IMPROVEMENTS IN DYNAMOMETRIC APPA- RATUS FOR RELIEVING AND INDICATING THE STRAIN ON MOORING AND TOWING ROPES OR CABLES OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Pendry, of Wotton, near the City of
Gloucester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DYNAMOMETRIC APPA-
RATUS FOR RELIEVING AND INDICATING THE STRAIN ON MOORING AND TOWING
ROPES OR CABLES OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 28th September 1866, and dated the 81st March 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Pendry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st March 1866.
I, WILLIAM PENDRY, of Wotton, near the City of Gloucester, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DYNAMOMETRIC
APPARATUS FOR RELIEVING AND INDICATING THE STRAIN ON MOORING AND TOWING
ROPES OR CABLES OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES,"
to be as follows:-
I employ a dynamometric apparatus composed of a spring or springs included
in a case or framing placed between the cable or rope and the point or points
of attachment, so that the amount of strain to which the rope or cable is being
subjected can be ascertained, and at the same time the liability to fracture or
rupture of the rope or cable when suddenly strained be counteracted.
For mooring, I take a case, say, of cylindrical shape, with ends bolted or
otherwise fixed therein or thereto. A piston or disc is made to slide freely in
the case, a suitable rod passing through its front cover; between the piston

page_text: or disc and the cover are placed a pair of volute or other suitably shaped
springs, against which the piston is drawn or pressed when the strain is
applied. On some convenient part of the case is fixed a graduated scale, and
to the piston or piston rod is attached a finger or pointer to indicate the
amount of strain applied. The end of the piston rod is provided with a hook,
eye, or shackle; the back end of the case is connected to a bracket fixed
firmly on the deck or other convenient place by a universal joint, so that tho
case or piston rod can accommodate itself to the line of strain.
For towing, the case or framing of the dynamometric apparatus should be
connected to the tow rail or stand by means of a universal joint or other
mechanical equivalent, so that it may follow the line of draught.
Instead of a cylindrical case any other form of case or framing may bo
employed, and flat, helical, spiral, or any other well-known form of metallic
spring may be used, or any of the elastic compounds, such as vulcanised india-
rubber, may be employed instead of metallic springs, and moreover the case
or framing may be attached to the rope or cable and the piston rod to the
tow rail or to the deck. The case or framing containing the springs may also
be firmly fixed on the deck or elsewhere, and a slide block be mounted on the
piston rod working in slides on the deck, or connected to the case with a
suitable link to connect it to the cable; or twin cylinders or cases and springs
may be used, with a cross head to connect the piston rods together; or the
case or framing may be furnished with trunnions working in bearings fixed on
the deck or other place to permit of suitable motion. Instead of a piston
rod a chain may be secured to the piston and pass through a suitable aperture
in the cylinder cover, and having rollers to take the friction of the chain
sliding through the cover; or by means of a longitudinal opening or tube-
like passage for receiving the mooring rope or chain, the cable, tow rope, or
other means or apparatus employed for the purpose of traction, or for holding,
securing, or mooring a ship or other vessel, or for any other purpose where a
line, rope, cable, chain, or other similar connection is subject to strain or
sudden jerk, the piston rod may be superseded.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Pendry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th September 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PENDRY, of Wotton, near the City of Gloucester, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of March, in tho year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Pendry, Her special licence that I, the said William
Pendry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Pendry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 DYNAMOMETRIC APPARATUS FOR RELIEVING AND INDICATING THE STRAIN ON
MOORING AND TOWING ROPES OR CABLES OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR
OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Pendry, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 date of tho said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Pendry, 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 Sheets of Drawings :-
:-
I employ a dynamometric apparatus composed of a spring or springs con-
tained within or included in a case or framing placed between the cable or
rope and the point or points of attachment, so that the amount of strain to
which the rope or cable is being subjected can be ascertained, and at the same
time the liability to fracture or rupture of the rope or cable when suddenly
strained be counteracted.
For mooring, I take a case, say, of cylindrical shape, with ends bolted or
otherwise fixed therein or thereto. A piston or disc is made to slide freely in
the case, a suitable rod passing through its front cover; between the piston or
disc and the cover are placed a pair of volute or other suitably shaped springs,
against which the piston is drawn or pressed when the strain is applied. On
some convenient part of the case is fixed a graduated scale, and to the piston
or piston rod is attached a finger or pointer to indicate the amount of strain
applied. The end of the piston rod is provided with a hook, eye, or shackle;
the back end of the case is connected to a bracket fixed firmly on the deck or

