IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FLOORS AND ROOFS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER STRUCTURES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Stone, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Builder, for the invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF FLOORS AND ROOFS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER STRUCTURES,"
Sealed the 4th March 1870, and dated the 17th September 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Stone at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th September 1869.
I, ROBERT STONE, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Builder,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FLOORS AND ROOPS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER
STRUCTURES," to be as follows :-
My Invention consists in constructing wrought or cast iron or steel
beams or joists for floors and roofs of an improved shape to combine
strength with lightness. The joist or beam is made with a midfeather
and with side flanges to support the ends of the boards, planks, stones,
tiles, or other materials of which the floor or roof is composed. A small
projection is formed on each side of the midfeather, and a recess is made
[Price 8d.]

page_text: in the ends of the boards, planks, tiles, or other materials fitting on these
projections, by which means the floor is secured to the joists or beams
without nails or other fastenings, and in wood floors if the wood should
shrink the boards or planks can be tightened together with facility.
The lower part of the joist or beam projecting below the floor is curved
and pointed so as to increase the strength and to give an ornamental
appearance to the ceiling. The ends of the joists or beams are supported
in iron blocks let into the walls of the building to allow for the
expansion and contraction of the joists or beams. In some cases
the midfeather above described is dispensed with, and the wood or other
flooring is secured to the side flanges of the joist or beam by screws or
otherwise.
When my improvements are applied to roofs and for bridges and
certain other structures the lower part of the joist or beam is made with
a plain rib to reduce the expense and the weight.
My Invention is particularly beneficial in constructing fireproof
buildings; and in buildings with wood floors the fire would be to
a great extent prevented from spreading, as the floors are in compart-
ments.
The improvements are also applicable to railway and other carriages
and in ship building.
In dwelling houses and other buildings a considerable saving in
height is effected and the plaster ceilings are not required, consequently
the spaces between the joists which in ordinary buildings form receptacles
for vermin are dispensed with.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Stone in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
STONE, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Builder, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the

page_text: °
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Robert Stone, Her special licence
that I, the said Robert Stone, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Stone, 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 FLOORS AND ROOFS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER STRUCTURES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Stone,
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 Robert Stone, 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 (that is to say)
The nature of my Invention consists,―
First. In constructing wrought or cast iron or steel beams and joists
for floors, roofs, and other structures of an improved shape to combine
strength with lightness.
Secondly. In making grooves in the boards, planks, tiles, or slabs of
which the floor is composed to fit on small projections on the joists,
by which contrivance the floor is secured without nails or other
fastenings.
Thirdly. In supporting the ends of the beams in cast-iron blocks
resting on the walls of the building, the said blocks having grooves in
which the beams rest to allow for the expansion and contraction of the
beams.
Fourthly. In connecting the joists to the beams by cast-iron blocks
with grooves.
And, lastly. In an improved mode of constructing roofs and ships.

page_text: And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a section of one of my
improved shaped rolled steel beams; Figure 2 is a section of one of my
improved rolled steel joists; Figure 3 is a plan Figure 4 is a section;
and Figure 5 another section of part of a wood floor constructed according
to my improvements.
a is the midfeather of the beam, the upper part of which is wedge
shaped; a, a, are side flanges to support the cast-iron blocks b, see
Figures 3, 4, and 5, in which are grooves fitting on the wedged-shaped
part of the beam and to receive the ends of the joists c; the upper part
of the joist has projections c' and flanges e, see Figure 2.
These flanges
support the flooring boards d, the ends of which are grooved to fit the
projections c', as shewn in Figure 4; the sides of the flooring boards are
tenoned together in the usual manner. In laying my improved floor
the beams a extend from one wall to the other in narrow buildings, or
they are supported at intervals on pillars in wide buildings, the ends
of the beam resting in grooves in the cast-iron blocks e; the beams fit
easily in these grooves to allow for the expansion and contraction of the
beams. The ends of the beams may project sufficiently beyond the
blocks to allow keys to be driven through them to connect the outer
walls of the building. The beams a are placed at about eight feet apart,
or more or less, and upon each beam is placed as many blocks 6 as there
are joists c, the number of joists depending upon the width of the
building or on the space between them. The ends of the joists are
placed in the upper grooves of the blocks b, and then the space between
the joists is filled up by the flooring boards d. In grooving the
ends of these boards the lower portion fitting between the flange c² and
the projection c¹ must be cut away to the extent of half the thickness of
the midfeather, so that when the boards are put together the joint
between them is closed. When all the flooring boards are laid they are
wedged together from the walls of the building, but if in time the wood
should shrink the wedges can be tightened up. By this means a perfect
level floor is obtained without nails or other fastenings; or instead of
making the flooring boards in short lengths, as shewn and described, they
may be made of any convenient length by cutting in them T-shaped
grooves, as shewn in Figure 6. The lower part of the beams and joists are
provided with projecting ribs marked respectively a² and c³ to increase
their strength, and they both terminate in a curved rib to give an

