Improvements in Direction Indicators for Marine and other Engines.
Year: 1887

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Direction Indicators for Marine and other Engines.
I, JAMES CLARK RICKETSON, residing at No. 560 Terrace Avenue, in the city of
Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, in the United States
of America, Business Manager of Steam Navigation Company, 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 :-
The invention has for its object the construction of devices for indicating at any
point distant from a marine or other reversible engine, or its shaft, the direction in
which the latter is revolving, and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction
which are in part, improvements on the devices set forth in my patent No. 1,584,
granted me February 1, 1887, all as are hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a view of part of a marine engine with one form of my present invention
applied thereto, and operating in connection with the eccentric rods of the engine.
Figure 2 shows a pneumatic push-button such as I use in the form shown in
Figure 1.
Figure 3 shows an electric push-button which may be used with electrical instead of
pneumatic connection with the distant signal.
Figure 4 is a detail view of a modified form of my device adapted to be substituted
for that shown in Figure 1.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are detail views showing different forms of my device operating
in connection with the shaft of the engine.
My present invention is an improvement over that disclosed in my prior patent
hereinbefore named, in that I now show a simpler arrangement, and fewer number of
parts, and a more direct connection with the actuating push-button, whereby either
electric or pneumatic signals may be actuated by the movement of the eccentric rods,
the shaft, or other moving parts of the engine. As in my patent just named, I have
illustrated my invention in connection with a marine engine for use on a steam-boat,
but it is capable of use in connection with any reversible engine, whether on land or
water.
A A¹ represents the eccentric rods of a marine engine and B is the engine shaft.

page_text: CC designate brackets projecting from the frame of the engine towards the eccentric
rods and carrying push-buttons D D', those shown in Figure 1 being supposed to be
pneumatic push-buttons, shown in sectional detail in Figure 2, where the push rod d¹
(or d) has a concave plate d² formed integral therewith, or secured thereto, which bears
directly against a rubber bulb e, connected in turn to the pneumatic tube E¹ (or E).
F F are the bells or other signals or annunciators, a pneumatic bell or annunciator of
course being used with pneumatic tubes.
Figure 3 shows an electric push-button of a form too common to need any descrip-
tion, and which may be used in place of the pneumatic push-button just described, in
which event wires e e², would of course connect with a battery (not shown) and with
the bells or other signals F F (which would then be ordinary electric signals, instead
of pneumatic) in the usual manner.
The eccentric rods A A¹ are preferably provided with swelled or rounded bosses or
projections a a to ensure greater ease of action, and closer contact with the push rods
of the push-buttons, and these bosses may be either cast with the rods A A', or secured
to them, as more convenient in any given case, and if desired springs may be interposed
back of the push-buttons, on the brackets CC to guard against injury or jarring
of the device. In the illustration given in Figure 1, the eccentric rod A is supposed
to be making the connection as shown in full lines, and consequently the shaft B is all
the time revolving in one direction.
In this movement of the shaft the eccentric rod A is thrown so far to the right as to
cause it to press against the adjacent push-button D, and thereby to actuate the signal F.
In dotted lines, the positions of the eccentric-rods are shown when the shaft B is
revolved in the opposite direction, when the eccentric-rods are thrown over to the left, far
enough to cause the eccentric-rod A¹ to press against the push-button D', and thereby
to instantly actuate the signal F¹.
In Figure 4, a slight modification of the above described arrangement is shown,
where a push-bar M is interposed between the contact points a on the eccentric-
rod (A) and the adjacent push-button (D) there being of course an exactly similar
arrangement on the other side, where another push-bar would be interposed between
the eccentric-rod A¹ and push-button D¹.
This push-bar may be suspended in any convenient manner (as by a bracket L,
secured to a beam, N) and is preferably provided with a flange or collar n and a spring o,
as shown, whereby it will be always normally in position to be pressed by the
eccentric-rod as the latter moves towards it, and thus the said push-bar will, in turn,
be pressed against the push-rod of the adjacent push-button and actuate the signal
connected pneumatically. (or electrically) thereto. In Figure 5, I show the shaft B
provided with a lug or spur b and show a hanger suspended (by means of a bracket g)
beneath the push-button D, on one side of said shaft and a like hanger G similarly
suspended by means of a bracket g¹ on the other side of the shaft, beneath the push-
button D¹.
In Figure 6, the shaft B has also a spur or lug b, but in this form the push-
buttons and D¹ are actuated by levers H and H connected by cords, wires or
chains to the adjacent arms of other levers I and I', whose other arms are actuated
by the pivoted trips J and J¹ which are in turn moved by the lug b. In Figure 7,
I again show the lug on the shaft B, and two suspended bell-crank levers K and Kí
on opposite sides of the shaft, which levers are adapted to make contact with the push-
buttons D and D' as shown. The operation of these several devices will be readily
understood from an inspection of the drawings.
For instance, with the form shown in Figure 5, when the shaft B is revolving in
the direction of the arrow the lug b will lift the hanger G and force it against the
push-button D at every revolution, and as this push-button (which may be either an
electric one as shown, or a pneumatic one, like that in Figure 2) is connected
(either electrically or pneumatically) with the distant signal F the said contact of the
hanger G will instantly and automatically actuate said signal and then as the shaft B
continues its revolution, the spur when it reaches the hanger G¹ will simply push it
aside (without making contact with push-button D¹) the spring serving to restore
b

