IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW PROPELLERS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Burgess Young, of Instow, in the County.
of Devon, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW
PROPELLERS."
Sealed the 24th April 1866, and dated the 14th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Burgess Young
at. the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th February 1866.
I, HENRY BURGESS YOUNG, of Instow, in the County of Devon, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SCREW PROPELLERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of improvements in that class of propellers for
ships and vessels known as "feathering blade propellers," the feathering of
the blades being effected either by self action or by hand gear. Hitherto
one of the chief obstacles to the practical application of feathering blade
propellers for ships or vessels has been the weakness of the connection of
the blades with the boss. The first part of this Invention has for its object
the strengthening of this connection, and consists in extending the shanks
of the blades across a hollow boss, the dianieter, of which should not be
less than one-sixth of the extreme diameter of the propeller; I thus obtain
a double bearing and a much longer leverage than heretofore to resist the

page_text: severe strain to which in practice the blades are exposed. I also set or
mount such blade shanks in the boss transversely to the driving shaft,
which passes between them and supports the after end of the boss.
The second part of this Invention consists in the application of springs
and other automatic mechanism hereafter described in connection with the
shanks of the blades such as are herein-before mentioned in a manner so
as to cause the blades when revolving in water to assume an efficient
position for propelling, and also to assume a position offering the least
amount of obstruction to the progress of the vessel when they are not
revolving; the whole of such self-acting mechanism being contained in and
enclosed by the hollow boss.
The third
part of
my Invention relates to the movement of the blade
shanks (such as are herein before described) upon their axes by hand gear
placed inside the vessel.
In constructing a self-acting feathering blade propeller according to the
first and second parts of my Invention I mount upon the end of the driving
shaft a hollow boss, the forward end of which is bored to fit the driving
shaft, whilst the after end is in two halves and is made with collars to fit
into grooves turned in the end of the shaft. These halves are bolted up
to the boss, having been previously closed upon the grooves in the end of
the driving shaft, so that the boss is free to revolve upon the end of the
shaft without having any longitudinal motion thereon. The blade shanks
are provided with cylindrical journals which fit easily into suitable holes in
opposite sides of the boss, and are furnished with lateral projections about
midway between the two journals. A double-ended driver is keyed upon
the shaft, and two screws fixed in the boss opposite to this driver regulate
the distance to which the boss can turn round upon the shaft, two springs
regulated by screws being placed in the boss and connected to the shanks,
by links, so as to have a constant tendency to draw the boss. into such a
position that the driver is midway between the two screws. In this position
the blades present their edges to the water and offer the least possible
amount of obstruction to the vessel's course. But as soon as the shaft is
caused to revolve in either direction the resistance of the water holds the
blades-until the shaft has turned a sufficient portion of a revolution to bring
the driver into contact with one or other of the screws, when the whole
will revolve as a solid mass. This partial turning of the shaft in the boss
of the propeller causes the blades to be turned upon their axes into an
efficient position to act upon the water by means of the driver acting
against the lateral projections upon the shanks above.named.
As, soon, as

page_text: the propeller shaft ceases to revolve, the blades are brought back into a
line with their edges to the vessel's course by the reaction of the springs. ;
In constructing a propeller according to the third part of my Invention
I employ the hollow boss and the double bearing for the blade shanks as
above described, but I key the boss fast upon the end of the shaft. Instead
of the lateral projections above named I furnish the shanks with pins
or levers, the ends of which take into two "gabs" formed to receive
them upon the end of a tube passing round and capable of sliding
upon the driving shaft. By sliding this tube longitudinally upon the
driving shaft, by means of any suitable hand gear placed inside the vessel,
the blades may either be set in a line with the vessel's course or at any
required angle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Burgess Young in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BURGESS YOUNG, of Instow, in the County of Devon, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Henry Burgess Young, Her special licence that
I, the said Henry Burgess Young, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Burgess Young, 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 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW PROPELLERS,"
upon tlie condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Burgess
Young, 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 he same to be filed in the Great

