IMPROVEMENTS. IN HEAVING UP SLIPS FOR THE REPAIR OR CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR A CONTINUOUS ACTION PURCHASE FOR THE SAME, WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Law, Civil Engineer, of No. 15, Essex Street,
Strand, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS.
IN HEAVING UP SLIPS FOR THE REPAIR OR CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR OTHER
VESSELS, AND FOR A CONTINUOUS ACTION PURCHASE FOR THE SAME, WHICH IS
ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 15th July 1856, and dated the 16th January 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Law at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou the 16th
January 1856.
I, HENRY LAW, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iμ-
PROVEMENTS IN HEAVING UP SLIPS FOR THE REPAIR OR CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR
OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR A CONTINUOUS ACTION PURCHASE FOR THE SAME, WHICH IS
ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
I construct the cradle or carriage for the reception of the vessel with a
longitudinal hollow or depression, adapted to receive the keel and a portion of
the vessel, so as to allow the line of the bottom of the keel to be wholly or
partly below the line of the surface of the rails upon which the carriage or
cradle runs, the railway being also formed with a hollow or depression
between the center lines of rails, corresponding with that of the carriage or
cradle, by which means, without lowering the level of the line of rails, I am

page_text: enabled to receive and heave up vessels drawing a larger depth of water than
upon the present system; and I avoid the necessity of carrying the rails to so
great a distance under water, and I am enabled to receive the vessel upon the
cradle in the condition and trim in which she may chance to float without
any previous adjustment of her cargo or ballast. The continuous action
purchase for drawing the vessels up the slip, and which is applicable to other
purposes, construct in such a manner, that the links of the chain are taken
hold of in succession and drawn forward with a continuous motion without
any stoppage or cessation of progress; and this I-effect by having two or more
cranks or connecting rods so arranged, that the connecting rods actuated by
the cranks are made in succession and alternately to lay hold of and draw
forward the links of the chain, the action of each one commencing before that
of the previously engaged one has ceased, and so maintaining the continuous
progressive movement of the chain. The crank movement may be obtained
either by independent cranks, or by two or more crank pins arranged around
the same wlicel or disc. By this arrangement I am enabled to draw up the
vessel from its first grounding upon the cradle until it reaches the top of the
slip without
any stoppage, and thus to avoid the prejudicial jerks and strains
which arise from the repeated stopping and starting of the vessel under the
existing systems. I further adopt a mode of folding up the chain upon a
moveable carriage arranged for its reception, and upon which the links are
deposited side by side in alternate directions as they are successively drawn up
by the previously described machinery, or the chain may in a similar manner
be deposited in a vertical pit prepared to receive it. By this means I avoid
the necessity of taking to pieces or disconnecting the links of the chain, an
operation attended with labor and delay.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Law in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
July 1856.
☐ TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
LAW, of No. 15, Essex Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Law, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Law, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Law, 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
HEAVING UP SLIPS FOR THE REPAIR OR CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR OTHER VESSELS,
AND FOR A CONTINUOUS ACTION PURCHASE FOR THE SAME, WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE
TO OTHER PURPOSES, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Henry Law, 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 Henry Law, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the saine is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Firstly, construct the cradle or carriage for the reception of the vessel
with a longitudinal hollow or depression, adapted to receive the keel. and
portion of the vessel, so as to allow the line of the bottom of the keel to be
wholly or partly below the line of the surface of the rails upon which the
carriage or cradle runs, the railway being also formed with a hollow or
depression between the center lines of rails, corresponding with that of the
carriage or cradle, by which means, without lowering. the level of the line of
the line of rails, I am enabled to receive and heave up vessels drawing a larger
depth of water than upon the present system; and I avoid the necessity of
carrying the rails to so great a distance under water, and I am enabled to
receive the vessel upon the cradle in the condition and trim in which she may
chance to float without any previous adjustment of her cargo or ballast.
The second part of my said Invention consists of a continuous action
purchase for drawing the vessels up the slip, and which is applicable to other
purposes, which I construct in such a manner, that the links of the chain are
taken hold of in succession, and drawn forward with a continuous motion
without any stoppage or cessation of progress; and this I effect by having two
or more cranks and connecting rods.so arranged, that the connecting rods

