Steering and propulsion device for watercraft

Claim 1

A two-stage axial fluid flow steering and propulsion device capable of being mounted on a water vessel, comprising, an impeller shaft, a pair of spaced impellers mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, an annular housing surrounding said impellers and defining a tube through which fluid may flow upon rotation of said impellers, a shroud structure in the form of a venturi-type ring surrounding each of said impellers thereby defining three separate pressure regions of positive pressure ahead of one of said impellers which pulls the fluid when rotating in one direction, a negative pressure between said impellers and a negative pressure behind the other of said impellers which pushes the fluid when rotating in said one direction, radially extending fluid deflection baffles disposed outwardly of said impellers and extending outwardly of opposite ends of said annular housing for deflecting the fluid to flow toward said impellers and through said tube when said impellers are rotating in said one direction or in a direction opposite thereof, said housing being mounted for rotation about an axis intersecting with and perpendicular to the impeller shaft axis, impeller shaft rotation means including a drive shaft having an axis lying perpendicular to the axis of said impeller shaft, and means for rotating said housing, whereby the device is capable of a wide range of steering maneuvers during rotation of said housing.