AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING WAVE POWER AS A MOTIVE FORCE
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING
WAVE POWER AS A MOTIVE FORCE." -A communication from abroad
by Spencer Ruding Deverell, of Mount Gambier, in the Colony of
South Australia, Telegraph Master.
Sealed the 4th July 1871, and dated the 24th April 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th April 1871.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS
FOR UTILIZING WAVE POWER AS A MOTIVE FORCE," a communication, to be as
follows:-
--
Ocean wave force is the impressed force of the wind imparted to the
particles of water. It is the cumulated force of the wind, the waves

page_text: acting the part of fly wheels in storing and retaining the power. Wave
force is therefore generally much greater than the transient force of the
wind, it is steadier and more reliable, for when the wind dies away its
power still lives in the wave. Vessels at sea therefore heave with a
motion approximately regular and varying but little in calm or storm
from port to port, the motion never ceasing.
Previous Patents have been granted for applying the power of
waves, but in these the power has been obtained by the direct action of
the waves on floats, spars, and the like placed overboard, and all these
plans have been found impracticable on that account. But I employ
the indirect action of the waves on the principle of the independent
inertia of a free or detached body within board. By this means the
machinery is entirely within board.
The force with which a vessel moves on waves is the moving force of
the water which it displaces. So far as any resistance within board is
concerned this is of a gigantic character. This enormous force is im-
parted evenly to every fixed or rigid part of the ship, but only partially
imparted to a partially fixed or partially rigid part of the ship; con-
sequently a detached body within will be acted upon by independent
forces, namely, inertia and gravity. And by the oscillation of the ship
variable relative pressure and variable relative motion will be the source
of permanent power. The whole mechanical effect is due to the absolute
motion of the detached body, together with that due to the absolute-
motion of the ship.
The mechanical applications of the principle admit of great variety,
according to the mode of arranging the freedom of the independent body
in respect to the working resistance. But the mechanism, however
varied, must have one general character; for although the oscillations
of a vessel on waves, and therefore the oscillations of a detached body
within board, are approximately regular, the occasional diversity is such
that in a mechanical point of view they must be regarded as irregular
or casual. For purposes of work the irregularity in the motion of the
detached body must be reduced to uniformity, and the appliances for so
doing must evidently be self-acting. Two general appliances are used
by me for reducing this oscillatory irregular motion to motion in one
direction, namely, self-acting valves and ratchet wheels.

page_text: As one illustration of utilizing wave power by my method, I will
proceed to describe what I call a rotary wave engine. I erect a vertical
shaft in any convenient part of the ship, passing through the upper deck
and resting on a lower onc, free to rotate either way.. To the lower end
I attach a heavy body with its outer extremity supported by a whcel
travelling on a circular rail; on the upper end above the upper deck I
attach two bevilled wheels a short distance apart with the bevils facing
cach other; on the bevilled face of each of these wheels I construct a
circular ratchet; theso wheels are to be loose on the shaft; between
these wheels I place an arm proceeding from the shaft and having rival
pawls to gear into and work the respective ratchet and bevil wheels, so
that whichever way the ship rolled one or other of these pawls would
gear into and force round one of the wheels. Now in order to utilize
this force I provide a bevil wheel (fixed on the end of a counter shaft)
to fit between and gcar into both of the bevil wheels on the vertical
shaft, so that whichever way the ship rolled the counter shaft would
still revolve in the same direction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,

page_text: '
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 "AN IMPROVED
METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING WAVE POWER AS A MOTIVE FORCE,"
a communication to me from abroad by Spencer Ruding Deverell, of
Mount Gambier, in the Colony of South Australia, Telegraph Master,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robert
Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification :-
Ocean wave force is the impressed force of the wind imparted to the
particles of water. It is the cumulated force of the wind, the waves
acting the part of fly wheels in storing and retaining the power. Wave
force is therefore generally much greater than the transient force of
the wind, it is steadier and more reliable, for when the wind dies away
its power still lives in the wave. Vessels at sea therefore heave with a
motion approximately regular and varying but little in calm or storm
from port to port, the motion never ceasing.
Previous Patents have been taken out for applying the power of waves
but in these the power has been obtained by the direct action of the
waves, through the medium of float spars and the like placed overboard,
and all these plans have been found impracticable on that account. The
method now proposed, and by which it is thought the application will be
put into a practicable shape, is the indirect action of the waves on the
principle of the independent incrtia of a free or detached body within
board. By this means the machinery is entirely within board.
The force with which a vessel moves on waves is the moving force of
the water which it displaces. So far as any resistance within. board is

