IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING HYDRAULIC MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thomas Cheetham, of Ashton-under-Lyne,
in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Draughtsman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING HYDRAULIC MOTIVE POWER."
Scaled the 7th January 1864, and dated the 15th July 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said William Thomas Cheetham
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th, July 1863.
I, WILLIAM THOMAS CHEETHAM, of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the County
of Lancaster, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING HYDRAULIC MOTIVE POWER,"
to be as follows:-
:
My Invention consists in obtaining motive power by causing' water to issue
from an orifice in the form of a compact jet, and to strike by impulsive force
against vanes carried by a wheel which revolves free of water. I regulate the
quantity of water which issues, so that it shall maintain the condition of a
compact jet, and this I accomplish by altering the area of the orifice. A
method by which I propose to effect this consists in causing a conical or
wedge-shaped spindle to be moved inward or outward. The vanes upon
which the jet impinges I so form that after it has exerted its force in the
direction of its first impulse it acts against inclined sider, and a form I have at

page_text: present found to answer this purpose is that of a cap. I also employ a series
of jets, as above described, acting upon the same wheel, or two or more wheels
connected together, and these jets I open and close consecutively.
In order to allow the jet to strike the vanes in a correct position under
varying angles I mount the said vanes, so that they are slightly turned during
the revolution of the wheel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Thomas Cheetham in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 15th January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
THOMAS CHEETHAM, of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the County of Lancaster.
Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent, Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Thomas Cheetham, Her special license that I, the said William
Thomas Cheetham, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Thomas Cheetham, 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 terin 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 OBTAINING HYDRAULIC MOTIVE POWER," upon the condition,
amongst others; that I, the said William Thomas Cheetham, by an instru-
ment 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 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 William Thomas Cheetham, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (and accompanying Drawings) that is to say:-
My Invention consists in a method of obtaining motive power by the impul-
sive force of a column of water projected in the form of a compact jet upon

page_text: vanes carried by a wheel, and in such manner that the said wheel revolves
free of the water which has exerted its force. The vanes I employ are cup-
formed, whereby the jet is returned in or about the same direction in which it
has been projected, pressing in its course upon the inclined surface constituting
the boundary of the float.
In order that the general principle of this part of my Invention may be
understood, I will, before describing the practical form thereof, refer to
Diagrams, Figs. 1 and 2. In the former of these, a represents a pipe with a
narrowed conical opening supplied with water from an elevated source, and
Z represents a flat surface upon which a jet of water issuing from the said pipe
impinges. Under these circumstances the water will exert a certain amount
of percussive force, but will then fly off as shewn by the blue colour at right
angles or nearly so to the axis of the jet, and without effecting any mechanical
action beyond the first or vertical action.
Referring now to Fig. 2, the jet issuing from the pipe a strikes upon a
cup-formed surface b, and instead of flying off at right. angles or nearly so to
its axis as before; it will be returned nearly in an opposite direction, striking
in its course against the inclined boundary of the cup, and exciting a force
thereon which tends as well as the direct action of the jet to force the cup
downward, and thus a motive power which was unavailable in Fig. 1 may be
realized.
Figs. 3 and 4 shew a practical application of the above described principle.
At C is wheel of metal or other suitable material, to which is attached a
series of cup-formed floats d, one of which is shewn detached upon an enlarged
scale in two views at Figs. 5 and 6. At e is the pipe which conveys the
water from the river or other source, which pipe terminates in a conical
orifice f, whereby the water is caused to issue in the form of a compact jet,
and to act by percussive force upon the cup-formed vanes as they are succes-
sively forced forward, returning along the inclined boundary of the said cups,
as above described. The wheel is mounted upon an axle g, turning in any
ordinary bearings, and comniunicating rotatory motion in any manner that
may be desired. The maximum impulsive force will be exerted when the jet
plays upon the centres of the cup-formed floats, but as these must necessarily
alter in angle to said jet as they revolve, this condition cannot be constantly
maintained; in order, however, to compensate in part for this, the vanes are
not fixed in radial lines, but are somewhat inclined, as shewn in the Drawing,
so as to present their most effective surfaces before they reach the horizontal
line. This angle is adopted because the jet is necessarily interrupted by the
vanes as they successively come into action, thereby cutting off the full effect

