IMPROVEMENTS IN STEERING APPARATUS WORKED BY HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Augustus Inglefield, of Grove End Road,
St. John's Wood, in the County of Middlesex, Captain in the Royal
Navy, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEERING APPARATUS
WORKED BY HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE,"
Sealed the 17th August 1869, and dated the 19th March 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Augustus
Inglefield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 19th March 1869.
I, EDWARD AUGUSTUS INGLEFIELD, of Grove End Road, St. John's
Wood, in the County of Middlesex, Captain in the Royal Navy, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STEERING APPARATUS WORKED BY HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE," to be as follows:-
My improvements relate to apparatus for steering vessels for which a
Patent was granted to me, dated the 21st June 1864, No. 1551. In the
Specification of the said Patent I described a mode of applying the
hydrostatic pressure of the exterior water to work a piston which
actuated the tiller by means of ropes connecting the said piston to the
[Price 8d.]

page_text: tiller ; I also described a mode of communicating the movement of the
said piston by means of hydraulic pressure to other pistons connected to
the tiller. In steering large vessels a very great power must be applied
to the tiller, while the hydrostatic pressure of the external water is
limited by the depth of hold.
I find that in order to work with apparatus such as I described in the
Specification of the Patent above referred to the cylinder in which the
hydrostatic pressure of the outer water acts must be inconveniently large
in diameter or have an inconveniently large stroke in order that it may
furnish the power required during the stroke of its piston in either
direction; I therefore now construct this cylinder and its connections
with the tiller in such a maner that for a single movement of the
rudder several strokes of the piston are necessary, and thus the force
resulting from the use of a moderately sized cylinder during several
strokes of its piston is accumulated so as to furnish the power required
to move the rudder.
The object of my present improvements is the mechanism for this
purpose, which I construct in the following manner -I place at the
lowest accessible level within the vessel a hydrostatic cylinder fitted
with a piston. This piston has a rod projecting from it in either
direction and passing through water-tight packing into a small hydraulic
cylinder at either end of the hydrostatic cylinder so as to act therein as
a plunger. I so proportion the sectional area of those pistons or
plungers to that of the hydrostatic cylinder that the pressure in the
cylinders in which these plungers work shall be as many times greater
as may be desired than the pressure in the hydrostatic cylinder, which is
necessarily limited by its depth below the surface of the external water.
Thus if the hydrostatic cylinder be at such a depth below the water line
as to give a pressure in it of 10 lbs. per square inch, by making the area
of its piston rods one-fiftieth part of the area of the cylinder, these rods
acting as plungers in the smaller hydraulic cylinders can therein produce
a pressure fifty times 10 lbs., that is 500 lbs., per square inch, and so in
any other proportion. The hydrostatic cylinder is furnished with ports
at either end and passages for induction and eduction which are alter-
nately opened and closed by a slide. I prefer to make this slide
cylindrical and enclose it in a case, which at either end is fitted with
two valves; one of these valves covers a passage communicating with
the outer water and the other covers a passage discharging into the

