Patent GB-603030-A (GB)
Title: Mooring gear for flying boats
IPC: B64C35/00
Filed: 1945-11-16
Abstract: 603,030. Mooring flying boats. SAUNDERSROE, Ltd., and KNOWLER, H. Nov. 16, 1945, Nos. 30800/45 and 19744/46. [Class 4] [Also in Group XXV] Mooring gear for a flying boat comprises a mooring hook supported on a fitting which is slidable in relation to the hull between positions in which the hook is respectively projected and retracted and is free to swivel when the hook is projected, and a reciprocating operating member having a lost motion connection with the fitting such that initial upward movement of the member is effective to free a trapped mooring cable and permit it to be cast off from the hook, whereafter further upward movement of the member retracts the fitting and hook into the hull. In one form, Fig. 1, a hook 10 is integral with a cylindrical fitting 11 which can be raised and lowered in a housing 12 by a ram 13 operated by a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 14. The ram has a head 16 which is movable in a bore 15 in the fitting and engages the lower end of the bore to move the hook and fitting to the projected position. The upper end of a pivoted trigger 22 engages a spring-loaded catch 24 which is normally in engagement with a tubular latch 28 accommodated in a bore 29 in the fitting. The latch is slidable on a tube 30 secured to a flanged bush rotatable in a cap 39 closing the upper end of the housing 12, and is urged downwardly by a spring 31. When the trigger 22 is pressed aside by the entry of a cable 20 into the hook, the catch 24 is withdrawn and the latch 28 driven down into a cavity 32 in the hook to trap the cable. On upward movement of the ram, the head 16 engages a projection 33 on the latch to raise it to the inoperative position where it is locked by the return of the catch 24. The head 16 then engages a plate 34 secured to the top of the fitting and retracts the hook and fitting into the housing. During the latter stages of retraction, the lower end of the latch, the lower end 36 of the housing and the lower edge 37 of the hook co-operate to force the cable out of the hook without jamming. In the lowered position, the collar 17 on the fitting engages a bearing surface 18 on the housing so that the hook can swivel under the pull of the engaged cable. A roller 38 on the fitting engages a cam surface 40 on the cap 39 to centralize the hook in the retracted position. In the case of a tail hook, the housing 12 is mounted just forward of the rear step, and the opening of the hook is presented laterally. In a second form, Figs. 9 and 11, a hook 50 is pivoted at 51 to the lower end of a tube 52 of rectangular section, which is slidable in a fixed outer sleeve 53 closed at its upper end by a cap 54. The lower end 57 of a hollow pushrod 56 is of square section and carries a pin 58 on which is pivoted the upper end of a U- section link 59 pivoted to a tail piece 61 on the hook. The ends of the pin 58 project through slots 64 in the tube. At the upper end of the tube are two pins 62 having tapered ends adapted to engage an annular recess 69 in the sleeve in the lowered position and recesses 63 in the push-rod in the raised position. A handle 65 is slidably mounted on the upper end of the push-rod and carries a housing 68 which encloses a spring 67 engaging a head 66 on the rod. When the push-rod is in the upper position, the pins 62 are engaged with the recesses 63, the pin 58 is at the upper ends of the slots 64 and the openiing in the hook faces laterally. Downward movement of this push rod first lowers the tube and hook together until the pins 62 are opposite the recess 69, whereafter further movement forces the pins 62 into the recess and out of engagement with the recesses 63 and actuates the link 59 to swing the hook to the position shown, the pin 58 then being at the lower end of the slots 64. The handle 65 is then locked by spring- loaded catches 70 which engage projections 72 on the cap 54. When the boat approaches a submerged cable, the cable pushes the hook aside against the action of the spring 67, the push rod being raised by the link in relation to the handle 65, and the pin 58 rising in the slots 64. The hook then springs back and traps the cable against the undersurface of the keel. When the push-rod is raised, the hook is first moving to a position in which its opening faces laterally, thus freeing the cable, and when the pin 58 reaches the upper end of the slots 64 the pins 62 are forced inwardly to engage the recesses 63 and lock the tube to the push rod. The tube and hook are then raised together. The push rod, tube and hook are freely rotatable in the sleeve so that the hook may be rotated to any desired position. Specifications 575,723, 575,919 and 603,028 are referred to.