page_text: actuated by the cranks are made in succession and alternately to lay hold of
and draw forward the links of the chain, the action of each one commencing
before that of the previously engaged one has ceased, and so maintaining the
continuous progressive movement of the chain. By this arrangement I am
enabled to draw up the vessel from its first grounding upon the cradle until it
reaches the top of the slip without any stoppage, and thus to avoid the pre-
judicial jerks and strains which arise from the repeated stopping and starting
of the vessel under the existing systems.
And, thirdly, I adopt a mode of folding up the chain upon a moveable
carriage arranged for its reception, and upon which the links are deposited side
by side in alternate directions as they are successively drawn up by the
previously described machinery, or the chain may in a similar manner be
deposited in a vertical pit prepared to receive it. By this means I avoid the
necessity of taking to pieces or disconnecting the links of the chain, an
operation attended with labor and delay.
And in order to make the nature of my said Invention more perfectly
understood, I have prepared the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Drawing No. 1 represents the first part of my said Invention, in which
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 represent the present mode of receiving and supporting
the vessel upon the cradle; and Figures 5, 6, and 7 show the improved mode
which I suggest.
It will be seen by the first four Figures, that in the slips as at present
constructed the keel of the vessel A, A, A, lies wholly above the cradle or
carriage B, B, and is nearly or quite parellel with the slip or railway, which is
inclined at a considerable inclination, usually about 1 in 16 to 1 in 20. Now,
the evils attending this are very considerable. In the first place, there must
have been a sufficient depth of water above the cradle at its upper extremity
C, Figure 1, to have allowed the fore part of the vessel to be floated over it;
to obtain which depth of water, the slip must be carried a considerable distance
out into the water, which adds to its cost, and increases the difficulty of its
construction. In the second place, the vessel grounds at first only upon the
fore part of the keel, as in Figure 1, and as the cradle is drawn up into the
position shewn in Figure 2, the vessel is thrown more and more into an
inclined position. This shifting of the vessel after it has once grounded upon the
cradle adds much to the risk and danger attending the operation, and in the case
of steam vessels especially, where the whole weight of the boilers and machinery
15 collected in the centre of the vessel, she thus grounding entirely on the
forepart of the keel until the vessel has been partially drawn out of the water.
is very objectionable. By the mode which I have invented, both these evils

page_text: are avoided. I construct the rails or slipway F, F, with the same inclination as
at present, but I entirely alter the form of the cradle or carriage as usually
formed. Its upper surface is all in one plane, but I form it with a depression,
as seen at E, E, in the transverse sections, Figures 6 & 7, so as to allow the
forc part of the keel of the vessel to enter and lie below the general surface of
the carriage. On comparing Figures 2 & 5, it will be seen,, that while in the
former the vessel has been thrown into a very inclined position, in the latter, on
the contrary, she is very nearly in the same position as she would have been
when afloat; and further, it will be seen, that while in the former there must'
have been a sufficient depth of water above the top of the cradle at C to float
'the vessel, in the latter it is only requisite to have the same depth above the
depressed point E. By this means' I am enabled to heave up vessels drawing
'à much greater depth of water; I avoid the necessity of taking out the vessel's
cargo to lighten her, and in the cost of the slip I save considerably in con-
sequence of it not being necessary to carry it out to so great a distanco under
water. I form the ship with four lines of rails F, F, F, F, instead of three; as
'at G, G, G, by which the weight of the vessel is more equally distributed,
and by the introduction of two central rails I am enabled to depress the
carriage, as already explained, and to allow the vessel's keel to enter between
> them.
The second part of my said Invention consists in a micans of hauling or
drawing up the vessel with a continuous motion without any intermission or
'stoppage. Under the existing forms of slip, after the cradle with the vessel
upon it has been drawn up a certain distance it has to be stopped, and the
5 portion of the chain drawn up is disconnected and removed, during which
operation the vessel reniains in a state of rest, and this process of alternate
movement and rest has to be many times repeated before the vessel is entirely
hove up. The objections to this mode of drawing up the vessel are very great;
'every time that she is either stopped or started, a considerable strain and some
amount of jerking must be occasioned, adding materially to the difficulty and
danger of the operation, especially in the case of large vessels, and rendering a
much greater power necessary for heaving them up to overcome thus repeatedly
the inertia of so large a weight and mass.
.
Drawing No. 2 shews the mode in which I obtain this continuous motion
5 by means of two cranks II and J, which are caused to move with a uniform
and equable velocity, and so arranged (as shewn in the Drawing), that before
the action of one in the traction of the chain has ceased, that of the other shall
have commenced; and the manner in which this is effected is as follows:-