page_text: hold of the vessel or bilge, and both valves are connected to a tappet
lever which is acted on by the piston of the hydrostatic cylinder as it
approaches the end of its stroke in either direction. When this piston is
Gear the end of its stroke it bears on a rod connected with a tappet lever,
and by its continued motion causes one of these valves to open and the
other to close. The pressure of the external water is thus caused to act
on one end of the slide as on a piston and to move it into such a position
that the communication between the ports of the cylinder and the
induction and eduction passages is reversed. The piston is then caused
to perform a stroke in the opposite direction, and in approaching the
other end of the cylinder it bears against another tappet rod, which
acting in a similar manner again moves the slide and reverses the action;
thus, with induction passages communicating with the external water
and eduction passages discharging into the bilge, the piston of the
hydrostatic, cylinder as long as it is free to move makes alternate strokes
in either direction, and moves its rods to and fro in the small hydraulic
cylinders at either end. These cylinders receive their supply and dis-
charge into valve boxes which are connected by pipes to a slide or valve
which can be worked by haud, and which is placed in any couvenient
part of the vessel, and the passages of this slide are connected by pipes
with two cylinders placed one on each side of the tiller with their axes
A double-ended
in the same straight line above or below the tiller.
plunger passes through water-tight packing into these two cylinders, and
a pin projecting from the middle of this plunger works in a slot in the
tiller. When it is desired to move the tiller in the one direction the
slide or valve is so moved that the water coming from one of the
hydraulic cylinders in the hold is admitted to one of these cylinders near
the tiller, while the water which is in the other of these cylinders by the
tiller is allowed to flow back to the other of the hydraulic cylinders in
the hold; thus the pressure produced in the one of these hydraulic
cylinders is communicated to the cylinder by the tiller, and the plunger
being forced outwards acts upon the tiller so as to move it towards one
side.
By changing the position of the hand slide the motion of the
tiller can be reversed, or by putting the hand slide in a middle position
the passages to both of the tiller cylinders can be opened and thus the
rudder is left free; or both passages can be closed, and the tiller can
thus be retained in any desired position. As long as the tiller is actually
in movement the piston of the hydrostatic cylinder continues to operate
giving the required pressure for moving the tiller; but when the move-

page_text: ment of the tiller ceases, the water communicating from the hydraulic
cylinders in the hold to the cylinders by the tiller being practically
uncompressible the movement of the piston in the hydrostatic cylinder is
arrested. The pipes which lead from the hydraulic cylinders being fitted
each with a self-acting supply and discharge valve, like the valves of an
ordinary pump, the pressure required for working the tiller is com-
municated to either of the tiller cylinders from either of the hydraulic
cylinders in whichever direction the piston of the hydrostatic cylinder
may move. In order that when desired the tiller may be moved without
the hydrostatic apparatus I prefer to connect the working plungers to the
tiller by means of a piu moving in a slotted piece which slides on the
tiller, and can be drawn out of gear or pushed into gear by means of a
screw.
I prefer to work the hand slide by means of a simple hand wheel
like that ordinarily used for steering, so that a seaman accustomed to
steer in the ordinary way may readily work it. I connect this wheel by
suitable gearing to the slide, and similar apparatus may be fixed in
various parts of the vessel connected with the slide in a like manner, so
that the steering may be effected from different positions on board.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Augustus Inglefield in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 11th September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
AUGUSTUS INGLEFIELD, of Grove End Road, Saint John's Wood, in the
County of Middlesex, Captain in the Royal Navy, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Edward Augustus Inglefield, Her special
licence that I, the said Edward Augustus Inglefield, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward
Augustus Inglefield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might

page_text: make, use, exercise, aud vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEERING APPARATUS WORKED BY HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Elward Augustus
Inglefield, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Augustus Inglefield, do
hereby declare the nature of said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:-
My improvements relate to apparatus for steering vessels for which a
Patent was granted to me, dated the Twenty-first June One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-four, No. 1551. In the Specification of the
said Patent I described a mode of applying the hydrostatic pressure of
the exterior water to work a piston which actuated the tiller by means
of ropes connecting the said piston to the tillor; I also described a
mode of communicating the movement of the said piston by means of
hydraulic pressure to other pistons connected to the tiller. In steering
large vessels a very great power must be applied to the tiller, while
the hydrostatic pressure of the external water is limited by the depth
of hold.
I find that in order to work with apparatus such as I described in the
Specification of the Patent above referred to, the cylinder in which the
hydrostatic pressure of the outer water acts must be inconveniently large
in diameter or have an inconveniently long stroke in order that it may
furnish the power required during the stroke of its piston in either
direction. I therefore now construct this cylinder and its connections
with the tiller in such a manner that for a single movement of the rudde
several strokes of the piston are necessary, and thus the force resulting
from the use of a moderately sized cylinder during several strokes of its
piston is accumulated so as to furnish the power required to move the
rudder.
The object of my present improvements is the mechanism for this

