DETERMINING THE DIRECTION OR MAGNETIC Bearing of DEEP SEA OR OTHER CURRENTS "ing of Deep Sea or OTHER CURRENTS وو PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Theophilus Moore, of Elm Lodge,
Spring Grove, Isleworth, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "DETERMINING THE DIRECTION OR
MAGNETIC Bearing of DEEP SEA OR OTHER CURRENTS
"
MAGNETIC Bearing of Deep Sea or OTHER CURRENTS
وو
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Theophilus
Moore at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 17th March 1875.
I, BENJAMIN THEOPHILUS MOORE, of Elm Lodge, Spring Grove,
Isleworth, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention for "DETERMINING THE DIRECTION
OR MAGNETIC BEARING OF DEEP SEA OR OTHER CURRENTS," to be as follows,
that is to say :—
This Invention has for its object improvements in deep sea and other
current indicators.

page_text: I employ a globular shell of brass or other suitable material formed in
two parts which can be connected together so as to exclude water. The
shell is elongated on one side into a pointed form, and on the opposite
side has a rudder-like tail. It is supported by two pivots from a stirrup
having a swivel at the top to which a cord is attached, and the whole is
so arranged that when the instrument is lowered by the cord into
running water it takes such a position that the axis of the tail is parallel
to the stream with the pointed part of the shell directed against
it. Inside the shell I employ a cup-shaped or cylindrical vessel
suspended by gimbals in the same manner as a ship's chronometer is
suspended, so that the vessel may remain steady or nearly so in whatever
manner the outer shell may be moved.
The suspended vessel is provided with a compass card or ring, and a
magnetic needle balanced upon an upright point in the usual way, and
it contains a train of clockwork so arranged and connected with the
compass card or ring that at a given instant the card is fixed by the
action of the clockwork.
To use the instrument the clockwork is wound up and set so as to
fix the card at any desired time. The shell is then closed water-tight
and lowered into the current to the depth required, when its descent is
stopped the instrument takes its position according to the direction of
the stream, and the compass needle settles itself after a short time in the
magnetic meridian.
After the instrument and the card have taken up their respective
positions and have become steady, the card is suddenly fixed by the
action of the clockwork, which is so timed as to produce this result.
The instrument is then drawn out of the water and the shell opened,
when the position of the card shews immediately the direction of the
current below.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said
Benjamin Theophilus Moore in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th October 1875.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Theophilus
Moore, Her special licence that I, the said Benjamin Theophilus Moore,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Benjamin Theophilus Moore, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times hereafter 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 "DETERMINING THE DIRECTION OR
MAGNETIC BEARING OF DEEP SEA OR OTHER CURRENTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Benjamin Theophilus Moore, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 seven calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Benjamin Theophilus Moore, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, that is to say :—
I employ a globular shell of brass or other suitable material formed
in two parts which can be connected together so as to exclude water.
The shell is elongated on one side into a pointed form, and on the
opposite side has a rudder-like tail. It is supported by two pivots from
a stirrup having a swivel at the top to which a cord is attached, and the
whole is so arranged that when the instrument is lowered by the cord
into running water it takes such a position that the axis of the tail is
parallel to the stream with the pointed part of the shell directed against
it. Inside the shell I employ a cup-shaped or cylindrical vessel suspended
by gimbals in the same manner as a ship's chronometer is suspended, so
that the vessel may remain steady or nearly so in whatever manner the
outer shell
may be moved.

