IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS' ILLUMINATORS OR SCUTTLES."
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Darley, of Chatham, in the County of
Kent, Foreman of the Yard, Royal Dockyard, Chatham, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS' ILLUMINATORS OR SCUTTLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Darley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd March 1870.
I, WILLIAM DARLEY, of Chatham, in the County of Kent, Foreman
5 of the Yard, Royal Dockyard, Chatham, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIPS' ILLUMINATORS OR SCUTTLES,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and arrange-
ments of ships' illuminators or scuttles applicable either to the royal or
0 mercantile navy, whereby facility of adjustment or opening and closing
is combined with economy and simplicity of construction.
The essential feature of this Invention consists in the employment of
a dead light and glass in one frame balancing each other, or nearly so,

page_text: or a dead light or glass independently and turning on a pin or pivot in
lieu of upon a hinge as hitherto. The frame surrounding the opening
to be covered contains a packing of vulcanized india-rubber or other
suitable material, and the frame of the dead light and glass, which may
be of iron, is provided with a raised annular projection, which is forced
against the packing by the action of two or more screws or nuts cm-
ployed for securing the said dead light or glass in their closed position.
A helical spring is fitted on to the pivot or axis on which the said light
and glass turn, in order that when the same are being opened they shall
be forced out of contact with the packing preparatory to turning them
on their pivot. A tightening nut is also fitted on to the pivot or
axis for the purpose of assisting the screw or nut or screws or nuts
herein before referred to in securing-the-dead-light and glass, and also
for fixing-the-same when adjusted or turned on the pivot in any desired
position, so as to leave the opening either entirely or only partially
closed.
These improved scuttles or illuminators are applicable to the parts
of ships' cabins, to ships' sides between the frames, to water-tight or
other bulk heads, and to fighting parts of iron ships.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said William Darley in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
DARLEY, of Chatham, in the County of Kent, Foreman of the Yard,
"Royal Dockyard," Chatham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Darley, Her special license
that I, the said William Darley, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Darley, 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, usc, exercise, and

page_text: vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHIPS ILLUMINATORS OR SCUTTLES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Darley, my executors or administrators, by
by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, 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 the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that i, the said William Darley, 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 accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:
My said Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and
arrangements of ships' illuminators or scuttles applicable both to the
royal navy or men-of-war and to the mercantile navy, whereby facility
of adjustment and of opening and of closing are combined with economy
and simplicity of construction.
The essential feature of my said Invention consists in making the
dead light and glass revolve on a pivot in lieu of fitting them with the
ordinary hinges. The dead light and glass are made in one frame
balancing each other, or nearly so, or the dead light and glass are made
to turn independently on a pivot, the said dead light and glass being. at
all times parallel to the face of the scuttle or other opening to be
covered: The frame surrounding the scuttle or opening to be covered
contains a packing of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable material,
and the frame of the dead light and glass, which may be of brass or iron,.
is provided with a raised annular projection, which is forced against the
packing by the action of two or more screws or nuts employed for
securing the said dead light or glass in their closed position. A helical
spring is fitted on to the pivot or axis, on which the dead light or glass,
or both, turn in order that when the same are being opened they shall
be forced out of contact with the packing preparatory to turning them
on their pivot. A tightening nut is also fitted on to the pivot or axis.
for the purpose of assisting the screw or nut or screws or nuts herein-

page_text: before referred to in securing the dead light and glass, and also for
fixing the same when adjusted or turned on the pivot in any desired
position, so as to leave the opening either entirely or only partially
closed.
These improved scuttles or illuminators may be applied to the ports
of ships' cabins, to ships' sides between the frames, to water-tight or
other bulkheads, for ventilation, or as man-hole covers, and to fighting
ports of iron ships.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several-Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
-the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a front elevation of one modifi-
cation of my improved ships' illuminator or scuttle fully closed by the
glass; Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same taken along the line
1-2, in Figure 1. A represents a ships' side, and B is a flanged ring
fitted on to the mouth of the scuttle; C, C¹, is a frame hung on a centrally
placed pin or pivot D, the part C constituting the dead light and the
part C¹ the glass. This frame C, C', is balanced on its pivot or fulcrum
D, so that it will offer the smallest possible resistance when being turned
thercon. The pivot or fulcrum D is securely fixed into the ship's side
and flange formed on the ring B, and a helical or other spring a is
interposed between the frames C, C', and the said flange for the purpose
hereafter explained. A screw thread is cut on the outer end of the pivot
and an ordinary nut capable of being turned by a spanner or wrench
or a butterfly nut E capable of being turned by hand is screwed thereon
so as to press or bear against the surface of the frame C, C. An india-
rubber packing ring is let into an annular groove made in the ring B,
and corresponding projecting rings c', c', are formed on the inner faces a
of the dead light and glass frame, or the india-rubber or other packing b
may be fitted into an annular groove in the frame of the glass and
dead light, and the projecting ring c¹ may be made on the fixed ring B.
is a strong bracket fixed to the sides of the ship and to the flange of
the ring B, and carrying a tightening screw G provided with a suitable
head or handle H for turning the same. The inner end of this screw
presses or bears upon the edge of the dead light or glass frame at a
point diametrically opposite to the point where the nut E on the pivot