page_text: lowest accessible level within the vessel a hydrostatic cylinder fitted with
a piston. This piston has a rod projecting from it in either direction and
passing through water-tight packing into a small hydraulic cylinder at
either end of the hydrostatic cylinder, so as to act therein as a plunger..
I so proportion the sectional area of these pistons or plungers to that of
the hydrostatic cylinder that the pressure in the cylinders in which these
plungers work shall be as many times greater as may be desired than the
pressure in the hydrostatic cylinder, which is necessarily limited by its
depth below the surface of the external water. Thus i. the hydrostatic
cylinder be at such a depth below the water line as to give a pressure in
it of 10 lbs. per square inch, by making the area of its piston rods one-
fiftieth part of the area of the cylinder, these rods acting as plungers in
the smaller hydraulic cylinders, can therein produce a pressure fifty times
10 lbs., that is 500 lbs., per square inch, and so in any other proportion.
The hydrostatic cylinder is furnished with ports at either end and
passages for induction and eduction which are alternately opened and
closed by a slide. I prefer to make this slide cylindrical and enclose it
in a case, which at either end is fitted with two valves. One of these
valves covers a passage communicating with the outer water, and the
other covers a passage discharging into the hold of the vessel or bilge,
and both valves are connected to a tappet lever which is acted on by the
piston of the hydrostatic cylinder as it approaches the end of its stroke
in either direction. When this piston is near the end of its stroke it
bears on a rod connected with the tappet lever, and by its continued
motion causes one of these valves to open and the other to close. The
pressure of the external water is thus caused to act on one end of the
slide as on a piston and to move in into such a position that the com-
munication between the ports of the cylinder and the induction and
eduction passages is reversed. The piston is then caused to perform a
stroke in the opposite direction, and in approaching the other end of the
cylinder it bears against another tappet rod, which acting in a similar
manner again moves the slide and reverses the action; thus with
induction passages communicating with the external water and eduction
passages discharging into the bilge, the piston of the hydrostatic cylinder
as long as it is free to move makes alternate strokes in either direction,
and moves its rods to and fro in the small hydraulic cylinders at either
end. These cylinders receive their supply and discharge into valve
boxes, which are connected by pipes to a slide or valve which can be
worked by hand, and which is placed in any convenient part of the

