Improvements in Apparatus or Appliances for Signalling from the Engine to the Captain's Bridge or other Place in Steamships, and for analogous uses.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Sept., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 4th June, 1890-Accepted, 19th July, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus or Appliances for Signalling from the
Engine to the Captain's Bridge or other Place in Steamships,
and for analogous uses.
We ROBERT ROBSON LITTLE of Westoe, South Shields in the County of Durham
Timber Agent, JOHN HALL of 3 Ellison Place in the City and County of Newcastle-
on-Tyne, Steam Ship Owner and THOMAS ARCHER the younger of 6 Park Terrace,
Gateshead in the County of Durham Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this
Invention to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object to provide apparatus or appliances for signalling
from the engine to the captains bridge or other place in steamships and for analogous
uses which apparatus or appliances are simple in construction, sure in action, and not
liable to get out of order, and give a positive indication obtained direct from the
actual part whose operation it is desired to indicate-for instance the direction of
movement of the propeller shaft and consequently whether the engines have been
actually put to go ahead or astern.
According to this Invention a pump is provided by which a fluid such as air for
instance is drawn or forced into either the one or the other of two pipes or passages
leading to the captains bridge or place where the indication is to be given and at that
place the said pipes each terminate in a transparent tube in which is situated a ball, or
other small article, which moves when the passage of air to or from the pump is
open so that the rising and falling of the said ball or the like in the one tube indicates
that the vessel is going in one direction and the rising and falling of the ball or the
like in the other tube indicates that the engines are going in the other direction because
the one or the other of the two pipes or passages is opened according to the direction
in which the propeller shaft is rotating. The said pipes or passages are opened and
closed as required by a three-way cock which controls the communication between the
pump and the two pipes or passages. This cock is moved into the position to open
communication between the pump and one or the other of the pipes or passages by
having fixed to it a pinion or toothed quadrant with which gears a toothed rack sliding
in guides and operated by a projection from, or in connection with the propeller shaft
so that when the shaft rotates in one direction one pipe or passage from the pump is
put into communication therewith and when the shaft rotates in the other direction
the other pipe or passage from the pump is put in communication therewith. In place
of the rack and pinion a lever fixed on the cock may be operated by the aforesaid bar.
It is preferred to operate the pump from an excentric on a propeller shaft but it may
be operated in any other convenient way for instance it may be operated by a crank
disc the connecting rod of the pump being engaged with the pin of the crank disc by
a saddle or forked piece which can be readily lifted off when the pump is to be
disconnected.
When an excentric is used it is preferred that the projection which operates the
toothed rack should be fixed to the strap of the excentric.
The said projection strikes against a projection centred to and depending from the
rack bar there being shoulders on the projection or on the rack bar so that they bear
together to move the rack. The object of centering the projection from the rack is
that it may swing until the projection in connection with the shaft leaves it but when
the engines are reversed the projection in connection with the shaft strikes the pro-
jection from the rack and the latter then yields to the pressure until the shoulder rests

page_text: against the rack bar which is then carried forward to operate the cock. The pump we
prefer to operate as a suction pump in the sense of drawing air down the pipes or
passages but it may be used as a force pump if desired.
Dated tho
L 1000
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus or Appliances for Signalling from the
Engine to the Captain's Bridge or other Place in Steamships,
and for analogous uses.
We, ROBERT ROBSON LITTLE of Westoe, South Shields in the County of Durham,
Timber Agent JOHN HALL of 3 Ellison Place in the City and County of Newcastle-
on-Tyne Steam Ship Owner and THOMAS ARCHER the younger of 6 Park Terrace,
Gateshead, in the County of Durham, 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 has for its object to provide apparatus or appliances for signalling
from the engine to the captains bridge or other place in steamships and for analogous
uses which apparatus or appliances are simple in construction, sure in action and not
liable to get out of order and give a positive indication obtained direct from the
actual part whose operation it is desired to indicate (for instance the direction of
movement of the propeller shaft) and consequently whether the engines have been
actually put to " go ahead" or
"astern." We will describe with reference to the
accompanying drawing the application of the invention to an engine on board ship for
indicating from the engines to the captains bridge from which its application to
analogous uses will also be understood. Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 is
an end view. A is a pump by which a fluid (we will presume it to be air) is drawn
or forced into the pipe B and thence into either the one or the other of two pipes or
passages B and B leading to the captains bridge or place where the indication is to
be given and at that place the said pipes each terminate in a tube in which is situated
a ball or other small article, which moves when the passage of air to or from the
pump is open so that the rising and falling of the said ball or the like in the one tube
indicates that the engines and vessel are going in one direction and the rising and
falling of the ball or the like in the other tube indicates that the engines and vessel
are going in the other direction because the one or the other of the two pipes or
passages is opened according to the direction in which the propeller shaft is rotating.
