Automatic Electric Marine Sounding Apparatus.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 8th May, 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Automatic Electric Marine Sounding Apparatus.
I, JAMES FREDERICK BABCOCK, of Bangor in the County of Penobscot and
State of Maine, one of the United States of America, Merchant, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention consists of an automatic electric marine sounding apparatus and is
fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation with circuit open.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view with spring, movable rod, fin, cable and
balance weight in elevation and with circuit open.
.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same with spring omitted and
with circuit closed.
Figure 4 is a plan of elastic packing.
Figure 5 is an elevation of same.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of device for preventing rotation or twisting of
movable rod.
Similar letters refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.
The object of my device is indicated by its title and it is especially designed for
use as a substitute for the hand lead upon vessels approaching a dangerous coast
or shoal in darkness or fog when the precise position of the vessel is doubtful or
unknown, and also for use in deep-sea sounding.
I provide a hollow metallic cylinder A closed at the lower end by the screw-
cap and at the upper end by the cap a, both these caps resting upon and making
joints with rubber washers the said rubber washers forming integral portions of
domes K hereinafter described, but any convenient or suitable means for closing
the ends of the cylinder may be adopted. A union joint f further secures the
top cap a.
A movable rod B is introduced into said cylinder through the lower screw-
cap and is directed in the cylinder by the guides 61, 62. The spiral spring C, is
coiled about said movable rod B and compressed between the collar 6 and the
guide, being an annular collar surrounding and fitting the movable rod and
secured against motion on the movable rod with the expansion of the spring by the
pin c passing diametrically through the movable rod, and the guide 6 being an
inverted circular cup bored through the centre of its bottom to fit and admit said
movable rod, shaped to fit within said cylinder, and having a flanged rim fitting
under the lower end of said cylinder; the other guide being formed in
the cap h.
The movable rod B carries at its lower end outside the cylinder a weight D
slightly overbalancing the resistance of the spring C and lowering the movable
rod in the cylinder against the spring a distance arranged to be about one eighth
of an inch.
The top of the movable rod proper is covered by a cap c¹ of insulating material
and this in turn by a metallic conductor-cap c". The cap a is similarly fitted at
its centre with an insulator a¹ and this covered by a metallic conductor-cap a¹¹ in
line with the can c

page_text: The poles of an electric battery E are connected with the caps c" and all by
wires y insulated within a cable Z which sustains the weight of the whole device
while the strain at the point of counèction with the cable is borne in the manner
hereinafter described.
A fin H controls the position which shall be assumed by the cylinder and
prevents its rotation when dragged through the water.
A supplemental weight W, which serves also partly to encase the weight D and
the exposed portion of the movable rod B, is bored and shaped to be fitted around
the cylinder A and screwed down over the lower portion thereof, and I provide
vents in the base of the screw-cap to permit the escape of water which may
have entered between the movable rod B and its bearing in the screw-cap h into
the space surrounded by the dome-shaped packing K.
The cable Z, which consists of the wires a y enveloped in an insulating sheath
and surrounded by twisted wires, enters in its complete form the top of the hollow
bell-shaped holder N which is formed in halves united by bolts through the ears n,
and so continues for a few inches, when the external wires of the cable are cut off
and twisted back in knots as shown at o, when Babbitt or other convenient metal
is run into the bowl formed by turning the holder upside-down and as the metal
cools the cable is thus anchored in the solid metal.
From this point the wires xy, in their insulating sheath z, proceed downwards in
the holder N to the top of the tubular bale F, arranged to turn loosely in the
holder N, and cap a as shown and about the top of which bale they are loosely
coiled with several turns when they enter an aperture in said bale and pass down
one side thereof finding an exit through an aperture in the bottom thereof and
then coiling loosely around the bottom of the bale, pass through an aperture i in
the top proper of the cap a, enter the cylinder A and are then stripped of their
insulation and connected respectively with the metallic conductor-caps all and c".
At the entrance of the wires x y into the top of the cap a they are packed about
tightly with a water-proof substance or cement at v.
In this way the wires y are relieved of all strain of the weight of the
apparatus and their breaking rendered practically impossible.
