US1139116A - Holding and disengaging gear for ships' boats. - Google Patents

Description

H. W. GAVIN.

HOLDING AND DISENGAGING GEAR FOR SHIPS BOATS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-6,1914.

Patented May 11, 1915.

2 SHEETS+-=SHEET 1.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHDTO-LITHO WASHINGTON H. W. GAVIN.

HOLDING AND DISENGAGING GEAR FOR SHIPS" BOATS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-6,1914- Patented May 11, 1915.

2 sHE'ETs-sHEET 2.

1H5 NORRIS PETERS 00., PHOTO'LITHO. WASHINGTON. D. C,

HENRY WILLIAM GAVIN, OF EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND.

HOLDING AND DISENGAGING GEAR FOR SHIPS BOATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Application filed October 6, 1914. Serial No. 865,298.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY WILLIAM GAVIN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Edinburgh, Scotland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Holding and Disengaging Gear for Ships Boats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to holding, and disengaging gear for ships boats, and has for its object a gear which will be certain and safe in its action, and will act automatically to release the boat.

As conducing to abetter understanding of the invention, it may here be noted that it is very important when lowering a boat, to insure that the two ends shall be released absolutely simultaneously as soon as the boat is waterborne. If one end of the boat was released before the other end, the result would be that the occupants would be thrown into the water.

By the holding and disengaging gear of the present invention, the two ends of the boat may be automatically released, that is to say substantially the entire boat must be waterborne (not one end only) before the automatic disconnection from the tackle can possibly take place.

In the accompanying drawings :Fig-

ures 1 and 2 are longitudinal sections of a ships boat, with my holding and disengaging gear applied thereto, Fig. 1 showing the links at the ends of the falls engaged by the gear, and Fig. 2 showing the links at the ends of the falls disengaged therefrom. Fig. 3 is an end view of the hook member and crutch and adjacent parts on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings, 1 are the eye pieces or links at the end of the falls 2, which are adapted to engage hook or claw members 3, pivoted in a stand 4 secured to the boat. One of these hook or claw members 3 is pivoted in a stand 4 at one end of the boat, and another hook or claw member 3 is pivoted in a stand at the other end of the boat, so as to receive the respective eyepieces or links 1 at the ends of the falls 2, or at the ends of a span suspended from the falls. The said hook members 3 are in the form of segments, with a claw or hook at one end and a finger 5 at the other. The finger 5 is adapted to engage a depression in a sliding catch piece 6 which is coupled by a chain 27 connected to a rod, a chain or wire 7, actuated by a weight 8 preferably located at about the center of the boat; the corresponding catch piece 6 which is engaged by the finger 5 at the other end of the boat, being coupled to the same weight 8 by a similar chain 27 and rod, chain or wire 7, in such manner that the tendency of the weight 8 is to pull back both catches 6 simultaneously clear of the fingers 5 when the boat is waterborne.

9 are springs which keep the sliding catch pieces 6 in the forward position, whenever the pulling action of the weight 8 is not communicated to the said slides 6 and pre vent the sliding catch pieces being accidentally jarred out of position. The hook or claw 3 at the other end of the segment, is adapted to take into the link 1 of the falls 2 when the link is thrust into the hook, and when the boat is thus suspended from the falls 2, the pull on the hook 3 at one side of its pivot 10 keeps the finger 5 in powerful engagement with the sliding catch 6 at the other'side of the pivot. It will thus be seen that the boat is securely held by the falls 2,

when the hooks 3 are in engagement with the links 1, and when the falls 2 are kept in tension, by the weight of the boat hanging from them, but if this tension is slackened through the boat becoming waterborne, the pull with which the fingers 5 engage the catches 6 is relaxed, and the links 1 at the two ends of the boat are simultaneously releasedor ejected from the hooks 3. The links 1 however are absolutely prevented from coming out of engagement with the hooks 3, until the tension on the falls 2 at both ends of the boat is slackened, because the weight 8 will not act to pull the catch pieces 6 clear, unless both catch pieces 6 are liberated at once.

With this degree of simplicity, the apparatus might be liable to work imperfectly, because the pull of one of the lines 7 might be greater than the pull of the other line 7 owing to the screw adjusters 28 not being screwed up equally; and if this was the case, then one sliding catch piece might be pulled clear of the finger by the tension of the line 7, if a heavy sea struck one end of the boat sufiiciently strongly to slacken the hold of the finger on the sliding catch. Consequently some additional means is required to insure that the hooks 3 shall be released absolutely simultaneously. In order to effect this, I provide at both ends of the boat,

a lever 19 working on a pivot 20 located below the hook member 3, to which lever 19 is coupled a chain 21 also connected at any suitable point to the line 7 which leads to the weight 8. When the lever 19 is depressed its pull on the line 7 entirely takes the pull off the sliding catch pieces 6, and the springs 9 normally hold the said catch pieces in the forward position, as shown in Fig. 1, the chain 27 being slack. Means are provided for operating this lever arm 19, a suitable arrangement being to provide a pivoted hand lever 23 at one end of the boat working in a quadrant 24; having a locking pin or spring catch for holding the lever 23 up or down. This hand lever has a cranked end 25 bearing against the lever arm 19, so that the depression of the hand lever 23, depresses the lever arm 19, or the lifting of the hand lever releases it.