page_text: 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 Henry Burgess Young, do hereby
déclare 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 in writing, and on reference to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention consists of improvements in that class of propellers for
ships and vessels known as "feathering blade propellers," the feathering
of the blades being effected either by self action or hand gear. Hitherto
one of the chief obstacles to the practical application of feathering
blade propellers for ships or vessels has been the weakness of the con-
nection of the blades with the boss.
The first part of this Invention has for its object the strengthening
of this connection, and consists in extending the shanks of the blades
across a hollow boss, the diameter of which should not be less than
one-sixth of the extreme diameter of the propeller. I thus obtain a
double bearing and a much longer leverage than heretofore to resist the
severe strain to which in practice the blades are exposed. I also set or
mount such blade shanks in the boss transversely to the driving shaft,
which passes between them and supports the after end of the boss.
The second part of this Invention consists in the application of springs
and other automatic mechanism hereafter described in connection with
the shanks of the blades such as are herein-before mentioned in a manner
so as to cause the blades when revolving in water to assume an efficient
position for propelling, and also to assume a position offering the least
amount of obstruction to the progress of the vessel when they are not
revolving, the whole of such self-acting mechanism being contained in and
enclosed by the hollow boss.
1 The third
part
of my
Invention relates to the movement of the blade
shanks (such as are herein-before described) upon their axes by hand gear
placed inside the vessel.
In constructing a self-acting feathering blade propeller according to the
first and second parts of my Invention, I mount upon the end of the
driving shaft a hollow boss, the forward end of which is bored to fit the
driving shaft, whilst the after end is in two halves and is made with collars
to fit into grooves turned in the end of the shaft. These halves are bolted
up to the boss, having been previously closed upon the grooves in the end

page_text: of the driving shaft, so that the boss is free to revolve upon. the end
The
of the shaft without having any longitudinal motion thereon.
blade shanks are provided with cylindrical journals which fit easily into
suitable holes in opposite sides of the boss, and are furnished with lateral
projections between the two journals. A double-ended driver is keyed
upon the shaft, and two screws fixed in the boss opposite to this driver
regulate the distance to which the boss can turn round upon the shaft, two
springs regulated by screws being placed in the boss and connected to the
shanks by links, so as to have a constant tendency to draw the boss into
such a position that the driver is midway between the two screws. In
this position the blades present their edges to the water and offer the least
possible amount of obstruction to the vessel's course; but as soon as the
shaft is caused to revolve in either direction the resistance of the water
holds the blades until the shaft has turned a sufficient portion of a revolu-
tion to bring the driver into contact with one or other of the screws, when
the whole will revolve as a solid mass. This partial turning of the shaft
in the boss of the propeller causes the blades to be turned upon their axes
into an efficient position to act upon the water by means of the driver
acting against the lateral projections upon the shanks above named. As
soon as the propeller shaft ceases to revolve the blades are brought back
into a line with their edges to the vessel's course by the reaction of the
springs. In constructing a propeller according to the third part of my
Invention I employ the hollow boss and the double bearing for the blade
shanks as above described, but 1 key the boss fast upon the end of the
shaft. Instead of the lateral projections above named, I furnish the shanks
with pins or levers the ends of which take into two "gabs" formed to
receive them upon the end of a tube passing round and capable of sliding
upon the driving shaft. By sliding this tube longitudinally upon the
driving shaft by means of any suitable hand gear placed inside the vessel
the blades may either be set in a line with the vessel's course or at any
required angle.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for " ⚫ Improve-
ments in Screw Propellers," I will now proceed to describe more in detail
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried
into practical effect, and in order that the same may be distinctly under-
stood I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof,
and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference corre-
sponding with those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-

