IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING PROPERTY IN CASE OF SHIPWRECK
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING PROPERTY IN CASE OF SHIPWRECK."
A communication from abroad by Georgo Mitchell, of Toronto, in the
Province of Canada West.
Sealed the 25th September 1863, and dated the 28th April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th April 1863.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING PROPERTY IN CASE OF SHIP-
WRECK," a communication from abroad by George Mitchell, of Toronto, in the
Province of Canada West, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
buoyant waterproof bag or receptacle for letters and parcels, and to the means
of fastening or securing the mouth of the same, so that on the bag being
thrown overboard in cases of shipwreck it will be sufficiently buoyant to
float on the surface, and being waterproof will preserve its contents free from
injury. In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to construct the bag
intended for the reception of letters or parcels of india-rubber, gutta percha,
or other flexible, waterproof, and air-tight material suited for the purpose,

page_text: and to rivet to cach side of the mouth of this bag a metal jaw, the series or
row of rivets extending not quite the entire width of the bag or length of the
bar, so that the mouth may be readily opened for the introduction and removal
of its contents. The jaws are rebated on the inner sides to accommodate the
extra thickness of the material composing the bag at that part, and the inner
heads of the rivets are covered by a strip of waterproof material to form a
tight joint when the bag is closed.
According to one mode of securing these jaws in a closed position, it is
proposed to employ two or more swivel screw bolts passing through both jaws,
one of which swivels being provided with a locking arrangement for securing
the bolt. For this purpose notches are made in the screw bolt, and a pin
acted upon by a spring inside an arm or swivel enters at one end into one or
the other of these notches, and prevents the swivel from being turned until
drawn back by a hooked key inserted into a passage made in the centre of the
swivel; or three or more screw bolts may be passed through both jaws, each
bolt terminating at one end in an eye through which a chain or strap is
passed, which is kept in its place by a padlock attached to one end. Or four
or more ordinary screw bolts may be employed, passing through both jaws, in
combination with a tongue or staple attached to one of the jaws, and passing
through a corresponding opening in the other, a padlock being fitted to the
end of the tongue to lock it in its place. Where padlocks are employed the
head of the key is made to serve as a screw wrench or spanner for unscrewing
the bolts. Any convenient handle in the form of a loop of chain or leather
strap may be fitted to the jaws for the purpose of hanging up or carrying
the bag.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, 8(
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant 8
unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said

page_text: John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "In-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING PROPERTY IN CASE OF SHIPWRECK,"
a communication to me from abroad by George Mitchell, of Toronto, in the
Province of Canada West, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
buoyant waterproof bag or receptacle for letters and parcels, and to the means
for fastening or securing the mouth of the same, so that on the bag being
thrown overboard in cases of shipwreck it will be sufficiently buoyant to float
on the surface, and being waterproof will preserve its contents free from
injury. In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to construct the bag
intended for the reception of letters or parcels of india-rubber, gutta percha,
or other flexible waterproof and air-tight material suited for the purpose, and
to rivet to each side of the mouth of this bag a metal jam, the series or row
of rivets extending not quite the entire width of the bag or length of the bar,
so that the mouth may be readily opened for the introduction and removal of
its contents. Tho jaws are rebated on the inner sides to accommodate the
extra thickness of the material composing the bag at that part, and the inner
heads of the rivets are covered by a strip of waterproof material to form a
tight joint when the bag is closed.
According to one modo of securing these jaws in a closed position, it is
proposed to employ two or more swivel screw bolts passing through both jaws,
one of such swivels being provided with a locking arrangement for securing
the bolt. For this purpose notches are made in the screw bolts, and a pin

