IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF RENDERING DOORS AND WINDOWS WATER-TIGHT, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO THE PORT-HOLES AND OTHER OPENINGS ON BOARD SHIPS AND VESSELLS.
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Coles Fuller, of No. 1, Ironmonger Lane,
Cheapside, London, Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE METHOD OF RENDERING DOORS AND WINDOWS WATER-TIGHT, ESPECIALLY
APPLICABLE TO THE PORT-HOLES AND OTHER OPENINGS ON BOARD SHIPS AND
VESSELLS.
Sealed the 8th August 1864, and dated the 16th February 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Coles Fuller
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th February 1864.
I, WILLIAM COLES FULLER, of No. 1, Ironmonger Lane, Cheapside,
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE METHOD OF RENDERING DOORS AND WINDOWS WATER-TIGHT,
ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO THE PORT-HOLES AND OTHER OPENINGS ON BOARD SHIPS
AND VESSELLS," to be as follows, viz.:—
My Invention consists of certain improvements in the method of securing
the edges of doors, and windows, and port-holes, or other openings on board
ships from leakage by means of an elastic rib or beading of india-rubber,
vulcanized on to a flat surface either of brass or hard india-rubber commonly
call'd "vulcanite," and made in convenient lengths and forms, the object being
to obtain thereby a more perfect fixing for the elastic part, and to render
rivetting and cementing as at present practised unnecessary.
In the case of armour-plated and many other ships, it is essential that each

page_text: port-hole should be accurately fitted so as to be quite water-tight when closed
in rough weather, and the plan adopted hitherto has been to use a strip or
border of vulcanized sheet rubber extending round the border of each opening
or port-hole. This strip of india-rubber is at present held in place by cement in
conjunction with iron plates rivetted on, but great difficulty is experienced in
securing so elastic a material in its place by means of rivets or cement. It is
also necessary to plough out a groove on the opposite surface or recess to
receive a brass projecting rib (V-shaped) which indents the surface of the
india-rubber for further security against leakage.
By substituting as I now propose a projecting rib or bead of elastic rubber
vulcanized on to the harder material, which can be readily secured by screws.
(see Sketch A, B, and C), the same object is more perfectly attained, and
at less expence. The sketches given are designed as an illustration only;
the particular forms requiring to be varied to suit the different kinds of doors,
windows, or other openings; but the principle in all cases is the same, viz., the 1
employment of a rib or bead of vulcanized elastic rubber chemically united to a
harder material for the purpose of obtaining a more effectual fixing, and of
economising the cost.
The Invention will also be applicable to the windows, doors, and similar
openings of lighthouses, forts, or other buildings requiring to be secured against
water leakage.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Coles Fuller in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th August 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAMS
COLES FULLER, of No. 1, Ironmonger Lane, Cheapside, London, Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Coles Fuller, Her special licence that I, the said William Coles
Fuller, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Coles Fuller, 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,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE METHOD OF RENDERING DOORS AND WINDOWS WATER-TIGHT,
ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO THE PORT-HOLES AND OTHER OPENINGS ON BOARD SHIPS
AND VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Coles Fuller, or 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 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 Coles Fuller, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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:-
The special features of novelty and utility in the present Invention consist
in the adaptation of vulcanised india-rubber in new forms and combinations
for the purpose of rendering doors, and windows, and other openings more
perfectly water-tight; and the Invention is especially applicable to the port-
holes, deck lights, bulkhead doors, manholes, &c., on board iron-clad or other
vessels.
The improvement consists in the use of india-rubber beading made of two
distinct kinds of that material, chemically united in the process of vulcanising,
so as to form one solid homogeneous substance. The flat surface for fixing is
of hard rubber, commonly known as "vulcanite," which may be planed,
mitred, drilled, or countersunk with ordinary joiners' tools, and the projecting
rib or bead is of the usual elastic material of the very best quality. In most
cases I prefer to use for the elastic part the red rubber compounded with
golden sulphate of antimony, manufactured by Messrs. W. Warne & Co., of
Tottenham, because it resists oil better than the ordinary grey rubber, and at
the same time combines perfectly with the harder material. This well-known
substance (vulcanized india-rubber) is at present largely employed as the best
if not the only material to effect the object, videlicit, excluding sea water
from port-holes, &c., and its use to a certain extent is efficient, but the
difficulty of obtaining a secure fixing for so elastic a material to the surfaces
of port lids, iron doors, &c., is admitted by all practical engineers. The use
of cement and rivetted plates as a means of fixing is not satisfactory, and
scarcely less so is the practice of using a flat surface of india-rubber with a
sharp metal V piece opposite, which by indentation secures the parts in

page_text: contract from leakage, the almost invariable result of this arrangement being
that by unequal or violent pressure upon the hard opposing surface the
material is cut and damaged.
The present Invention is designed to obviate both these disadvantages, first,
by securing a firm mechanical fixing, and next by substituting for the cutting
edge of metal a rib or bead of india-rubber expanding on a flat surface, by
which means all danger or possibility of cutting is prevented.
From a long acquaintance with the various mechanical application of
caoutchouc, I may here state what is well known to those practically acquainted
with this material, that so long as it is free to expand upon a flat surface it
will bear an incalculable amount of pressure, however sudden or violent,
without injury.
For example, a cubic inch of good vulcanised india-rubber placed under a steam
hammer will sustain a blow of at least five tons, and recover its form perfectly.
By this extreme pressure it will for the moment be reduced to a thickness of
one-eighth of an inch, expanding at the same time to an area of eight square
inches, whereas a blow of one-tenth the force exerted by a sharp angular
edge upon a surface of sheet rubber will penetrate and damage the material.
It is on the same principle, videlicit, the expansion on a flat surface, that the
projecting rib possesses a decided advantage, and is not liable to be cut or
damaged.
There are two methods in which my improved beading may be applied to
port-holes; one is to fix it round the edges of the port lid, as shewn, Figure 15,
in which case it expands on the flat surface of the recess, and by comparing
Figure 14 and 15, it will be seen how much incumbrance and expensive
labor is saved by dispensing with the rivetted plates and brass V piece.
The other method, which on most accounts I consider preferable, is to fix
the beading in the recess (as shewn at Figure 12), and in this position by
keeping the recess a trifle deeper it will be sufficiently protected. This
arrangement also allows of the port lid being quite plain, and free from
projections, and in either case the brass V-piece and rivetted plates are
render'd unnecessary.. I prefer in most cases to fix the beading with brass
countersunk screws, on account of the facility with which in the event of damage,
by accident or otherwise, a defective piece can be cut out and replaced; the
screws may be about two or three inches apart on alternate sides of the rib,
and each length should be bedded with thin white or red lead. It should be
observed that the flat surface, though sufficiently "hard" to obtain a firm and
effectual fixing is by no means brittle, but when drawn tight by the screws
will yield to any slight curvatures, if required, by the conformation of the

page_text: skylights of buildings on land, especially of iron-proof'd buildings, also for the
doors and windows of lighthouses or other erections exposed to tempestuous
weather.
The detailed description of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings will furnish
such further explanations as are necessary.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a full size section of my improved beading; the flat
surface for fixing is about 2 inches by. and the projecting rib or bead about
x. This width and thickness I prefer where the recess has yet to be made, but
a narrower width of 12 inch, or even 14 inch would suffice where necessary.
Throughout the Drawings the elastic part of the material is colored red, and
the hard or vulcanite brown.
Figures 2 to 10 represent full size sections of various patterns of beading
adapted to different purposes; Figures 3 and 4 are one inch wide, and are
suitable for the dead lights of the ocean-going steamers, or they may be used
with advantage for the skylights of cabins, or the side windows of saloons, or
wherever the water is liable to penetrate; Figure 5 is a variation in shape,
videlicit, a double rib with the screws for fixing between; Figure 6 is another
variation intended to fix sideways by recessing the corner of an iron plate on
door, as shewn at B, Figure 12.
}
Figures 7 and 8 are made with a flat elastic centre and 2 hard sides for
fixing, which will be found useful for doors and other covers which are
fornied with a projecting rim round their edges; Figure 7 will also be found
especially useful for repairs of the port-holes of vessels already constructed on
the present plan (see Figure 14). In the event of any portion of the material
being cut or damaged by the brass V piece, or otherwise, instead of having to
remove the port lid or the rivetted plates all that is necessary would be to cut
away the defective part and replace it with beading, Figure. 7, fixed by
screws.
Figures 9 and 10 represent two kinds of surfaces vulcanized on the brass,
one a projecting rib and the other a flat surface; the mode of fixing is shewn
at A, Figure 12. I would here observe that it is well known to manu-
facturers that india-rubber in the process of curing in moulds adapted for the
purpose will chemically adhere to brass, and I therefore in certain cases
employ sheet brass or cast brass as a fixing surface where the nature of the
case may require it; Figure 11 represents a mitred corner piece of the large
size beading for port-holes.

page_text: Figure 12 is a sectional plan view of the beading fixed in the recess of the
.armour plate.
Figure 13, a side view in section of the upper and lower port lid, shewing
the position of the beading on the cross piece.
V
Figure 14 is a section of the port lid as at present fitted, with the strip of
sheet rubber cemented and rivetted on with iron plates, and the brass ✓ piece
let into the recess opposite.
Figure 15 shews the position of the improved beading when fixed to the
port lid.
Figure 16 and 17 represent (on reduced scale of about 2 inches to the foot)
an oval and a round man-hole moulded in one piece with the projecting bead.
Figure 18 represents (on 2-inch scale) the front view of the port-hole with
the position of the beading either in the recess or on the port lid.
Figures 19 and 20 shew the expansion of the beading under more or less
pressure.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the means of carrying it
out, I would observe that Figures 1 to 10 indicate the principal forms of
beading which I consider most likely to be useful, but I do not confine myself
to these forms, but vary the shape and configuration both of the hard and
elastic part to suit the different surfaces and situations required; and I further
remark, that under the general description of "india-rubber" I include any
other analogous gums having the same or similar properties, and that I do
not claim as new the union of the hard and soft material, that being already
practised and well understood by manufacturers; but what I claim as new
and desire to secure by the present Patent is, the employment of a rib, strip,
or bead of elastic india-rubber chemically united to a harder surface, whether
of vulcanite or brass, as herein set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Coles Fuller, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Signed in the presence of
F. GARDINER,
1, Ironmonger Lane.
W. C. FULLER. (L.S.)