USRE47E - Improvement in the manner of lining vessels constructed of sheet-iron - Google Patents

Description

, of the vessel.

i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

`JAMES KEER, WILLiAM GRAN'E'AND JOHN POTTER, or PITTSBURG, PA.

' IMPIirOVEIlNT IN THE MANNER 0Fv LINING VESSELS CONSTRUCTED )F SHEET-IRON.

Specification forming pari of Letters Patent No.

2,612, dated May 7 1842;* Reissue No. 47, dated october 14, 1842'.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES KERR, W11.-V LIAM GRANT, and J ons POTTER, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and improved mode of constructing sheet-iron steamboats,`

ships, and other vessels intended for navigation; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof.

A distinguishing feature in our mode of constructing vessels of sheet-iron for the purposes of navigation is the forming them, in whole or in part, of sheets of metal so arranged -and combined with each other and with the ribsas t'o give great stiffness to such vessel.` and'to leave spaces between the said ribs and between tho sheets of .metal which shall constitue separate 'and distinct water-tight chambers or compartments in such manner as that any accidental fracture by which water may be admitted into one of them will not affect the others, and will consequently interfere but 'little with the security and general buoyancy In the manner of forming the outer shell oiw body of our vessels we proceed, in the ordinary way, by preparing and riveting together sheets of metal of a suitable size and form, and these we support by means of ribsof wrought-iron of the kind denominated gun- .wale'" or angle iron. to which ribs the plates forming the outer shell are riveted, and to which, also, the plates formingthe lining or inner shell are likewise united by means of rivets or of screw-bolts.

Figure 1, in the accompanying drawings, is an outside view of such a vessel, not di'ering in appearance, as above remarked, from other vessels of sheet-iron. terior of one of our vessels as seen in a vertical section thereof through the middle from stem to stern. Fig. 3 is a cross-section in the line :c a: of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a portion of one of the ribs of angle-iron. Fig. 5 is a portion of the sheet-metal which is to be attached to the' ribs and formthe lining or inner shell. I

4Thepart a a ofthe ribs 'of angle-iron is Athat to whichthe plates forming the outer, -shell of the vessel are to be riveted, and the Fig. 2 shows the in-v part b b that to which the lining-plates, Fig.

5, .are to be attached. These plates have flanges c c turned up'on their edges at such an angle as will adapt them to the particular part of the vessel to which they are to be applied. The width of these flanges must be such as will sutlice for the receiving of theirl rivets or bolts by which they aretobe attached to the ribs. The part b b of the ribs which stand at a right or any other suitable angle with the part a ais to beof such widthasshall equal that of the flanges c c of the plates, Fig.

5, and of the space which is to be left between the inner and the outer shells which is to constitute the water-tight chambers or compartments above named, the edges of these flanges and of the ribs being intended to be flush with each other. These' water-tight compartments may, in vessels of an ordinary size, occupy a space of two inches from shell to shell, and the ribs may be about twenty inches apart; but this may be varied accordingI to the size of the vessel or the judgmentl of the constructor.

For the convenience of repair, as it maybe desirable to have access to the watertight chambers, We prefer to attach 'the lining-plates to theribs by means of screw-bolts instead of by rivets. The respective seams are to be carefully calked and rendered water-tight in a mannerthat is well understood. Such bulkheads-and other inner works are to be constructed as may be required; but a vessel built according to the foregoing description will not be dependent upon thes'e for its stability, the ribs and double shell imparting to vit a degree of strength not possessed by those constructed in the usual manner.

It may not bethought necessary in all cases to employ the inner shell orlining throughout the whole interior of the vessel. It may,

for example, be omitted iu the portions constituting the stem and stern, as at e and f in Fig. 2, where the plates forming the outer i 'shell are seen; butof this the constructor must v judge for'himself, and be governed according to circumstances.

Having thus fully set forth the nature of our invention and shown the manner in which the ing iron vessels,

same is to be carried into operation, what we' claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The manner herein described of strengthenand of securing them against danger from leakage by attaching the inner plates between the ribs and bolti ng them thereto so as to constitute water-tight cham-I bers o1' compartments around or nearly around l the entire hulls of such( vessels, the whole bel king arranged and combined substantially as herein set forth. 4

JAMES KERR. WM., GRANT. JOHN POTTER. Witnesses: v

C. H. WOLFF,

LEONARD S. JOHNS.

Images