page_text: other convenient place by a universal joint, so that the case or piston rod can
accommodate itself to the line of strain.
For towing, the case or framing of the dynamometric apparatus should bo
connected to the tow rail or stand by means of a universal joint or other
mechanical equivalent, so that it may follow the line of draught.
Instead of a cylindrical case any other form of case or framing may be
employed, and flat, belical, spiral, or any other well-known form of metallic
springs may be used, or any of the elastic compounds, such as vulcanised
india-rubber, may be employed instead of metallic springs, and moreover the
case or framing may be attached to the rope or cable and the piston rod to
the tow rail or to the deck. The case or framing containing the springs may
also be firmly fixed on the deck or elsewhere, and a slide block be mounted on
the piston rod working in slides on the deck or connected to the case with a
suitable link to connect it to the cable; or twin cylinders or cases and springs
may be used with a cross head to connect the piston rods together; or the
case or framing may be furnished with trunnions working in bearings fixed on
the deck or other place to permit of suitable motion. Instead of a piston rod
a chain may be secured to the piston and pass through a suitable aperture in
the cylinder cover, and having rollers to take the friction of the chain sliding
through the cover; or by means of a longitudinal opening or tube-like passage
for receiving the mooring rope or chain, the cable, tow rope, or other means or
apparatus employed for the purpose of traction, or for holding, securing, or
mooring a ship or other vessel, or for any other purpose where a line, rope,
cable, chain, or other similar connection is subject to strain or sudden jerk,
the piston rod may be superseded, the chain being the substitute therefor, and
thus the spring may be operated upon.
In the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings I have illustrated by several
general and detail views the mode in which I propose to apply my present
Invention in practice. In all these views those parts having identical functions
or serving the same object are denoted by the same letters of reference.
In Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an elevation, and Figure 2 a plan, partly in section,
of an apparatus constructed according to my Invention, and suitable for
mooring or other purposes where a considerable strain is employed.
a is the case enclosing or comprising the whole of the apparatus; this case
may be firmly secured to the deck or any other convenient place; b, b', the
pistons or plungers (one of which is shewn in longitudinal section in Figure 2),
sliding in two cylindrical chambers contained within the case a; 6", piston
rods connected with the pistons b₁; c, volute springs, against which the pis-
tons are drawn when the strain is applied; d, the indicator or pointer

page_text: denoting the strain; e, moveable piece sliding in a groove; this piece is set
against the indicator or pointer d before the strain is applied, so as to be
moved by the pointer and thus record or register the maximum strain";
f, chain or shackle which may be connected with the rope or cable; 9, cross
head sliding in guides, to which the pistons may be attached by means of rods
and cross bars.
-
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Figure 3 is an elevation, and Figure 4 a plan, half in section, of an appa-
ratus designed for similar purposes as the one represented in Figures 1 and 2.
In this arrangement the springs c, c, are of elliptic shape. a' is a standard,
which may be firmly secured to the deck and is fitted with a double joint a",
by means of which it is connected to the case a, so that the apparatus may
have a compound motion enabling it to adjust itself to the line of strain.
Figure 5 is an elevation, and Figure 6 a plan, half in section, of an appa-
ratus suitable for towing or mooring and fitted with conical springs. In this
arrangement the case a is hung in a universal joint or gimbal connected with
a standard a', which may be firmly secured to the deck, so that the axis of the
case a will be enabled to always accommodate itself to the line of strain. The
apices of the springs c, c, bear upon a central disc b, shewn in Figure 6.
'
Figure 7 is a plan, half in section, of a similar apparatus constructed
according to my Invention, fitted with conical springs and suitable for mooring
or other similar purposes. The case a is securely fastened to the deck; a
block or piston 6 slides in the case and bears against the springs c, c. The
chain may be made to pass through the cover of the case and coupled direct
to the piston 6, suitable guide rollers being placed in the cover or fitted
thereto, so as to guide the chain whenever the strain applied is not in a line
with the axis of the case a.
Figure 8 is an elevation, and Figure 9 a plan, of a similar apparatus fitted
with a spiral spring suitable for the purpose of towing. In this arrangement
the case a is supported by or carried in trunnions working in a bearing a²,
made to swivel in a standard a", which may be firmly secured on the deck.
Figure 10 is an elevation, partly in section, and Figure 11 a plan, of an
apparatus constructed according to my Invention with twin cylinders n and
spiral springs, suitable for being applied to the towing bar or rail of a tug
boat. In this arrangement the towing bar x, guided between the rollers
or pulleys y, y, forms the substitute for the standard a¹ shewn in Figures
8 and 9.
In Sheet 2, Figure 1 is an elevation, and Figure 2 a plan, of a portion of a
tug boat shewing the mode or method in which an apparatus constructed
according to my Invention may be applied thereto.