page_text: In the annexed Drawing Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, represent a self-acting
feathering blade propeller constructed according to this Invention in its
normal position, the blades being in a line with the driving shaft. Figure 1
is a section through the red line V, V; Figure 2 is a section through the
red line W, W; Figure 3 is a section through the red line X, X; Figure 4 is
a section through the red line Y, Y. A is the driving shaft; B, a hollow
boss, the forward end of which C is bored to fit the driving shaft; the
after end D is in two halves and is made with collars to fit grooves turned
in the end of the shaft. They are bolted up to the boss, having been
previously closed upon the grooves in the end of the driving shaft; the
boss is thus free to revolve upon the shaft without longitudinal motion.
E are the blade shanks, the circular journals of which F fit easily into
suitable holes in the boss; G and H are lateral projections from the
shanks; I are half collars, a pair of which are closed upon a circular groove
near the end of each shank and are then bolted to the boss. These half
collars retain the blade shanks in the boss, but are no impediment to their
moving freely upon their axes; K is a double-ended driver firmly fixed
upon the driving shaft; L are joint pieces screwed into the shanks; M are
springs supported by the boss; they are connected to the joint pieces L
by the links N; O and O¹ are screws in the boss for regulating the extent
of the circular movement of the boss upon the driving shaft; P are screws
for regulating the pressure of the springs; R are the propelling blades,
each being either forged or cast in a piece with its shank; they may be of
any approved or suitable form. The following is an explanation of the
action of this self-acting feathering blade propeller when it is applied to a
vessel and immersed in water. If the driving shaft A be made to revolve
in the direction of the arrow S, Figure 4, the water will resist the rotation
of the propeller, the driver ends will press against the shank projections
G, G, and overcoming the resistance of the springs M will turn round
the shanks upon their axes until the side of the driver comes in contact
with the screw O', when the whole will revolve as a solid mass, the shanks
having been turned round upon their axes sufficiently to give the blades
an efficient angle for propelling the vessel ahead. If the rotation of the
driving shaft be reversed the driver ends will press against the shank pro-
jections H, H, and overcoming the resistance of the springs will turn
round the shanks upon their axes until the side of the driver comes in
contact with the screw O, when the whole will revolve as a solid mass, the
shanks having been turned round upon their axes sufficiently to give the

page_text: blades an efficient angle for propelling the vessel astern. When the
driving shaft ceases to revolve the blades are brought back in a line with
it by the reaction of the springs. I may here mention that suitable holes.
(not shown in the Drawings) must be made in the boss for the insertion
of the cotter which fixes the driver to the shaft, and other holes must be
made in the boss (not shewn in the Drawings) for the insertion of the
springs. Those holes must be afterwards closely covered. Figures 5, 6,
and 7 represent a propeller whose blade shanks extend across the boss in
the manner herein-before described, and whose blades may be feathered*
by hand gear inside the vessel. Figure 5 is a section through the red
line M, M; Figure 6 is a section through the red line N, N; Figure 7
is a section through the red line O, O.
A is the driving shaft; B is the hollow boss which is keyed fast to the
driving shaft; C are the blade shanks; D are levers to the shanks, which
levers project towards the shaft; E are holes in the boss to allow the levers
to pass in; F are covers to the holes; G is a pipe upon the driving shaft,
at the after end of which pipe are formed two gabs which receive the ends
of the levers; H are the propelling blades which are formed in a piece
with the shanks; I is a circular gland bolted up to the fore end of the
boss, which when removed allows the boss to be slipped on over the gabs
of the pipe. The Drawings shew the blades in a line with the driving
shaft. It is obvious that if the pipe G is caused to slide endwise upon
the driving shaft by suitable hand gear inside the vessel the shanks will
be turned upon their axes and the blades be placed at any desired angle.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"Improvements in Screw Propellers," together with the manner in which
the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I
would observe in conclusion that I do not confine myself to the precise
details herein shewn and described, as they admit of much variation
without departing from the general principles of my Invention; but I claim
as my Invention,―
Firstly, the strengthening of the connection of feathering blades with
the boss by lengthening their shanks in the manner shown and described.
Secondly, mounting such blade shanks in the boss transversely to the
driving shaft, which passes between them and supports the after end of
the boss.
Thirdly, feathering the blades by self-acting mechanism in connection
with blade shanks such as are herein-before shewn and described, such
mechanism being contained by and enclosed within the hollow boss.

page_text: Fourthly, feathering the blades by means of mechanism worked by
hand gear inside the vessel in connection with blade shanks such as are
herein-before shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Burgess Young, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight-hundred and sixty-six.
HENRY BURGESS YOUNG. (L.s.)