IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM VESSELS AND SAILING VESSELS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED ON BOARD SUCH VESSELS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LESSENING THE MOTION OF CERTAIN PARTS THEREOF, AND FOR LESSENING OR PREVENTING SEA SICKNESS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Bessemer, of Queen Street Place, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN STEAM VESSELS AND SAILING VESSELS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND
MODE OF WORKING MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED ON BOARD SUCH
VESSELS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LESSENING THE MOTION OF CERTAIN PARTS
THEREOF, AND FOR LESSENING OR PREVENTING SEA SICKNESS.”
Sealed the 9th August 1870, and dated the 17th June 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Bessemer at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th June 1870.
I, HENRY BESSEMER, of Queen Street Place, Cannon Street, in the
5 City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM VESSELS AND SAILING VESSELS, AND IN THE
CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED ON
BOARD SUCH VESSELS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LESSENING THE MOTION OF CERTAIN
A

page_text: follows:-
These improvements relate to such steam or other vessels as are
constructed with a view to prevent sea sickness, and for this purpose are
provided with saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms suspended on axes or
otherwise so supported as to admit of the ordinary motion of the vessel
taking place without such motion being imparted to a like extent to the
saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms, whether the same be used for the
accommodation of passengers or for the support of railway carriages or
guns. In the several plans which have been before proposed for this
purpose the desired position of the saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms is
sought to be maintained continuously by the gravitating action of a
heavy counterbalance weight, for which purpose it is necessary that the
weight be below the points of suspension, and should be considerably in
excess of the gravitating force of the weight above it, hence in those
cases where the saloons or cabins are of large dimensions and capable of
holding from one to two hundred passengers, a counterbalance of many
tons in weight is required, and this weight if not suspended on axes which
are coincident with the centres about which the vessel rolls and pitches
would tend to generate or acquire a more or less oscillating or pendulous
motion. Now therefore the main object sought to be obtained by means
of my present Invention is the more complete controul over the motions
of suspended saloons, cabins, floors, and platforms on board steam and
sailing vessels by the employment of steam power or other equivalent
mechanical force directed and controlled by manual skill and dexterity
in lieu of employing the gravitating action of a suspended weight.
In carrying my said Invention into practical operation I prefer to
convey or transmit (in the direction required) the mechanical force
exerted by a steam engine by means of hydrostatic pressure acting on
pistons or plungers, and thus by the employment of a non-clastic fluid
to govern with greater ease the amount of motion desired to be trans-
mitted. For this purpose I prefer to employ a "donkey engine" or
pumping engine constructed on the general principle of a "steam fire-
engine,” by means of which water may be continuously forced into an
air vessel or receiver under a pressure varying from 100 to 400 lbs. per
square inch, more or less, as may be desired, and from which receiver
all superfluous quantity of water may be allowed to escape under a
regulated pressure. I also employ by preference a gun metal cylinder

page_text: fitted with a piston, and by means of suitable pipes and passages I
connect this cylinder with the receiver before referred to. I also employ
a four-way cock having a long lever handle, by the movement of which
each end of the gun metal cylinder may be in turn put in communi-
cation with the receiver, while the opposite end of it is by the same
movement put into communication with the waste pipe leading into the
cistern which supplies water to the donkey pump, thus, at the will of the
operator who moves the handle, motion can be given to the piston in
either direction at a speed depending on the amount of opening in the
four-way.cock, and to a distance entirely at the will of the operator from
the fraction of an inch up to the entire stroke of the piston; now if the
gun metal cylinder before referred to be secured in a vertical position to
the lower part of the interior of the vessel and its piston rod be united
by means of a connecting rod to one side of the floor of a saloon, cabin,
or platform, whose axes of suspension are parallel with the vessel's keel,'
it follows that unless the piston moves within the cylinder the floor of
the saloon or cabin will have the same rolling motion as the vessel, and
no axial motion will in that case take place, but if the operator on
seeing the vessel risc on the side on which the cylinder is fastened causes
the piston to descend in the cylinder, he may maintain the floor in a
horizontal position notwithstanding the movement of the vessel, and
when the reverse action of the vessel takes place the reversal of his
handle will allow the piston to move back again into its former position,
and still retain the horizontal position of the floor, he will thus continue
to move his handle as required in a manner similar to that by which a
workman controls the motion of a steam hammer, and also in a manner
similar to that in which I have employed hydrostatic force acting on
a piston to give motion to the Bessemer steel converting vessels on
their axes.
In some cases I prefer to transmit the force necessary to retain the
floors horizontal not directly to the floor itself, but to a lever or arm
projecting from the axis of the saloon or cabin, in which case the
hydrostatic cylinder need not be fixed vertically, because the lever may
be keyed on to the axis in any convenient position. I also prefer to
mount the hydrostatic cylinder on hollow trunnions, and to connect the

