Patent GB-190704584-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to Means and Apparatus for use in Indicating and Recording the Course and other Particulars in connection with Ships and other Vessels
Inventor: BROOKES ALFRED GEORGE
Filed: 1907-02-25
Granted: 1907-10-24
Abstract: 4584. Brookes, A. G., [Foote, T. M., Wolfe, W. F., and Young, A. F.]. Feb. 25. Course recorders; compasses, magnetic; logs and leeway indicators.-In apparatus for recording ships' courses &c., the compass needle is normally free, but is caused to close intermittently one of two electric circuits for operating the recording- mechanism, the course being marked on a continuously-moving band on which is printed by automatically changing stamps the distance covered by the ship or the number of revolutions of its engines and also the time of printing each record. Fig. 18 is a diagram of the electric connexions. The apparatus is contained in a box 20 divided into three compartments, the uppermost of which contains the compass, the middle one the clutches and relays, and the lowest the rollers of the record strip. The compass box 26, Fig. 9, is mounted on gimbals carried by supports 30, which are carried by a rotatable ring 32 provided with teeth 37 on its edge and guided by a fixed flange 35 and rollers 33. An insulating-ring 38 is connected to the compass box by gimbal rings 47, 48, arms 46, and spring-controlled pins 42. The gimbal ring 47 rests on rollers 51 mounted on four arms 50 projecting from a rotatable shaft 49, the rollers being of varying diameters so as to give the ring 47 a progressive tilting movement as the shaft 49 rotates. The insulating-ring 38 carries three metal strips, the inner one 39, Fig. 18, being a complete ring, and the two outer ones 40, 41 forming the two parts of a broken ring; or the strips may form only arcs of circles and have their ends turned up to keep a bridge-piece 53 over them. These strips are connected by wires 125 to commutator-rings carried by the ring 32, and thence to selective relays 91, 92, Fig. 18. The rotative tilting movement of the ring 47 is transferred to the ring 38, and at each revolution of the shaft 49 the ring 38 is brought into contact with the metal bridge 53 pivoted to the arm 52 carried by the needle 24, thus making connexion between the ring 39 and one of the strips 40, 41. The shaft 49 is constantly rotated by a motor 57 which is controlled by a governor 63, Fig. 18, through a shaft 55 and gear-wheel 59, Fig. 10. The toothed wheels 69, 70, Fig. 10, which carry electro-magnets 67, 68 and are loosely mounted on the shaft 65, are constantly rotated in opposite directions by the motor, and a disk 66 keyed to the shaft between the magnets enables the shaft 65 to be clutched to either of the wheels 69, 70. For example, suppose contact has been made on the right side of the gap 155 between the strips 40, 41, Fig. 18. The relay 92 is energized and brings the armature 94 in contact with the screw 96, and since the armatures of both relays are connected by a spring 98, the armature 93 is brought into contact with the stop 97. Current then passes from the main 101 through the stop 97 and both armatures to the brush 88 of the clutch coils 68 to connect the shaft 65 to the wheel 70, and returns by the wire 109 to the main 100. If both circuits are closed simultaneously when the needle is in its neutral position, no contact can be made at the stop 97. The shafts 76, 78, 79, Fig. 3, are then turned to rotate the compass box through the bevelgear 81, 82, worm 84, and ring 32, this operation occurring intermittently until the compass box is brought to its neutral position with the needle. Simultaneously, the worm 154 on the shaft 79 turns the disk 149, Figs. 1 and 3, which rotates through a quarter revolution for each complete revolution of the compass box. The disk 149 carries four pencils on arms 150, the pencils recording the course on the hand 134 which is marked with a line for each point of the compass. A wedge 216 lifts the pencils on to the band. The band 134 passes from a store roll 135 round the guide-bar 137, pulleys 138, 139, and friction roller 143, and is wound on to a roller 140 turned by frictional contact with rollers 145,147. As the roll 140 increases in diameter, its spindle rises in guides 142. The gear-wheels of these rollers are driven by the motor 57 through the shaft 128 and worm 130. The time stamp 157 and counter 156 are mounted on a frame 165 pivoted to a bracket. The clock-driven toothed wheel 159, Fig. 18, periodically makes contact with the finger 160 to energize the electromagnets 161, 169, the former of which operates the armature 162 and link 164, Fig. 3, to change the indication on the time stamp, while the latter disengages a pawl 174, Fig. 12, from a tumbler 175, which then rocks about the pivot 176. The rotary contact-maker 213, Fig. 18, is geared either with the ship's engines or with the log, and when it makes contact with the brush 215, the electromagnet 186, Figs. 18 and 12, is energized to rock the arm 188 and cause the arm 189 to engage the pin 191 on the catch 192 and draw the catch away from the detent 193, when the spring 201 rocks the detent out of engagement with the pawl 195 pivoted to the cam-disk 196, Fig. 13. The disks 196, 182 are rigidly connected together by bolts 197 and are loosely mounted on the shaft 217 of the motor 57. When the pawl 195 is released as described, the spring 198 forces it into engagement with the ratchet 199 which is revolving with the shaft 217. Thus the disk 196 is caused to revolve, but its camshaped periphery rocks the arm 200 of the detent 193 and resets the latter to stop the disks 196, 182 at the end of one revolution, during which the pin 181, working in the slot 208 of the arm 206, has rocked the latter with the shaft 207, a second arm on which operates the counter 156 through the link 210, Figs. 1 and 3. The pin 181 also engages with the shoulder 183 of the tumbler to reset it, during which movement the pin 177 on the tumbler engages the shoulder 180'on the link 178, which is thereby lifted to rock the frame 165 and print a record. Any suitable form of inking and feeding devices for the printing - mechanism may be employed.