AN IMPROVED METHOD OR METHODS OF APPLYING ELECTRICAL CURRENTS OR ELECTRICITY, EITHER FRICTIONAL, ATMOSPHERIC, VOLTAIC, OR ELECTRO-MAGNETIC
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
PINKUS, late of Panton Square, Coventry Street, in the County of Middlesex,
but now of No. 36, Maddox Street, Regent Street, in the said County of
Middlesex, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty, Queen Victoria, in and
by Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-one, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, did give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Pinkus, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said Henry Pinkus, my exécutors, administrators, and assigns,
and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my and their deputy or
deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said Henry Pinkus, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years
therein unexpired, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales; and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also the
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OR
METHODS OF APPLYING ELECTRICAL CURRENTS OR ELECTRICITY, EITHER FRICTIONAL,
ATMOSPHERIC, VOLTAIC, OR ELECTRO-MAGNETIC;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that I, the said Henry Pinkus, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chan-

page_text: cery in England within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Pinkus, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
methods of carrying the same into effect, are described and set forth in the
following Specification, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and
Figures numbered from No. 1 to No. 5, and the numbers and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
My improved methods of applying electrical currents or electricity, either
atmospheric, voltaic, or electro-magnetic, consists in the means of generating
or obtaining a motive force from electrical induction, and applying the same,
with the means whence they are derived to effect propulsion, and propel ships
and other vessels, by causing action in impelling machinery and apparatus with
which they are combined. The sources from which I obtain such action, and
produce such effects, are the waters of the ocean, their component parts and
action, and the consequent motion of vessels afloat therein; some of the
methods beneficial in obtaining the said objects are specified in a former Patent,
dated the Twenty-fourth day of September, One thousand eight hundred and
forty, to which I refer, and on which some of the methods herein described are
improvements.
And first, with the view to propel vessels at sea by the actions derived
from the saline nature of the sea water, and its motion in waves, these I
unite with apparatus and impelling machinery, and combine with the vessel;
all, or any of these may be used as auxilliary power with ordinary sea-going
vessels; the effects aforesaid bring into available action for the objects sought to
be attained the combinations of the several principles of electro-magnetism, hy-
drostatics, hydraulics, and pneumatics, for which I construct the works shewn
in elevations, plans, and sections in Drawings No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and
No. 5.
Drawing No. 1 is a sectional end view of a ship on whose internal and ex-
ternal sides are constructed electrical troughs or cells a, a, a, a, in which are
the usual combination of metallic surfaces; these are arranged so as to
insulate the metal of the cells. For example, on the external side of the ship
is laid a surface of pitched or resend felt, on this a surface of copper or other
suitable metal b, b, is laid and attached. The cells are formed by a series of
metal bars or oak slabs, c, c, c, c, Drawings 1, 2, and 4. If of metal, two
inches wide by half inch thick, to be sheathed with oak three quarters of an
inch thick. If of oak alone, three inches wide by two inches thick. These are

page_text: placed, being the first series, about one foot apart in vertical and parallel lines
from stem to stern of the vessel, and from near the kelson up to the water
line, or above it, and bolted to the sides. The wood or bars must be notched
so as to allow the water to pass from one cell to another; through all the cells
or series of short lengths of wood d, d, d, d, of the same dimensions, must be laid.
in horizontal lines parallel one to another, from near the kelson upwards, so as:
to form square cells, say one foot apart, and notched; over these square cells is
laid a surface of zinc. One surface of this, with the copper, forms one cell; over
the whole surface of the zinc is laid and attached a similar series of parellels,
and over these another surface of copper; thus are formed two series of cells,
having zinc and copper surfaces in apposition, and so other additional cells:
may be formed, or the cells may be so arranged as that each independent cell
shall present two zinc and two copper surfaces in electric apposition; over the
last or outside surface must be placed a surface of resend felt, so as to insulate
the final metal surface, and on this any suitable sheathing may be put.
From the inner side of the vessel there must be a vertical channel, near the
stem, communicating with all the cells for the ingress of fluid as herein-
after described, and also one near the stern of and on both sides of the vessel,.
but opening on the outside of the ship for the discharge of fluid. A similar
series of cells and metal surfaces are formed on the inner sides of the vessel,
with similar channels. The vertical edges of the copper and zinc surfaces for
each general cell must be united, and then joined to a good metallic con-
ductor E on the inside of the vessel. The surfaces of the cells on the inside
to be in like manner united and joined to good conductors. Between the
decks of the vessel may be placed electrical troughs in tanks with cells ar-
ranged in the common manner with the ordinary metallic arrangement of
surfaces, but these must have lids and be hermettically sealed, and have
vent pipes of proper dimensions for conducting off gases, and be supplied
with dip pipes inserted to one third the depth of the tanks or troughs.
The metallic surfaces must be united, and joined to main conductors as
before. These troughs are auxilliary, and may be used with varied electrical
solutions, so as to combine different electrical elements. In the said vessel I
now erect the electro-magnetic engine of contact, with flexible armature or
keeper, described in the Specification of my said former Patent. To the
magnets of this engine I attach the aforesaid conductors, in manner described
in said Specification to said Patent. The connecting rods of this engine, as
well as those herein described, may be attached to the shafts of ordinary
paddle-wheels, or by common gearing to other propellers, such as are called
screw propellers, which may be attached directly to the vessel, or be connected

