A NEW OR IMPROVED BUOY OR WRECK INTELLIGENCER
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Creed Smith, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Glass Mould Maker, for the Invention of "A NEW OR
Scaled the 19th April 1859, and dated the 2nd November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Creed Smith at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd November 1858.
I, ROBERT CREED SMITH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, 1
Glass Mould Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"A NEW OR IMPROVED BUOY OR WRECK INTELLIGENCER," to be as follows:--
My Invention consists of a buoy, constructed in the manner herein-after
explained, the said buoy being especially adapted to the preservation of letters,
papers, and valuable property in case of shipwreck.
My said new or improved buoy may also be used for such other purposes
as the same is or may be applicable to.
My new or improved buoy is constructed by uniting, as herein-after
explained, two hollow hemispheres, made by preference of copper, the said
hemispheres being united at their edges, and constituting a hollow water-
tight sphere or globe, in the interior of which the articles to be preserved are
secured. The buoyancy of the hollow sphere is further secured by a series of
cork or other floats arranged near the edge of one of the hemispheres. The

page_text: two hemispheres are secured together in the following manner:-In the axis
of one hemisphere a solid rod is situated, and in the axis of the other
hemisphere a rod terminated by a tube is fixed, the said tube engaging on
the first-mentioned rod, when the hemispheres are brought together. A
bayonet-joint fastening on the rod and tube secures the two hemispheres
together by a partial rotation given to one of them. In addition to the
bayonet-joint fastening in the axis of the hemispheres, another fastening may
be employed on the exterior of the buoy, the said fastening consisting of bolts
near the edge of one hemisphere, which bolts engage in eyes or staples near
the edge of the other hemisphere, when the said hemispheres are turned upon
one another to effect the engagement of the bayonet-joint fastening in the
interior. The junction of the two hemispheres is made water-tight by a ring
of vulcanized caoutchouc inserted between the edges of the said hemispheres ;
the interior of one or both of the hemispheres may be fitted with com-
partments, into which articles may be put, and the said compartments may be
closed with water-tight lids.
The exterior of the buoy may be painted with colored stripes, in order the
more readily to attract attention. One hemisphere may be heavier than the
other, so that the buoy shall always present the same side uppermost when
floating, and on the summit of the upper hemisphere a glass knob, cut with a
series of facets or reflecting planes, is situated, the said glass knob serving by
its reflection to attract attention to the buoy.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Creed Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
CREED SMITH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Glass Mould
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Пer Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Robert Creed Smith, Ier special licence that I, the said Robert Creed
Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as J, the
said Robert Creed Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should

page_text: 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 "A
NEW OR IMPROVED BUOY OR WRECK INTELLIGENCER," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Robert Creed Smith, 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 Inven-
tion, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Creed Smith, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention cousists of a buoy, constructed in the manner herein-after
explained and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, the said buoy being
especially adapted to the preservation of letters, papers, and valuable property
in case of shipwreck.
My said new or improved buoy may also be used to indicate the direction
of currents, and for such other purposes as the same is or may be appli-
cable to.
My said new or improved buoy consists of a hollow sphere or globe made
of copper, gutta percha, or other material, which said hollow sphere may be
made by joining two hollow hemispheres edge to edge. Access to the interior
of the buoy may either be obtained by making the two hemispheres separable,
or by joining the two hemispheres together permanently, and making an
opening in one of them, which may be closed, as herein-after explained, and
represented in the accompanying Drawing.
When I carry my Invention into effect by the use of two hemispheres
capable of being separated, I secure the two hemispheres together in the
following manner:-In the axis of one of the hemispheres a solid rod is fixed,
and in the axis of the other hemisphere a rod terminated by a tube is fixed,
the said tube engaging on the first-mentioned rod when the hemispheres are
brought together. A bayonet-joint fastening on the rod and tube secures the
two hemispheres together by a. partial rotation given to one of them. In
addition to the bayonet-joint fastening in the axis of the buoy, another fastening
may be employed on its exterior. The said fastening consists of bolts on the

