AN IMPROVED FLOATING DOCK
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Scott, of No. 166, Buchanan Street,
Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED FLOATING DOCK."
Sealed the 5th March 1872, and dated the 14th October 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Scott at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th October 1871.
I, JAMES SCOTT, of No. 166, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, in the County
5 of Lanark, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "AN IMPROVED FLOATING DOCK," to be as follows, that is to
say:-
This Invention, which relates to an improved arrangement or con-
struction of floating dock, consists, in the case of a twin dock, in
attaching together the two hulls of which it is composed by parallel
motion links. The links are coupled to the ends of the hulls by suitable
bearing pins, and are so situated as not to interfere with the entrance

page_text: through which a ship passes when about to be docked and lifted. The
entrances to the two hulls are at alternate ends of the dock, and when
in use one hull is sunk whilst the other is raised with the ship or
ships docked in it, thus the sunk hull by means of the parallel links
herein referred to steadics the floating hull. In the case of a single 5
dock the parallel links are connected to it and to a wall, embankments,
pile work, or other sufficiently steady support in the water.
In place of using the parallel links the docks may be steadied by
means of one or more counterweights passed over a framework and
pullies and attached to the dock, which, as the latter sinks, is or are 1
correspondingly elevated, and vice versa, but which being always
suspended produce a steadying action in the floating dock.
In raising the docks out of the water, that is to say floating them, tho
water contained therein is pumped out by pumps driven by engines fixed
on the dock, or in place of pumping it out it is forced out by air 1
compressed into the hollow spaces or chambers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th April 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES 2
SCOTT, of No. 166, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the 36th 2
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said James Scott, Her special license that 1, the
said James Scott, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said James Scott, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to g
time and at all times thereafter 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 "AN IMPROVED FLOATING DOcz," upon

page_text: the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Scott, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 James Scott, do hereby declaro
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, which relates to an improved arrangement or
construction of floating dock, consists, in the case of a twin dock, in
attaching together the two hulls of which it is composed by parallel
motion links. The links are coupled to the ends of the hulls by suitable
bearing pins, and are so situated as not to interfere with the entrance
through which a ship passes when about to be docked and lifted. Tho
entrances to the docks are at one or at alternate ends, and when in uso
one dock is sunk whilst the other is raised with the ship or ships docked
in it; thus the sunk dock by means of the parallel links herein referred
to steadies the upraised dock. In the case of a single dock the parallel
links are connected to it and to a wall, embankment, pile work, or
other sufficiently steady support in the water.
i
In place of using the parallel links the docks may be steadied by
means of ono or more' counterweights passed over a framework and
pullies and attached to the dock, which as the latter sinks is or aro.
correspondingly elevated and vice versa, but which being always
suspended produce a steadying action in the floating dock.
In raising the docks out of the water, that is to say floating them, the
water contained therein is pumped out by pumps driven by engines fixed
on the dock, or in place of pumping it out it is forced out by air com- .
pressed into the hollow spaces or chambers.
And in order tliat my said Invention may be properly understood, I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system; mode, or manner

page_text: in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into
effect, that is to say :-
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto appended, Figure 1 is a perspective
view of part of a twin floating dock constructed in accordance with my
Invention, and which consists in coupling together the two docks A and
B by parallel motion links O, attached by means of pins and brackets or
other means to the sides of the hulls A and B as shewn at x, Figure 1.
The links C may be coupled in pairs to the hulls A and B at intervals
throughout their entire lengths, or the hulls A and B may be coupled
together at their ends merely by such links C; in either case the links are
so situated as not to interfere with the entrances at the ends of the
docks through which a ship passes when about to be docked and lifted
from the water. When the twin dock shewn at Figure 1 is in use, one
dock is or may be sunk in the water whilst the other with the ship or
ships docked therein is at its raised position as shewn at A and B,
Figure 1; thus the hull B when sunk, acts by means of the parallel
links C, as a means of steadying the floating hull A, and vice versa.
The parallel links C act as guides to the hulls A and B when either of
them is descending or ascending in the water. By means of this
arrangement of parallel motion links any number of floating docks may
be coupled together.
At Figure 2 of the Drawings three such docks E, F, and G, are shewn,
connected by links C, any one of which docks may be sunk so as to
steady the others or to permit of a ship or ships being docked therein
without interfering with operations in process of execution in the other a
docks.
In the case of a single floating dock being employed, as illustrated at
A, Figure 3 of the Drawings, the parallel links C are connected to
bearings fixed to one side of the dock and also to pile work B situated in
the water as shewn, and which may either be a quay, wharf, embank- §
ment, wall, or other sufficiently steady support.
Figure 4 of the Drawings is a diagram side elevation of an arrange-
ment of mechanism embraced by this Invention, and which may be
employed in lieu of the parallel motion links C to steady floating docks.
This arrangement consists in the use of counterweights A attached to
chains or ropes which are passed over antifriction pullies 6 supported on
a framework B, and which may be fixed on a wharf, embankment, wall,

