CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN NAUTICAL INSTRUMENTS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES FOR CONTAINING INSTRUMENTS, GOODS, OR MER- CHANDIZE
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PETER PIGGOTT, of No. 11, Wardrobe Place, Doctors Commons, in the City of
London, and 523, Oxford Street East, in the County of Middlesex, Mathematical
Instrument Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of February, in tho
eleventh year of Her reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Williamı
Peter Piggott, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Peter Piggott,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
William Peter Piggott, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exer-
cise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN NAUTICAL INSTRUMENTS, AND
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES FOR CONTAINING INSTRUMENTS, GOODS, OR MER-
CHANDIZE;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso requiring
that I, the said William Petor Piggott, shall particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the
same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited
Letters Patent, as, reference being thereunto had; will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Peter Piggott, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by this present Specification or Instrument in writing,
reference being had to the sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, in which
similar letters denote corresponding parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, that is
to say:-
My said Invention, which relates to improvements in nautical instruments,
and in cases for containing instruments, goods, or merchandize, consists,―
First, in the application of vulcanized india rubber, gutta percha, or a com-
bination of vulcanized india rubber and gutta percha, or gutta percha with other
suitable ingredients, to the manufacture of nautical instruments.
Secondly, my Invention consists in the application of vulcanized india rubber,
gutta percha, or a combination of vulcanized india rubber and gutta percha,
or gutta percha with other suitable ingredients to the manufacture of cases for
containing instruments, goods, or merchandize; and in order that, my Invention
may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe
my improvements in the manufacture of telescopes suitable for nautical and
other purposes.
Figure 1 of the Drawing represents a front view of a taper telescope or spy
glass; Figure 2 a longitudinal section of the tube; Figures 3 and 4, transverse
sections of the object glass; Figure 4 being drawn double the size of Figure 3,
for the purpose of shewing more clearly the several parts of which the same is
composed, and the mode of applying the vulcanized india rubber, which forms
the principal feature of my Invention. a, a, Figure 2, represents a tube of
brass or other suitable metal, fitted with screws at each end, in every respect
similar to an ordinary telescope tube. This thin metal tube is then covered
with vulcanized india rubber by first forming a tube of vulcanized india rubber,
somewhat smaller than the metal tube, and then drawing the india rubber tube
over the metal one, which india rubber tube is afterwards to be secured by two
brass ferrules or hoops 6, b, one at each end of the tube, which are to be forced
over the india rubber covering so as to hold such covering firmly in its place.
With regard to this part of my Invention, I would remark that I sometimes

page_text: construct tubes of wood, and cover them with a solution of gutta percha inside
and out, and afterwards cover them with a thin sheet of vulcanized india rubber,
or the tubes may be. constructed of gutta percha alone, prepared by any of the
processes now practised in the manufacture of gutta percha, care being taken
to have the gutta percha, or combination of gutta percha with other ingre
dients, from which the tubes are to be manufactured, sufficiently hard so as not
to be liable to spring or bend, the. object being to make the tubes impervious
to water, wet, or damp; from the moisture of the atmosphere. In constructing
the object glass, see Figure 4, I.employ rings of vulcanized india rubber, as
shewn at c, c'. Thus, by screwing up the cap or brass ring d, which is pro-
vided with a small projecting flange e, the edge of the outer face of the lens f
will be forced against the ring of vulcanized india rubber, which latter will be
pressed against the inner ring or projecting flang 9, which will have the effect of
making a perfect air-tight joint, and one also which will entirely prevent the
admission of damp or moisture, thus rendering the operation of taking out the
object glasses for the purpose of cleaning, wholly unnecessary. It will be
observed that a similar air and water-tight joint is formed with respect to the
lens h, by means of the vulcanized india rubber ring c¹ being forced against
the edge of the outer face of the lens h, and also against the edge of the
cell m, by means of the projecting flange e. I would also observe that a
similar arrangement to that above described, of employing vulcanized india
rubber rings to prevent the admission of damp or moisture, may be employed
in constructing the smaller glasses or powers of the telescope, which I have
not thought necessary to shew. I would also observe, with regard to fixing in
the object glasses, that the mode above described may be slightly varied, with-
out departing from the principle of my Invention; for instance, the ring & may
be dispensed with by leaving the edge of the metal of the cell m sufficiently
long to be turned over by means of a burnisher, thereby securing the lens h,
and vulcanized india rubber ring c¹. Object glasses with two lenses may also
be constructed in a similar manner to that above described.
The second part of my Invention, which relates to the compass box, consists
in forming the box intended to contain the compass of gutta percha, in the fol-
lowing manner, that is to say; I first prepare a box of suitable size and
thickness of gutta percha, as shewn at Figure 5, which figure represents a
transverse section of the upper part of a compass box, having a recess i, i,
turned on the inside of the upper edge. At the bottom of this recess is placed
á ring of vulcanized india rubber k, and upon this ring and within the recess I
place the glass. The box is then to be chucked in a lathe, and by means of a

page_text: suitable tool of iron or other metal, heated sufficiently to melt the gutta percha;
the projecting edge l can be moulded into any required shape, and such projecting
edge brought down upon the outer face of the glass, as shewn at Figure 6, so
as to render the junction perfectly air and water tight, thus preventing the
admission of an atmosphere impregnated with salt, which has ever been found
to have a very deleterious effect upon the needle. Another very important
object in the use of gutta percha for the compass box is to get rid of
unequal local attraction, which is very frequently the case with metallic
boxes, owing to the difficulty of getting the metal free from iron, technically
termed pins, which have been found to attract the magnetic needle, and thereby
cause a considerable amount of unequal local attraction. I would observe,
with regard to this part of my Invention, that the compass box may be con-
structed with wood, and the same covered with gutta percha, or the box may
be covered and lined with a thin sheet of gutta percha, cemented by gutta
percha in solution, or lined and covered with vulcanized india rubber.
That part of my Invention which relates to improvements in the manufac-
ture of cases for containing instruments, goods, or merchandize, will be under-
stood by the following description, reference being had to Figure 7, which
represents a longitudinal vertical section of a case suitable for containing
mathematical instruments, the principal novelty of which consists in forming a
dovetailed groove round the upper edge of the box, or underside of the lid, or
both, and inserting therein a band or strip of vulcanized india rubber of suffi-
cient thickness to project a little above the upper edge of the box, or below
the underside of the lid, or both, so that when the lid is pressed down an air-
tight joint may be formed. I also propose to construct, in the manner above
described, cases for containing chronometers, sextants, telescopes, surgical and
other instruments, and likewise cases, technically termed glass cases, for con-
taining instruments, jewellery, and other articles of value, which it is found
necessary to protect from the action of a moist atmosphere. Cases intended
for the purposes above described may also be lined with gutta percha,
which may be applied to the inside of each case in the form of a solution,
or in thin sheets of gutta percha cemented to the inside of the box by
gutta percha in solution, so as to render them impervious to a damp
atmosphere impregnated with salt. The mode of constructing cases as above
described may also be applied to the manufacture of cartouch or cartridge
boxes for holding ammunition, that is to say, the cartouch box may be made
of gutta percha, with a groove in its upper edge, or underside of the lid, or
both, into which is inserted vulcanized india rubber, for the purpose of ren-

page_text: dering the box perfectly water-tight, and thereby preserving the ammunition
from wet. Under this head of my improvements, in cases for containing
instruments, I propose to line or cover the inside of pianoforte cases with
gutta percha, either by applying it in solution or in thin sheets of gutta percha,
cemented to the inside of a pianoforte case by a solution of gutta percha.
Those parts of the case which are removable, such as the lid and front, I pro-
pose to construct as shewn and described with regard to Figure 7.
The last part of my Invention, which relates to packing cases for containing
goods and merchandize, consists of forming the case or cases of wood, pre-
viously prepared by. coating one side with a thin sheet of gutta percha, or
gutta percha in solution, or the boards may be prepared by passing them
between rollers with a quantity of gutta percha in a semi-fluid state, the
object being to spread over the surface of the board or boards a thin sheet or
layer of gutta percha, which boards may be then cut up and manufactured into
cases for containing lace, silks, or other goods likely to be acted upon or
damaged by the sea washing over into the holds of ships. Cases for containing
articles of value, which it is desirable to protect from the action of sea air and
damp, may also be rendered impervious to water by coating the inside of the
case with two or three coats of gutta percha in solution, or thin sheets of
gutta percha may be cemented on the inside of the case by gutta percha in
solution, the edge of the case and lid being treated in the same manner before
nailing the case up, so as to render such case or cases perfectly water-tight.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details herein mentioned, so long as the peculiar
character of my said Invention be retained. Neither do I confine myself to
the ingredients of which gutta is formed in the present process of manufacture,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention.
But what I do claim as my Invention is, the application of vulcanized india
rubber, gutta percha, or a combination of vulcanized india rubber and gutta
percha, or gutta percha combined with other suitable ingredients, to and for the
purposes herein-before described and set forth in this my Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Peter Piggott, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
WILLIAM PETER (L.B.) PIGGOTT.

page_text: AND BE. IT. REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of August, in the
twelfth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said William
Peter Piggott came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of
the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.