page_text: with the floats herein-after described; or one of the engines shewn in Drawings
No. 1 and No. 2 alone may be used with said!electro-magnetic engine, as con-
venience may require: In order to supply the said cells with fluid or fluids, as.
well as the said tanks or troughs, and to keep the fluid or fluids, whether
solutions or aireform, in circulation, and put: machinery. into action, and to
assist in propelling, I likewise place, and construct: in! and on the vessel the
works, apparatus, and machinery, herein described and shewn in section
elevation and sectional end view Drawings No. 1 and No. 2 and No. 4, in
which the same letters of reference apply to the parts of the machinery in all
the views. A, A, are the frames of marine engines. B, B, piston cylinders, of
common construction, the pistons of which are put in motion by the side
rods C, C. D, D, are the cross heads attached to the piston rods, the side rods
being connected with the beams E, E. F, F, are the slides and boxes; with.
common parallel motions attached, and reversing gear. G, G, are the con-
necting rods, coupling two of the ends of the beams with the throws of the
cranks and paddle-shafts, as shewn. g, g, are the excentrics: H, H, are the
propelling wheels. K, K, on the supply engines. ✗ are piston cylinders,
arranged with clack valves as blast cylinders for the compression or rarification
of air, or arranged for forcing other fluids or water. The side rods of these
cylinders are attached to crossheads, with which are united connecting rods' Q;Q;'
these rods are attached to the short beam T; the ends of long float levers L, L,
terminate, and are fixed in the centre of the side beams, the shafts of which'
pass through stuffing boxes in the sides of the vessel, as shewn x 1, and in end
view and elevation Drawings Nos. 1 and 2 and 4. M, M, are square metal
receivers or reservoirs running fore and aft the vessel, of any required diameters
and lengths. On these are supply pipes m, m; leading to the slide boxes of
the driving cylinders B, B. n, n, are supply pipes, leading from the supply
cylinders K, K, to the reservoirs, on which are common pressure or safety
valves; supply pipes o, o, having stopcocks, lead from the reservoirs and
from the supply cylinders. to the aforesaid cells, and said tanks or troughs
for the purpose of supplying, forcing, and circulating currents of fluids,
as herein-after described. Near to the ends of the float levers L, L, are the
shafts p, p, passing through the stuffing boxes, and which are the fulcrums to
the levers. The shafts are inserted into the centre of the beam T. The ful-
crum shafts are placed above. the water line-say three feet. On the float
levers L, L, are fixed; hermettically sealed and air-tight; floats P, P, of any
required dimensions, convenience, and form, to obtain necessary buoyancy, if
cylindrical to have conical ends and hollow axies, the float levers inserted
through them and attached to the ends of the floats, but so as to allow the

