Improvements in Water-tight Bulkhead Doors, and Mechanism for Operating the same
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr 1895-Accepted 6tn July 1895
COMPLEIE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Water-tight Bulkhead Doors, and Mechanism for
Operating the same
I LEOPOLD KATZENSTEIN, of 223 West 133rd Street, New York, United
States of America, Machinist do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement
-
My invention relates to water-tight bulkhead doors and mechanism for operating
the same and has for its object to produce construction by which the water-tight
bulk head doors in navigable ves.els may be readily closed either from
proximity to the door or from points more or less remote from the door, for
instance, the upper deck of the vessel
point in
To this end my invention consists of a bulkhead door combined with mechanism
for opening the same and holding the same open, and mechanism for disconnecting
the bulkhead door from the mechanism which operates directly to open it, in order
that the doors may be automatically closed
My invention fuither consists in the construction and arrangement of devices
hereinafter set forth and claimed
It will be understood that in this Specification I will make reference merely to
those kinds of bulkhead doors which are fitted in the bulkheads of navigablo
vessels and are adapted to slide in a plane parallel w th and close to the bulkhead
and cover ud uncover the aperture of door-way formed in said bulkhead, and being
of such weight as to cause them to close with more or less violence when
disconnected from then supporting mechanism But I will have it particularly
understood that I do not mean to limit myself to this precise form of door, as doors
which are otherwise opcrated may be adapted for use with the mechanism which
fours this part of my invention I would also have it understood that the
mechanism for opening the door and the mechanism for disconnecting the door
from its opening mechanism may also be greatly varied without departing from
the spirit of my invention, and indeed, I have shown several forms that these
devices may take, but, however, merely by way of general ill astiation without
intending to be specifically limited to such forms
My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,
showing several forms of my con truction wherein―
Figure 1 is an elevation of a bulkhead and its door and the operating mechanism
therefor, the same being one form of my invention,
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the construction shown in Figure 1,
Figure 3 is an elevation of a bulkhead door embodying my invention, the same
being the preferred form,
Figure 4 13 a sectional detail view of the door taken on line 4-4 of Figure I
Figures 5 and 6 are detail views of the form of releasing mechanism which is
illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and which will be hereinafter fully described
Figure 7 is a broken away detail view of another form of releasing mechanism,
Figure 8 is a sectional detail view of the upper part of the releasing rod shown
in Figure l

page_text: Figure 9 is a plan view partly in horizontal section and on an enlarged scale of
the releasing mechanism shown in Figures 5 and 6, the section being taken through
the plate h hereinafter referred to,
Figure 10 is an elevation of another modification of the door operating and
releasing mechanism,
Figure 11 is a front elevation of another modification of the door operating and
releasing mechanism partly broken away
Figure 12 is a detail side elevation of the two-part releasing mechanism therefor,
and
Figure 13 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 12
Similar lettcis of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views
Refering particularly to Figures 1 and 2, A is a bulkhead or dividing partition
of a vessel I his partition is pierced for a door-way, and on either side of the
dooi-way a e vertical guides a a¹ within which the bulkhead door work I his
bulkhead door is composed of two sections b bl These sections have mounted
thereon wedges 213 (see Figure 4) which co-operate with loose wedges 6*6* mounted
upon the guides and adjusted by bolts 610 These sections bb¹ work in the guides a a¹,
and sliding towards cach other abut one upon the other and close the opening,
the meeting edges of the sections being beveled, as shown at 65 66 in Figure 4, in
order to make a secure water-tight joint, the wedges serving to hold the abutting
edges firmly together
1
Carried by the section is an arm C, through which passes a rod D on which are
collars cc, against which the arm beas 1 his 1od D is free to iotite in the
aperture in the arn C The lower section of this rod D passes loosely through a
guide o bi icket mounted on the bulkheid, and terminates in a stirrup F
canying a roller g The axis of this roller d 1 prolonged and projects into a
groove or guide e mounted upon the bulkhead Pivoted upon the bulkhead in the
