IMPROVEMENTS IN TENTS AND TEMPORARY HOUSES FOR MILITARY AND OTHER PURPOSES ted
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Edward Newton of the Office for Patents 66
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TENTS AND TEMPORARY HOUSES FOR MILITARY AND
OTHER PURPOSES communicated to him from abroad by Johan Gerhard
Clemens van Döcker of Copenhagen in the Kingdom of Denmark
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st November 1882.
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 66 Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN TENTS AND TEMPORARY
HOUSES FOR MILITARY AND OTHER PURPOSES [communicated to him from
abroad by Johan Gerhard Clemens van Döcker of Copenhagen in the Kingdom of
Denmark]
"
This Invention relates more particularly to tents for military and other purposes,
but it is also applicable to temporary houses or huts for similar purposes, the object
of the invention being to render such tents or houses more suitable for the
purposes for which they are designed than ordinary tents, without detracting from
their portability.
In constructing a tent or house according to this invention wooden or iron frames,
made of various shapes and sizes, according to the intended shape of the tent
are used.
The frames are connected together in pairs by hinges, and any number of pairs
thus formed are associated together to make up a tent of the size required. The
pairs of frames may be connected together by hinges, the pins of which are loose
to allow of the frames being easily separated when required; or in any other con-
venient manner. In constructing a tent with these frames they may be set on
end on the ground the upper ends meeting, or they may be mounted on walls
formed of frames set horizontally; or the frames may be placed vertically the roof
being formed of similar frames set at a less inclination. The walls all around are
connected together by hinges or clasps, as well as being supported by posts driven

page_text: into the ground. The roof may be connected to the walls by means of metal
fastenings, or in any other convenient manner.
The flames constructed as above described are covered with felt or similar
substance of a size and shape corre-ponding exactly to the size and shape of the
frames. The felt sheet is firmly nailed on, so that when the frames are placed
together to form a tent, the covering of the tent is formed at the same time, and
the jointings fit so exactly into each other, that perfect imperviousness at the joints
against the weather is effected. The felt sheets may be coated with paint or
other saturating fluid, in order to make them perfectly waterproof.
In order to obtain proper ventilation in the interior of such a tent, the felt sheet
may be removed from the part next to the ridge of the roof, the opening being
covered on the outside by a hood of waterproof canvas. The bottom edge of the
hood is fixed to a loose slender iron rod, by which means the air inside always
finds a suitable vent, or a few holes may be cut out in the felt covering for
ventilation, which holes are covered in a similar way. Besides being closed in by
the felt covering these tents can be shut more or less by canyas hangings or other
draperies.
The mode of constructing tents here described has the advantage, among others,
of rendering the tents portable in a high degree as the frames can be easily folded
up in pairs and packed. For this purpose for every tent a box of such size and
shape, that the frames constituting a tent will fit exactly into it, is employed. In
a military tent this box will serve as a table.
The advantages of such a mode of packing are easily understood, particularly in
tents for field use, The ordinary canvas tents, of the kind used in the field, it is
well known, may be entirely destroyed in the course of a few days, when circum-
stances necessitate their being packed wet. The heat that is an inevitable result
of this process, speedily destroys even new tents. Such a thing is quite impossible
in the case of the tents above described, even when packed in the wettest weather,
first, because the covering, as mentioned, is impervious to water, and secondly, when
packed, the one felt sheet is separated from the other by the intermediate wooden
frame, and a corresponding stratum of air. Another valuable advantage of this
Dethod of packing is that the felt covering is never folded or bent, but always
remains in its stretched position on the frame, the consequence being that neither
the felt itself nor the coating can ever be injured.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed-
by the said Henry Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th May 1883.
"
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of the Office for Patents 66 Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex Civil Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN TENTS AND TEMPORARY
Being a communication to me
from Abroad by Johan Gerhard Clemens Van Döcker of Copenhagen in the
Kingdom of Denmark.
HOUSES FOR MILITARY AND OTHER PURPOSES
This Invention relates more particularly to tents for military and other purposes
but it is also applicable to temporary houses or huts for similar purposes, the
object of the Invention being render such tents or houses more suitable than
ordinary tents for the objects for which they are designed without detracting from
their portability
In constructing a tent or temporary house or hut according to this invention
wooden or iron frames made of various shapes and sizes suitable for the intended
shape of the tent and covered with a waterproof material are used-These covered
frames are connected together in pairs by hinges or in any other convenient manner
and any number of pairs thus formed are associated to make up a tent or house of
the size required.
In the accompanying drawing fig 1 shews the construction of the frames
fig 2 shews two frames associated together and covered with waterproof material
and fig 3 shows a portion of a tent seen from the inside and illustrates one mode
of ventilating the same-Figures 4 and 5 show two forms of tent as used for
military purposes-Fig: 6 represents a garden pavilion or market tent and fig: 7
shows
a temporary house or hut.constructed according to this Invention and fig
another form of garden pavilion or tent-Figures 9 to 14 shew various parts in
detail and will be more particularly referred to hereafter
The tent frames in their simplest form are rectangular and may be of any
length and breadth They are composed of side pieces A and end and cross
pieces B
These frames are covered each with a single sheet of felt H composed by
preference of felt with an addition of forty or fifty per cent of wool hair cotton or
similar material It is an essential feature of this invention that the felt covering
is formed in sheets, the size of which corresponds exactly to the size and shape of
the frames-Every one of the frames is provided on the outer side with such a felt
sheet which being once firmly nailed on always follows the frame, consequently
when the frames are placed together to form a tent the covering of the tent is
formed at the same time and the joints may be made to fit so exactly together,
that perfect imperviousness against wind and weather is effected The felt-sheets
are coated with paint or some other suitable material to render them perfectly
waterproof
In constructing a tent or temporary house with these frames which are
permanently connected together in pairs by means of hinges a or in any other
convenient manner a number of pairs are associated to make up the required size
of tent The pairs of frames are connected together by hinge joints 6 the pins of
which c are loose (see fig 2) so that one pair of frames may easily be separated
from or joined to any other pair
The frames may be set on end on the ground meeting at their upper ends to

