IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE RISE AND FALL OF LIQUIDS.AL
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert William Morris, Joiner, and James
Coulton Hunter, Contractor, both of Barrow-in-Furness, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE RISE AND FALL OF LIQUIDS.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert William
Morris and James Coulton Hunter at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th July
1875.
WC, ROBERT WILLIAM MORRIS, Joiner, and JAMES COULTON HUNTER,
Contractor, both of Barrow-in-Furness, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE RISE AND FALL OF LIQUIDS," to be as
follows:-
The improvements contemplated are intended' more particularly for

page_text: use in tidal rivers, estuaries, channels, bars, and such like, and to show
or register at any moment by the tidal action the height of water therein
or thereon, and at any convenient spot, such as dock entrances, pier and
harbour heads, bars, or other desired site rendered suitable for the
purpose, by means of registering apparatus or semaphores specially con-
structed, such registering apparatus being also applicable to liquids of
any kind, the rise and fall of which it may be desired to register
The improvements may be performed by constructing a hollow case or
chamber of metal, wood, brick, stone, or concrete, having an aperture
or apertures at the bottom or near thereto at, or about, or below the
level of the lowest tide or liquid to be registered. This chamber may be
placed, or sunk, or fixed in any desirable manner in or on the bed of the
river, or in or about the pier or harbour head, dock entrance, or else-
where in such fashion that the lowest tide or liquid to be registered can
or may have free access thereto, and constructed of such height to
contain and register the highest tide or liquid. Within such chamber,
which may be square or round, or other convenient shape in transverse
section, we place a float or piston having affixed thereto a rod or rods
carrying arms or semaphores, lamps, plain or colored, or any convenient
device, so that as the tide or liquid rises or falls in the said chamber the
piston carrying the rod or rods will by its motion cause the semaphores
or devices that may be attached thereto to be seen and indicate a cor-
responding rise or fall of the liquid, and so be useful to mariners or
others for showing the height or depth of water or liquid at, upon, or
within or near any desired spot.
Further, we contemplate when our apparatus is to be used for tidal
purposes the fitting to the arms or semaphores, or the rod or rods, one
or more bells or gongs, to be actuated by a spring catch or other con-
venient machinery, our object being to give warning in foggy weather
of the height of the tide at or near any desired level

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert William Morris and James Coulton
Hunter in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd January 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
WILLIAM MORRIS, Joiner, and JAMES COULTON HUNTER, Contractor,
both of Barrow-in-Furness, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Robert William Morris and
James Coulton Hunter, Her special license, that we, the said Robert
William Morris and James Coulton Hunter, our executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Robert William
Morris and James Coulton Hunter, our executors, adminstrators, and
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, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
REGISTERING THE Rise and Fall oF LIQUIDS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Robert William Morris and James Coulton
Hunter, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their or one of their hands and seals, 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 we, the said Robert William Morris and
James Coulton Hunter, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say
-
The improvements are intended more particularly for use in tidal
livers, estuaries, channels, bars, and such like, and to show or register

page_text: at any moment by the tidal action the height of water therein or thereon,
and at any convenient spot, such as dock entrances, pier and harbour
heads, bars, or other desired site (rendered suitable for the purpose) by
means of registering apparatus or semaphores, lamps, gongs, and bells,
specially constructed for the purpose, such registering apparatus being
also applicable to liquids of any kind, the rise and fall of which it may
be desired to register.
The improvements may be performed by constructing a hollow case or
chamber of metal, wood, brick, stone, or concrete, having an aperture
or apertures at the bottom or near thereto at or about or below the lovel
of the lowest tide or liquid to be registered This chamber may be
_placed, or sunk, or fixed in any desirable manner in or on the bed of the
river or in or about the pier or harbour head, dock entrance, or clsewhere
in such fashion that the lowest tide or liquid to be registered can or may
have free access thereto, and constructed of such height to contain and
register the highest tide or liquid Within such chamber, which may be
square or round, or other convenient shape, in transverse section, wc
place a float or buoyant piston, having affixed thereto a rod or rods or
frame carrying arms or semaphores, lamps, plain or colored, or any con-
venient device, so that as the tide or liquid rises or falls in the said
chamber the piston carrying the rod or rods will by its up-and-down
motion cause the semaphores or devices that may be attached thereto to
appear and disappear, and indicate a corresponding rise or fall of the
liquid, and so be useful to mariners or others for showing the height
01 depth of water or liquid at, upon, or within or near any desired
spot
Further, our Invention consists, when the apparatus is to be used for
tidal purposes, in the fitting to the arms or semaphores, or the rod or
rods, or to the hollow chamber itself, one or more bells or gongs, to be
actuated by a spring catch or other convenient machinery, to be worked
by the rising or falling tide, our object being to give warning in foggy
weather of the height of the tide at or near any desired level.
We find that our Invention may be conveniently performed by making
use of a column, either of metal, wood, or stone, open or closed, fixed
upon the solid rock, or on piles, or upon a large metal shoe, as the
situation may require, and if necessary stayed with rods, chain, bolts,
and nuts to make secure
To this column, when made closed or nearly

