Machinery or Apparatus for Controlling Racing of Propeller and other Shafts.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 17th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 23rd Jan., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Machinery or Apparatus for Controlling Racing of Propeller and
other Shafts.
I, WILLIAM HENRY LINDSAY, of Ashton Gate, Bristol, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists in machinery or apparatus for controlling racing of shafts.
It is specially applicable to the propeller shafts of steam-ships, but is also applicable
to other shafts.
The machinery or apparatus which constitutes this invention consists of a coil
brake and means for putting the same into and out of action.
According to this invention, a coil of steel or other suitable metal is wrapped
around a bush keyed on the shaft, or around the shaft direct. The coil tapers
equally in opposite directions from a central head which is secured in a fixed frame.
The two tails of the coil are arranged to be acted upon by a lever by means of
which the coil is, when required, made to contract upon the bush or shaft or to
relax therefrom. By a centrifugal or other suitable pump driven off the shaft,
water is pumped into and through a pipe mounted on which is a cylinder open at
the lower end and containing a piston the rod of which is connected to the lever
which actuates the coil. A spring, the tension of which may be varied by suitable
nuts, acts upon the piston and tends to return it against the water pressure.
In the discharge pipe of the pump is a throttle valve which is capable of being
set so that should the shaft rotate at a speed exceeding the number of revolutions
at which the valve is set to act, the water acts upon and raises the piston in the
cylinder mounted as aforesaid on the discharge pipe and thus, through the piston
rod and connected levers, the lever which actuates the coil causes the latter to
contract and so to control racing. A graduated index-plate indicates the points
for setting the throttle valve. The range of movement of the lever which actuates
the coil is governed by set pins, or the like, so that the coil cannot grip the bush
or shaft beyond a maximum degree which when reached permits the bush or shaft
to slip within the coil.
In the case of steam-ship propeller shafts, the water may be conveniently pumped
from and discharged into the sea. Or, as would be usually the case with other
shafts, a tank may be used for supplying and receiving the liquid, which may be
water, oil or other suitable liquid."
Dated this 19th day of February 1896.
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Bristol, Chartered Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Machinery or Apparatus for Controlling Racing of Propeller and
other Shafts.
1, WILLIAM HENRY LINDSAY, formerly of Ashton Gate, Bristol, and now of
Slough, in the County of Buckingham, Engineer, 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 consists in machinery or apparatus for controlling racing of shafts.

page_text: It is specially applicable to the propeller shafts of steam-ships, but it is also
applicable to other shafts..
The machinery or apparatus which constitutes this invention consists of a coil
brake and means for putting the same into and out of action.
According to this invention, a coil of steel or other suitable metal is wrapped
round a bush keyed on the shaft or round the shaft direct. The coil tapers equally
in opposite directions from a central head which is secured in a fixed frame. The
two tails of the coil are arranged to be acted upon by a lever by means of which
the coil is, when required, made to contract upon the bush or shaft or to relax
therefrom. By a centrifugal or other suitable pump driven off the shaft, water is
pumped into, and through a pipe mounted upon which is a cylinder open at the
lower end and containing a piston the rod of which is connected to the lever which
actuates the coil. A spring, the tension of which may be varied by suitable nuts,
acts upon the piston and tends to return it against the water pressure. In the
discharge pipe of the pump is a throttle valve which is capable of being set so
that should the shaft rotate at a speed exceeding the number of revolutions at
which the valve is set to act, the water acts upon and raises the piston in the
cylinder mounted as aforesaid on the discharge pipe and thus, through the piston
rod and connected levers, the lever which actuates the coil causes the latter to
contract and so to control racing. A graduated index-plate. indicates the points
for setting the throttle valve. The range of movement of the lever which
actuates the coil is governed by set pins, or the like, so that the coil cannot grip
the bush or shaft beyond a maximum degree which when reached permits the bush
or shaft to slip within the coil.
In the case of steam-ship propeller shafts, the water may be conveniently pumped
from and discharged into the sea. Or, as would be usually the case with other
shafts, a tank may be used for supplying and receiving the liquid, which may be
water, oil or other suitable liquid.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents, in end view, and
Fig. 2, in side view, machinery or apparatus for. controlling shaft racing as
constructed and arranged in accordance with this invention.