page_text: vessel, and the passages of this slide are connected by pipes with two
cylinders, placed one on each side of the tiller with their axis in the
same straight line above or below the tiller. A double-ended plunger
passes through water-tight packing into these two cylinders, and a pin
projecting from the middle of this plunger works in a slot in the tiller.
When it is desired to move the tiller in the one direction the slide or
valve is so moved that the water coming from one of the hydraulic
cylinders in the hold is admitted to one of these cylinders near the tiller,
while the water which is in the other of these cylinders by the tiller is
allowed to flow back to the other of the hydraulic cylinders in the hold;
thus the pressure produced in the one of these hydraulic cylinders is
communicated to the cylinder at the tiller, and the plunger being forced"
outwards acts upon the tiller so as to move it towards one side. By
changing the position of the hand slide the motion of the tiller can be
reversed, or by putting the hand slide in a middle position the passages to
both of the tiller cylinders can be opened, and thus the rudder is left
free. Or both passages can be closed and the tiller can thus be retained
in any desired position. As long as the tiller is actually in movement
the piston of the hydrostatic cylinder continues to operate, giving the
required pressure for moving the tiller; but when the movement of the
tiller ceases, the water communicating from the hydraulic cylinders in
the hold to the cylinders by the tiller being practically incompressible
the movement of the piston in the hydrostatic cylinder is arrested. The
pipes which lead from the hydraulic cylinders being fitted each with a
self-acting supply and discharge valve, like the valves of an ordinary
pump, the pressure required for working the tiller is communicated to
either of the tiller cylinders from either of the hydraulic cylinders in
In
whichever direction the piston of the hydrostatic cylinder may move.
order that when desired the tiller may be moved without the hydrostatic
apparatus I prefer to connect the working plungers to the tiller by
means of a pin moving in a slotted piece which slides on the tiller,
and can be drawn out of gear or pushed into gear by means of a
screw.
I prefer to work the hand slide by means of a simple hand wheel like
that ordinarily used for steering, so that a seaman accustomed to steer in
the ordinary way may readily work it. I connect this wheel by suitable
gearing to the slide, and similar apparatus may be fixed in various parts
of the vessel connected with the slide in a like manner, so that the
steering may be effected from different positions on board.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
: Fig. 1 represents parts of the longitudinal section of a vessel fitted
with steering apparatus constructed according to my Invention. a is a
cylinder placed in the lowest convenient position in the vessel, and
fitted with a piston b; c is a slide jacket supplied by a pipe d from the
external water, the supply pipe d being controlled by a Kingston or
other suitable valve or cock; e, e, are two branches by which water,
after working the piston in the cylinder a, is discharged from the slide
jacket into the bilge of the vessel; f¹, f2, are two slides fitted into the
jacket so as to slide to and fro therein, these two slides being con-
nected by a rod so that they move together; g¹, g³, are two tappet rods
passing through the cylinder covers and connected by bent levers with
double valves h, h2, fitted in the slide jacket. Water being admitted by
the pipe d to the slide jacket, the upper valve being open and the
lower valve closed, while the upper valve h¹ is closed and the lower
valve open, the pressure of the water acts on the slide at the end f³,
while the pressure on the end f' is relieved by the lower valve h¹ being
open to the bilge and thus the slides f² and f¹ are forced towards the
right hand; thus a port communicating from the middle of the slide
jacket to the right-hand end of the cylinder is opened, while a port at the
left-hand end of the cylinder is opened to the branch pipe e; the water
pressure thus acts on the piston b, causing it to move towards the left,
the contents of the cylinder being discharged through the port and the
branch pipe e into the bilge. When the piston reaches the left-hand
end of the cylinder it moves the tappet go, and thus by closing the upper
and opening the lower valve h² relieves the pressure on the slide at that
end, so that the slide is moved towards the left by the pressure acting
at its other end, the communication of the cylinder ports with the
middle of the slide jacket and with the bilge respectively is changed,
and the movement of the piston is reversed. So long as water is
admitted by the pipe d aud the piston is free to move it is thus caused
to move to and fro alternately. The piston is provided with a rod
projecting from it each way; these rods work through packing in
barrels i, i, fixed at either end of the cylinder and communicating by
pipes with. a valve box k, in which are fitted supply and discharge valves
like those of an ordinary force pump. Two pipes and m communicate
with the valve box k, one of these'm always supplying water and the
other receiving the water discharged;. thus while the piston b moves