page_text: t
Figure 3 is an elevation, and Figure 4 a plan, shewing a portion of a ship
or vessel with an apparatus applied for relieving and recording or indicating
the strain on the cable when at anchor or moored.
In Figures 1 and 2, Sheet 1, I have shewn an apparatus constructed
according to my Invention, having pistons or discs traversing a cylinder, and
being connected together by means of piston rods and a cross head connected
by means of a central rod or guide, in accordance with the description con-
tained in the second paragraph of this Specification of the present Invention.
Figures 5 and 6 of Sheet 1 illustrate an apparatus suitable for towing in
which the piston rod is terminated at one end by a disc.
In Figures 10 and 11, Sheet 1, I have shewn a modification in the mode
of mounting or fitting the dynamometric apparatus constructed according
to my Invention upon the deck of a steam tug, by this means it may more
readily accommodate itself to the variations in the line of draught by
traversing the curved towing rail or bar.
In Sheet 2 I have only illustrated the application of my Invention to the
mooring of ships and the towing of vessels; but it will be readily understood
that the apparatus constructed according to my. Invention may be applied to
the deck of the boat being towed, as also it may be fitted upon a wharf or
quay, or be used in a variety of other situations, and for other purposes than
those I have illustrated in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
I have herein-before described the mode of measuring and recording the
strain to which the apparatus may be subjected, by means of a fixed scale
having a traversing indicating piece moved or slid by means of a pointer or
arm connected directly or indirectly with the spring or springs of the piston or
rod through which the strain is transmitted; but instead thereof two scales
may be employed, one sliding upon the other, the moveable one being held
by means of a spring at the point to which it has been moved and, instead of
a fixed pointer or arm a jointed finger piece with a bell crank or lever may
be used to change the direction of motion, and enable the connection between
the piston or spring and the scale as well as their relative positions to be
varied.
Having now described my Invention and illustrated the same by the several
Figures in the annexed two Sheets of Drawings, I wish it to be understood
that I do not claim the use or employment of springs, howsoever applied, for
the purpose of counteracting sudden jerks or heavy strains, as such have been
used heretofore for purposes of this kind; but what I claim is,-
First, the construction of dynamometric apparatus for relieving and indi-
cating the strain on mooring and towing ropes or cables of ships and other

page_text: vessels, and for other similar purposes, as herein described and as illustrated in
the annexed two Sheets of Drawings.
Second, the construction of and mode of applying apparatus as herein
described for relieving bodies from the injurious effects of sudden jerks or
heavy strains, as herein described.
Third, the construction of and mode. of applying and working dynamome-
trical apparatus, as herein described, for steam tugs or towing vessels in the.
manner illustrated in Figures 10 and 11, Sheet 1, of the accompanying
Drawings.
Fourth, the modes or methods herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying Sheets of Drawings of mounting and fitting dynamometric
apparatus or appliances for relieving the strain on mooring or towing ropes or.
cables of ships and other vessels.
Fifth, the construction and arrangement of the parts of apparatus, machinery,.
or appliances, as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheets
of Drawings, employed for relieving the strain on mooring or towing ropes or
cables of ships and other vessels, and which may also be employed for other
similar purposes.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Pendry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM PENDRY. (L.s.)
WILLIAM PENDRY. (L.s.)