page_text: construct of brass, gun metal, or other metal other than iron and steel,
so as to ensure the correct action of the magnet.
a, a, is the case consisting of two parts which when screwed together
have a spherical cavity within, and I prefer to make the case water-
tight (though this is not essential) by a leather ring a', a', between the
two parts of the case; b, b, is the tail of the instrument consisting of a
frustrum of a hollow cone which carries four flat blades c, c, and is
screwed into the back of the case a, a, as shewn in Fig. 2; Fig 6 shews
an end elevation of this tail and blades. To the opposite part of the case
a, a, is screwed the nose piece d which acts as a counterpoise to the
weight of the tail b, b, causing the whole case to balance or nearly so
upon the pivots e, e, when suspended in water by the stirrup f. This
stirrup has a swivel f¹ at its top, to which a line is attached for the
purpose of lowering the whole instrument into deep water. The case a, a,
is made of great thickness for the double purpose of resisting great
pressure of water, and of giving weight to sink the instrument. Should
still greater weight be required two holes f° are made in the extremities
of the stirrup from which a shot or other sinker can be suspended.
For the purpose of screwing up the two parts of the case a, a, tightly
two holes a², a², are drilled in the front portion into which the two
corresponding prongs of the spanner shewn in Fig. 8 can be inserted;
Fig. 7 shews a front view of the case a, a, when the nose picce d is
removed. This nose piece is screwed tight upon the case a, a, by a key
inserted into the hole d¹.
When the whole case as described is lowered into running water, the
water acting upon the tail as on a powerful rudder will cause the nose to
point to the stream, and the axis of the whole case and tail will become
parallel to the direction of the current.
The whole of the mechanism and the magnet is contained within the
cylindrical box g, g, which is suspended from a ring h, h, by two pivots
h, h, screwed into the box, but free to turn in corresponding holes in
the ring. This ring is supported by two other pivots h², h², fixed to the
case a, a. The geometrical axis of the pivots h³, h³, coincides with that
of the pivots e, e, by which the case is supported in the stirrup, and the
geometrical axis of the pivots h', h', is at right angles to this and
coincides with that of the whole case and tail previously mentioned.
The box 9, 9, is covered by a plate of glass k, k, and is so balanced that

page_text: this glass plate remains in a horizontal plane when the instrument, is at
rest. The box g, g, will remain steady or nearly so in whatever way the
case may turn about its pivots c, c, or about a vertical axis or both
by the action of the water upon its tail. Within the box g, g, is a
magnet N, S, with a graduated ring 1,., attached to it and balanced upon
its centre in the usual way. The magnet is placed just below the glass
plate, against which it can be instantly forced by depressing the small
lever m.
This raises another lever n, causing the end of it to lift the
magnet off its support and force it against the glass plate.
In order to lift and fix the magnet at the proper time when the
instrument is under water, a simple train of clockwork (or other
uniformly moving power, such as an hour glass, &c., but I prefer
clockwork) is employed. This consists of a mainspring o driving a
train of wheels o', o², o³, o, and terminating in a regulating fly p. This
train also drives a time wheel q which has a small hole » drilled into it
in such a position that the lower end of a small rod t may be forced into
it by a spiral spring when the zero of the time wheel comes opposite
the pointer (Fig. 5). The rod t being connected with the lever m will
depress it suddenly at that instant and so fix the magnet. The time
wheel is adjusted so as to make one revolution in one hour (which could
be increased if necessary) and it may be set so as to cause the magnet to
be fixed after the lapse of any time up to one hour.
The setting of the time wheel is done as follows:-The pinion which
drives this wheel turns freely upon its spindle and can be made fast or
loose by screwing up or unscrewing the small finger nut v. When loose
the time wheel can be turned round by the small knob w upon it, the
spring being first put back by means of the arm x attached to the rod t
by which the end of the rod is disengaged from the time wheel.
{1
To use the instrument screw off the nose piece and open the case with
the spanner, Fig. 8; turn over the suspended box and wind up the
main-spring; then set the time wheel to the time required, say for
instance, 30 minutes, and tighten the finger nut v; then screw up the
case with the spanner, put on the nose piece, and lower the whole
instrument to the depth at which it is required to observe the direction
of the current.
It is only necessary to allow the instrument five minutes after being
lowered to settle itself in the direction of the stream, and allow the

page_text: magnet to come to rest in the magnetic meridian before the time (here
30 minutes) expires. After that time the instrument may be drawn up
when the magnet will be found fixed, showing the direction of the stream
with respect to the magnetic meridian.
This instrument when used in combination with my deep sea current
meter described in Letters Patent granted to me, dated the 1st day of
December 1873, and numbered 3939, will suffice to determine the
direction and velocity of any deep sea or other current.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood
that I am aware that apparatus for indicating the direction of deep sea
currents by means of the locking or fixing of a compass by external
means have been designed as in Leslie's Specification, in the year of our
Lord 1873, No. 3352, and I make no claim thereto, but what I claim as
my Invention is,—
First. The construction and use of apparatus for determining the
direction of deep sea currents, substantially in the manner herein-before
described and shewn in the Drawings annexed hereto.
Secondly. The combination in the construction of current indicators
of a system of clockwork or other time-keeping mechanism with a
magnet so constructed that the clockwork or other mechanism shall
at any desired moment after immersion automatically fix the position of
the magnet.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Theophilus Moore, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
BENJAMIN THEOPHILUS MOORE. (L.S.)