Improvements in the Structure and Arrangement of Steam Steering Gear of Ships.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th Feb., 1891-Accepted, 18th Apr., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Structure and Arrangement of Steam
Steering Gear of Ships.
We, WALTER HENRY WILSON and WILLIAM JAMES PIRRIE, both of Queen's
Island, Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Shipbuilders and Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the structural arrangement and relative positions of
The engine is
the steam steering engine and tiller or yoke on rudder head.
placed immediately beside the tiller and has a worm on crank shaft driving a
wheel on a vertical intermediate shaft, which shaft carries a spur pinion driving
a spur wheel tiller or yoke which is secured to the rudder-head through an elastic
medium consisting of flat or spiral steel springs or other suitable form of springs.
The engine and intermediate shaft with its worm wheel and pinion are carried
on a soleplate sliding in grooves on a cast-iron bed bolted to the deck. The
gear is capable of being adjusted in a fore and aft direction or in a direction
parallel to any radius line from the centre of the rudder head, and can be drawn
completely out of gear with the tiller when it is required to steer the ship by
hand gearing.
The traversing motion is accomplished by means of screws, or an eccentric
actuated by ratchet levers, handles, or otherwise.
For the elastic medium on tiller or yoke a spiral spring or springs are employed
and fitted up under compression in such a manner that whether the rudder is forced
to port or starboard the spring or springs are still further compressed, so that if
two or more springs are used all would be available for resisting any strain which
might come on the rudder, no spring being idle no matter in what way the strain
may come.
Dated 20th Nov of Me 1890
WALTER H. WILSON.
W. J. PIRRIE.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Structure and Arrangement of Steam
Steering Gear of Ships.
We, WALTER HENRY WILSON and WILLIAM JAMES PIRRIE, both of Queen's
Island, Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Shipbuilders and Engineers, 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 relates to the structural arrangement and relative positions of
the steam steering engine and tiller or yoke on rudder head. The engine is placed
immediately beside the tiller and has a worm on crank shaft driving a wheel on a
vertical intermediate shaft, which shaft carries a spur pinion driving a spur wheel
tiller or yoke which we secure to rudder-head through an elastic medium consisting
of flat or spiral steel springs or other suitable form of springs.
The engine and intermediate shaft with its worm wheel and pinion are carried on
a sole plate, sliding in grooves on a cast iron bed bolted to deck. The gear is
capable of being adjusted in fore and aft direction or in a direction parallel to any
radius line from centre of the rudder head, and can be drawn completely out of
gear with the tiller when it is required to steer the ship by hand gearing.

page_text: ine traversing motion is accompusned by means of screws or an eccentric
actuated by ratchet levers, handles, or otherwise.
For the elastic medium on tiller or yoke a spiral spring or springs are employed
and fitted up under compression in such a manner that whether the rudder is forced
to port or starboard the spring or springs are still further compressed, so that if two
or more springs are used all would be available for resisting any strain which
might come on the rudder, no spring being idle no matter in what way the strain
may come.
In order that our said invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect we will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 is a plan of steering gear constructed and
arranged in accordance with our invention. Figure 3 is an elevation of a portion
of the same to a larger scale.
Figures 4 to 8 show details of the spring gear through which the power of the
steering engine is applied to the rudder.
a is the rudder shaft, it has ordinary manual steering gear applied to it; this
gear as shown in the drawings consists of a yoke a' fast on the head of the rudder
shaft and connected by Links with screw nuts traversing upon a right and
left hand screw & upon which are the manual steering wheels e e. a² is an arc fast on
the rudder shaft and against this are a brake block can be brought to bear to hold
the rudder fast when required. The brake block is carried by a lever fin
connection with which is screw and ratchet gear g. A tiller ax formed in one piece
with the are a projects from the rudder shaft. is a yoke or tiller having an are
of teeth formed upon it; it is mounted upon the rudder head; it is free to turn
thereon between the parts a' and a* and it is connected with the tiller a* by means
of the spring gear i.
is a bed on which the steering engine stands, is the
steering engine; it is of ordinary construction and is controlled by a steering
wheel in a steering house amidships or in other convenient position; this steering
wheel is coupled with the steering engine by shafting and gear wheels arranged
as is already well understood; a portion of this shafting and a pair of the gear
wheels are shown at m, in one of which the horizontal shaft slides but is fitted
on feathers to prevent its turning in the wheel which admits of the movement of
the engine into and out of gear. The engine by means of a worm on its crank
shaft drives a worm wheel n on a vertical shaft which also carries the pinion o.
