IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOSING AND OPENING THE WATER-TIGHT DOORS OF SHIPS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Ross Simney, of Sunderland, in the County of
Durhan, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOSING AND OPENING THE
WATER-TIGHT DOORS OF SHIPS."
Sealed the 30th August 1878, and dated the 24th June 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Ross Simey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th June 1878.
CHARLES ROSS SIMEY, of Sunderland, in the County of Durham.
MENTS IN CLOSING & OPENING THE WATER-TIGHT DOORS OF SHIPS."
" IMPROVE-
It is generally admitted by practical men that the difficulty experienced in closing
water-tight doors of compartments often causes the loss of vessels, especially after
collision, as in the case of the ironclads "Vanguard," "Grosser Kurfurst," and many
other ships, and it is now proposed to accelerate their action by the use of hydraulic
cylinders, which would require experience in manipulating, and would greatly
increase the cost both of manufacture and maintenance. The system generally in
use at present is that of working the door up or down by means of a screw
revolving in a nut fixed in the door, and which is turned by a hand wheel on the
main deck. Owing to dust and corrosion this screw is usually found to be unwork-
able when most wanted. Even when it is kept in working order it requires a
number of men to turn it; and under most favorable circumstances it is so slow in
its action that in case of collision the crew are more inclined to look after their
own individual safety than to muster at quarters and perform their duties in slowly
and laboriously lowering the doors.
The error in the present system is that although the doors should always be so
designed that they may be shut in a moment by one man, yet the gear used is such
that the process of shutting cannot practically be performed in much less time than
in opening. To remedy this I propose to hang each door, when open, in its place
by a key passed through the suspending rod, which is carried up to the main deck.
This key can be knocked out by one man by one blow of a hammer, and the door

page_text: will then fall by its own weight into its socket frame on the bulkhead. By this
means any one man can close all the doors of a line-of-battle ship in less than five
minutes; and if one man were to be told off for each door all the doors could then
be shut in less than fifteen seconds after the order was given to close them.
The necessity of opening the doors quickly is of much less importance. In order
to do this I propose to fix a rack and worin or other suitable gear near whatever
deck or platform is most convenient. The worm would be always out of gear when
the door is open, or it might be removed for further security and suspended from
the bulkhead until required for opening. When it is desired to open the door the
worm is put into gear by a simple mechanical arrangement and turned round by a
ratchet of ordinary construction, and the door is thus lifted by the action of tho
worm on the rack, at least as speedily as by the means now in use.
When the door is being closed according to my improved plan the shock to the
framework caused by the sudden fall may be relieved by a bedding of india-rubber
or other suitable material, which receives the full force of the blow; and, if
necessary, the door, if of great weight, may be also balanced with weights or levers.
In case of balance weights being used the door might be opened by hand without
the aid of the rack and worm.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Ross Simey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd
December 1878.
"
CHARLES ROSS SIMEY, of Sunderland, in the County of Durham.
MENTS IN CLOSING AND OPENING THE WATER-TIGITT DOORS OF SHIPS."
IMPROVE-
My Invention has for its object to enable ships' water-tight bulkhead doors to be
more readily and quickly closed in case of emergency than can be done with doors
worked by the system now in use.
It is generally admitted that the delay in closing these doors upon a sudden
emergency, such as after a collision, whether caused by their operating gear being
out of order, or by the slow rate at which it is possible to work such gear, has
frequently resulted in the loss of the vessel. As at present fitted these doors are
usually worked, both up and down, by a screw rod which passes through a nut
fixed to the door, and is turned by a hand wheel on the main deck. This screw is
liable to be rendered unworkable by dirt and corrosion, and even when kept in
working order a number of men are required to turn it; and it is so slow in its
action that the door cannot be closed in time to avert the danger against which it
is expressly designed to guard.
By my Invention the bulkhead doors are so hung that if open they may be shut
in a moment by one man; and by a modified arrangement they are so balanced as
to always remain closed and yet be easily raised when required to be temporarily
opened.

