New Patents and Mechanical Inventions. 



1821.] 



round the planet-wheels, and conse- 

 quently their carriage or the plates re- 

 volve with a diminished velocity, hy 

 which an increased power is obtained. 

 Now in order to communicate the power 

 thus gained to the capstan, a connection 

 is formed between the carriage and the 

 capstan ; which is done by letting fall 

 through the paul head into mortices in 

 the carriage of the planet wheel, by 

 which the slower motion of that car- 

 riage is communicated to the capstan, 

 and the acquired increase of power is 

 made effective: the bolts of the drum 

 are, under these circumstances, with- 

 drawn from the sockets ; and hence the 

 revolution of the drum-head is uncon- 

 nected with that of the barrel of tlie 

 capstan, except through the agency of 

 the lower bolts which unite it with the 

 carriage of tlie planet-wheels. 



In order to keep the works of the 

 single capstan dry, they are placed 

 below deck ; and as the lower bolts 

 cannot fall into the planet-wheel car- 

 riage, as described, by reason of the 

 partners, and the deck intervening, it 

 is in this construction therefore found 

 necessary to connect that carriage with 

 another plate above deck, by means of 

 a cylinder, which, like the carriage 

 working loosely round the pinion, has 

 square ends fitting into the two plates, 

 connecting the lower carriage and the 

 upper plate together, so that by the 

 lower bolts falling into the mortices in 

 the upper plate, t^e barrel of the cap- 

 stan bei'omes imited to the work below, 

 and receives the increased power as 

 before. 



In the double capstan the works are 

 placed somewhat differently ; they then 

 stand on the same deck with the lower 

 capstan and immediately under it. 

 The two capstans are contrived to 

 work either together or separately, as 

 common capstans ; or by means of the 

 improved apparatus, with an increased 

 power or an accelerated velocity. The 

 connection of the lower capstan to the 

 »piudle is by means of a clutch-box, 

 which falls into a hexagonal part of the 

 spindle, where the two capstans are 

 intended to be united, This clutch- 

 box is raised and lowered by means of 

 its connection with the ends of levers, 

 having their fulcmms upon standards ; 

 at the reverse ends of these levers are 

 chains, which suspending the lower 

 bolts, so that by the clutch-box being 

 lowered, the bolts at the same time 

 ri«e and so disengage the lower capstan 



1:3 



from the wheels ; heuce the apparatus 

 becomes a double capstan of the ordi- 

 nary construction, the clutch-box locks 

 between the catches or the tmndle- 

 head, connecting the spindle and lower 

 capstan together ; and the sun and 

 planet wheels run round without com- 

 munication with the lower capstan, and 

 of course without affording any in- 

 creased power. 



When difficulty in purchasing arises 

 from want of hands, the bolts are let 

 down, which connect the barrel of the 

 capstan to the planet-wheel carrifige, as 

 above described, and set the barrel free 

 of the spindle, so that, as the lower cap- 

 stan when thus connected turns slower, 

 it affords an increased power. 



To increase the velocity, the warp is 

 made fast to the upper capstan upon the 

 quarter-deck, the connection remaining 

 as last described, and the heaving on is 

 made at the lower capstan upon the 

 main-deck, when the upper capstan 

 will revolve with an accelerated velo- 

 city. 



The shifting of the several powers, 

 as must be evident by the description, 

 occupies but a very short space of time, 

 and in practice, should all the works 

 break, the capstans will even then still 

 be as perfect as those of the common 

 construction. It is evident that no 

 greater strain can be applied to the 

 vvoiks than the amount of the manual 

 power, the cogs being calculated to 

 bear considerably more than twice the 

 power which can be used. The paten- 

 tee notices, that the pressure, of the 

 wind bearing against the masts and the 

 rolling of the vessel, sometimes causes 

 the decks to bend, and hence the spin- 

 dles are thrown out of the perpendicu- 

 lar, and causes thegeer to cross ; to ob- 

 viate this inconveniene, the rim-wheel 

 is hung in gimbles, so as to give way, 

 and allow the play of one deck from 

 the other without interfering with the 

 works ; so that, should the spindle in- 

 cline, the rim-wheel will incline over 

 with it, and they will still remain at 

 right angles to each other. There are 

 also pauls and catches applied at every 

 thiee inches to the peripheiy of the 

 capstan at the bottom of the whelps; 

 so that, under any circumstances of 

 strain or impediment to the progress of 

 the capstan, these pauls will take, and 

 prevent the mischief which sometimes 

 occurs by the heaving of the men being 

 overpowered and the capstan recoiling. 



THE 



