US602912A - Gwire - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. W. MCGGWIRB. LIFE BOAT.

No. 602,912. PatentedApr. 26, 1898.

UNITED- STATES PATENT WILLIAM lVALTER MCCGWIRE, OF 4DUNGKARVAN, IRELAND.

LIFE-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 602,912, dated April 26, 1898.

Application filed August 6, 1 8 9 7.

.To wZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM WALTER Moo- GWIRE, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Dun garvan, in the county of Waterford, Ireland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Boats and other Vessels, of which the following is a specification. f

My invention relates to life-boats and other vessels and comprises the improvements hereinafter set forth.

My said invention consists in the construction of a life-boat, either of wood or metal, which cannot be sunk or capsized under any circumstances and which may be driven either upon or against rocks, a ships side, or other obstructions Without suffering any material injury from the impact resulting therefrom;

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side View, partly in vertical longitudinal central section; and Fig. 2Iis a transverse section on the line e a', Fig. 1, showing my improved life-boat.

Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

0, is the hull of the boat, which is preferably built amidships, the central third, or thereabout, in the shape, or approximately so, of an equilateral triangle, the keel a' being placed in the center of the base and the said hull inclosed or surrounded by an open metal cage or frame b, covered wholly or in part by wire-netting or equivalent material c. This protecting cage or frame and network covering rises considerably above the waterline, andthe said cage is attached to the hull c by strong metal or other arms d d. I also preferably secure one or more screens e e, of wire or other netting, to the upper portions of the above cage to break the force of the waves. To the outer edge of the door of this cage and along a part of its extent I secure weights f to act as ballast, thereby rendering it necessary to carry little, if any, ballast within the interior of the boat. This ballast, carried outside the hull,will be seen to serve not only as steadying-weights, but also as levers acting on the center of gravity as a fulcrum.

The arms projecting from either side of the keel and which form the floor of the cage surrounding the hull will represent, in fact, a

Serial No. 647,373. (No model.)

series of double levers having as their fulcrum-point the center of gravity immediately above the keel of the boat, and to this keel the said arms are securely attached.

g g are collapsible floats or air-bags which rest upon an open netting g', which netting is secured at or near the water-line in the space or clearance left between the cage b and the hull a of the boat. The iioats are suitably secured in the position shown, and, furthermore, may be inclosed in metal, Wire, or other cages, and any suitable number may be placed on each side, as also fore and aft. The floats g are so arranged, moreover, that they can be readily iniiated from a reservoir of compressed air or other means placed within the boat and by means of air-pumps or other methods likewise be deliated at will. I preferably so iniiate the said iloats that the Walls thereof will be loose.

h is a loose netting upon which any person may jump from a vessel or other height. The

deck is arched.

The collapsible floats may be inflated to any desired degree, and those on one side need not be equally inflated with those on the other. Thus when inflated on one side they may serve as a means for varying the value of the lever-Weights amidships by the displacement of water they occasion on the boat heeling over to one-say the lee-side. The iioats on the other-that is, the weather-side would then be deflated and furled up like a ships sails.

My improved life-boat may be driven by means of a compressed air engine il; but steam, electricity, or any other suitable source of energy may be used instead. The engine or motor t' is preferably connected through a crank j to a shaft j, running from end to end of the boat and having a screw-propeller 7c at each end thereof-that is to say, one situated at the bow and the other at the stern of the boat.

lis the engine-room, which is situated amidships or which may be located slightly astern or in any other suitable position.

'm m are water-tight compartments situated fore and aft, which compartments may, when desired, be used as cabins and receive the necessary supply of air through wind-sails n, passing up through the main deck o, arched IOO deck o', and the spar-deckp, and terminating in cowls n', which are preferably fitted with valves to prevent the passage of any water therethrough in the case of the boatl being dropped into the sea from a ships deck or other place. Z is a similar wind-sail fitted with a cowl Z2 for admitting air to the engineroom Z.

q is a cabin fitted with an air-tight door q' and located above the forward water-tight compartment m.

fr r are ladders or steps for admitting of access to the spar-deck 29, and s is anothery ladder or steps affording means of communication between the main deck p and the engine-room Zand the water-tight compartments lm, which latter may be entered through airtight doors m' m'.

t t are the rudders, one of which is located at each end of the boat, both being used together, or, in case of accident or the like, that one not available maybe firmly secured in position by lashing or otherwise.

u is the steering-wheel, which is situated upon the spar-deck and is connected to the rudder inuse by means of cords, wires, or chains '0, running over guide-rollers fw.

@c is a fender or guard which runs completely around the protecting frame or cage b. Suitable gangways extend at convenient points between the spar-deck and the cage.

It is obvious that a portion or all of the above improvements may be applied to any Steamers or other vessels or to light-ships or the like.

Instead of two screw-propellers, as above described, I may provide four screw-propellers mounted upon two parallel shafts, in which case two of the said screw-propellers would operate at the bow and two at the stern, one on each side of the center line of the boat. In order, moreover, to break the force of the waves impinging upon the floats g, I may in some cases surround or incase them with one or more belts of wire-netting or the like situated at a certain distance therefrom and having, when more than one are employed, meshes of varying gages, the belts with the smaller gages in\such a case being placed nearest to the said floats.

It is evident that the internal arrangements and the details of construction of my im proved boat or vessel may be considerably modified or varied without departing from the scope of my invention.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a life-boat or other vessel the combination of a hull ot' approximately triangular form in transverse section amidships, a protecting cage or frame inclosing or surrounding said hull, and ballast-weights outside said hull and located at the outer or extreme edge of the floor or base of said cage, substantially as set forth.

2. In a life-boat or other vessel, the combination, with the hull, of a protecting cage or frame, netting covering said frame at and above the water-line, ballast-weights outside said hull and located at the outer or extreme edge of the door or base of said cage amidships ory thereabout, and floats or air-bags at or above the normal water-line and lying between said hull and said cage, around the hull, substantially as set forth.

3.- In a life-boat or other vessel, the combination, with the hull, of a protecting cage or frame, ballast-weights outside said hull and located at the outer or extreme edge of the licor or base of said cage, floats or air-bags at or above the normal water-line and lying between saidhull and said cage, and netting covering the sides of said frame and extending from such sides to the hull at or near the water-line substantially as set forth.

4t. In alife-boat or other vessel, the combination, with the hull, of a protecting cage or frame, ballast-Weights outside said hull and located at the outer or extreme edge-of the floor or base of said cage amidships or thereabout, floats or air-bags at or above the normal Water-line and lying between said hull and said cage, around the hull, means for retaining said floats in position, and a iexible netting serving as a means to catch a person endeavoring to reach said vessel from a height or otherwise, substantially as set forth.

5. In combination, a vessel having its hull, ata point amidships, approximately triangular in transverse section the apex portion being uppermost, a protecting cage or frame inclosing or surrounding said hull, ballast- Weights outside said hull and located at the outer or extreme edge of the oor or base of said hull, netting covering said frame at and above the water-line, floats or air-bags retained between said hull and said cage at or about the normal water-line, means for varying the value of the lever-weights amidships by inflation or deflation of air-floats, and means for propelling said vessel.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

WILLIAM WALTER MCCGWIRE.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR F. SPooNnR, THOMAS G. DAKIN.

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