APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING THE POWER OF THE WAVES FOR DRIVING MACHINERY GENERALLY."
Year: 1881

page_text: 6
IMPROVEMENTS IN
LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of, Middlesex, Patent Agent, for an Invention of
APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING THE POWER OF THE WAVES FOR DRIVING
MACHINERY GENERALLY." A communication from abroad by Isaiah Lewis
Roberts, of Jacksonville, Duval County, State of Florida, United States of
America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th August 1881.
WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, l'utent
Agent.
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR UTILISING THE POWER OF THE
WAVES FOR DRIVING MACHINERY GENERALLY." [A communication from abroad
by Isaiah Lewis Roberts, of Jacksonville, Duval County, State of Florida, United
States of America.]
The object of this Invention is to furnish cheap, simple, and effective apparatus
for rendering available the power of the waves for furnishing power for general
purposes in the vicinity of the sea or other body of water where the said apparatus
may be located.
The Invention consists in the employment of buoys, which rise and fall under
the action of the waves, and are mounted between cast iron columns or posts
anchored in any suitable permanent manner in a firm bed of masonry set in the
bottom of the sea or other body of water. These columns are from 30 to 40 feet
in length (more or less, according to the height of the tide and depth of water), and
at their tops are provided with strong tie bars, the ends of which are firmly secured
by screw bolts to metallic shaft bearing boxes which are permanently bolted to the
[Price & I

page_text: columns. The lower section of the shaft boxes are in dovetail form, and are let
into corresponding mortises in the columns, so that when the bolts are passed
through the upper and lower sections of the boxes and into the columus, a very
firm bearing is made in connection with said columns for the boxes through which
the power shaft passes, and within which it is made to rotate. The buoy is of
metal and of globular form, this being found strongest and best adapted to resist
the concussion of the waves. This buoy is provided with guiding journals and
with corresponding friction rollers around said journals to work up and down in
longitudinal grooves in the columns as the buoy rises and falls. A ratchet bar
provided with ratchet teeth at its lower end is firnily fastened to the buoy at a
point which is exactly midway of the length of a horizontal plane between said
columns, but at one side of the vertical axis of the buoy. The power shaft passes
through the perforated ends of a swinging gravitating metal yoke, and the yoke
freely articulates upwardly upon the shaft during the ascent of the buoy and
ratchet bar, and downwardly when the buoy and ratchet bar descend.
Near the end of the yoke and between its limbs a friction roller is set upou a
pintle which passes through said limbs, so that when the buoy rises and falls the
rear or back surface of the ratchet bar will have a bearing against the friction
roller, while at the same time said bar will be maintained in proper relation to
adjacent mechanism. A ratchet wheel is secured to the power shaft so as to rotate
therewith. It is located on said shaft at a point thereon which is midway between
the columns, and is provided with ratchet teeth adapted to engage with the teeth
of the ratchet bar on its descending movement, thereby imparting rotation to said
shaft. The limbs of the oscillating and gravitating yoke loosely fit against the
sides of the ratchet wheel, and thus said yoke, while being capable of freely
articulating upon the power shaft, serves at the same time to maintain the ratchet
bar in proper relation to the ratchet wheel both in its upward and downward
movement.
In the operation of the apparatus I will suppose that the buoy has reached the
limit of its downward throw, and that a wave is just acting against the largest
section of the globular buoy at one side of the point where the ratchet bar is
attached to the buoy. As the wave advances, the action of the same is to "can't"
the greater section of the buoy upwardly, and its lesser section downwardly,
thereby throwing the ratchet bar out of gear with the ratchet wheel, thus allowing
the ratchet bar to make a full upward, stroke not in contact with the ratchet wheel,
thereby not only avoiding friction but the wearing away of the teeth of both
ratchet wheel and bar. The wave now having reached its height begins to full,
whereupon the yoke which has been raised during the upward throw of the ratchet
bar by reason of the impingement of said bar against the roller of said yoke, now
by its own gravity falls down and presses the ratchet har into engagement with
the ratchet wheel, thereby rotating the power shaft during the descent of the bar
and its buoy. The power transmitted to the shaft during the descent of the
bar and buoy will depend upon the weight of those parts, and any additional
weight which may be supplied to the interior of the buoy if desired.
The globular buoy may be flattened at two opposite points, but it is preferred
to employ a buoy without such flattened portions as above described. By this
Invention a single power shaft, common to a series of the said apparatus, may be
utilised, and any one, or more than one, or all of the buoys and their bars of said
series may be brought into action in connection with said shaft when desired.
Power pulleys may be utilised at intermediate points along said serics, or only at
one end of the line or at both ends and intermediate points.
It is apparent that the line of shafting may be composed of sections coupled
together in a well known manner. The pawl for holding the ratchet bar and buoy
in an elevated position may have a dovetailed connection with the cross or tie bar
in an enlarged portion of said bar, or said pawl may be connected with said part in
any other manner. Under the action of the waves upon the buoy the ratchet bar