path of the roller 9 on the end of the rod is an operating mechanism therefor
consisting of a levci G, one end of which is slotted, is with a slot q', through
which passes a stud g² canied by the door section b¹ The free end g³ of the lever G
projects into the path of movement of the roller g It will be observed th it as
the door section b descends, the rollci g, carised by the rod D connected to and
moving with sad door- cction, will abut against the tree end g of the level G,
and the door section and its connected mecham m being of con iderable weight,
will och the lever G on its pivot, thus raisin the lower door section in the grooves
by the heft or weight of the upper section and it conuccted mechanism, inli using
the door-section in the guides to meet the door section b It will be ob crved,
however, that there is a coitum amount of lost motion between the parts, that is to
say, the door retion must have descended a short di tance before the roller
contact with the hec cnd of the lever G I his distance may be variously
spaced according to the 10 m left aboud hip for the play of the lower door In
the drawing I show that the section must have moved through one-half its total
movement before the lower door-section begins to move But any other propor-
tionate movement may be had, by regulating the distance between the rod D and
level G I would have it understood, however, that while I have described
vertically sliding doors and have set forth that the lower door-section is moved to
close the door Ly the weight of the descending upper door-section, I do not mean
to thereby limit myself to such structure, as, for the purposes of this Specifi-
cation, doors sliding on houzontal or inclined lines and impelled by independent
weights or other forces besides the inherent weight of the upper door, are the full
equivalents of my vertically sliding doors Ihe two door-sections b and b consti-
tute the bulkhead door, but it will be understood that the door may be made in
single section, if desired It will also be observed that as the door-section b is
raised, the door-section will descend by its own weight and the two oppositely
moving sections will uncover the aperture in the bulkhead, the relative times of
movements of the parts being the reverse of their relative movements when the
sections are brought together, as before described
เ

page_text: I will now proceed to describe the mechanism for opening the doors, having, as
before particular reference to Figures 1 and 2 This mechanism consists of the
threaded rod D provided with a gear d' through which the rod freely slides
longitudinally but which is splined or feathered on the rod to cause the rod to turn
therewith The threaded poition D¹ of the rod passes through a split-nut contained
within the box H This split-nut is made in two sections h h (Figure 5) which
embrace the 1od and may be engaged therewith and disengaged therefrom Hung
in a stirrup o bracket J, mounted on the bulk head, is geal, which meshes with
the gear d', and whose shaft 7 is adapted to co-operate with a handle K for turning
the same
The operation of the door opening mechanism just described is as follows
Supposing the nut-sections h¹ to be engaged with the rod D, the handle K IS
turned turning also the gear and its meshed gear d¹ which also rotates the rod D
The rod D, turning and being as aforesaid threaded and embraced and engaged by
the nut contained within the box H, screws upward in the nut and is elevated
bodily, carrying also with it the door section and allowing the door section b¹ to
descend by its own weight This is the position of the sections as shown in
Figure 1
Referring particularly to Figures 5 and 6, and are the sections of the nut
contained within the box H and which embraces the threaded section D¹ of the
rod D
These sections are provided with pins or studs which are entered
into cam slots ³ ³ of a disk h, to which is connected a gear 1 (Figure 1) which
is held in position by the hub h (Figure 2) The geuh and disk h are capable
of rotation, which rotary movement serves the purpose of separating the
sections h¹ of the split-nut, thereby releasing the rod D and door-section b, which
thereupon descend, and, by the inter-action of the rod D and lever G cause the
section to be elevated The rotation of the disk and gear may be effected in
various ways the most direct being by means of a lever L which can be inserted in
the aperture in the gear h* For this same purpose I also provide an operating
rod M freely movable in guides N N, and to which is connected at intervals pivoted
operating levers nn, to the lowermost of which is connected a float O
upon the operating rod M is a rack m which meshes with the gear ho It will be
quite obvious that a longitudinal movement of the operating rod M will cause the
gear h³ to be rotated thereby separating the sections of the split-nut and allowing
the rod D and door-section 6 to descend, as before stated The longitudinal
movement of the operating rod N may be effected by the movement of any one of
