THE

London

JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.

No. LXXXIII.

Recent Patents.

TO JOHN OLDHAM, of the Bank of Ireland, in the City of Dublin, Gentleman, for his having Invented certain Improvements in the Combination of Wheels designed for Driving Machinery, which are to be Impelled by Water or by Wind, and which said Improvements are also applicable to propelling Boats, and other Vessels.

[Sealed 1st February, 1827.]

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THIS invention is a peculiar arrangement of toothedwheels gearing into each other, for the purpose of driving or being driven by water-wheels, the float boards or paddles of which, revolve upon their own individual axles by the intervention of an excentric wheel connected thereto. The patentee says, these improvements are par

ticularly applicable to the propelling of boats and other vessels on water, and are to be considered as additions to and variations of the principles set forth in the Specification of a former patent for rotatory paddles granted to him 15th January, 1820, for a description of which see our Journal, Vol. I, page 252.

"The present improvement consists in a new arrangement of machinery, by which the wheels as they revolve upon their common or main axles, cause the paddles or float boards to turn vertically upon their respective axles, placed parallel to each other, and to the main axle." The mode of applying this invention to paddle-wheels designed for propelling vessels, is shewn in Plate I, at figs. 1 and 2.

These paddles or float boards are constructed in such a manner, that if lines were drawn radiating from the point or top of the vertical diameter line of the wheel, that is, from the axis of the upper paddle, through the centres of all the other paddle axles, these lines would all be in coincidence with the planes of the float boards or paddles. These positions or directions tending to the upper point, or top of the vertical line, the paddles or float boards invariably assume as the wheel goes round, whether turning to the right or left, and the intention of which is, that the paddles or float boards shall always be in a vertical position or nearly so, in and near the lower part of the wheels revolution, and in a horizontal position at the upper part of its revolution, consequently, whether the float boards or paddles are acted upon by the water or other fluid, for the purpose of moving machinery, as in waterwheels and wind-mills, or the paddles themselves are made to act against the resisting fluid as in propelling vessels, in both cases the positions of the float boards or

paddles, at the lower part of the wheels revolution, will be most favourable to receive or communicate the greatest mechanical force.

Fig. 1, is an external view of the wheel with its floatboard or paddle attached, and standing in the positions described, their planes tending to a point at the top of the vertical diameter, that is, to the axis of the upper paddle. The rims of the carrier wheel a, a, are to be made of cast iron, and the arms or starts b, b, b, of wrought iron, inserted and keyed into sockets or mortices in the rims a, a, the outer extremities of these arms being braced together by wrought iron tension bars c, c, c, in the poligonal form represented, for the purpose of giving strength and protection, and which may be further secured by cross bars or bolts connecting the two sides or rims together. The paddles or float boards d, d, d, are mounted upon wrought iron axles, the pivots of which are inserted into sockets or journeys in the arms or starts b, b, and are thereby enabled to revolve upon their respective axles. To the end of each of the said axles, a wrought iron crank e, e, e, is attached, which cranks are also connected to the arms of a wheel revolving upon an excentric axis, and which is represented in the first figure by dots to prevent confusion; it is immediately behind the wheel a. This wheel is marked ƒ, f, f, and has arms or starts g, g, g, constructed in a similar manner to that already described. The wheel f, is made to revolve upon a circular crank h, which is mounted upon a socket turning upon the main axle. The distance between the centre of the circular crank and its excentric centre of motion upon the main shaft, must be exactly equal to the length of the paddle cranks e. The pins of the cranks e, are inserted into sockets in the arms or starts g, of the wheel ƒ, as shewn by dots in this figure. It will now be seen that if the

carrier rims or wheel a, and its arms, and the excentrically moving wheel f, and its arms be made to revolve with different velocities, that the paddles which are connected to both by the cranks, will necessarily revolve upon their axles.

Fig 2, is a side view of the wheels above described, shewn in vertical section, with two of the paddles attached thereto; A, is the main shaft or axle, to which the rim or wheel a, a, is keyed on in the ordinary way' ; B, is a socket turning upon the main axle, on the outer end of which is mounted the circular crank h, that carries the excentrically revolving wheel f; c, c, may be supposed to represent a section of the side of a vessel through which the main axle A, and the socket B, passes. Upon the inner extremity of the socket B, is affixed the spur wheel D, having 91 teeth. Upon the main axle a, behind the last mentioned wheel, is in like manner affixed to another spur wheel E, having 70 teeth. These two spur wheels take into two other spur wheels F, and G, which are bolted together, and keyed upon an auxillary shaft H, parallel to the main shaft. The wheel F, has 39 teeth, and works into the socket wheel of 91 teeth, and the wheel G, of 60 teeth into the wheel D, with 70 on the mainshaft. By this novel arrangement and disposition of the parts described, an actuating power being applied to either of the shafts A, or H, the required revolving movements of the carrier wheel, and of the paddles upon their respective axles is effected, and may then be applied to the propelling of vessels on or in water, or by applying the mechanical force or power of air or water to the paddles, the actuating of machinery may be effected.

The patentee concludes by saying, “Having described my improved construction of wheels for the purposes above stated, I wish it to be understood, that I do not

claim any novelty in the individual parts of which this mechanism consists, but I claim to have invented a new combination of those mechanical parts adapted to effect the revolving motions of the paddles, in the manner and by the means above set forth and explained. Steam vessels equipped with the ordinary paddle wheels, frequently break loose from their moorings in rapid rivers or tide ways, by the resistance the floats make to the running water, they are immersed in, when the wheels are not in motion; also when accidents occur to the engines, or other parts of the machinery, which render it necessary to impel the vessel by wind, through the agency of masts and sails its course is considerably retarded by the float boards standing perpendicularly, in the water, whereas by the use of these improved wheels and their appendages, the floats or paddles may be set so as to present their edges to the water, and this service may readily be accomplished inside the vessel, by disengaging the geering of the auxilary shaft in the usual way, and then reversing the position of the floats, by giving the spur wheels D, D, one quarter of a turn on their sockets, whilst the main shaft A, is kept stationary ; and then returning the spur wheels and auxiliary shaft into gear."

[Inrolled July, 1827.]