IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGE- MENT OF APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING, LOWERING, ATTACHING, AND DETACHING SHIPS' BOATS, PARTS OF WHICH APPARATUS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Carpenter, of Bevois Hill, Southampton,
in the County of Hants, Coach Builder and Timber Merchant, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGE-
MENT OF APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING, LOWERING, ATTACHING, AND DETACHING
SHIPS' BOATS, PARTS OF WHICH APPARATUS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 22nd August 1873, and dated the 24th April 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Carpenter at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th April 1873.
I, JAMES CARPENTER, of Bevois Hill, Southampton, in the County of
3 Hants, Coach Builder and Timber Merchant, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND
ARRANGEMENT OF APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING, LOWERING, ATTACHING, AND
DETACHING SHIPS' BOATS, PARTS OF WHICH APPARATUS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object more ready and certain means of
lowering ships' boats from the davits upon which they are suspended,

page_text: they are lowered from the davits.
Also of an improved form of adjustable cradle in which such boat
rests when it is not required to be used, and of improved methods of
constructing and actuating moveable davits for the purpose of bringing
the boats into the position required either outside or inside the ship's
side.
I take two or more davits curved outwards at their upper extremities
and attached at their lower extremities to a horizontal bar or pivot which
works in bearings parallel to the ship's side, and attached to the
deck, or to any other suitable part of the ship. By this arrangement
the upper ends of the davits may be brought into any desired position
either outside or inside the ships's side. I arrange a roller of wood,
metal, or other suitable material, which revolves in bearings formed upon
the upper extremities of the davits described, and round this roller I coil
two or more ropes, the lower ends of which are attached to the boat by
the means herein-after described. Upon any convenient part of the roller
I form a suitable drum round which is coiled another rope in such a
manner that when it is hauled upon it causes the roller to revolve and
to raise the boat, and when it is slackened it allows the boat to descend.
This rope may be attached to or wound round any suitable crane or
winch barrel, either attached to or separate from the davits described.
.
When the boat is raised and brought within the ship's side I form a
cradle upon which it rests as follows:-I take two bars or arms of wood,
metal, or other suitable material, and I joint them together at one of
their ends by a bolt or pin, and I joint the other end of one of them to
the middle or lower part of one of the davits in such a way that they
form a V shaped cradle (in end view) upon which the bottom of the boat
rests. The outer end of the second arm rests upon the ship's side.or
upon any suitable support provided for it, and two or more sets of such
jointed arms as described are attached to the davits so as to form a
complete and firm support for the boat. By this arrangement when
the davits are moved so as to alter their position and bring the boat
to a greater or less distance within the ship's side, the jointed bars
which form the cradle adjust themselves to a proper position for sup-
porting the boat.

page_text: In order to alter the position of the davits as described I fix an arm
or lever upon the horizontal bar or pivot, upon which the lower ends of
the davits are fixed as described, and I make the outer end of this lever
moveable and adjustable by means of a nut attached to it and worked
by a screw or by means of a rack and pinion or by any other suitable
means. The arm may be arranged in a mean position either horizontal
or vertical or at any convenient angle.
Instead of a lever as described I sometimes use a tangent toothed
wheel upon the horizontal bar or pivot, and I work such wheel by
means of a suitable tangent screw and handle. The davits may be
arranged so as to work separately instead of together as described, and
the apparatus may be used for raising and lowering any other weights
instead of ships' boats.
In order to readily attach and detach the lower ends of the suspending
ropes from the boat I prefer to attach to the lower end of each rope a
bolt, the lower part of which consists of a cone pointing downwards,
the upper part rising from the centre of the base of the cone but of
smaller diameter. At the point where this bolt is to be attached to the
boat I fix upon the latter a fastening consisting of two jaws turning
upon centres at one end and having a hole formed at their outer end so
that one half of the hole is in each jaw. The jaws are held together by
springs or levers or other convenient means, so that when the conical bolt
described is forced into the hole it separates the jaws which close again
above its conical part and prevent its withdrawal. In order to release
it I introduce a bar or lever into a suitable opening between the jaws, so
that when the lever is turned the jaws are forced open. I prefer to
attach a chain or wire to the outer end of the lever, and I bring the
different chains or wires from the different points where the ropes or
levers are attached to the boat to any suitable point where they may all
be hauled upon together, and the ropes thus released simultaneously
from the boat. The method of attachment last described may be
applied to other purposes (as well as the attachment and release of
ships' boats) where it is required that a bolt or pin shall be fixed by
pressure upon it, but only released by the application of a suitable key
or lever.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Carpenter in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
CARPENTER, of Bevois Hill, Southampton, in the County of Hants,
Coach Builder and Timber Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said James Carpenter, Her special
licence that I, the said James Carpenter, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Carpenter, my execu-
tors, 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 THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING,
LOWERING, ATTACHING AND DETACHING SHIPS' BOATS, PARTS OF WHICH APPARATUS
ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Carpenter, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 dato
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Carpenter, 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, and accompanying Drawing (that is to
say):
My Invention has for its objects more ready and certain means of
lowering ships' boats from the davits or supports to which they are
suspended, and of detaching them from and attaching them to the ropes
or chains by which they are lowered from such davits or supports.

