IMPROVEMENTS IN RACKS AND WATER CISTERNS FOR STABLES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hood, of 68, Upper Thames Street, in the
City of London, Iron Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RACKS AND WATER CISTERNS FOR STABLES."
Sealed the 1st July 1859, and dated the 4th January 1859...
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hood at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th January 1859.
I, WILLIAM HOOD, of 68, Upper Thames Street, in the City of London,
Iron Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RACKS AND WATER CISTERNS FOR. STABLES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists, first, in hinging a flap or grating, or flaps or gratings
to each of such stable racks by means of spring hinges, or by means of hinges.
acting in conjunction with springs, in such manner (that the said flaps or
gratings shall constantly press upon the hay or other fodder in the racks, and
prevent the cattle from withdrawing it wastefully.
Secondly, in fitting to water cisterns covers, (by preference in the form of
perforated plates or gratings), each supported at one end on a rest or rests of
any suitable kind, and having at the other end pins or projections moving in
slots, (by preference angular in form,) or otherwise, in such manner that one
end of the plate may be so moved as to allow the other end to fall when the

page_text: horse or other animal is about drink. I form the upper plate of the racks and
water cisterns of somewhat lighter metal than usual, and support it by a
bracket or brackets in the form of a pipe or pipes, and within the pipe or pipes
I place the halter ball or balls, which the horses, &c. are unable under this
arrangement to tread upon. The balls should be covered or belted with india- !
rubber, leather, or other like material to prevent noise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HOOD, of 68, Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, Iron Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Hood, Her special licence that I, the said William
Hood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Hood, my executors, administrators, 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
RACKS AND WATER CISTERNS FOR STABLES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Hood, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said William Hood, do hereby declare the
nature. of my said. Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-

page_text: My Invention consists, first, in hinging a flap or grating, or flaps or gratings
to stable racks by means of spring hinges, or by means of hinges acting in
conjunction with springs in such manner that the said flaps or gratings shall
constantly press upon the bay or other fodder in the racks, and prevent the
cattle from withdrawing it wastefully.
Second, in fitting in water cisterns covers, (by preference in the form of
perforated plates or gratings), each supported at one end on a rest or rests of
any suitable kind, and having at the other end pins or projections moving in
slots (by preference angular in form) or otherwise, in such manner, that one
end of the plate may be so moved as to allow the other end to fall when the
horse or other animal is about to drink. I form the upper plate of the racks
and water cisterns of somewhat lighter metal than usual, and support it by a
bracket or brackets in the form of a pipe or pipes, and within the pipe or pipes
I place the halter ball or balls, which the horses are unable, under this
arrangement, to tread upon. The balls should be covered or belted with
india-rubber, leather, or other like material to prevent noise. .
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a perspective view of a set of
stable fittings complete, constructed according to this Invention; Figure 2 is
a section of the rack through the line a, b, of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section
of the manger through the line c, d, of the same Figure, and Figure 4 is a
section through the line e, f, of Figure 1. A is a grating fixed to the top
plate B by means of two spring hinges g, g; the grating is formed, by prefer-
ence, of india-rubber or gutta percha bands connected to a frame, but it can
be made of iron bars. It is free to travel, as shewn by the dotted lines,
Figure 2, but when the rack is filled with fodder, the grating rests on it to
prevent the horse or other animal from wasting the food; C is a flange or
rim projecting inwards, formed round the manger to prevent the corn or chaff
from being thrown out; E is a cover fitted to the water cistern, which works
in and rests on slots formed at the back of the cistern, and rests on a flange or
ledge formed on the front thereof. When the horse drinks the cover is raised
by an attendant, pushed slightly back in the slots, and allowed to fall against
the back of the cistern; by this arrangement the animal cannot interfere with
its action; the edges are covered with gutta percha, india-rubber, or other like
material to prevent noise, and the chipping or breaking of the enamel with
which the cistern is lined; F, F, are tubes in which the head collar ropes or
reins work; they act as brackets for the support of the fittings, and also pre-
vent the balls from getting under the animal's feet. The balls are covered
with some suitable material, such as gutta percha, to render them noiseless as
they travel in the-tubes..

page_text: And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the employment of a flap or grating, or flaps or gratings hinged by
spring hinges, or by means of hinges in conjunction' with springs, to racks for
stables, in such manner that the said flaps or gratings shall constantly press
upon the hay or other fodder to prevent waste, as herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the fitting of covers to water cisterns for stables, in the manner and
for the purposes herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
And, third, the employment of tubes, through which the head collar or halter
ropes or reins pass, and which act as brackets for the support of the fittings, as
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hood, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of July, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-nine.
WILL. HOOD. (L.S.)