Improvements in or connected with Boat Lowering and Raising 'Apparatus.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 15th June, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 10th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 18th Apr., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Boat Lowering and Raising
'Apparatus.
I, THOMAS AUGUSTUS KENNEDY, Physician, of Accrington House, Formby,
in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be.
as follows:-
This invention has reference mainly to apparatus for lowering ships boats from
the position in which they are stowed on the ship, into the water, and raising them
from the water, and bringing them inboard back to the position from which they
were moved; and it has more particularly for its object to provide means by which
the operation of getting the boats outboard and lowered can be rapidly, safely, and
easily performed, and by which also, the bringing inboard after. raising may also be
easily and quickly done.
According to this invention boats are stowed on the ship in
any known way, and
are adapted to be lowered from davits into the water by actuating mechanism
which will now describe. The boats are suspended from davits by wire ropes
say; and these ropes are wound on barrels or winches connected or worked together,
or on a single winch or barrel, one rope leading to one davit and the other to the
other; these barrels may be rotated from another barrel with a rope wound and
turned thereon in the opposite direction, and so arranged, that by the lowering
of the boat the operating rope will be wound on its barrel, and vice versa.
In some cases, I make the davits hollow, and carry the ropes through the davits,
they being guided by suitable pullies at the points required.
The davits are worked by toothed gear from the operating mechanism; and they
are connected together by a cross chain, by which they revolve in opposite directions
about their axes. A clutch which can be put in and out of action is used in
connection with the actuating mechanism, by which the gear for turning the davits
can be operated and put out of action at will at the required times. The apparatus
can be operated by hand or by any suitable motor.
In operation, assuming the boat be inboard, then to move it outboard, the davits
are revolved (which may be done mechanically or by the weight of the boat on the
ropes) thereby swinging the head round first, and then the stern, or vice versa, the
relative motions being controlled by the cross chains or equivalent device connecting
them together. Then when outboard, the boat is lowered by its own weight by
letting go the winding barrel rope, which thereby winds on its barrel. When the
boat is borne by the water, it is released from its hooks, and freed of the ropes.
To raise a boat, the winding barrel rope is drawn off its barrel, thereby winding
the davit ropes onto their barrel, and then when the boat is sufficiently raised,
if the clutch be thrown into gear with the mechanism, the davits will be at once
rotated and the boat will be swung inboard.
Suitable brakes may be used in connection with the mechanism by which the
person in charge can control the speed of the lowering action, or stop the action,
at will.
By the winches being connected or worked together, it will be seen that it is
impossible for the boat to be lowered in any but in a perfectly even or level position,
and therefore the action is in all cases regularly effected, and the safety of boat
and its passengers assured. When the boat is water-borne it is released from its

page_text: lowering ropes and hooks either by hand, or automatically; and as a means of
keeping the two ropes in their respective positions, so that they may be readily
attached, to the boat in the lifting operation, a light rod is used at their lower ends
to connect them together.
In the case of a boat being stowed above the deck, it may be easily lowered by
the means described to the level of the deck, and the passengers can then get in,
and then lowered to the water.
Dated this 14th day of June 1895.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15 Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Boat Lowering and Raising
Apparatus.
I, THOMAS AUGUSTUS KENNEDY, Physician, of Accrington House, Formby,
in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference mainly to apparatus for lowering ships boats from
the position in which they are stowed on the ship, into the water, and raising
them from the water, and bringing them inboard back to the position from which
they were moved; and it has more particularly for its object to provide means
by which the operation of getting the boats outboard and lowered can be rapidly,
safely, and easily performed, and by. which also, the bringing inboard after raising
may also be easily and quickly done.
According to this invention, boats are stowed on the ship in any known way,
and are adapted to be lowered from davits into the water by actuating mechanism
which I will now describe. The boats are suspended from davits by wire ropes,
say; and these ropes are wound on barrels or winches connected or worked
together, or on a single winch or barrel, one rope leading to one davit and the
other to the other; these barrels may be rotated by suitable gear; or it may be
done from another barrel with a rope wound and turned thereon in the opposite
direction, and so arranged, that by the lowering of the boat the operating rope will
be wound on its barrel, and vice versa.
In some cases, I make the davits hollow, and carry the ropes through the
davits, they being guided by suitable pullies at the points required.
The davits are worked, by toothed gear from the operating mechanism; and
they are connected together by a cross chain or equivalent means, by which they
revolve in opposite directions about their axes. A clutch which can be put in
and out of action is used in connection with the actuating mechanism, by which
the gear for turning the davits can be operated and put out of action at will at
the required times. The apparatus can be operated by hand or by any suitable
motor.
In operation, assuming the boat be inboard, then to move it outboard, the davits
are revolved (which may be done mechanically or by the weight of the boat on the
ropes) thereby swinging the head round first, and then the stern, or vice versa, the
relative motions being controlled by the cross chains or equivalent device connecting
them together. Then when outboard, the boat is lowered by its own weight.
When the boat is borne by the water, it is released from its hooks, and freed of
the ropes.
To raise a boat, the winding barrels are rotated, thereby winding the
davit ropes onto them, and then when the boat is sufficiently raised, if the clutch
be thrown into gear with the mechanism, the davits will be at once rotated and the
'boat will be swung inboard.