the pivoted operating levers n, which operating levers may be located upon different
decks so that the door may be closed from numerous points more or less remote
from the door
Carried
It will also be observed that the closing will be done automatically should the
water rise beyond a predetermined height for, if the water should rise beyond a
piedetermined height, the float will be lifted, thereby rocking the pivoted operating
lever n to which it is attached, and moving the rod longitudinally
It will, of course, be understood that the mechanisin for opening the split-nut and
releasing rod D may be variously constructed, and that the split-nut itself may be
replaced by any other suitable two-part releasing mechanism In the preferred
form of my invention, shown in Figure 3, the door-section b, which moves in vertical
guides a a¹, is provided with the usual bracket C and rod D, which rod works in a
guide E, as before described, and terminates in the usual stirrup F and roller g
The door section b' which, as before, slides in the guides a a', is provided with the
usual stud 92 which works in a slot g' of the usual pivoted lever G, the free end g³
projecting into the path of movement of the roller g, the mutual operations of the
door sections and their respective times of movement being the same as previously
described Now, in the present case the door opening mechanism consists of a
gear P mounted upon a shaft p which is carried in brackets pl p² on the guides a¹ a
Mounted also upon the shaft p is a bevel gear Q which meshes with a bevel gear R
carried upon a shaft mounted in the bracket p² Mounted also upon the shaft r 18

page_text: a wheel or cranl S
Mounted upon the door section is a 1ack T which me-hes
with the gear P on the shaft p
I he
The operation of the form of my door opening apparatus is as follows
wheel or ciank S is notated thereby rotating the gear R and its meshed gear Q,
then by 1otting the geir P and using the door section b with its 1od D, the
doo-section sliding down by its own weight as soon as the pressure is taken of
the free end g³ of the pivoted operating lover G The do r-section b is held in its
elevited position by a two part cleasing mechanism, which, in the instance is a
clutch consi ting of member mounted igidly upon the shaft p and the membci t
held firmly from 1ot ition but slidable literally upon the sleevć u upon which it is
shaft carried in bi chet vl, aid his mounted thereon cam-
wheel co-operating with the movable cluton-member t, and a
eat which
co-opci ites with a 1ach o carried upon the usual operating 1od M, which is mov ble
longitudinally and operated by means of pivoted operating leveis n (sec uе 3
and 8), one of which lovers is operated by means of a floit O, as in the picceding
example
caned
We will suppose
The operation of this form of my construction is as follows
the parts to be in the position shown in Figure 3, that is to siv, the door-w ty to be
uncovered When, now, it is desired to close the door the operating rod Mis
reciprocated longitudinally through the medium of any of the levels n, thereby
rotating the gear v³ and its shaft, and causing the cam-wheel v³ to slide the movible
section of the clutch out of engagement with the section s, which, being thereupon
released, will permit the shaft p to 10tate freely thus allowing the dooi-section 6 to
descend and use the dooi-section 1, thereby closing the opening in the bulk head
When, now it is desired to open the door the wheel Si notated, thereby sepunting
the sections, and the clutch member is moved to the left to cause it to engage with
the clutch member s in order to hold the door-section b in its clov ited position
In the construction shown in Figure 7, the clutch member t is operated by
meins of pivoted lever 12 and the stirrup 3 which engages therewith
I may
also operate this form of mechanism by a longitudinally moving operating rod M
and pivoted lever n and flot O
も
This
It may sometimes happen that the apciture in the bulk head will become
obstructed by some lige body and the door-sections will not close together
tightly In order to prevent this I provide a shield consi ting of a plate
(sec figure 4) lying across the threshold of the door and pivoted at 1
plate may also be provided with hields 2 which serve the purpose of keepin
coal nd ot! small ob truction out of the guides a al It will be observad
that a the door ections do to the, the lower ection 6 will, as it ri,
abut nst the sheld and will swing the same on its pivot, thu (movi
from the path of the door- cctions any ordin y obstickt, uch, for instance,
a man standing in the doo-way
13
1 18
In the modification shown in Figure 10, Len-wheels, lit-nuts, ete, an di poised
with and the clutch is operated du etly from the vertic I operating rod by me ins
of an arm and cam-whic In this figure, I is a rack mounted on the dooi
a gear mushing with the said rack and serving to operate the door, the said geir
being provided with a clutch member S' which co-operates with a clutch member I',