The steering engine and the vertical shaft which it drives are carried upon a
movable bed and this can be traversed along the stationary bed k fixed to the
deck so as to place the pinion o in gear with the teeth when the steam gear is
to be used and to withdraw the pinion when the manual gear is to be employed.
The manual gear when not in use is disconnected by withdrawing the joint pins
from the links b b. y is a screw carried in a bearing upon the under bed k
and working into a nut upon the movable bed . By turning the screw q the
engine is moved forward or back as may be required. When the pinion o is in
gear, the hinder part of the bed bears against the adjustable stops s.
In place
of using a screw to move the bed it is evident that other mechanism may be
employed; for example there may be an eccentric carried by a vertical shaft at
the fore part of the bed and entering between stops on the under bed k. This
eccentric may be turned by means of a worm and worm wheel.
tt are the steam and exhaust pipes, they are provided with suitable bends to
give to them the flexibility requisite to admit of the small amount of movement
which has to be given to the engine.. Or jointed pipes may be employed.
The
spring gear is so arranged that any shock which the rudder may receive is
expended in increasing the normal compression of the springs in both of the
apparatus. This gear is composed of the parts which in Figures 4 to 8 are lettered
as follows; น is a double or forked link jointed to the tiller ax; and ² are two
discs free to slide on the double link u. Between the two discs the coiled spring w

page_text: is held compressed. The spring w forces the discs apart so that the disc v¹ comes
to bear against nuts u¹ at the ends of the double link and the disc against collars.
upon the link at u². The discs 1 and 2 are faced with leather or other suitable
material at v*, this is done with the object of preventing jar in the working of the
apparatus.
xx are two other links jointed to the yoke h; these pass through both the
discs and v and the discs are free to slide upon them. When the apparatus is.
at rest the disc v² is pressed by the spring w against the nuts on the links and
the disc v is pressed against the collars ³. When a shock on the rudder brings a.
tensile strain upon the links and the nuts u' and ' pressing on the discs v
and move them towards each other and the spring w is compressed whilst the
apparatus as a whole is elongated.
On the other hand when a shock on the rudder puts the links u and into com-
pression the collars u² and 2 press on the discs vand 2 and cause them to.
approach again compressing the spring we whilst the length of the apparatus as a
whole is diminished.
Thus in the absorption of shocks arising from seas striking the rudder or
otherwise, the springs in the two apparatus always co-operate by submitting to.
an increase of compression.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-.
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
---
1. The structure and arrangement of steam steering gear in such manner that by
the movement of the steering engine toward and from the rudder it may be put
into and taken out of gear substantially as described.
2. A steering engine so arranged that by means of a worm on the crank shaft it
drives a worm wheel on a vertical axis and also a pinion which latter by moving
the engine and parts, can be put into gear with and removed from an arc of teeth h¹
carried upon the rudder substantially as described.
3. The combination substantially as described of parts consisting of the tiller ax
fast upon the rudder head; the yoke or tiller h able to turn thereon; the arc of
teeth on the yoke or tiller h; the pinion o driven by a steering engine and
gearing with the teeth h¹; and the spring apparatus i connecting the tillers a*
and such spring apparatus being so arranged that any shock on the rudder is.
absorbed by the compression of the springs which the said apparatus contains.
4. The use in steam steering apparatus, to connect the engine with the rudder,
of mechanism substantially as shown by the Figures 4 to 8 for the purpose of
absorbing shocks received by the rudder.
5. Combined manual and steam steering gear substantially as described and
represented by the annexed drawings.
Dated this 24th day of February 1891.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.