page_text: double beat or equilibrium valves in lieu of the four-way cock, and to
thus give to the operator a greater command over the apparatus. The
arrangement may be simplified and rendered more equable by making
the piston rod of such a diameter that its area is equal to one-half of the
area of the cylinder, and allowing the piston on the rod side to be con-
tinuously in connection with the receiver, the valves communicating
only between the piston on its largest side and the receiver and with the
waste water cistern. When controling the motion of saloons, cabins,
floors, or platforms by steam or other equivalent mechanical force I
prefer to balance the weight of them and their load as near as may be by
means of a weight or weights, which may be made adjustable by a screw
or other equivalent means, and by it be brought nearer to or further
from the axis, so that the saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms when in
use may be in a state of equilebrium, although a gravitating pre-
ponderence may be given to them if desired. In some cases I make the
saloons or cabins with a false floor of a somewhat elastic character, and
separated from the more rigid floor beneath them by a sort of cushion of
vulcanised rubber, solid or inflated, or by other more or less resilient
or elastic matter for the purpose of preventing the transmission of the
sharp vibratory motion produced by the propeller or engines; or in lieu of
elastic floor or elastic covering to the floor I employ bow or other springs
interposed between the saloon cabin floor or platform and the axis on
which it moves, or I apply the springs to the blocks or bearings in which
the axes move as springs are applied to the axes of railway carriages,
and where the saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms are of considerable
length I support them at intermediate points as well as at their ends,
and I employ when necessary more than one hydrostatic cylinder, and in
all cases where it is not desirable to construct vessels of sufficient length
to render the pitching motion of the vessel of little importance I employ
two sets of axes, at right angles to each other, in such a way that the
motion of pitching as well as the rolling motion of the vessel may be
counteracted by the mechanical force directed and controlled in the
manner before described, two separate hydrostatic cylinders being
employed, each under the management of its own operator. When thus
providing against the pitching as well as the rolling motion of the vessel
one of the hydrostatic apparatus only will be in immediate connection
with the vessel, the other being attached to the floor or to some other
part of the moveable apparatus, and in any case where it may be desired
to work the hydrostatic apparatus from the interior of the saloon or

page_text: cabin or upon the floor or platform I convey the water under pressure to
the hydrostatic cylinder, and the waste water away from it through
passages formed in the axes of the saloons or cabins or through jointed
pipes, and I attach the cylinder at the trunnion end of it to the floor or
platform, and the piston rod by a suitable joint to some fixed point in
the interior of the vessel, thus inverting the cylinder and facilitating
the connection of the water pipes with it.
It will be readily understood that the motive power of a steam engine
or other source of power may be directed and applied to control the
movements of saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms on board vessels by
other means than through the agency of hydrostatic pressure, thus
steam may be employed in the gun metal cylinder before described, but
its elasticity will prevent it from so completely governing the motion of
the piston as would result from the employment of water or other
non-clastic fluid. So also it will be obvious that steam power may bo
employed for the purposes of my Invention by means of an arrangement
of valves and reversing gear similar to what is known as a winding engine
acting on a rack or screw, and to thus govern the motion of the saloons,
cabins, floors, or platforms, an arrangement of the steam engine, such as is
employed in steam cranes acting on gearing or on a worm wheel, may in
like manner be employed with more or less advantage, but I believe that
my Invention may be more readily carried into operation by the employ-
ment of hydrostatic pressure as herein firstly described, and in order that
the men who control the motion of the saloons, cabins, floors, or
platforms may be enabled to keep them horizontal I employ a glass tube
spirit level, and so placed as to be under the eye of the operator, whose
duty it will be to so work the handle of the apparatus as to keep the air
bubble in the middle of the tube as far as he is able to do so, and thus
ensure the horizontal position of the floors; and in order that he may
have the most rapid and complete control over the apparatus I prefer
to provide two pairs of equilibrium valves with sharp or knife edges
made of steel or bell metal, and shutting down on to a softer metal, one
set of valves opening upward for the supply and the other downward for
the escape of water, the lever handle being so adjusted as to open one
immediately on closing the other. The valves I prefer also to be in as
perfect a state of equilibrium as possible and closing with a regulated
spring pressure, so that they will move with great case, and produce by
a small movement of the handle an instantaneous motion of the piston

