Bulkheads on Board Ships.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1887
Complete Left, 23rd Feb., 1888
Complete Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1888
Bulkheads on Board Ships.
We, WALTER SHEARMAN, of 27, City Buildings, Oldham Street, Liverpool,
Engineer, and JAMES GEORGE GALLEY, of 36 Walbrook, in the City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to the sliding doors ordinarily used for opening or closing the
passages through bulkheads on board ships.
Such doors are used in the bulkheads by which ships are divided into water tight
compartments, and it is of great importance that they should be capable of being very
readily and quickly closed in the event of its being necessary, through any accident,
to close the bulkheads and make them watertight so as to cut off any compartment
from the adjoining ones.
it
The sliding doors are ordinarily made to rise and fall in guides in which they fit
freely, a strong vertical screw being connected to the door and provided with a handle
at its upper end by which it can be turned round in a strong fixed nut through which
passes, so as to raise the door for the purpose of opening the passage through the
bulkhead. Our invention has for its object a method of construction by which in case
of need the nut can be at once released from the screw, and so allow the latter
together with the sliding door to fall and close the opening through the bulkhead
almost instantly.
For this purpose we form the nut through which the screw passes in two halves,
which are fitted and slide horizontally in strong guides carried by the bulkhead itself
or other convenient support, in such manner that when brought together they form a
solid nut through which the screw passes and turns in the usual manner, whilst if
separated they leave the screw free to pass up and down without touching them.
In order to bring together or separate quickly the two halves of the nut when
requisite, we prefer to arrange a transverse right and left handed screw turning in
suitable bearings and provided with a wheel or handle, the screw passing through
corresponding right and left handed threads in the two halves of the nut respectively
When therefore the handle is turned in one direction the halves of the nut are

page_text: brought together, and form a solid nut through which the main screw works for
raising or lowering the watertight door, whilst if turned in the opposite direction the
nut is quickly opened and allows the screw and sliding door to fall at once and close
the bulkhead. By arranging the wheel or handle in a conveniently accessible
position, the bulkheads can be instantly closed watertight in cases of emergency.
It is evident that the details of construction of the main vertical screw, and the nut
through which it works, or their equivalents, may be varied more or less, so long as
facility is provided for allowing the sliding door to close rapidly when required.
Did th: 09-1 of M 1907
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings,
Agents for the Inventors.

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Closing the Sliding Doors in
Bulkheads on Board Ships.
We, WALTER SHEARMAN, of 27, City Buildings, Oldham Street, Liverpool,
Engineer, and JAMES GEORGE GALLEY, of 36, Walbrook, in the City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this 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):
=
Our invention relates to the sliding doors which are ordinarily used for opening or
closing the passages through bulkheads on board ships.
Such doors are used in the bulkheads by which ships are divided into watertight
compartments, and it is of great importance that they should be capable of being very
readily and quickly closed in the event of its becoming necessary, through any
accident or for other reasons, to close the bulkheads and make them watertight so as
to cut off any compartment from the adjoining ones.
The sliding doors are ordinarily made to rise and fall in guides in which they fit
freely, a strong vertical screw being connected to the door and provided with a handle
at its upper end by which it can be turned round in a strong fixed nut through which
it passes, so as to raise the door for the purpose of opening the passage through the
bulkhead.
Our invention has for its object a novel method of construction by which in case of
need the nut can be at once released from the screw, and so allow the latter together
with the sliding door to which it is attached, to fall and close the opening through the
bulkhead almost instantly.
The accompanying drawing is in illustration of our invention.
view of the apparatus, figure 2 a side view, partly in section, and
same letters indicating the same parts in the several figures.
Figure 1 is a front
figure 3 a plan, the
a is the vertical screw which carries the sliding door, and is turned in suitable
bearings by means of a handle at its upper end, neither of these being shewn in the
drawing.
We form the nut through which the screw passes in two halves b, b¹, which are fitted
and slide horizontally in strong guides c and d carried by the bulkhead itself or other
convenient support e, in such manner that when brought together to form a solid nut
through which the screw a passes and turns in the usual manner, whilst if separated
they leave the screw free to pass up and down without touching them.
For the purpose of bringing together or separating quickly the two halves of the
nut when requisite, we prefer to arrange a transverse right and left handed
screw f turning in a suitable bearing such as that shewn at 9 and provided with a
wheel or handle h, the screw f passing through corresponding right and left handed
threads in the two halves of the nut 6, 61, respectively. When therefore the handle h
is turned in one direction the halves of the nut are brought together and form a solid

page_text: nut through which the main screw a works for raising or lowering the watertight
door, whilst if the handle his turned in the opposite direction the nut is quickly
opened and allows the screw a and sliding door to fall at once and close the bulkhead.
By arranging the wheel or handle in a conveniently accessible position, the
bulkheads can be instantly closed watertight in cases of emergency.
It is evident that the details of construction of the main vertical screw, and the nut
through which it works, or their equivalents, may be varied more or less, so long as
facility is provided for allowing the sliding door to close rapidly when required, in the
manner described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
The combination with the screw a, of the half nuts 6, 61, guide c, d, right and left
handed screw f, and handle h, or their equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose
described and shewn.
Dated this 23rd day of February 1888.
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Inventors.