IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHIPS' ARMOUR PLATES AND OTHER HEAVY FORGINGS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHIPS' ARMOUR PLATES AND OTHER HEAVY
FORGINGS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."-
A communication from abroad by Hippolyte Ulysse Petin and Jean
Marie Gaudet, of the Firm of Petin, Gaudet, and Company, of Rive de
Gier, in the Empire of France, Ironmasters.
Sealed the 3rd October 1861, and dated the 19th July 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th July 1861.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SHIPS' ARMOUR PLATES AND OTHER
HEAVY FORGINGS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a
communication from abroad by Hippolyte Ulysse Petin and Jean Marie
Gaudet, of the Firm of Petin, Gaudet, and Company, of Rive de Gier, in the
Empire of France, Ironmasters, to be as follows:
This Invention relates to the manufacture or production of armour plates
for ships and other heavy forgings in an easy, expeditious, and economical

page_text: manner, and to certain peculiar constructions and arrangements of machinery
or apparatus to be employed in such manufacture.
According to this Invention, it is proposed to employ a crane and gripping
holders, for the purpose of seizing the pile or faggot in the furnace, and of
conveying the same to the rolls. As in large forgings it is necessary to heat
the iron several times, and to turn it over or reverse it at each heat, an
operation which entails in the ordinary system a vast amount of manual labor,
it is here proposed to employ a peculiar apparatus for reversing or turning
over the pile or faggot. This apparatus consists of a species of horizontal
hinged tipping frame, upon which the pile or faggot is laid, and which is then
elevated at one end by means of a chain and suitable windlass, until the frame
assumes a vertical position, when by slightly continuing the motion of the free
end of the frame, the pile or faggot carried by it is turned over on to a suitable
bed plate or support. The pile or faggot on being presented to the rolls is
carried by a jointed table provided with antifriction rollers, upon which the
pile or faggot travels up to and through the rolls. By jointing this table,
facility is afforded for adjusting it in any position horizontally upon the floor,
so as to receive the pile or faggot at the most convenient place, and present it
at any desired horizontal angle to the rolls. A similar table may be placed on
both sides of the rolls, and the pile or faggot passed to and fro through them,
for which purpose a reversing motion, worked by a small steam cylinder, is
employed for reversing the rolls as required. In preparing, a pile or faggot
intended for an armour plate or other similar forging, a rectangular rolled or
hammered plate is used, upon which are piled a number of trapezoidal-shaped
bars, in two or more series one above the other, but so as to break joint.
Upon these bars is laid a second rectangular plate, having a series of strong
ribs rolled or formed thereon; or in lieu of a plate a series of ribbed bars may
be laid side by side over the piled bars, and the faggot being now complete, is
heated and welded, or rolled together, one of the rolls being grooved, in order
'to preserve the grooved or channelled surface of the plate. This grooved form
of armour plate offers the advantages of increased strength and lightness over
those made with plain surfaces.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson, in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th January 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,

page_text: and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gen-
tleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Henry Johnson, 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 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN. THE
MANUFACTURE OF SHIPS' ARMOUR PLATES AND OTHER HEAVY FORGINGS, AND IN THE
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication from abroad
by Hippolyte Ulyse Petin and Jean Marie Gaudet, of the Firm of Petin,
Gaudet, and Company, of Rive de Gier, in the Empire of France, Iron-
masters, upon the condition (amongst others). that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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:-
The said Invention relates to the manufacture or production of armour
plates for ships and other heavy forgings in an easy, expeditious, and economical
manner, and to certain peculiar constructions and arrangements of machinery
or apparatus to be employed in such manufacture.
According to this Invention, it is proposed to employ a crane and peculiar
gripping holders for the purpose of seizing the pile or faggot in the furnace,
and of conveying the same to the rolls. As in large forgings it is necessary to
heat the iron several times, and to turn it over or reverse it at each heat (an
operation which entails in the ordinary system a vast amount of manual
labour), it is here proposed to employ a peculiar apparatus for reversing or

page_text: turning over the pile or faggot. This apparatus consists of a species of horizontal
hinged tipping frame, upon which the pile or faggot is laid, and which is
then elevated at one end by means of a chain and suitable windlass, until the
frame assumes a vertical position, when by slightly continuing the motion of
the free end of the frame, the pile or faggot carried by it is turned over into a
suitable bed plate or support. The pile or faggot on being presented to the
rolls is carried by a jointed table provided with antifriction rollers, upon which
the pile or faggot travels up to and through the rolls. By jointing this table,
facility is afforded for adjusting it in any position horizontally upon the floor, so
as to receive the pile or faggot at the most convenient place, and present it at
any desired horizontal angle to the rolls. A similar table may be placed on
both sides of the rolls, and the pile or faggot passed to and fro through them,
for which purpose a reversing motion, worked by a small steam cylinder, is
employed for reversing the rolls as required. In preparing a pile or faggot
intended for an armour plate or other similar forging, a rectangular rolled or
hammered plate is used, upon which are piled a number of trapezoidal-shaped
bars in two or more series one above the the other, but so as to break joint.
Upon these bars is laid a second rectangular plate, having a series of strong
ribs rolled or formed thereon; or in lieu of a plate a series of ribbed bars may
be laid side by side over the piled bars, and the faggot being now complete, is
heated and welded, or rolled together, one of the rolls being grooved, in order
to preserve the grooved or channelled surface of the plate. This grooved face
of the armour plate offers the advantages of increased strength and lightness
over those made with plane or flat surfaces.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all
the corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of the moveable and
jointed table erected in front of a pair of rolls; and Figure 2 is a corresponding
plan of the same. The faggot P intended to be rolled being in the furnace,
and having attained the desired degree of heat suitable for welding or rolling,
the grippers, which are suspended from a crane, are brought to the furnace
mouth, and the workmen who have hold of the arms of the gripper introduce
it into the furnace, and cause it to seize the faggot or mass of metal and with-
draw it therefrom, when the mass is laid upon the moveable table to be
presented to the rolls. This moveable table T is composed of a number of
parts A hinged together, and capable of being brought into any desired

page_text: position or direction. Each part A is provided with rollers B, upon which
the mass of metal is moved up to the rolls. The first of the parts A are
hinged or jointed to a cross bar C, which unites the two.standards of the main
framing of the rolls. The red lines in Figure 2 represent clearly the move-
ment on these hinges. The mass having been deposited upon the table T, is
brought up to the rolls D, E, by a very slight expenditure of force. As it
would bee too heavy to admit of its being returned above the table, and being
again presented to them on the same side, an alternating circular or reversing
motion is imparted to the rolls, so that the mass will be passed to and fro
between them, a similar jointed table or support to that shewn in the Drawing
being situate on the opposite side of the rolls, so as to receive the mass of
metal as it passes through them. As heavy forgings require several heats
before they are finished, and as it is advantageous for the obtainment of perfect
homogeneity of the metal, to turn over or reverse the mass before returning it
to the furnace, for this purpose it is proposed to employ the peculiar
turning or reversing apparatus represented in side elevation and plan at
Figures 3 and 4. This apparatus consists of two plates or standards H, H,
connected together by cross bars, and forming an open frame. The forked
lever I, which oscillates upon the axis J, has attached to one end the
chain K, which, after passing over the guide pullies L, L, is connected to a
rope wound round the drum M³ on the axis of one of a pair of rollers or
cylinders, as shewn in the Drawing. The mass of metal or heavy forging P,
being laid upon the lever I, it will be obvious that on drawing the rope round
the drum M³, the lever will be caused to turn upon its axis, and the forging
will be brought into the vertical position indicated by the red lines. On con-
tinuing the motion of the lever a little farther, the forging will be turned over,
and fall in a reversed position upon the frame or supports H (as shewn in blue
lines) without the aid of manual labour. The forging P is now laid hold of
by the grippers, and returned thereby to the furnace again.
Figure 5 represents a side elevation of an arrangement of self-acting
reversing gearing for driving a pair of alternating rolls; and Figure 6 is a
corresponding end view of the same. The large spur wheel A receiving its
motion from the prime mover, transmits it to the cast-steel spur wheel B fixed
upon the same shaft m, m'. This last wheel gears into the spur wheel D, to
which is fixed the clutch g. The wheel D may be loose upon the short
shaft n, n', or made fast thereon at will. The counterpart or sliding clutch g'
may slide upon the separate shaft o, o¹, and made to gear or couple with the
clutch g, and so receive motion from the main driving shaft m, m². The spur
pinion F is fast on the shaft o, o¹, and gears into the intermediate wheel H,

page_text: which serves to change the direction of rotation. A third spur pinion I may
receive its motion either through the pinion H, or directly from the wheel A
and coupling boxes J¹. This pinion I transmits its motion to the couplings
K, K, which are in connection with the rolls L. P is a small steam cylinder,
the piston of which is made to traverse either forward or backward by suitable
valve regulating hand gear, similar to that in use in steam hammers. The
endy of the piston rod works in a guide, and is connected to the extremity of
a powerful lever X, working on a fixed centre at V, and actuating both the
sliding clutches J₁ and g', as is clearly shewn in the Drawings. The alternating
circular motion is imparted to the rolls from the main shaft in the following
manner: An attendant in charge of the small steam cylinder P admits the
steam at the back of the piston, when the end of the piston rod will be
brought into the position q¹, the effect of which is to couple the clutch boxes J,
in which case the motion is transmitted direct to the rolls L, the clutch boxes
g and g being disengaged, as shewn; the spur wheels and pinions D, F,
and H will be out of action, the wheel D turning without transmitting its
motion. If, on the other hand, the attendant admits the steam into the front
side of the piston in the cylinder P, the end of the piston rod will be brought
into the position ql, and the lever X will assume the position indicated by the
blue line q V, Q, when the clutches J¹ will be disengaged, and the clutches
g, g, engaged, the movement being in that case transmitted through the spur
wheels B and D, and as the latter will be coupled with the shaft o, o¹, the
pinion F keyed thereon will transmit motion to the pinion H, and through it
to the pinion I, and thence to the couplings K of the rolls. An alternating
motion is thus transmitted to the rolls by the simple adjustment of the valves
of the cylinder P, whilst the main driving shaft continues to revolve in one
direction only. If desired, the wheel D may be loose upon the shaft n, n,
which, in that case, should be in one piece with the shaft o, o¹, in lieu of being
a separate and independant shaft; or the wheel D which carries the clutch g
may be fixed on the shaft n, n', in which case this shaft will be separate and
independant of the shaft o, o¹.
The improved form of armour plate, the manufacture of which is greatly
facilitated by the apparatus herein-before described, presents greater solidity
with a given thickness as compared with armour plates of the ordinary manu-
facture. These improved armour plates may be designated as grooved or
ribbed plates, and are made in the following manner :-A wrought-iron plate
of from two to two and a half inches in thickness is first produced under the
steam hammer, or by the aid of rolls (see Figure 6); upon this plate are piled
a number of bars of balled iron A, of a trapezoidal form, arranged in two,

page_text: three, four, or more layers or ranges, according to the dimensions of the plate
to be produced, care being taken to cross the ranges and break joint, as shewn
in Figure 7. Upon these bars are laid side by side a series of longitudinally
ribbed wrought-iron bars B (Figure 7). The particular form illustrated by
the Drawing is not, however, absolutely essential, as the form may be varied
more or less. A pile is thus obtained, the weight of which should be sufficient
for the armour plate to be manufactured therefrom. It is heated in a suitable
furnace to a welding heat, and is then seized by the grippers herein-before
referred to, and is conveyed to the rolls. The upper roll is so shaped as to
correspond to the grooves or ribs on the surface of the plate, and the mass is
rolled until it is reduced to the desired thickness of the armour plate, and the
entire mass is intimately welded together, the result being a plate having
grooves or ribs on one face, as shewn at Figure 8, which will offer greater
resistance to shot, and will be lighter than ordinary armour plates of an
equal strength.
Figures 9 and 10 represent in elevation and plan a moveable gripper
mounted upon a carriage, which will be found particularly well adapted to the
handling of heavy forgings. The carriage consists of a frame A, mounted upon
two or more wheels, and carrying an arm B, for the purpose of transporting
the same.
A pillar C serves as the support for the two bars G, G³, provided
with holders or grippers H, H, attached to the bars by keys or nuts. Levers
L and L', secured to the opposite ends of the bars G, G¹, permit of these bars
being turned in any convenient direction, in order that the grippers H may
close or open, and grasp or release the forging as required. In using this
apparatus the grippers are wheeled up to the mouth of the furnace, and the
attendants who have hold of the levers L, L', cause the grippers to seize the
forging, which is then elevated by depressing the outer ends of the bars G, G',
and on the carriage being wheeled back, the forging is withdrawn from the
furnace and conveyed to the rolls. Or the grippers may be opened, so as to
deposit the forging upon the jointed table of the rolls, which is then pushed
along until it is brought into a position to be seized by the rolls.
Figure 11 represents a modified form of travelling grippers, which differs
from the former only in as much as it is provided with a single lever or bar G,
in lieu of having two; this lever terminating in a species of fork or trident G¹,
which is inserted under the bottom of the forging in the furnace, and when
the forging is safely deposited thereon, as shewn by the red lines, is withdrawn
and wheeled up to the rolls, or to the jointed table herein-before referred to.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried

page_text: into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
1st, the general constructions, arrangements, and combinations of machinery
or apparatus to be employed in the manufacture of ships' armour plates and
other heavy forgings, as herein-before described.
2nd, the peculiar construction and arrangement of grooved or channeled
armour plates, and the mode of piling or arranging the parts thereof pre-
paratory to forging the same, as herein-before described.
3rd, the application and use of grippers or holders suspended from the chain
of a crane, for the purpose of manoeuvring heavy forgings, as herein-before
described.
4th, the peculiar arrangement of moveable and jointed tables, and their
combination with rolling mills, as herein-before described.
5th, the peculiar construction and arrangement of apparatus for turning
over or reversing heavy forgings, as herein-before described.
6th, the application and use in combination with rolling mills of a suitable
arrangement of reversing gear actuated by steam power, in the manner and
for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)