Improvements in Apparatus for Obtaining Motive Power from Running Water.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Obtaining Motive Power from
Running Water.
We, FREDERICK PURDON and HARRY ERNEST WALTERS both of No. 2 Great
George Street, Westminster in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineers, 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:-
Our invention consists in improvements in apparatus for obtaining motive power
from running water. Heretofore there have been numerous arrangements by
which the energy possessed by running water was transformed into the rotation of
a shaft or other mechanism whereby the energy could be employed in useful ways.
Of these the water wheel and turbine are well known examples. In the case of a
water wheel the water only able to act upon a comparatively small number of
floats or blades at one time and as the said floats or blades stand in such positions
that they interfere with the flow of water to those immediately in front of them a
large part of the useful effect of the running water is lost. It has therefore been
our object to construct a machine in such a manner that about half of the floats
should be acted upon by the running water at the same moment and that no one
of these floats should be placed in such a position as to interfere with the free access
of water to any of the others.
We will now describe our invention with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the separate.
figures.
Figure 1 is an elevation of one half the total length of the apparatus the line X X
representing the centre line of its length. Figure 2 represents a plan of half the
apparatus. Figure 3 a transverse section, and Figure 4 an end elevation, the
remaining figures representing details. The apparatus consists of two pontoons or
barges a a of such a size as to support the mechanism, and of beams composing a
framework for the rails hereinafter described. The floats or blades 6 upon which
the running water acts lie below the bottom of the pontoons a a, and are carried by
arms c c which are themselves carried by bogies or carriages which are free to roll
along a continuous track composed of a top rail of a T section d and a lower rail
of H section e. The pontoons a a are so placed that they make an angle with the
direction of flow of the stream the course of which is shown by arrows upon
Figure 2, the path of the floats or blades is therefore approximately at an angle of
45 degrees to the current with the particular angle and width of blades shown in
the drawing. The blades are so placed that each receives the full pressure of the
water over its whole area and does not interfere with the flow to any of the other
floats or blades. The rails & and e form two closed loops cach composed of two
straight lengths joined by a semicircular curved portion; these rails are supported
upon suitable brackets d' d', e e¹ upon the framework of beams which is supported
by the pontoons. Referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that each blade is
supported upon a carriage or bogie consisting of a shaft with wheels more
particularly described hereafter and links and cross bars r. All the bogies are
duplicates of one another and when the apparatus is working the bogies pass along
the rails on the lower half of the track in the direction of the arrow Figure 1, then
rise up at the end of the pontoons out of the water and pass back along the higher
track of the rails in the reverse direction. The rails d and e are placed at such an
angle to the horizontal plane that the floats are vertical when in the water and the
flow of the stream towards the blades is not interfered with by the position of the.
pontoons; the blades pass out and enter into the water in such a way that a kind
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page_text: of feathering action is obtained. Each bogie is constructed as shown in Figures 5, 6
and 7, where it is drawn to a larger scale than in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4; the
wheel travels in the channel of the rail e and bears the greater part of the weight
of the bogie and blade while the wheels g, g and prevent any side play or
sagging away from the rail, the wheels h and jact similarly on the T shaped rail d
and carry the remainder of the weight of the bogies, while the flange upon the
wheel effectually prevents any lifting of the structure by coming in contact with
the rail d.
Figures 8 and 9 represent the mechanism used for lifting the blades out of the
water. Figure 8 being an clevation of a single blade with its rod and hinged
attachment and Figure 9 a plan of the same blade showing the supporting frame-
work. The mechanism consists of a tube m into which a smaller tube n-enters the
two together forming a telescopic slide, a bracket a is fixed to the back of the
blade and is pivotted upon the pin we which is supported by the tube n, a rod o is
attached to the ends of the bracket and the rod is made wider at its upper end
and provided with a slot p having a recess at each end. A plug y is fixed in the
tube n and the tube m is so formed that the plug passes through it, a wing nut q is
placed upon a threaded portion of this plug and serves to retain the rod o in the
required position. Figure 8 represents the blade bin its working position but by
releasing the nut 9 and lifting the rod o the tube will enter the tube m so raising
the blade out of the water and by a further motion of the rod o after the tube n
has moved up the tube m the full extent of its travel the blade b can be rotated till
it lies in a horizontal plane instead of a vertical plane. The object of fitting the
blades with lifting gear is to enable the complete machine to be moved from place
to place along a watercourse without the great resistance to motion which would
be produced if the floats were in the water.
In Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, only half the total number of blades are shown fitted
with lifting gear as the blades so fitted can be brought round to the lowest position
and as all the remaining blades will then be out of the water it is obvious that for
those no lifting gear is required.
Referring to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, it will be seen that the bogics form an endless
chain and that the links more clearly shown in Figure 7 are fitted with crossbars r
by means of which the motion of the bogies is transmitted to suitable gearing; the
links are free to swing about the bars & so that the bogies are enabled to pass
round the curved ends of the rail loops and e with perfect freedom and without
causing any cross strain upon the rails.
The gearing is shown upon an enlarged scale in Figures 10 and 11. The
wheels sss are provided with notches in their periphery into which the bars r
enter and the wheels s are keyed on to their shafts ttt in such positions that while
one bar is just leaving a notch upon one wheel a second is driving to its full extent
and a third is just entering the notch. The three shafts ttt are provided with
gear wheels u and these gear with each other by means of the pinions v v. The
centre shaft t is the main driving shaft and transmits the power through suitable
gearing to a shaft as shown in Figure 2 from which any well known arrangement
may be made for driving machinery.
Figures 12, 13 and 14 show an alternative method of forming the lifting gear for
the floats or vanes which may be used instead of that shown in Figures 8 and 9.
Figure 12 is a back view of the vane and gear, Figure 13 an edge view, and
Figure 14 shows the vane swung round so as to take up a position in a horizontal
plane when it is necessary to move the motor from place to place. The float or
vane is formed of wood and two angle irons are fastened to it. The bar c is
carried by stays and brackets from the bogie frame, is a bolt' forming a pivot
about which the vane can swing when unlocked by the withdrawal of the bolt
from the slot or fork m¹. The flat bar n¹ is provided with a slot o' and the bar c
with a slot p¹ it is therefore obvious that if the screw q. be slacked and the nut of
the bolt loosened the bar may be drawn up, the wooden vane b which norinally
stands vertically in the water will float up to the top of the water and occupy a

page_text: horizontal position. The pin
round in the reverse direction.
prevents any possibility of the vane swinging
It is only necessary to supply half the vanes with the lifting gear described as
at no time are more than half the total number of vanes immersed in the water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:
1. In apparatus for obtaining motive power from running water, the combination
of floats or blades placed vertically in the water and presenting a surface at
right angles or approximately so to the direction of flow of the stream, each float
or blade being placed so that it does not interfere with the flow of water to
any of the others, the floats or blades being free to travel along an endless
track of rails together with the bogies and gearing apparatus as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. In apparatus for obtaining motive power from running water the construction
of pontoons to support the apparatus in such a way that the flow of water towards
and away from the floats or blades is unimpeded.
3. In apparatus for obtaining motive power from running water the construction
of a lifting and turning apparatus as shown in Figures 8 and 9 for the purpose
of raising the floats or blades out of the water when not in use.
4. In apparatus for obtaining motive power from running water the construction
of a bogie as shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7 for the purpose of supporting the floats
or blades.
5. In apparatus for obtaining motive power from running water the combination
of gearing as shown in Figures 10 and 11 for the purpose of transforming the
rectilinear motion of the bars r into a uniform rotary motion.
Dated this 25th day of June 1891
JOHN P. O'DONNELL,
2, Great George Street, Westminster, S.W.,
Agent for the said Applicants.
JOHN P. O'DONNELL,
2, Great George Street, Westminster, S.W.,
Agent for the said Applicants.