page_text: floats to revolve in the water and float at about one-third the depths of their
diameter; the levers of the floats are supported by circular guides r, having
buffer springs at their extremities S, S; and at the stern of the vessel I con
struct a float of a circular and eliptical form R, as shewn in Drawings No.. E
and No. 4; with this are connected a similar arrangement of float levers L, L,
with one fulcrum shaft p, p, passing from side to side of the vessel; having two
cranks on similar supply, cylinders K, K; the float levers are bent-round the
stern of the vessel, meet at and are attached to the eliptical float, which has al
hollow axis through which a bar or bolt passes, securing the ends of the float
levers by screw nuts and pins of proper strength. The float' revolves on this
axis. The bent levers are supported by curved guides on the sides of the stern;
at the extremities of these are buffer springs; the connecting rods Q, Q, attached
to the beams' T and E may be varied in the lengths of the stroke of the supply
engine by shifting the ends of the rods Q, Q, to the points 3; 4; or 5, 6, on the
beams T and E, according to the rise or depression of the waves and the
extent of the motion of the vessel. The lengths of the float levers will neces
sarily be regulated according to the length and depths of the vessel and 'the'
dimension of the floats, and their buoyancy will also be accordingly' regulated.
In order to place a float of one ton buoyancy on a lever forty feet long, the'
length of the float will be about sixteen feet long and about five feet diameter;
this, with the internal stays and end of lever should be constructed of metal,
whose weight will be equal to one ton. The beams T and E will then be
moved with a force. consequent on one ton suspended at the centre of the
float, and at the distance of thirty-two feet from the prop of the lever and end
of the short. beam. T, whose centre is the fulcrum. The dip pipes of the
electric tanks and troughs are connected with supply pipes leading from the
supply engine and reservoirs M, M, from both of which supply pipes having
stopcocks. lead to the channels aforesaid; through which the eléctric cells on'
the sides of the vessel are supplied and discharged. In order to facilitate the
working of the said electro-magnetic engine described in the Specification' of
my said former Patent; when the same is applied to the impulsion of vehicles'
on. a suspension railway, or combined with a canal for the purpose of conveying
vessels; carriages, and persons along the line of canal, whether said engine' be'
placed in a. canal, vessel, or combined with a locomotive impelling carriage as
described, I apply said engine for said purposes in the following manner,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawing No. 3, in elevation; plan,'
and end view, Figures: 1, 2, 3. On the piles a, a, a, a, I fix in the chairs
b, b, b, b, a parallel rail A, A, A, with two flanges; on one of the sides of the
rail is a rack c, c, c, Figure 2, into which a toothed wheeld, d, of
.

page_text: locomotive engine, B, B, B, works, and whose frame is suspended below
the centre of gravity of the travelling wheels; the wheel d, d, d, is put in
motion by the cogged wheels e, e, e, which are moved by the pulley
9, 9, 9, to which action is given by the electro-magnetic engine on the locomo-
tive, or from the vessel by the cord K, K. h, h, h, is a fly wheel. On and along
the piles of the suspension railway are side rails, m, m, on which horizontal
guide wheel, n, n, attached to the locomotive or carriages, run. 0, 0, are
pullies that support the driving cord K, K. P, Figure 1, is a distending rod,.
whose two ends are connected to the centres of the fly wheels. R is a right
and left slide screw for elongating the rod, so as to tighten the cord K, K, and
so as to cause adhesion on the pullies placed on the axles of the fly wheels.. In
applying electro-magnetic currents, for the purpose of sealing and unsealing:
the pneumatic valve described in the Specification to my said former Patent, a
metallic circuit is formed on and along the valve aperture of the
power main..
I herein further vary the said method, by using the said electro-magnetic cir-
cuit, in order to facilitate the sealing and unsealing the valve, by making an
electro-magnetic arrangement between the main and flexible valve, formerly:
described, in the following manner :-Referring to Drawing No. 5, cross section,
on one side of the valve aperture b, of the main B, I lay a surface of oak wood
half an inch thick, and one inch and a half wide. On this I lay, and bolt to
the main, a metal bar c, of soft iron, on the upper surface of which is the
or nich, into which is placed the aforesaid cocoa-nut fat or oil in a solid state.
I then lay on the wires, forming metallic circuits, as formerly described, in
sections half a mile long, but to be in proper communication with soft iron bar
c, and the poles of batteries placed at the stations along the line of railway,
say half a mile apart. At the ends of the sections a convenient mechanical
arrangement for breaking and making metallic circuits; one similar to that:
described in said former Patent will suffice. Short pieces of thin hoop iron:
are attached by rivets to the lip of the valve.
groove
Operation: In order to put the whole combination herein-before de-
scribed into action, the aforesaid electro-magnetic troughs and cells are
charged, the said cells with sea water, the said tanks either with the same.
or other suitable solutions, or these combined. The metallic circuits formerly
described being properly adjusted between the poles of the batteries, the
said main conductors, and the poles of the magnets of said electro-magnetic
engine, electric action will be induced in the cells and tanks, electric
fluid will pass by the main conductors to the magnets of the engine, and
put it into action. If a connecting rod from this engine be coupled with.
the paddle shaft beam with the engine at A, or to the supply engine at X,

