Improvements in Ships' Telegraph and Indicating Apparatus.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 20th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 22nd Dec., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ships' Telegraph and Indicating Apparatus.
I, THOMAS MUDD of The Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool, in
the County of Durham, Marine Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention consists in combining the telegraph gear in the engine-room with
the reversing gear of the engines in such a way that the ordinary dial of the
telegraph shall indicate in the engine-room the direction in which the engines are
running. To do this, I fit the dial with preferably three pointers working off the
same or different centres. I place the dial against the front of the engines near
the starting handles, and so that the pointers point towards the bow of the ship for
ahead" and towards the stern of the ship for "astern.' I dispense with the
usual reply handle, which moves round the outside of the dial, and, instead thereof,
I move the reply by means of a handle placed near the starting handles of the
engines and working in the same manner and direction as they work, thus
facilitating the engineer in giving the reply and in carrying out the order.
33
Thus, if the officer in command of the ship telegraphs "ahead," the engineer, by
means of a handle on the engine beside his starting handles, replies, thus bringing
pointer Number 2 into line with the first or ordering pointer; then he moves his
starting handles to manipulate the engines, and the reversing gear moves a small
shaft also connected to the telegraph dial and to pointer Number 3, and thus
brings that pointer also into line with the other two.
It is obvious that a possible but an inferior modification of my invention would
be to do without the second hand and connect the reversing handle directly both
with the engine-room dial and that on the bridge, and thus the actual execution
of the order would in such case automatically act as a reply. I prefer, however,
a prompt reply to the bridge and to connect the engines only with the engine-room
dial.
Besides the greater convenience of my method, I expect that it will prove an
absolute safeguard against an accident such as 1 witnessed recently when the
engineer in charge started the engines ahead when the telegraph ordered astern,
If his
and he did not discover his mistake till considerable damage was done.
engines had been thus connected to his telegraph dial, such a mistake could not
have occurred.
Dated this 10th day of February 1894.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ships' Telegraph and Indicating Apparatus.
I, THOMAS MUDD of The Central Marine Engine Works, West Hartlepool, in
the County of Durham Marine 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 the improvement of engine room telegraphs,
firstly, in arranging the instrument in the engine room in such a manner as to

page_text: suit its combination with the frontal gear of the engines that the order may
more easily catch the eye of the engineer; secondly, in working the reply by a
new method greatly facilitating the engineer in giving such reply, and, thirdly, in
the method.of utilising the engine room dial as a recorder of the direction in which
the engines are running and the extent to which they are linked up.
In carrying out my invention, I fit the dial with preferably three pointers
working off the same or different centres, preferably the same centre, and so that
on normal occasions all three pointers shall point in the same line. I place the
dial against the front of the engines near the starting handles, and so that the
pointers point towards the bow of the ship for ahead and towards the stern of the
ship for astern. I dispense with the usual reply handle which moves round the out-
side of the dial, and instead of it I move the reply by means of a handle placed near
the starting handles of the engine and working in the same manner as they work,
thus facilitating the engineer in giving the reply, and in carrying out the order
and also greatly decreasing the chances of error.
The third pointer which I have hitherto and for the past ten years worked
separately on a separate dial, I now combine with the telegraph dial so that there
is greater security against the engineer deceiving himself as to the direction in
which he is ruuning the engines. Thus, if the officer in command of the ship
telegraphs ahead, the engineer by means of a handle on the engine beside his
starting handles replies, thus bringing the pointer Number 2 in line with the 1st or
ordering pointer, then he moves his starting handle and the reversing gear moves
a small shaft, also connected with the telegraph dial and to the third pointer, and
thus brings that pointer also in line with the other two.
In order that my invention may be more thoroughly understood I append the
accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the dial in the engine room and
its mechanism ;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same;
Figure 3 is a detail elevation of the gearing looked at from the back of the
telegraph;
Figure 4 is a sectional plan through the engine room dials and gear;
Figure 5 is a detail showing one method of actuating the third pointer already
mentioned ;
Figure 6 is a side elevation of the engine room dial and mechanism;
Figure 7 front elevation of the same;
Figure 8 front elevation showing slightly different mechanism;
Figure 9 a detail hereafter described.
Like figures relate to like parts on all the drawings.
