Improvements in Ships' Logs or Drags.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th July, 1899-Accepted, 16th 'Sept., 1899
Improvements in Ships' Logs or Drags.
I, EDWARD JOSEPII DEEGAN, of 4,185, Third Avenue, in the City of New York,
in the County and State of New York, United States of America, 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:-
The invention relates to improvements in ships' logs or drags for use in
connection with speed recording or registering devices, and consists in the
novel features hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.
The object of my invention is to produce a log or drag which will normally
tend to dip downward at its front end, and which, while being capable of being
maintained at a predetermined depth in the water, may be relied upon to
effectually actuate the speed recording or registering devices located upon the
ship or other vessel.
The nature and objects of my invention will be fully understood from the
detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accom-
panying drawings, in which :-
Fig. 1 is a central vertical longitudinal section through a log or drag constructed
in accordance with and embodying the invention;
Fig. 1 is a similar view, on an enlarged scale, of a detached portion of the
same;
Fig. 2 is a top view, partly broken away, of same.
Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section of a modified form of drag;
and
Fig. 4 is a top view, partly broken away, of same.
I will first describe the construction shown in Figs. 1, 1 and 2, and upon
reference to these figures it will be seen that the drag has at its front end the
downwardly inclined solid head 10, an intermediate narrow part 11 and rear
fins or blades 12, the latter also at their lower edges inclining downward. Inter-
mediate the head 10 and blades 12 is outlined, a space within which the shaft of
the propeller blades 13 has its bearing, and upon the upper surface of the
head 10 is pivoted the link rod 14 and adjusting bar or link 15, the latter being
bifurcated at its upper end and adapted for connection with the link rod 14
by means of an ordinary pin 16. The link rod 14 is provided with the series
of apertures 17 to receive the pin 16 and thereby to permit of an adjustment of
the inclination of said link rod 14 in accordance with the distance the log or
drag may be behind the ship and the depth to which it is desired the log or drag
shall be maintained. In the employment of the log or drag shown in Figs. 1
and 2 it is intended that the speed registering or recording devices on ship
board shall be operated electrically, and hence in Fig. 1 it will be seen that
a conducting wire 18 is carried upward along the side of the link rod 14 and
that the same is held to said rod by means of a usual binding post 19. The log
or drag may be drawn through the water by means of the conducting wire 18
or by means of a cord 20 secured to the upper end of the link rod 14 as may
be preferred or found to be most convenient. The adjustment of the link
rod 14 I regard as a feature of importance, since thereby in connection with

page_text: the construction of the front end of the drag or log, the latter may be maintained
at a predetermined depth in the water.
The portion 11 of the drag or log may be termed its back, and from this
back the head 10 inclines frontward and downward and is of greater weight than
the rear end of the drag or log, it being my purpose that the front end of the
drag shall, during its movement through the water, be maintained in its down-
wardly inclined position so that the back 11 of the drag may be substantially
horizontal or at any rate not inclined upward toward the front.
The propeller blade 13 is, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1, screwed upon the
rear end of the shaft 21 which is mounted within the casing 22 and carries at
its front end the eccentric 23 located directly over and maintained in contact
with the push button 24, the eccentric 23 being utilized at each rotation of the
shaft 21 to depress the button 24 against the spring 25 and to establish electrical
connection between said spring 25 and the plate 26; thereby completing the
electric circuit with each revolution of the eccentric 23 and operating in a known
manner, the registering or recording device on the ship. The plate 26 rests upon
a seat of rubber or other insulating material 27 and is in électrical connection
with the conducting wire 18, while the spring 25 is in electrical connection with
the ground wire 28.
The spring 25, button 24 and eccentric 23 are located within a chamber 29
formed within the head 10 and adapted to be closed at its upper end by means
of a screw cap 30. In order the more effectually to prevent the entrance of
water to within the lower part of the chamber 29 I provide the rubber cap 31
whose outer edges are clamped down against a rubber seat 27 by means of a
clamp ring 32, while the upper edges of said cap are clamped between the two
parts of the button 24, as shown in Fig. 1, my purpose being in the use of the
cap 31 to exclude the water from about the spring 25 and conducting plate 26.
