US2636467A - Hydraulic jet marine propulsion system - Google Patents

Description

B. B. JOHNSON HYDRAULIC JET MARINE PROPULS-ION SYSTEM April 2s, 1953` Filed May 31. 1949 A TMR/VE):

Patented Apr. 28, 1953 OFFICE HYDRAULIC JET MARTNE PRoPULsIoN SYSTEM i Bruce-B. Johnson, Pasadena, Calif.

Application May 31, 1949, Serial No. 96,521

v `l This invention relates means and it is primarily an object of the invention to provide a means of this kind to increase speed as well as to assure greater maneuverability.

'- It is recognized by modern authorities that the ordinary method of propulsion of deep water craft by means of propellers is less eicient than might otherwise'be the case, for the reason that such propellers do scarcely more than slice the water through which the craft is being propelled, with a resultant loss of potential speed and power. It is an object of the invention to improve upon methods of propulsion of deep water craft, by means of elongation and enclosure of the propeller mechanism, and by impounding the water against which this elongated propeller mechanism expands it force, so that instead of the propeller mechanism coming into direct contact with the open seat, it tends rather to force a stream of this impounded water through an elongated tube before it impacts the sea, and whereby the impact of this impounded water against the sea takes place under the stern of the deep water craft.

The invention also has for an object to provide a propulsion unit to be mounted on the hull of a vessel and including a housing in which a driven screw propeller is mounted and wherein the housing aft of the screw propeller is reduced in diameter to form a conical enclosure continued'by an ejection tube of a lengthto extend from the applied housing to the stern of the hull.

A still further object of the invention isto provde a propeller means of this kind including a driven screw having the blade of varying angular deviation.

The invention consists in the details of construction and in the combination and arrangement Vof the several parts of my improved ship s crewpropulsion means whereby certain advantages are attained, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

Inv order that my invention may be better understood, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:v A Figure 1 is a view in side elevation and of a diagrammatic character illustrating a ship screw propulsion means, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

r Figure 2 is a sectional view taken longitudinally through the barrel and .associated parts as herein comprised, certain of the parts being in elevation and the ejectng. tube in fragment; i v

i Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional View taken throughv the barrel andthe'inner portion of the 5 Claims. (Cl. 115-16)v to ship screw propulsion harmony with the 2 ejecting tube, the screw and its housing being omitted;

Figure 4 is aview partly in elevation and'partly in section of the screw assembly herein comprised; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 5 5 of Figure 1 with 4parts omitted;-

'l Figure 6 is an elevational view ofthe rear or aft bearing member `unapplied; j

AFigure 7 is an elevational view of the aft bearing member unapplied. v

In the invention as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, B denotes an elongated barrel of desired dimensions and open at both ends. Bolted, as at I, or otherwise rigidly held to the fore end of the barrel B is a cup-likehead 2. The bolts I are disposed through the outstanding surrounding flange 3 carried by the fore extremity of the barrel B and through the surrounding flange 4 at the inner or open end of the head 2. The bolts I also pass through the marginal portion of a bulk head or plate 5 which is disposed across the fore open end of the barrel B..

The barrel B is cylindrical asis also the head2 and secured .to the aft end of the barrel B is a conical head 6. The apex of the applied member 6 is outwardly disposed-and open and said open apex is dened by a surrounding liange/ I at right angles to the axis of the head :'j The inner or larger end of the head 6 is also denedj by an outstanding surrounding iiange 8 substantially perpendicular to the axis of: the head 8 and through which are disposed the hold-` ing bolts 9 or the like which also pass through the outstanding surrounding iiange I I) defining the aft end of the barrel B. The bolts 9 also pass through the annular flat rim II vof a bearing member I2. The rim I I is rigidly connected by the two radially aligned spokes I4`withthe vcentral flatbearing hub I5. vThe rim II, spokes .I4 and hub bearing I5 are `co-planar.