page_text: Also an improved form of adjustable cradle, in which such boat rests.
when it is not in use, and improved methods of constructing and.
actuating moveable davits for the purpose of bringing the boats into the
position required, either outside or inside the ship's side..
In order to carry out my Invention I take two or more supports or
davits of any suitable material, but preferably of wrought iron or steel,
and I connect them outwards at their upper ends; and at their lower
ends I connect them together by means of a horizontal bar formed upon
them or attached to them and working in bearings parallel to the ship's.
side, and attached to the deck or other suitable part of the ship. By
the arrangement described the upper ends of the davits may be brought.
into any
desired position over either the inside or the outside of the
ship's side. At the upper and outer extremities of the davits I form
bearings, in which revolves the axle of a roller of wood, metal, or other
suitable material, and round this roller or round suitable drums or.
barrels formed upon it I coil two or more ropes or chains, the lower.
ends of which are attached to the boat by the means herein-after,
described. Upon any convenient part of the roller described, or upon
the drum or barrel attached to it or formed upon it, I coil another rope
in such a manner that when its loose end is hauled upon it causes the
roller to revolve and to raise the boat which is suspended to the two
ropes already described, and when it is slackened it allows the boat to
descend.
'
Instead of using one rope as described for the purpose of causing the
roller to revolve I sometimes use two or more; and the loose ends of
such rope or ropes may be attached to or wound round any suitable..
winch or crane barrel, which I prefer to attach to the davits already
described, as shewn in the accompanying Drawing. The parts of the
roller, or the barrels upon it, round which the ropes which suspend the
boat are coiled, may be arranged between the bearings at the outer ends.
of the davits, or outside them, and the ropes which cause the roller to
revolve may also be arranged so as to work between the davits or
outsido them. I prefer to continue or carry on the upper ends of the
davits beyond the bearings in which the roller revolves, and to attach
to them ropes, chains, or life lines.
I prefer to fix the crane or winch barrels round which the hauling
ropes or rope are wound as described, so that it revolves in bearings
attached to or formed upon the davits at a convenient height. above the

page_text: lower bearings, upon which the latter turn; and I work such crane or
winch barrels by means of handles upon the ends of its axle, or by
means of ratchet levers, or in any other convenient method; and I form
upon or attach to the said axle suitable adjustable ratchets and pauls by
which it is prevented from revolving backward, and one or more brakes
worked by hand or foot and constructed in the method well understood
and practised, by which the descent of the boat is adjusted and regulated
when desired after the pauls have been disengaged from the ratchets
last described.
After the boat has been raised and brought within the ship's side I
form a cradle upon which it rests as follows:-I take two bars or arms
or a belt of wood, metal, or other suitable material, and I joint them
together at their lower ends by a bolt or pin, and the other end of one
of them I joint to the middle or lower part of one of the davits, or I
form it so that it embraces and works upon the axle of the crane or
winch barrel connected to the davits as already described. I make the
outer end of the other arm or bar rest upon the edge of the bulwark on
the ship's side, or upon a suitable support provided for it; and a slot
may be formed in it fitting upon a fixed bar or pin to allow of more
ready adjustment. Or the bar may be jointed to its support, and its
other end may be slotted and works over a pin fixed to the other bar,
where they are jointed together. By the arrangement of the bars as
described they open out when the davits are moved inwards so as to
bring the suspended boat within the ship's side, and they thus form a
V shaped cradle (in end view), upon which the bottom of the boat rests
when lowered upon it. A set of jointed arms as described are arranged
in connection with each davit, so that a complete and firm support for
the boat is formed. The support thus formed is self-adjusting, so that
if it be necessary to bring the boat further in (for example in bad
weather) the bars still form a firm support for the boat, and when the
davits are moved out for the purpose of lowering the boat the moveable
bars close together and hang vertically or nearly vertically within or
without the ship's bulwark. Sometimes I use belts or bands of canvas
or other flexible material to support the boat instead of the bars
described.
When the boat has been lowered upon the cradle described it may be
fixed there by ropes passed over it and attached to cleats or other
fastenings fixed to any convenient part of the apparatus.

