
and 7.
Thirdly, I also claim the arrangement of the main and auxiliary floats as
shown at Figures 8, 9, and 10, with respect to each other and the side frames,
substantially as specified, each main float extending diagonally or obliquely
across the width of the wheel, and auxiliary floats extending from the centre
of the main float at an acute thereto and joined to the side frames as
specified.
Fourthly, I also claim the arrangement of each main float and its brace
or auxiliary float so as to stand obliquely on the wheel in directions opposite
to those of the next adjacent main float and its brace or auxiliary float,
substantially as described and shewn in the Drawing at Figures 8, 9, and 10.
And, fiftbly, I claim the application of the auxiliary floats B, B, to main
floats A, A, of the ordinary straight form, substantially as described and
represented at Figure 11 in the Drawing annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
GEORGE DAVIES.
(L.S.)