page_text: and consequently of the relative position of the saloons or cabins in
reference to the vessel.
In thus using motive power instead of the force of gravitation to
control the motion of saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms on board steam
or saling vessels, I am enabled to use a vessel having a much less
draught of water than can be suitably employed when a heavy counter-
balance weight is suspended below the axes; and it also becomes less
important to make the axes of support coincident with the centre about
which the vessel moves, thus enabling me more readily to extend the
size or to increase the number of saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms in
the vessel.
In place of controlling the apparatus by manual dexterity self-acting
controlling apparatus may be applied, but it appears to me that a
complication would thereby be introduced without an adequate object.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 1
filed by the said Henry Bessemer in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BESSEMER, of Queen Street Place, Cannon Street, in the City of London,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Henry Bessemer, Her special licence that I, the
said Henry Bessemer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Henry Bessemer, 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 a
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM VESSELS AND SAILING
VESSELS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED ON BOARD SUCH VESSELS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LESSENING THE

page_text: MOTION OF CERTAIN PARTS THEREOF, AND FOR LESSENING OR PREVENTING SEA
SICKNESS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I; the said Henry
Bessemer, 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.

page_text: self-acting mechanism in lieu of employing the gravitating action of a
suspended weight.
In carrying my said Invention into practical operation I prefer to
convey or transmit (in the direction required) the mechanical force
exerted by a steam engine by means of hydrostatic pressure acting on
pistons or plungers, and thus by the employment of a non-elastic fluid
to govern with greater ease the amount of motion desired to be trans-
mitted. For this purpose I prefer to employ a "donkey engine," or
pumping engine constructed on the general principle of a "steam fire
engine," by means of which water may be continuously forced into an
air vessel or receiver under a pressure varying from 100 to 400 lbs. per
square inch, more or less, as may be desired, and from which receiver all
superfluous quantity of water may be allowed to escape under a regulated
pressure. I also employ by preference a gun metal cylinder fitted with
a piston, and by means of suitable pipes and passages I connect this
cylinder with the receiver before referred to. I also employ a four-way
cock having a long lever handle, by the movement of which each end of
the gun metal cylinder may be in turn put in communication with the
receiver, while the opposite end of it is by the same movement put into
communication with the waste pipe leading into the cistern which
supplies water to the donkey pump. Thus at the will of the operator
who moves the handle motion can be given to the piston in either
direction at a speed depending on the amount of opening in the four-way
cock, and to a distance entirely at the will of the operator from the
fraction of an inch up to the entire stroke of the piston. Now if the
gun metal cylinder before referred to be secured in a vertical position to
the lower part of the interior of the vessel, and its piston rod be united
by means of a connecting rod to one side of the floor of a saloon, cabin,
or platform, whose axes of suspension are parallel with the vessel's keel,
it follows that unless the piston moves within the cylinder the floor of
the saloon or cabin will have the same rolling motion as the vessel, and
no axial motion will in that case take place, but if the operator on seeing
the vessel rise on the sido on which the cylinder is fastened causes the
piston to descend in the cylinder he may maintain the floor in a hori-
zontal position notwithstanding the movement of the vessel, and when
the reverse action of the vessel takes place the reversal of his handle will
allow the piston to move back again into its former position, and still
retain the horizontal position of the floor. He will thus continue to