page_text: According to my Invention the doors are fitted to slide up and down in a frame
as usual; and they are each provided with a suspension rod permanently attached
to the door and carried up to the main or upper deck, and slotted to receive a key,
by which alone the door, when raised or open, is retained in that position, the key
rosting on a suitable support on the deck or under the deck. This key is wedge-
shaped, and can be knocked out by a single blow of a hammer, whereupon the door
will instantly fall by its own weight into its socket frame on the bulkhead.
It is of much less importance to open the door quickly, and the means of doing
this may consist of a rack formed on the suspension rod near whatever deck or
platform is most convenient, and of a worm or pinion to gear therewith, so mounted
as by a simple mechanical arrangement to be thrown out of gear with the rack
when the door is open. When it is desired to open the door the worm or pinion is
put into gear and turned by a ratchet or winch handle, and the door is lifted by the
action of the worm or pinion on the rack, at least as speedily as by the means now
in use.
The shock caused by the sudden fall of the door in closing, as above described,
may be relieved by providing a cushion of india-rubber at the bottom of the door
frame for the door to fall upon; and the door, if of great weight, may also bo
partly balanced by a counterweighted lever or levers, so as to lesson the concussion.
When in consequence of obstacles, such as tanks or cabins situated above the
bulkhead door, it is not possible to carry the suspension rod straight up to the deck,
or where access can always be had to the door itself, I propose to dispense with the
suspension rod altogether, and merely counterbalance the door to a sufficient extent
to enable it to be easily raised by hand, whilst allowing it to preponderate so far as,
to close by its own weight after being so raised for a temporary purpose; or in
certain cases it may be entirely balanced. The door in this case is thus kept always
closed, except when required to give passage to any person, when it is raised by
means of handles fixed to either face of the door.
Figures 1 and 2 each represent a water-tight door in a ship's bulkhead, the one
in the closed and the other in the open position.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both Figures.
A is the bulkhead, and B the door fitted to slide up and down in a guide frame B',
and falling on a cushion of india-rubber b at bottom; C is the suspension rod fixed
at the lower end to the door B, and extending up to the deck A¹. The rod C
works freely through a guide e fixed to the bulkhead, and through a bolster c² fixed
upon the deck A¹ or on the bulkhead below. When the door is raised, as in
Figure 2, it is entirely supported by a wedge-shaped key D passing through a cross
slot in the rod C, and resting in the bolster c², as shown, in readiness to be
knocked out by a single blow on its small end in order to allow the door to fall
when required. E is a rack formed on the rod C, and F is a worm to gear with
said rack, for which purpose its spindle is mounted in a bracket G fitted to slide in
guides in a frame H fixed to the bulkhead A, in which the bracket G is traversed
towards and from the rack E by a hand screw working through a nut on frame H,
and connected to the bracket G by a collar or shoulder.
In Figure 1 the door is shown closed down, and the worm in gear with the rack,
whilst in Figure 2 the door is raised and retained by the key, the worm being out
of gear.
his a guide roller at the back or opposite side of rod O to the rack E to prevent
said rod springing, and allowing the teeth of the rack to escape from the worm F
when in gear therewith and in operation for raising the door. The worm F is
operated by a ratchet lever f (like that of a ratchet brace) applied to its axis,
which is squared at the end to receive the ratchet wheel. When the door is raised,
as in Figure 2, the ratchet handle may be removed, and when the door is closed and
the worin in gear with the rack, as in Figure 1, it may be applied to the worm axis

page_text: in the reverse position, so as to enable the worm to be turned in the reverse
direction, in order to press the door down tight on its bed b. Other suitable
arrangements of gear may be substituted for the worm F if preferred.
I is a lever mounted to work on a fulcrum i carried by the bulkhead A at one
side of the head of the door frame, said lever being connected at one end to the
door B by a link K jointed to the end of lever I and to the middle of the head of
the door. The other end of lever I is loaded with a weight L which may allow the
door to preponderate sufficiently to ensure its fall and closure when the key D is
knocked out, or it might be quite balanced if preferred. This counterbalance need
only be used however when the door is heavy if it is provided with a suspension
rod C and gear E, F, for raising it; but the latter may be dispensed with under
certain circumstances, and in that case the counterbalance lever would be used for
doors of all sizes or weights, and the doors be provided with handles M at either
side by which to raise then when required.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention, to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. Hanging or suspending ships' bulkhead doors, when open, in such manner
that they will close automatically by their own weight when released.
2nd. The employment, in connection with a ship's bulkhead door, of a suspending
rod permanently attached to it rising through the decks, and provided with detach-
able gear for raising the door, and with a key passing through a cross slot in the
rod to hold the door up, substantially as shown and described.
3rd. Counterbalancing ships' bulkhead doors, whether provided with suspending
rods and gear for raising them or not, substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Ross Simey, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
AT
STHR