page_text: Each crank is double, as seen in the plan, Figure 3, and the motion of these
cranks is transmitted by the connecting rods K, K, & L, L, to the cross liuks
or catches M & N; these latter are guided in their motion, and constrained to
move in a straight line by the framing O, O.. The links of the main chain to
which the cradle is attached (and by means of which it is drawn up) are
formed in the manner shown on the Drawings, with shoulders or projections,
which allow of the catches moving downwards without influencing the chain,
the catches passing up the incline at the back of the shoulder, and dropping
into the recesses on the front side, the lower catch being caused to do so by
the spring P, P, and the upper one by the action of gravity; upon the direction
of the motion of the connecting rods being reversed, the catches come into
contact with the shoulders, and so cause the chain to move in an upward
direction with them. Now, it must be observed, that in consequence of the
position in which the cranks are placed in reference to the links of the chain,
the centres of the cranks being above the center line of the chain, the crank H
commencing its tractile motion before the crank J has ceased its own. This is
the case when they are in the relative positions shewn in Figure 1, as will be
evident by an inspection of the Drawing, the crank H being on the point of
commencing to draw, while the crank J is still so employed, and will continue
to be until it reaches the point Q. It should be observed, however, that while
the motion of the former is getting gradually more rapid, that of the latter is
decreasing, and therefore the transition of the labor of hauling from one crank
to the other is so easy as to be insensible. By attentively considering the
movements of the cranks, it will be perceived that the crank H will again
commence its tractile motion, or that coinciding with the direction of the chain's
motion, before it has completed quite half a revolution, while the crank J will
continue its motion in the same direction for more than the half of a revolution,
and therefore that the forward motion of the chain actuated by the cranks
must be continuous and without cessation. In order to render this more
obvious, the paths described by the crank pius are shown by colored lines, the
portion of each path employed in drawing the chain being shewn by a blue
line, while that occupied in the return motion is shown by a red liue; it will
thus be seen, that owing to the centers of the cranks being placed above the
center of the chain, the length of the blue lines exceed in each case that of the
red, and as the cranks move with uniform and similar velocities, the necessary
consequence is, that one crank must always commence its tractile motion
before the other has ceased its own. The foregoing description shows how
the desired object of the continuous movement of the chain may be effected

page_text: with only two cranks; it is, however, obvious, that it may, if preferred, be
effected by the use of 3 or more cranks, the motion of the chain being more
and more uniform as the number of cranks is increased.
The third part of my Invention is also shown on Drawing No. 2, and
consists of a method of folding up the chain in a pit underground, so as to
avoid the inconvenience which at present results from having to take the chain
to pieces and reconstruct it. As the links are drawn forward by the means
already described, they are supported by the projecting pins of the joints which
rest upon the side rail or framing O, O; it will be seen, however, that the
length of these pins vary, every alternate pin being longer than the others.
It will also be seen that the guiding rail has a notch or recess.formed in.it:at
P, P, so that from this point it ceases to support every alternate:head, allowing
those with the short pins to drop through as soon as they arrive at that point,
while those with the long pins are still carried onward until they arrive at the
point Q. Here the guide rail ceases, and the head of the link passes on to a
travelling carriage R, R, having recesses S, S, S, formed in its upper surface
to receive the pins of the chain, and which is made to travel onwards with a
uniform motion by means of the rack and pinnion T, T, which is actuated by
the same power as the cranks, the motion being so regulated that the carriage
moves forward. through the requisite distance to receive each pin as it is
delivered at the point Q. It will thus be seen, that by allowing every alternate
head to fall through while the other heads are constrained to continue moving
in their former course the links of the chain will become folded or doubled up,
assuming successively the positions shewn in Figures 1 & 2, and ultimately that
in which they are shewn resting upon the carriage at U, U, U. When it is
desired to reverse the direction of the motion of the chain so as to lower the
cradle, it is only necessary to relax the springs P, P, by turning the screws
V, V, until the catches N, N, cease to act against the lower shoulders on the
heads of the chain, then to turn over the upper catch into the position shewn
in Figure 7. The motion of the machinery being then reversed, the projecting
point W on the upper catch will come into contact with a recess formed at
the back of the heads of the chain, as shown at Y, Y, and will so cause the
chain to move with them in the contrary direction to its former motion. The
direction of the motion of the carriage R, R, being also reversed, the chain
5 will now be gradually unfolded, the ends of the pins being drawn up on the
guide rail O & P.
In conclusion, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim the particular
form or configuration of the several parts shewn on the Drawings, which are

page_text: to be regarded simply as illustrations of the node in which my said Inven- .
tion may be carried out; but what I claim as my said Invention is tho.
following:-
Firstly, the so constructing the cradle or carriage and the slipway upon
which it runs, that the keel of the vessel may be wholly or partially admitted
below the general surface of the cradle.
Secondly, the so combining two or more cranks for the purpose of drawing
up the chain, that the motion of such chain shall be continuous and without;
intermission.
Thirdly, the so receiving the chain upon a moveable carriage that it may be
folded or doubled up into a compact form.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Law, have hereunto set my hand
and scal, this Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.