page_text: move his handle as required in a manner similar to that by which a
workman controls the motion of a steam hammer, and also in a manner
similar to that in which I have employed hydrostatic force acting on a
piston to give motion to the Bessemer steel converting vessels on
their axes.
In some cases I prefer to transmit the force necessary to retain the
floors horizontal, not directly to the floor itself but to a lever or arm
projecting from the axis of the saloon or cabin, in which case the
hydrostatic cylinder need not be fixed vertically because the lever may
be keyed on to the axis in any convenient position. I also prefer to
mount the hydrostatic cylinder on hollow trunnions, and to connect the
piston rod direct to the floor beams or to the lever or arm before
described, thus dispensing with the connecting rod and guides, and in
all cases where the apparatus is large and powerful I prefer to employ
double beat or equilibrium valves in lieu of the four-way cock, and to
thus give to the operator a greater command over the apparatus. The
arrangement may be simplified and rendered more equable by making
the piston rod of such a diameter that its arca is equal to one-half
of the area of the cylinder, and allowing the piston on the rod side
to be continuously in connection with the receiver, the valves com-
municating only between the piston on its largest side and the receiver
and with the waste water cistern. When thus controlling the motion of
saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms, by steam or other equivalent
mechanical force, I prefer to balance the weight of them and their load
as near as may be by means of a weight or weights, which may be made
adjustable by a screw or other equivalent means, and by it be brought
nearer to or further from the axis, so that the saloons, cabins, floors, or
platforms when in use may be in a state of equilibrium although a
gravitating preponderance may be given to them if desired.
Although I have herein-before described the employment of a four-way
cock for communicating with both ends of the pressure cylinder, and
also the use of a connecting rod intermediate between the hydrostatic
plunger and the saloon or other part to be moved, I nevertheless
consider it more simple and beneficial to dispense with the use of such
connecting rod, and also to employ equilibrium valves in lieu of the
four-way cock both in large and small apparatus, I have therefore given
illustrations of this mode of working my Invention on the Sheets of
Drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: The hydrostatic apparatus is represented on Sheet A, Figure 4 being
a vertical section, Figure 5 an elevation, and Figure 6 a cross section of
the hydrostatic cylinder; Figure 7 is a vertical section, taken through
the inlet equilibrium valve, and shown on a larger scale. a is a gun-
metal cylinder, having hollow trunnions supported in the plummer
blocks b, b; there are glands and stuffing boxes c, c, into which the
fixed pipes d and e enter, so as to establish a communication at all times
with the cylinder a, which is thus left free to oscillate as required. fis
a stout piston rod, the area of its cross section being equal to one half
the area of the cylinder a; a piston f* is fixed to the rod and packed
with metallic rings or hydraulic cup leathers. The upper end of the
rod fis firmly keyed into the cross head g, the ends of which have
journals working in the plummer blocks h, h, so that if the plummer.
blocks h, h, are fixed to the sides or other stationary parts of the ship,
and the plummer blocks b, b, are bolted to the moveable cabin floor or
platform, the fixed and moveable parts will be drawn nearer to or
pushed further from each other whenever the piston f* moves along the
cylinder a. The oscillation of the cylinder on its trunnions and the
piston rod also accelerating with its cross head, will admit of the motion
of the cabin on its axes without any intervening connecting rod. i is a
standard, on which the inlet and outlet valves are supported; a passage
is formed in it, and leads from the valve boxes j and k to the pipe e, and
through it to the cylinder a. The inlet valve box j has an inner
chamber 1, in which there are two openings m and n; around the upper
angle of these openings a ring of copper o is inserted (see Figure 7) for
the knife edge of the valves p, p, to shut down upon. The valves are
carried by a spindle q, both ends of which pass outward through stuffing
boxes formed in the valve box covers j*.
a collar upon it, on which a spiral spring
spring resting against the arched piece r.
a joint t, and has a projection on it at u, on which the spindle 7 rests,
the lower part of the picce u also being in contact with the spindle v of
the lower outlet valves w. The arrangements of the lower or outlet
valve box is in all respects similar to the upper or inlet valve box,
except that the valves open downward instead of upwards as in the
former case.
2x
The upper part of the rod has
presses, the upper end of the
A lever handle 8 is hung on

page_text: and upward through a passage a* cast on the cylinder a to the upper
end of the cylinder above the piston f*; this communication is per-
manently open.
Water from the same pressure vessel is also admitted by the pipe x to
the inlet valve box j. By lifting the handles and the spindle q the
valves p, p, will be opened, and the water will pass through the
openings m and n into the space l, and passing thence through the
passage i* and pipe e will enter the lower part of the cylinder and force
up the piston f*. The lowering of the handle s into the position shown
will again close the valves, and prevent any further movement of the
piston. If the handles be still further lowered it will force down the
spindle and open the lower or outlet valves, and allow the water to
escape by the pipe y. The pressure remaining still on the upper side of
the piston f*, it will be forced downwards so long as the outlet valves
are left open. The effective force will be equal in whichever way the
motion takes place, whether up or down, the pressure in the large or
under side of the piston having to drive the water from above back into
the pressure vessel. The piston is always thus held firmly between two
opposing forces, either of which is made superior at the will of the
operator, who requires to exert but a very small amount of force on the
handle to lift the valves, which owing to their pressing with a knife edge
only on their scats can be made to almost perfectly balance cach other.
The extremely small space through which such valves require to be
moved further assists the operator, and gives him most perfect control of
the motion of the piston; he can give it a rapid movement or a scarcely
perceptible motion at will. In applying such apparatus to control the
motion of cabins, floors, or platforms on board steam or sailing vessels it
will be understood that the size and proportions of the apparatus may be
considerably varied, and also that its position may be horizontal,
vertical, or inclined, as may be desired, the piston and cylinder being
connected in each case the one with a fixed part of the structure, and
the other to the moveable or suspended part, so that their relative
positions may be from time to time controlled by the movement of the
piston in the cylinder.
The size of the hydrostatic cylinder should, however, in all cases be
such as to give full control of the saloon cabin floor or platform even

