Improvements in Ships' Signalling Apparatus.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 19th June, 1891
. Complete Specification Left, 16th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 7th May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ships' Signalling Apparatus.
I JAMES SILVESTER of Watering House, Dungeness, Romney in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention for improvements in ships' signalling apparatus has for its object
to enable a series of detonating or audible and visible signals to be discharged and
exhibited on board ship consecutively at any desired intervals of time, the whole of
the series of signals being automatically discharged after the apparatus has been
put into action by hand, so that in the case (for example) of a ship rapidly sinking,
the signalling apparatus having been put into action may be left to itself to
automatically complete the series of signals without further superintendence, and
consists essentially of a series of chambers for the reception and discharge of
detonating or sounding signal rockets arranged on, or forming a part of a frame
suitably constructed for attaching to the ship's rigging or elsewhere, the lower ends
of the said chambers being connected to one another by means of suitable lengths
of an ordinary fuse, commencing with an outer or ignition length with or without a
percussion or other igniting device, and passing to the first and preferably highest
chamber and thence to the next and so on to the last or final and preferably lowest
chamber, the length of fuse between any two adjacent chambers being so regulated
that the time required to consume it is equal to the time required to elapse between
the discharge of the two siguals.
The portions of fuse between the various chambers are preferably enclosed in a
suitable receptacle provided with partitions or other means for securely isolating
each layer or convolution from the others so as to ensure the traverse of the
igniting spark or flame taking place in a direction from end to end of the fuse
only.
Any suitable sounding rocket may be employed for the audible signal together
with the ordinary red stars to form a visible signal.
Dated this 19th day of June 1891.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ships' Signalling Apparatus.
I, JAMES SILVESTER of Watering House Dungeness, Romney, in the County of
Kent Gentleman, 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:-
This invention for improvements in ship signalling apparatus has for its object to
enable a series of detonating or audible and visible signals to be discharged and
exhibited on board ship consecutively at any desired intervals of time, the whole of
the series of signals being automatically discharged after the apparatus has been
put into action by hand, so that in the case (for example) of a ship rapidly sinking,
the signalling apparatus having been put into action may be left to itself to
automatically complete the series of signals without further superintendence, and
consists essentially of a series of chambers for the reception and discharge of
detonating or sounding signal rockets arranged on, or forming a part of a frame
suitably constructed for attaching to the ship's rigging or elsewhere the lower ends

page_text: of the said chambers being connected to one another by means of suitable lengths
of an ordinary fuse, commencing with an outer or ignition length with or without a
percussion or other igniting device, and passing to the first and preferably higher
chamber and thence to the next and so on to the last or final and preferably lowest
chamber, the length of fuse between any two adjacent chambers being so regulated
that the time required to consume it is equal to the time required to elapse between
the discharge of the two signals.
The portions of fuse between the various chambers are preferably enclosed in a
suitable receptacle provided with partitious or other means for securely isolating
each layer or convolution from the others so as to ensure the traverse of the
igniting spark or flame taking place in a direction from end to end of the fuse
only.
Any suitable sounding rocket may be employed for the audible signal together
with the ordinary red stars to form a visible signal.
In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings:
Fig. 1. represents a perspective view of a ship's signalling apparatus mounted on
the gunwale of a ship, and
Fig. 2 represents a vertical section of the same.
A series of mortars a for containing the rockets to be discharged, are mounted
on or secured to a casing e of sheet metal, and into the lower part of each mortar is
screwed a fuse nipple & whose inner end penetrates the rocket while to the outer
end is secured one end of each of the immediately adjacent lengths of fuse. On the
first or uppermost mortar is an ordinary friction fuse ignition tube e with operating
pull, and from the said tube passes a short length of fuse g to the nipple d of the
first mortar, and from thence another length of fuse which passes down the side i,
along the bottom and up the side m and back, the number of layers depending,
upon the interval of time between each signal, and the end being joined to the
nipple on the next mortar. The same method of winding the fuse is continued
throughout the whole length of the apparatus. Ribs of angle iron are secured to
the casing to form channels in which the fuse is cemented, and to divide the
successive lines of fuse from each other in order to prevent their ignition except
along the direction of their length. The apparatus is mounted by means of the
trunnion pivots in the hinged standards o secured to the gunwale p of the
ship.
When the apparatus is not in use the standards are turned into a horizontal
position so as to lie flat on the gunwale.
When preferred the apparatus may be suspended from the ship's rigging or
attached to any other convenient part of the vessel by means of suitable attaching
appliances.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A ship's signalling apparatus comprising, a series of mortars for firing signal
rockets successively connected together by firing fuse so as to automatically
discharge the rockets at given intervals of time substantially as described and for
the purpose set forth.
2. The arrangement and construction of ship's signalling apparatus substantially
as described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 16th day of March 1892.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, W.C., Agents.