page_text: concerned this is of a gigantic character. This enormous force is imparted
evenly to every fixed or rigid part of the ship, but only partially imparted
to a partially fixed or partially rigid part of the ship. Consequently
a detached body within will be acted upon by independent forces, viz.
its inertia and gravity. And by the oscillation of the ship variable
relative pressure and variable relative motion will result, the source of
permanent power. The whole mechanical effect is due to the absolute
motion of the detached body, together with that due to the absolute
motion of the ship. The oscillation of a vessel on waves is an oscillation
compounded of threc oscillations, viz. vertical, horizontal, and angular,
and it is estimated that a seagoing vessel will make five oscillations
per minute, or one every twelve seconds, and that the average
inclination
will be seven degrees space, being referable to three dimensions; a
body which is free to move in a straight line only may be said to
have freedom of one dimension, if free to move in a plane of two dimen-
sions, and if wholly unrestrained it has perfect freedom, viz., of three
dimensions. It is however impossible for a detached object on board
ship to be wholly independent, for if it be contained in the vessel at all
it must be supported by it in one direction at least. For distinction's
sake the plane of the deck is referred to the first and second dimensions,
the directions at right angles to it the third dimension. The utmost
freedom which a body within board can have is that of the first and
second dimensions, and (by certain mechanism) partially of the third
dimension. But the power to be derived from freedom of the first and
second dimensions is shown to be so great that freedom in the third
dimension is practically unnecessary, it being generally more convenient
to increase the mass of the independent body than the space devoted to
its play. The plans here given therefore will refer only to freedom of
the first and second dimensions. The mechanical applications of the
principle admit of great variety according to the mode of arranging the
freedom of the independent body in respect to the working resistance.
But the mechanism however varied must have one general character.
For although the oscillations of a vessel on waves and therefore the
oscillations of a detached body within board are approximately regular,
the occasional diversity is such that in a mechanical point of view they
must be regarded as irregular or casual. For purposes of work the
irregularity in the motion of the detached body must be reduced to
uniformity, and the appliances for so doing must evidently be self-acting,

page_text: and where the velocity is required to be uniform, I propose the
countershaft to be employed in compressing air, which might be then
used in the same manner as steam. Two general appliances are used
by me for reducing this oscillatory irregular motion to motion in one
direction, namely self-acting valves and ratchet wheels. From a number
of plans the following are selected for illustration.
Figures 1 and 1ª represent a rotatory wave engine a, a, is a vertical
shaft free to revolve in either direction having a cross piece 9 at right
angles to it upon which a heavy weight or load R is hinged; i, i, is a
circular rail around the shaft a, a, upon this rail the load R revolves by
means of the wheel h. The shaft a, a, has a projecting arm b which
carries rival pawls, the top one being kept in position by a spring.
The top pawl works into the ratchet bevel wheel d (that is a ratchet
and bevel wheel keyed together), the lower pawl into the similar ratchet
bevel wheel e. The ratchet teeth of d and e being set opposite ways.
Both the ratchet bevel wheels are loose on the shaft a, a, and are
geared to an intermediate wheel c which works the uniform shaft f.
Now with the motion of the ship the load R and consequently the
shaft a, a, and the arm b revolve irregularly to and fro. If the load R
revolves in one direction the top pawl bites and forces the wheel c round
while the lower pawl slips idly over the teeth of its ratchet wheel, which
also revolves loosely from it; if in the contrary direction the lower
pawl bites and forces wheel c round while the top pawl slips idly over
its ratchet wheel, which also revolves away from it. If the load has no
motion both pawls bite and the machine locks itself. By these means,
however irregular the motion of the load R the shaft fis made to revolve
in one uniform direction, and is thence applied to any mechanical
purpose required.
Figure 2 represents a rotary wave engine for pumping, for which
purpose ratchet gearing is unnecessary, valves opening one way only
answering the same purpose. R is the revolving load as before, a, a,
the vertical oscillating shaft, the projecting arm, which is attached
directly by the link c to the pump rocker d. At every motion of the
load R water is either admitted above the valve, or what is above the
valve is lifted. This apparatus is quite inexpensive.
Figure 3 represents a self-acting ram for baling. The independent
body, instead of being a solid, is here the contained water itself. bis

