IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LOWERING BOATS, PART OF PROAL IS APPLICABLE TO USES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Ambrose, Gentleman, and William Braddon,
Coal Merchant, both of Holloway, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LOWERING BOATS, PART OF
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Ambrose and
William Braddon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 26th January. 1866..
We, EDWARD AMBROSE, Gentleman, and WILLIAM BRADDON, Coal Merchant,
both of Holloway, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said: Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LOWERING BOATS,
PART OF WHICH APPARATUS IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER USES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in the use of apparatus herein-after described for
lowering boats from ships and other vessels. For this purpose an upper beam
or stretcher is fitted to extend from one of the two ordinary davits to the other,
and a lower. beam or stretcher is suspended from the upper one by a rope
or ropes as herein-after stated. In this lower beam or stretcher are fixed
three drop hooks, from which the boat is suspended at the middle and the two
ends. The said three drop hooks are connected together by means of a trigger,
line, chain, or rod, so as to admit of their being simultaneously opened by
pulling a line passed over sheaves or a rod connected to bell cranks fitted to
the lower beam or stretcher, and thereby disengaging the boat at its three
points of suspension simultaneously as required. The boat can be hung at
any convenient distance below the lower beam, and it can be lowered to any
.

page_text: required extent (before being disengaged from the suspending hooks) by
means of either one or two ropes passed over sheaves in the upper and lower
beams (or when only one rope is used a larger sheave or wheel is mounted in
the lower beam), and brought to a check or holder or two checks or holders
fixed to the lower beam. This check or holder consists of a reel or part on
which the rope is wound, and another part by which the rope is held, this
latter part being a spring confined at the bottom and open at the top. The
rope after passing round the reel or part on which it is wound is passed over
the outer side of the spring (also rounded in form), and inserted in the space
between the inner side of the spring and the part of the check or holder to
which the spring is fixed. By this arrangement the greater the tension of the
rope the more tightly it is held. The said check or holder may be fixed in
other situations and applied to the holding of ropes for other uses. If pre-
ferred the upper beam above described may be dispensed with and the sheaves
connected to the chain or rope that is ordinarily passed from one davit to the
other.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Ambrose and William Braddon in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th July 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
AMBROSE, Gentleman, and WILLIAM BRADDON, Coal Merchant, both of Hollo-
avay, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of January, in the year of our
Lord: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Edward Ambrose and William Braddon, Her special licence that
we, the said Edward Ambrose and William Braddon, our executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Edward Ambrose and
William Braddon, our 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
APPARATUS FOR LOWERING BOATS, PART OF WHICH APPARATUS IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER
USES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Edward Ambrose
and William Braddon, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in

page_text: writing under our, or their, or one of their bands 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 we, the said Edward Ambrose and William Braddon,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
Our Invention of "Improvements in Apparatus for Lowering Boats, Part
of which Apparatus is applicable to other Uses," consists in the use of appa-
ratus herein-after described for lowering boats from ships and other vessels.
For this purpose an upper beam or stretcher is fitted to extend from one of
the two ordinary davits to the other, and a lower beam or stretcher is suspended
from the upper one by a rope or ropes as herein-after stated. In this lower
beam or stretcher are fixed three drop hooks, from which the boat is suspended
at or near the middle and the two ends. The said three drop hooks are con-
pected together by means of a trigger, line, chain, or rod, so as to admit of
their being simultaneously opened by pulling a line passed over sheaves or a
rod connected to bell cranks fitted to the lower beam or stretcher, and thereby
disengaging the boat at its three points of suspension simultaneously as
required. The boat can be hung at any convenient distance below the lower
beam, and it can be lowered to any required extent (before being disengaged
from the suspending hooks) by means of two ropes passed over sheaves in
the upper and lower beams, thence passed over cleats or sheaves in the lower
beam, and wound on to pulleys or drums mounted in the lower beam. The
apparatus for regulating and controlling the lowering of the boat before it is
disengaged from the drop hooks consists of an endless chain passed over a grooved
pulley with projections on it, such endless chain being also, if required, passed
round a cleat fixed to the lower beam. A check or holder consisting of a
spring fixed at the lower part to the reel or cleat, or fixed part over which the
rope is passed, with a space at the upper part of the spring in which the rope
may be confined is employed to hold the boat up in its position after, it has
been raised, while the loose ropes are being wound on to the pulleys or drums.
This check or holder is also used to support the boat as required by holding
the endless chain. The said spring, check, or holder may be fixed in other
situations, and applied to the holding of ropes or chains for other purposes.
If preferred the upper beam above described may be dispensed with, and the