The bulk head or plate 5 is providedv therethrough with the openings I so positioned to readily admit a ow of water from the intake chamber I ,l provided by the cup like head-2 into the main -chamber I8 of the barrel B and in rotary motionv of the screw propeller unit S to be hereinafter more particularly referred to.

The side wall I9 in the is provided with an intake per portion of said side wall I9 is a second inlet port2|. y

Delivering into the intake chamber' Il through the port 20 is a forwardly extending elongatedin-i take'- tube The outer or eductionlendef the lower portion thereof Dort 20 and in theup.v

tube T preferably has associated therewith a suitable screen to substantially eliminate sealife of any kind or other foreign matter passing into the chamber I1. As the screen may be of any character desired and an obvious expedient, it is not believed necessary that the same be described or illustrated.

Overlying the barrel B is a reserve reservoir 22 of desired capacity and which is in communication with the intake chamber I1 through the port Z through the connecting conduit 23.

Leading from the open outer or apex end of the head or jetty 6 is an ejection tubed and ofv a length in practice to extend through and beyond the stern of the ship hull and terminating adjacent to the rudder R. The outer extremity of the tube 24 is provided with the cowledivent 2.5.

The inner end of the tube 2i! is defined by an outstanding surrounding lia-nge 26 to permit' attachment to the flange i of the head 6 by the bolts 2'! or the like. Thel bolts 21 are also disposed through the outer flat rim 28 concentricl to a'bearing. hub 2.9 and connected thereto by the spokes 30 (see Figure 7),. The rim 28 is inter posed between the flanges 'I and 25.

Ihe outer wall 3l of the` head 2 is provided', with an opening 32 through which snugly but freely engages an end portion of a shafty 33 comprised in the screw propulsion unit S. This shaft 33 is of a length to extend axially through the barrel B and the heads 2 and 6 with its inner end operatively engaged with the bearing hub 29 at the outer or apex. end oi the head 6. The shaft is also disposedr through the plate or bulk head and the hub I5 of the bearing member |12 and thus maintaining the shaft in effective position.

The shaft 33 extends outwardly beyond the head 2 and said extended portion of the shaft `33 is operatively engaged,v as at 34,. with a suitable driving' medium generally indicated at 35 inthe drawings and which maybe one of the ship motors..

That portion of the shaft 33 within the barrel B carries a spiral screw propeller' 36. The proypeller,` is of angular' deviationand' of alength substantially coextensive: in length. with the barrelBf The propeller 33 is' housed within at sheath or sleeve 3l rigidly secured to thev outer edges of. the propeller for rotation therewithf The sheath or sleeve 3TA is coextensive in length with theA propeller 36 and of a. major diameter closelyapproa-ching the inner diameter of the barrel B; interposed' between the barrel- 13 and the sheath or sleeve 31 at the extremities thereof are the anti-friction assemblies 38 which may be as d'esired. As is shown in Figure 2 of the drawing the forward end of the propeller 36v closely approaches the adjacent plate orbulk'head 5, which may also be termed a valve plate and therefore the propeller 36 rotates in close tolerance to said valve platev or bulk head 5 and thus assures a closed surface passing at all times over' the openings f6. This serves to enclose the Water passing through the sheath or sleeve 31 and thus substantially eliminating backwash of such Water and assur-V ing thewater being effectively driven out through the reducing chamber 33 provided by the head 6 and out through the ejection tube 25.

The. propeller 36 at the forward end portion thereof or that portion immediately adjacent to the valve plate or bulk head 5 is on an angle ap proximately thirty (30) degrees and after about a one half turn this angle increases rearwardly toreach at its ait end an angle approximately 4 seventy (70) degrees. The purpose of this Varying angular deviation is to force the water reary wardly with a thrust which will give whirling action to the Water as it enters the conical chamber 38 of the reducing head or jetty 6.

The tube T is within the hull I-I and below the water level and close to the level of the keel and opens through the hull at the prow or nose thereof. The other parts of the assembly are also suitably mounted within the hull with the ejection tube extending out through the stern of the boat, as hereinbefore explained.

