IMPROVEMENTS IN ANCHORS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County. of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ANCHORS."-A communication
from Louis Frederic Francois David, of Havre, in the Empire of France,
Chain Manufacturer.
Sealed the 27th June 1856, and dated the 29th April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th April 1856.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ANCHORS."-A communi-
cation from Louis Frederic Francois David, of Havre, in the Empire of France,
Chain Manufacturer, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and arrangements
of moveable stocks for anchors, applicable to the anchors af present in use,
whereby a more convenient and effective anchor is obtained without adding to
the weight of the same.
The stock is composed of iron and wood combined, or of iron only, and may
be either straight or bent upwards slightly, so as to form a holding medium
when on sandy or loose beds.

page_text: When composed of iron and wood, the stock consists of two side plates or
bars of the desired length of the stock, bolted together and held at the proper
distance asunder by interposing two lengths or blocks of wood between them,
an opening or space being left in the centre sufficiently large for the end of the
shank to pass through, and allow of the stock being turned or folded down by
the side of the shank when the anchor is shipped.
When iron only is used, the stock consists of two plates bolted together, and
held at the proper distance apart by two or more strong shoulders or abutting
pieces of metal, through which the rivets are passed, which secure the two
side plates together. The end abutting pieces may, in some cases, be so formed
as to enter into the bed, and serve as holding palms when the bed is of a loose
or sandy description.
The ring or shackle may either be attached to the end of the shank, or to a
plate or plates rivetted to the centre of the stock. The stock is connected by
a pin joint at its centre or thereabouts to the shank, and is fixed in its proper
position for use by a bolt or pin passed through it and through a second hole
in the shank. By simply withdrawing this bolt, the stock may be turned
down, so as to lay against the side of the shank, and when the anchor is to
be unshipped, or let go, the stock is turned up to its ordinary position cross-
wise to the shank, and fixed in that position by inserting the bolt or pin herein-
before referred to.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of April, 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 John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John, Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ANCHORS," a communication from Louis Frederic Francois David, of
Havre, in the Empire of France, Chain Manufacturer, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and arrangements of
moveable stocks for anchors, applicable to the anchors at present in use,
whereby a more convenient and effective anchor is obtained without adding to
the weight of the same.
The stock is composed either of iron and wood combined, or of iron only,
and may be either straight or bent upwards slightly, so as to form a holding
medium when on sandy or loose beds.
When composed of iron and wood, the stock consists of two side plates or
bars of the desired length of the stock, bolted together and held at the proper
distance asunder by interposing two lengths or blocks of wood between them,
an opening or space being left in the centre sufficiently large for the end of
the shank to pass through, and allow of the stock being turned or folded
down by the side of the shank when the anchor is shipped.
When iron only is used, the stock consists of two plates bolted together,.
and held at the proper distance apart by two or more strong shoulders or
abutting pieces of metal, through which the rivets are passed, which secure
the two side plates together. The end abutting pins may, in some cases, be so
formed as to enter into the bed and serve as holding palins when the bed is of
a loose or sandy description.
The ring or shackle may either be attached to the end of the shank, or to a
plate or plates rivetted to the centre of the stock. The stock is connected by
a
pin joint at its centre or thereabouts to the shank, and is fixed in its proper
position for use by a bolt or pin passed through it and through a second hole
in the shank. By simply withdrawing this bolt, the stock may be turned down

