Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 1st June, 1887
Complète Left, 1st Mar., 1888
Complete Accepted, 6th Apr., 1888
I, ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM BOOTHBY of No. 2, Storeys Gate Westminster in the
County of Middlesex Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows :-
.
My invention relates to apparatus for cleaning the bottoms of iron or steel sea going
vessels so as to remove shell fish weeds, and other matters that adhere thereto. For
this purpose, I make a frame of iron somewhat in the shape of a horse shoe magnet
and coil its limbs with insulated wire, so that, when it is excited by a current of
electricity, it becomes magnetic. On the pole ends I mount ante-friction rollers so
that while, owing to its magnetism it tends to cling to the side of the vessel, it can be
made to roll along it. In this frame I mount a revolving brush and in the casing on
the frame I arrange an electric motor geared to the brush. By means of cords or ropes
1 cause this apparatus to move up and down along the side of the vessel, while its
electric motor and the coils on its limbs are in circuit with a dynamo-electric machine
or other source of electricity, and thus while the frame is, by the magnetic attraction,
kept close to the vessels side, the revolving brush clears off obstructions in the line of
movement of the apparatus.
Dated this 1st day of June 1887
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Cleaning the Bottoms of Iron or Steel Vessels.
I, ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM BOOTHBY of No. 2 Storeys Gate Westminster in the
County of Middlesex Civil Engineer 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 :-
For
My invention relates to apparatus for cleaning the bottoms of iron or steel sea going
vessels so as to remove shell fish weeds and other matters that adhere thereto.
this purpose
I make a frame of iron somewhat in the shape of a horse shoe magnet and
coil its limbs with insulated wire, so that, when it is excited by a current of electricity,
it becomes magnetic. On the pole ends I mount anti-friction rollers so that while,
owing to its magnetism, it tends to cling to the side of the vessel, it can be made to
roll along it. In this frame I mount a revolving brush and in a casing on the frame
I arrange an electro-motor geared to the brush. By means of cords or ropes I cause
this apparatus to move up and down along the side of the vessel, while its electric
motor and the coils on its limbs are in circuit with a dynamo-electric machine or other
source of electricity; and thus, while the frame is, by the magnetic attraction, kept
close to the vessel's side, the revolving brush clears off obstructions in the line of
movement of the apparatus.
The accompanying drawing is a vertical section of apparatus according to this
invention with its brush B applied to the side A A of a vessel.
Within a watertight casing C is fixed an electro-motor having its armature D made
to revolve between the poles of the electro, magnet limbs EE when a current of
electricity is supplied by a conductor F that enters the casing C through a stuffing
box. The magnet cores E extend watertight through the side of the casing C and
carry at their ends rollers G which bear against the side A A of the vessel. On a
pair of trunnions, surrounding the axis of the armature D at each end of the casing (,
are fitted arms H which carry the rotary brush B and are drawn by a spring K
towards the side of the vessel. A worm on one end of the axis of D gears with a
worm wheel L on one end of a spindle M which is carried by one of the arms H and
which has at its other end a bevil pinion N gearing with a pinion on the axis of the
brush B. When a current of electricity is supplied by the conductor F to the electro-
motor within the casing C, the cores E are magnetised and are attracted towards the
iron of the vessel's side against which the apparatus is thus made to bear while it is
free to be moved up or down rolling on the rollers G. At the same time the armature D
being caused to rotate rapidly, the brush B, which is geared to it, is made to revolve
brushing the side of the vessel. The apparatus being suspended and guided by chains
or ropes attached to the eyes O and P can be pulled up or down the vessel's side
cleaning a vertical space of it equivalent in width to the length of the brush; and by
thus cleaning successive vertical spaces the whole of the vessel's side and bottom can
be cleaned.

page_text: In order that the apparatus may not be jumped away from the side of the vessel
when it encounters an overlap of the plates, iron bars Q bent to form as it were sledge
runners are attached to the case, and bars R are attached to the arms H.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
For cleaning the bottoms of iron or steel vessels, apparatus consisting of an electro-
motor, the magnets of which attract the apparatus to the vessel's side, while its
revolving armature drives a rotary brush held against the side, substantially as herein
described and illustrated by the drawing.
1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.