page_text: two
to and fro it rods act as pump plungers, drawing water through the
pipe m and the suction valves in the box so as to feed one or other
of the barrels i, and discharging water through the delivery valves in k
and the pipe 1. The water thus discharged is at a considerable pressure,
greater than that of the external water which works the piston bin
proportion as the area of the piston 6 exceeds that of either of its rods
which work in the barrels i. The discharge and suction pipes 7 and m
communicate with a valve box n fitted with a slide; this slide, which I call
the directing slide, can be moved to and fro in the box n, so as to cover
or uncover certain ports formed therein, the movement of the slide being
effected by a rod worked by a tiller wheel p by means of screw, bevil,
or other suitable gearing. This wheel p may be placed in a steering-
house above deck, or there may be several such wheels on different
decks and in positions sheltered from shot, and by preference these
wheels are made to act like ordinary steering wheels, so that men
accustomed to steer in the ordinary way may have little difficulty in
steering with my apparatus. From the ports in the valve box n
pipes o¹, o, proceed to two hydraulic cylinders q', q², placed athwart
ships immediately under the level of the tiller lever t. Fig. 2 represents
a longitudinal section of these two cylinders, being a section taken
transversely to the vessel. Each of those cylinders is fitted with, a
ram, and the two rams are united to a crosshead fitted with a pin and
block, which is held within two cheeks attached to the tiller lever.
While the block is between those cheeks the movement of the rams
in these cylinders is imparted to the tiller lever, and by moving the
directing slide and thereby making communication between either of
the pipes or m, and either of the pipes o¹ and o², either of the rams q², q²,
may be made to move outwards under the pressure of the water from
the pumps i, i, while the other of the rams q, q, is relieved from
pressure and can move inwards. The ports in the valve box n are so
arranged in connection with the directing slide that the pipes o¹, o², can
be both stopped, and thus the rams q', q³, can both be held in any desired
position, the tiller, lever, and rudder being thus held at any required
angle. Or the two pipes o¹, o³, can be made to communicate freely
with one another and be cut off from communication with the pipe l,
and thus the rams q', q³, are left free, and the rudder can take its own
The block within the
position independently of the steering gear.
cheeks is fitted so as to slide along the tiller lever, and it can be
caused to slide to and fro by means of a screw and winch handle s.

page_text: Dy turning this made the Drock can be moved clear from the pin on.
the crosshead of the rams, and then the tiller is left free from the
hydraulic steering gear and can be worked in the ordinary way. When
the directing slide n is put in a suitable position so as to make free.
communication between the two hydraulic cylinders 2', q, as above
described, it it practically unnecessary to disconnect the hydraulic
steering gear, as it is found that the mere moving of the rams q, q
without pressure against them does not add perceptibly to the labour of
moving the rudder.
Fig. 3 represents a modified form of the hydrostatic cylinder with
its piston made to act on one double-acting instead of two simple-acting
pumps às represented in Fig. 1. In this case there is a single barrel u
having twice the sectional area of the rams in Fig. 1, and this barrel
is fitted with a differential piston or piston and plunger v, the plunger
part being of half the sectional area of the barrel u.
This plunger v
is tubular and fitted with a valve opening inwards into the space
in the barrel 2, and an annular valve opening outwards from u into
the annular space surrounding the plunger v;
this annular space
communicates by a pipe with the valve box and directing slide n,
constructed as above described with reference to Fig. 1, and a pipe m
communicates from the water supply d to the same valve box n. The
piston being caused to move to and fro by the pressure of the external
water, as already described with reference to Fig. 1, the piston and
plunger is caused to move with it to and fro in the barrel w. At the
one stroke, videlicet, that towards the left, the water contained in u is
caused to pass through the annular valve into the annular space
surrounding the plunger v. As this annular space has only half the
capacity of the barrel u, one half of the water thus discharged is sent
by the pipe to the valve box n, whence it passes to one or other
of the hydraulic cylinders that act on the tiller. When the piston v
moves towards the right band the aunular valve is closed and the
water contained in the annular space round the plunger v is sent by
the pipe, while a new supply of water enters by the tubular plunger
through the valve into the barrel u. The water after having worked
in one or other of the tiller cylinders 2, 92, and returned to the valve
box n is discharged theuce by the pipe m into the general supply d.
Instead of constructing such a double-acting pump with valves on
the piston, as represented in the Figure, these valves might be placed