page_text: so as to lie against the side of the shank, and when the anchor is to be
unshipped or let go, the stock is turned up to its ordinary position crosswise
to the shank, and fixed in that position by inserting the bolt or pin herein-
before referred to.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
shew various modifications of the Invention, and shall refer to the several
Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed.
In the first modification, represented in various views and details at Figure 1
of the annexed Sheet of Drawings, A is the body of the anchor, which may. be
of the ordinary form and construction. The upper end of its shank, however,
is fitted with an improved moveable stock B, composed of two cheeks or side
plates, between which are interposed wooden block or filling pieces F; a
shackle B' is secured to the centre of the stock by bolts or rivets, and serves
to carry the ring B". The position of the stock when the anchor is shipped
on board and not required for immediate use is shewn in red lines at C, in
which case it lies flat against the shank of the anchor. This stock is connected
with the shank by the pin or bolt H, on which it is free to move, and is held
fixed, when requisite, at right angles to the shank, as shewn by the full lines
of the Drawing, by means of the pin or bolt D, which is passed through the
stock and the end of the shank above the pin or bolt H, with the heads (I')
of which the bolt D and retaining key D' are connected by short chains, to
prevent them being mislaid. The stock is thus effectually locked or fixed
orosswise on the shank. The thickness of this stock with its filling pieces of
wood F is clearly represented in the plan at E, E. G, G, represents an
elevation of the anchor at right angles to the elevation at A, A..
In the second modification, shewn at Figure 2, A is an elevation of the
anchor; D, a plan of the stock detached; and E, a second elevation of the
anchor, at right angles to A. The stock C is in this case composed entirely of
iron, and consists of two cheeks or side plates rivetted together, but kept at a
suitable distance apart by the hollow cast-iron stays at B, B, which are inter-
posed between the plates, and through which are passed the rivets which hold
the side plates together. The red lines represent the position of the stock when
folded or turned down out of use. This stock is connected to the shank by a.
bolt or pin, as described in relation to Figure 1, and is retained in its right-
angled position by a bolt or pin G passed through it and through the end of
the shank. The ring F, in place of being connected with a shackle rivetted.
to the stock, as in Figure 1, is passed through the extreme end the shank.
Figure 3 represents another modification of moveable stock; the position of
.

page_text: the stock when the anchor is not in use being delineated by the red lines.
A is an elevation of the upper portion of the anchor, and B is a plan of the
moveable stock detached. The stock is composed entirely of iron, and consists
of two side plates or cheeks, rivetted together at the ends, and kept at a suit-
able distance asunder by the interposed pieces or blocks of metal C, C.
In order that the end of the shank A may be passed between, these blocks
may be slightly bevilled or rounded off at their outer extremities, as shewn in
detail at C¹, C', with the view of making them hold in sandy ground, the stock
being made sufficiently strong to stand any strain which the cable is capable of
bearing. The ring A¹ of the anchor is passed in the ordinary manner through
the end of the shank, as herein-before described. The bolt or pin H, upon
which the stock turns or oscillates, in place of being situated below the set
pin D for holding the stock at right angles to the shank, as previously
described, is placed above it, as shewn in the Drawing.
Figure 4 represents another form or modification of moveable stock. A is
the stock, composed of two cheeks or side plates, rivetted together with six
interposed pieces D, D, through which the rivets are passed; B, B, are two
cheeks, rivetted to the centre of the stock outside the side plates, for the
facility of attaching the ring or shackle B'; C is a plan of the stock.
Figure 5 represents a similar construction of stock to that shewn at Figure 3,
with this exception, that it is curved upwards slightly, so that when the anchor
falls on its stock in very sandy ground, and is unable to turn or fix its palms
in the ground, the curved stock, assisted by the bevilled extremities of the
exterior blocks, may enter the ground and form a substitute for the fluke.
The stock is held crosswise, when desired, by a bolt or pin, as herein-before
described.
Figure 6 represents another modification of stock, of a less width or depth
than the last, but of a greater thickness and strength of plate.
Figure 7 represents a simple form of moveable stock made out of a solid
bar, and working in a fork on the end of the anchor shank on the pin or
bolt H, and retained in a right-angled position by the pin D, as herein-before
described. The moveable stocks, herein-before described, may be made of
any desired or suitable section of bars for obtaining strength and lightness
combined.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself
to the precise. details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from

page_text: the principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the herein-before
described peculiar constructions and arrangements of moveable stocks for ships'
anchors, and the systems or modes of connecting or attaching the same to the
shanks, so as to admit of their either lying flat against the side of the shank,
or of being fixed crosswise or at a right angle to the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six.
J. HENRY JOHNSON, (L.S.)