A suitable arrangement of such tubes and balls or the like is described in the Speci-
fication of our application for Patent No. 5495 dated 30th March 1889 communication
between the pipe B and one or other of the pipes or passages B2 or B³ is opened and
closed as required by a three way cock C which controls the communication between
the pump A and pipe B and the two pipes or passages B2 B3. This cock is moved
into the position to open communication between the pipe B and one or other of the
pipes or passages B2 B3 by having fixed to it a pinion or toothed quadrant C² with
which gears a toothed rack D² on a bar D sliding in or on guides E E and operated
by a tappet or projection F from, or in connection with, the propeller shaft G so that
when the shaft rotates in one direction one pipe or passage (B2 or B³) is put into com-
munication with the pump and when the said shaft rotates in the other direction the
other of the pipes or passages (B2 or B³) is put in communication with the pump.
In place of the rack D² and pinion (a lever fixed on the cock C may be operated
by the aforesaid bar D. It is preferred to operato the pump A as shewn in the drawing
viz. by means of a connecting rod or link H mounted on a stud H³ projecting from
the end of the propeller shaft & the stud being arranged at the necessary degree of
eccentricity to give the required stroke to the piston or plunger of the pump, but the

page_text: pump may be worked otherwise, for instance it may be operated by means of an
eccentric or by a crank disc, the connecting rod of the pump being engaged with the
pin of the crank disc by a saddle or forked piece which can be readily lifted off when
the pump is to be disconnected.
In the arrangement shewn in the drawing the tappet or projection F is formed on
the end of the connecting rod or link H but when an eccentric is used it is preferred
that the tappet F should be fixed to the strap of the eccentric.
When the shaft G rotates the said tappet F strikes against the one or the other side
(according to the direction in which the shaft G rotates) of a projection I forked at
its upper end so as to embrace the rack bar Dat i where it is connected to and depends
from the said rack bar.
The object of centering the projection I to the bar D is that it may be turned out
of the perpendicular position by the tappet F and remain so until the said tappet
leaves it. When the engines are reversed, the tappet F strikes the projection I and
the latter then yields to the pressure until the surface between the arms which
embrace the bar D bears against the under side of the said bar which is then carried
forward to operate the cock C and close communication with the pipe B2 or B3 which
was before open and open that of them which was before closed. Over the top end of
the projection I it is preferred to fix a spring e secured at one end to the top of the
rack bar 1) the other end being free to move as the projection 1 is operated.
By means of this spring e the said projection I is returned to its perpendicular
position each time it is released from contact with the tappet F. The pump we prefer
to operate as a suction pump in the sense that it draws air down the pipes or passages,
a valve being provided to allow air to escape at what would otherwise be the com-
pressing stroke of the pump which valve a may be fixed on the top of the plunger or
box as is common in pump boxes. The pump may however be used as a force pump
if desired, in which case the valve a would be arranged to open inwards, or the
valve a may be dispensed with and the pump both draw and force the air through the
tubes.
It will be understood that in either case the currents of air created in the tubes
will cause the balls or the like in the tubes at the captains bridge to move at a speed
in accordance with the speed of the engine, as explained in the aforesaid Specification
of our application for Patent No. 549580.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. In apparatus for the purpose described, an air pump operated directly from the
shaft or the like, whose movement is to be indicated in combination with a projection
moving in a direction in accordance with the direction of motion of the shaft or the
like and a sliding bar connected with a cock controlling the communication of the
pump with the one or the other of two tubes all substantially as and for the purposes
hereinbefore described.
2. In apparatus for the purpose described an air pump operated from the shaft or
the like, whose movement is to be indicated, in combination with a tappet or
projection moving in a direction in accordance with the direction of motion of the
shaft or the like and operating upon a projection or tappet centred to a bar operating
a cock controlling the communication of the pump with the one or the other of two
tubes all substantially as and for the purposes herein before described.
3. For the purpose described the arrangement and combination of parts con-
stituting the mechanism herein before described and shewn in the accompanying
drawing.