page_text: If the saloon cabin floor or platform be itself accurately balanced the
power required will not greatly exceed that necessary to control the load
with which such saloon cabin floor or platform may be weighted.
Figure 1, Sheet A, shews the apparatus applied to the saloons or
cabins of a steam or sailing vessel. This figure represents a longitudinal
vertical section taken through a saloon and cabin suspended on axes in
a line with the kecl, and intended to counteract only the rolling motion
of the vessel, and which arrangement is more especially adapted to
vessels of great length, where the pitching motion is but little felt in or
near the centre of the vessel's length, where I prefer to suspend all such
structures. Figure 2 is a vertical cross section on the line A, B, of
Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an end view of the cabin shewing part of
the supporting frame in section. A is the outer shell of the vessel
strengthened at the part where the saloon and cabins are situated by
long box girders C, which extend beyond and arc fastened to the hulk-
heads D and E, which enclose the space in which the cabins are
suspended. The cabin floor is supported on three main box girders F
and G; the central one F is carried up at each end, and is provided with
crank pins or axes H, H, which rest in suitable bearings formed in the
bulkheads D and E. The cabin and saloon are also divided by a double
partition I, having doors at J to communicate with each other. Between
the double partition is a strong frame K, secured at its lower end to the
floor of the vessel, and formed at its upper end into a plummer block
supporting a short axis L, which is fastened to the partitions I. This
axis is coincident with the crank pins or axes H, H, and shows how
separate saloons or cabins may be supported when of considerable
length. The hydrostatic cylinder employed to govern the motion of the
saloon and cabin is attached to a strong framework M, which unites the
ends of the girders F and G. The cylinder a is inverted, and the cross-
head of the piston rod f is secured by plummer blocks to the floor
beams N of the vessel. The valves are placed on a staging at P, on
which the operator stands; he will have before him a spirit level
attached to the saloon, and whenever he sees a tendency in the saloon
to move out of level he will counteract that tendency by lengthening
or shortening the distance between the trunnions of the cylinder and
the axis of the cross head by causing water to enter or escape from the
cylinder, and thus by a powerful though casily controlled force he will
keep the floor of the saloon or cabin always horizontal, as indicated by
the spirit level.

page_text: Cabins and saloons so constructed may be approached from the upper
deck by stairs, as shewn at Q, having a landing immediately above the
axis. The roof of such cabins or saloons may also be provided with a
promenade deck Z, so that passengers may enjoy the open air when they
desire. The ascent to this deck is by stairs in any convenient part of
the saloon. The division of the space into separate cabins and galleries
will in all cases depend on the requirements of the service.
I have also given at Figure 8 on Sheet A a portion of the cross
section of a vessel in order to show the application of steady or horizontal
platforms to the support of guns and gun carriages in vessels of war.
R is a strong oak frame attached by massive hinged joints S to the side
of the vessel. On this frame the gun carriage X is placed with its usual
slides and other apparatus. Jointed to the under side of the platform
is the piston rod f of the hydraulic apparatus. The cylinder a is
mounted on trunnions moving in plummer blocks V attached to the floor
of the vessel. W represents the equilibrium valves under the control
of the operator, whose duty it would be to maintain the platform on
which the gun carriage rests in a horizontal position. In this case it
will be necessary only to connect the lower side of the piston with the
pressure vessel, the weight of the gun giving the return stroke.
In some cases I make the saloons or cabins with a false floor of a
somewhat elastic character, and separated from the more rigid floor
beneath them by a sort of cushion of vulcanized india-rubber, solid or
inflated, or by other more or less resilient or elastic matter, for the
purpose of preventing the transmission of the shaft vibratory motion
produced by the propeller or engines; or in lieu of an elastic floor or
clastic covering to the floor I employ bow or other springs interposed
between the saloon, cabin, floor, or platform and the axis on which it
moves; or I apply the springs to the blocks or bearings in which the
axes move as springs are applied to the axles of railway carriages.
Where the saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms are of considerable length
I support them at intermediate points as well as at their ends as
herein-before described, and I employ when necessary more than onc
hydrostatic cylinder to govern or control the suspended saloons or
structures, placing them by preference near to cach axis; and in some
cases I employ one or more hydraulic apparatus at or near the central
part of the suspended structure. The whole may be worked by pipes in
connection with the same valve apparatus.

