An Improvement relating to the' Operation of Ships' Water-tight Compartment Doors.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 3rd June, 1898-Accepted, 13th Aug., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement relating to the' Operation of Ships' Water-tight
Compartment Doors.
I, EDMUND JONES, of Cwm Avon, Port Talbot, Glamorganshire, Marine -
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention, which has reference to the doors of ships' water-tight compart-
ments, consists in means whereby such doors are made capable of being dropped
into place to close the apertures they govern without interference with the present
method of working them.
According to this invention, the nut in which the usual raising and lowering
screw works is divided in such manner that it can be opened out at will and thus
be moved out of contact with the screw. When the nut is thus opened out, the
door, being no longer supported on the screw, drops by gravitation and so closes
the aperture which it is fitted to govern. When it is required to raise the door,
the divided nut is closed upon the screw, and the door can then be raised after the
usual manner by turning the screw in the requisite direction. Similarly, it may
be lowered by means of the screw, if desired.
Opening and closing of the nut are effected by means of a rod which is con-
nected, either directly or indirectly, to the divided nut and is extended up
parallel, or nearly so, with the screw and preferably terminates at or about the
same level with the hand-wheel of the screw. The rod is fitted at top with a hand
lever which can be locked by a removable pin passed through the lever and into a
recess or aperture in a bracket situated below the lever, and which bracket may
carry the socket for the screw aforesaid.
The divided nut and lever afford a means for rapidly closing the door when
desired.
Dated this 16th dow of December 1897
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Chartered Patent Agent, Bristol.
An Improvement relating to the Operation of Ships' Water-tight
Compartment Doors.
I, EDMUND JONES, of Cwm Avon, Port Talbot, Glamorganshire, Marine Engineer,
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:-
This invention, which has reference to the doors of ships' water-tight compart-
ments, consists in means whereby such doors are adapted to be dropped into place

page_text: to close the apertures they govern. The usual method of lowering such doors is
retained.
According to this invention the nut in which the usual screw for lowering and
raising the door works, is divided and furnished with arms by which the nut can
be spread open and closed about the said screw. When the nut is opened out, the
screw is no longer supported by it and accordingly the door drops by gravitation
and so closes the aperture which it is designed to govern. When it is required
to raise the door the divided nut is closed upon the screw, and the door can then
be raised after the usual manner by turning the screw in the proper direction.
Similarly the door can be lowered by means of the screw, if desired.
Opening and closing of the nut are effected by means of a rod which is passed
through a lever furnished with studs which extend through slots provided in the
arms of the divided nut. The lever is turned by the rod which is extended up
parallel with the screw and preferably terminates at or about the same level as the
screw. At top the rod is furnished with handle for operating it.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents in elevation, and
Fig. 2 in side view, a ships' water-tight compartment door and door frame fitted
with operating mechanism in accordance with this invention. The door a is
shown raised exposing a part of the aperture 6 in the bulk-head c, as seen at
Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the divided nut d closed upon the screw e, which
latter is similar to that ordinarily used for such doors. Fig. 4 is a plan showing
the nut open. Fig. 5 is a plan of the cover plate which is placed over the nut.
The screw e, which is, as aforesaid, of the usual kind, is passed through the
divided nut d, and when the latter is closed embracing the screw, the door is
raised and lowered by turning the screw e in the proper direction, as heretofore.
The nut & has arms & through slots in which project upwards studs of carried by
a rocking lever g capable of being turned by means of the rod h which is partly
rectangular or square in section and is passed through a correspondingly shaped
hole in the central boss g¹ of the lever 9. The boss g of the lever g is round and
loosely fits in a corresponding aperture in the top of the door. A detached view
of the lever g is shown at Fig. 6.
At
When it is required to drop the door a into place by gravitation to cover the
aperture b, the rod h is, through the handle h¹, turned so as to spread the nut d,
the arms of which are pivotted on the pin i fixed on the top of the door.
Fig. 7 is shown one arm of the nut detached. When the nut d is sufficiently
spread to clear the screw e, the door a falls quickly into place, covering the aper-
ture it controls.
In order to draw the door up again, the nut & must be first closed to embrace
the screw e, and then the door may be drawn up by turning the said screw e as
heretofore. A removable locking pin h³ passed through the handle h¹ and into
the bracket k, locks the door when in the raised position. When desired, the
door may be lowered by screwing.
Accordingly, while the method of operation heretofore prevailing, that is to say
by screwing, is retained, provision is, in addition, made under this invention, for
rapidly dropping the door to close the aperture in the bulk-head.
At
At Figs. 8, 9 and 10 is shown, at an enlarged scale, a modified form of divided
nut. In this modification the arms of the nut are somewhat differently set to those
in the arrangement first above described. At Fig. 8 the nut is shown closed.
Fig. 9 it is shown open. Fig. 10 is a section of one-half of the nut and its arm.
The nut is operated through the rocking lever g which is similar to that herein-
before described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
Means for dropping or lowering by gravitation ships' water-tight compartment
doors said means consisting in a divided nut for the usual onerating screw and in

page_text: mechanism for opening and closing the said nut about the said screw, substantially
as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 25th day of May 1898
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Chartered Patent Agent, Bristol.