IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS' CAPSTANS, MORE ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO VESSELS OF WAR AND YACHTS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clarke, of Gateshead-on-Tyne, in the
County of Durham, and Edmund Walker, of the Firm of Emerson,
Walker, and Company, of London Street, in the City of London,
Ships' Windlass Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SHIPS' CAPSTANS, MORE ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO VESSELS OF WAR AND
YACHTS."
Sealed the 21st August 1874, and dated the 7th March 1874.
t
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clarke and
Edmund Walker at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 7th March 1874.
We, WILLIAM- CLARKE, of Gateshead-on-Tyne, in the County of
Durham, and EDMUND WALKER, of the Firm of Emerson, Walker, and
Company, of London Strect, in the City of London, Ships' Windlass
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS' CAPSTANS, MORE ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO VESSELS
WAR AND YACHTS," to be as follows:
The object of our Invention is to render ships' capstans readily.
removable in any direction, so that complete protection of the anchor-

page_text: lifting power of a ship may be obtained, which in the case of ships of
war is of the greatest importance, and so that the inconvenience at
present experienced when it is desired to ship the bowsprit from any
cause in consequence of its coming into contact with the anchor capstan
is obviated.
In carrying our Invention into effect we employ a number of methods
of which we proceed to describe some by way of example.
5
We connect to the capstan shaft a rack into which a pinion attached
to the tube within the capstan shaft moves gears, and by turning this
pinion the capstan shaft may be brought down out of the capstan which 1
may then be removed.
Or we may form the whole capstan shaft and base in one and hinge
the whole to a strong central pin on the after side, from which the
capstan may be turned into any direction upon rails or trams provided
for the purpose. Suitable bolt holes and bolts are provided for fastening 1
the capstan in any position that may be required.
Or we may remove the capstan altogether below the deck by means
of racks and pinions placed below, covering the space left on the deck
by a shield.
Or we may connect the anchor only to the shaft, and hinge the 2
capstan body on the lifter by suitable fastenings so that it can be turned
down out of the way.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 21
filed by the said William Clarke and Edmund Walker in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 7th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wė, WILLIAM
CLARKE, of Gateshead-on-Tyne, in the County of Durham, and EDMUND
WALKER, of the Firm of Emerson, Walker, and Company, of London 3
Street, in the City of London, Ships' Windlass Manufacturers, send
greeting...

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,.
give and grant unto us, the said William Clarke and Edmund Walker,.
Her special licence that we, the said William Clarke and Edmund,
Walker, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said William Clarke and Edmund Walker, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS'
CAPSTANS, MORE ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO VESSELS OF WAR AND YACHTS," upon;
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William Clarke and
Edmund Walker, or one of us, our executors, or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or one of our, or their, or one of tlieir
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 we, the said William Clarke and Edmund
Walker, do hereby declare the nature of our 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:-
The object of our Invention is to render ships' capstans readily.
removable in any direction, so that complete protection of the anchor-
lifting power of a ship may be obtained, which in the case of ships of
war is of the greatest importance, and so that the inconvenience at
present experienced when it is desired to ship the bowsprit from any
cause in consequence of its coming. into contact with the anchor capstan
is obviated.
In carrying our Invention into effect we employ a number of methods:
of which we proceed to describe some by way of example.
We connect to the capstan shaft a rack, or form a rack upon the shaft
which for our purpose is of greater length than usual; into this rack a
ر

page_text: pinion gears, the pinion being fitted in a guide plate or in a tube within
which the capstan shaft is free to move, so that by turning this pinion
the capstan shaft can be raised up to act as a centre pin upon which the
capstan head and also the lifter wheel can be rotated in any known
manner or can be brought down out of the capstan to permit of the
capstan being removed.
According to another method we form the whole capstan shaft and
base in one, and employ a hinge or joint pin so that it can be slewed
round to the right or to the left upon rails or trams provided for the
purpose; suitable bolt holes and bolts being provided for fastening the
capstan in any position that may be required.
Or instead of being arranged to slew round the hinge or joint can be
upon one side, and then the capstan can be turned over upon its side
and be lashed to the deck to keep it in that position.
Or we may arrange hydraulic or other power to lower the capstan
altogether below the deck, the spaces in the deck left by the capstan
being afterwards covered by a shield.
Or we may connect the anchor lifter only to the shaft and hinge the
capstan body on the lifter by suitable fastenings so that it can be turned
down out of the way.
Or we may slide or turn the body or head of the capstan into keyways
on the lifter thus attached to the shaft.
Our Invention, according to the foregoing description, is exemplified
in the annexed Drawings, although we reserve the right to move a
capstan or a capstan and lifter combined in other ways, when for the
purposes referred to.
Figure 1 is a sectional clevation of an anchor capstan A with a lifter
wheel-B in one casting, the whole being free to move round the central
shaft C on the usual handspikes being inserted in the sockets D of the
head. The lifter B rests upon the base plate E on which it turns, the
plate having teeth or notches formed in its upper surface, or they may
be in the side for the stop pauls F to ride in. The central shaft C is
independent of the capstan A and can be raised into the position shown
in the Figure by the pinion H and rack I on the winch handle J being
turned, or it can be lowered by the same means down its guide tube K
(or it may be a skeleton frame only), as in Figure 2, and the capstan.

