US1012890A - Sea-anchor. - Google Patents

Description

T. S. MILLER. SEAANGHOR. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5,1907.

" Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

rmrran s'ra'rns Parana UFFECE.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

SEA-ANCHOR.

Application filed. February 5, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sea-Anchors, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to sea anchors and in this application I have shown and described, by way of illustration, a form of sea anchor which is especially adapted for use in connection with coaling ships at sea. This anchor possesses certain advantages over all other forms of sea anchors with which I am acquainted, as will be later explained, and it may be used for any purpose where a sea anchor is desirable or required.

The invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in and falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an anchor embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a view of one of the planes of the anchor and with such view showing one manner of securing the plane to the side ropes; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a form of frame used in connection with the planes of the anchor; Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken at the line 4, t of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a portion of one of the planes of the anchor showing the method of constructing the same.

It is one of the purposes of my invention to construct an anchor which will possess certain desired and advantageous features, that is to say, an anchor which will pull straight and steady, an anchor which will not dive, broach or yaw, an anchor which is simple and easy to construct, and which will be of comparatively light weight and occupy but little space when stowed away.

I have found, after many experiments, that it is desirable in practice to have five or more planesfor this reasona single plane towed through the water is disposed to move at right angles to the direction of tow-that is to say, it might move to the right or left, called yawing; it might move upward out of the way, called broaching; or it might move downward, called diving. Two in tandem may be disposed to move in opposite directions and will pull more steadily. With four in tandem, properly spaced,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

Serial No. 355,861.

a steady uniform pull may be obtained, but this presents practical difliculties and hence, as above stated, after many experiments, five has been selected as the desired minimum number of planes to be employed.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that I have shown by way of illustration an anchor which may be termed multi-plane, that is to say, an anchor which consists of a series of planes, preferably squares, suitably spaced apart and secured to suitable side connecting ropes.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail and especially to Fig. 1, A, A, A A and A are planes or squares connected at their corners to longitudinal side ropes 5, of whichI have shown four in number. One manner of connecting the plane to the rope is shown in detail in Fig. 4. In such instance, the side rope 5, passes along outside of the frame and the plane is connected thereto by the short rope 6, looped through the eye 7, in the corner of the plane, and spliced at the point 8 to the rope 5. The clamp 9 of any suitable construction clamps the two ropes together. Each plane is preferably formed of a suitably shaped frame 10, and in the present instance such frameis shown as being square, and such frame is covered with material such as canvas as shown at 11. The construction of the frame and the manner of securing the can vas thereto is shown in detail in Fig. 5, the body of such frame is preferably formed of small cables 10 and the facing 11 of the canvas is doubled around the small ropes or cables. A binding 10 is then stitched around the edge as is clearly shown in said Fig. 5. The first and last planes of the anchor are preferably formed with a cross brace B of suitable construction having grooves Z) in the ends thereof for the passage and support of the side lines or ropes 5, and the intermediate planes are each preferably provided with a small hole or opening 12 in the center thereof. The upper part of each of the squares is also provided with bodies of cork or its equivalent, such as is shown at 13 for the purpose of further in creasing the buoyant properties of the anchor and any suitable material may be used, as I do not confine myself in the least nor do I limit myself to the said described man ner of construction of the anchor nor any particular claim thereof.

At the front of the anchor said lines converge to a common eye 13*, designed to be hooked to the swivel 14 which is attached to the end of the tow line 15. At the rear of the anchor the two lines 16, 16 are connected by a swivel 17 to the tripping line 18, so that by this construction if the tripping line should for any reason revolve, it may do so freely without fouling the sea anchor. I have found that an anchor as hereinbefore described, having preferably five or more planes, may be towed at a rapid rate of speed without a disposition to dive, broach or yaw and that the pull upon the same is steady and uniform. Each plane may be detached from the side lines by removing the clamp thereon and the four corner ropes are then taken up and the whole device may be stored in a very small space.

While I have herein shown and described one preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the details of construction herein recited as modification and variation may be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A sea anchor, comprising a series of planes detachably connected at their corners to continuous common lines converging at a common point and connected to a swivel member, a trip line, and a second swivel member connecting the trip line and the anchor.

2. A sea anchor, comprising a series of planes connected about their periphery to continuous lines converging at a common point and connected to a swivel member, a trip line, and a second swivel member connecting the trip line and the anchor.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER.

Witnesses:

LOUIS G. RUecLEs, R. B. CAVANAGH.

copies of this patent may' be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

Images