The shaft 23 is driven by the motive power of the craft and the propeller or spiral blade 3B tends to create a potential vacuum condition in thefb'arrel B thereby drawing water through the tube T,= intake chamber I1 and through the openings I'B of the valve plate 5 into the sleeve or sheath 31. The water is forced by the propeller or blade 36 into the reducing chamber 3B of the head or. jetty 6 and into and out through the ejection tube and' into the sea under the stern of the craft. The cowl 25 at the outer or discharge end of the ejection tube 2'4 is so disposed to throw the water discharged from the tube 24 downward and rearward'. whereby the force of the: water as discharged from the tube 2t is prevented from exhausting its force with a resultant loss of power which would otherwise be the case if the discharge water were allowed to spill upward and createa foaming wake.

In operation, the reservoir 22 is maintained substantially full with the water content under a certain degree of air pressure. This condition is maintained by the water drawn into the intake chamberv l1. The reservoir 22 is provided to assure and equalize the supply of water from the chamber l1 to the sheath or sleeve. 31 and especiallyv under weather conditions wherein. the nose of the craft may be lifted momentarily' out ofthewat'er;

From the foregoing description itv is thought to hev obvious that a ship screw propulsion means constructed in accordance with. my invention is particularly well adapted for use by reasonl of the convenience and facility with which itv may be assembled and operated.

I claim 1' '1. An apparatusy of the character described,

and in combination with avessels' hull of a propulsion unit comprising a fixed housing mount'-v ed in said hull,- an intake tube extending long-itudinally along and parallel to the vessels keel and opening outside the hull at one end and con-- nected to the housing at the other endthereof. a shaft, a spiral screw propeller blade of varying angular deviation on said shaft rotatably mounted: therewith coaxially within said housing, a1 sheath fixed to and circumferen-tially enclosingv said'blade,r driving means mounted in said hulll cooperatively engaging said shaft, means mount-s ed' transversely' within saidho'using and cooperatively associated with. the forward end of said. blade to provide a. valve: means,v saidE housing' aft of said blade diminishing in diameter forming a conical enclosure, andan ejection tube extending from. the. aft end of said conical enclosure: par allel. to said keel and; through the hull at' the stern.

2.` Anapparatus as set forthin claim l wherein a cowled vent provided at the. outer extremity of the election tube;

3. An apparatus asv set forth in claim. l,v wherev in the housing in advance. of the valvemeans constitutes an intake chamber which the intake tube communicates, and a reservoir independent of the intake tube in communication with the intake chamber.

4. A propulsion unit including a housing, an intake tube in communication with one end portion of the housing, the opposite end portion of the housing being continued by a conical extension providing a reducing chamber, an ejection tube leading from the apex portion of the conical extension, a spiral screw propeller mounted for rotation Within the housing forward of the conical extension, a sheath xed to and surround ing the propeller, said propeller being of varying angular deviation, means for rotating the propeller, means within and disposed transversely of the housing forward of but in close proximity to the propeller and cooperatively associated with the propeller to provide a valve means, the portion of the housing in advance of said valve means constituting an intake chamber, and an intake tube in communication With the intake chamber.

5. A unit as set forth in claim 4, wherein the means mounted within and transversely of the housing comprises a plate having openings therethrough.

BRUCE B. JOHNSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 94,463 Aubert Sept. 7, 1869 617,969 Plecher Jan. 17, 1899 776,416 Norden Nov. 29, 1904 1,023,515 Graves Apr. 16, 1912 1,104,963 Coanda July 28, 1914 1,289,009 Hicks Sept. 4, 1917 1,326,730 Helguera Dec. 30, 1919 1,545,723 ZeWisler July 14, 1925 1,687,369 Bolgiano et al. Oct. 9, 1928 2,467,022 Forlano Apr. 12, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 390,774 Germany Mar. 3, 1924

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