Improvements in Apparatus for Closing and Opening Bulkhead Doors.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 30th July, 1897-Accepted, 25th Sept., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Closing and Opening Bulkhead
Doors.
I, ARL THEODOR DÖRR of Ohligs, Rhineland in the German Empire, Doctor
of Philosophy, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
This invention has reference to apparatus for closing and opening bulkhead
doors.
In the apparatus which constitutes the subject of the present invention the
doors of the water-tight bulkheads are adapted to close either automatically upon
penetration of water, or they may be closed from the captain's bridge and other
principal parts of the ship, or they can be closed locally by the crew.
This arrangement, which permits of a great number of variations in its practical
application is characterized by the following disposition or arrangement.
At a suitable part of the vessel is erected a main container or receptacle
(marked C in the drawings hereinafter referred to) the lower half of which is
supplied with fluid and the upper half with compresed air. A system of conduit
pipes branches throughout the ship from the lower fluid portion of the container
es well as from the upper compressed air portion. The branches of the com-
pressed air conduit (A) lead into respective containers (A₁) while those of the
pressure liquid conduit (B) lead respectively into cylinders (B₁), the pistons (E)
of these latter cylinders being connected with the respective doors (F) either
directly by the piston rods (e) or indirectly by intermediate mechanism."
If the communicating conduits are put under pressure while air or liquid is
according to requirement pumped into the main reservoir (C), the liquid operates
the piston (E) in such manner that the doors open while the compressed air is
driven into the containers (A¹) and retained therein by the valves (v).
If the whole or a given. branch of the pressure liquid system be relieved by the
operation of an automatically or hand-actuated three way escape valve (G H h)
all the differential valves (D) which are within the sphere of the pressure relief.
are automatically reversed so that the compressed air acts from the opposite side.
upon the pistons (E) and the doors close, the fluid simultaneously escaping and
acting as a braking force. If the original communicating pressure be again
established by reversing the escape valve (G H ) before described, the differential.
valves return to their original position and the doors again open.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a schematic view of the apparatus.
at rest. The compressed air traverses the conduit A and the return valve vand
passes to the container A, thence by p into the casing of the differential valve I)
and operates upon the differential ring surface of the latter. The pressure water:
flows through the conduit B provided with the escape valves H G h, acts upon
the larger bottom surface of the differential valve D and holds this as well as the
main piston E securely in its outermost position. The main piston E is connected.
راد )

page_text: by the piston rod e with the door F. The water which escapes past the piston E
through the packing passes by n and o out of the apparatus through an escape
pipe. A suitable number of relief valves G H h. are inserted in the pressure water
conduit B, which as soon as they are actuated relieve the branch or sub-branch
to which they correspond, and simultaneously close the communication with the
main conduit. H and h are simple three-way cocks either of which (h) may
conveniently be situated near each door and one or more (H) inserted at suitable
principal parts of the conduit. If for example h be turned in the direction of the
arrow, the portion of the pressure water conduit B leading from the main
cylinder or reservoir C will be closed, and the other portion, that leading to the 1
cylinder B, and in communication with the exit pipe 3, will be opened. This
will be clear on comparison with Figure 2 which-represents the apparatus and all
the valves in operation. The unrelieved compressed air consequently now moves
the differential valve 1) notwithstanding the smaller ring pressure surface, to the
opposite end position, passes through the channels pn into the cylinder B, and
moves the piston E and with it the door F forward; while the water in the
cylinder B, is driven through the aperture or pipe a which is capable of regula-
tion by means of a screw y and serves to utilize the escaping water as a brake
or buffer, the water passing away by the pipe z. G is a differential valve which
in the one end position (Figure 1) connects the portion of the pressure water 2
conduit B leading to B, with the power reservoir C, and in the other end position
(Figure 2) with the exit pipe z, in exactly the same way as this is attained by the
three-way cock. This differential valve G is actuated by the elasticity of the
locked up pressure water, which so acts upon the lower surface of the piston that G.
always tends to assume the end position shown in Figure 2. In order to now.
securely retain G in its position of rest the hand actuated bolt g shown in the
drawings for example may be employed or other suitable stop mechanism which
is adapted to be automatically released by the rising of a float or the excitation of.
an electro magnet may be employed. When the release is effected. G is driven
out, the relieved pressure fluid expelled through z and the door closed.
As by means of each of the escape valves described a portion of the system of
such extent as may be desired, may be relieved of pressure automatically or by.
hand, it will be seen that many combinations of the arrangement are possible.
If the previously actuated escape valves of the compartments which are free of.
water be returned to their initial position the differential valves D) are automati- 3
cally reversed, the compressed air which is behind the pistons exhaust through
the channel no into the atmosphere and the doors open again;. the doors of the
compartments which are under water however can only be opened when after
removal of the water the escape valves actuated by floats are again stopped.
The arrangement permits of a number of modifications in its practical applica- 4
tion, which nevertheless do not affect the essence of the invention.
For example in the arrangement described with reference to Figure 1 com-
pressed air may be employed in place of the pressure fluid, so that the apparatus
may be actuated exclusively by compressed air. Or the apparatus may be.
actuated with only one compressed air conduit (Figure 2) by omitting the 4
conduit A and leading the compressed air through a branch of the relief
conduit B, by way of v into the container A. Further, the stop
valve may be dispensed with, when the modifications of the differen-
tial valve D shown in Figures 3 to 6 or other modifications of a like.
nature are adopted. When two conduits A and B are employed (see Figure 3 5
which shows the position at rest and Figure 4 which shows the position in action),
the compressed air from the conduit A passes through a circular groove of the
valve through the aperture into the cylinder A. When the conduit B is
relieved of pressure the circular groove is displaced and is closed.
When only one conduit B is employed (see Figure 5, rest position, and Figure 65
active position) the compressed air from the conduit acts first upon the larger:
bottom surface of the differential valve D, drives this into the end position, and

page_text: passes by suitably disposed impediments or obstacles through the aperture v¹ into
the cylinder A₁. When the pressure in conduit B is suddenly relieved the
differential valve D is driven by the compressed air acting upon the differential
ring surface, into the opposite end position, whereby v¹ is again closed.
If it be desired to dispense with the local power cylinder A, and only employ
the cylinder B, then for sliding doors two conduits are necessary, namely the
pressure relief conduit B and the pressure conduit A through which the operating.
pressure medium is led from the central power cylinder. This modification,
which is represented in Figures 7 and 8 differs from the form of apparatus shown
in Figure 1, in that the stop valve v is omitted and the cylinder A, is reduced to
a minimum. With this modification of apparatus there may be employed as the
pressure medium either compressed air in the one conduit and pressure fluid in
the other, or pressure fluid or pressure air may be employed in both conduits;
in case of the pressure fluid the latter must in accordance with the above description
be under the elastic reaction of a column of compressed air from suitable
pumping apparatus.
In the case of falling doors (see Figure 9) the special source of power represented
by the local power reservoir A₁ and the conduit A may be dispensed with, the
weight of the door alone coming into action. In this case consequently the
conduit A, the compressed air reservoir A₁, the stop valve and the differential
valve D which acts as an automatic regulator may be dispensed with. A falling
door of this kind when inserted in the central system works exactly like the other
sliding or falling doors provided with a special power reservoir A, and special
pressure conduit A. As the pressure medium, liquid or air can be employed."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. An arrangement for closing and opening bulkhead doors characterized by a
main power reservoir (accumulator) C a pressure conduit A, a compressed air or
compressed fluid conduit B provided with relief valves H G; a power cylinder
(accumulator) A₁ situated near the door and provided with stop valve v; a
cylinder B, situated near the door and the piston of which is connected by the
piston rode with the door F; and a differential valve D operating as an automatic
regulator; which parts are so arranged that the accumulator C is in communica-
tion by the conduit A with the accumulator A, and the differential valve D, as
well as by the conduit B with the differential valve D and the cylinder B₁ and
that when compression or relief of pressure in the conduit B and consequent
reversal of the differential valve 1 take place the pressure medium is led from
the one or the other side against the piston E so that the door either opens or
shuts, substantially as hereinbefore described and represented in Figure 1 of the
accompanying drawings.
2. A modification of the arrangement specified in Claim 1, in which there are
disposed in the fluid pressure conduit B hand operated three-way cocks (H_h)
and three-way relief valves (G) which latter are adapted to reverse upon closing
an electric circuit or by the rise of a float under the action of rising water.
3. A modification of the arrangement specified in Claim 1 in which the con-
duit A is substituted by a branch J of the compressed air filled conduit B
substantially as shown in Figure 2.
4. A modification of the arrangement specified in Claim 1 in which the stop
valve is in such manner substituted by the further development of the differen-
tial valve D, that D in its movements alternately opens or closes the channel of the
conduit leading to the compressed air container A₁, substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to Figures 3 to 6.
5. A modification of the arrangement specified in Claim 1 in which the com-
pressed air cylinder A, and the stop valve are dispensed with, and in which
modification air or liquid under pressure may be employed as the pressure media

page_text: in each of the two conduits, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to Figures 7 and 8.
6. Aodification of the arrangement specified in Claim 1 in which the con-
duit A, the compressed air container A₁, the stop valve and the differential
valve Dare dispensed with, and in which modification liquid or air under
pressure may be employed as the pressure medium, substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to Figure 9.
Jated this 30th day of July 1807
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.