THE CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, LINTELS, BEAMS, GIRDERS, AND
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick William Alexander De Fabeck, of No. 18,
Norfolk Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"THE CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, LINTELS, BEAMS, GIRDERS, AND
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Frederick William Alexander
De Fabeck at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Peti-
tion and Declaration, on the 25th February 1854, pursuant to the 9th
section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
WILLIAM ALEXANDER DE FABECK, of No. 18, Norfolk Street, Strand, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "THE CONSTRUCTION OF
BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, LINTELS, BEAMS, GIRDERS, AND OTHER HORIZONTAL STRUCTURES
AND SUPPORTS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and
bave made a solemn declaration that I verily believe myself to be the true and
first Inventor thereof:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick William Alexander De Fabeck,
do hereby declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand
and seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed (that is to say):-

page_text: The nature of my said Invention consists in the superseding of the necessity
or use of arches in certain cases, and in obtaining strength and economy and
capability of extension in the construction of horizontal structures and supports,
by means of putting or fixing together numerous equilateral or other triangular
parts (composed of iron, wood, stone, or other substances), so as to form a
rigid horizontal lintel, beam, girder, or other support, as the case may be. The
plan or manner of construction is as follows (that is to say):-The said lintel,
beam, girder, or other horizontal structure or support is to be composed of a
double row, series, or combination of equilateral or other triangular parts;
every other or alternate one of such triangular parts in each row, series, or
combination being inverted, so that all such triangular parts may fit together, and
form one continuous straight beam, girder, or support, and the triangular parts
forming each single row or series of triangular parts being arranged in inverse
order to those of the other row or series, so that the two single rows or series
being arranged in lateral juxtaposition so as to form the double row, series, or
combination, the apexes of the several triangular parts of each such single row
or series shall fall or be placed on or near to the centres of and be firmly.
bolted, screwed, or otherwise fixed or fastened to the basis of the corresponding
triangular parts in the other single row or series, as shewn in the Drawing
filed herewith, and marked A, wherein one such single row or series of
triangular parts is delineated in black ink, and the other thereof is delineated
in red ink; or the plan and manner of construction may otherwise be described
as follows (that is to say):---The combination and fixing in a continuous right
line of a number, row, or series of double equilateral or other triangular parts,
each of such parts being formed by the combination or fixing together of two
single equilateral or other triangular parts, as shewn in the Drawing filed here-
with, and marked B. The several triangular or double triangular parts may be
either skeleton or hollow triangles, (as represented in the said Drawing marked
A,) or be solid, according to the nature of the material employed in the
construction, and the said several parts may be either cast, wrought, or made
in one piece, or cast, wrought, and made in several pieces, and afterwards fixed
or fastened together; and the entire construction, as well as the several
constituent parts thereof, are to be fixed or fastened together by bolts, screws,
or such other means and in such manner as may be found expedient or
necessary, according to the nature of the material used.
The Drawing
marked A contains the representation of a device for facilitating the firm
bolting of the several parts, in the case of an iron or other metallic con-
struction, in which the several triangular or double triangular parts are
skeleton or hollow, as before mentioned. The Drawings marked B and C also

page_text: shew a proposed additional plan of more firmly securing and fitting together
the several parts, so as to impart greater strength and firmness to the con-
struction, by means of a groove, to be cast, wrought, carved, or cut in the
substance of or otherwise added to the several parts, into which groove a
corresponding projection in the corresponding or fitting part may be made
It is also proposed, if found necessary, to further strengthen the
construction by the screwing, bolting, or otherwise fixing of a plate or plates
of iron or other metallic substance over, upon, or under the several points
or places of connexion of the several parts; the ends of the beams,
lintels, or girders thus constructed, being placed upon, fixed into, and sup-
ported by vertical erections or other supports. The Invention may be
applied to the construction of bridges, viaducts, roofings, or any other purposes
for which horizontal support is required. The plan of construction may be
varied, in cases where a smaller degree of strength would suffice, by cutting
away or dispensing with the apexes of the various triangular parts, or (in
other words) substituting quadrangular parts for triangular parts, as shewn in
the Drawing filed herewith and marked D.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-
fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight_
hundred and fifty-four.
F. W. A. DE FABECK. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed by the above-named
Frederick William Alexander De Fabeck
in the presence of
W. F. NOкES,
Sol',
11, George Yard,
Lombard Street.