page_text: edge of one hemisphere, which bolts engage in eyes or staples at the edge of
the other hemisphere, when the hemispheres are turned upon one another to
effect the engagement of the bayonet-joint fastening in the interior. The
junction of the two hemispheres is made water-tight by a ring of vulcanized
caoutchouc inserted between the edges of the hemispheres.
I prefer however to carry my Invention into effect in the manner illustrated
in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, instead of making the buoy of
two hemispheres I prefer to make the said buoy very nearly of the figure of
a sphere, having a circular opening; which may be closed by a lid.
.
"A
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in elevation a buoy
constructed according to my Invention, and Figure 2 represents a portion of
"the same in vertical section. It consists of the hollow sphere a, b, formed by
joining the hemispheres a and b respectively by the band c. d is a mass of
Icad or other heavy body, attached by soldering or otherwise; to the bottom.
half b, so as to preserve the buoy when floating in the position represented
in Figures 1 and 2, that is to say, the said weight being the lowest point
in the buoy, and the opening, herein-after described, in the buoy being the
highest point during the floating of the said buoy. The opening in the buoy
at e is closed by a cover or lid f, which drops into the collar e, in the manner
which will be understood by an examination of Figure 2. The lid or cover f
is secured in its place by a series of buttons marked g, turning upon axes h.
Three or other number of the said buttons g may be employed for holding down
the lid or cover f. By turning aside the buttons g from off the lid f, the said
lid
may be removed, and access gained to the interior of the buoy. The lid f
is surmounted by a rod or stem i, which terminates in a piece of glass k, 'cut
into a series of planes, which said glass by its reflection of light causes the
buoy to be visible at a great distance. The stem i may also carry a vane 1,
which still further facilitates observation of the buoy.
.
I sometimes modify my Invention in the manner represented in elevation
in Figure 3, and plan in Figure 4, in which said Figures 3 and 4 the same
letters indicate the same parts as in Figures 1 and 2. The stem i, Figure 3,
is terminated by a hollow sphere or globe of glass in, which said sphère or
globe is silvered inside, so as to convert the said globe into a reflector. The
base of the stem i is surrounded by a series of planes n, n, arranged in a
pyramidal form, the said planes n, n, being made of silvered glass or other
reflecting material. The buoyancy of the sphere a, b, may be increased by
a series of cork or other floats o, the said floats o being connected to the
band c by the network P.

page_text: Figure 5 represents in vertical section, and Figure 6 in plan, another
method of fitting the lid or cover upon the opening in the buoy, so as to
effectually close the said opening. Around the opening 9 an annular trough
or channel is made. In the said channel r a ring of vulcanized india-
rubber s is placed. On the under side of the lid t, and at the edge thereof is
a rim u, which, when the lid is put in its place, enters the,annular trough »,
and presses upon the india-rubber s. When the lid t is put in its place, a
partial rotation is given to it, so as to bring the flange v under the screws w.
By turning the said screws w in the direction proper to drive home the said
screws, their ends press upon the flange of the lid, and cause the rim u to
embed itself in the india-rubber s, and thereby form an air and water tight
joint. A spring catch may be attached to the buoy, the tongue y of
which, engaging in one of the notches in the flange v of the lid, prevents
the rotation of the lid and the escape of the said flange from under the
screws w.
The exterior of the buoy may be painted in stripes of strongly contrasting
colors, or it may be gilded, so as to make it more readily seen at a distance.
The interior of the buoy may be divided into various compartments, which
said compartments may be fitted with water-tight lids.
Although I prefer to make my new or improved buoy of a spherical figure,
as described and represented, yet I do not limit myself thereto, as a cylindrical
or other shape may be adopted in place of the spherical figure.
My Invention is especially applicable to the preservation of papers and
valuable property in case of shipwreck. Papers and property which it is
wished to preserve are placed in the buoy, or in the water-tight compartments
in the said buoy, and the lid being placed upon the opening in the buoy,
and the said lid being securely fastened, the said buoy is committed to the
water, where it floats until it is either picked up by a vessel, or is floated
ashore, and thereby conveys intelligence of the wreck and preserves the pre-
perty enclosed within it.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I claim as my
Invention the new or improved buoy or wreck intelligencer herein-before
described, and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, a
buoy or wreck intelligencer constructed of a hollow sphere or other shaped
vessel of copper or other material, which said vessel may either separate in

page_text: two parts, or have an opening in the upper part, the said opening being
closed by a lid, the said buoy being surmounted by a reflecting sphere or
reflecting planes, or both, and so loaded that in floating, that part of the said
buoy carrying the reflecting surfaces shall always be preserved uppermost.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Creed Smith, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
ROBERT CREED SMITH. (L.S.)