A New or Improved Rowing Apparatus for Home Training and Teaching Rowing.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Jan., 1898-Accepted, 30th Apr., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Rowing Apparatus for Home Training and
Teaching Rowing.
I, HERMANN STACHELHAUS, of Mannheim, in the Empire of Germany, Manu-
facturer, 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 specification:-
The present invention relates to a new or improved rowing apparatus for home
training and teaching rowing in which the resistance offered to the oar blade by
the water, when the boat is in motion, is replaced by the combined aids of gravity
and atmospheric pressure. It should prove a great improvement on the many
contrivances hitherto in use, in which the aforesaid resistance was replaced by a
corresponding mechanical power, which was put into effect at the expense of the
simplicity and solidity of the apparatus, and, in many cases, was totally inadequate
to perform the required analogous functions, viz. the beginning of the pull or
stroke to be hard and gradually getting easier towards the end.
The present inevention is represented in the annexed drawing, in which Fig. 1
represents the side view, Fig. 2 the back view and Fig. 3 the plan. The
apparatus consists of a ground or base plate P, Fig. 1, to the left of which two
strong upright poles are secured, parallel to one another and with sufficient space
between them to allow perfect freedom of rotation to the two pulleys R and R¹
whose axles turn freely in suitable bearings in the said poles. There is also
fixed to the poles er uprights a strong brass tube of convenient diameter, and their
relative positions are such that the weight G attached to the cord or wire D,
passed over the pulley R, falls exactly through the centre of the tube Q, which
is closed at the bottom end by a plate from which projects into the tube a strong
spiral spring, the use of which is to act as a buffer to deaden the percussion of
the heavy piston G when it falls down. The piston G is furnished at each end
with suitable leather-or other washers, which are secured by means of head screws
or in other convenient manner, in order to make the piston move airtightly in
tube Q. The piston may further be provided with a properly constructed air-
valve adapted to open when the piston descends. The upper head screw, securing
the upper washer to the piston, is formed into a hook by which the latter is
suspended from wire or cord D, which passes upwards through the centre of
tube and over pulley R, thence in a downward direction between the two
upright poles, until it reaches pulley R¹ under which it passes. It now continues
its way along the middle of the base plate until it reaches the other end or right
hand side of the apparatus, where it passes through a pulley block F, and thence
in a direction at a right angle to that which has been described, until it reaches
to
F', fixed the end of an arm a. The
a second pulley block
free end of the wire or cord D, after passing through pulley block F¹,
is attached to one end
of the lever H, which represents the
of the boat. To the ground or base plate is attached a sliding seat r, and
an adjustable footboard or stretcher S. There is also an outrigger A, serving
oar

page_text: the same purpose as it does in an ordinary boat, viz.: as a fulcrum for the oar, but,
of course, in this case it acts as a fulcrum for the lever H. The arm a and the
outrigger A are so fixed that they can be easily detached and placed on the other
side of the apparatus, so that it is possible to pull a star board or a back board
our, as the case may be; the apparatus may also be adapted for sculling by
exchanging the pulleys R, and R, as described, for similar pulleys having double
grooves through or over which are to be passed the weight-supporting wires D to
both sides of the apparatus.
***
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The rower, sitting on the sliding
seat with his feet on the stretcher, pulls the oar or sculls towards him in the usual
way. This pull or motion of the oar is transmitted by means of the wire D to
the piston G, which is thereby caused to move in an upward direction, leaving a
vacuum behind in the tube Q. When the piston reaches half the height of the
tube, the vacuum is destroyed by an inrush of air through a hole in the side of
the tube, consequently the air pressure above and below the piston becomes equal,
and the resistance to the pull, which is now approaching its end, gets less,
analagous to the work done in a boat. The pull or stroke being finished, the
piston falls downwards, and the percussion is softly taken up by the spiral spring
or buffer at the bottom; the length of the stroke can be altered if desired, by
changing the position of the point of attachment of the wire to the end of the
lever H. It must be further remarked that the apparatus can be easily and
quickly taken to pieces, therefore, it can be, without much trouble, conveyed
from one place to another, or packed into a small space.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1) A new or improved rowing apparatus for home training and teaching rowing,
in which the resistance of the water to the oar blade, when the boat is in
motion, is represented by the aids of gravity and atmospheric pressure produced
in a suitably arranged tube Q by a heavy piston G, suspended by a wire cord or
the like, connected with a lever H representing the oar, and moving air-tightly
in said tube by means of washers or packing, said heavy piston by its own weight
and the combination of the latter and the vacuum created under it by the upward
movement, producing a resistance approximately equal to or representing the
resistance of the water to the oar blade, said resistance ceasing when the stroke
is nearing its end, owing to the air passing through a conveniently placed vent-
hole in the tube wall and destroying the vacuum when the heavy piston passes
said venthole, substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawing.
2) In the apparatus forming the subject of Claim 1 the application of an arm
piece a secured to either or both sides of the base plate, for the purpose of enabling
the resistance, produced by the heavy piston G moving in the tube Q, to be trans-
mitted by means of wire cord D and pulleys R, R¹ and F to the lever H, sub-
stantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this och C I.
1000