AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROOFS AND OTHER PARTS OF BUILDINGS, AND ALSO FOR THE APPLICATION OF CORRUGATED PLATES OR SHEETS OF METAL TO CERTAIN PURPOSES FOR WHICH SUCH SHEETS OR PLATES HAVE NOT HERETOFORE BEEN USED
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
ROBINSON PALMER, of Great George Street, Westminster, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of April, in the fifth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry
Robinson Palmer, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Henry Robinson Palmer, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Henry Robinson Palmer, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROOFS AND OTHER
PARTS OF BUILDINGS, AND ALSO FOR THE APPLICATION OF CORRUGATED PLATES OR
SHEETS OF METAL TO CERTAIN PURPOSES FOR WHICH SUCH SHEETS OR PLATES HAVE
NOT HERETOFORE BEEN USED;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
obliging me, the said Henry Robinson Palmer, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Henry
Robinson Palmer, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of a certain improvement or certain improvements in the con-
struction of roofs and other parts of buildings, and also for the application of
corrugated plates or sheets of metal to certain purposes for which they have
not heretofore been used, may be divided into two parts, and relates, firstly,
to certain improvements upon an Invention for which I obtained Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth of April, One thousand eight hundred
and twenty-nine, and which last-mentioned Invention is described in the
Specification of the said Letters Patent to consist in the application of metallic
plates or sheets in a fluted, indented, or corrugated form to the purposes
in relation to buildings for which inetallic plates with even or plane
surfaces had been already applied; and in the said Specification I stated that
these fluted or corrugated sheets or plates of metal may be applied to the
roofs of buildings, to the sides of them; to the doors, the shutters, and to
the partitions in the buildings, whether moveable or stationary; and I
describe therein several applications of the said plates or sheets by rivetting
them together, and, amongst others, their application to the construction of
roofs, to the sides of buildings, to partitions, to doors and shutters; and I
declared therein that I did not claim as of my Invention any particular mode
of forming the plates or sheets therein mentioned, the means of producing
such forms being well known; and that I did not claim as my improvement
or improvements any particular mode of connecting the fluted, indented, or
corrugated sheets or plates of metal together, or the mode of attaching them
to buildings, so as to form a part or parts of such buildings; but that I claimed
as my improvement or improvements the use or application of fluted, indented,
or corrugated, metallic sheets or plates to the roofs and other parts of buildings,
as therein-before described. Now the first part of my present Invention,
viz. my improvements in the construction of roofs and other parts of buildings
consists in certain methods of forming or constructing the joints or junctions
of corrugated iron or metal roofs, and of connecting together iron or other
metal sheets or plates, for any of the purposes above described, the joints

page_text: being made in such a manner that the strength of the roof, or of the particular
construction of the joints thereof, may not depend upon the strength of any
rivets or bolts employed in forming the joints or connecting the plates or sheets
of metal together. The methods which I adopt to effect this object will, in
many cases, supersede to a considerable extent the use of bolts or rivets, and
will consequently obviate many disadvantages which arise from their use in
connecting the metal plates or sheets together. And in order to give the best
information in my power as to the way in which this part of my Invention is
to be performed, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed,
which shew several different methods of constructing or forming the joints or
junctions by which fluted, indented, or corrugated sheets or plates of metal may
be connected; but although these several methods differ in some minor par-
ticulars, yet they are all constructed upon the same principle, namely, the
making the ends of the metal sheets or plates to abut against and thereby
support each other.
The Figures in Sheet I represent different modes of joining or con-
necting together corrugated sheets or plates, which modes I prefer when such
plates are made of cast metal. Fig. 1 represents a plan view of part of a
roof in which the plates or sheets abut against each other, and the joints
are secured by studs or projections made at one end of the sheets or plates,
and which studs or projections take into corresponding slits or openings made
at the end of the next sheet; Fig. 2 is an edge view of Fig. 1, and Fig. S
is a side view of the same. Figures 4, 5, and 6 represent plan, edge, and
end views of part of one of the plates A detached. It will be seen that
studs or projections a, a, are formed at one end of the plate, and slits or
openings b, b, at the other end. Figures 7 and 8 represent plan and edge
views of the adjoining plate B, having similar studs or projections and slits or
openings, which slits b, b, when the two plates are brought together, pass under
the flanges of the studs or projections a, a, of Fig. 4, as seen in Figs. 9, 10,
and 11, which represent portions of the plates as joined together. Upon
referring to Figs. 6 and 8, it will be seen that that end of the plate at which
the slits are made is upset or cranked, as at c, in order to form an abutment
for the adjoining plate. The side or longitudinal junctions of the plates are
formed by longitudinal bars d, d, shewn detached in side and sectional views at
Figures 12 and 13. These bars have grooves e, e, formed therein, into which
the sides, or edges of the plates are inserted, as seen at Fig. 13. That part of
the groove e, e, which is intended to receive the overlapping joint is made
wider, as shewn at e, Fig. 12; these longitudinal bars are connected together
by overlapping joints, as shewn at f, Fig. 12, and if required, the bars may be