page_text: is made to oscillate within the longitudinal limits of the yoke, one oscillation of the
buoy and bar causing the bar on its up stroke to free itself from the ratchet wheel,
while by a reverse oscillation the ratchet bar on its down stroke is made to engage
with said ratchet wheel.
The Invention may be applied to a series of columns each having grooves on
both sides for the friction roller journals of the buoy to work in, except the outside
column at the respective ends of the series. These outside columns have a groove
on their inner sides only. In this manner five buoys can be employed with only
six columns.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th February
1882.
WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR UTILISING THE POWER OF THE
WAVES FOR DRIVING MACHINERY GENERALLY." [A communication from abroad
by Isaiah Lewis Roberts, of Jacksonville, Duval County, State of Florida, United
States of America.]
al
The object of this Invention is to provide a cheap and simple as well as effective
machine, whereby the power of the waves may be made available for driving
cotton or grain mill, for compressing air to be used for propelling street cars in
towns and cities, for furnishing power required in lighting buildings by electricity,
and in fact for furnishing power for all purposes required in the vicinity of the sea
or other body of water where the said machines may be located.
In the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 is a vertical side sectional elevation of
the improved machine for utilising the power of the waves of the sea and other
bodies of water, said view showing the buoy and its attached ratchet bar in the act
of ascent in the direction of the arrow a by reason of the propelling influence of
a wave beneath the buoy; Figure 2 is an elevation of the said machine similar to
Figure 1, with said buoy and ratchet bar in the act of descent in the direction of
its arrow due to the fall of the wave beneath said buoy; Figure 3 is a like
sectional view with the buoy and ratchet bar elevated above and out of the way
of the waves, and there secured in position by a pawl provided upon a cross
bar A upon the columns of the machine, said pawl being adjusted, as shown in
Figure 3, to engage with one of the teeth of the ratchet bar whenever it is desired
to put out of action any one of a connected series of said machines, signified in
Figure 5; Figure 4 is a view showing, for example, two adjoining machines of the
series of said machines, signified by Figure 5, and provided with a band pulley
between them upon a driving shaft common to eacli, from which power can be
transmitted to and utilised at a desired locality; Figure 5 illustrates a connected
series of the improved machines located, for example, along a sea coast or the shore
of a lake or a river, as the case may be. In this view the pulley for transmitting
power I have shown only at the end of the driving shaft, which is common to all of
the machines shown in said series. Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but with
four less supporting columns.
In the Drawings A and A' indicate columns or posts of cast iron, which are
anchored in any suitable permanent manner in a firm bed of musonry set in the
bottom of the sea or other body of water in which the said machine can be operated
by the rise and fall of the waves. Said columns are from 30 to 40 feet in length
(more or less, according to the height of the tide and depth of water), and at their
tops are provided with strong tie bars A2, the ends of which are firmly secured by
screw bolts to metallic shaft bearing boxes B, B, which are by bolts permanently
fastened to the columns A. A', as indicated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. The lower
section of the shaft boxes B are in dovetail form, as at 3, and are let into
corresponding mortises in the columns A, A', as shown, so that when the bolts 61
are passed through the upper sections and lower section f of the boxes B and
into the columns A, A1, a very firm bearing is made in connection with said columns
for the boxes B, through which the power shaft C passes and within which it is
made to rotate, as will be hereinafter shown; D is a metallic buoy, and of globular.
form, the same being, as it has been found by experiment, the strongest and best
adapted to resist the concussion of the waves. This buoy is provided with guiding

