IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATING SHIPS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Peter Booth, of Cork, in the Kingdom of
Ireland, Feather Factor, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
VENTILATING SHIPS."
Sealed the 8th July 1859, and dated the 31st January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Peter Booth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st January 1859.
I, JOHN PETER BOOTH, of Cork, in the Kingdom of Ireland, Feather
Factor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN VENTILATING SHIPS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention of improvements in ventilating ships is to
ventilate thoroughly the interior of ships. This object is effected by means of
vertical shafts communicating with horizontal shutes or channels provided with
apertures arranged opposite to openings to be made over and under every
cabin, division, or compartment. Double floors are to be provided, so as to
form spaces for the circulation of the air, which is made to pass under and
over the cabins, and openings communicating with these spaces are made in
the floors and ceilings of the cabins or compartments. The openings in the
ceilings are hidden by fretwork, or some perforated ornament, and the
openings in the floors are covered by another flooring, leaving spaces at the

page_text: sides for the air to pass in or out. The air after passing along the air
channels is to be carried out of the ship by means of vertical shafts composed
of wood or metal, and carried sufficiently high above the bulwarks to prevent
water from getting in when heavy seas break over the vessel. If required, or
it be deemed desirable, the vertical shafts may be heated by being made to
act as chinnies, or a partial vacuum or draft may be created therein by means
of a jet or jets of steam. The vertical air tubes are to be provided at their
upper ends with curved hoods or cowls, so that they may be turned to or from
the wind as may be desired. Hollow partitions to divide the cabins may also
be provided. These hollow partitions are made to communicate with the air
channels, and openings are made therein to allow the foul or hot air to be
drawn off from the cabins, or to supply pure air thereto. Now, supposing one
of the vertical air shafts to be placed amidships, and another at or near the
stern of the vessel, both being made to communicate with the hollow partitions
and the spaces above and under the cabins, it will be easily understood that
the air will, as the vessel proceeds, descend one of the vertical tubes, and pass
along the spaces above, below, and around the cabins, and will ultimately
escape out of the other vertical tube, and in its passage it will create a draft
or current, which will draw out the foul air from the cabins or compartments.
The fore cabins and sailors' sleeping apartments may be ventilated in a similar
The water-closets should be ventilated by a separate and distinct
arrangement of tubes and air passages, so as to prevent any communication
between them and the living or sleeping rooms.
In vessels propelled by screws or wheels a fan may be adapted to some of
the shafts or air channels, and when driven by the engine, such fan may be
made to expel the air and create an artificial draught. In fast going vessels
and at certain states of the wind, the speed of the vessel will be found sufficient
to send an ample supply of air through the air channels, or an artificial
draught may be created by means of fires, which may be made to warm one
of the vertical tubes or pipes.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Peter Booth, Her special license that I, the said
John Péter Booth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as T, the said John Peter Booth, 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, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATING SHIPS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Peter Booth, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Peter Booth, do hereby.
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by,
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of my Invention of "Improvements in Ventilating Ships" is to
ventilate thoroughly the interior of ships or vessels, by inducing currents of air
to pass through certain channels or passages provided for the purpose. This
object is effected by means of vertical or downeast shafts communicating with
horizontal, longitudinal, or transverse shutes or channels provided with
apertures, arranged in any convenient manner for the distribution of the air
to every cabin, division, or compartment of the ship or vessel. The fresh air:
may, by means of these channels, be conveyed in any direction where it may.
be required, and the horizontal, longitudinal, and transverse channels may be.
made either under the cabin floors or under the ceilings, as may be most.
convenient. The vertical, downcast, and upcast shafts above the deck may be
made of any form, but I prefer them to be made round; but those below.
the deck may be square, polygonal, or of any other suitable shape. The
horizontal air channels may be of any shape; so that they have sufficient area
or capacity to admit the volume of air that is supplied by the downcast shafts.
For ventilating passenger ships, I prefer the channels to be placed under

