Hollingsworth’s Patent Model of a Wind Engine - 1878
date: label: date made
content: 1878
label: patent date
content: 1878-05-21
name: label: inventor
content: Hollingsworth, Joseph
notes: label: Description
content: This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 204,044 issued to Joseph Hollingsworth of Jonesborough, Indiana, on May 21, 1878.
label: Description
content: Mr. Hollingsworth claimed a new and valuable improvement in windmills. His windmill invention was for the type known as vertical wind-wheels, the shaft of which is mounted vertically.
label: Description
content: He claimed as new his design for a shield covering a portion of the wind-wheel which operated as a governor mechanism. The wind-wheel consisted of two circular plates with a series of curved blades sandwiched between them. The blades are painted red and can be seen in the image of the model. A wind passing across the blades would cause the wheel to rotate. Hollingsworth added a curved shield (shown in blue in front of the blades) that covered approximately 70 degrees of the circumference of the wheel. The shield was mounted on a rectangular frame that could rotate independently around the vertical axis of the wind-wheel.
label: Description
content: Attached rigidly to that frame at an angle of about 35 degrees was a two-bladed vane (shown at the top of the image as having one blue and one red blade). In light winds the vane would align with the wind and result in the shield covering half of the blades of the wind-wheel, exposing the ones open to the wind and thus maximizing the wheel’s speed. The speed governor mechanism was associated with the two-bladed vane. The blue colored blade in the image is fixed, whereas the red blade is hinged so that as wind speed increases it would fold back against the fixed blade. A spring connecting the two controlled the amount of wind that could fold the blades. As the blades folded, the shield was rotated to cover more of the face of the wind-wheel thus reducing its speed.
label: Description
content: The patent model is constructed of wood and metal. All of the key features of the invention are illustrated by the model to include the wind-wheel, shield and governor mechanism. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Indiana, Jonesborough
topic: label: Subject
content: Patent Models
label: Subject
content: Wind energy
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: See more items in
content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
label: See more items in
content: Patent Models
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MC.325667
label: catalog number
content: 325667
label: accession number
content: 249602
label: patent number
content: 204,044
objectType: label: Object Name
content: windmill, model
label: Object Name
content: patent model, engine, wind
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 12 3/4 in x 6 7/8 in x 8 5/8 in; 32.385 cm x 17.4625 cm x 21.9075 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall - from catalog card: 4 1/2 in x 4 in; x 11.43 cm x 10.16 cm