Improvements in Ship Log Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: Improvements in Ship Log Apparatus.
A communication from abroad by WARREN H. MOCURDY, of Pier 19, North
Delaware Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America,
Master Mariner.
I ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES, of 55/56 Chancery Lane in the County of London,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention has for its object to provide a ship's log of novel construction
capable of closing an electric circuit after the ship has travelled a predetermined
distance, the electrical impulse actuating a registering mechanism if desired, to
make a distance record on a suitable tape, and stamp the time, the difference of
time indicated between one and the next time stamp record indicating the time
required to travel a certain distance.
The electrical impulse may also actuate a visual registering mechanism, which
will indicate the number of miles travelled by the ship.
The mechanism in which I embody my invention comprises a ship's log having a
chamber for the reception of an insulating plug, and open at its end for the reception
of an electric cable, the latter being provided with one or more strength-giving wires,
and with electric wires, all of the wires being wrapped together within an insulating
protector, and arranged to co-operate with a push button, and suitable actuating
mechanism for the latter.
Also my invention embraces the special electric cable mentioned, this cable
consisting of a compact bunch of electric wies, and one or more strength-giving
wires, bound together by a protecting covering, and the strength-giving wire, or
wires being firmly secured to the log.
The log will preferably comprise fourh general divisions, viz.-a frame-work
containing the push button actuating meccanism, a shell enclosing this frame work,
and the latter being preferably pa ked water-tight within the shell, and
terminal portions at either end of the shell, the forward portion receiving
an insulating plug and containing the electric cable, strength-giving wires, etc.
above mentioned and the rear torminal portion being provided preferably with
ball bearing connections having a rotator secured thereto, this rotator being adapted
to drag considerably behind the log.
. I prefer that the rotator connections within the rear terminal of the log and the
push button actuating mechanism shall be connected by means of two discs mounted.
on the ends of the respective shafts of said two sets of mechanism, these discs being
brought together face to face, and secured by suitable fastening means, as pins,
symmetrically arranged therein.
The push button actuating mechanism may be variously constructed; I prefer,
however, to have a worm mounted on the main shaft within the log, this worm
meshing with a worm gear and through a train of gearing actuating a step cam, the

page_text: latter bearing loosely against the end of the push rod, on the other end of which rod
is the push button.
The push rod is mounted in suitable bearings, which may be one of the heads of
the mechanism supporting frame within the log, and is surrounded by a piece of
tubing, this tubing being connected to the said head and to a collar on the rod,
thereby forming a watertight joint.
This feature of my invention, however, is not absolutely essential, inasmuch as I
contemplate connecting the terminal wires of the electric circuit by means of a tube
filled with mercury, against which tube the push button will operate, thereby cutting
off the mercury intermittingly to cause the required pulsations in the registering
mechanism on board of the ship.
When this mercury contact device is not used, I prefer to mount the log mechanisin
in a frame independent of the shell, this frame having opposite heads packed water-
tight in the shell and a shaft extending outwardly from one of said heads to be
engaged and driven by the driving shaft from the rotator.
When the log is placed overboard in the
water, the rotator, as it
'is drawn in the water, will turn and rotate the driving shaft causing
it to rotate the worm shaft and turn the train of gearing above described,
the cam
thereof acting on the push rod to slide it back and forth in its
enclosing tube, and thereby operate the push button to make and break the electric
circuit through the wires of the cable.
This cain may be rotated once for every one tenth of a mile or any other desired
distance, and at each time that the circuit is completed an electric impulse is sent
through the circuit to.do work.
A recording time stamp is preferably placed in the chart-room of the ship, having
an inking ribbon, and co-operating with this ribbon is a strip or ribbon of paper which
may be unwound from any suitable reel and wound again on to.any suitable receiving
reel.
Suitable feed rolls are provided to intermittingly feed the paper immediately after
closing the circuit in the ship's log, a suitable spring or weight acting through a train
of gearing to rotate the feed rolls, as commonly practised in automatic electric
registers.
The stamp is in the electric circuit, and it is operated every time its magnet is
energised in usual manner, and it may be arranged to stamp on either side of the
paper ribbon.
The circuit also contains a registering mechanism, preferably mounted in the
Baloon in view of the passengers, consisting of a train of gearing and dials over which
hands travel, one of said dials representing units, the following ones, tens,
hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands, so that by moving the gearing at the first
dial by or through a suitable magnet, the said dials may be moved step by step, and
from them inay be readily seen the number of miles that the ship has travelled on its
voyage.
.
This ribbon of paper may be stamped with any imprint to show the time of day or
night and the number of miles.