Wrapped around a bush a keyed on the shaft 6 is a coil c of steel, or other
suitable metal. The coil c tapers equally in opposite directions from a central
head which engages with a recess provided for it in the frame standard d and is
secured in place. The two tails c2 and c of the coil e are connected to the arm e
which is free to turn in the standard d' of the frame. The arm e is connected at
one end by the lever f to the rod g which is connected to the arm pivotted at h
in the support extending upwards from the pipe i of the centrifugal pump j.
Extending upwards from the pipe i is a cylinder k about the piston rod k¹ of which
is coiled a spring bearing, at one end, on the plate & attached to the piston rod k³,
and, at the other end, on the plate k fixed on the supports extending vertically
from the cylinder, as seen at Fig. 1 and more particularly in the sectional view
drawn to an enlarged scale and shown at Fig. 3. The spring tends constantly
to force the piston down. A regulating screw working in the bracket / limits
the upward range of movement of the arm h. In the pipe i of the pump is a
throttle valve m from the spindle of which extends outwards a lever m' which, by
means of the clamping screw m², can be set to any graduation in the graduated
index quadrant m³. The pump is worked off the shaft b through the pulleys j
and and the belt 3. The pump j is mounted on a tank n which is charged with
water, oil or other suitable liquid.
The coil tail is connected by the lever o to a rod p which is connected to the
spindle of the throttle valve of the steam supply pipe of the engine or engines by
which the shaft b is driven.
The operation of the machinery and apparatus is as follows:-The throttle m is
adjusted by means of the lever m and set by the clamping screw m to allow a given
quantity of water, pumped from the tank n, to return to the tank. This quantity
of water bears direct relation to the number of revolutions per minute of the

page_text: shaft b. When from any cause, the shaft bis rotated at a speed exceeding the
number of revolutions for which the valve m has been set, an increase occurs in
the quantity of water pumped from the tank. The effect is to raise the piston 4*
in the cylinder k and thus, through the arm h, rod g, lever f, and arm e, to cause
the coil c, hitherto loose on the bush a, to bind on the latter and check the undue
speed of the shaft b-which is accordingly prevented from racing. Simultaneously,
through the arm e, lever o, and rod p, the throttle valve of the steam supply pipe
to the engines is closed to a proportionate extent thus reducing the supply of
steam.
The range of upward movement of the arm h is, as aforesaid, restricted by the
set pin 7 screwed into the bracket through which the arm h is passed. The set
pin is so adjusted that by contact of the arm h with the pin the coil is prevented
from gripping the bush to a degree exceeding a given inaximum, so that when such
maximum is reached, the bush slips within the coil and the shaft rotates.
When the cause tending to induce the shaft to race has been removed, the
apparatus returns to normal conditions.
As is obvious, the water or other liquid employed to act upon the piston k in
the cylinder k may be obtained from other source than the tank n shown in the
drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood
that I do not claim as new in itself a coil such as e tapering from a central head
and extending in opposite directions and adapted to bind on and relax from a shaft
or a bush on such shaft, but what I claim is
(1.) Machinery or apparatus for controlling racing of propeller and other shafts,
consisting of a pump adapted to act through the agency of a hydraulic cylinder and
counterweighted piston, a throttle valve in the pump discharge pipe and a series of
levers or rods, upon a coil brake arranged to act upon the shaft and prevent it from
rotating at a rate in excess of a pre-determined speed.
را
(2.) Machinery or apparatus for preventing racing of a propeller or other shaft ;
consisting, in combination with a coil such as c tapering in opposite directions from a
fixed central head and wrapped around a bush such as a or around the shaft, of a pump
such as driven either directly or indirectly from the shaft, a hydraulic cylinder such
as k, upon the piston of which is constantly exerted a downwardly acting pressure as
from a spring such as k², or a counterweight, a throttle valve such as m connected
by a rod such as g, an arm such as h and a lever such as e to the tails of the coil;
the arrangement being such that when the shaft tends to rotate above a determined
rate of speed fixed by the degree of outlet through the said throttle valve, the
coil c is constricted and, binding on the shaft or on the bush fixed on the shaft,
counteracts such tendency and so prevents racing, substantially as hereinabove
described with reference to the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.
(3.) As an auxiliary, in preventing racing of a propeller shaft, or other shaft, to
the arrangement claimed in the foregoing claims, connection of the throttle valve
of the steam supply pipe of the engine or engines to the braking coil controlling
rotation of the shaft, substantially as hereinabove described.
Dated this 15th day of November 1896
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Bristol, Chartered Patent Agent.