AN IMPROVEMENT IN CAPSTANS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Durand Gardissal, of No. 10, Bedford Street,
Strand, London, Patent Agent, and of 29, Boulevart Saint Martin;
Paris, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN CAPSTANS." - A
communication.
ealed the 15th August 1856, and dated the 14th March 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Durand Gardissal
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th March 1856.
I, CHARLES DURAND GARDISSAL, of 10, Bedford Street, Strand, London,
Patent Agent, and of 29, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for AN IMPROVEMENT IN CAPSTANS, to be
as follows:-
This Invention consists in the arrangement of a stationary drum head, in
combination with a stationary base and spindle, and a revolving barrel, which
is moved by gearing within the drum head and barrel. By this improvement
the use of capstan bars, which are cumbrous and require a large area for their
operation, are dispensed with, and the capstan is operated without interfering
with the person employed in working the rope over the barrel, and without
requiring the persons operating to walk round it and step over the rope at
every turn.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Durand Gardissal in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 11th September 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DURAND GARDISSAL, of No. 10, Bedford Street, Strand, London, Patent
Agent, and of No. 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Durand Gardissal, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Durand
Gardissal, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
the said Charles Durand Gardissal, my 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN CAPSTANS," a communication, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Durand Gardissal, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands 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 I, the said Charles Durand Gardissal, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the saine is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters & figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention consists in the arrangement, herein-after described, of a
stationary drum head, in combination with a stationary base and spindle, and
a revolving barrel, which is moved by gearing within the drum head and barrel:
By this improvement, the use of capstan bars, which are cumbrous and require
a large area for their operation, are dispensed with, and the capstan is operated
without interfering with the person employed in working the rope over the
barrel, and without requiring the persons operating to walk round it and step
over the rope at every turn.

page_text: In the accompanying Drawing which illustrates the Invention, Fig. 1 is an
clevation of a capstan constructed according to the Invention; Fig. 2 is a
vertical central section of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan; Figs. 4 & 5 exhibit
some of the parts in detail. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the several Figures.
A, A, is the stationary base or bed plate of the capstan, which is of ordinary
construction, secured to the deck of the vessel, or to any suitable foundation;
C is the vertical centre spindle of wrought-iron, which is keyed firmly into the
centre of the base or bed plate A; B is the barrel, which is fitted to revolve
freely on the centre shaft C, and is generally intended to be of cast-iron and
hollow; D, D, represents the drum head, which is of cast iron-and hollow; it
is secured firmly to the top of the spindle by a key a and nut E in such a
position as to allow the barrel to revolve closely between it and the base A.
F is a circular plate keyed to the spindle C to form the support of two spur
wheels G, G, which are fitted to rotate on centres b, b, secured in the said plate.
These wheels G, G', gear with an internally toothed rim H, II, see Figs. 2 and
4, and at the same time with a spur wheel I (see Figs. 3 and 6). This spur
wheel I forms one piece with, or is firmly secured to, a large bevel wheel K,
and both are fitted to rotate freely upon the fixed spindle C, being supported to
maintain the proper position of I, relatively to G, G', by means of the plate F.
The drum head D contains the bearings for two horizontal shafts M, M', which
carry in the interior of the head the two pinions L, L', both gearing into the
bevel wheel K, whilst the other ends of the said shafts project through to the
outside of the drum bead for the purpose of receiving the cranks N, N¹, by
turning which rotary motion is imparted through the wheels L, L', to the
wheel K and the pinion I, the latter of which, by means of the intermediate
wheels G, G', transmits motion to the barrel B. The shafts M, M¹, are pro-
vided with cast-iron sockets O, 01, arranged so as
to slide through them for the purpose of varying the throw of the latter, the
said sockets being provided with set screws P, P¹, to keep the cranks in the
proper position when once adjusted.
to allow the cranks N, N',
The spindle C and the stationary drum head D of the capstan may be braced
in various ways; as, for instance, by oblique stays R, R, to the deck or floor,
or horizontal stays S, S, to the bulwarks or sides of a vessel, &c. These stays
should have such connections as would admit of their instant removal.
Having thus described the nature and particulars of the said improvements
in capstans, I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details of the construction of the capstan or of the gearing herein
described, as such may be varied without departing from the principle of action

page_text: thereof; but I claim as new and of my Invention the arrangement of the
stationary drum head, in combination with the stationary base and spindle and
the revolving barrel, actuated as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Durand Gardissal, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
C. D. GARDISSAL. (L.S.)