IMPROVE- MENTS IN SHIPS' COMPASSES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Storey Croudace, of Dundec, in the
County of Forfar, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SHIPS' COMPASSES."
Sealed the 31st October 1873, and dated the 12th May 1873..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Storey
Croudace at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 12th May 1873.
I, WILLIAM STOREY CROUDACE, of Dundee, in the County of Forfar,
North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS' COMPASSES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in illuminating the card or dial of steering or
standard or other compasses by night from the interior of the compass
bowl, thereby enabling me to dispense with the binnacle or outside lamps
now usually employed, effecting a great economy in the consumption of
oil, obtaining greater security of the light from being put out by
shipping seas, or from the force of cddy winds, and preventing the
dazzling of the sight on dark nights at sea.

page_text: To carry out my Invention I place a lamp in the interior of the
compass bowl, and construct the lamp preferably with two wick tubos
and two oil chambers, one wick only to be lighted at a time. The
compass card is made of mica or glass in the ordinary manner, and is
suspended by its needle on an agate in the ordinary manner, placed on
the top of an uptake suitably fixed. A hole is made in the centre of
the glass cover of the compass bowl, and also in the centre of the
compass card, for the passage of the air and smoke from the lamp into
a cowl head placed over the top of the compass; this cowl head is
provided at the top with a chimney having suitable wind guards to
prevent down draught, and a window is placed in front of the cowl head
in the ordinary way, to allow of the compass card being seen by the
steersman when used for that purpose, or the bottom of the bowl is
partly of glass for the standard compass.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Storey Croudace in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th November 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
STOREY CROUDACE, of Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North Britain,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Twelfth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Storey Croudace, Her special licence
that I, the said William Storey Croudace, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Storey Croudace, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, usc, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ircland,

page_text: '
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SHIPS' COMPASSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said.
William Storey Croudace, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Storcy Croudace, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say:―
This Invention consists in illuminating the card or dial of steering or
standard or other compasses by night from the interior of the compass
bowl, thereby enabling me to dispense with the binnacle or outside
lamps now usually employed, effecting a great economy in the con-
sumption of oil, obtaining greater security of the light from being put
out by shipping seas, or from the force of eddy winds, and preventing
the dazzling of the sight on dark nights at sea.
To carry out my Invention, I place a lamp in the interior of the com-
pass bowl, and construct the lamp preferably with two wick tubes and
two oil chambers, one wick only to be lighted at a time. The compass
card is made of mica in the ordinary manner, and is suspended by its'
needle on an agate in the ordinary manner placed on the top of an
uptake suitably fixed. A hole is made in the centre of the glass cover
of the compass bowl, and also in the centre of the compass card for the
passage of the air and smoke from the lamp into a cowl head placed
over the top of the compass. This cowl head is provided at the top with
a chimney having suitable wind guards to prevent down draught, and a
window is placed in front of the cowl head in the ordinary way to allow
of the compass card being scen by the steersman when used for. that
purpose, or the bottom of the bowl is partly of glass for the standard
compass.
The lemn in the compass. hom is lighted be on annemtun simile

page_text: to me and dated the Seventeenth day of March One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-three.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, I will now
proceed to more particularly describe the best means I am acquainted
with of carrying the same into effect by reference to the accompanying
Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a section of a compass constructed
according to my Invention; Figure 2, plan of same; Figure 3, elevation
on a smaller scale shewing the improved compass applied to a binnacle
or box, and covered by a cowl head; and Figure 4 is a section of the
double wick lamp I prefer employing to illuminate my improved
compass. Similar letters in all the Figures represent similar parts.
a, a, is the compass. bowl; 6, the compass card made of mica and
having a hole c in the centre for the escape of the heated air and smoke
from the lamp; d is the needle of the compass card suspended in the
ordinary manner on the agate cup e; the agate cup e is fixed on the
top of the uptake f, supported on the uprights g fixed to the bottom of
the compass bowl, or the uptake may be supported by arms from the
sides of the compass bowl; his the glass cover of the compass, and i
the hole in the centre of same; j is the lamp on the bottom of the
compass bowl. This lamp is shewn in detached view at Figure 4, and
is constructed with a double wick tube k, and two oil chambers 1, 1,
one wick only being lighted at a time; m is the cowl head placed
over the top of the compass; n, chimney at the top of the cowl
head; o, o, wind guards to prevent down draught; p, window in
cowl head.
The compass bowl has a door (shewn in dotted lines in Figure 3) to
allow of placing in and taking out the lamp. In this door is a hole
closed by a stopper, through which the lamp is lighted by means of the
lighting apparatus described in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to me and dated the Seventeenth day of March One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three, No. 977; q, hinged door or flap in.
front of the binnacle to allow of access to the door in the compass
bowl.
In a compass thus constructed when the lamp is lighted the card b
will be illuminated thereby, the heated air and smoke from the lamp
passing up through the uptake ƒ through the hole c, and through the
hole i into the cowl head m and out by the chimney n.

page_text: Having now described my said Invention and the best means I am
acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, what I claim is,
the construction of ships' compasses with a lamp in the interior of the
compass bowl for illuminating the card or dial by night, substantially in
the manner and for the purposes herein-before described and represented
in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whercof, I, the said William Storey Croudace, have
hereto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and
seventy-three.