page_text: a common hydraulic ram; a, valve opening into it from the waterway
of the vessel. The ram may be placed either in the head or stern or
on one side of the vessel; the diagram shews it in the stern. The
oscillation of the vessel merely fulfils the function of the stoppage valve
on land where the ram would be worked by a running stream; for
instance, when the vessel rises forward on a wave the water in the
waterway rushes down to the valve, enters the ram, and compresses
the air within. When the vessel by the returning oscillation rises aft
the water in the waterway recedes from the valve, which closes, and
the compressed air in the ram raises the water which has entered it.
This apparatus is well suited for boats.
Figure 4 represents a pendulous wave engine, wherein the oscillations
of a suspended weight or load are made to produce motions in two
directions at right angles to each other, and these two motions are then
added together to produce rotation of a shaft in one uniform direction.
In this construction R is the independent body, which is free to oscillate
on a point of suspension. It is suspended by the rod a, a, on the
secondary axis b, b, see Figures 4 and 4b. This axis is part of the
frame x, x, which itself is free to revolve on the primary axis c, c, at
right angles to b, b, and is supported by bearings V, V, upon deck. The
shaft d, d, revolves through the hollow bearing or trunnion c at V, and
also through a circular orifice in the centre of the secondary axis b, b, the
other end of d, d, revolves in a trunnion in the centre of the wheel p;
e and fare ratchet bevel wheels revolving loosely on the axis b, b, and
geared to the bevel wheel g, which is keyed to the shaft d, d. The
rival pawls are fitted at h upon the rod a, a; k is a ratchet wheel keyed
on the shaft d, d; is a pawl fixed on deck working in the teeth of k,
the teeth being set so that the pawl allows it to travel with the
shaft d, d; n is a ratchet bevel wheel loose upon the shaft d, d, the
teeth being.set opposite ways to those of k; m, the pawl working in it
from the deck. Midway between 1 and p the shaft d, d, carries a
projecting arm d, o, upon which, as an axis, a loose epicyclic. bevel
wheel o¹ works, geared on the one side with the loose wheel n and on
the other with the fixed bevel wheel p, which works the shaft q; r is
merely a loose clutch, such as is usual, to avert the effects of the
straining of the ship on the machinery; S, Figure 4b, is an arm or
projection from the frame x, x, carrying a pawl t, which also catches the

page_text: teeth of the rachet n. The motion of a body round a centre in any.
direction or plane being referable to motion on two axes at right angles
to each other, the effect of the arrangement herein is the same as if the
weight R were suspended by a filament from the exact centre of inter-
section of the axis b, b, and c, c, and the system or frame x, x, is a
universal or gyroscopic axis, the apparent inclination of the weight R
from the vertical axis of the ship being resolved into angular motions on
the two axes b, b, and c, c. Now the motion to and from on the secondary
axis b, b, causes motion of the wheel 9 and of the shaft d, d, in one
direction relatively to the frame x, x, as shown. But if the frame x, x,
itself have motion on the axis c, c, the whole motion of d, d, relatively
to the deck will be the sum or difference of the motions according as
the frame oscillates against or with the continuous direction of g. But
in the latter case the pawl catches the ratchet k, preventing d, d,
from retrograding along with the frame, and the relative motion of
the deck with the frame is made relative to the shaft d, d, and reversed
by means of the pawl t on the arm S, forcing the wheel n round in
a direction opposite to that in which d, d, can only revolve, and d, d,
being immoveable by virtue of the pawl the motion of n is transferred
and reversed through the cpicyclic wheel o' to the wheel p, the result
being that the simultaneous motions of R upon both axes, no matter
how irregular, are added together, the shaft q being impelled with the
sum of the motions whence it is applied to the mechanical work