In operation the device being suspended from the vessel by the cable Z, and the
balance-weight D being unsupported, the spring C is compressed by the weight D,
and the movable rod B, with its cap c", is lowered against the spring, as before
stated about one eighth of an inch, and the contact between the caps c and all
brcken, but when the weight D touches bottom and is thereby supported, its action
upon the spring ceases and the spring C expands and forces the movable rod B
with its cap cinto contact with the cap a" and so completes an electric circuit
whereby a bell or other alarm in any convenient part of the vessel is sounded.
is obvious that as the circuit is broken by the weight lowering the movable rod
against the spring, that the moment the spring is released from the action of the
weight the spring will act, force the movable rod again into contact, and the
electric circuit be thus completed, and that this result will occur whether the weight
be supported from the bottom or when the whole device is lying upon its side, as
in either case the spring is relieved of the weight.
It
It is absolutely essential that the parts be so fitted as' that the cylinder, or the
upper chamber thereof, shall be perfectly water-tight, as otherwise the cylinder
would fill with water, the circuit be thus completed, and a continuous alarm sounded,
before the device touched bottom. To make the cylinder water-tight I have
provided an annular dome-shaped elastic packing K formed of rubber and having
a neck and a flanged base as shown Figures 4 & 5. The neck of the packing..
fits tightly and is tightly secured about the movable rod making that point water-
tight, while its flanged base, of equal diameter with the exterior diameter of the
cylinder, fits over the end of the cylinder and between the end of the cylinder and
the screw-cap which is so tightly screwed on as greatly to compress the rubber
flange and absolutely to prevent the ingress of water at that point. The rubber of
which the packing is constructed is made sufficiently elastic to permit a vertical

page_text: extension equal to the movement of the movable rod in the cylinder which as
stated need be only about one eighth of an inch, while the curvature of the dome-
shaped portion of the packing further facilitates the extension when the weight
acts by changing from the curve to nearly a right line. One of these elastic domes
is provided at each end of the cylinder A.
Any suitable form of water-tight packing may be used but I believe the form
shown to be best adapted to the purpose.
The device shown at Figure 6 consists of a bracket m which I sometimes mount
on 62 and arrange with a slot m¹ permitting the vertical motion of the rod B but
by the pin m² acting in the slot m¹ rotary motion is prevented: the spring C is
mounted outside the bracket as indicated in dotted lines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An automatic electric marine sounding apparatus consisting of the combination
of a cylinder having a water-tight chamber, a movable rod partially within said
cylinder, working longitudinally therein, and having an insulated metallic cap upon
its head and within said chamber; a stationary insulated metallic cap within said
chamber and in line with said cap on said movable rod; a spring within said
cylinder acting against the downward movement of said movable rod; a weight
attached to the lower end of said movable rod sufficiently heavy slightly to over-
balance said spring; an electric battery; and two wires properly insulated
connecting the poles of said battery with said insulated metallic caps.
2. In an automatic electric marine sounding apparatus the combination of a
water-tight metallic cylinder having its lower end closed by a screw-cap and its
upper end by a cap secured by a uniou-joint; a movable rod partially within said
cylinder and working longitudinally through said screw-cap; a spiral spring within
said cylinder surrounding said movable rod and stopped or secured near the upper
end of said rod and at its own lower end upon a support resting upon said screw-
cap; a weight attached to the lower end of said movable rod sufficiently heavy
slightly to overbalance said spring; an insulated metallic cap upon the head of
said movable rod and another in line with the first upon the under side of the upper
cap of said cylinder; an electric battery; and two wires properly insulated
connecting the poles of said battery with said insulated metallic caps.
3. A device for automatically making and breaking an electric circuit consisting
of the combination of an electric battery and wires connecting the poles of said
battery one of said wires connecting with a stationary conductor, and the other
with a conductor movable to and from said first named conductor and controlled in
its motion by the operation of a weight against a spring so arranged that when the
spring is relieved of the action of the weight the spring may act and bring the
conductors in contact and establish an electric circuit, and when the weight is
acting against the spring it may overcome the action of the spring, separate the
conductors, and break the circuit.
4. An elastic packing or expansion joint consisting of a hollow dome made of
rubber or other elastic material and having a flanged base and a neck or collar
surrounding an aperture in its crown.
པས པམསས་ LOUI
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.