IMPROVED MEANS OR APPLIANCES FOR PREVENTING SHIPS OR VESSELS PROM FOUN PROVISIONAL FROM FOUNDERING BY IMPARTING ADDITIONAL BUOYANCY THERETO
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Eugene Thibault, of Brydges Street, Covent
Garden, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
MEANS OR APPLIANCES FOR PREVENTING SHIPS OR VESSELS PROM FOUN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Eugene Thibault.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th September 1866.
I, JOSEPH EUGENE THIBAULT, of Brydges Street, Covent Garden, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention:
for "IMPROVED MEANS OR APPLIANCES FOR PREVENTING SHIPS OR VESSELS FROM
FOUNDERING BY IMPARTING ADDITIONAL BUOYANCY THERETO:"-
This Invention has for its object improved means or appliances for imparting'
additional buoyancy to ships or vessels in case of necessity when at sea, in
order to prevent them from sinking or foundering, whereby the lives of the
passengers or crews may be preserved; for this purpose I construct each'
berth
or sleeping compartment (when closed, as herein-after described),

page_text: so that they may become perfectly water-tight compartments, being con
structed or lined with suitable materials in order to render them water-tight
when closed by a door or shutter; this door or shutter I prefer to arrange at
the back or bottom of each berth or compartment, so that in case of necessity
when the ship or vessel is in danger the contents of the "berth" or com-
partment can be removed, and the door or shutter may then be raised or
drawn out towards the front of the berth or compartment where it is securely
fixed by suitable fastenings, so as to convert the berth or compartment so
closed up into a water-tight compartment. The edges of the door or shutter
are formed with a fillet or rib, which enters corresponding grooves around the
projecting edge or framing of the berth to form a perfectly water-tight joint;
or other convenient means may be employed for forming the joint to close the
entrance to the berth or compartment. The means of securing the door or
shutter I prefer to arrange in combination therewith, or to permanently attach
the same to each berth or compartment, so that the door or shutter may be
readily secured when required. A pump or pumps may be arranged in
combination with the series of berths or compartments for the purpose of
withdrawing the water therefrom in case it gains access thereto; an air pipe
or pipes being also arranged for the admission of air from above as the water
is withdrawn. The cupboards, fittings, or other receptacles, or the separate
cabins may in like manner be constructed and arranged so as to form water-
tight compartments when necessity requires that great additional buoyancy
should be imparted to the hull of a ship or vessel to prevent it from foundering.
The spaces beneath the tables or other articles of furniture, and underneath
the fixed seats, may also be so constructed as to be readily closed up, as pre-
viously described, to convert the same into water-tight compartments when
required. For the stuffing of the seats I prefer to employ granulated cork to
as great an extent as may be found convenient, or they may be of india-
rubber inflated or capable of being inflated with air, as is well understood, to
afford additional buoyancy in case of need.
Where considerable additional buoyancy may be required I arrange perma-
nently elastic hollow surfaces, which may be arranged to lie flat against the roof
of the cabin, or be fixed in any other convenient position so as to take up
but little space when out of use, but when great additional buoyancy is
required then such air vessels may be inflated by means of a pump or
otherwise, as may be found most convenient.
Cases, casks, or other vessels employed for containing ships' stores, mer-
chandise, passengers' luggage, or for other purposes may likewise be con-

page_text: structed, as previously described, so as to be readily converted into water-tight
chambers to contain air when required to impart additional buoyancy to the
ship or vessel. The amount of additional buoyancy which should be available
for a ship or vessel in case of necessity will depend in a great measure upon
the nature of the freight the vessel is intended to carry; but for passenger
ships every cubic foot of space should be utilized to which it is possible. to
apply my improvements for the purpose of rendering the ship unsinkable, and
at the same time as buoyant as possible should the water gain access to the
interior of the vessel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Eugene Thibault in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
EUGENE THIBAULT, of Brydges Street, Covent Garden, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Eugene Thibault, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph
Eugene Thibault, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Joseph Eugene Thibault, 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 "IMPROVED MEANS OR APPLIANCES FOR PREVENTING SHIPS OR
VESSELS FROM FOUNDERING BY IMPARTING ADDITIONAL BUOYANCY THERETO," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Eugene Thibault, 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: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Eugene Thibault, 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:
This Invention has for its object improved means or appliances for im-
parting additional buoyancy to ships or vessels in case of necessity when at sea,
in order to prevent them from sinking or foundering, whereby the lives of the
passengers and crew may be preserved. For this purpose, according to one
part of my improvements I construct each berth or sleeping compartment so
that when closed (as herein-after described) the whole of them may be readily
converted into separate water-tight compartments containing atmospheric air
in order to impart great additional buoyancy to the vessel should there be any
danger of the vessel foundering at sea, thus affording increased security for
preserving the lives of the passengers and crew.
And in order that this part of my improvements may be most clearly under-
stood and readily carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a front view, and Figures 2 and 3 transverse sections of a
series of "berths" constructed and arranged according to my Invention with
air inlet pipes or passages to admit air to the berths from above, and outlet
pipes or passages for withdrawing or discharging the water from the berths
should it gain access thereto. Each of the berths a, a, are so constructed
that they may be converted into separate water-tight compartments should:
necessity require means of the doors a¹, a', which when let down close the:
entrance to each berth, as shewn at a*, Figure 3, each door being securely
held by means of turn buttons, such as shewn at Figure 4, or by other
suitable fastenings. The turn button or fastening shown at Figure 4 is fixed
to the door by the adjustable screw pin (1), on which it turns, and by turning
the screw (2) the button acts as a lever clamp to draw the door a¹ close against
the inner edges of the berth, india-rubber or other suitable material being
interposed between the edges where the parts come together so as to form a
water-tight joiut. Should water gain access to the berths a, a, it can be
discharged by means of the taps a³, a2, which conduct the water to the pipe a³
placed in communication with a force pump to force or withdraw it from the
berths if required, air being admitted by means of the pipes and connections
a, a, through which air can be forced if necessary. The doors a¹, a¹, are