page_text: presses. When open the frame C, C¹, hangs, as shown in dotted lines
in Figure 1, being balanced, but when the opening is to be closed the
glass or the dead light, as the case may be, is turned up so as to coincide
with or cover the ring B, and is thus secured and made water-tight by
tightening the nut E on one side and the screw G on the opposite side
of the glass frame or dead light, thereby causing the projecting ring c
or c³, as the case may be, to be embedded in the india-rubber packing.
A stop d, d, is formed on the rim of the dead light and glass frame,
which bears against the side of the bracket F when either the glass or
dead light is properly closed. On opening the scuttle the screw G and
nut E are unscrewed slightly so as to allow the frame C, C¹, to be moved
from contact with the india-rubber packing, the spring a forcing out-
wards the said frame when the pressure is removed therefrom. The
arrangement shown at Figures 1 and 2 is adapted for the smaller sizes
of scuttles, but when large scuttles, say from 9 inches up to 12 inches
diameter are required, then I employ three or more tightening screws
or nuts disposed so as to bear at several points all round the glass
frame or dead light.
Figure 3 represents a front elevation of a slightly modified arrange-
ment of my improvements in ships' scuttles or illuminators adapted
to a 12-inch or larger scuttle showing the glass partly closed and the.
dead light fully open; Figure 4 is a vertical section of the same showing
both the glass and dead light fully closed. A is the ship's side; B, the
flanged ring fitted on to the mouth of the scuttle; C, the dead light, and
C¹ the frame carrying the glass. In this modification the dead light
and glass are made separate and are opened and closed independently
of each other, but they both turn upon one pivot or fulcrum D, which
is common to the two, or if preferred each may have a separate pivot
or fulcrum. E is the tightening nut on the pivot D; G is the tightening
screw in the fixed bracket F situate opposite to the pivot D; I, I', are
lugs formed on the rim of the dead light and glass for the reception of
a loose screw which screws into the socket K when the dead light and
glass, or the glass only, is closed; L, L', are notches also formed on the
rims of the dead light and glass for the purpose of engaging with the
ordinary stud or pin M. This stud or pin is screwed at its outer end
and provided with a tightening nut N capable of being screwed down
on to the dead light or on to the frame of the glass, as required; b, b¹, are
india-rubber packing rings let into grooves made respectively in the

page_text: fixed ring B and in the frame C¹ of the glass, and c, c', are projecting
rings formed respectively upon the faces of the glass frame and dead.
light for the purpose of ensuring a perfectly water-tight joint when the
scuttle is closed. In cases where a glass only is fitted to the scuttle
then the india-rubber ring b¹ will be dispensed with. Two helical or
other springs are employed, the one being interposed between the frame
of the glass and the fixed ring B or side of the ship according as the
flange of the ring B is inside or outside the ship, whilst the other spring
is interposed between the frame of the glass and the dead light. The
object of these springs is to force the glass or dead light clear_of-its-
packing preparatory to its being opened, and to-yield sufficiently to
allow of these parts being-screwed up tight against the packing again
when requisite. In this modification it will be seen that there are four
bearing points round the glass or dead light for the tightening nuts or
screws to bear or press against, whereby perfect security and tightness
are obtained. By placing the flange of the fixed ring B outside the ship
a larger scuttle may be employed, and where the space or interval
between the ship's frames is limited it will be found advantageous to
make the glass and dead light separate, as shewn. in Figures 3 and 4, by
reason of their then occupying a smaller space.
preferred to make the dead light and glass in one frame, then the ring B
should be made sufficiently deep to admit of the frame C, C¹, working
in front of or over the angle iron franic of the ship, but within the
surface of the wood lining on the ship's side. d" is a buffer or stop of
india-rubber to check the fall of the dead light or glass.
Should it however be
Figure 5 is a section taken through the fulcrum pin or point of
another modification based upon the principles herein-before described.
The main alteration in this modification is the substitution of marginal
ścrews on the rims of the dead light and glass for securing and tightening
them in their places for the nuts and screws pressing upon the rims of
the dead lights and glass in the previously described arrangements. A
is the ship's side; B, the fixed ring; C, C', the dead light and glass;
D, the pin or pivot, upon which both turn; E, the tightening nut on the
pivot; a, a, the helical springs for easing off the dead light and glass as
they are unscrewed. The glass frame C¹ screws by means of a marginal
screw at e into the fixed ring B and is surrounded by a ring Cu, in
which it turns freely when being screwed or unscrewed, it being held
in such ring by a pin and circumferential groove. This ring C" pivots.

page_text: on the pin D, and is forced outwards as the glass is unscrewed by the
pressure of the spring a. f,ƒ, are two recesses or holes made in the
glass rim for the entrance of a key for unscrewing the same.
The piece
of glass itself is secured in its frame by a small ring g held in position
against a shoulder in the rim so as not to strain the glass by means of
small screws. The dead light C screws by means of a marginal screw ½
into the glass frame C', and is here shewn as attached centrally to a
radius bar or arm O, in which it turns freely on the pin P. This radius
arm is pivotted on the pin or pivot D, and is held down by the nut E.
In lieu of using a radius arm the dead light may be simply connected by
a ring and chain to the ship's side or frame and be stowed close to its
work when not in use. i is a head sccured into the pivot D to prevent
the nut E from being detached and thereby liable to be mislaid.
In those cases wherein the dead light and glass mounted according
to my Invention are not made to balance each other suitable balance
weights may be employed.
If desired the dead light and glass may both be separate and made
to turn on onc pivot common to the two, both being in the same plano
with each other. When only one helical spring is required any other
shape than circular may of course be given to the said dead lights and
glasses.
It is obvious that the arrangements herein-before described are equally
applicable to man-holes in ships,
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I con-
sider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part, recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The mounting the dead light or glass, or both combined, of
ships' scuttles on a fulcrum pin or pivot or pivots in lieu of upon an
ordinary hinge pin, whereby greater facility is afforded for balancing the
weight of the same and for opening and closing or partially opening
and closing the scuttles, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated by my Drawings.
Second. The combination with the above mode of mounting dead
lights and glasses, whether combined or separately, of tightening nuts
and screws, a spring or springs, and india-rubber or other packing

page_text: described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Darley, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of
August One thousand eight hundred and seventy.