Ericsson’s Patent Model of a Marine Steam Engine – ca 1858
date: label: date made
content: 1858
label: patent date
content: 1858-07-06
name: label: inventor
content: Ericsson, John
notes: label: Description
content: This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 20,782 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on July 6, 1858. The patent was for improvements in marine steam engines for powering a screw propeller. Mr. Ericsson’s goal was to maximize the power and compactness of the engine so that it could be located transversely and very low within a boat.
label: Description
content: His design consisted of two compact steam cylinders which were bolted together and mounted horizontally across the beam of the ship. They drove a single propeller shaft via a system of push rods and rocker arms. The design allowed for even application of power with reduced vibration and wear on engine parts and the frame of the ship.
label: Description
content: Mr. Ericsson was a prolific inventor; his inventions included many types of steam engines and associated apparatus as well as air engines. He was the designer of the USS Monitor for the North during the Civil War, and the engine for the Monitor was based on this patent.
label: Description
content: The patent model is made of brass and is mounted on a wood base representing a section of the hull of a ship. A brass plate on the base of the model is engraved “Screw Propeller Engine, J. Ericsson, Inventor.” All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model which was provided with a crank on the propeller shaft to allow operation for demonstration. A full description of the operation of the engine along with complete diagrams can be found in the patent document online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto.gov.
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
label: associated place
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Patent Models
label: Subject
content: Steam Engines
label: Subject
content: Steamships
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
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content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
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content: Patent Models
label: Exhibition
content: Power Machinery
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Frank A. Taylor. Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States National Museum, Bulletin 173
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MC.251295
label: catalog number
content: 251295
label: patent number
content: 20,782
label: accession number
content: 48865
objectType: label: Object Name
content: engine, steam, marine, model
label: Object Name
content: patent model, engine, steam
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 in x 11 1/2 in x 11 1/2 in; 22.86 cm x 29.21 cm x 29.21 cm