CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF NAVIGATION
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HOBLYN, of White Barns, in the County of Hertford, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of
June, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Thomas Hoblyn, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas
Hoblyn, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Hoblyn, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,. and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the Islands
of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE ART OF NAVIGATION;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Thomas Hoblyn, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my band and seal, to be inrolled
in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, Thomas
Hoblyn, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in the adaptation of certain mechanical arrangements
herein-after explained to the ascertaining and delineation upon prepared charts,
not only of the particular course in which a vessel is sailing or proceeding, but
also the distance over which such vessel has travelled, whether in a straight
line or in any deviation from such straight course, as, for instance, when the
vessel is tacking, or under the influence of winds or currents.
Also in adapting to an ordinary timepiece a chart having the outline of any
particular part or line of coast marked thereon, the chart being caused to
revolve at a certain speed by means of clockwork in accordance with the
ascertained mean speed of the vessel. By this means an approximate know-
ledge may be gained of the part of the coast the vessel may be passing, or near
to, at any particular time by the clock to which the chart is attached.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 a plan of an apparatus so
constructed as to delineate the ship's course upon a sheet of paper wound upon
a drum. A, B, is a second drum for holding a supply of paper for feeding
the drum A. These drums are mounted in brackets upon a table in any con-
venient part of the vessel, such as the captain's apartments, where they will be
of easy access and constant reference. The drum A is caused to revolve at a
certain speed previously ascertained in the usual manner by the log by means
of the toothed wheel D attached to one end. E is a shaft which carries the
endless screw F which gears into the toothed wheel D. G is a worm wheel,
also upon the shaft E, which is geared into by an endless screw H upon the
shaft I. K is another worm wheel upon the shaft I, and also geared into by
the endless screw L. This endless screw L is formed upon one end of the
main shaft M, which is prolonged through the bows of the vessel, and has
keyed upon its outer end the vane wheel N. This vane wheel is placed below
the surface of the water, and the forward progress of the vessel causes the
wheel to revolve, and through the intervention of the worm wheels and endless
screws already referred to imparts motion to the drum A. O is a pencil or
tracer attached to the holder P, which is centred upon a cross shaft Q. This
pencil O has a lateral motion upon the shaft Q when actuated by the pulley R,
around which a cord is wound, the two ends of which are fastened to a lug or
projection a from the centre of the pencil holder P. The pulley R is caused
to revolve by means of a series of worm wheels and endless screws S, S,

page_text: connected to a vane wheel T. This vane wheel T is placed at right angles to
the wheel N and serves to indicate the amount of deviation the ship may
make from the straight course while tacking or under the influence of winds
or tidal currents. The result of these two vane wheels is to cause to be
delineated upon the paper on the drum A as near an approximation to the
line of the ship's course as possible, the deviation from the straight line being
indicated by diagonal lines upon the paper by the vane wheel T coming into
operation when the ship is tacking, or otherwise influenced by the wind and
currents. The paper upon the drums A and B may have marked thereon the
chart of the ship's voyage, with the lines of the latitude and longitude, so that
the particular point at which the ship may be at any particular time may
be ascertained upon reference to the lines delineated by the pencil.
A modification of the above arrangement for indicating the ship's course is
represented in Figure 3, in which instead of passing a paper or chart over a
drum, and causing the lines to be drawn by means of a pencil, I make use of
a portion or segment A of the surface of a globe or sphere on which is
drawn the outline of the voyage. This segment A is mounted upon a spindle
or shaft B centred by the pivot C upon the standard D. E is a counterpoise
attached to the lower end of the shaft B, and serves the purpose of always
keeping the segment A in equilibrium. F is a powerful electro-magnet
attached to the counterpoise E, by means of which the segment is retained
in its position north and south, independent of the line of the ship's course;
so that when the vessel is tacking, or under the influence of head wind
or other contingencies, the line upon the surface of the segment, shall
indicate the ship's course. G is a wheel or marker having upon its
circumference a number of fine points. This wheel is caused to revolve by
means of the endless screw H taking into the teeth of a worm-wheel upon
the axis of the marker G. The outer end of the spindle of the endless
screw H projects beyond the bows of the vessel, and has fixed upon it, below
the surface of the water, a vane wheel similar to those represented in Figures
1 and 2, the rotation of which is caused by the forward progress of the vessel
through the water. The action of this marker G, when caused to revolve by
the rotation of the vane wheel, is to imprint or indent upon the surface of the
segment a line which will be as near as possible a representation both of the
direction in which the vessel is proceeding and the distance she has travelled.
The rotation of the wheel G will cause the spindle B to deviate from the
perpendicular line, but the segment A being in perfect balance by the counter-
poise E, the marker G will be enabled to indent the surface of the segment
in accordance with the line of the ship's course. Instead of using in the

