Im-. PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HYDRAULIC LIFTS FOR RAISING FLOATING: BODIES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph William Wilson, of Craven Street, Strand,
in the City of Westminster, Engineer, for the Invention of "Im-.
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HYDRAULIC LIFTS FOR RAISING
FLOATING: BODIES."
Sealed the 22nd May 1869, and dated the 23rd December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph William Wilson
at the Office of the Commissioners of. Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd December 1868.
I, JOSEPH WILLIAM WILSON, of Craven Street, Strand, in the City..
of Westminster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said.
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HYDRAULIC LIFTS FOR:
RAISING FLOATING BODIES," to be as follows :-
The chief object of this Invention is to provide a facile means of
lifting ships: "out of the water for the purpose of exposing their hulls.
to inspection and retaining them in that position while being cleaned
or repaired. To this end I propose to sink in the fore shore of the
estuary of a river or other suitable locality two lines of hollow columns!

page_text: or hydraulic cylinders made by preference of cast iron set at such
distance apart as will enable any vessel or vessels which it is desired
to raise out of the water to be floated in between them. The number
and capacity of the cylinders will depend on circumstances or the
requirements which the hydraulic apparatus is intended to meet. These
cylinders will stand up out of the water any desired height determined
somewhat by the height of lift required, and at their upper ends the
cylinders of each line will be connected by means of a longitudinal
tank fitted with transverse partitions, which will serve to divide the
long tanks into smaller water supply tanks, one for each cylinder.
Within each hydraulic cylinder I place a floating cylinder of little less
diameter than that of the outer cylinder, and I close its lower end,
fitting it however with a valve which by means of a central rod and
hand wheel may be acted on to allow of the admission of water to the
floating cylinder on its discharge therefrom. This cylinder may be
conveniently made of wrought iron and it should be strengthened at
suitable distances in its length by cross plates or trusses. Running
through the cylinder to give great vertical strength will be a pair of
columns of cast iron which will serve to carry at their upper ends a
cross head. The ends of the cross, hicads of each floating cylinder enter
vertical guides standing out of and carried by the longitudinal tanks,
and they thus serve to steady the rising and falling movements of the
cylinders. Pendent from the ends of the cross heads are link rods which
are made fast to transverse girders reaching across from one line of
hydraulic cylinders or columns to the other. Each pair of floating
cylinders is intended to carry two of these cross girders and it is on these
girders (over which the ships are floated) that the ships. to be lifted.
are raised and. sustained. In order to balance the weight of the floating
cylinders and their attachments of cross heads, links, and girders counter-
weights may be used, but the buoyancy of an air chamber fitted to and
secured below the floating cylinder is preferred. The tanks are connected
with their several columns by pipes fitted with cut-off valves and the
filling of each hydraulic cylinder is independent of all the others.
The "modus operandi" of the apparatus is as follows:-The tanks being
filled with water raised into them by power, and the ship to be lifted
being floated into position upon the cross girders, water is allowed to
flow from the tanks into the hydraulic cylinders and pass between them
and their inner cylinders until the flotation of the latter is sufficient
to raise the ship out of the water; the supply being continued while

page_text: the vessel riscs. When it is required to lower the ship. again water is.,
admitted from the outer cylinders into the inner cylinders by means;
of the valves before mentioned. The floating power of these cylinders.
being thus reduced they will gradually sink and thus lower the ship,
into the water. The water in the cylinders is then to be pumped up-
again into the tanks ready for a repetition of the process, and to facilitate
tliis operation all the cylinders or. groups of the cylinders of each line
may be connected by syphons with a common main from which the lift
pumps will draw. It will be understood that as the filling..of cach
cylinder is independent of the others the trimming of the ship upon
the cross girders may be effected with great facility.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of thic conditions of the Letters Patenti
filed by the said Joseph William Wilson in the Gicat: Seal. Patout
Office on the 23rd June 1809.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WILLIAM WILSON, of Craven Street, Strand;, in the City of Westminster,.
Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of December, in the:
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign; did, for Herself, Her heirs and.
successors, give and grant unto me, the said' Joseph William Wilson,
Her special licence that I, the said Joseph William Wilson,. my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the suich
Joseph William Wilson, 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, use, exercise, and vend; within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
HYDRAULIC LIFTS FOR RAISING FLOATING BODIES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I the said Joseph William Wilson, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in: writing under my, or their, or

page_text: 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 Joseph William Wilson, 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 Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
The chief object of this Invention is to provide a facile means of lifting
ships out of the water for the purpose of exposing their hulls to
inspection and retaining them in that position while being cleaned or
repaired.
To this end I use a novel construction of hydraulic lift wherein
buoyant vessels take the place of the rams in the columns or hydraulic
cylinders heretofore employed in the lifting of ships.
My improved arrangement of lift is shown in several views in the
accompanying Drawings.
In Sheet I., Fig. 1 shews the hydraulic lift in longitudinal or side
elevation, a portion at the right hand end being in section to explain
the construction of the internal parts; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lift.
Fig. 3, Sheet II. is a transverse section of the lift on an enlarged
scale shewing the connections between the opposite hydraulic cylinders
and the means whereby they are enabled to act upon the vessel that it
is desired to raise, and Fig. 4 is a partial elevation taken at right angles
to Fig. 3, or in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 2 (and drawn at a corresponding
scale to Fig. 3) shewing the construction of the water tanks and the
means by which motion is communicated to the cross girders which
serve to lift the vessel.
In carrying out this Invention I sink in the fore shore of the estuary
of a river or other suitable locality two parallel lines of hollow columns
or hydraulic cylinders set at such distance apart as will enable any
vessel or vessels which it is desired to raise out of the water to be floated.
in between them. These cylinders which are shewn in the Drawings
.

