Improved Means of Automatically Closing Water-tight Doors and Valves.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 31st July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 28th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 18th May, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means of Automatically Closing Water-tight Doors
and Valves.
1, JOHN OLLIS PELTON, of 40 High Street, Croydon, Surrey, Grocer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improved mechanism for automatically closing doors or
valves, such as water-tight doors of ships' bulkheads, or similar appliances and has
for its object the prevention of an inrush of water into the side of the ship,
caused by collision, running on rocks, or damage in action in the case of ships
of war.
In order to carry my invention into practice I provide a water-tight door
consisting of two plates, an upper and a lower, which meet in the middle of the
doorway when in closed position. The upper door-plate is so weighted that when
released its weight will be sufficient by suitable mechanism to cause it to rapidly
descend and at the same time raise the lower plate to meet it, thus hermetically
closing the door.
In order to prevent these door-plates closing when required to be open,
I provide an arrangement of weights and levers. Attached to these weights and
levers is an open top metal tank, placed in such a position below the floor or other
suitable position, as that any inrush of water will fill the tank, causing it to
descend and lift the weights and thus release the door, which will rapidly close and
prevent any inrushing water entering the adjoining compartments.
Dated this 31st day of July 1894.
REGINALD W. BARKER,
Applicant's Agent.
Improved Means of Automatically Closing Water-tight Doors
and Valves.
I, JOHN OLLIS PELTON, of 40 High Street, Croydon, Surrey, Grocer, 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:—
The objects of my invention are to provide mechanism for automatically closing
doors or valves, such as water tight doors of ships' bulkheads, or similar appliances,
and to prevent an inrush of water into the side of the ship, caused by collision,
running on rocks, or damage in action in the case of ships of war.
Referring to the drawings which form a part of this Specification,
Fig. 1 is an elevation of the bulkhead of a ship, showing the opening or
entrance and the automatic gearing for actuating the doors for closing the
bulkheads.
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WARKAand
hamatically fastening the

page_text: doors when closed, Fig. 3, being a sectional view of the wedges which are brought
into action for the purpose of herinetically securing said doors.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views-
The bulkhead A has in its side the opening or entrance B, sliding upon the
face of this bulkhead are two doors, an upper door C, and a lower door D, which
move simultaneously by means of gearing to be hereinafter described. These
doors are so weighted that the upper door is sufficiently heavy when released from
its upper position to descend and pull the lower door up to meet it at the middle
of the entrance. This upper door C has attached to each of its sides a rack E E,
each of which gears into a toothed wheel F, F, revolving on a pin attached to the
bulkhead plates. Each of these toothed wheels has also gearing into it another
rack G, G, the lower ends of which is continued by a bar H, H, in an oblique
direction to the top of the lower sliding door D, to which it is attached. These
racks slide in guides J, J, J, J, fixed to the bulkhead plates. It is obvious that
by means of these racks the upper and lower doors move simultaneously one with
the other. Attached to the upper end of the lower door is a hinged projecting
lug K, arranged as to be free to move only in an upward direction, so that when
the lower door is falling the lug is lifted up when passing the hooks L, L, and
then drops under them, becoming rigid, thus keeping the lower door secure in its
lowest position. The respective positions of the lug K, are shewn in side views,
K' shewing it in raised position, and K2 dropped down into place, with the hook L
resting upon it.
Underneath the opening or entrance and the floor of the bulkhead compartment
are two other toothed wheels M, M, also revolving on pins fixed to frames attached
to the bulkhead plates. These toothed wheels gear one into the other, and each
has a long lever N, N, fixed to its side and extending from the centre of the wheel
to a considerable distance beyond, and having its outer end bent at right angles
to the bulkhead at O, O. These levers are placed in an opposite direction to each
other and cross each other between the toothed wheels. Suspended between the
right angle projecting arms of these levers is an open top tank or cistern P,
immediately under the bulkhead floor. This floor Q, has an opening R, in it of
convenient size and shape, so that any water entering the compartment immediately
falls into the open tank underneath.
S, S, are two horizontal racks, the teeth on the inner ends being geared into the
toothed wheels M, M, and the teeth at the outer ends and on the upper side
thereof at T, T, being geared into other toothed wheels U, U. Each of these
horizontal racks has attached to its inner end a hooked bar V, V, which hooks over
the projecting lug K, and holds that and the doors in open position.
The toothed wheels each have a vertical rack W, W, sliding on the frame
attached to the bulkhead and attached to a horizontal lever X, X, centred at Y, Y,
and held down by the long spring Z, Z. This long spring may be substituted by
weights if preferred. When the tank or cistern P, becomes filled with water,
which by any accident enters the compartment, the weight of the water moves the
levers O, O, by overcoming the resistance of the long springs Z, Z, and causes the
hooked bars V, V, to release the hinged lug on the lower door, when the doors
immediately and automatically close in the manner herein before mentioned.
a represents a hand lever fixed to either one or both of the toothed wheels U, U,
by means of which the doors can be closed by hand from the bulkhead floor
independently of the action of the suspended tank.
In Fig. 2, is shown a modified arrangement for closing the doors from the upper
deck, by means of a handle 6 and screw c working in a nut d. Attached to the
lower end of the screw c is a horizontal lever e, with a long vertical attachment
bar having a cam end at g. When on turning the screw c this bar is lowered,
it comes into contact with the forked lever h, which embraces a lever j attached to
the toothed wheel U (in Fig. 1) and thus actuates the gearing and releases the
doors in the same way as the hand lever a.
The doors are hermetically sealed by means of vertical racks k k each of which

page_text: acts simultaneously by means of toothed wheels 1. Each rack is actuated by a
toothed pinion m, to which is attached a segment rack n having a pinion o and
handle P. The back sides of ench of the racks k k are provided with wedged
pieces shown at 9 g (Fig. 3) so that when the rack is caused to descend, the wedge
pieces grip wedges on frames rr (Fig. 3) which frames are hinged to the side
frames of the automatic doors, and thus the doors are wedged in their places when
closed. Strips of india rubber or other suitable material are fixed on the inner
edge of the hinged frames at ss, to insure a perfectly water tight fit.
The doors may be sealed from the upper deck by turning the handle b and
screw a still further until the horizontal lever e comes down to and bears upon the
top of the rack frame, as shown at t and continuing, forces the racks down until the
doors are sealed.
The handles p and segment rack n may be placed on either or both sides of
the bulkhead, so that the doors may be actuated either inside or outside the bulk-
head compartment, or both sides of same.
By an ordinary arrangement of electric apparatus the fact of the water tight
doors being closed may be communicated by the ringing of an electric bell on the
upper deck or any other convenient place.
This invention may also be applied to sluice doors or valves of a like nature to
bulkhead doors, for closing the same in the manner hereinbefore described and
illustrated.
Having now particularly 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 is :-
1. In automatic water tight doors for bulkheads or similar appliances, the
combination of upper and lower doors actuated by springs and levers or weights
and levers connected by suitable gearing with a suspended tank, substantially
as set forth and herein described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2. In automatic water tight doors for bulkheads or similar appliances, the
combination of sliding frames and wedges actuated by suitable gearing for the
purposes of hermetically closing and rendering absolutely water tight said doors,
substantially as set forth and herein described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
3. In automatic water tight doors for bulkheads or similar appliances, the
combination of gearing for the simultaneous closing of upper and lower doors,
substantially as set forth and herein described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
4. In automatic water tight doors for bulkheads or similar appliances, the
combination of gearing for closing said doors from the upper deck, and of locking
the gearing for hermetically sealing the same when closed, substantially as set
forth and herein described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
5. In automatic water tight doors for bulkheads or similar appliances, the
combination of upper and lower doors actuated by springs and levers or weights
and levers connected with a suspended tank, of sliding frames and wedges actuated
by suitable gearing for the purposes of hermetically closing said doors and
rendering same absolutely water tight, of gearing for the simultaneous closing of
upper and lower doors, of gearing for closing said doors from the upper deck, and
of locking and hermetically sealing the same when closed, substantially as set forth
and herein described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of February 1895.
REGINALD W. BARKER,
Applicant's Agent.