IMPROVEMENTS IN FACTURE OF SHIPS' BLOCKS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George William Lenox, of Billiter Square, in the
City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FACTURE OF SHIPS' BLOCKS."
Sealed the 27th January 1860, and dated the 21st November 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George William Lenox
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st November 1859.
I, GEORGE WILLIAM LENOX, of Billiter Square, in the City of London,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SHIPS' BLOCKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of ships'
blocks, and is applicable when manufacturing ships' blocks of malleable cast
iron. The improvements consist in forming the sides of the shells in such
manner that they shall be dished or concave at their outer surfaces, and
convex at their inner surfaces, by which means the opening or space between
the side plates, in place of being parallel as heretofore, will incline out from
each other in such manner as to produce a hopper or bell-mouth section,
largest at the outer circumference of a block; and in making sheaves of
malleable cast iron when the block is to be used at different times for a rope

page_text: and for a chain, the centre portion of the sheave intermediate of the boss and
the grooved ring is made solid in place of hollow, and with arms having
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George William Lenox in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WILLIAM LENOx, of Billiter Square, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George William Lenox, Her special licence that I, the said
George William Lenox, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said George William Lenox, 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHIPS' BLOCKS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George William Lenox, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 George William Lenox, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of ships'
blocks, and is applicable when manufacturing ships' blocks of malleable cast
iron. The improvements consist in forming the sides of the shells in such
manner that they shall be dished or concave at their outer surfaces, and convex

page_text: at their inner surfaces, by which means the opening or space between the side
plates, in place of being parallel as heretofore, will incline out from each other
in such manner as to produce a hopper or bell-mouth section, largest at the
outer circumference of a block, and in making sheaves of malleable cast iron,
when the block is to be used at different times for a rope and for a chain, the
centre portion of the sheave intermediate of the boss, and the grooved ring is
made solid in place of hollow, and with arms having spaces between them, and
thus two sheaves are rendered unnecessary.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a side view, Figure 2 a vertical section, and Figure 3 a hori-
zontal section of a ship's block of malleable cast iron, constructed according to
my Invention.
a, a, are the two sides of the shell of the block, which are
thickened and dished at their outer edges, so that the sides of the shell are
convex at their inner surfaces next the sheave, and so that towards their outer
edges they incline outwards from each other, thus producing a wider and wider
space between them the further and further they depart from the axis of the
sheave, thus producing a bell-mouthed or hopper section, as shown in the
Drawing. These shells are made of malleable cast iron, and such is the case
with regard to the sheave b, as has long been practised by me under former
Letters Patent; and I prefer that the strap c should also be made of malleable
cast iron.
Figure 4 shows a vertical section, and Figure 5 a horizontal section, of
another form of ships' block of malleable cast iron, where three sheaves are
used. In this form also the sides a, a, of the shell are made with the outer
edges dished, or inclined, or curved outwards, so as to make the space between
them wider and wider as they depart from the centre. In like manner also
are the shells of malleable cast-iron blocks made when they are to be fastened
to ropes, by the ends of the ropes passing round them, in order to fix them
thereto, in the manner resorted to when wood blocks are used; but in making
the shells of malleable cast iron, grooves are formed at the ends to receive the
ropes bent round them, and ridges with curved surfaces are also formed on
the outer surfaces of the sides to receive the ropes. In making sheaves of
malleable cast iron when of the larger classes, it is preferred that they should
have webs d, d, as is shown, internal of the grooved rings of the sheaves, but
for a smaller size of sheave, the web between the boss and the grooved ring is
preferred to be solid.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
forming the sides of the shells of malleable cast iron ships' blocks dished or
concave at their outer surfaces, and convex at their inner surfaces, as above
explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said George William Lenox, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
GEO. W. LENOX. (L.S.)