page_text: form a lean-to-roof as shewn at fig 4 or they may rest on end on vertical walls
formed of similar frames as seen in fig 5-The walls are connected together by
hinges or clasps and may in addition be supported in a vertical position by posts
driven into the ground and to which the frames are secured in any convenient
manner
.
The roof is secured to the walls by means of pins or other kinds of iron
mounting
In order to secure efficient ventilation in the interior of such tents the arrange-
ment shown in fig 3 may be adopted-As will be seen in the figure the felt sheet
is removed from the part designated H' next to the ridge of the roof the opening
being covered on the outside by a hood O of waterproof canvas as seen in figures 4
and 5 The bottom edge of the hood O is fixed to a loose light iron rod by which
means the vitiated air from the inside always finds a suitable vent-In another
form a few holes may be cut out in the felt covering for ventilation and these
holes are covered in a similar way with a canvas hood O The tent ends may be
closed by canvas hangings or other draperies as indicated at K figs 4 and 5
The manner of constructing tents here described has the advantage of rendering
the tents readily portable as the frames can be easily folded up in pairs and packed-
For this purpose the inventor provides for every tent a box of such size and shape
that the frames constituting the tent will fit exactly therein-Such a box is seen
at S in fig 4-In a military tent this box will serve the purpose of a table while
the tent is in use, but when taken down all the frames with their felt coverings
and other adjuncts are placed in the box, thus everything is collected in one place
-ready for future use.
The advantages derived from such a mode of packing particularly in tents for
field use will be readily understood-The ordinary canvas tents of the kind used
in the field it is well known may be entirely destroyed in the course of a few days
when circumstances necessitate their being packed wet The heat that is an
inevitable result of this operation speedily destroys even new tents-Such a thing
is quite impossible in the case of the tents above described, first because the covering
is impervious to water and secondly when packed the one felt sheet is separated
from the other by the intermediate wooden frame and a corresponding stratum of
air Another valuable advantage of this method of packing is that the felt sheets
are never folded or bent but always lie flat on the frames
In fig: 9 a modified form of hinge is shewn in plan view with separated blades
figures 10 and 11 being edge views of the parts detached from and applied to the
frames respectively
Figures 12 and 13 show in front view and in plan view respectively a cramping
apparatus used along the upper edge of the roof to secure one side of the roof with
the other The apparatus is composed of a hook 7 bent at both the ends-
Through one of the bent ends is placed a screw m-When the frames from both
sides of the roof are in the position shewn in the drawing they can by means of
the screw speedily be secured together in a very solid manner Such an apparatus
may also be employed at any other position particularly for connecting the vertical
walls us at figures 3 and 5 with the frames forming the roof
Fig 14 shews in section a frame with the felt sheet I fixed to it-The frames
may also be covered on both sides, for instance with the felt sheet outside and thin
boards on the inside or with thin plates of metal inside the intermediate space
between the outer and inner covering being filled with a suitable nonconducting
material
Having now described this Invention for improvements in tents and temporary
houses for military and other purposes as communicated to me from Abroad and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect I claim
Constructing tents and temporary houses of frames of wood or metal associated
together each frame being covered with a sheet of waterproof material such 5

page_text: construction permitting of the frames for one tent or house when not in use being
packed in a box for facility of transport all substantially as herein described and
Bhown in the drawing
In witness whereof I the said Henry Edward Newton have hereunto set
my hand and seal the nineteenth day of May in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three
HE NEWTON (L.S.)