26 is a two-armed fork or crutch member at each end of the boat secured tothe same pivot 20 as that to which the lever arm 19 is secured, so that the turning of the lever arm 19 turns the crutch member also. The two armed fork of each crutch member straddles the hook or claw members 3 so that while being clear of the hook it can be brought laterally against the link 1, but in the pushed down position of the lever 19, the crutch stands in a substantially upright position clear of the link, as'shown in Fig. 1. When, however, the hand lever 23 is raised, the pull of the weight 8 tends to draw both levers 19 upward, and this causes the whole pull of the weight to press each crutch 26 laterally against the respective links 1. The action of this device will be described presently.

The entrance tothe hook member of the segment, when in the operative position, is closed by means of a gravity trigger 11, the end of the latter bearing against the inside of the nose of the hook 3 in such manner as to allow the link 1 to be inserted into the hook 3, but prevent the link 1 accidentally coming out when the falls are slack under any ordinary movement. The gravity triggers 11 are suitably pivoted at 12 to some part of the boat in such manner that they can be freely swung to and fro, their counterweights 13 keeping them against the hooks to prevent the links escaping accidentally. If however it is desired to unhook without throwing the gear out of action, this can be done by turning the link in the hook and pressing the trigger inward. 1 1 is a hinged locking member to further guard the exit of the link 1 from the hook 3. This can be turned over the trigger 11, and when so turned absolutely prevents this unhooking action taking place accidentally.

The lines 7 (to which the chains 27 are coupled) proceed from the sliding catches 6 to the weight 8, which is located at or near mid length of the boat, under the thwarts or seats along one side of the boat, or under a longitudinal seat, or through a longitudinal pipe 15. The weight may be arranged to be guided within a cylinder or between guide bars, or if preferred a weight actuated drum 16 might be used, to the periphery of which the ends of the two lines 7 would be attached.

The whole of the mechanism is inclosed in a suitable casing so as to prevent any one tampering with it, or accidentally treading on it. The guards for protecting the sliding catches are shown at 17. These sliding catches 6, can each have a lever 18 projecting through the guard 17, to facilitate the sliding catches 6 being brought back into engagement with the finger 5, when rengaging the links 1 with the hooks 3, this small lever also acting as an indicator to show the man in charge whether the catches are in the forward or in the drawn back position; The levers 18 however are so pivoted that they can be folded out of the way when not required for use so as to be protected by the guard 17.

The mode of action is as followsz-Assuming the boat is on the chocks, the position of the parts is as shown in Fig. 1. The entire pull of the weight is on the hand lever 23 (which is locked in the quadrant-2 1), and not upon the sliding catches 6. The chain 27 therefore is slack as shown. To launch the boat the clavits are swung outward, moving the boat off the chocks, and the boat now hangs in the outboard position ready for lowering. Before actually being lowered by the falls 2, the hand lever 23 is raised, so that the entire pull of the weight now comes upon the levers 19, and the links 1 kept in tension by the falls 2, press against the crutches 26, so that the levers 19 cannot be pulled up by the weight. The chains 27 therefore still remain slack, and the action of the weight is not communicated to the sliding catch pieces 6 at all. This condition of things continues to obtain, so long as either of the levers 19 is held in the depressed position by a link 1 in tension pressing against a crutch 26, and therefore the action of the weight cannot be communicated to the chains 27 acting on the sliding catch pieces 6 at either end of the boat. Immediately however the boat is waterborne, and the tension on both links 1 slackened simultaneously, both crutches 26 are released, the levers 19 fly upward by the pull of the weight, the chains 27 are put into tension, the catch pieces are pulled back, and the links 1 are simultaneously ejected from the hooks 8, thus leaving the boat clear of the falls. If for instance, a heavy sea should strike one end of the boat so that the pull of the links 1 at one end of the boat be slackened, the segments 3 at that end will weight of the boat is on one hook 8, or the other, it cannot be released from either hook, and so remains suspended from the falls 2. The released position is shown in Fig. 2.

The slack in the chains 27 (Fig. 1) made by depression of the levers 19 allows a'certain amount of license and play to the crutches 26, thus obviating any very fine adjustment of the screw adjusters 28.

To raise the boat from the water, the weight is raised by depressing the handle 23, and held in the raised position by locking the handle in its quadrant. The sliding catches 6 slide outward, and the segments 3 are turned into position, so that the fingers 5 engage them. The pull of the weight is now borne by the hand lever 23 at one end of the boat, the crutch at that end being held in an upstanding position, while the crutch at the other end is free, so as to present no obstacle to the links taking into the hooks. The hinged locking members 14 being turned clear, the links at the end of the falls are now made to take into the respective hooks 3, the gravity triggers 9 permitting of this, but preventing the links accidentally coming out again. The hinged locking members 14 are turned back into the closed position, and the boat is now set for nonautomatic working, so that if a heavy sea did strike it while being raised, it would not be released. Thus when the gear is set for automatic working I insure that the boat is freed at both ends simultaneously, instantaneously and automatically, and the falls cannot be reengaged by the hooks until the sliding catches are brought back to their former position. Or when the gear is set for non-automatic working, as when the boat is lying on the chocks, or when the boat is being raised from the water, or when it is not desired that the boat should leave the falls automatically when waterborne, then the links 1 cannot be accidentally disengaged from the hooks.

