National Museum of American History
Device for Propelling Canal Boats Patent Model
Fowler, Harvey · 1871
This patent model represents Harvey Fowler's 1871 "Improvement in Propulsion of Canal Boats," that received patent number 121,712 on December 12, 1871. The patent describes a process wherein a pronged foot below the boat is brought into repeated contact with the bottom of a canal through the action of a complex assembly of weighted levers, elastic bands, and hinged connecting arms.
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