page_text: motion will be given to that engine, or engine at A, E, and the supply pumps
0, 0. The supply pipes leading to the cells dip first into the sea, and those to
the tanks shewn in drawing No. (4,) likewise, or to a separate reservoir. The
rise and fall of the waves at sea, and the consequent motion of the vessel, will
combine to give action to the floats and levers P, L, and R, L, and to their beams
T, aud engines, which will force and compress the air into the reservoirs M, M,
to the extent of from one to several atmospheres. The compressed air, will
then pass through the pipes connecting the slide boxes on the cylinders B, B,
thence on to the heads of the pistons, which will put the engine at A in
motion, and give action to the propelling wheels. The vessel will be impelled
onwards. The supply engine will at the same time continue to raise and force sea
water and air, or other fluids, into the cells and troughs, and inlet channels and
dip pipes of the tanks, thence to their reservoirs and said exit channel, and so
continue to supply and circulate the necessary mediums for inducing and con-
tinuing the electro-magnetic influence and continued action of the electro-
magnetic engine. The said sources of motive forces combining to continue impul-
sion. Instead of compressing the air into the reservoirs, impulsion may be in a
similar way effected by rarifying the air of the said reservoirs; for that purpose
the valves and slides of the cylinders B on the engine at A, and also the valves
of the supply cylinders, must be reversed. The same arrangement of engines
and machinery admit of the application of the action of water instead of air.
The valve being adjusted for that purpose, and exit from the reservoirs M, M,
being provided, a varied method of causing the combined action, arising from
the motion of the vessel and the waves, pistons and supply cylinders are shewn
in Drawing No. 4, where the ends of the supply cylinders open through the
vessel into the sea at V, V. By this arrangement the pistons of the supply
cylinders B, B, Drawing No. (4,) are forced upwards when the vessel is depressed
in the trough of the sea, by a column of water rushing through the channel
V, V, forced with a pressure or head equal to the height of the wave, multiplied
by the area of the cylinders. On the side of the vessel the alternating pistons
are depressed to the lower parts of the cylinders, when on the succeeding
depression of the vessel the waters will again rush into the cylinders, and again
force upwards the pistons whose air cylinders, as in No. 1, will continue to
compress air into the reservoirs, or perform the said other actions, and so
induce impulsion for the purposes aforesaid.
formed of pannels, and so as to take off for
changing metallic surfaces, and the cells may be
copper and two zinc surfaces in the same cill.
In order to put the said
electro-magnetic engine in action on said suspension rail, with a view to propel
The electrical cells may be
examination and repairing or
arranged so as to present two

page_text: .
vessels or carriages on and along the line of canal to give action to the
combined impelling machinery herein described, and shewn in Drawing No. (3,)
the metalic circuits must be formed in manner described in my said former
Specification. With the view of electrically sealing and keeping the said
pneumatic. valve, described and shewn herein, and in my said former Specifi-
cation, I establish the metalic circuits connected as aforesaid with the valve
mains, and so render the-soft iron bars ( ) insulated by the wood .( )
magnets to hold down the flexible valve by the soft iron attached as aforesaid
to the lips of the valve.
Claim: Now, although the methods herein described may be varied in the
forms, dimensions, and mechanical arrangement to produce similar results,
I claim the general arrangements described and shewn in the several accom-
panying Drawings. I claim the application of the principals as herein
described and shewn in Drawings Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, to effect the objects herein
stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Pinkus, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
ence of
THOS TOOVEY,
Clerk to Messrs. Pinniger & Westmacott,
1, Gray's Inn Square.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of November,
in the fifth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said Henry
Pinkus came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His Majesty King George the Third.