which clutch member is operated by a cam V' upon a shaft V2 Fast upon this
shaft V2 is an arm n" which is in tuin connected to the operating rod M¹ which
slides in brackets E' and terminates in a float O¹ Connected also to the operating
rod M' are operating aims n¹¹ n
The operat on of this form of my invention is as follows The gear P¹ being rotated,
raises the door, and when the door has been raised, the clutch member 1'is thrown
into engagement with the clutch member S¹ to hold the door in its elevated position
When now it is desired to allow the door-sections to come together, the rod M¹ 1
raised, thereby turning the shaft V through the medium of the arm, the
rotation of the shaft serving through the engagement of the cain with the clutch
member T¹ to discugage the clutch member T₁ from its mate S¹ to allow the doo

page_text: to clo e The parts it shown in Figurɩ 10 is in the po ition which they will
sume when the clutch is open
is
Carried
t
In the construction shown in Figures 11, 12 and 13, the operating rod
provided with the usual font O", and operating handle P, and with a tud p
bich enters a cam-slot q" in a pivoted frame Q", carried upon pivot R
in this frame Q" is a worm S", which engage gear V₁, earned upon
shaft U, Journaled in the frame in which the door a moves The shaft U11 also
Curies a gear T" which engages a ne! 1 cued upon the door a The mode of
operation is is follows the door is raised by rotating the worm S" which
communicates motion to the geir V, shaft U and gear 1", which en T
meshing in the rick I, erves to raise the door When it is desired to close the
door, the opet iting rod M" is moved in the usual manner and the cam-slot "
swings the pivoted frame Q" thereby removing the woim from engagement with
the gear V, whereupon the doo1 a descends by its own weight
Having now particululy described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim 1s
-
The combination of a water-tight bulkhead door consisting of two sections
movable one toward the other and one of the said door sectious being actuated by
the movement of the other, mechanism for separating the sections and holding the
same separated, and a two-part releasing mechanism for releasin, the sections to
permit them to automatically come together to cover the opening in the bulkhead,
substantially as described
2 The combination of a dooi section, a rack carried thereby, a gear meshing
with the rack, mechanism for rotating the gear to raise the door-section, ind
clutch for releasing the gear to permit the door-section to descend automatically,
substantially as described
3 The combination of a sliding door, mechanism for opening the said door,
tw-pait releasing mechanism for releasing the door to allow the same to close and
a longitudinally movable operating rod for operating the releasing mechanism,
substantially as described
4 The combination of a door, mechanism for opening the same, and releasing
mechanism therefor, the sime consisting of a clutch, together with mechanism for
actuating the releasing mechanism consisting of a flo it, and means for actuating the
relcasing mechanism by the float, substantially as described
5 The water-tight bulk-heid door herein described, that is to say, a door
consi ting of two giavity actuated sections movable toward and away from each
other, operating mechanism for operating one of the sections, the said last nimed
section operating the other section by its movement, mechanism for holding the
sections separated, and releasing mechanism the efor, whereby upon operation of
the ielea ing mechanism the door sections will come together automatically by
gravity and cover the opening in the bull -head, substantially is described
6 In a water-tight bulk head door, the combination of a sliding section b, a
sliding section, and a 1od D connected to the section b, and a pivoted lever G
connected to the section 6', and extending into the path of movement of the rod D,
whereby when the section b falls the rod D will co-operate with the lever G to
raise the door section, substantially as described
7 In a water-tight bulk-head door, the combination of a section b, a section b',
the said sections sliding toward one another to cover the opening in a bulk-head,
operating mechanism for the door section 6', a rod D co-operating with the
operating mechanism for the door section b and a connection between the door
sections, all arranged so that the door section b shall have a greater de_ree of
movement than the door section 6', substantially as described
8 The combination of the bulk-head door consisting of two sections movable
toward one another, a pivoted shield extending across the threshold of the door
and into the path of one of the door-sections, whereby one of the door sections will

page_text: co-operate with the shield to swing the same out of the path of the door-sections,
substantially as described
Dated this 30th day of April 1895
A M & WM CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents