IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER SUBMERGED BODIES, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Thomas Parlour, Shipwright and Engineer, and
Alexander Robinson, Engineer, both of 8, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING
SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER SUBMERGED BODIES, AND FOR OTHER LIKE
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 12th April 1878, and dated the 15th October 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Thomas Parlour
and Alexander Robinson at the Office of the Cominissioners of Patents on the
15th October 1877.
JOSEPH THOMAS PARLOUR, Shipwright and Engineer, and ALEXANDER ROBINSON,
Engineer, both of 8, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND OTHER SUB-
MERGED BODIES, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES."
Our said Invention is chiefly designed to afford the means for raising sunken
ships and other large or heavy submerged bodies, and consists in the peculiar
construction of the parts of the said machinery or apparatus, and in the manner
of combining, arranging, and operating the same for the purposes specified.
For the purpose of raising sunken ships or other submerged bodies, we employ
two vessels which are to be sunk at the sides of the vessel or body to be raised,
and then raised with it, as herein-after described. These two vessels are constructed
with double walls on their sides and bottoms, which are designed to be filled with
sand or water.
In some cases these vessels are also provided with two or more tanks or receptacles
for containing ballast, such as iron, stone, or sand. These tanks or receptacles are
attached by bolts, rivets, or otherwise to the sides of the said ships to assist in
sinking or submerging them. They are provided with hinged traps or doors, which
Price 101

page_text: are fitted to close tightly, but which will open downward or outward to perinit the
discharge of the ballast with which they are loaded.
The two vessels, which we term twin sinkable ships, are, when in use, connected
by bridges constructed and arranged to meet and be secured together between the
said vessels, and, when not in use, are raised into a perpendicular position on pivots,
and are moved through suitable gearing by steam, hydraulic, or other power.
We may use as many of these bridges as may be found necessary, but six will be
usually a convenient number. The said bridges are provided with means whereby
they may be coupled and secured together at will by locks or clamping devices.
Attached to the sides of these sinkable ships or vessels, and working through slots
in the inner and outer walls thereof, we arrange a series of pairs of lever arms or
claws corresponding in number with the said bridges. These lever arms work on
trunnions or fulcrums, and are capable of being raised and lowered by steam, hydraulic,
or other power provided on the said vessels, and applied through the medium of
slotted screws working in boxes upon trunnions. The said lever arms form the
devices which seize and raise the sunken ship or other body under which they are
inserted by means of the appliances for working them.
When these arms or claws are properly adjusted under the ship or body to be
raised, the said twin sinkable ships must be brought with the sunken ship or body
to the surface of the water. For this purpose the said iron, stone, or other ballast
is discharged or removed by means of buckets, frames, or other suitable devices
attached to endless chains and arranged to work through slots or apertures working
through a hollow mast or shaft extending up above the surface of the water in which
the said ships or vessels are submerged.
Instead of the said sinkable ships we sometimes use cylinders or tanks constructed
in compartments, and of wood, iron, or other suitable material, with clamps or bands
set at suitable distances apart, and conveniently arranged for attaching the said
cylinders or tanks to a submerged ship or other body which is to be raised. These
tanks or cylinders are secured to endless chains which connect them with a floating
ship or vessel from which they are operated and controlled.
And in combination with the said tanks or cylinders we employ for lowering and
guiding them frames of wood, iron, steel, or other suitable material, which are first
lowered in the water and secured by weights or anchors at the proper distances
apart, and in the proper position with regard to the sunken ship or other vessel to
be raised.
To the bottom of these frames we attach lever arms or claws similar to those above
described, and which work in slots and are operated by means of screws, hydraulic,
steam, or other power carried on board the floating vessel.
If desired, the said lever arms or claws may be attached directly to the said tanks
or cylinders, so that the said guiding frames may be dispensed with. The said
cylinders or tanks are submerged by means of water, sand, or other ballast, and they
are provided with pipes and pumps or fans for discharging the water, and with
water-tight traps which may be opened to discharge the sand or similar ballast.
When these cylinders or tanks, by means of their lever arms or claws, have taken
hold of the sunken ship or other body, they are raised with the saine to the surface
of the water by discharging the ballast.
To prevent delay and hindrance of the work from the violence of the waves in
rough weather, we employ a breakwater constructed of logs of timber connected or
jointed together, hollow masts or tubes, barges, or the like, which are partially sub-
merged, and are moored or anchored at a convenient distance from the said ships or
vessels in the proper position to protect the same.
We modify our said Invention for the purpose of removing ships or vessels
stranded on a beach or in like positions as follows, that is to say:-We use an appa-
ratus consisting of a sliding way or frame constructed of wood, iron, steel, or other
suitable material; this apparatus is employed in combination with lever arms or
claws operated by steam, hydraulic, or other power attached to frames or bridges
placed across the deck of the ship or vessel to be removed, and supported on the

page_text: said sliding or travelling way or frame. By this apparatus the said ship may be
raised above the inequalities of the beach, and may be caused to slide or run into
deep water.
For the purpose of raising rocks, sand, shells, sponge, and other submerged bodies
or materials we modify our Invention as follows, that is to say :-A frame is attached
to a chamber or chambers constructed of suitable size and shape within the walls of
the hull or body of a ship or vessel; this frame consists of a number of pairs of
extending screws or hydraulic shafting logs of timber or iron columns extending to
any required depth below the surface of the water. Attached to the said frame are
lever arms with multiple claws or frames at the ends, forming when in action
detached of connected scoops for lifting or dredging purposes. The said claws or
scoops and arms are operated by means of semicircular toothed wheels or pinions
connected to shafting; or by hydraulic, steam, or pneumatic power; or by com-
pressed air applied in any suitable manner. The bottom of the said chamber or
chambers consists of one or more pairs of water-tight hinged or jointed flaps or
doors, which are hinged on the sides of the bottom of the said chamber or chambers,
and form when closed a water-tight joint in the centre, the same being opened and
closed by hydraulic, steam, or other power by the aid of endless chains, levers, or
other suitable means. When these flaps or doors are closed the fluid contents of the
chambers are removed from the same by means of buckets upon an endless chain,
pumps, or other suitable appliance, thus leaving the solid contents to be dealt with
as required, and discharged from the said chamber or chambers by means of elevators
and conveyors either in whole or in part; the refuse (if any) is discharged through
the flap doors into the water, or removed to any suitable place on land.
To fully ensure the sinking and adjustment of the lever arms or scoops below sand
and other such substances, tubes are extended throughout the centres of the multiple
lever arms or scoops, through which water or air may be forced from the upper part
to the end of the lever arms, or claws, or scoops, and the air being forcibly ejected
they may be caused to force their way through or beneath such substances to the
point or points required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Joseph Thomas Parlour and Alexander Robinson in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 15th April 1878.
JOSEPH THOMAS PARLOUR, Shipwright and Engineer, and ALEXANDER ROBINSON
Engineer, both of 8, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS AND
MERGED BODIES, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES."
OTHER SUB-
Our said Invention is chiefly designed to afford the means for raising sunken
ships and other large or heavy submerged bodies, and consists in the peculiar
construction of the parts of the said machinery or apparatus, and in the manner of
combining, arranging, and operating the same for the purposes specified.
For the purpose of raising sunken ships or other submerged bodies we employ
two vessels, which are to be sunk at the sides of the vessel or body to be raised and
then raised with it, as herein-after described. The two vessels are constructed with
double walls on their sides and bottoms, which are designed to be filled with sand
or water to cause the said ship to sink.
In some cases, these vessels are also provided with two or more tanks or recep-
tacles for containing ballast, such as iron, stone, or sand. These tanks or receptacles
are attached by bolts, rivets, or otherwise to the sides of the said ships to assist in
sinking or submerging them. They are provided with hinged traps or doors, which
are fitted to close tightly, but which will open downward or outward to permit the
discharge of the ballast with which they are loaded.
This part of our said Invention is illustrated in Figure 1, which shews one of
the said vessels in end elevation and the other of the said vessels and the sunken
vessel in midship section.
A is the sunken or submerged ship; B, B, are the two vessels for raising the
same, and which we term sinkable ships; a, a, are ballast tanks or receptacles;
b, b, are bridges whereby the said vessels are connected; c, c, are lever arms or
claws which seize and raise the sunken ship, as herein-after described; d, e, arc
hydraulic cylinders, for raising and lowering and for adjusting the said arms or
claws; fare valves in the bottom of the said sinkable ships for admitting water
to sink the same; g is a hollow mast or shaft through which the water or other
ballast is elevated to be discharged from the said ships when the same are to be
raised; is an endless belt running over pulleys at the top and bottom of the
said mast or shaft, and carrying buckets or scoops h² for raising this ballast.
The two vessels B, which we term twin sinkable ships, are when in use connected
by the bridges b, which are constructed and arranged to meet and be secured
together between the said vessels, and when not in use are raised into a perpen-
dicular position on pivots, and are moved through suitable gearing by steam,
hydraulic, or other power.
We use as many of these bridges as may be found necessary, but six will be
usually a convenient number. The said bridges are provided with bolts b',
extending across them and through suitable holes or eyes in their sides, or with
locks or clamping devices or other ineans, whereby they may be firmly coupled and
secured together and readily released when desired. Attached to the sides of these
sinkable ships or vessels, and working through slots in the inner and outer walls
thereof, we arrange a series of pairs of the lever arms or claws c, corresponding in
number with the said bridges. These lever arms work on trunnions or fulcrums
at c', and are capable of adjustment to the sides of the sunken ship and of being
raised and lowered by the hydraulic machinery shown, or by steam or other power
provided on the said vessels and applied through the medium of levers, screws, or
otherwise.

page_text: The said lever arms form very convenient and efficient devices for seizing and
raising the sunken ship or other body under which they are inserted by means of
the hydraulic or other appliances for working them. When the said hydraulic
machinery is employed the said arms or claws are properly forced under, and
adjusted to the hull of the sunken vessel or other body to be raised by means of the
hydraulic cylinders d, e, and their connections. When these arms or claws are
properly adjusted under the ship or body to be raised, the said twin sinkable ships
must be brought with the sunken ship or body to the surface of the water. For
this purpose the water, sand, iron, stone, or other ballast is raised by means of the
series of buckets attached to the endless chains, arranged to work through the said
hollow mast or shaft g, which, as shewn, extends up above the surface of the water
in which the said ships or vessels are submerged, and this ballast is discharged from
the top of the said hollow mast.
Instead of the said sinkable ships we sometimes use cylinders, tanks, or pontoons,
constructed in compartments, and of wood, iron, or other suitable material, with
clamps or bands set at suitable distances apart and conveniently arranged for
attaching the said cylinders, tanks, or pontoons to a submerged ship or other body
which is to be raised. These tanks or cylinders are connected by chains with
floating ships or vessels, from which they are operated and controlled.
The manner in which we effect the raising of a submerged or sunken ship or
other object, according to this part of our Invention, is clearly illustrated in Figures
2 and 3.
Figure 2 shows a sunken ship in end elevation with the said tanks or pontoons
arranged for raising the same, and connected with floating ships from which the
said tanks or pontoons are controlled; Figure 3 shows the same in side elevation.
A is the sunken or submerged ship to be raised; C, C, are the tanks or pontoons,
which are preferably of the form shewn, so that they may be arranged compactly
and accurately over and in line with the sunken ship or other object to be raised;
D, D, are the floating ships or vessels with which the said tanks or pontoons are
connected; these floating vessels are to be moored in or about in the positions
shewn with regard to the sunken ship, and are provided with any required number
of anchors, as shewn at d; c, c, are the lever arms or claws, somewhat similar in
form and construction to those above described. These arms or claws have their
fulcrums or pivots at c¹, and are formed or provided with strong toothed segments
or curved racks c. In combination with these segments or racks we arrange
pawls on or connected with three armed levers c. These levers are fulcrumed
at c, and to two of their arms are attached the chains i which extend up to the
aforesaid floating vessels. By manipulating these chains the operators on board
the said floating ships can actuate the said pawls, and through the action of the
same on the lever arms c can adjust the latter to take a firm hold of the sunken
ship. Then by means of pumps on the said floating vessels air is forced through
the pipes into the said pontoons to expel the water ballast therefrom, and then
the said pontoons and sunken ship will rise together to the surface of the water;
d², d, are chains for aiding to control the said pontoons in lowering and raising the
same.
In combination with the said tanks or cylinders we also employ for guiding them
while being lowered and raised chains %, which are first lowered in the water and
secured by weights or anchors at the proper distances apart, and in the proper
position with regard to the sunken ship or other body to be raised.
Instead of having the griping arms or claws attached directly to the pontoons
and guided by chains, we may provide frames of wood, iron, or steel.
To the bottom of these frames we attach lever arms or claws similar to those
above described, and which work in slots and are operated by means of screws
operated by hydraulic, steam, or other power carried on board the floating
vessel.
When pontoons, cylinders, or tanks are used as above specified, they may also be

page_text: submerged by means of sand or other ballast instead of water, and they may be
provided with pipes, and pumps, or fans, for discharging the water, and with water-
tight traps to slide or open downward on hinges to discharge the sand or similar
ballast. When these cylinders, tanks, or pontoons, by means of the lever arms or
claws, have taken hold of the sunken ship or other body, they are raised with the
same to the surface of the water by discharging the ballast.
Instead of operating or adjusting the lever arms c by chains and pawls, as shewn,
we may use for this purpose a central screw or bar, as described in the Specification
of former Letters Patent, dated October 4, A.D. 1875, No. 3445.
To prevent delay and hindrance of the work from the violence of the waves in
rough weather we employ a breakwater constructed of logs of timber connected or
jointed together, or of hollow masts, or tubes, or barges, or the like, which are par-
tially submerged; these breakwaters are moored or anchored at a convenient distance
from the said ships or vessels in the proper position to protect the same. One of
these floating breakwaters is shown in Figure 6 of the Drawings.
We modify our said Invention for the purpose of removing ships or vessels
stranded on a beach, or in like positions, as follows, that is to say-We use an appa-
ratus consisting of sliding frames constructed of wood, iron, steel, or other suitable
material, and working on fixed ways or frames which are arranged at the sides of
the stranded vessels. This apparatus is employed in combination with lever arms
or claws, operated by steam, hydraulic, or other power attached to the sliding frames
or bridges which extend across the deck of the ship or vessel to be removed, and
supported on the said fixed ways or frames. The said claws or grippers are sus-
pended from the sliding frames and are adjusted by the hydraulic or other apparatus
to take hold of the said ship. By this apparatus the said ship may be raised above
the inequalities of the beach and may be caused to slide or run into deep water.
For the purpose of raising rocks, sand, shells, sponge, and other submerged bodies
or materials, we modify our Invention, as shewn in Figures 4 and 5 of the
Drawings, Figure 5 being a sectional elevation of a vessel with a central opening
in the bottom of the same, and provided with apparatus according to this part of
our Invention, and Figure 6 being a side elevation of a portion of the same; guide
frames are placed and secured at the sides of the opening in the said vessel. In
these frames the lever arms or claws c are supported with a capability of adjust-
ment therein. The said arms are jointed to sliding blocks m, which work up and
down freely in grooves in the said guide frames. Rods n, attached by their lower
ends to the said claws, are jointed at their upper ends to blocks o, which also slide
in grooves in the said guide frames. Screws p, q, work through the blocks m, o, and
extend up through the tops of these guide frames, and by turning the said screws
the adjustment of the arms or claws c may be readily effected.
The said frames may comprise any desired or convenient number of these adjust-
able arms or claws, and the whole are connected by longitudinal bars or rods 7,
extending the entire length of the frame. The said vessel is provided with
hinged doors 8, or with doors so arranged that they can be caused to inove out
or be hoisted up from each side of the opening in the said vessel by any suitable
means under the claw frame c to close the opening in the bottom of the same.
In using this apparatus the aforesaid claw frames are lowered by the vertical
screws, q, to the required depth, and are then adjusted to scoop up the sponge,
shells, or other materials. These claw frames are then drawn up above the bottom
surface of the ship or ships, and the said doors are then adjusted to close the said
opening. Instead of the above we may use frames attached to a chamber or
chambers constructed of suitable size and shape within the walls of the hull or
body of a ship or vessel. This frame consists of a number of pairs of extending
screws or hydraulic shafting, logs of timber, or iron columns extending to any
required depth below the surface of the water. Attached to the said frame are lever
arms with multiple claws or frames at the ends, forming when in action detached or
connected scoops for lifting or dredging purposes. The said claws or scoops and

page_text: arms are operated by means of toothed wheels or pinions connected to shafting, or
by hydraulic, steam, or pneumatic power, or by compressed air, or any other power
applied in any suitable manner. The bottom of the said chamber or chambers con-
sists of one or more pairs of water-tight hinged or jointed flaps or doors, which are
hinged on the sides or the bottom of the said chamber or chambers, and form when
closed a water-tight joint in the centre, the same being opened and closed by
hydraulic, steam, or other power by the aid of endless chains, levers, or other suit-
able means.
When the above-described flaps or doors are closed the fluid contents
of the central space, shewn in Figure 4, or in the chambers, are removed from the
same by means of buckets upon an endless chain, pumps, or other suitable
appliance, thus leaving the solid contents to be dealt with as required, and dis-
charged from the said space, or chamber, or chambers, by means of elevators and
conveyors, either in whole or in part; the refuse (if any) is discharged through the
flaps or doors into the water, or removed to any suitable place on land.
Instead of a vessel with a central opening in the bottom, as above described, we
may use twin ships arranged side by side, and attached to each other, and provided
with apparatus as above described.
To fully ensure the sinking and adjustment of the lever arms or scoops below
sand and other such substances tubes are extended throughout the centres of the
multiple lever arms or scoops, through which tubes water or air may be forced
from the upper part to the end of the lever arms, or claws, or scoops, and the air
being forcibly ejected they may be caused to force their way through or beneath
such substances to the point or points required.
In Figure 7 we have shewn means used in connection with the other parts of our
Invention for attaching the wire ropes, chains, or other lifting appliances to a
sunken or submerged ship. t is a piece of wire rope; t' is a piece of chain attached
to the same and passed through a port or other aperture in the ship's side; t² is a
bar passed through the link of the said chain across the inside of the port. This
bar is of such a length that when secured in the said link it cannot be pulled out of
the port, and it is made of sufficient strength to resist the strain to which it will be
subjected in raising the ship. Instead of the straight bar t we may use a shackle,
ring, or hook, or other suitable device; and we use as many of these lifting chains or
ropes as may be necessary or desirable.
Having thus fully described our said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, we wish it understood that we claim,-
First. The apparatus shewn in Figure 1 of the Drawing, consisting of the two sink-
able ships or vessels provided with adjustable bridges for connecting them, and with
the adjustable lever arms or claws, the hydraulic machinery and connections for
adjusting the same, the receptacles for ballast, and the central hollow masts or
shafts containing the elevating mechanism, all as above set forth.
Second. The modification of this apparatus, shewn in Figures 2 and 3 of the
Drawings, consisting of the pontoons or tanks, constructed as above described, and
provided with the lever arms or claws, and with apparatus by which the same may
be controlled and adjusted by operators on board the floating ships, and with means
for guiding the said pontoons or tanks and filling them with ballast, and discharging
the same, all as above set forth.
Third. The modification of our Invention whereby we adapt the same for raising
rocks, sponge, or other like materials, and comprising a vessel or vessels constructed
with flaps or doors, as described, and provided with series of adjustable claws or
grippers connected by longitudinal bars or rods, forming claw frames, which are
guided in upright frames attached to the said vessels, and operated by hydraulic or
other machinery carried therein, as above set forth.
Fourth. The modification of our Invention whereby the same is adapted for
removing ships or vessels stranded on a beach, and comprising the fixed and sliding
frames and the claws or grippers, as above set forth.

page_text: Fifth. Providing the said lever arms, claws, or scoops, with tubes passed through
them, as above set forth, and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Thomas Parlour, for myself and on
behalf of the said Alexander Robinson, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-eight.
JOSEPH T. PARLOUR. (LS.)