page_text: made in two pieces of wrought or cast iron, and rivetted together, as seen
in Fig. 14. Figures 15 to 22 represent another method of securing the
abutting joint. In this instance the slits or openings b, b, are dispensed with,
and in place of the studs or projections a, a, hook-shaped or cleft studs g, g,
are employed. The end of the plate A is upset or cranked to form an
abutment c, and overlaps the plate B, as in the former instance, as shewn at
Figures 21 and 22, which represent the two plates connected together.
Figs. 23, 24, and 25 represent a modification of the above, the hook-shaped
or cleft studs 9, 9, being in this instance formed on the under side of the plate A
as well as on the upper side of the plate B. Fig. 26 represents one method
of applying the above improvements to form a roof. The gutter plates are
represented at h, h, against which the plates constituting the roof abut, and are
secured thereto by means of bolts or rivets, as shewn in the Drawing. A longi-
tudinal bar or crown piece i runs along the crown of the roof and forms an
abutment for the upper end of each side of the roof. The bar or crown
piece has grooves formed therein corrresponding to the corrugations of the
plates, which may also, if desired, be bolted thereto, as shewn at j, j, Fig. 26.
In order to give greater stability to the roof, transverse bars k, k, may be rivetted
or bolted to the under side of the plates. Fig. 27 shews another form of
roof which being a modification of the above, no further description will be
necessary.
The several Figures in Sheet 2 represent various modes of securing the
joints of plates or sheets made of wrought iron. Fig. 28 represents a plan
view, and Fig. 29 a longitudinal section, of one plate A; Figs. 30 and 31
represent similar views of the adjoining plate B, one end of these plates
is upset or cranked to form the abutment as in the plans before described;
but both ends of these plates are furnished with slits or openings b, b;
the abutting joints are secured by separable studs a, shewn detached at
Fig. 32. Figs. 33, 34, and 35 represent section and plan views of the two
plates A and B, connected together and secured by means of the sepa-
rable studs a. The longitudinal bar d may be made either of wrought or cast
iron, as in the former instance. Figs. 36, 37, and 38 represent another
method of forming the abutment. Instead of upsetting or cranking one end
of the plates, a strip of metal is brazed or soldered on the upper side, and
thereby forms the abutment. Figures 39, 40, and 41 represent a modification
of the above, in which the strip of metall is brazed or soldered on to the under
side of the plate or sheet. Figures 42, 43, and 44 represent another method
of securing the abutting joint. In this instance the end of the plates A and B
abut against each other, and are subsequently secured in this position by

page_text: bolting or rivetting the plate B to a strip of metal m, that has been previously
brazed or soldered on to the plate A. Figures 45, 46, and 47 represent
another modification of the above. In this instance one end of the plate A.
is upset to form the abutment for the plate B, which is secured in its place by
a strip of metal m, previously rivetted, bolted, brazed, or soldered to the under
side of the plate A.
Having now described the nature of my improvement or improvements in
the construction of roofs and other parts of buildings, and in what manner
the same is to be and may be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not claim in respect thereof the exclusive use of the said corrugated plates for
the purposes above described, except when the said plates are made to abut
against and to support each other; but I claim as of my Invention the use
and application of corrugated metal plates for the above-mentioned purposes
when the said plates are made to abut against and to support each other, as
hercin-before described.
The second part of my present Invention, (viz*,) the application of corrugated
plates or sheets of metal to certain purposes for which such sheets or plates
have not heretofore been generally used, is as follows:-I apply corrugated
plates or sheets of metal for building or constructing arches and bridges in the
manner herein-after described.
The several Figures in Sheet III. represent a bridge constructed of cor-
rugated sheets or plates of cast metal. Fig. 48 represents the general design
of a bridge; Fig. 49 is a plan view of the arch constructed of the corrugated
plates; Fig. 50 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 51 is a transverse section;
Figures 52, 53, 54, and 55, are views on an enlarged scale of one of the
corrugated sheets or plates detached. The plates n, n, are formed with flanges
all round them. The end or abutting flanges o, o, connect the plates longi-
tudinally together by means of bolts or rivets, and the side flanges p, p,
connect them transversely together in the same manner, the side flanges of
the outside plate or plates being bolted to the spandrils or ribs of the bridge.
And I would observe with respect to this part of my Invention (viz¹), the use
and application of corrugated plates to the construction of arches and bridges,
that it depends on the principle herein-before described, (viz',) the making the
plates abut on and support each other. And I am aware that plates of cor-
rugated metal have been used or attempted to be used in the construction of
bridges, the said plates overlaying each other and being rivetted together, as
described in the Specification of my Letters Patent of the Twenty-eighth day
of April, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, above mentioned.
And I would have it understood that I do not claim as of my present Inven-

page_text: tion anything in respect of the application of plates so rivetted together and
depending for the strength of the structure upon such rivets to the purposes
of bridge building; but in the applications of corrugated iron, as herein-before
described, to the construction of the arch, the corrugated plates would be in
equilibrium with each other by virtue of the abutting pieces independent of the
fastening, and additional security derived from the rivets, somewhat as the arch
of stone or masonry is in equilibrium independently of the mortar or cement
employed; but what I claim as of my Invention in respect of the last-men-
tioned use and application of corrugated plates of metal is, the construction
of the arch by corrugated plates of metal abutting against or upon and
supporting each other, as herein-before described.
I also apply the said corrugated plates or sheets of metal to railway and
other wheels in place of the spokes or arms, as shown in Figures 56 and 57
of the annexed Drawing. Fig. 56 represents the corrugated metal plate
previous to its being-applied to the wheel. The rims and nave may be cast
on to the previously prepared plate, as at Fig. 57, and a tire may be added.
thereto in the usual way.
And what I claim in respect of the last-mentioned use and application of
corrugated plates or sheets of metal is the construction of wheels of such
corrugated metal as herein-before lastly described.
of
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Robinson Palmer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
year