page_text: at A, A¹, I prefer to make of cast iron, and I determine their number,
capacity and distance apart according to circumstances or the require-
ments which the hydraulic apparatus is intended to meet. These
cylinders will stand up out of the water any desired height, determined
somewhat by the height of lift required. At their upper ends, all the
cylinders of each line are connected together by means of compound
hollow longitudinal girders B, B, which are fitted with transverse
partitions b, b, and bottom plates 6' whereby a large portion of the space
comprised within the hollow girders is converted into water tanks. The
several tanks formed in each girder are connected together by horizontal
pipes C, C, so as to equalize the height of the water in all the tanks of
the series. Each of the cylinders A. is provided with one of these tanks
and leading down from the horizontal pipes C connected with the tanks
are pendent pipes Oi which enter the cylinders A from the top as shewn
5 at Fig. 3, a vertical recess or hollow rib being cast in the cylinders
from end to end thereof to receive them. A sluice cock or valve is
provided at or near the point of junction of the pipes C with their
respective pipes C₁ for regulating the discharge of water from the tanks
into the cylinders. Within each hydraulic cylinder. A is placed a
O floating cylinder D of little less diameter than that of the outer cylinder.
The ends of this cylinder are closed, but the lower end is fitted with a
disc valve d (see Fig. 3), which by means of a central screwed rod d¹
working through a cross head E at top and a hand wheel or wheels
attached thereto may be acted on to allow of the admission of water to
5 the floating cylinder or its discharge therefrom. This cylinder D may
be conveniently made of wrought iron, and it should be strengthened
as shewn in the Drawing at suitable distances in its length by cross
plates or trusses. Running through the cylinder D to give great vertical
strength thereto is a pair of columns D', D', of cast iron which scrve
0 to carry at their upper ends the cross head E before mentioned. The
ends of the cross heads E of each floating cylinder enter vertical guides
E standing up from the longitudinal girders B, and they thus serve to
steady the rising and falling movements of the cylinders D. Pendent
from the ends of the cross heads E are link rods E which are made fast
5 at their lower ends to transverse girders F. These girders reach across
from one line of hydraulic cylinders or columns to the other, and are
similarly connected at their opposite ends to the cross heads E by
pendent rods E. Each pair of floating. cylinders carries two of these

page_text: cross girders F, and it is upon these girders (over which the ships are
floated) that the ships to be lifted are raised and sustained. In order to
balance or compensate for the weight of the floating cylinders D and
their attachments of columns D' cross heads E, links. E, and girders F,
counterweights may be used, but I prefer for this purpose the buoyancy
of a closed air chamber fitted to and secured below the floating cylinder
D. This arrangement is shewn in the Drawings where G'is a closed.
air chamber formed of wrought iron and connected to its cylinder D
and stiffened by a continuation of the vertical columns 'D' to and
through the cylinder. By connecting the tanks with their several
cylinders by pipes fitted with cut off valves as shewn the filling of
cach hydraulic cylinder is made independent of all the others.
The modus operandi of the apparatus is as follows:-The tanks being
filled with water from an elevated reservoir or pumping apparatus and
the ship to be lifted being floated into position upon the cross girders
which for the purpose are depressed to the dotted position of Fig. 1
water is allowed to flow from the tanks into the hydraulic cylinders
and passing below the inner cylinders lift them until the girders
(previously provided with a fixed cradle) rise into contact with the hull
of the vessel. The supply of water to the cylinders A is now continued
until the vessel has risen to the required elevation. When it is desired
to lower the ship again water is admitted from the outer cylinders
A into the inner cylinders D by means of the valves d before
mentioned. The floating power of thesc cylinders D being thus
reduced they will gradually sink and therby lower the ship into the
water. The water in the cylinders is then to be pumped up again into
the tanks ready for a repetition of the process, and to facilitate this
operation all the cylinders or groups of the cylinders of cach line may
be connected by syphons with a common main from which the lift
pumps will draw. It will be understood that as the filling of cach
cylinder is independent of the others, the trimming of the ship upon
the cross girders may be effected with great facility.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of improvements
in the construction of hydraulic lifts for raising floating bodies, and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to
be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim, in the construction of hydraulic lifts, the means above described

page_text: whereby I am enabled with the use of a head of water to raise ships
out of the water and retain them in an clevated position.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph William Wilson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of June,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.