page_text: In order to alter the position of the davits as described, for the
purpose of bringing the roller at their upper ends more or less over the
outside or inside of the ship I fix an arm or lever upon the horizontal
bar which connects together the lower ends of the davits and forms a
pivot upon which they turn as already described, and I fit or connect a
pivotted nut to the outer end of this arm or lever, through which nut a
screw works which revolves in suitable bearings. To the end of the
screw may be fitted a suitable handle, lever, or wheel, by which it may
be turned round, and the davits are thus brought into any required
position. Sometimes I use a wheel or segment of a wheel fixed upon
the horizontal bar, and having tangent teeth upon its circumference,
into which teeth an endless screw gears which revolves in suitable
bearings, and to which a handle, wheel, or lever may be fitted, as in the
arrangement of the screw and nut first described. Or a toothed pinion
may be fitted to the horizontal bar, and driven by a rack worked by a
screw, or in any other convenient manner in any of the ordinary methods
well understood and practised.
The davits described may be arranged to work separately instead of
being connected together as described, or a single one only may be used
which may be applied to the purpose of raising, lowering, and altering
the position of other weights as well as ships' boats, and they may be
used in other positions as well as on board ship. Sometimes I arrange
the bearings in which the roller work at the upper end of the davits,
so that they are formed upon separate pieces which are pivotted in
vertical bearings upon the davits, and I arrange the davits so that they
or the upper part of them can also revolve in vertical bearings, and
they can thus be moved laterally as well in the direction already
described.
Another part of my Invention consists of improved methods of
readily attaching and detaching the lower ends of the ropes by which
the boat or other weight is suspended from the roller at the upper ends
of the davits, as already described. For this purpose I attach to the
lower end of each suspending rope a bolt or catch; the lower part
consists of a conical bar pointing downward, but having a part
(preferably cylindrical) of less diameter formed above the base of the
conc. At the place in the boat where this bolt is to be attached I
form or fix a catch or fastening consisting of two jaws turning upon
vertical centres at or near one of their ends, and having a hole formed

page_text: at or near their other end in such a manner that one half of the hole is
formed in each jaw, and that the hole is exactly in the position where
the bolt is to be attached. The jaws are held together by means of
springs or weights, so that when the conical bolt is forced down into
the hole described, it separates the jaws, which close again round its
cylindrical part, and prevent its withdrawal until the jaws are again
separated. In order to release the bolt I sometimes introduce a suitable
bar, key, or lever into an opening between the jaws, so that when it is
turned round the jaws are forced open and the bolt released; but I
prefer to connect the bars which form the jaws to rods, chains, ropes, or
wires, which are conducted to any suitable point in the boat, where they
are attached to a handle, upon moving which the jaws are opened. A
hole formed between a pair of jaws as described is arranged in the boat
at each point where one of the suspending ropes is to be connected to it
by means of a bolt, and I connect the different jaws by means of rods,
chains, or wires, as already described, to the same handle, so that when
the latter is pulled the whole of the jaws are opened simultaneously,
and the instant and certain release of the boat is secured (even if the
latter is rolling, or inclined, or in violent motion). A catch may be
arranged upon the handle so as to retain it in its position when the jaws
are either open or closed. Sometimes I arrange a frame or guide
between which the jaws work, and having formed upon or attached to it
a tubular hole through which the conical bolt passes in order to enter
the jaws, and I arrange a ring of india-rubber or other soft material
round the upper part of the bolt, which ring fits into a socket formed in
the upper part of the tubular hole in the frame, and forms a joint which
prevents water from entering and damaging the bolt or jaws or other
parts of the apparatus described, whilst the boat is hanging suspended
to the davits in its ordinary position when not being used.
The method of attachment described consisting of a conical bolt or
catch fitting into a hole formed between two moveable jaws may bo
applied to other purposes (as well as to the attachment and release of
ships' boats) where it is required that a bolt or pin shall be fixed by
pressure upon it, but only released by the application of a suitable key or
lever, such for instance as the locking of railway carriage or other doors.
The accompanying Drawing is in illustration of my Invention.
Figure 1 is an elevation of boat lowering apparatus constructed
according to my Invention, and viewed from the inside of a ship's