page_text: ornamental appearance to the ceiling, and in some cases the ribs a² may
serve as supports to a light boarding or other partition, as shewn in
Figure 5, made of glass, papier maché, or other material, when it is
desirable to hide the lower part of the joists from the room below, or to
deaden the sound from one floor to another, and to prevent the passage
of dust.
Although I have shewn and described the improved joists and beams
of a suitable form when made of steel I wish to observe that they may
be made of wrought or cast iron. My improved joists may also be
made without the projections c¹, and in that case the flanges c² would
be screwed to the flooring boards or planks.
I would also remark that instead of the boards d flagstones, tiles, or
slabs of concrete or other material may be used to form the floor.
When my improved beams and joists are used for bridges or other
structures the projecting ribs a and may be dispensed with, leaving
the midfeather to project as before.
These improved beams and joists are particularly beneficial in the
construction of fireproof buildings and in buildings with wood floors.
The fire would be to a great extent prevented from spreading, as the floors
are in small compartments.
These beams and joists are also applicable in constructing railway and
other carriages and in ship building.
In dwelling houses and other buildings a considerable saving in
height is effected, as the usual plaster ceilings are dispensed with, and
the space between the joists which in ordinary buildings forms receptacles
for vermin is dispensed with.
Figure 7 is a section of part of a roof constructed according to my
improvements; Figure 8 is a plan of the ridge piece; Figure 9 is a side
view, of the same; Figure 10 is a section of one of the rafters; and
Figure 11 is an elevation of the entire roof. f is the ridge piece, which.
is cast or rolled with two dovetailed projections f', and the ends of
which are jointed together by a projection at one end fitting in a recess
in the end of the adjoining one. The rafters g fit below in a groove in the
cast-iron block h, shewn detached in Figures 12 and 13, and above they
are provided with a dovetailed opening fitting on the projections f of
the ridge piece f. The rafters are rolled with two ribs g¹, between which
is a groove coutaining the slates or tiles of the roof, and the. blocks h
1 11111

page_text: are cast with projections h¹, which form continuations of the rafters g,
and the lowest slates or slabs bear against the stop pieces h2, which are
cast in and close the groove in the said projections . The blocks h,
or any number of them, at opposite sides of the building are united by
the tie bars i, which are of a similar section to the rafters g, and these
tie bars are provided at each end with a projection fitting in a recess in
the said blocks h; by this arrangement the parts of the roof are securely
bound together; j, j, are cast-iron or other gutters of the ordinary
description. It is evident that the number of rafters must depend upon
the width of the slates or tiles, as each end of each tile fits in the
groove of the rafters, and the strength depends upon the size of the
roof. These improved roofs are light and fireproof.
Figure 14 represents the section of a ship shewing the mode of
applying my improvements to ship building. k is the sole piece and
keel, which are rolled together or in separate pieces of steel or iron. The
upper part of the sole piece is grooved, slotted, or dovetailed to receive
and hold the ribs forming the skeleton of the ship sides; these ribs
are in section similar to the joists shewn in Figure 2, and I prefer to
make them in continuous lengths from one side of the ship to the other,
or the ribs at each side of the ship may be in separate lengths, each rib
being fastened below in a die or block secured to the sole piece and
keel. The joists or beams supporting the deck are connected to the
ribs of the ship by means of a die or block, or by dovetailing or
slotting. The bulwarks m are connected to prolongations of the ribs
projecting above the main deck. The exterior of the ship may be of
wood, or plates of iron or steel, and there is an inner lining of iron or
steel plates secured to the ribs, both inside and outside being caulked
and made water-tight. The ribs of the ship's sides are connected to the
stem and stern by dies or blocks, or otherwise, as above described.
Figure 15 represents a section of part of a ship's side particularly
adapted to the construction of men-of-war or passenger ships. This
ship's side is composed of one or more waterproof casings made of
planks protected with iron or steel plates and with a cavity between
each two of them; these casings are all united by ribs of iron or steel
having projecting flanges rolled thereon, as shewn in Figure 16. In
ships of war the distance between the casings should be sufficiently
large to allow a cannon ball to pass down between them, so that if a
ball should penetrate through the outer or both the outer and second

page_text: casings it would still leave the ship seaworthy, and in firing hot balls
the danger of igniting the ship would be avoided, owing to the iron or
steel plates with which the casings are lined. Each cavity between the
casings is provided with a bilge pump, so that the hold of the ship may
be kept perfectly dry. In planking the decks and sides of ships I prefer
to lay the timber diagonally in contrary directions.
The application of my improvements to ship building will reduce the
cost of construction and will economise time and facilitate repairs, as
duplicates of the parts can be kept on hand, or part may be carried on
the vessel in case of need, besides the cavity may be lined with cork,
wood, or india-rubber or any other material to check the entrance of
the balls.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the details given, as the sections of the beams, joists,
and rafters may be slightly varied without departing from the peculiar
character of my Invention. I claim,-
First. The improved beams and joists, as shewn and described.
Secondly. The mode described of securing the flooring boards, tiles,
or slabs to the joists without nails or other fastenings, as shewn and
described.
Thirdly. Supporting the ends of the beams in grooved blocks, to allow
for their expansion and contraction, as shewn and described.
Fourthly. The improved mode of connecting the joists to the beams.
as shewn and described.
Fifthly. The improvements in the construction of roofs, as shewn and
described.
.
And, lastly. The improvements in shipbuilding, as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Stone, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of March One thousand eight
hundred and seventy.
ROBERT STONE. (L.S.)