IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LOWERING, HAULING-UP, RAISING, FISHING, CATTING, OR OTHERWISE MANIPULATING ANCHORS."
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, of Brading,
in the Isle of Wight, Master of Arts, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LOWERING, HAULING-UP, RAISING, FISHING,
CATTING, OR OTHERWISE MANIPULATING ANCHORS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Robert
Augustus Glover at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 5th August 1870.
I, FREDERICK ROBERT AUGUSTUS GLOVER, of Brading, in the Isle of
Wight, Master of Arts, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR LOWERING, HAULING-UP, RAISING,
FISHING, CATTING, OR OTHERWISE MANIPULATING ANCHORS," to be as follows:-
This Invention of Improvements in Apparatus for Lowering, Hauling:
up, Raising, Fishing, Catting, or otherwise Manipulating Anchors,"
relates to a novel form of "grablink," and has for its object to enable

page_text: anchors "when being lowered," to be dropped without violence, and
also to prevent the surging forwards of the anchor in lowering, and to
afford means whereby the cable may be scized hold of at the ring of
the anchor, or at any intermediate part of the cable.
This novel form of grablink admits of the grip being loosened and
resumed higher or lower on the cable at pleasure, for the purpose of
either catting or bringing the anchor inboard.
The apparatus may be also used as an ordinary catstopper, and for
a variety of purposes on land or sca, wherever it is desired to change
or alter the line of tension or draught upon hauling ropes or cables.
This improved grab link, which I intend to denominate the "shark's
jaw," consists of two curved arms or jaws hinged together at one end,
and leaving (when closed) between them a narrow loop (so as to be
capable of grasping a link of the cable), the opposite ends are curved
semicircularly outwards, so as to allow the cable to pass freely through
or between the opening made by the curvature of the arms of this end.
These open curved ends are bent up nearly to right angles (say between
70 and 80) to the straight or narrow hinged ends of the link. One jaw,
which must be longer than the other to enable it to overlap the other at
the end, has at its end an eye, ring, or open looped end. The opposite
end of the other jaw (or the shorter of the two) receives a shackle, which
is connected thereto by a pin (removeable at pleasure). This shackle
is connected to the end of a chain or pennant and to the keyed link,
which pennant passing through the looped end or eye of the opposite jaw
will when strained upon from above serve to close the link upon the
cable. A "tripper" or cord for opening the link is attached to the
shorter arm or jaw at some convenient position between the shackle and
the hinge, and when hauled upon will draw back the pennant through
the eye of its jaw (on the pennant being slackened) and will open the
jaws, which however can be immediately closed by putting a strain
upon the pennant.
In applying this apparatus to the manipulation of anchors on board
saips the grab link may be put on or around the cable (or taken off
for the purpose of stowing away), while the cable is outside the vessel.
This is effected by inserting or removing the pin which is passed through
the shackle, and then attaching the pennant to the shorter arm of the
grab link, thus enclosing the cable and bringing the open ends of the
link together. The pennant and tripper may be slackened out together

page_text: until the grab link (falling by its own weight down the cable) has
reached the desired part of the cable to be gripped, when on hauling
on the pennant the link will be closed, and (in consequence of the
bent form of the jaws of the grab link) the cable will slip into the
narrow loop end of the grab link and be gripped. A simultaneous
tightening of the tripper and a loosening of the chain will release the
grip of the grab link upon the cable, and a simultaneous tightening of
the chain and loosening of the tripper will re-establish it. Entire
command of the cable will be thereby obtained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 4th February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
ROBERT AUGUSTUS GLOVER, of Brading, in the Isle of Wight, Master
of Arts, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, Her
special licence, that I, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, 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 APPARATUS FOR
LOWERING, HAULING-UP, RAISING, FISHING, CATTING, OR OTHERWISE MANIPU-
LATING ANCHORS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said.
Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, 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