page_text: In all cases where it is not desirable to construct vessels of sufficient
length to render the pitching motion of the vessel of little importance I
employ two sets of axes at right angles to each other in such a way
that the motion of pitching as well as the rolling motion of the vessel
may be counteracted by the mechanical force directed and controlled,
either by manual dexterity or by automatic apparatus; I then employ
two separate hydrostatic cylinders, each under the management of its
own operator or each actuated by the same self-acting apparatus.
When thus providing against the pitching as well as the rolling motion
of the vessel one of the hydrostatic apparatus only will be in immediate
connection with the vessel, the other being attached to the floor or to
some other part of the moveable apparatus, and in any case where it
may be desired to work the hydrostatic apparatus from the interior
of the saloon or cabin, or upon the floor or platform I convey the
water under pressure to the hydrostatic cylinder, and the waste water
away from it through passages formed in the axes of the saloons or
cabins, or through jointed pipes and I attach the cylinder at the trunnion
end of it to the floor or platform, and the piston rod by a suitable joint
to some fixed point in the interior of the vessel, thus inverting the
cylinder and facilitating the connection of the water pipes with it.
It will be readily understood that the motive power of a steam engine
or other source of power may be directed and applied to control the
movements of saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms on board vessels by
other means than through the agency of hydrostatic pressure. Thus
steam may be employed in the gun-metal cylinder before described, but
its elasticity will prevent it from so completely governing the motion of
the piston as would result from the employment of water or other non-
elastic fluid. So also it will be obvious that a steam engine may be
employed for the purposes of my Invention by means of an arrangement
of valves and reversing gear similar to what is known as a winding
engine acting on a rack or screw, and thus governing the motion of the
saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms. An arrangement of the steam
engine, such as is employed in steam cranes acting on gearing or on a
worm wheel may in like manner be employed with more or less
advantage, but I believe that my Invention may be most readily carried
into operation by the employment of hydrostatic pressure, as herein
firstly described, and in order that the men who control the motion of
the saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms may be enabled to keep them

page_text: horizontal I employ a glass tube spirit level so placed as to be under
the eye of the operator, whose duty it will be to so work the handle of
the apparatus as to keep the air bubble in the middle of the tube as far
as he is able to do so, and thus ensure the horizontal position of the
floor or structure, and in order that he may have the most rapid and
complete control over the apparatus I prefer as I have already shown to
provide two pairs of equilibrium valves with sharp or knife edges made
of steel or bell metal and shutting down on to a softer metal, one set of
valves opening upward for the supply and the other downward for the
escape of water, the lever handle being so adjusted as to open one
immediately on closing the other. The valves I prefer also to be in as
perfect a state of equilibrium as possible and closing with a regulated
spring pressure so that they will move with great case and produce by
a small movement of the handle an instantaneous motion of the piston,
and consequently a corresponding change in the relativo positions of
the saloons or cabins and the vessel. In thus using motive power
instead of the force of gravitation to control the motion of saloons,
cabins, floors, or platforms on board steam or sailing vessels I am
enabled to use a vessel having a much less draught of water than can
be suitably employed when a heavy counterbalance weight is suspended
below the axes, and it also becomes less important to make the axes
of support coincident with the centre about which the vessel moves,
thus enabling me more readily to extend the size or to increase the
number of saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms in the vessel.
In order that the way in which I prefer to control the motions of
saloons or cabins suspended on two sets of axes at right angles to cach
other by means of hydrostatic apparatus may be more fully understood
I have represented the same on Sheet B of the Drawings annexed,
where Figure 1 is a vertical cross section taken through the vessel and
saloon.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through part of the vessel,
and also through the saloon and stairs leading thereto, and Figure 3 is a
sectional plan of the trunnion ring and cone by which the saloon is
suspended, a is the outer skin or plating of the vessel, strengthened by
angle ribs in the usual way; b is a massive box girder running
lengthwise of the vessel, and giving stiffness to that part of the structure
where the opening is made to receive the circular saloon, this opening
being further strengthened by the flanged bulwark c, which surrounds