page_text: Suitable brakes may be used in connection with the mechanism by which the
person in charge can control the speed of the lowering action, or stop the action,
at will.
By the winches being connected or worked together, it will be seen that it is
impossible for the boat to be lowered in any but in a perfectly even or level
position, and therefore the action is in all cases regularly effected, and the safety
of boat and its passengers assured. When the boat is water-borne it is released
from its lowering ropes and hooks either by hand, or automatically; and as a means
of keeping the two ropes in their respective positions, so that they may be readily
attached, to the boat in the lifting operation, a light rod is used at their lower ends
to connect them together.
In the case of a boat being stowed above the deck, it may be easily lowered by
the means described to the level of the deck, and the passengers can then get in,
and then lowered to the water.
In the drawings illustrating this invention, I shew a boat lowering and raising
apparatus provided with my improvements, Figure 1 being an elevation, and
Figure 2 a plan.
Referring to the drawings, a are the davits, they being mounted on the deck and
supported in any known suitable way. bis a bar secured to the deck or other
support, having at each end a tooth rack 6, the teeth of which engage in toothed
pinions c fixed on the lower ends of the davits a, the right hand pinion c being
indicated in dotted lines. It will be seen that these racks are arranged to operate
on the opposite side on the davit turning pinions c; by this arrangement the two
davits are caused to revolve on their bearings or axes in opposite directions. The
rotation of the davits is effected by bevel wheels d d¹, the wheel d¹ being on one
of the davits, and the wheel d connected with and driven by the gearing hereafter
described.
The boat is suspended by ropes or falls i from the davits, and these ropes are
worked or wound on and off barrels j j. The barrels are driven by the gearing,
consisting of the pinion k on the shaft k¹, and the spur wheel on the shaft m, on
which shaft also there is provided and fixed the bevel wheel d, a brake n, and a
clutch o.
The ropes i are led by various pullies p, at different points, to guide the
rope in the directions required.
As regards the operating gear, the shaft may be driven by the crank wheel k²,
or by power, in any known suitable way; and the barrels j, brake disc n¹, and the
spur wheel, are connected together and mounted loosely on the shaft m, while the
clutch o, which is operated by the handle o', slides on a feather on the shaft m in
the usual way.
.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When it is desired to lower a boat,
assuming the boat to be inboard, in the usual way, the boat is first swung outboard;
and this is effected by throwing the clutch o into gear with the wheel boss l, and
rotating the shaft k', the effect of which is that the shaft m would be rotated, and
thereby the wheel d' revolved by the wheel'd. This would rotate the near davit
inwards in the direction of the arrow, whilst the other davit would also be revolved
inwards, the effect of which is that the boat would have one end, say its head,
moved outboard and inside the davit, and then, when it has taken, by the continuous
rotation of the davits, a diagonal position, it is moved outboard by the further
rotation of the davits, until it takes the opposite position to that shewn in
Figure 2; the position of the boat whilst in the diagonal direction, being shewn
in Figure 1. During this movement, the ropes i will be wound to a small extent
on their pullies j, and so the boat will be raised somewhat simultaneously with
its movement to the outboard position. When this outboard position is reached,
the boat can be lowered; and to do this, the clutch o is withdrawn, and so the
wheel and pullies ; are free to revolve on the shaft m. The actions of these
wheels and barrels, however, are controlled by the brake n, the blocks n' of which
are removed from the brake disc nx, by operating the brake block actuating
wheel n². By means of this brake, therefore, the speed of lowering the boat can

page_text: be regulated, and the lowering action stopped at any point, with ease and
-certainty.
To raise a boat, the shaft k is rotated by the wheel ³, and the ropes i are
thereby wound onto the barrels j; then, when the boat is raised to the required
height, the clutch o is thrown into gear with the wheel boss 1, and by the
continued revolving of the wheel 2, the davits a have imparted to them the
⚫converse movements to those performed in putting the boat outboard, and the boat,
comes inboard.
As regards the attaching of the falls or ropes to the boat h, this may be done
in any suitable way, as by using suitable hooks of the automatic, or non-automatic,
kind. Also, in some cases, a bar may connect the two falls together to assist in
the handling and manipulation of the attaching actions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, it is to be stated that the
invention is not restricted to the special forms or constructions of the parts shewn
in the drawings, as these may be modified in many ways without departing from
the chief and controlling features of the invention; and what I claim in respect
of the herein described invention is :-
1. Boat lowering and raising apparatus having davits connected together and
adapted to be rotated in opposite directions, the action of rotation being effected
by suitable means such as described; substantially as herein set forth.
2. In ships boat lowering and raising apparatus, the combination with the davits,
of winding barrels and ropes, said ropes being passed over the davit heads, and
adapted to be operated simultaneously by suitable means; substantially as herein
:set forth.
3. The combination in ships boat lowering and raising apparatus, of davits
connected together and operated in opposite directions; ropes and barrels for
raising and lowering the boat; and driving or operating mechanism by which
both the said barrels and davits are rotated together, or separately, at will;
substantially as set forth.
4. The ship's boat lowering and raising apparatus consisting of the parts
arranged, constructed, and adapted to operate particularly as set forth with
reference to and as shewn in the drawings.
Dated this 9th day of August 1895.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15 Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Patent Agents.