The stamp may also mark the record of a mile, and by counting off ten stamps
and taking the difference of their time, the time consumed in travelling any one inile
of the journey may be accurately ascertained.
The cable will be mounted on a suitable reel having electrical connections so that
it may be rotated to give off or take up the cable as required, and yet the cable will
always be in circuit..
While I prefer to cast the ship's log into the water, yet it is within my invention
to fix the log on ship-board to be actuated by the rotator.

page_text: Improvements in Ship Log Apparatus.
A communication from abroad by WARREN HENRY MCCURDY, of Pier 19, North
Delaware Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Master
Mariner.
I ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County of London,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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:-
This invention has for its object to provide a ships log of novel construction
capable of closing an electrical circuit after the ship has travelled a pre-determined
distance, the said electrical impulse actuating a recording mechanism, to make a
distance record on a suitable tape, and stamp the time, the difference of time
indicated between one and the next time stamp record indicating the time required
to travel a certain distance.
The electrical impulse will also actuate a visual recording mechanism, which will
indicate the number of miles travelled by the ship.
Fig. 1 is a diagram in which A is supposed to represent a ship, with recording
time stamp and visual recorder, and a ship's log embodying my invention;
Fig. 2 is a detail of the reel for the electric cable extended to the log;
Fig. 3 is a top view of my improved log;.
Fig. 4, a longitudinal section thereof;
Fig. 5, an enlarged detail of the devices for moving the rod which effects the
electric closure;
Fig. 6 shows a piece of a strip or ribbon of paper stamped in accordance with my
invention.
The ship's log is herein shown as composed of three hollow parts a, b, c, firmly
connected together, one part being screwed into another,
The part a, has at one end a hole al for the cable d, and a chamber a2, the
chamber receiving a hollow plug of wood or other insulating material a³, for the
reception of the cable, the ends of the electrical wires of the cable being exposed at
one end of the plug to be acted upon.at suitable times a push button or closure e
made in the form of a spring plate connected to the plug by a suitable screw e¹, the
wires f which are used to give strength to the cable being secured to the plug by
suitable screws for in other usual inanner.
The hole, about the cable, is sealed water tight by suitable packing ax.
The part b contains a frame 6 having heads 6,62x, grooved externally to receive
packing 6 to make a water tight joint between the heads and the interior of the
part b.
The head 62 is bored for the reception of a rod.b' having screwed upon one end of
it a collar 65, provided at its end with some insulating, material as 6, and the rod bas,
also fixed to it a second collar 67, shown in Fig. 4, about which is placed one end of a.
piece of rubber tubing be, the opposite end of the tubing being passed over a
projection from one side of the head 2, and thereon suitably attached.
This tubing prevents the passage of water into the space between the two
heads b2 and b
The rod b is extended through a suitable guide, and is provided with a knob 6º,
which in practice will be screwed onto the rod so as to be adjusted as desired or
required.
The rod bhas a cross pin 610, which is acted upon by a suitable spring b¹², the
latter acting to keep the knob pressed against a cam g, having an abrupt shoulder,'

page_text: see Figs. 4 and 5 and fast on a shaft g' mounted in the frame b¹, and provided with
a gear g², which is engaged by a pinion g3 fixed to a worm gear gengaged and
rotated by a worm go fast on a shaft go supported in the said head bx, the said shaft
being extended outwardly beyond said head through a stuffing box, and having fixed
to it by a suitable set screw g', a plate g8, suitably slotted to receive pins or
projections go, of a crank or disc g10 fixed on the end of a shaft h, a part of which is
extended out through the part c, and threaded for the reception of an, eyepiece h¹
having a suitable hole h².
The shaft h has a fixed collar h³, and between it and a shoulder of the part c and
also between the end of the part c and the said eye piece I have placed anti-friction
rolls, to thus ensure the turning of the shaft in its part c with the minimum of
friction.
The eye piece will have joined to it a rope or other flexible connection m, several
feet in length, and having attached to it a rotator m¹, which may be such as
commonly employed with ship's logs.
The part 6 will in practice have at diametrically opposite points balancing vanes n,
and at its underside a steadying vane n¹.
The electric cable d, which may be made in any usual manner, is represented in
Fig. 1 as led into the barrel n2 of a suitable reel, and into a metallic journal thereof,
and one wire out through each end of said journal, see Fig. 2, where said end is
acted upon by a suitable spring, as n³, n, said spring being in an electric circuit
provided with a suitable local battery no, on the ship.