page_text: sheaves connected to the chain or rope that is ordinarily passed from one davit
to the other.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, we will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by
reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which are represented the
apparatus above referred to.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a side view of the apparatus, shewing the boat suspended there-
from; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; and Fig. 3 represents the lower
beam with the drop hooks opened so as to let the boat fall. In these several
Figures the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
A, A, are the ordinary davits fixed at the side of the ship or vessel as shewn ;
B is the upper beam or stretcher, which is suspended at each end by hooks
C, C, inserted in rings fixed in the tops of the davits; D is the lower beam or
stretcher, which is suspended from the upper beam or stretcher B by means
of two ropes E, E, the upper ends of which are secured to the rings F, F, in
the upper beam or stretcher B. These ropes are then passed over sheaves or
pulleys and mounted and fixed in and on the beams or stretchers B and D,
and round cleats F fixed in the lower beam D, and the lower ends of the
ropes are secured in pulleys or drums mounted in bearings fixed to the lower
beam or stretcher D, round which pulleys or drums the ropes E, E, are wound,
and from which they are unwound in order to let down the lower. beam or
stretcher as required. G, G, G, are three drop hooks fixed in the bottom of
the lower beam or stretcher D, from which hooks the boat is suspended at the
two ends and at or near the middle, as shewn. These drop hooks may be
varied in form, but they are by preference composed of a jointed hook, the
beak of which is retained by a shackle jointed to the stem of the hook, so that
when the outer end of the shackle is pulled upwards the weight on the hook
will cause it to open. The three drop hooks G, G, G, are arranged so as to
be capable of being opened simultaneously by means of lines connected to
the outer ends of their respective shackles, and passed over pullies inserted
in the lower beam or stretcher D, all the lines being connected with the
trigger line H. By pulling this trigger line H the outer ends of the three
shackles are simultaneously drawn upwards, and the hooks allowed to bé
instantly opened simultaneously by the weight of the boat suspended from
them, as represented in Fig. 3, thereby disengaging the boat as required.
Instead of opening the hooks .G, G, G, by the means just described, they
may be acted upon simultaneously as required by means of rods and bell

page_text: cranks or other suitable mechanism. It may be bere remarked that although
we prefer to use three drop books as described, two only, viz., one for each
end of the boat, may be used, or a greater number than three. The boat is
lowered gradually as far as required before its disengagement from the
hooks G, G, G, by means of an endless chain I passed over a grooved pulley K,
fixed on the same axle with the pulleys or drums L, L, on which the lowering
cords or ropes E, E, are wound. The projections or stops on the grooved
pulley K retain some of the links of the chains and prevent them from sliding
on the pulley, other links being inserted in the groove for the same purpose.
In order to give increased security and holding power the endless chain is
passed round a cleat fixed to the beam or stretcher D. Fig. 4 represents the
check or holder on an enlarged scale. a is a cleat; b is the spring fixed to the
cleat at o so as to leave a space d, in which the rope or chain may be confined.
This spring, check, or holder is used to hold the ropes E while the loose
ropes are being wound on to the pulleys or drums L, L, and
chain I to support the boat, and it may be adapted and
and in other situations,
also the endless
lied to other uses
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, we hereby declare that what we claim as of our
Invention is the combination for the purpose described of an upper and lower
beam or stretcher, or only the latter, with two or more drop hooks to which
the boat is suspended, such drop hooks being simultaneously opened when
required in order to disengage the boat by means of a trigger line or rod
accessible from the boat connected with lines or rods and bell cranks or other
suitable mechanism as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edward Ambrose and William Braddon,
Lave hereunto set our bands and seals, the Twenty-fourth day of July,
in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
WILLIAM SPENCE,
8, Quality Court,
Chancery Lane, W.C.
EDWARD AMBROSE. (L.S.)
WILLIAM BRADDON. (L.s.)