page_text: in a separate valve box, as may be readily understood, the, action
being in other respects the same as that which has been described.
The
Fig. 4 represents a section of a single-acting hydrostatic cylinder
placed vertically. a is the cylinder fitted with piston b, to which
is attached a tubular plunger which works in a barrel d.
plunger c is fitted with a valve opening upwards, and the barrel d
has also a valve opening upwards; e is a slotted tappet rod which
is fixed to the piston 6, and which acts on a bent lever f connected
to a slide g; this slide as it moves to and fro covers or uncovers two
ports, one of which communicates with a cylinder h and the other.
with a pipe leading to the bilge, the slide jacket 9 being always in
communication with the pipe i supplying external water. The cylinder h
is fitted with a piston, to the rod of which is attached a valve k fitted
to seat on its upper or lower side; when seated on its lower side it
closes a passage to the bilge, leaving open a passage from the supply
pipe to the lower end of the cylinder a. When the valve k is
seated on its upper side it closes this passage and opens the passage
to the bilge. Water being supplied from outside the vessel by the
pipe controlled by a Kingston or other suitable slide or cock; this
water entering the cylinder a under the piston causes the piston to
rise and forces water contained in the barrel d with a pressure deter-
inired by the proportion of the area of the cylinder a to that of the
barrel d.
When the piston d reaches the top of its stroke the tappet
rode moves the lever f, and thereby shifts the slide g so as to make
a communication between the cylinder h and the bilge. The pressure
of the water from being thus left to act on the under side of the
piston in h causes that piston to rise and thus lifts the valve so
as to close the opening above it and open the
passage below ; thus
the water from i is prevented from entering the cylinder a and the
water from a flows out into the bilge, the piston 6 descending and
the barrel d being supplied with water through the valve in the
plunger. When the piston reaches the bottom of its stroke the
tappet e acts on the slide 9 so as to bring it into the position repre-
sented in the Figure. Water from i is thus permitted to enter the
cylinder above its piston, and the pressure on the upper and
under side of this piston being thus balanced the piston descends
by its weight and the pressure on the valve k and causes this
valve to seat on its under side and to close the passage to the
」

page_text: bilge and open that from the supply pipe i to the cylinder a. The
piston 6 is thus caused to rise and the action is repeated.
2
Fig. 5 represents a section of a vertical hydrostatic cylinder double-
acting. In this case
the barrel and plunger are constructed as
described with reference to Fig. 3, and a slide is moved by means
of a tappet rod allowing the water pressure to act alternately on the
upper and under side of a piston connected with the slide in a manner
similar to that described with reference to Fig. 4, the effect being
that water supplied from outside the vessel by pipe is permitted
to flow alternately into the upper and lower ends of the cylinder a,
while the contents of that cylinder are permitted to flow from each
end alternately by a port and passage f into the bilge. The water
forced by the plunger of either of the apparatus represented in
Figs. 4 and 5 is conveyed to a directing slide, such as has been
described with reference to Fig. 1, and is thereby made to act on one
or other of two hydraulic rams so as to move the tiller lever to the
one side or the other.
Figs. 6, 7, and 8 represent respectively a plan, a partial longitudinal
section and elevation, and an end view of the hydraulic cylinders
and rams connected by rods with the tiller lever without discon-
necting apparatus. 9, 93, are two cylinders fitted with pistons and
connected by pipes with a directing slide, such as that represented at n
in Fig. 1; is the tiller lever, and w¹, w², are connecting rods jointed
respectively to the pistons of q', q³, and to the tiller lever. According
as the water under pressure is admitted by means of the directing slide
to the one or the other of the cylinders q', q', the tiller lever is pushed
to the one side or the other.
When the pressure is sustained in the
two cylinders q, q2, the tiller is held in any required position, when the
pressure in both is relieved, the tiller is left free to right itself or to be
worked by hand.
Although I have represented in the Drawings and described
hydraulic pressure applied to work the rudder by means of rams or
pistons acting directly on the tiller lever, such rams or pistons might
be made to communicate by means or rods or chains the required
movement, as may be readily understood, also the lever on which
the hydraulic rams or pistons act either directly or by means of
chains or rods may be a lever separate from that to which the
ordinary steering gear is applied, and may be secured to the rudder

page_text: head or axis by a key or clutch capable of being readily connected or
disconnected.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that
I do not confine myself to the details or proportions represented in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied to suit particular vessels and
circumstances.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Augustus Inglefield, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-nine.
E. A. INGLEFIELD. (L.S.)