Im- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING EQUILIBRIUM IN SHIPS' CABINS,SO TO ON
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Lanphier Anderson, of Court Lodge,
Caterham, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING EQUILIBRIUM IN SHIPS' CABINS,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Lanphier
Anderson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 31st May 1875.
I, WILLIAM LANPHIER ANDERSON, of Court Lodge, Caterham, in
the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING EQUILIBRIUM IN SHIPS'
CABINS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO FURNITURE AND OTHER ARTICLES USED ON BOARD," to
be as follows:-
This Invention consists in constructing a frame or carriage in com-
bination with a ship's cabin, whereby the latter is caused to maintain
a position of equilibrium irrespective of the rolling and pitching motions
of a ship at sea.

page_text: The cabin, which is provided with two or more wheels on each side
attached underneath in a direction athwartship, travels by means of its
wheels on concave bearings attached to and forming part of a frame
or carriage which is similarly fitted with wheels placed in the opposite
direction, and travelling upon concave chairs or bearings fixed on
the floor or other part of the ship in a direction fore and aft.
The concave bearings whereon the wheels of the cabin are supported
form each of them a segment of a circle, the centre of which is over
the keel and at any height above it; this centre becomes thus the
centre of motion or axis of the cabin, and upon this axis of motion
on the fore and after sides of the cabin respectively a vertical groove
or slot is attached wherein a pivot works, which pivot is carried upon
the upper extremity of an arm or rod springing from either side of the
frame or carriage underneath; by means of these pivots the cabin is
guided in its movement, and the wheels on which it runs are kept to
the centre of the bearings on which they travel, while at the same time
no vertical support is given to the cabin.
The purpose of attaching the pivots whereby the cabin is guided to
the frame or carriage underneath it is that they may always maintain.
their proper relative position to the grooves or slots upon the cabin
which partakes of the motion of its frame or carriage; this purpose may
however be accomplished by any other convenient method, whereby the
pivots and their corresponding grooves or slots are caused to maintain
their proper relative position to each other.
The concave chairs or bearings supporting the wheels of the frame
or carriage similarly form segments of a circle, the centre of which
becomes the centre of motion or axis of such frame or carriage; the
wheels are also in this case guided and kept in position by pivots
working in grooves or slots at the axis of their motion; these pivots
aro carried upon arms or rods springing from the frame or carriage
on the opposite sides to those whereby the carriage itself is guided, and
the grooves or slots are attached to any convenient part of the ship on
the line of the axis of motion.
The effect of the foregoing arrangement is that as the ship pitches
the frame or carriage supporting the cabin gravitates on its wheels to a
position of equilibrium in the direction of the ship's length, and as the
ship rolls the cabin itself similarly gravitates on its wheels to a position

page_text: of equilibrium in that direction, and thus through the combination of
the movement of the cabin with that of the frame or carriage supporting
it, the former maintains its equilibrium in each direction, or nearly so,
whether the ship is rolling or pitching, or when it is subject to both
motions at once.
To assist the gravitation of the cabin, and to increase its stability
so that it may resist any preponderance of weight that may be brought
on either side of it, ballast in such quantity as is necessary may be
attached to it underneath. Ballast may likewise be attached underneath
the frame or carriage if required; but the weight of the cabin which
rests upon it will in most cases be sufficient for the purpose.
The concave bearings for the wheels either of the cabin or its frame
or carriage may, as an additional security against the wheels running
off them, be constructed as channels instead of plane surfaces; but in
such case the central portion of the channels should be of sufficient
width to allow of the wheels running freely thereon without being in
contact with the sides.
The wheels of the cabin and of its frame or carriage may be rounded
at their peripheries, or have any other form calculated to reduce friction,
and they may also be fitted with any kind of springs to give additional
ease of movement, and to modify the upward and downward motion of
the ship; the wheels should in all cases be as large as can be con-
veniently applied, and quadrants or portions of wheels may be used.
instead of whole wheels either for the cabin, or its frame or carriage if
thought preferable.
A cabin of the construction herein described is intended to occupy
a position entirely beneath a ship's deck, and should be wholly or
partially open at the top so as to receive light and ventilation from a
skylight upon the deck.
In some cases the concave bearings for the wheels of the cabin and
its frame or carriage may be grooved or dished so as to form a section
of a circle of larger radius than the rounded peripheries of the wheels
themselves, whereby guidance may be given to the latter without much
friction, and such bearings may be used either with or without the
guiding pivots; but the plan previously described of guiding the wheels
by pivots at the centres of motion in combination with plane (concave)