page_text: the saloon to a height equal to that of the bulwarks c* leaving a
gangway between them, so as to give free access on deck from one end
of the vessel to the other. A strong floor d is laid above the keel plate e
and supports a massive frame or standard f constructed either of rivetted
plates or formed by casting, as shown. At 9 there is a double plated bulk-
head extending across the vessel and serving as a support to the axis h
of the hollow cranked girder i, this crank is also provided with a pin or
axis j, which rests in the plummer block f* formed on the top of the
standard f. At the upper end of the cranked girder there is formed
two curved arms * which project on either side from it and their ends
are formed into trunnions entering bearings or holes bored in the massive
steel hoop m. The positions of the curved arms are best seen in
Figure 3, one of the arm i* is shown cut off, and in section at ¿* in
Figure 2. The steel hoop m is firmly rivetted into a strong plate iron
cone n which passes through the floor / which is double plated having
webs and angles between them, so as to give great stiffness thereto. It
will thus be seen that any motion of the cranked girder i on its axes /
and will cause the saloon floor to partake of that motion, and thus be
enabled to counteract the rolling motion of the vessel while the axes
formed on the ends of the arms admit of motion at right angles
thereto, and thus may be made to neutralize the pitching motion of the
vessel. For this latter purpose I fit the hydraulic cylinder A in between
the plated sides of the crank girder ; this cylinder has motion on its
trunnions A*, the piston rod B has a cross head as before described, the
journals of which work in bearings formed in the lower end of two strong
frames of cast or wrought iron C. These frames are securely bolted to
the floor beams & so that any motion of the piston B will move the
saloon on its axes in the hoop m. A portion of the upper plating of the
crank i is cut away as shown to allow free motion to the frames C, and
the cylinder and piston A, B, in between the side plates of the crank i.
Two plummer blocks D, D, are bolted on to the crank i and support the
trunnions E, E, of the hydraulic cylinder H in which a piston rod G
moves; the outer end of this rod has a cross head and journals which work
in plummer blocks I bolted to the framing K, which is also securely
bolted to the sides of the vessel, so that the movement in or out of the
piston rod G will cause the saloon to move on its axes j and h and thus
counteract the rolling motion of the vessel.
A separate valve arrangement such as that before described and
represented at Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 Sheet A is provided for each of the

page_text: hydraulic cylinders and is placed on a staging p projecting from each
side of the crank i, sufficient space being left on each side of the crank
for the men to stand who operate with them. One of these valve
apparatus is shown at L, Figure 2, Sheet B, but in this view it prevents
the second one from being seen.
The apparatus so arranged will allow one of the operators to prevent
the pitching motion of the vessel from being transmitted to the saloon
while the other operator will in like manner control the tendency of
the saloon to roll. Two spirit levels will enable them to see that the
floor of the saloon is constantly kept as near as may be horizontal, and
thus lessen or entirely prevent sea sickness arising from the motion of
the vessel. In the Drawings annexed I have not shown any counter-
balance weights, which may, however, preferably be employed to the
extent of balancing all weight above the centre of motion; they should
be placed as much below the floor of the saloon as the motions of the
several parts will admit of and thus lessen the amount of work to be
done by the hydraulic apparatus. It will be understood that in
controlling the motion of saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms, by the
application of motive power, as herein described, great freedom is
allowed for the movement of passengers who may move from side to
side in any numbers without throwing the saloon floor out of level as
would be the case in suspended saloons acting by gravity only.
The circular saloon shown on Sheet B may be made with an upper
floor surrounded by a railing 8, and forming an open air promenade
deck, accessible by a central spiral stair, not shown. Windows for light
and ventilation are formed at t all around the upper part of the saloon,
and a continuous sofa is formed around the lower part, beneath which
a circular box girder u is formed secured to the floor beams and sup-
porting the thin metal shell of the saloon. At a lobby projects
forward into the saloon with a door to separate it from the floor or
passage which leads to the stairs y, by which the upper or ordinary
deck of the vessel is made to communicate with the saloon. The floor a
consists of several long bars or rods jointed to the saloon floor by an
universal or toggle joint at one end and at the other resting on a grooved
roller z; these bars are crossed by thin elastic boards, which are covered
by a thick sheet of vulcanized rubber, so that the floor is elastic and
can so move beneath the lower step y* as to compensate for the approach

page_text: .
or recession of the stairs to or from the saloon as the vessel pitches.
The bars forming the floor slowly moving in the grooves of the rollers,
and rising, falling, and twisting at one end, so as to accommodate
themselves to the altered position of the saloon and stairs with reference
to each other. Thus, if we suppose the vessel to be rolling and pitching
and the saloon to remain at rest a passenger descending the stairs y
from the ship's deck will find the rolling motion diminish as he
descends to the centre, about which the rolling motion takes place, and
as he advances along the floor x towards the saloon he will find the
motion to which he is subjected gradually diminish until he arrives at
the quiet level floor of the saloon, where all rolling and pitching motion
ceases. In like manner in ascending to the deck the
will
passenger
find on leaving the saloon that motion commences with his first step
along the floor x and increases until the maximum of rolling and
pitching motion is attained on the vessel's deck. It will be seen that ]
the sides of the floor are protected by light iron standards having
ropes passing through their upper ends.
In place of controlling the apparatus by manual dexterity self-acting
controlling apparatus may be applied, but it appears to me that a
complication would thereby be introduced and possibly without an a
adequate object.
Nevertheless, should it be preferred to dispense with manual dexterity
and render the hydraulic apparatus self-acting the valves for the
admission of water to the cylinder and the escape therefrom may be
actuated by the tendency of a pendulous body to gravitate, and thus
act as a lever to open the valves, but in order to render such apparatus
sufficiently sensitive to act at once on the apparatus it is desirable to
divest its working parts as far as practicable from all unnecessary
friction, and at the same time prevent the tendency which free pen-
dulums have to generate oscillations when their centres of vibration are
not perfectly quiet.
For this purpose I employ an upright cylindrical iron box, as repre-
sented in vertical section at Figure 4 on Sheet B of the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
The box A is divided by partitions into four separate chambers B, C,
D, and E. In the chamber B is a valve box F having a pair of equi-
librium valves mounted on a spindle G, and generally constructed after

