AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF CABIN OR STATE ROOM FOR STEAM BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF CABIN OR STATE ROOM FOR
STEAM BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS."-A communication.
Sealed the 18th March 1859, and dated the 14th October 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th October 1858.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF CABIN OR STATE ROOM
FOR STEAM BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is the construction of air-tight cabins or state
rooms for steam boats or other vessels, and which cabins or state rooms are so
arranged and adapted to the vessels that they shall, in the event of the hull
of the boat or vessel sinking, be capable of automatically detaching themselves
therefrom, and of floating on the surface of the water, and when so detached
and floating shall be under the control to a certain extent of the occupants,
and also shall afford ventilation, food, water, and light to them during the
period they may be out at sea.
In carrying out this Invention the cabins or state rooms are by preference

page_text: made of a cylindrical form with conical ends, and are fitted to a framing that
is secured to the ship. The conical ends of the cabin are provided with
vertical grooves or flanges that are adapted to corresponding vertical grooves
or flanges fixed to stationary framing, and the several parts are so arranged
that the cabin or state room will be capable of moving or rising vertically out
of the grooves, whereby it is confined or attached to the fixed framing. Inside
the cabin are couches or seats to recline upon, and at the lower part is made
a water-tight vessel or compartment to contain fresh water, another com-
partment being also provided at some convenient part to receive a store of
provisions; doors are made in the ends to obtain access to the interior of the
cabin. A sliding shutter is also adapted to the upper part and provided with
a strong piece of glass to admit light, this shutter is capable of being slidden
to and fro to admit air when required, but is fitted air-tight so as to exclude
water when the shutter is closed. A tube or aperture for ventilation is placed
at one end of the cabin, and communicates with the external atmosphere,
provision being made for excluding water from the interior of the cabin
should any accidentally obtain access down the ventilating tube. Two or
more broad paddles or blades are adapted to the structure in such a manner
that they may be thrust out into the water or withdrawn therefrom by the
occupants inside without allowing the water to enter. This is done by causing
the shafts of the blades to pass through suitable stuffing boxes; by thrusting
out one or other of these blades the position of the cabin and the direction
in which it is allowed to drift may be to a great extent controlled.
Rudders also are adapted to both ends of the structure and one or both of
them may be used to assist in directing the course of the cabin or state room
when floating in the water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM 8
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the

page_text: said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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
"AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF CABIN OR STATE ROOM FOR STEAM BOATS AND
OTHER VESSELS," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Edward Newton, 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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention is the construction of air-tight cabins or state
rooms for steam boats or other vessels, and which cabins or state rooms are
so arranged and adapted to the vessels that they shall, in the event of the hull
of the boat or vessel sinking, be capable of automatically detaching themselves
therefrom, and of floating on the surface of the water, and when so detached
and floating shall be under the control to a certain extent of the occupants,
and also shall afford ventilation, food, water and light to them during the
period they may be out at sea.
The Invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a horizontal section of one of the improved self detaching buoyant
state rooms as arranged on the deck of a steam boat or other vessel; Fig. 2
is a vertical longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse
section of the same; Fig. 4 is an end view of the same. Similar letters of
reference indicate like parts in the several Figures.
A represents a portion of the deck of a vessel; B is a framing within which
the improved state roons are arranged, this framing forms a zig-zag line in its
horizontal section, and surrounds the inner half of each of the state rooms,
and by taking a zig-zag line presents an ornamental appearance, and provides
facilities for the hanging of doors C, whereby to gain admission to entrances or