page_text: the hanger G' to place again, whereas, if the revolution of the shaft was reversed, the
spur b would raise the hanger G and thus make contact with the push-button D¹ and
thus actuate the signal, electrically or pneumatically connected therewith, and
would push aside the hanger G, without causing it to touch the push-button D,
and the spring i would immediately thereafter restore said hanger to place.
Similarly with the form shown in Figure 6, when the shaft B is revolving in the
direction of the arrow the spur or lug will strike on the pivoted trip J which will
raise one arm of the lever I and depress the other arm of said lever I, and thus pull
on one arm of the lever H and make contact between the other arm of lever H and
the push-button D, and thereby actuate its signal F, connected either electrically or
pneumatically therewith, and in the continued revolution of said shaft B, the lug b, as
it reaches the other pivoted trip J₁ will merely raise the adjacent end or arm of said
trip, thus carrying the operative end of the trip away from its adjacent lever I', so that
only the signal F will be actuated, so long as the shaft continues to revolve in the
same direction, but the moment the direction of rotation of the shaft is changed, then
the lug will actuate the signal F1 through the trip J levers and H' and push-
button D', the levers H and H' being restored to their normal positions, shown in
Figure 6, immediately after their contact with their respective push-buttons, by the
springs.
In the form of device shown in Figure 7, I dispense with springs and employ bell-
crank levers K and K¹, which retain or resume their normal positions by gravity.
These levers serve to actuate the signals by the pressure of the lug on the shaft B
against their short arms, which forces their long arms against the adjacent push-
buttons, and actuates the electrically (or pneumatically) connected signals as before
described.
Although I have only shown bells as the described signals, I may use any form of
signal or annunciator in place thereof, or in addition thereto, and I may use my device
on one side only of the engine or shaft, so that the pilot or captain of a vessel for
instance may know always in which direction the shaft is revolving (and hence
whether the vessel is going ahead or backing) either by the ringing or non-ringing of
the bell (when only one signal is used) or if two signals are employed as shown, then
of course he would be informed by noticing which bell was ringing or which signal
operating, and in practice I find it advantageous when bells are employed to have
them give different sounds, so that it will not be necessary to watch, but only to listen
for said signals. To avoid unnecessary elaboration of the drawings I have shown
some of the push-buttons with electric, and others with pneumatic connections, but as
before stated, either form of push-button may be used with any form of my device and
the appropriate connections and style of signal employed therewith.
My device may be used with either screw-propeller or side-wheel steam boats, and
also will be found useful on land, as for instance, in shafting for mills and factories to
indicate in which direction the shaft is revolving.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:
The combination with the eccentric rods, shaft, or other moving part of a reversible
engine bearing a suitable lug or contact point, of a push-button located adjacent to
said moving part of the engine, and a distant signal electrically or pneumatically
connected to said push-button, and adapted to be actuated by the pressure on said
push-bution of said lug or contact point on said moving part of the engine, or an
intermediate device moved by the latter.
JAMES CLARK RICKETSON.