Within the chamber 29 I also provide a disk 33 which aids in excluding water
from the lower end of said chamber, and also operates as a guide for the push
button 24. The conducting wire 18 passes from the plate 26 through an
aperture in the head 10, and at the point where said conducting wire 18 passes
upward from said head I provide a nozzle 34 and cap 35, the nozzle having an
enlarged bore which I securely pack with pitch or other known insoluble
material, which fills around the conducting wire 18 and prevents the entrance
of water into the recess of the head 10 through which the said wire passes.
The shaft 21 of the propeller blade 13 is in the form of a cone 36 at its end
adjacent to the said blade, and this cone-shaped portion of the shaft 21 is
housed by the conforming casing 37 which is screwed upon the rear end of the
casing 22 against the washer 38 maintained by the flange 39 of said casing 22.
Between the cone-shaped end 26 of the shaft 21 and the shoulder 40 on said
shaft, is arranged a series of balls 41 which form a bearing for the rear end of
the said shaft. The cone-shaped end 36 of the shaft 21 is formed with the
annular grooves 42 which serve to aid in retarding the passage of water into
the casing 22, since said grooves will become filled with the water, which will
operate as a packing around said end 36. The front end of the casing 22 is
screwed into the rear end of the head 10, and forms a chamber within which
balls 43 are provided as a bearing for the front end of the shaft 21. Upon the
shaft 21 is screwed the annular shoulder 44 for contact with the balls 43, and
adjacent thereto is provided a jamb nut 45. to prevent displacement of the said
annular shoulder 44. The front portion of the casing 22 is provided with the
annular flange 46 which brings up against the washer, as indicated in Fig. 1,
to prevent the entrance of water to the chamber occupied by the bearing balls 43.
During the employment of the log, shown in Fig. 1, the forward motion of
the log through the water will result in the revolution of the propeller blade 13,
which will rotate with more or less speed in accordance with the speed of the
log. The rotation of the propeller blade 13 and its shaft 21 results in the
eccentric 23 pressing the button 24 downward with each revolution of the blade 13

page_text: to complete the electric circuit and actuate the speed recording or registering
mechanism on ship board.. The more rapidly the log is being drawn through
the water, the more frequently, within a given time, will the propeller blade 13
rotato; and hence the greater the speed of the vessel, the more rapidly will
the eccentric 23 operate to complete the electric circuit. Should the ship or
vessel slow down its speed, the propeller 13. will make fewer revolutions within
the given time, and hence within such period the eccentric 23 will not so
frequently complete the electric circuit.
The front end or head 10 of the log is, as above described, much heavier
than the rear end of same, and the downward inclination of said head end
may be varied by means of the link rod 14 and brace rod 15. The rear end
of the log is formed with the fins or blades 12 which aid in preserving the
log in its correct position and in guiding the same through the water.
When it is desired to operate the registering and recording mechanism on
ship board, mechanically in lieu of electrically, the electric devices shown in
Fig. 1, will be omitted, and I will then by preference use the form of log
illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, in which I illustrated a log whose propeller shaft
is utilized to twist the rope or cord by which the log is. being drawn in the rear
of the vessel, and the twisting of which by the propeller shaft operates, the
speed recording or registering devices on ship board.