page_text: secured at the upper part of each berth when out of use, the contents of each
berth being removed before the doors a¹ are let down and secured to convert
the berth into a water-tight compartment. From the foregoing description it
will be seen that in the case of passenger vessels great additional buoyancy
may be imparted thereto by converting the whole of the berths into air-tight
compartments, but for additional security the separate cabins may be so
constructed that when the doors are closed they may be converted into water-
tight compartments. In this case the doors should be so constructed with
water-tight joints as to prevent the admission of water into them, air being
adimitted by means of a pipe or passage from above the upper deck of the
vessel. The doors or other parts which are required to exclude the water may
be conveniently formed with a fillet or rib arranged to enter corresponding
grooves in the part of the vessel to be closed up or formed into a water-tight
compartment.
According to another part of my improvements water-tight cells or com-
partments are formed in combination with the fixtures or fittings of a vessel
in order to impart additional buoyancy in case of danger to prevent foundering
at sea, such cells or compartments being used as receptacles for provisions,.
cargo, or other uses until required to be converted into water-tight compart-
ments. For this purpose the tables, couches, lockers, or other fixtures are so
constructed as to be readily converted into water-tight compartments when
required.
Figure 5 shows a table constructed with leaves or flaps hinged thereto, the
legs which support the leaves being arranged to fold up when the leaves are
let down to form the table into a water-tight compartment. The edges of the
leaves are fitted with strips of india-rubber or other suitable soft material or
packing in order to form a water-tight joint when secured in contact with the
inner legs and other parts, where they come together to form the water-tight
compartment; suitable screw or other fastenings are employed to secure the
parts firmly together. Figure 6 shows a fixed seat or couch; and Figure 7
a chest or locker, each of which are so constructed as to be readily converted
into water-tight cells or compartments in accordance with this part of my
improvements, as will be easily understood examining the. Drawings, the
hollow portions being used under ordinary circumstauces as receptacles for
cargo or for other purposes. When closed up the lids or covers may be secured;
by turn buttons, such a previously described permanently attached to the
parts or by other suitable fastenings. Air inlet pipes and water discharge.
pipes should in all cases be arranged in combination with the cells or compart-.

page_text: ments to admit of the water being withdrawn therefrom, and the air admitted
thereto when required.
In place of forming water-tight cells or compartments below the tables
and other furniture, as previously described, the leaves of the tables may be
employed for the purpose of making up water-tight compartments in
connections with the sides of the vessel, the edges of the leaves being formed
with tongues and grooves to fit accurately together, so that when put
together and secured by fastenings water-tight compartments of considerable
capacity may be formed on the sides of the cabins or saloons. Figure 8 shows
a transverse section of a compartment of this character. The sides and ends
of the compartments formed as previously described when out of use are
packed up flat and fixed against the sides of the vessel, so as to occupy but
little space.
For the stuffing of the seats I employ granulated cork, or they
may be made of india-rubber inflated or capable of being inflated when
required, as is well understood, in order to afford additional buoyancy
in case of need should the water-tight compartments previously described be
insufficient to buoy up the vessel when full of water, thus affording increased
security from foundering.
Where considerable additional buoyancy may be required I arrange per-
manently elastic hollow surfaces, which may be arranged to lie flat against the
roof of the cabin or be fixed in any other convenient position so as to take up
but little space when out of use, but when great additional buoyancy is
required then such air vessels may be inflated by means of a pump or otherwise
as may be found most convenient.
Cases, casks, or other vessels employed for containing ships' stores,
merchandize, passengers' luggage, or for other purposes may likewise be
constructed as previously described so as to be readily converted into water-
tight chambers to contain air when required to impart additional buoyancy
to the ship or vessel. The amount of additional buoyancy which should
be available for a ship or vessel in case of necessity will depend in a great
measure upon the nature of the freight the vessel is intended to carry, but
passenger ships every cubic foot of space should be utilized to which it is
possible to apply my improvements for the purpose of rendering the ship
unsinkable, and at the same time as buoyant as possible should the water
gain access to the interior of the vessel.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention I would have it under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein described and
shown in the Drawings hereunto annexed; but what I claim is so constructing

page_text: the berths, tables, fixtures, and other fixed parts of a ship or vessel that they
may be readily converted into water-tight compartments when required, in the
manner herein described, in order to impart additional buoyancy, and thus
prevent the ship or vessel from foundering.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Eugene Thibault, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.
J. E. THIBAULT. (L.S.)