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover,
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, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say) :-
This Invention of "Improvements in Apparatus for Lowering, Hauling-
up, Raising, Fishing, Catting, or otherwise Manipulating Anchors"
relates to a novel form of "grablink," and has for its object to enable
anchors "when being lowered" to be dropped without violence, and also
to prevent the surging forwards of the anchor in lowering, and to afford
means whereby the cable may be seized hold of at the ring of the anchor
or at any intermediate part of the cable.
This novel form of grab link admits of the grip being loosened and
resumed higher or lower on the cable at pleasure for the purpose of
either catting or bringing the anchor inboard.
The apparatus may be also used as an ordinary cat stopper, and' for a
variety of purposes on land or sea, wherever it is desired to change or
alter the line of tension or draught upon hauling ropes or cables.
This improved grab link, which I intend to denominate the "shark's
jaw," is shewn in the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1 represents
my improved grab link a, a', detached from a cable, but provided with
its hauling chain 6, and opening rope c; Fig. 2 is a front view, and
Fig. 3, a side view, showing the grab link adapted to and hauling on a
chain cable d.
My improved grab link or shark's jaw consists of two curved arms or
jaws a, a, hinged together at one end and leaving (when closed) between
them a narrow loop e, Fig. 1, so as to be capable of grasping a link of
the cable'd, as shewn at Figures 2 and 3. The opposite ends of the
arms a, a¹, are curved semicircularly outwards, so as to allow the cable d
to, pass freely through or between the opening made by the curvature of
the arms of this end. These open curved ends are bent up nearly to
right angles to the straight or narrow hinged ends of the link, say,
between seventy and eighty degrees thereto, as shown at Fig. 3.) One
jaw a¹ (which must be longer than the other) to enable it to overlap the

page_text: other at the end has at its end an eye, ring, or open looped end a². The
upper end of the other jaw (or the shorter of the two) receives a
shackle f, which is connected thereto by a pin (removeable at pleasure.)
This shackle is connected to the end of a hauling chain or pennant b and
to the hinged link, which pennant 6 passing through the looped end or
eye a² of the opposite jaw, will when strained upon from above serve to
close the link a¹ upon the cable. A "tripper" or cord c for opening the
link is attached by a shackle g to the shorter arm or jaw a at some
convenient position between the shackle f and the hinge below, and
when this cord c is hauled upon it will draw back the pennant 6 through
the eye a² of its jaw (on the pennant b being slackened), and will open
the jaws, as shewn at Fig. 4. The jaw can however be immediately
closed by putting a strain upon the pennant b.
.
b
In applying this apparatus to the manipulation of anchors on board
ships the grab link may be put on or around the ship's cable d while the
cable d is outside the vessel. The pin is passed through the shackle ƒ,
and then the pennant or chain 6 after being passed through the eye a²
of the longer arm is attached to the shorter arm a of the grab link;
thereby enclosing the cable and bringing the open ends of the link
together. The pennant 6 and tripper c may be slackened out together
until the grab link (falling by its own weight down the cable) has
reached the desired part of the cable to be gripped, when on hauling on
the pennant 6 the grab link a, a', will be closed, and (in consequence of
the bent form of the jaws of the grab link) the cable d will slip into the
narrow loop end e of the grab link, and be gripped, so that the cable
may be lifted by the chain 6. A simultaneous tightening of the tripper c
and a loosening of the chain or pennant 6 will on the contrary release
the grip of the grab link upon the cable, as shewn at Fig. 4, and will
allow the grablink to be run up or down the cable, whereas a simul-
taneous tightening of the chain b and loosening of the tripper c will
re-establish it. Entire command of the cable will be thereby obtained.
If desired the grab link and its accessories may be detached from the
chain cable by removing the pin of the shackle f, and thereby detaching
the chain b. The grab link may then be removed, and stowed away
until required.
The grab link above described and shewn is intended to lay hold of
and lift heavy chain cables, such as those shewn, but it may be SO
constructed as to lay hold of and manipulate smaller cables or ropes.

page_text: To this end the inner or hinged ends of the arms of the grab link are
prolonged and bent into the form shewn at Figures 5 and 6, so as to
enable them to lay hold of a small chain or cable. Fig. 5 represents the
grab closed, and Fig. 6 represents the same open ready to receive a
rope h.
The grab constructed as shewn in Figures 5 and 6 may be used either
for lifting the heavy chain cable d or the smaller cable h.
Having now described my Invention, and having explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured
to me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid, constructing grab links of two
jaws hinged together, as herein set forth, so that they may be run up or
down cables, and made to clasp, grab, or lay hold of the same in the
manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Fourth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-one.
FRED. R. A. GLOVER. (L.S.)