page_text: working the keyed ratchet g turns the shaft K, K, and also another
cami, which turns the loose wheel j in the opposite direction. A
similar arrangement is made with the wheel corresponding with c on the
other side of the bearings. The shaft K, K, is thus urged always in onc
direction, and the loose wheel; always in the contrary direction, these
motions being added and transferred through the wheel and the
revolving crank and connecting rod to the shaft m, which is applied to
the work as before.
Figure 6 represents a single truck wave engine. Here a, a, a, is a
rail athwartships, upon which the loaded truck R is free to roll in a
manner similar to that of a railway truck; b is an arm working the
reducing gear at e (this gear represented by the circle being the same as
described). To prevent straining the motive arm d, d, is free to slip
through the keys c, c, on arm b. Every oscillation of the ship will cause
the load R to oscillate from side to side, and through the arms d, d,
and b to work the reducing gear at c.
Figure 7 represents a double-truck wave engine. In this arrangement
the truck c, c, itself rolls upon a lower truck consisting of a framc-
work q, l, m, n, (Figure 7ª,) of rails, the extremities of which are curved
upwards. This lower truck, the axles of which are e, e, c¹, e³, roll also
upon curved rails 9, 9, 9¹, g', which are fixtures in the ship. ff. in
Figure 7 are the flanged wheels of the lower truck; d, d, those of the
upper truck; i, i, the backs of the curved rails, which form the lower
truck. The upper or load clutches at K. the arm a, which is free to
slide through the keys b, b, which work the reducing gear at h. For
the sake of illustration the details of this gearing are slightly varied
from the former.
111
Figure 8 represents a single truck air cushion wave engine. In this
the rails a, a, a¹, a¹, a¹¹, a¹¹, a¹, a¹¹, on which the loaded truck rolls arc
athwart-ships; b and c are cylinders to which the air has access at the
orifices ¹ and c¹ respectively; e and fare pistons working in the
cylinders and connected by three rods g, g, h, h³, i, 2ª.
and i, i¹, have shoulders or protuberances at the points 8.
in two parts but united by the strong iron beam J (Figure 8). Now
at every oscillation of the vessel R, R, descends the incline on the rails
until the cross beam J (Figure 8") catches the shoulders (the rods g, g',
The rods g, g¹,
R is the truck

page_text: and i, », passing freely through a slit at K, which however will not allow
stopass), the shoulder K being padded with leather when it is brought
to a stop gradually by compressing the air in one of the cylinders. The
top part of the central rod h, h¹, is cut with ratchet teeth, one half set
one way and one half the other. m is a pawl raised or depressed by a
small wheel n, whose lower end terminates in a segment, the periphery
of which contains holes to insert a pin. The weight p depends from the
same axis as n, and may strike against the pin. Now let us suppose the
ship has an inclination downward as shewn by the arrow, the truck will
begin to roll towards g, and p striking against the pin lifts the pawl m
and allows the piston to compress the air. The object of the pawl m is
to retain the compressed air until the truck has departed on the next
oscillation. The pawls q and m do this by turns, and by adjusting the
pins the air in the cushions can be allowed to expand at any point of the
oscillation, the apparatus being entirely self-acting. By a similar
arrangement the truck itself may be detained until any definite point in
the oscillation is reached. The under side of the rod h, h¹, forms a rack
whose teeth impart an irregular motion to wheel t, and this irregular
motion is reduced to uniformity by the gearing already shewn, and
therefore unnecessary now to describe. A double truck ongine on this
plan can be also constructed by the addition of a third cylinder. By
engines of this kind a great and permanent power can be obtained. For
instance in the machine last described it is estimated that if the load be
one hundred tons the permanent power derivable while the vessel is on
the open sea would be equal to three hundred horse power (or three
times the weight of the load in tons), never failing in calm or storm.
Having thus fully described the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner of performing the same, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I would have it understood that although I have
shown various mechanical appliances for utilising wave power, I do not
confine myself to such appliances, as they might be altered or varied to
a very great extent without departing from the nature of my Invention;
but I claim,-
1st. The application of the indirect action of the waves on board

page_text: 2nd. The several mechanical appliances herein described and explained
and illustrated in the Drawings hereto attached for accomplishing the
purposes stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
EDWARD C. JACKSON.
W. ROB³. LAKE. (L.S.)