page_text: surfaces for the wheels to run upon is preferred when it can be con-
veniently adopted.
The means of entrance to and exit from the cabin are as follows:-
A platform is constructed on the front portion of the frame or carriage
supporting the cabin, and preferably arranged so as to be at the same
clevation as the floor of the adjoining part of the ship, or nearly so;
at the outer edge of this platform, and at or near one or both extremities
of it, a gangway board is attached by hinges, and fitted at its other end
with small rollers or runners which rest upon the adjoining deck or
floor;
these gangway boards give to the motion of the ship in
pitching, but preserve their communication with the fixed platform
to which they are attached, and by their means easy access is obtained
to such platform. The cabin door is at the central part of the same
platform, and in front of it is attached a stage with gangway boards
hinged to either side of it, the outer ends of which are fitted with rollers
or runners resting upon the platform; by means of these gangway
boards the cabin may be casily entered when the ship is rolling, and
thus the arrangement is completed, whereby access may be obtained to
the cabin when the ship is either rolling or pitching, or when both
motions are affecting it at the same time.
The arrangements before described for counteracting the motion of
the ship may be applied if preferred in the opposite direction, the
supporting frame or carriage meeting the rolling motion, and the cabin
the pitching, the ultimate result being similar in securing to the latter
a position of equilibrium whether the ship rolls or pitches; they may
also be applied to any number of cabins in the same ship.
Tho cabin and its frame or carriage may either of them be rendered
a fixture by bolting the former to the latter, and the latter to the
ship.
Buffers of any yielding or elastic material may be fixed at one
extremity of the concave bearings to check the wheels of the cabin
and of its carriage when they reach the limits of their movement,
and similar buffers may be applied at any other part of the cabin
or its carriage to further assist in causing an easy stoppage of its
motion.

page_text: sophical instruments can be constructed in a similar manner to the
cabins and carriages just described so as to produce their equilibriums.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Lanphier Anderson in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 30th November 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LANPHIER ANDERSON, of Court Lodge, Caterham, in the County of
Surroy, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
cighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Lanphier Anderson, Her
special license that I, the said William Lanphier Anderson, my
exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Lanphier Anderson, 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, excrcise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING EQUILI-
BRIUM IN SHIPS' CABINS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO FURNITURE AND OTHER ARTICLES
USED ON BOARD," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Lanphier Anderson, 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 William Lanphier Anderson, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
-

page_text: This Invention consists in constructing a frame or carriage in com-
bination with a ship's cabin, whereby the latter is caused to maintain a
position of equilibrium irrespective of the rolling and pitching motions
of a ship at sea.
The cabin, which is provided with two or more whcols on cach side
attached underneath in a direction athwart ship, travels by means of its
wheels on concave bearings attached to and forming part of a frame or
carriage which is similarly fitted with wheels placed in the opposite
direction, and travelling upon concave chairs or bearings fixed on the
floor or other part of the ship in a direction fore and aft.
The concave bearings whercon the wheels of the cabin are supported
form each of them a segment of a circle, the centre of which is over the
keel, and at any height above it. These centres become thus centres of
motion upon the axis of the cabin, and upon this axis of motion on the
fore and after sides of the cabin respectively a vertical groove or slot is
attached wherein a pivot works, which pivot is carried upon the upper
extremity of an arm or rod springing from the frame or carriage under-
neath. By means of these pivots arranged as described the cabin is
guided in its movement athwart ship, and the wheels on which it runs
are kept to the centre of the bearings on which they travel, while at tho
same time no vertical support is given to the cabin.
The purpose of attaching the pivots whereby the cabin is guided to
the frame or carriage underneath it is that they may always maintain
their proper relative position to the grooves or slots upon the cabin
notwithstanding the movement of the latter in a fore and aft direction.
This purpose may, however, also be accomplished by attaching the pivots
to adjusting bearings affixed to the deck above, or by any other con-
venient method whereby the pivots and their corresponding grooves or
slots shall be caused to maintain their proper relative position to each
other.
The concave chairs or bearings supporting the wheels of the frame or
carriage similarly form segments of circles, the centres of which form
the axis of such frame or carriage. The wheels are also in this caso
guided and kept in position by pivots working in grooves or slots at the
axis of their motion. These pivots are carried upon arms or rods
springing from the frame or carriage on the opposite sides to those