I declare that what I claim is l. A holding and disengaging gear for ships boats, comprising in combination, a stand at each end of the boat, a hook or claw member pivoted on each stand, and adapted when closed to engage a link at the end of the falls, a finger integral with the hook or claw member, slidably mounted catch pieces in connection with which the fingers are kept in powerful engagement when the boat is suspended from the falls so as to hold the hook member in the closed position, an elbow lever at each end of the boat working on a pivot located adjacent to the hook member against the upper arm of which the links at the ends of the falls abut, and weight actuated lines each bifurcated at the end into two branches, one of which branches is coupled to the lower arm of the elbow lever and the other branch to the sliding catch pieces in such manner as to take the entire weight off these catch pieces by the links at the end of the falls abutting against the said upper arm of the elbow levers, whereby so long as the links are kept in tension by the falls, the elbow levers can not be pulled up by the weight, but immediately the boat is waterborne and the tension on the falls thereby slackened, the elbow levers are released, the pull of the weight being thereby communicated to the sliding catch pieces, thus pulling them clear of the hook members.

2. A holding and disengaging gear for ships boats comprising in combination, a stand at each end of the boat, a hook or claw member pivoted on each stand and adapted when closed to engage the link at the end of the falls, slidably mounted catch pieces for holding the hook members in the closed position, a lever arm at each end of the boat working on a pivot located adjacent to the hook member, a fork or clutch member secured to the same pivot as that to which the lever arm is secured, but adapted to straddle the hook member, so that while being clear of the hook it can be brought laterally against the link when engaged by the hook, and weight actuated lines each bifurcated at the end into two branches, one of which is coupled to the lever arms, and the other to the sliding catch pieces.

ing each clutch, and weight actuated linesbifurcated at the ends into two branches, one branch being coupled to the lever arms and the other to the sliding catch pieces, in such manner that the latter branch lies slack when the lever is pressed down, so that the entire pull of the weight is borne by the links abutting against the clutch member.

4. A holding and disengaging gear for ships boats comprising in combination, a stand at each end of the boat, a hook or claw member pivoted on each stand and adapted when closed to engage the links at the end of the falls,

slidably mounted catch pieces for holding the hook members in the closed position when the falls are in tension, a pivoted fork or clutch member located adjacent to each link when engaged by the hook, a lever arm for operating each clutch, weight actuated lines bifurcated at the ends into two branches, one of which is so coupled to the lever arms and the other to the sliding catch pieces that the slackening of the tension on the links of the falls at both ends of the boat releases both clutches and allows the lever arms to fly upward by the pull of the weight on the branch of the line actuated thereby, while the other branch of the line is thereby put into tension so as to pull the catch pieces clear of the hooks and causethem to turn into the open position.

5. In a holding and disengaging gear for ships boats, the combination with catch pieces that hold the hook members in the closed position when the falls are in tension, pivoted clutch members against which the links of the falls press when kept in tension by the falls, and lever arms for actuating the clutch members, of weight actuated lines bifurcated at the end into two branches coupled to the sliding catch pieces and the lever arms, respectively, the branch that is coupled to the sliding catch pieces normally lying slack, but is tightened to bring the pull of the weight on it at the moment when the tension of the falls at both ends of the boat is simultaneously relaxed.

6. In a holding and disengaging gear for ships boats, the combination with catch pieces that hold the hook members in the closed position, when the falls are engaged thereby and in tension, pivoted clutch members against which the links of the falls press when kept in tension by the falls, and weight actuated pivoted lever arms for operating the clutch members, of hand operated means for pressing down the said pivoted lever arms and holding them down so as to move the clutch clear of the link at the end of the falls, thus setting the gear for nonautomatic working, or for liberating the said levers so that the entire pull of the weight is borne by the links at the end of the falls pressing forcibly against the clutches, thus setting the gear for automatic working.

7. In a holding and disengaging gear for ships boats, the combination with catch pieces that hold the hook members at each end of the boat in the closed position when the falls are engaged thereby and in tension, pivoted clutch members against which the links of the falls press when kept in tension by the falls, and pivoted lever arms for operating the clutch members, of a weight actuated line bifurcated at the end into two branches which are respectively coupled to the pivoted lever arm and catch piece at one end of the boat, a second line bifurcated at the end into two branches which are coupled to the pivoted lever arm at the other end of the boat, and a single actuating weight common to both lines, whereby the pressing down of the lever arm at either end of the boat raises the weight and prevents the action of the weight being communicated to {)he sliding catch pieces at both ends of the oat.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 7 day of September 1914;, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY WILLIAM GAVIN.

WVitnesses OSCAR PENRICE, CONSTANT GUERARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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