Improvements in Feathering Paddle Wheels for Steam Boats.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Feathering Paddle Wheels for Steam Boats.
A communication from abroad by FRANK EMIL PIRRUNG and HUBERT AUGUST
PIRRUNG, both of St. Paul, in the State of Minnesota, United States of
America, Contractors, and GEORGE EDWARD TORINUS, of St. Paul,
aforesaid, Lumber Dealer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in feathering paddle wheels for steam
boats, its object being to combine with an improved construction of wheel, a firm
support for the end of the paddle wheel shaft, and self-lubricating devices for the
various bearings, and to this end consists in forming a wheel with the spokes turned
inward from each end and joined to a common hub in the centre of the wheel, by
which means a common firm support is furnished for all parts of the wheel, and
extended journal bearings are secured for the shaft at each end of the hub, the
bearing for the end of the shaft being hung from the stationary shaft of the
feathering wheel and standing in the space between bent spokes of the two wheels;
and further in surrounding the hubs of the paddle and idler wheels with oil tanks
having feed pipes connecting the same to the various bearings.
This invention further consists in the construction and combination hereinafter
described and particularly pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings forming part of this Specification,
Figure 1 is a cross section of one improved paddle wheel looking toward the
idler or feathering wheel, and showing the connections between the periphery of the
idler and the paddles of the paddle wheel;
Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same showing the arrangement
of oil reservoirs and the feeding pipes, and
Figure 3 is a detail of one of the pipes showing the closing valve in the outlet of
the same.
In the drawings, 2 and 4 represent the supports for the shafts of the paddle and
feathering wheels, 6 the drive shaft of the paddle turning in the bearing box 8
secured to the support 2, and the box 10 supported by means of the depending bar
or hanger 12, rigidly connected to the stationary shaft 14 of the idler 16. This
shaft is secured to the support 4, and is parallel, but eccentric, with the shaft 6.
The paddle wheel 18 is provided with the paddles 20 arranged between the ends of
the paddle wheel and journalled upon them. The spokes 22 at both ends of the
wheel are inturned toward the shaft, and are rigidly secured to the common hub 24
at the centre of the wheel which stands between the bearing boxes 8 and 10. It
will thus be seen that the wheel is firmly braced and secured together, and long
bearings furnished at either end for the driving shaft. The idler or feathering
wheel is of the same diameter as the paddle wheel and their shafts are preferably
arranged in the same vertical plane. The periphery of the idler is fitted with
bearing boxes 26 equal in number and in distance apart to the paddles. Journalled
in these boxes are the pivots of the bars or arms 28, which are rigidly connected at
their outer end to the paddles 20, with the planes of the paddles substantially
vertical, and parallel with each other, the paddles having their gudgeons 30
journalled in suitable bearings upon the peripheries of the ends of the paddle
wheel.
ر
In the construction shown the bars 28 are at all times in a vertical position, and

page_text: parallel with the planes of the paddles, although it is evident that their positions
may be varied so long as the shafts 6 and 14 are parallel but eccentric with each
other. It will thus be seen that as the shaft 6 is rotated carrying the paddle wheel
with it, the bars 28 serve as pitmen to cause the idler or feathering wheel 16 to
rotate synchronously, and by means of the connection between the bars and the
paddles the latter are caused to turn in their bearings and to maintain at all times the
same vertical position. The object of the connecting bar 12 is to furnish a support
for the inner end of the shaft 6, it being thus practically supported as firmly as
though carried through to the opposite support. In order to furnish means for
lubricating the bearings, there are arranged around the hubs 24 and 15 of the
paddle and feathering wheels, oil receptacles or reservoirs 32 and 34 in which may
be stored a sufficient quantity of oil for lubricating the bearings for any desired
period. An opening 36 leads through the hub 24 connecting the reservoir 32 with
a groove 38 in the shaft 6, by means of which the oil is carried into contact with
the bearing surfaces of the journals of the shaft, a similar opening 40 connecting
the reservoir 34 with a groove 42 in the shaft 14. The bearings on the
peripheries on the paddle and feathering wheels, in which are journalled the pivots
of the arms 28 and the gudgeons of the paddles 20, may also be connected with the
reservoirs by means of pipes or tubes 44 and 46 through which the oil is conducted
to the bearing surfaces. These pipes may be fitted at their outlets with self closing
valves 48, having seats 50 in the tubes, the valves being kept closed by the bearing
contact of their stems 52 upon the gudgeons, the gudgeons being cach provided
with a depression or groove 54 on one side into which the valve stem drops with
each rotation of the wheel, thus opening the valve and allowing a small quantity
of oil to flow out of the pipe. Any other preferred means however may be
employed to control the flow of the oil from the pipes to the bearings. The
paddle wheel preferably provided with guards 56 extending beyond the outer
edge of the paddles, so as to protect them from injury from obstructions in the
water or on the bed of the stream.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a feathering paddle wheel, the combination with its shaft, of a central hub
of less length than the length of the wheel, having suitable connections with the
rims of the wheel, shaft bearings abutting against the ends of said hub, and a
hanger supporting the outer bearing, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
2. In a device of the class described, the combination of the paddle wheel having
a central hub of less length than the wheel, inturned spokes connecting said hub
with the rims of the wheel, a driving shaft rigidly secured in said paddle wheel
hub, an idler or feathering wheel eccentric with and equal in diameter to the
paddle wheel, having its hub outside the plane of the wheel, a fixed bearing shaft
for said hub, a bearing for the end of the driving shaft carried by said fixed
shaft, and bars pivotally connected to the rim of the feathering wheel and
rigidly connected to the paddles of the paddle wheel, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a paddle wheel having
its outer end projecting beyond the end of the hub, a feathering wheel, a stationary
shaft projecting beyond the end of its hub, and adjacent to the end of the paddle
wheel upon which said idler wheel is journalled, a hanger upon the end of said
shaft, a bearing carried by said hanger, and a drive shaft for said paddle wheel
journalled in said bearing, substantially as described.
4. In a device of the class described, the combination with the hubs of the
paddle and idler wheels, of oil reservoirs surrounding said hubs, and conduits con-
necting said reservoirs with the bearings of said wheels and with the bearings of
the paddles and their arms, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

page_text: 5. The combination with the paddle wheel having its outer end projecting
beyond the end of its hub, a driving shaft secured in said hub and projecting
beyond the same, an idler wheel of equal diameter and eccentric with the paddle
wheel adjacent to its outer end and having its rim extending beyond the outer end
of its hub, a stationary journal shaft for said idler wheel, and a journal box for
the driving shaft carried by said stationary shaft, substantially as described.
6. The combination with the paddle wheel having its outer end projecting
beyond the end of its hub, a driving shaft secured in said hub and projecting
beyond the same, an idler wheel of equal diameter and eccentric with the paddle
wheel adjacent to its outer end and having its rim extending beyond the end of its
hub, a stationary journal shaft for said idler wheel, a journal box for the driving
shaft carried by said stationary shaft, oil reservoirs upon the hubs of said wheels
and conduits connecting said reservoirs with the bearings of said wheels, substantially
as described.
7. In a device of the class described, the combination of the paddle wheel, its
driving shaft, the feathering wheel, its stationary shaft, and a bearing carried by
the stationary shaft off set therefrom and supporting the journal of the driving shaft,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
1901
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.