page_text: a section of a circle of somewhat larger radius than the rounded
peripheries of the wheels themselves, whereby guidance may be given
to the latter without much friction, and such bearings may be used
either with or without the guiding pivots; but the plan previously
described of guiding wheels by pivots at the centres of motion in
combination with plane (concave) surfaces for the wheels to run upon is
preferred when it can be conveniently adopted.
The means of entrance to and exit from the cabin are as follows:-A
platform is constructed on the front portion of the frame or carriage
supporting the cabin, and preferably arranged so as to be at the same
clevation as the floor of the adjoining part of the ship or nearly so. At
the outer edge of this platform, and at or near one or both extremitics
of it, a gangway board is attached by hinges, and fitted at its other
end with small rollers or runners, which rest upon the adjoining deck
or floor.
These gangway boards give to the motion of the ship in
pitching, but preserve their communication with the platform to which
they are attached, and by their means access may always be obtained to
such platform. The cabin door is at the central part of the same
platform, and in front of it is attached a brow or stage with gangway
boards hinged to either side of it, the outer ends of which are fitted with
rollers or runners resting upon the platform. By these means the cabin
may be easily entered when the ship is rolling, and thus the arrange-
ment is completed whereby access may be obtained to the cabin when
the ship is either rolling or pitching, or when both motions are affecting
it at the same time.
The gangway boards above described may be supplemented by other
gangway boards working in the opposite direction and resting upon the
former, whereby the motion will be reduced and converted into a rising
and falling movement, which will be very slightly felt in passing
over it.
The arrangements herein described for counteracting the motion of
the ship may be applied if preferred in the opposite direction, the sup-
porting frame or carriage meeting the rolling motion, and the cabin tho
pitching, the ultimate result being similar in securing to the latter a
position of equilibrium whether the ship rolls or pitches; they may also
be applied to any number of cabins in the same ship.
The cabin and its frame or carriage may either of them be rendered
a fixture by bolting the former to the latter, and the latter to the ship,

page_text: carriage underneath the cabin, and having at their upper extremities
pivots working in sockets attached to the sides of the ship on the axis of
motion of the carriage, whereby the latter is guided and kept parallel
with the keel while moving upon its wheels in a direction fore and aft.
J (shown partly in dotted lines) is a standard, forming one of the two
supports whereon are carried the pivots, which working in grooves or
sockets upon the axis of motion of the cabin guide the latter in its front
part of the supporting movement athwartship. It is attached to the
front part of the supporting carriage, and passes upwards through the
floor of the cabin into the interior on either side of the doorway, over
which latter is the groove or socket in which the pivot works. K is a
standard attached to the back part of the carriage, which passes through
an aperture in the flooring on the opposite side of the cabin, and carries a
pivot at its upper end working in a groove or socket similar and opposite
to that over the cabin door. L is the ballast attached to the under side of
the cabin floor. M are the chairs or (concave) bearings for the wheels
of the frame or carriage resting on the floor of the ship; N, the wheels
travelling on the latter; and O, the wheels of the cabin, the upper parts
of which are carried through apertures in the flooring into the interior
underneath the side seats.
In Figure 2 A is the cabin; B, the brow or stage in its front, the
gangway boards hinged to which rest upon the platform C attached to
the front portion of the frame or carriage; D, the sides of the latter, to
which the wheels E are attached; F, one of the arms or rods shown at
H in Figure 1; G and H, the standards shown at J and K in Figure 1;
J, the wheels shown at O in Figure 1; K, the ballast; L, the concave
chairs or bearings for the wheels E; M, a gangway board, which is
hinged to the footboard shown at E in Figure 1, whereby communication
is obtained with the adjoining cabin. N is a projection having a concave
surface corresponding with the motions of the carriage when moving in
a fore-and-aft direction, and whereby the space between the latter and
the adjacent bulkhead is kept closed in any position of the carriage.
The interior portions of the cabin, protecting rails, and other minor
details of the Drawings do not need description.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner
in which it is to be carried out, I declare that I claim,--
Firstly. The combination within a vessel of a cabin with a supporting
frame or carriage arranged so that the former may counteract the

page_text: rolling, while the latter counteracts the pitching motion, or vice versa,
the cabin itself thus remaining in equilibrium, or nearly so, when the
ship rolls or pitches, as described and shown.
Secondly. The application of the same principle of construction to
other articles used on shipboard, whereby the rolling and pitching
motions may be counteracted as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lanphier Anderson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of
November, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.