When the log so described is placed overboard in the water, the rotator, as it is
drawn in the water, will turn and rotate the shaft h, causing it to rotate the worm
shaft g, and turn by the gearing described, the cam g, and the latter, which may
be rotated at any desired speed by the employment of any suitable gearing, will act
on the rod band will slide it so that the insulated piece 66 at the outer end of the
rod will push the closure or push button down onto the ends of the wires, and
complete the circuit in which they are connected once during each rotation of the
cam.
This cam may be rotated once for every one-tenth of a mile, or any other desired
distance, and at each time that the circuit is completed an electrical impulse, is sent
through the circuit to do work.
In Fig. 1, A is supposed to represent a ship, and at any suitable or desired part of
the ship, preferably in the chart room, I place a suitable recording time stamp B,
having an inking ribbon B, and co-operating with this ribbon is a strip or ribbon of
paper B2, which may be unwound from any suitable reel B³ and wound again onto any
suitable receiving reel B'.
The strip or ribbon inay be passed between two rolls r, r, which will act to feed the
strip, the feed rolls being actuated intermittingly immediately after closing the
circuit, in the ship's log, a suitable spring or weiglit acting through a train of
gearing, not shown, to rotate the feeding rolls, as commonly practiced in connection
with automatic registers used in electric circuits.
The stamp is in the electric circuit, and it is operated every time its magnet B5 is
energized in usual manner, and it may be arranged to stamp on the underside or
the upperside of the strip or ribbon.
The circuit also contains a registering mechanism C, consisting of a train of
gearing and dials, over which hands travel, one of said dials, the one at the left in
Fig. 1, representing units, and the following ones tens, hundreds, thousands, and
ten-thousands, so that by moving the gearing at the first dial by or through a
suitable magnet o, the said dials may be moved step by step, and from them may
be readily seen the number of miles that the ship has travelled on its voyage.
This registering mechanism will preferably be inounted in the main saloon, where
it may be viewed by the passengers.
Fig. 6 shows the stamp which is made on the ribbon of paper.
The stamp shows the imprint of the dial of a clock with an hour and minute hand,
the position of the imprint of the hands being constantly changing as the hand

page_text: indicating portions of the clock train are revolved by the clock mechanism contained
in the time stamp, said mechanism being well known.
The stamp also indicates the year, month and day of the month, and it also shows
either the two letters A.M. or P.M., dividing the 24 hour day at 12 o'clock.
The stamp also may mark the record to of a mile and by counting off ten stamps
and taking the difference of their time, the time consumed in travelling any one mile
of the journey may be accurately ascertained.
The reel may be rotated to give off or take up the cable as required, and yet the
cable will always be in circuit.
While I prefer to cast the ship's log into the water, yet my invention would not be
departed from if the log should be fixed on ship-board, and be actuated by the
rotator, the rope m being made long enough to adapt it to this condition.
I have shown the rod 6 as acting directly by the collar at its end on the push
button; yet my invention is not in all cases to be limited to the exact means shown
between the cain and push button, as the closure of the push button might be effected
from the can at stated intervals by other equivalent devices.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A ship's log, having a chamber for the reception of an insulating plug, and open
at its end for the reception of an electric cable, combined with the said cable provided
with strength giving wires and electric wires wrapped together within an insulating
protector, and having its strength giving wires fixed to the log, and the electric wires
inside the log being separated from the strength giving wires, and arranged to
co-operate with a push button, substantially as described.
2. The combination with an electric cable, of a ship's log composed of a hollow
divided shell, containing an independent frame having opposite heads packed water-
tight and inserted in said shell, and containing a cam and means to move it to
actuate a push button to effect the closing of an electric circuit, substantially as
described.
3. In a ship's log, a head having a projection, and a slide rod having a collar,
combined with a piece of tubing surrounding said rod, and connected to said head
and collar to form a watertight joint, substantially as described.
4. A ship's log composed of a hollow divided shell having at one end a rotating
driving shaft, and having within said shell a train of mechanism mounted in and
carried by an independent frame having opposite heads packed water tight in said
shell, and a shaft extended outwardly from one of said heads to be engaged and
driven by the driving shaft, combined with a stuffing box through which the shaft
driven by the driving shaft is extended, to operate, substantially as described.
5. A ship's log, and a rotator therefor, a driving shaft mounted in the former and
connected to and to be rotated by the latter, and a driven shaft within the log, said
two shafts being connected together end to end by discs carried by cach, and suitable
fastening means, as pins, symmetrically arranged to join the discs, substantially as
described.
6. In combination with a ship's log, an electric cable containing electric wires, and
strength giving wires, nested together in a compact bunch and bound together by a
protecting covering, the latter wires, being firmly secured to the log, substantially as
described.
Dated the 27th day of September 1897.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55.and 56 Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.