page_text: the manner herein-before described; there is a small opening in the
partition which separates the chambers B and D, through which the
pendulum rod H passes, and is there supported on knife-edged trunnions.
A small lever I projects from the upper end of the pendulum and almost
touches the lower end of the valve spindle G. Water under pressure is
admitted at the opening J, and entirely occupies the chambers B and D,
having access to the latter through the opening in the partition through
which the pendulum rod passes. The water in this chamber while it
does not prevent the gravitating action of the pendulum K checks that
tendency to set up useless oscillations before referred to, the chamber D
being entirely filled with and almost entirely closed the water therein
will not have such motion as will disturb the action of the pendulum.
Its range is also controlled by a pin projecting from its lower side,
moving in a slot in the plate M.
By thus placing the valve box inside the chamber B I am enabled to
dispense with stuffing boxes at each end of the valve spindle, and thus
render the valves very sensitive, at the same time it will be observed
that the pendulum rod passes freely through the opening leading from
the chamber D into the chamber B, and hence can act direct on the
valve spindle also without the friction of a stuffing box.
It will also be understood that the valves in the chamber C and the
pendulum N are constructed in the same manner as those already
described, the chamber C being provided with an opening at P for the
escape
of water therefrom.
This apparatus may be placed on the floor of the saloon or cabin to
be controlled or be placed external to it at any convenient part, care
being taken that the height of the centre of the vessel's motion shall
coincide as near as may be with the axes of the pendulums, the smallest
movement of the floor of the cabin out of the true horizontal plane will
cause the pendulums to act on the valves, and either convey water under
pressure through the pipe or to the hydraulic cylinder, or allow water to
return therefrom through the pipe R pass the valves and out of the
opening P, and thus control the motion of the saloon or cabin, in the
manner herein-before described, where the valves are worked by hand.
I would remark that in the Specification of a former Patent granted
to me and dated the 27th day of May in the present year, No. 1539, I have
described controlling saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms, by means of a

page_text: blade or plane in the water external to the ship or vessel, such blade or
plane being arranged so that it can be inclined more or less at pleasure
to the line of the ship or vessel's keel.
This arrangement, however, differs from my present improvements in
that the controlling power is there derived through the resistance of
the water exterior to the ship or vessel, whereas according to my present
Invention the controlling apparatus is contained within the ship or vessel,
and the power is not derived through external resistance.
Having thus described my Invention, and the manner in which the
same may be carried into practical operation, I desire it to be understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details hercin given provided
the peculiar character of my Invention be retained; but what I do
claim as my Invention of improvements in steam vessels and sailing
vessels, and in the construction and mode of working of machinery or
apparatus employed on board such vessels for the purpose of lessening
the motion of certain parts thereof, and for lessening or preventing sea
sickness, is,
-
First. The construction of steam vessels and sailing vessels in such
manner that sea sickness may be prevented or lessened by controlling
the motion of the saloons, cabins, floors, or platforms by the agency of
motive power acting on and governing the position of such saloons,
cabins, floors, and platforms, substantially as described.
Second. The construction of steam and sailing vessels with saloons,
cabins, floors, or platforms controlled by motive power transmitted by
means of water or other liquid under pressure, substantially as
described.
Third. The arrangement of valves and hydraulic apparatus, sub-
stantially as represented at Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, on Sheet A of the
annexed Drawings.
Fourth. The combination within a steam vessel or sailing vessel of a
suspended saloon, cabin, floor, or platform, with motive-power apparatus
and controlling apparatus governed by manual skill and dexterity,
substantially as described.
Fifth. The combination with a saloon, cabin, floor, or platform, on
board a steam vessel or a sailing vessel of self-acting or automatic
controling mechanism, substantially as described.

page_text: Sixth. The general combination and arrangement of apparatus, sub-
stantially as shown by the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Bessemer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.