page_text: bulwarks; Figures 2 and 3 are end views of the same partly in section.
Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several
Figures.
.
a, a¹, are the curved supports or davits keyed upon the horizontal
3 bar 6, which works in the bearings c, c, c, c. At the upper ends of the
davits a, a', are formed bearings d, d', in which revolves the axle of the
roller e, upon which are fixed the barrels f,f¹, and ġ, g². The ropeś h, h¹;.
are coiled round the barrels g, g¹, and to them is suspended the boat i
shewn in dotted lines in Figure 1. Round the barrels f, f¹, are coiled
the ropes k, k¹, the other ends of which are coiled round the barrels 2, 1,
upon the shaft m, which revolves in bearings n, n³, fixed to the
davits a, a¹. The shaft m is worked by means of handles or levers,
which can be fitted to its ends, and it is shewn provided with brakes o, o³,
and ratchets and pauls p, p', (Figure 1). The horizontal bar 6 is shewn
fitted with a tangent toothed segment r, which is driven by an endless
screw & fitted in the frame t, so that the upper ends of the davits a, a³,
may be brought more or less inside or outside the ship's side, as shewn
in Figures 2 and 3. v, v¹, are bars, the upper ends of which are jointed
to the shaft m, and their lower ends are fitted with pins or bolts working
in slots in the arms w, w, the other ends of which are jointed to the top
of the bulwark x. The bars v, w, form an adjustable cradle, and the
bars v¹, w¹, form a similar cradle, in which the boat i can rest and be
fixed.
Figure 4 shews a plan, and Figure 5 a longitudinal section of the
method which I prefer to use for attaching the boat i to the ropes h, h¹.
A, A', are conical bolts to which the ropes h, h¹, are fastened; B, B¹, are
tubular holes or sockets fixed to the thwarts C, C¹, and into which the
bolts A, A¹, fit; D, D, D¹, D¹, aro levers or jaws turning upon centres
fixed to the frames of the sockets B, B¹, or to the thwarts, and so con-
nected together by the rods E that when the handle F is lifted the parts
of the levers or jaws underneath the tubular sockets B, B', are separated
from one another. When closed they form holes into which the conical
bolts A, A, can be forced, and are then held firmly until they are
released simultaneously by lifting the handle F.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which it is
to be performed, I claim,-
The moveable davits turning upon centres in combination with

page_text: adjustable bars forming a cradle for a ship's boat, substantially as and
for the purposes described and shewn in the Drawing.
Also the combination of the moveable davits with a roller revolving in
bearings at their outer ends, and carrying the ropes to which the weight
to be lowered is suspended, and the rope or ropes and barrel or barrels &
by which the roller is made to revolve, substantially as and for the
purposes described and shewn in the Drawing.
Also the combination of the moveable davits with a toothed tangent
wheel and screw, or a screw and nut, or rack and pinion, substantially
as and for the purposes described and shewn in the Drawing.
Also the conical bolt in combination with moveable jaws, springs,
levers, and handles for the purpose of holding fast and releasing such
conical bolt, substantially as described and shewn in the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Carpenter, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the 1
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
year
three.
JAMES CARPENTER. (L.s.)
Witness,
EDMUND EDWARDS,
of the Firm of Edwards and Co.,
Engineers and Patent Agents,
38, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.