In these figures, the pointer moved by the reversing gear of the main engine is
shown moving over a separate transparent or opaque dial placed a short distance
in front of the main dial. The devices of the lettering around part of the circle is
such as to suit a case where the reversing gear is what is known as an all round
gear, and where the third pointer h is connected so as to be actuated by a revolving
part of the reversing gear, a is the main dial, 6 supplemental transparent or
opaque dial. Each of these dials are preferably made as shown with one half of
the disc of darker colour than the other so as to afford a stronger distinction than
usual between the part of the dial relating to ahead and that relating to astern.
c is the pointer actuated from the bridge of the ship as usual by one pair of chains
and a pulley m (Figure 4) and is the ordering pointer or pointer Number 1 already
mentioned. e (Figures 1 and 2) is the reply pointer. This is actuated by handle
through the gearing g. This pointer has already been referred to as pointer
Number 2. The handle by giving the reply is handiest for the engineer when
made of similar character to the starting handles of the engine and when placed in
close proximity thereto. It may be either a hang down lever as shown in Figures 1
and 2, or it may stand up above the fulcrum upon which it moves, or stand out

page_text: horizontally therefrom, or it may be moved to the right or left, or any direction
most suitable for the particular case, preferably so as to correspond with the motion
of the starting lever. h is the third pointer already alluded to to actuate by the
reversing gear of the main engine through the shaft i and gearing j, Figure 2.
k is a gong or bell sounded by the hammer in the ordinary manner when the
ordinary pointer is moved from the bridge. g, Figures 1 and 4, gears into segmental
wheel gl, Figures 1 and 3, thus actuating g which is preferably cast with it and
by this means also pinion g³, thus turning the pulley m² to which g³ is attached.
This pulley carries the chains & which convey the reply to the bridge. Pulley m,
Figure 4, is the pulley which receives another set of chains d bringing the order
from the bridge, and this actuates the pointer c described in the Provisional
Specification elsewhere as the first pointer. i is the shaft actuating wheel o by
means of worin n shown best in Figure 5. This wheel o is attached to the same
shaft as the pointer and passes through the centre of the other gearing. In
Figures 6 and 7, no separate dial for the third pointer is used, all the
three pointers pointing to one and the same dial, and superimposed one over
the other, the upper or third pointer being driven from the rack and pinion p
shaft i and a central shaft similar to that already shown in the previous figures,
the other two pointers being driven by sleeves round the same in the same
manner as set forth in Figure 4. This is suitable for cases where the reversing
engine is not an "all round gear" but where the reversing engine moves in one
direction for putting the engines ahead, and returns in the opposite direction for
putting the engines astern. Instead of the rack and pinion motion, any other
reciprocating motion such as the screw and wheel motion shown at q, Figure 8,
or the lever and rod in Figure 9, can be used for actuating the third pointer h,
either when an all round reversing gear or reciprocating or other reversing gear
is used, the motion being such as may be had from any part moving to and fro.
When the pointer is moved by any of these to and fro gears, the lettering of
the dial need not be confined to one half of the circle, as in Figure 2, but may
occupy any part of the circle such for instance as the arrangement shown in
Figures 7 and 8. The dial may also be subdivided by markings as indicated in
these figures so that the third pointer may be used to indicate exactly how
much the engines are linked up, and the gradations thus indicated on the dial
may represent any desired amount of linking up from one to the next marking,
as for instance, first, the markings may indicate how many turns of the reversing
wheel the engines are linked up; or, second, they may indicate equal amounts
of movement on the radius links or other reversing gear; or, third, and what is
better, they may indicate equal amounts of shortening of the stroke of the piston
of the main engines at the point where steam is cut off. By these means, there-
fore, the engineer not only sees at a glance that his engine is turning in the right
direction by the third pointer h pointing to that quarter of the dial which represents
the right direction, but when on a voyage they enable him to see also at a glance
the point at which the engines are cutting off the steam from the boiler, and
so constantly convey to his mind the ratio of expansion through which he is
using the steam. The third pointer h might be moved by some other working
part of the engine than the reversing gear, but the facilities just alluded to incline
me to prefer its attachment to some portion of the reversing gear.
It is also obvious that shaft i need not actuate pointer through a worm and
worm-wheel as in Figure 5, but may move the pointer direct, or through any
equivalent and well known form of gear.
The gear moving shaft i may also carry such a chain pulley as m, Figure 3,
and may thus convey to the dial on the bridge its indications as to the direction
in which the engines are moving in a precisely similar manner to that in which
the ordinary reply is conveyed to the dial on the bridge by means of the reply
gear handle f, pulley m and chains d above described. In that case the dial on
the bridge may either have the ordinary reply pointer and the pointer actuated
by the reversing gear as well, or it may have the one or the other alone.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In engine room telegraphs, the combination of the third pointer and gear
for actuating the same driven by the reversing gear or equivalent part of the
main engines in combination with the ordinary ordering pointer and the reply
pointer substantially as described.
2. In engine room telegraphs, the transmission of the reply from the engine
room to the bridge by means of a lever or handle worked similarly to and in a
parallel direction with the ordinary starting handles of the engine.
3. The utilisation of the telegraph dial for indicating by means of the reversing
gear of the main engines the ratio of expansion or amount of linking up with which
the engines are running.
4. The arrangement of engine room telegraphs with three superimposed pointers
arranged substantially as and for the purposes described.
Dated this 19th day of November 1894.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London,
Patent Agents.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London,
Patent Agents.