page_text: above arrangement a segment or portion of a sphere or globe, I propose to
substitute a complete globe, and float it in a cup or bath of mercury or other
suitable fluid, so that it may be perfectly free to be acted upon by the marking
wheel when rotating by the action of the vane wheel, as herein-before ex-
plained. Upon the same charts that the line of the ship's course is delineated
may be also marked the different meteorological, astronomical, geographical,
and other nautical observations that may be taken at any particular time and
registered upon the chart, so that the chart would be a correct and complete
diary or log of the vessel's voyage. For indicating the amount of lee-way a
'vessel may be subjected to from the influence of tidal currents, I propose to
project from the bows of the vessel a platform extending some four or five feet.
In the centre of this platform is cut a circular hole, through which is passed a
rod, chain, tube, &c., attached to the platform by means of an universal joint
so as to allow of its being moved in every direction upon its centre of suspen-
sion. This rod, chain, or tube is extended downwards below the surface of
the water to the depth of some feet, or to below the line of still water, and
has attached to it a hollow sphere of copper or other suitable material, the
specific gravity of which is caused to correspond with the density of the water
by the introduction of weights into the interior of the sphere. The top
portion of the rod and above the universal joint is continued upwards to above
three or four feet, and terminates in a pointed or index hand. This index
hand passes through an aperture in the centre of a circular disc of glass or
metal, having a series of concentric rings drawn upon its surface, which repre-
sent the different degrees of angularity this rod may receive when influenced
by the combined action of the vessel's forward progress and the tidal current.
Instead of using the disc a dome of glass may be substituted, the curve of
which shall be equal to the upper portion of the-rod from the universal joint
taken as the radius. The surface of the dome must have the same arrange-
ment of concentric circles and radial lines corresponding to the degrees of the
circle drawn upon it, so as to indicate the amount of deviation the rod may
receive. The centre of these rings must coincide with the centre of the rod
when hanging perpendicularly from the point of suspension, or when the
vessel is at rest. In calculating the deviations by this instrument, the mean
of the oscillations caused by the roll of the vessel must be taken.
Secondly, my Invention consists in adapting to a timepiece a chart for the
use of coasting vessels, so that a knowedge may be had, by reference to the
chart and the timepiece, of the part of the coast the vessel may be at or near
to at any particular time. Figure 4 represents a timepiece with my improve-
ments attached thereto. A is the timepiece, which is of the ordinary con-

page_text: struction. B is a circular chart, which is attached to that portion of the
timepiece which regulates the striking, but in such a manner that the chart
shall revolve upon its centre at certain intervals of time, and also at a fixed
rate of speed. The speed with which the circular chart revolves must be as
near as possible in true accordance with the ascertained speed of the vessel.
C is an indicator fixed in the disc D, for pointing out on the chart the
particular portion of the coast the vessel may be passing. The circular charts
are capable of being removed, so that any other chart constructed upon the.
same principle, and representing any other portion of coast the vessel may be
dispatched to, may be placed upon the spindle of the timepiece.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim in respect
thereof is,
First, the general combination and adaptation of mechanical arrangements,
whereby the line of a ship's course is delineated upon the surface of a chart,
as herein-before exemplified and described.
Second, I claim the arrangements for ascertaining the amount of lee-way a
vessel may make, as herein-before explained. And,
Third, I claim the adaptation to ordinary timepieces of circular charts for
indicating the particular part of coast a vessel may be at or near to at any
particular time, in the manner herein-before exemplified and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Hoblyn, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Taken and acknowledged by Thomas
Hoblyn (party hereto), at White
Barns, Buntingford, in the County of
Herts, this 28th day of December,
1859 before me.
THOMAS (L.s.) HOBLYN.
THOMAS (L.s.) HOBLYN.
Taken and acknowledged by Thomas
Hoblyn (party hereto), at White
Barns, Buntingford, in the County of
Herts, this 28th day of December,
1859 before me.
THO. HOBLYN,
A Magistrate for the County of
Herts and Middlesex.