IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAPPLING APPARATUS CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS
Year: 1871

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LETTERS PATENT to Fenner Ballou Taylor, of Vowler Street,
Walworth Road, in the County of Surrey, Civil and Mechanical
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAPPLING APPARATUS
CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS."
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PROVISIONAL: SPECIFICATION: left by the said Fenner, Ballou Taylor.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st December 1871.3 km
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I, FENNER BALLOU TAYLOR, of Vowler Street,.,Walworth Road, in,
the County of Surrey, Civil and Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare.
the nature of t
of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAPPLING
APPARATUS, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS," to be as follows:
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My said Invention relates to a novel apparatus in which flexibility!
and strength are so united that the said apparatus can be freely opened
and closed, but when properly adjusted upon any object or body to be

page_text: connected to the aforesaid transverse stay rods or bars. Within the said
arms are strong flat link chains or jointed bars which extend from the
aforesaid shoes to the toggle links or connections at the top of the
apparatus. These links are jointed at their outer ends to the said arms,
as above described, and at their inner ends they are jointed together and
to vertical links, to whose upper end the aforesaid' flat link chains or
jointed bars are connected. To this central joint are connected strong
chains or ropes for operating the apparatus and raising the same with its
load, and to the outside of the arms I attach light chains or ropes
whereby the apparatus is lowered or let down to the sunken ship.
"
When the apparatus is folded up or closed the aforesaid toggle joints
turn down between or within the upper part of the arms, and the latter
also turn or fold inward, but when the said apparatus is lowered by the
outside chains the weight of its parts, causes the arms to open and hang
in the proper position to drop over and take hold of the ship. Then by
means of windlasses or other suitable lifting apparatus on the floating
vessels the main or lifting chains are wound up.. As soon as the strain
is taken on these chains the said toggle links are drawn out and through
the chains connecting these toggle links to the shoes; the latter and the
arms are first closed around the ship and then the apparatus is raised
with the ship supported in the said arms..
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The whole of the parts of the apparatus are made of great strength.
The arms or outer frames are constructed of metal of such a sectional
form as will give the required strength with little weight of material,
and may be advantageously formed of wrought-iron tubes or double
angle iron. The shoes, toggle links, flat chains, and other parts, and
the bolts and connections are also made of metal of corresponding
strength.

page_text: SECPIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Fenner
Ballou Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th June 1872.
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TO ALL TO WHOM THESE-PRESENTS-SHALL COME, I, FENNER
BALLOU TAYLOR, of Vowler Street, Walworth-Road, in the County_of_
Surrey, Civil and Mechanical Engineer, send-greeting.
f
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her"
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc- 1
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Fenner Ballou Taylor,
Her special licence that I, the 'said Fenner Ballou Taylor, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Fenner Ballou Taylor, 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 GRAPPLING APPARATUS,
CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Fenner Ballou Taylor, my executors or admi-
nistrators, 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 2
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
-
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said "Fenner Ballou Taylor, 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 3
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification:**
My said Invention relates to a novel apparatus in which flexibility

page_text: :
and closed, but when properly adjusted upon any object or body to be
raised will hold the same securely and with a tenacity-proportioned to
the weight, and when lowered down to a ship or other body sunk or
submerged in deep water the said apparatus may be operated from
floating vessels or other supports above to embrace or enclose the said
ship or other body and bring the same to the surface. Moreover the
parts of the said apparatus are so placed and connected together and
adapted to resist the various strains to which they will be exposed tin
raising a ship or other heavy body that I am enabled to obtain the
required strength with the least weight of material.. I therefore reduce to
a minimum the. difficulty and expense of transporting, storing, - and
operating such apparatus.
The said apparatus with regard to its action and combined strength
and flexibility resembles to some extent the human hand; that is to
say,
the portions which grasp the ships or other objects open and close.
or fold up with an action similar to that of the thumb. and forefinger.
The power required for producing these motions is transmitted from the
point of suspension of the apparatus to these folding parts through the
medium of chains or other suitable connections. These chains or con-.
nections are so combined with the other parts of the apparatus as to,
impart to the same the required flexibility during its adjustment, but
this flexibility gives place to an unyielding rigidity as soon as the
apparatus takes the weight of the object or body to be raised.