page_text: moved away by slinging it, or in some other suitable manner leaving the.
base plate E which is fastened to the deck L, the central hole can then
be covered by a cap or shield M, a clearance being then left for the:
bowsprit of the vessel to be housed, as indicated in Figures 3 and 4,
both of which Figures show also another method, according to our
Invention, how a capstan can be moved out of the way. In this par-
ticular plan, however, the capstan A is not removed entirely, but only.
slewed or swung round to the left sufficiently to give the clearance
desired for the bowsprit to be brought in deck.
}
:
The base of the capstan or the base of the lifter wheel, as the case.
may be, has a lug N upon it, and this takes over a pin, preferably at the
rear, as shown, so that the capstan which bears upon guide plates or
tram rails P, P, can be moved thereon by a lever or other appliance to
one side, or back to its original position, as in Figure 5, when the rollers.
Q, Q, serve to guide the chain R to and from the lifter wheel, if one is
fitted, and the lockers below.
Figures 6 and 7 show another method which we adopt, according to
our Invention, for the purpose of giving a clearance to and permitting
the bowsprit to be housed. In this case the capstan only can be turned
over upon its hinge joint S, so that the side of its head rests upon the.
deck or upon a support put there for the purpose, in which position it
can be lashed to the deck to prevent it rocking or taking any motion
independent of that of the vessel, should she, say, be riding or moving
in rough water.
When the bowsprit is "shipped" or "sett" and the capstan occupying
a vertical position, it is secured by a catch or bolt to the lifter wheel or
to a runner upon the base plate so that it will be free to turn round in.
the usual manner. The lifter wheel or the runner can be a fixture to.
the central pin, which is loose in its socket, or a fixture, and then the...
lifter wheel would run loose upon the pin, as desired, in which case a key
or bolt nut would hold one firmly to the other.
:
Figures 8 and 9 show sectiontal views of a hydraulic, a steam, or a
pneumatic arrangement of effecting the rise and fall of a capstan, also
according to our Invention. Here the capstan A and lifter wheel B are
mounted upon a platform T which is free to move up and down a
"well," being guided in its motion by straps U, U. The central shaft E
upon which the capstan turned when hauling in or paying out a cable,··
;

page_text: tr
"
terminates at its lower end in a ram which rides in a barrel V, a
cross head W with a bearing plate X taking the weight of the capstan
and platform when they are lowered, as in Figure 8; the cross head or
framework serving also to fix the cylinder V in position.
Instead of hydraulic power or agency being employed, compressed air
or steam from an engine or a donkey boiler can be used in the cylinder
shown, or even hand power similar to the way in which the capstan
shaft is housed.
The platform T is preferably of square shape, and when it is in a
raised position, as in Figure 9, we pass bolts Y through the corners of
it and also through holes in an edge rib Z on the top of the " well," as
in Figure 10. The liquid to raise the ram, the platform, and the
capstan as one body, is furnished to the barrel V by a pump from the
pipe a, this having two branches on it, one to lead the liquid from the
pump when forcing, and the other to lead it to the pump reservoir, or
as is usually done in hydraulic machines.
The above method of lowering the anchor power or capstan of a war
ship is important, since it can be carried or housed below the deck and
the aperture covered by a shotproof shield, the capstan being thus pro-
tected and giving a clear deck, an advantage to war vessels with low
freeboards.
Having thus described some of the methods by which we carry our
Invention into effect, we desire to explain that other methods could be
adopted, for instance, tram or other rails could be laid upon the deck
fore and aft, and the capstan after the shaft E has been lowered by
hand or otherwise, could be pushed back upon the rails far enough for
the bowsprit to be housed or guns moved over or trained; a plan that
would not interfere with the trim of the vessel when in ballast or
otherwise; we therefore claim as our improvements in capstans,-
The combination of appliances that permits of a clearance being
made by a removal of the capstan from its original position temporarily
and substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
*
Secondly. We claim, arranging a capstan upon a loose shaft which
can be detached therefrom so that the capstan can be moved bodily.
from its position as described, with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the
annexed Drawings.

page_text: Thirdly. We claim, the construction, arrangement, and employment
of hinged or jointed capstans which can be slewed, swung, or moved
sideways on or above the deck of a vessel for the purposes set forth, and
as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5 of the annexed Drawings.
Fourthly. We claim, jointing or hinging a capstan so that it can be
turned upon its side as described, with reference to Figures 6 and 7 of
the annexed Drawings for the purposes set forth.
Fifthly. We claim, fitting an anchor capstan upon a platform which
can be lowered temporarily below the level of a vessel's deck, or
so as to give a clearance upon the deck, such platform being under
control of hydraulic or equivalent power and arranged substantially
as described, with reference to Figures 8, 9, and 10 of the annexed
Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Clarke and Edmund
Walker, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day of
Sentember One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.