page_text: pile work, or other steady support. The ends of the chains or ropes
opposite to that whereat the weights A are situated are attached to tho
sides C of the floating dock, so that as the dock sinks the counterweights
A are correspondingly elevated and vice versa, and thereby a steadying
action is exerted on the floating dock. Or in lieu of this arrangement
the mechanism illustrated in side clevation at Figure 5 of the Drawings
may be employed to steady floating docks in ascending and descending
in the water.
Under this modification a screwed pile or mushroom anchor B is fixed
into the ground, and the lower extremities of two (in a series of) links C
are attached thereto as shewn. The extremities of the links at the other
end of the series are attached to a pin x secured to a plates which
slides in a guide D fixed on the side or end of the floating dock as
shewn. When the dock descends in order that a ship or vessel may be
floated thereinto the links O assume the position shewn at E, Figure 5,
and as the dock again ascends after the ship or vessel has been placed
the links C are gradually extended, thereby keeping the dock steady and
counteracting any undue tendency in the dock to cant or heel over to
one side.
It is obvious that any number of sets of this arrangement of parallel
or crossed links may be used in connection with a floating dock.
Although improvements in the construction of floating docks other-
wise than in steadying and guiding them in their descent and ascent in
the water forms no part of this Invention, I have illustrated on the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings several arrangements of floating docks
to which my Invention may be conveniently applied.
One of these arrangements of floating docks is shewn in part sido
elevation at Figure 6, in part end elevation and part transverse section
at Figure 7, in part horizontal section at Figure 8, and in part plan at
Figure 9 of the Drawings. This dock is made up of a series of pontoons
or caissons A of the requisite capacity, each of which is divided into a
number of compartments B, as more particularly seen at Figure 8.
Along both sides of cach pontoon or caisson compressed air chambers C
are situated, and at each end of the pontoons or caissons A buoyant
3 towers D are arranged, as shewn more particularly at Figure 6. At the
lower end of each tower D a valve E is situated through which, when it
is desired to sink the dock, water is admitted to the spaces or compart-

page_text: ments B. As the dock descends into the water it is kept steady by the
parallel motion links, or by one or other of the arrangements of
mechanism illustrated at Figures 4 and 5 and herein-before described,
acting in conjunction with the buoyant towers D, and when the ship or
vessel required to be raised out of the water has been floated into the
dock the engine contained in the house 1 situated on one side of the
dock is set in motion, and the water is pumped out by suitable arrange-
ments of pumps; or the water may be ejected through valves situated
in the bottom of the dock by the engine forcing compressed air into the
hollow spaces or compartments B.
My Invention may also be applied to floating docks arranged and
constructed as shewn in part longitudinal section at Figure 10, and in
part horizontal section at Figure 11 of the Drawings. As shown by
these Figures this dock is constructed in one continuous length and is
subdivided into compartments A, into which, when it is desired to sink
the dock, water is admitted through suitable valves situate in the bottom
of the dock. A pipe or pipes B shewn at Figure 10 is or are situated
within the dock towards its upper end, and which communicates or
communicate with the pumps driven by the engine. The pipe or pipes
B also communicates or communicate with the chambers A by means of
the branch pipes C, so that when it is desired to raise the dock to its
floating position the water contained in the chambers A is drawn up by
the pumps through the branch pipes C into the main pipe or pipes B
and is thence discharged.
Another arrangement of floating dock to which my Invention
may be
applied is illustrated in part transverse section at Figure 12 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and which is shewn with parallel motion
links A attached thereto, the said links being also fixed to a steady
support B placed in the water and similar to that illustrated at Figure 3
of the Drawings. The dock shewn in the Figure now under reference
is constructed with a central compressed air tube C in addition to the
compressed air tubes D at each side, and is also internally braced
between each cross compartment of the deck or flooring as shown at x.
Figures 13 and 14 are respectively transverse sections of two arrange-
ments for supporting the deck or flooring of floating docks as shewn at
Figure 13; the deck or flooring a is supported on corrugated iron plates
bbolted or rivetted together. As shown by Figures 14, the deck or
flooring a of the dock is supported on arched plates b, and by means of