In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 I form the log in two parts secured
together upon the bolt or pivot 50, located at the front end of the back 11
of the log and at the rear end of the head 10 thereof. The rear portion of the
log shown in Figs. 3 and 4 corresponds with the log shown in Fig. 1, in that
it terminates in blades and is much lighter than the front end or head 10 of
the log. The log shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is provided with the propeller blade 13
and propeller shaft 21, the latter being mounted on ball-bearings within the
casing 22 in the manner described with respect to Fig. 1. The casing 22 may,
in the construction shown in Fig. 3, be formed integrally with the back 11 of
the log, and said casing extends at an inclination to the longitudinal center
of the log and from the lower to the upper side of the back 11. The propeller
shaft 21 extends upward and forward and receives the rope or cord 20 by which
the drag is drawn along in the rear of the vessel. The upper end of the
propeller shaft 21 is formed with an eye 51 to receive the said cord,, and is also
formed with the series of grooves 52 to enable the adjustment of the upper end
of the brace rod 53 along said shaft 21 in order to regulate the inclination
of said shaft and also of the head 10. of the drag or log. The upper end of the
brace rod 53 encompasses the upper portion of the shaft 21 and carries pins 54
to engage the grooves 52 of said shaft without interfering with the free rotation
of the latter. In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the operation of the
speed recording or registering devices in performed mechanically by the 'twisting
of the cord connected, with the upper end of the propeller shaft 21, and in
this construction the propeller shaft will be rotated more or less rapidly in
accordance with the speed of the vessel or ship to which the log or drag may be
connected. In the log of the construction illustrated in the drawings I preserve
the heavy front end or head 10 and provide means for regulating the inclination
of said head in accordance with the speed of the vessel and the length of the
cord 20 by which the log or drag is pulled, my object being to keep the drag
under the water and to maintain the same as nearly as may be at a uniform
depth in the water.
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: -
1. The ships' log or drag, having the downwardly inclined front end and
blades at its rear end, the said front end being of substantially greater
weight than the rear end of the log or drag; substantially as set forth.

page_text: 2. The ships log or drag having the heavy downwardly inclined front end,
the back and the rear blades; substantially as set forth.
-
3. The ships' log having the downwardly inclined front end, the back and
blades, combined with the link rod 14 pivoted to the drag and adapted to
receive the cord or medium by which said drag is to be drawn through the
water, and the pivoted rod 15 carried by the drag and adapted for adjustment
along said rod 14; substantially as set forth.
4. The ships' log or drag having the heavy downwardly inclined front end
or head and the rear blades combined with adjustable means for varying the
inclination of said front end or head, the revoluble propeller blade, and means
actuated by the shaft of said propeller blade for operating the speed recording or
registering devices on ship board; substantially as set forth.
5. The ships' log or drag having the chamber 29, the push button and spring
within said chamber, the conductor 26, and the conducting wires 18 and 28,
respectively, connected with said conductor 26 and said spring, combined with
the propeller blade 13, the shaft 21 connected, with said propeller blade, and the
eccentric 23 carried' by said shaft and adapted to actuate said push button;
substantially as set forth.
6. The ships' log or drag having conducting wires and means for making and
breaking the electric circuit, combined with the revoluble propeller blade and
its shaft for co-operation with said electrical devices in making and breaking the
electric circuit; substantially as set forth.
7. The ships' log or drag having conductors and electrical devices for completing
an electric circuit, combined with the revoluble propeller blade, the shaft thereof,
and the eccentric on the end of said shaft for co-operation with the electric
devices in making and breaking the electric circuit; substantially as set forth.
8. The ships log or drag having conducting wires and means located within
the chamber formed in the head of said drag for making and breaking the electric
circuit, combined with the propeller blade in the rear of said chamber, the shaft
for said propeller blade, the eccentric on the end of said shaft for co-operation
with the said electrical devices in the making and breaking of the electric
circuit, the casing enclosing said shaft and ball-bearings within said casing for
said shaft; substantially as set forth.
9. The ships' log or drag having the downwardly inclined front end or head 10,
back 11, and rear blades 12, combined with the longitudinal propeller shaft,
the propeller blade on the end of said shaft and adapted to rotate the latter, and
meaus connected with the front end of said shaft for utilizing the motion of said
shaft in operating the speed recording or registering mechanism on ship board;
substantially as set forth.
10. The ships' log or drag having the chambered front end or head and
provided with conducting wires 18, 28, combined with the push button within
said chamber the spring below said push button and connected with the wire 28;
the conductor 26 below said spring and connected with the conductor 18, the
rubber cap protecting said spring and its connections, the propeller blade 13,
the shaft 21 carrying said blade, and the eccentric 23 on the front end of said
shaft and adapted to co-operate with said button in making and breaking the
, electric circuit; substantially as sot forth.
3000
Dated this 21st day of June A.D. 1000.
:
EDWARD JOSEPH DEEGAN.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
· 45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant..