PATENTS. 



G45 



his name would become familiar to travellers if 

 inspected these metallic winches, wiud- 

 -. heavers, <fcc. 



During the years 18G3-'4 Ihere were five 

 patents granted to him for devices connected 

 with vessels. 



Vertical Windlass, patented May 5, 1863. 

 This consists in a capstan and two chain-wheels 

 placed in a triangular position on a hollow iron 

 base. The capstan can be revolved by hand- 

 spikes, as usual, for drawing upon any rope or 

 chain of the rigging, or it can be made to 

 revolve (through the medium of gearing in the 

 hollow base) either or both of the chain- wheels 

 to draw in or let out the main chain cable of 

 the anchor. These chain-wheels are formed 

 with a groove or recess around them, notched 

 to take the links of the chain, so that the chain 

 cable does not require to be wound around sev- 

 eral times as with the old horizontal windlass, 

 but has only to pass about half around, coming 

 aft on one side, going around the chain-wheel, 

 and forward again to the opening in the deck, 

 through which the cable passes to the chain 

 locker below. This style of windlass is received 

 with great favor. 



Cathead Stopper (extended April 2d, 1864). 

 This invention, originally patented in 1850, 

 has been of great value to vessels. It consists 

 in a peculiar lock that holds a ring on the end 

 of a short chain, which chain goes through the 

 ring of the anchor. 'When the anchor is to be 

 dropped, this lock is lifted a child could do it 

 and the chain that held up the anchor is lib- 

 erated in an instant. How different from the 

 lashing by a rope formerly employed that passed 

 . -e or six times through the ring of the anchor 

 and over the cat-head, which was generally cut 

 by the blow of an axe, as it was not safe to at- 

 tempt to untie the rope with the weight of the 

 anchor hanging upon it. 



Windlass and Heaving Socket, patented No- 

 vember 13, 1849 ; extended November 13, 1863, 

 and reissued January 12, 1864. This invention 

 allows for the removal of the cast-iron wind- 

 lass head if accidentally broken, and the re- 

 placing, by the sailors, of a new one ; and the 

 socket that takes the handspike is at the inner 

 or larger end, and out of the way in passing the 

 rope or chain around the windlass, instead of 

 being at the outer end of the windlass as usual 

 before this invention. 



Both the devices last named have been of so 

 much value to the public, and so generally 

 adopted, that the patents were extended seven 

 years from the expiration of the first term. 



Stoppers for Hawse-Pipes, patented August 

 9, 1864. The introduction of vessels of war, 

 almost submerged, as is the case with monitors 

 and some of the gunboats in the navy of this 

 country, has been attended with difficulty, be- 

 cause the chain cables to the anchors have in 

 many instances to pass out below the water, 

 the inner end of the chain or hawse-pipe as it 

 rises, is but little above water line, and in a sea, 

 or when in motion, the water flows into the 



vessel through these hawse-pipes. The inven- 

 tion above named prevents this difficulty. A 

 cone made in two pieces is provided, large 

 enough to fit the inner end of the hawse-pipe, 

 and the flat surfaces, where the two parts of 

 the cone come together, are cut out to receive 

 the links of the chain, so that by this conical 

 stopper the end of the hawse-pipe can be closed 

 perfectly water-tight around the chain. This 

 invention has been already adopted on several 

 vessels. 



Natal Ram, patented November 14, 1864. 

 Vi .--t-ls of war heretofore built have been pro- 

 tected by armor plates above the water-line, 

 while below water the hulls are comparatively 

 weak. This invention consists in a ram or horn 

 fitted at the bows of a vessel, so that it can bo 

 drawn in or protruded, gates being provided to 

 close the orifice when the ram is drawn in for 

 loading a cannon that is employed on its end. 

 This horn can be run into an enemy's vessel 

 below the water-line, the cannon discharged to 

 increase the hole, so that she will sink. The 

 ram can then be drawn in, and the cannon at 

 its end reloaded for an attack upon another 

 vessel. 



This invention will be mainly useful in pro- 

 tecting harbors against foreign war vessels. 



UMBRELLAS Tempering the Steel Eilis. Al- 

 most all good umbrellas and parasols are now 

 made with steel ribs in place of the whalebone 

 formerly used. The durability of these ribs 

 depends upon the tempering. The ribs are first 

 hardened by heating them to a bright red heat 

 and plunging them in oil ; this renders them 

 very hard and brittle, and to heat these long 

 ribs uniformly, so that they will become a 

 perfect spring from end to end and not liable 

 to snap or to stay bent, is very difficult. A. S. 

 Black, July 14, 1863, patented an apparatus 

 that has been extensively and successfully em- 

 ployed for tempering these ribs. It consists of 

 a cast-iron bar, in the surface of which grooves 

 are planed lengthwise of the bar, and deep 

 enough to receive the ribs; upon this bar a 

 second one with a flat surface is bolted ; thereby 

 holes are left through this double bar, and this 

 bar is placed through a small soapstone enclo- 

 sure and heated by gas burners. When the bar 

 is hot enough the ribs are passed endwise 

 through the holes in said bar, and remain long 

 enough to be tempered, then those previously 

 introduced are pressed directly through and out 

 of this tempering bar by the introduction of 

 other ribs. 



PIPES Lead lined with Tin. In former years 

 attention was directed to the poisonous effects 

 of lead pipe upon water passing through it, and 

 many efforts were made to coat the inside with 

 tin. It was, however, found that the coating was 

 imperfect and of but little use. A patent was 

 granted. March 10, 1863, to William A. Shaw, 

 of New York, for an improvement in making 

 this kind of pipe, that insures a perfect lining 

 of tin. An ingot of tin is cast with a nole 

 through it that fits over the mandrel employed 