page_text: doors D, in the ends of the state rooms as shown in Fig. 1; E is the improved
state room; it may be made of cylindrical form from a to b, and of conical or
tapering form in its horizontal section from a to c, and 6 to d, Fig. 1, so as to
fit snugly within the framing B, as shown in the Figure. This state room
is confined within the framing B by means of tongues e, e, and grooves f, f,
the former being on the framing and the latter on the angular ends of the
state room. The tongues e, e, and the inner lip of the grooves are very short,
so that the state room shall detach and float almost instantly after the deck of
the hull of the boat gets below the surface of the sea, while the outer lips
of the grooves are made long, so as to overlap and completely close up the
crevices between the framing and the state room, and thus shut out the
weather. The doors C of the framing, and those D of the state rooms are
packed air-tight by cork or other suitable substance, so as to exclude wind
and water. The state room E is furnished with suitable berths F, F, it also
has two buoyant sliding sky lights G, G, which are furnished with glass
windows I. I. which may be colored so as to serve as signals of distress. The
skylights G, G, are to be made hollow and filled with cork or air, and they
are confined in place by means of tongues h, h, and grooves i, i, the former
being on the outside of the state room and the latter on the skylights. By
allowing the skylights to slide round in the groove and thus to open the state
room to the atmosphere, the occupants of the state room can regale themselves
with the sunshine and refreshing breezes on fair days, and by making them
buoyant they serve to keep the state room in proper position, they being aided
in this by the air-tight or cork stuffed floats II, H, which encircle the upper
half of the state room, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. I, I, are two ventilators
in the skylights for supplying air to lamps at night, these ventilators are so
arranged that in case the water of a rough sea enters the first air holes j it
will not have a ready access to the second ones k, as the latter are considerably
higher than those at j. In Figs. 2, J, J, are tubes for ventilating the state
rooms, these tubes first supply air to a chamber K, whence the air escapes by
means of a funnel shaped passage L, into the state room; by thus guarding
the ventilating entrance L by a funnel, any water which might by chance pass
through the ventilating tubes J will be deflected from the entrance passage
and caused to escape through the let off tubes m, which are capable of
discharging such water by reason of the water line not rising higher than the
centre of their length; M is a fresh water chamber; and N (Fig. 1) is a
provision chamber. This provision chamber is at one end of the state room,
and the entrance door of the state room opens into the provision chamber,
while the water chamber is formed below the floor of the state room so as to

page_text: serve as ballast, and being supplied with water by a pipe n, and emptied by a
similar pipe while on board or on shore. O is a passage for the occupants of
the state room to draw water through whenever it is wanted; P, P, are four
adjustable sliding drifters. These drifters or paddles are arranged on opposite
sides of the state room, and extend from the outside to the inside of the same
as shown in Fig. 3; by means of these drifters or paddles the occupants of
the state room can control the position of the room most effectually. By
sliding out two of the drifters or paddles on one side it will be caused to drift
sidewise, and be kept steadier, but should the occupants wish it to lie endwisc
it is only necessary to slide out two of the drifters at one end. By sliding out
one only it will lie "quartering to the sea." Should it be driven on shore it
should drift with two on one side, and when hove on shore, the two off shore
ones will prevent its rolling back, and when driven to its height or so as to be
done drifting by sliding out the inshore ones, the state room can be securely
fastened until help arrives or the occupants pass through the door. This
buoyant state room may be provided with two rudders R, (Fig. 1) for
guiding or steering it while floating, which rudders are attached to the obtuse
angular ends, and outside the same so as to enable them to be brought flush
thereto when not in use as represented by red lines in Figure 1. These
rudders are affixed to shafts or journals which turn in suitable boxes secured
to the state rooms, and have tillers S attached to their upper journals, which
tillers are arranged in cast metal boxes secured outside the state rooms in such
a manner as to prevent the entrance of water through them, and to enable
the tillers to traverse on a full semicircle and thereby give a corresponding
extent of movement to the rudders. They are operated by connecting rods T
attached at one end to them by a suitable joint pin, and can be held firmly
at any desired point in their half circuit by inserting pins projecting from the
opposite end of the connecting rods in openings formed in horizontal cast
plates secured on the inside of the state room. In case these rudders are
applied, one or more of the sliding drifters P may be dispensed with if desired,
or they may be employed as auxiliaries in guiding or steering the state rooms
when afloat. The state rooms have been described as being cylindrical, but
it will be evident that various other forms might be adopted without departing
from the principle of the Invention.
Having now described the improved construction of cabin or state room for
steam boats or vessels, for which I have obtained Letters Patent as aforesaid,
and having explained the manner of carrying the Invention into effect, as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I claim the arrangement
or construction of parts herein specified, whereby the state rooms of steam

page_text: boats or other vessels are rendered capable of automatically detaching them-
selves from the hull of the vessel in the event of the latter sinking in the
water, and when detached the cabin or state room will float securely upon
the water, and afford ventilation, light, food, and fresh water; I also claim the
use or employment of the means whereby the drifting of the structure can be
controlled from the inside by the occupants.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON.
(L.S.)