page_text: acted upon by a spring inside an arm or swivel enters at one end into one or
the other of these notches and prevents the swivel from being turned until the
pin is drawn back by a hooked key inserted into a passage made in the centre
of the swivel; or three or more scrow bolts may be passed through both jaws,
cach bolt terminating at one end in an eye, through which a chain or strap is
passed, which is kept in its place by a padlock attached to one end. Or four
or more ordinary screw bolts may be employed, passing through both jaws in
combination with a tongue or staple attached to one of the jaws, and passing
through a corresponding opening in the other, a padlock being fitted to the
end of the tongue to lock it in its place. When padlocks are employed the
head of the key is made to serve as a screw wrench or spanner for unscrewing
the bolts, any convenient handle in the form of a loop of chain or leather
strap may be fitted to the jaws for the purpose of hanging up or carrying
the bag.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose 1 shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of a mail bag, showing
the several fastenings, the whole being constructed according to this Inven-
tion; Figure 2 represents a vertical section through the centre of the bag;
Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of one of the metal jaws of
the bag and the swivel fastening; Figure 4 represents a section through the
jaws of the bag, showing the mode in which the india-rubber or other material
is rivetted thereto; Figure 5 is an enlarged detail of the screw bolt to be
used with the swivel lock; Figure 6 represents an enlarged view of the swivel
lock, showing its connection with the screw bolt in Figure 5, and also with the
jaw of the bag; Figure 7 is a section through the swivel lock, showing the
cavity for the admission of the key, spring, and bolt for shooting into the slots
provided in the screw bolts, shown in Figure 5; Figure 8 represents the form
of key to be used with the swivel lock; Figure 9 is a plan of the jaws for a
second arrangement of fastening by means of three or more screw bolts with
eye-holes at one end for the admission of a chain or strap to be secured with
an ordinary padlock; Figure 10 is an elevation of the same; Figure 11 is a
transverse section thereof; Figure 12 represents a plan of jaws for a third
arrangement of fastenings with four screw bolts passing through both jaws,
and a tongue of iron attached to one of the jaws passing through an opening
in the other jaw, provided with a hole in the protruding end to receive a

page_text: padlock for locking the bag; Figure 13 is an elevation of the same; and
Figure 14 is a transverse section thereof; Figure 15 represents the form of
key which may be advantageously used in connection with this description of
fastening, being provided with a spanner at one end, by which the nuts of the
screw bolts can be readily put on or taken off; Figure 16 shows the mouth of
a bag fully opened.
a represents the bag, made of india-rubber, gutta percha, or other flexible
material impervious to water. The bag may be made of any convenient size
suitable for containing letters, papers, and other small parcels, with a straight
mouth, as shown in the Drawings, or of such other shape, either square or
curved, as may be found desirable. The flexible portion of the bag will be
strongly secured at the mouth to two metal jaws b, b, of a length corresponding
with the width of the bag, rebated on the inside, as shown in Figure 4, to
accommodate the increased thickness of the material in the mouth of the bag.
The connection of the jaws with tho bag is effected by means of copper
rivets o, o, placed at short intervals apart, with their heads countersunk on
the outside of the jaws flush with the surface. The heads of these rivets on
the inside are covered with a strip of india-rubber or other waterproof
material, as shown in Figure 4, to admit of a water and air-tight joint being
bad when the mouth of the bag is closed. The row of rivets must not extend
the entire length of the jaws or width of the bag, but be arranged in the form
shown in Figures 1, 10, and 18, to admit of the mouth of the bag being
opened sufficiently far for the purpose of filling and emptying, as shown in
Figure 16.
Three different modes of closing and securing the mouth of the bag are
proposed as follows:-
First, by means of two or more swivel screw bolts passing through both
jaws, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, one of which is provided with means for
locking the bag.
Second, by means of three or more screw bolts passing through both jaws,
and terminating at one end in eye-holes for the introduction of a chain or
strap with a padlock attached to the end, as shown in Figures 9, 10, and 11.
Third, by four or more ordinary screw bolts passing through both jaws,
with a tongue attached to one of the jaws and passing through the other, and
provided with a hole for the reception of the padlock staple, as shown in
Figures 12, 13, and 14.
In the first mode of fastening proposed, a represents the swivel fastening,
consisting of a piece of metal, say, about two inches in length, circular at one
end, with a scrow bolt hole through it; it is attached to the jaw b by means