page_text: so, we attach a door or doors for the purpose of allowing men to pass
to the inside and to the fittings therein. This column is made suffi-
ciently high to be a few fcet more than twice the height of the rise of
tide at the site it may be erected upon and furnished with a door. In
the centre of the column we place a buoyant tank of sufficient capacity
to float the weight of a light wrought iron or wooden frame or pillar,
which carries and works four or more semaphores and lamps, also a gong
or bell. This frame may be of latticework, and secured to the buoyant
tank with a universal joint. The semaphores are worked upon a suitable
pin at the centre of frame, and are guided in their course by grooves in
the column, and when they are full out at right angles to the frame can
be distinctly seen from the sca. Each semaphore may represent so many
fect of water. On the upper part of outer column and facing the sca
we place a smaller column, secured to the principal one with angle irons,
said smaller column being fitted with lamps, each of a different color,
having three lenses to cach lamp, thes lenses being arranged to look
right and left and out to sea, and to correspond with the semaphores in
indicating the heights of the tide during its rise and fall. Between cach
set of lenses at the front towards the sea is a pane of glass, the same
color as the last lens below it, to denote the relation of the tido
between each set of lenses. A clear light at the top shows the tide at
full. The rising tide may be indicated by the sound of a bell and the
falling tide by the sound of the gong kept striking during the whole of
the rise and fall of the tide.
It will be plainly seen from the foregoing that as soon as the tido
begins to rise the buoyant tank begins to float, and at intervals presents
a semaphore and a colored light until all the semaphores or bright light
is seen, and vice versa, as the tide recedes.
In order that our Invention may be more clearly understood we have
annexed a Drawing illustrating a convenient mode of performing the
same. In the said Drawing Figures 1 and 2 are front and side elevations
of the apparatus; Figure 4, plan; and Figure 5, part section of column E,
Figure 6, plan of cast-iron top of column.
The whole construction is shown fixed upon a wood pile foundation
marked A, stayed togethed with wood tie-picces B knotched into each
other and secured with bolts and nuts, made level upon the top to
receive a cast-iron bed plate C, which is secured to the piles by bolts

page_text: and nuts. This bed plate is made true to receive the lower part of
column D, which may be of cast iron and perforated at the bottom to
allow the water to enter and float the tank inside. On the column D is
secured the upper part E, which may be of wrought iron. It has
grooves on three of its sides for the motion of semaphores and lamps,
as shown. This upper part of the column is strengthened inside with
suitable angle irons and outside by an iron angle flange at bottom, and a
cast-iron top F, and is bolted to lower part as shown
On the front of principal column E is secured a lamp tube G,
which is fitted with four heights of three lenses II, each of a different
color, and between each set of lenses on the front to sea is fitted a panc
of glass marked J, colored to correspond with the last lens below it.
In the inside of the tube G works the lamp proper or burner, better
seen in Figure 5, which rises and falls with the tide, so as to indicate
by the different colors the height of the water in fect, the same as by
the number of semaphores which are marked X.
P
The Drawing of signal apparatus is proportioned to indicate a fifteen
feet rise of tide, therefore when the four semaphores are out there are
three spaces, cach representing five feet of water, and the same takes
placo by the color of the lens, the clear light being at the top gives full
tide. The bell N is fixed under the lamp tube and arranged by means
of cranks and tappets to toll alternately during the rise of the tide. The
gong K is fixed upon the port side of column, and is arranged by
means of pendulum strikers L and bell-crank levers M to strike in
succession during the fall of the tide.
Figure 7, S, S, are enlarged views of the semaphores, and T, T, the
brackets which carry them (in halves). One half goes on the right and
the other on left of the semaphore. They are then placed in their
position in the centre of framing and made secure with set screws and
through bolts.
Figure 8 is an enlarged view of the wrought-iron lattice framing
which carries the semaphores, showing the semaphores in their places.
The top one is always fixed outwards, as it never goes below the groove
in working column.
Figure 8 is enlarged section of buoyant tank for floating and moving
the whole of the motion during the rise of the tide, and is attached to

page_text: attice framing with a ball joint in two half brackets, as shown; V is a
convenient man-hole. The gallery O with open grating and ladder
ttached is for cleaning, lighting, and other purposes
The door Y, Figures 1 and 2, is for the purpose of. access to the inside
of column and to the apparatus thercin.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert William Morris and
James Coulton Hunter, have hereunto set our hands and seals,
this Twenty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.