page_text: of the jet from that cupwhich is situate beneath the horizontal line, and the best
surface is therefore presented before the said interruption takes place. It will
be observed that the wheel above described revolves free of water which has
exerted its force, for immediately it has acted it is at liberty to pass off by any
convenient channel. The wheel above described for a given fall will of course
be diminished or increased in power by contracting or enlarging the orifice of
the jet, and its diameter for any power may be varied according to the speed
at which the motive power is to run, as will be understood by all competent
engineers. It would, however, be inconvenient to employ a jet of such arca
as would be sufficient for considerable powers, under which circumstances two
or more jets may be employed acting upon one or more wheels. Fig. 7 shews
such an arrangement. In this case the wheel c is as before provided with a
series of cup-formed floats d, but instead of the water bcing conveyed byone
pipe there are two, as at e, e, or in like manner there may be three, four, or
other number. Fig. 8 shews another arrangement. In this case there are
two wheels c, c', provided with cup-formed floats d, d', placed at intermediate
distances apart, each series being acted upon by a separate jet f, f', and in
like manner three or more wheels may be placed side by side.
This combination of two or more jets acting upon one or more wheels con-
stitutes an important feature of my Invention; for by this arrangement I am
enabled to use the wheel or combined wheels for different powers depending
upon variations in the quantity of water at command, for by opening or closing
successively the several pipes leading to the separate jets, more or less water
may be used without disturbing the useful effect of those jets which are left in
action.
Figs 9 and 10 shew a modification in the form of float. In this instance,
instead of the circular cup above described, the float d is an elongated cup,
the ends being curved outward. The water may be caused to impinge upon
this float by passing through a slit extending along the length of the floats, or
a series of cylindrical jets may be employed. In this instance, as in the former
arrangements, the water impinges upon the centre of the float, and is returned
in the opposite direction by the inclined sides, and it will be found peculiarly
applicable in cases where an undershot waterwheel would otherwise be
employed, provision being made, however, for allowing the water to flow away
freely after it has acted by its percussive force, so that the wheel may revolve
free thereof.
Fig. 11 represents another modification of my Invention. In this instance
the float is formed by a number of cups d formed side by side; these may be
acted upon by one jet issuing from a narrow slit-formed opening extending

page_text: along the width of the combined cups, or by a number of separate cylindrical
jets.
At Figs. 12 and 13 I have shewn a method which may be adopted for
fitting up small wheels suitable for use with water supplied to towns, and for
being applied to blowing organs, turning amateur lathes, or other purposes
requiring small power; the Figures are drawn of the full size. The wheel c,
with its cup-formed floats d, one only of which is shewn, is mounted within a
casing g, which carries the axle h. The wheel is placed at such a height
from the bottom of the casing that the water will not accumulate at the
bottom thereof, but will pass off as fast as it is delivered by the waste pipe i.
The jet is at f bolted to the casing g, and the apparatus is therefore complete
in itself. At is a screw, which when removed allows a view of the jet, so
that it may be properly adjusted. at l is an aperature for the admission of air.
The speed of the wheels above described, when revolving by themselves only,
will be so much in excess of their loaded speed as in all cases to require
regulating, but when such regulation is necessary, it may be accomplished
by the operation of an ordinary governor acting upon a throttle valve so as to
close or open the supply pipe or pipes, and this operation of the governor may
shut off the supplies successively when more than one jet is employed.
Another part of my Invention, however, consists in a peculiar method of
regulating the jets, and consists in the use of a conical or wedge-formed
spindle, which by being thrust forward or withdrawn within a similarly formed
jet, contracts or enlarges the orifice thereof. This part of my Invention is
shewn Figs. 14 and 15, in which Z represents a pipe provided with a conical
jet m; within this pipe is a conical spindle n mounted so as to be capable of
sliding in guides o. Upon the spindle n is a rack, in gear with which is a
pinion p fixed to a shaft q, which passes through a stufling box, by turning the
said shaft, therefore, the conicalpart of the spindle n is either thrust through the
orifice of the jet or withdrawn therein, thus regulating its area. The turning
of the shaft q may be effected by hand when a comparatively permanent
alteration in the area of the jet is required, or it may be effected by the
ordinary action of a governor; in some cases, however, a moving part of the
machine which is being driven may be used to effect the said regulation, as,
for instance, in blowing organs the reservoir bellows may be connected to the
spindle n so as to lift or depress it as the supply of wind becomes exhausted or
replenished.
I have above pointed out that there is one position of the floats in reference
to the jet which gives the maximum effect. If it be desired this position
may be maintained by mounting the floats moveable, and connecting them to

page_text: apparatus which will as the wheel revolves alter their angle after the manner
of paddle wheels on what is called the "feathering" principle.
i
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim, as secured to me under the above in part recited
Letters Patent,―
Firstly, the use of the impulsive force of water acting upon floats or vanes
of the character above described, and mounted upon wheels which run clear of
waste water.
Also, the combined use of two or more jets acting upon one or more
wheels.
And, lastly, the regulation of jets used for the above-mentioned purpose, by
causing the orifices thereof to be diminished or increased by a conical or
wedge-formed spindle.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Thomas Cheetham, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
WILLIAM THOMAS CHEETHAM.
(L.S)