page_text: of the flange f, with which it connects on the inside of the jaw, and turns
freely, working into the headed screw bolt m passing from the opposite jaw,
into which it is partially countersunk, as shown in Figure 6. The second
swivel n, Figure 1, may be attached in like manner, or, if thought desirable, it
may be put on as an ordinary nut with the handle for turning it, but without
the inside flange f. The swivel handle d is made up in two pieces, e and d,
Figure 6, secured together by the dowels g, g, and scrows h, h. A cavity i is
provided in the centre of the handle for the reception of the spring k and
bolt, and continued to the end to admit of the introduction of the key r
(Figure 8). The bolt is made of steel, in the shape shown in the Drawing,
Figure 7, and moves freely in the cavity with its pointed end entering into one
of the slots provided for that purpose in the screw bolt m, and held firmly in
its place by the spring k pressing against its other end; in other words, with
the bolt in this position the swivel d becomes firmly attached or locked to
the screw bolt m, and cannot be turned, thus acting as a lock for the bag.
In unlocking the bag the key r is introduced into the key-hole or aperture i,
pressing down in its progress the spring k, and with its hooked end scizes hold
of the open end or handle of the bolt 1, pulling it backwards over the raised
end of the spring k until the opposite end of the bolt is entirely free from the
slot in the screw bolt m, when the key can be disengaged from the bolt, and
the spring allowed to catch it by the inside of the open handle where it is
held, the bag being now unlocked until the key is once more introduced,
pressing down the spring as before, liberating its catch from the handle of the
bolt, and forcing it into the slot, in which position the bag is once more
locked.
In the second mode of fastening, p, p, p, are three screw bolts passing
through both the jaws b, b, Figures 9, 10, and 11. These screw bolts are
provided with eye-holes at one end, through which the chain or strap v is
pressed and secured with the padlock w; suitable washers are placed between
the eye-holes and jaws, with nuts at the opposite ends of the screw bolts
partially countersunk into the jaws, to be as much out of the way as possible.
The third and last mode of fastening proposed consists of four or more
screw bolts u, u, Figures 12, 13, and 14, provided with heads at one end and
nuts at the other, and passing through both jaws, as shown in the Drawings;
the heads and nuts are partially countersunk on the external sides of the jaws.
A tongue t, of the same description of metal with the jaws, is firmly secured to
the inside of one of them, and passes through an aperture provided for that
purpose in the other jaw. This tongue will have a circular hole properly
made through its outer end for the reception of the staple of the padlock to

page_text: be used for locking the bag, as shown in the Drawings. The keys of this
padlock may have its handle arranged in the form of a spanner for screwing
and unscrewing the nuts of the bolts u, u (see Figure 15).
space
In the three modes herein-before described a perfectly air-tight joint is
obtained in the screwing together of the two jaws at the mouth of the bag,
which thus prevents the escape of the air contained by the bag in the
not occupied by parcels, causing the same to possess a sufficient buoyancy to
float, and at the same time being water-tight the water cannot gain access to
the inside of the bag and thus damage its contents. q is a chain by which the
bag can be suspended from a hook, it is connected with the metal jaws of the
bags by the projections c, c, on opposite sides of the bag.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
berein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general constructions and arrangements of buoyant waterproof
bags or receptacles for preserving property in case of shipwreck, as herein-
before described.
Second, the construction of an air and water-tight bag capable of floating
by its own buoyancy on the surface of the water, and at the same time con-
taining papers, valuable articles, or small parcels uninjured, as herein-beforo
described.
Third, the various details of metal jaws in connection with india-rubber or
other water-tight bags; also the peculiar form of swivel, lock, key, and
fastenings for such bags, as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three.
I HENRY JOHNSON (1.8)