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In-Figures-1,-2, and-3-the-said-apparatus-is-shown with two strong
jointed arms a of such a shape as to give the apparatus when unfolded
a polygonal form. These arms are connected by transverse stay rods or
bars b made in two parts united by strong bolts c. A series of boles is
made for these bolts, and by changing the bolts in their holes the bars
can be lengthened or shortened to adapt the apparatus to vessels of
various sizes; or I may unite the two parts of these bars by any other
joints which will permit the length of the said bars to be varied. The
upper links or rods a¹ of the arms a are connected by strong bolts or
pins to toggle linksd, and the other parts a², a³, of the said arms are
jointed together by similar bolts or pins a*. The lower parts as are
jointed to the shoes e, which are curved on the inner side, as shown, to suit
the shape of the ship's bottom. To strengthen the said arms without
adding greatly to their weight they are trussed on the inner side by rods'
or bars f, g, h, which meet at the points i, where they are connected to
the aforesaid transverse stay rods or bars 6 by suitable bolts or pins. The
shoes e are connected by strong flat link chains or jointed bars ; to the
bolts or pins at i, and the rods or bars f connect these bolts to the joints*
of, the toggle links or bars d'at the top of the apparatus. The said toggle
links are jointed at their outer ends, to the upper parts a¹ of the arms a,
as above described, and at their inner ends, they meet at k, and are
jointed together and 'to diagonal chains or bars ¹, which extend to the
points i, and are connected to the bolts or pins by which the aforesaid
chains or jointed bars 1, and the truss bars or rods are secured to the
transverse bars b. These bolts or pins form the fulcrums upon which
the arms a work in the adjustment of the apparatus, and limit the
movement of the said arms so that when closed they shall not compress
or squeeze the sides of the ship. To a bolt or pin at the central joint k
are connected strong chains or ropes / whereby the apparatus is operated.
to close the arms a upon the sunken ship or other body to be raised, and,
which sustain the entire weight of the load while the said ship or other
body is brought to the surface. To the outside of the arms I attach,
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page_text: light chains or ropes m, whereby.the apparatus is lowered or let down-to
the sunken ship or other body."
.
The whole of the parts of the apparatus are made of great strength.
It will be seen that the arms a form the "back bone" of the said
apparatus. They are preferably made of wrought-iron tubing, the ends
being flattened to allow the joints to be conveniently made. This tubular
construction of the arms renders them very strong with but little
weight. The shoes, toggle links, flat chains, and other parts, and the
bolts and connections are also made of metal of suitable strength, and of
the proper form to fit compactly together and, move without obstructing:
each other in the adjustment of the apparatus..
Any required number of the said apparatuses may be used together
according to the length or weight of the vessel or other object to be raised..
When not in use the apparatus may be folded up into a very small
space; the aforesaid toggle links d turn down between or within the'
upper part of the arms, and the lower parts of the said arms with the
shoes'e are also turned or folded inward, and if found necessary for con-
venience of stowage during transport the said shoes and other parts of
the apparatus may be readily disconnected by removing the joint pins or
bolts: When the said apparatus is in use it is suspended upon the light
chains m; as shown in Figure 1; the weight of its parts then causing the
arms to open and hang in the proper position to grasp any object over
which they may be placed. With the arms in this position the appa-
ratus is lowered upon the sunken ship. Then by means of windlasses.
or other suitable lifting appliances on the floating vessels from which
the apparatus is suspended the main or lifting chains are wound up'
and the chains m are slackened. As soon as the strain is taken on the'
chains the toggle links d are drawn up, as shown in Figure 2, and "the"
shoes and arms are first closed around the ship, and then the apparatus
is raised with the ship supported between the said arms and lying in the
said shoes as in a cradle.
My Invention may also be adapted to the construction of a convenient
apparatus for dredging, excavating, and other like operations. And
instead of having only two arms it may be constructed with three or
four arms operated by toggle joints or bars similar to those 'above

page_text: described. When constructed with four arms arranged to open and
close at right angles to each other it will form a very efficient implement
for obtaining sponge and coral, and collecting and raising other light
or small bodies from the bottom of seas, rivers, or other deep waters. -
The apparatus illustrated in Figures 4, 5, and 6-has-four-scoops-o-
instead of arms; and is chiefly designed for raising grain, coal, sand, and
other like substances. Its action is similar to that of the apparatus
above described. The four toggle links d are connected at the centre of
the apparatus to the eye or ring d', to which the strong chain 7 is
attached by the hook. A light-chain m is connected to each of the
scoops. The frame b¹ takes the' place of the bar. 6 shown in Figures 1
and 2. As shown in Figure 4 when the apparatus is open the toggle
links d drop down between the scoops and the diagonal chains, which
connect the said toggle links to the central portion of the scoops hang
loosely from their points of attachment. But when the apparatus is
closed, as shown in Figure 5, by means of the chain / the toggle.links are
straightened, and the diagonal chains are drawn tight, the scoops
being thereby securely closed and holding the, coal, grain, or other
substance safely while the apparatus is raised by the said chain as herein-
before described.
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page_text: with scoops in combination with the toggle links and lowering and
raising chains, as herein set forth for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Fenner Ballou Taylor, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of June in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.
Witness,
W. ROBT. LAKE,
Patent Agent,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
F. B. TAYLOR. (L.S.)