page_text: journals g, as shown, and with corresponding friction rollers g' around said journals
to work up and down in longitudinal grooves in the columns A, A', as the buoy
rises and falls under the action of the waves. E is a ratchet bar provided with
ratchet teeth e, as shown, and is at its lower end firmly fastened to the buoy Dat
a point, which is exactly midway of the length of a horizontal plane between
said columns, but at one side of the vertical axis of the buoy, as shown. The
reason for thus attaching the ratchet bar to the buoy will be hereinafter explained.
Findicates a swinging gravitating metal yoke, the ends f of which are perforated,
and through which perforations the power shaft C passes, and upon which shaft
the yoke freely articulates upwardly from its position shown in Figure 2 to its
position shown in Figures 1 and during the ascent of the buoy D and ratchet
bar E, and downwardly from its position shown in Figures 1 and 3 when the buoy
and ratchet bar descend from their positions shown in Figures 1 and 3 to their
positions shown in Figure 2. Near the rear end of the yoke and between its
limbs fa friction roller f³ is provided upon a pintle f, which passes through said
limbs, so that when the buoy D rises and falls the rear or back surface of the
ratchet bar E will have a bearing against the friction roller ³, while at the same
time said bar will be maintained in proper relation to adjacent mechanism, as will
be presently explained. G is a ratchet wheel fixedly fastened to the power shaft C
and so as to rotate therewith. It is located on said shaft at a point thereon which
is midway between the columns A, A¹, na shown, and is provided with ratchet
teeth el, as shown, adapted to engage with the teeth of the ratchet bar E on its
descending movement, as illustrated in Figure 2, thereby imparting rotation to said
shaft in the direction of the arrow ', shown in said Figure. The limbs of the
oscillating and gravitating yoke F loosely fit against the sides of the ratchet
wheel G. as shown, and thus said yoke, while being capable of freely articulating
upon the power shaft C serves at the same time to maintain the ratchet bar E in
proper relation to the ratchet wheel G, both in its upward movement, as signified
in Figure 1, and in its downward movement, as signified in Figure 2.
"
In the operation of the apparatus we will suppose that the buoy D, as repre-
sented in Figure 2, has reached the limit of its downward throw, and that a wave
in direction of arrows A³, Figure 1, is just acting against the largest section of the
globular buoy at one side of the point, where the ratchet bar E is attached to the
buoy; as the wave advances the action of the same is to cant the greater
section of the buoy upwardly and its lesser section downwardly, thereby throwing
the ratchet bar E out of its gear with the ratchet wheel G, shown in Figure 2, and
into its position, shown in Figure 1, thus allowing the ratchet bar to make a full
upward stroke while not in contact with the ratchet wheel, thereby not only
avoiding friction but the injurious wearing away of the teeth of both ratchet wheel
and ratchet bar. The wave now having reached its height begins to fall, where-
upon the yoke F, which has been raised from its position shown in Figure 2 to its
position shown in Figure 1 during the upward throw of the ratchet bar by reason
of the impingement of said har against the roller f of said yoke, now by its own
gravity falls down and presses the ratchet bar E into engagement with the ratchet
wheel G, as shown in Figure 2, thereby rotating the power shaft C during the
lescent of the bar E and its buoy D. The power transmitted to the shaft C during
tho descent of the bar and buoy will depend upon the weight of those parts, and
any additional weight which may be supplied to the interior of the buoy, if desired.
In Figure 4 the globular buoy is shown flattened at two points, but in Figure 5
the buoy is shown in perspective view without such flattened portions, and this
Intter form I prefer. By this construction, as shown, it will be seen that I utilise
a single power shaft C common to a series of the said machines, as illustrated in
Figures 5 and 6, and that any one or more than one, or all of their buoys D and their
bars E of said series may be brought into action in connection with said shaft C
when desired, and that power pulleys, as at P, may be utilised at intermediate points
along said series, or only as at P¹ at one end of the line, or at both ends and at inter-
mediate points, should the same be deemed advisable. It is apparent that the line

page_text: of shafting C may be composed of sections coupled together in a well known
manner. The pawl for holding the ratchet bar E and buoy D in an elevated
position, as shown in Figure 3, niay have a dovetailed connection with the cross or
tie bar A2 in an enlarged portion of said bar, as indicated in sectional view,
Figure 4; or said pawl may be connected with said part A in any other proper
manner. It will also be seen that under the action of the waves upon the boy D
The ratchet bar E is made to oscillate within the longitudinal limits of the yoke F.
one oscillation of the buoy and bar causing the bar on its upstroke to free itself
from the ratchet wheel G, while by a reverse oscillation the ratchet bar E on its
down stroke is made to engage with said ratchet wheel.
In Figure I have illustrated the Invention as applied to a series of columns,
each of which has grooves gª on both sides for the friction roller journals g, g', of
the buoy D to work in, except the outside column at the respective ends of the
series. These outside columns A, A', have the groove on their inside only. In
this manner I can use five buoys with only six columns, instead of five buoys with
ten columns, as shown in Figure 5, thus saving the cost of four columns in a series
of five buoys. The outside columns in Figure 6 are indicated at A, A', while the
intermediate columns with grooves g³ on both sides are indicated at A, and shown
in cross section in Figure 7.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. A buoy provided with means whereby it is allowed to oscillate as well as
reciprocate up and down under the action of the waves, substantially as and for the
purpose described.
2nd. A buoy D provided with a ratchet bar E set out of line with the vertical
axis of the buoy, so that the buoy will oscillate on its guiding journals while it is
reciprocated up and down, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Brd. The gravitating yoke F in combination with the power shaft C, provided
with a fixed ratchet wheel G, ratchet bar E, and buoy D, the combination being
such that the ratchet bar shall make an upward stroke free from the ratchet
wheel G, and a downward stroke while engaged with the ratchet wheel, substan-
tially as and for the purpose described.
4th. In a series of machines for utilising the power of the waves I claim a line
of power shafting C operated by buoys D, ratchet bars E, and rutchet wheels G. in
combination with means whereby one or more of said buoys and ratchet bars may
be thrown out of action along the line of said shafting, substantially as described.
5th. The combination of the power shaft C, a series of buoys D, and supporting
columns having a groove on both sides thereof, substantially as and for the
purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my hand and
1
TL
1000