page_text: the berths in the dormitories, and under the sofas in the saloon, and to be
continued between the divisions or compartments in as convenient a manner
as possible. The, vertical or downcast shafts should be provided with moveable
cowls, which can be placed to or from the wind, so that the external air will
enter, and from this colder air having greater gravity than the rarified air in
the ship, it will descend to the horizontal channels provided below. In these
channels air apertures are made of sufficient size to emit and diffuse the air
equally or nearly so throughout the portion of the ship to be thus ventilated.
These apertures may be covered with perforated zinc or fretwork, and slides
or doors may be provided to shut off portions or all of the current where
required. The air may pass out of these channels at any elevation, but where
the channels traverse the floors of the cabins, it is preferable to make the point
of egress at from six to eight inches from the floor. Instead of placing the air
channels on the cabin floors, they may be constructed at the top of the cabins
near the ceiling, or these top and bottom channels may be used in conjunction.
For the maintenance of the current or draft of air, I provide for the escape of
the vitiated air by means of tubes or shafts, or by both, by which the foul air
from the cabins will ascend and pass off. In order to prevent cold currents or
drafts from impinging upon the inmates of the ship, I place below these tubes
perforated zinc sheets, boards, or other contrivances, so as to spread the air;
or a perforated ceiling or covering or perforated cornices may be used. In
the event of too large a quantity of air being supplied by the downcast shafts
and horizontal channels, the large shafts for main channels may be provided
with dampers similar to those commonly used in steam ships, so that any
portion or all the air from these large shafts or main channels may be shut off.
In tropical climates double ceilings may be made to extend over all the cabins,
and the stratum of air contained in these channels will form a non-conductor,
and prevent the heat of the sun from acting upon the cabin apartinents. If
deemed desirable, any of the vertical shafts may be made to act as chimneys,
and by thus warming the air, a current or draft will be created; or a partial
vacuum can be produced by admitting a jet or jets of steam into the upcast
vertical shaft; or a fan which may be driven by the steam power may be
employed to expel or inject air. The horizontal channels or air distributors
may also be warmed by means of hot water pipes placed in them for the
purpose, so that in inclement weather the fresh air supplied to the occupants
of the cabins may be warmed, and be allowed to issue from the air channels
at an agreeable temperature. By these means every part of the ship will be
furnished with fresh air at all times, and as the openings where the supply
enters and where the heated vapour passes off are protected from the shipment

page_text: of seas and from the rain, the supply of air may be maintained during storms
and rough weather.
For ships of war a second perforated ceiling may be placed under each
deck, and galvanized iron is preferred for constructing these channels, or the
perforated ceilings which form the same, but any other suitable thin substance
may be used. The air channel's should also be placed under each deck, and
be constructed of such dimensions as will suit the space therein, and leave
apertures in each channel to distribute the air equally between the ceilings.
These channels are to be supplied by tubes, which are to pass from the main
deck by the ship's sides, and are to be placed out of the way of the working of
the guns, or of the ship. For the officers' apartments and berths, the same
mode of ventilation that is proposed to be adopted for passenger ships may
be used.
In order that my improvements may be more easily understood, I have
shewn in the accompanying Drawings the manner in which I propose to adapt
my Invention to passenger ships and ships of war.
'
In Sheet I. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a ship, showing the
cabins with my improvements adapted thereto; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section.
or plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section.
a is a
vertical shaft, provided at its upper end with a cowl, by which the air will
generally descend to the horizontal channels b, b, and will be conveyed by.
them in the direction indicated by the arrows. o, o, are openings or apertures'
made in the channels 6 for the emission and suitable distribution of the air.
over every portion of the ship. These openings may be shut up or lessened▸
in area by means of slides or doors, as is well known. c and care tubes for
the egress of the impure air, but they may sometimes be used to admit air;.
f. f. are perforated zinc or galvanized iron double ceilings to distribute the air,
which may descend or ascend through them, and thereby prevent any draft.
a, a, are extra shafts placed at the stern of the vessel, and are intended
more particularly to be used in sailing vessels. When the wind is aft, the air
will enter by these shafts a instead of by the shaft a, and will pass through
the horizontal channels and out at the aperture o. These extra shafts a*, a",
may be used in combination with the shafts a where much air is required;
d, d, are doors, which may be opened to take air out of the cabins, and if the
doors d, d, are only partially opened both in the fore and in the after shafts, a
small current would pass between the ceilings f, which would be found valuable
in hot weather or in hot climates. The downcast shafts a may, if required, be
used as upeast shafts, while the shafts a may be used as downcast shafts, or
vice versa. In Fig. 3, Sheet 1, b, b, are the air channels; o, apertures for the

page_text: distribution of the air. Openings e, e, are to be left over each berth, to allow
of air being supplied to the occupants of the cabin; c and care tubes by
which the rarified and noxious air passes out, and makes room for fresh
oxygenated air to take its place. The shafts and tubes may be made in any
form or design; but I prefer the smaller ones to be made of the swan neck
form, and the medium ones care provided with overhanging caps, and the
larger shafts a and a* with cowls, so that they will not allow any water to
pass down when seas are accidentally shipped.
Fig. 4, Sheet II., represents a longitudinal section of part of a ship of war;
and Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section of the same, shewing the manner in
which I prefer to adapt my Invention to vessels of this description, or to other
ships in which hammocks are used, or where an upper current is useful or
required. In Fig. 4, c and c* are tubes to be placed between every port-hole
near the bulwarks, and to extend to the part of between the ceilings under
each deck, and to be connected with the air channels b, which are to be placed
under each deck. The air is to be distributed equally, or as nearly so as
practicable, by means of apertures o, o. The air channels b will pass off
transversely to the hatchways, or to the channels opposite, and will ascend to
the external air thereby, as indicated by the arrows.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Ventilating
Ships, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
claim as the Invention secured to, me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid, the mode
herein described of conveying fresh air to the interior of ships or vessels, and
distributing the same to all parts where it may be required, and for with-
drawing and discharging the vitiated or foul air from the cabins and other
parts of the ship.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Peter Booth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
J. P. BOOTH. (L.S.)