US1010716A - Apparatus for propelling vessels. - Google Patents

Description

' A. AHLBRECHT.- APPARATU$ FOR PROPELLING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.27, 1910.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911 2 sums-sum 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOGIAPH COn'IASHING'lDN, D. C.

A. AHLBREOHT. v APPARATUS FOR PROPBLLING VBSSELS. APPLICATION r'nlnp 3.27, 1910. 1,010,716, Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

' 2 slums-sum 2.

AUQUSTAHLBRECHT, or IT S RGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS ron rnornLLrNe vnssnrs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

Application filed April 27, 1910. Serial No. 557,912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, AUGUST AHLBRnor-IT, a citizen of the United States, residing at 'Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Propelling Vessels; and- I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a 'part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for propelling aerial and other vessels, and it consists in afolding or collapsible propeller capable of being opened or closed, means for giving the same a reciprocating movement, means for opening and closing said propeller atthebeginning and end of said movement, whereby the mini-v mum and maximum resistance will be offered to the air or water to propel the vessel,.and the invention further consists in the certain details of construction and combination of parts as, will be fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings ;Figure 1 is a side central sectional elevation of my improved apparatus for propelling vessels, the same being constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear sectional elevation of the apparatus said section taken on the line 00, m, of Fig. 2.

To put my invention into practice and thereby provide an apparatus for the purpose of propelling aerial vessels, such as aeroplanes, balloons, &c., or for the propulsion of ocean going vessels, I first provide a suitable frame 1, upon which is mounted a drive shaft 2 journaled in roller bearings 2, and connected by gear 6 to a motor (not shown) or other source of power. Connected to and operated by this drive shaft 2, is a cam or eccentric wheel 3, which operates two vertically-arranged levers 4, each of which are provided with contact rollers, and are suitably pivoted to the frame 1. The upper ends of these levers 4 are connected by links 7 to a horizontally-moving bar 9, said bar being formed with two racks 10, located on the under side and at some distance apart. This bar is capable of a reciprocating movement by the rotatable T" movement of the cam 3, operating on the connected vertically-disposed bars 4. Meshing with the racks 10, above mentioned, are pinions 11, mounted in bearings 13 upon shafts 12, and attached to toothed wheels 14. These toothed wheels 14 are in mesh with vertically-arranged rack bars 14, mountedin slides 15, and the one rack joined to the other by a bar 16, in such manner thatthe tworacks will operate in unison. Arranged upon this bar 16 and operating along the length of the same is a sliding head 17, fitted with a depending double rack bar18, which is supported in and operates freely through a cross-head 26. This cross-head is mounted in horizontal slide ways 26 extending the length of the frame 1, and it (said cross-headlis operated by cranks 34, attached to the ends of the drive shaft- 2, said cranks being connected by links, 33, to rack bars 32, the rack .portions 31, of which, are in mesh with pinions 29, mounted upon a counter shaft 30,. and said pinions are connected to toothed wheels 28, which are in mesh with rack bars 27, formed with or attached to said cross-head 26. It will be seen that by thus connecting the cranks 34 to the cross-head, the latter will be given a reciprocating movement.

Depending from the rear portion of the cross-head 26, is a frame 35, which supports a hollow stationary or fixed shaft 36, on which is loosely mounted a sliding supplemental frame 39, carrying a rack 37 and at its forward end a spider 39, said spider being formed with a series of peripheral lugs 40 to which ropes 43 may be attached. To give this frame 39 and its connected parts a back and forward movement, gear wheel 25 is employed, said gear-being mounted upon a shaft 25 which is fitted with two other gear wheels 25, which latter are in mesh with racks 24 formed on slide bars 22, which are provided with racks 23 at their forward ends, said latter racks being in mesh with pinions 21, mounted in and carried by the cross-head 26. These last described pinions 21 are also in mesh with the racks 19 of .the vertically-moving bars depending from the sliding head 17. The vertical movement of this rack 19, is transmitted through the medium of the pinion 21, the bar 22 and gear 25", to the rack'38 and sliding frame 39. Upon the forward end of the fixed shaft 36, is a second spider 41, the arms of which are of greater length than of that (39) previously mentioned, and are each fitted at their outer extremities with guide pulleys 42, over which ropes 4:3 are passed, said ropes being connected to the smallspider 39,-and to the rear of the folding propeller 4A. This propeller comprises an umbrella-shaped structure, capable of being opened and closed in the same manner as the umbrella now in common use, and is constructed with suitable ribs and flexible covering, and is supported upon a shaft or shank 45, which partially telescopes within the fixed shaft 36. The forward end of the propeller 44 is provided with a clevis 46, which is connected to a crank 47, said crank being supported and operated by a shaft 50, and given a rocking motion by a pinion d8 meshing with the front rack 20 of the vertically moving bar 18. Upon a rearward movement of the crank 47 to the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, and a simultaneous movement of the supplemental frame 39, and the corresponding movement of the connecting ropes 43 the propeller is opened or extended to a flat conical-shaped body made up of triangular shaped segments, the one joined to the other, as will be best seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in full lines in Fig. 3, of the drawings.

The opening or extending of the propeller is timed to occur previously to the rearward movement of the cross-head 26, and the closing of said propeller at the beginning of the forward movement of said cross-head, thereby giving a maximum and then a minimum resisting power to the air or water through which it passes.

It is obvious that another propeller may be placed in front of that above-described and be operated by the same drive shaft 2, or that they may be arranged in series, and that modifications and changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A propeller for vessels comprising a folding umbrella-shaped body port-ion, a flexible covering for said body portion, means for opening said body portion at the beginning of its rearward stroke, means for closing the same at the end of said stroke, and means for giving said body portion a reciprocating movement.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST AHLBRECHT.

Witnesses:

D. B. OAKS, J. G. LEASURE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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