An Improved Registering Ship's Compass.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 8th June, 1892-Accepted, 10th Sept., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Registering Ship's Compass.
I, ARTHUR FOSTER -SMITH of 22 St. Andrew Street in the City of London
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to record the course taken by a ship at sea by
means of a magnetic card having the points and parts marked on its upper or lower
surface or edge in raised letters or signs.
The card may be placed on a pivot as usual but an arrangement of levers and
springs or equivalent mechanism is provided by which it is raised therefrom and
held in a fixed position while an imprint of the raised letters or figures is taken
upon a sheet or strip of paper kept on rollers for the purpose and having in contact
with it an inking ribbon by which the printing is effected. The recording mechanism
is placed underneath the compass card and comprises a train of clockwork through
which the course may be recorded at any required intervals of time. Upon the
centre pinion of the clockwork is a wheel so arranged that upon its revolution for
a certain distance it releases the striking train of the mechanism which then causes
a double cam to revolve and thereby press a lever communicating with a double
link motion to elevate the compass card. When the card is raised to the required
height, it is arrested by a stop mechanism and a lever parallel with its horizontal
plane carries a roller over the raised letters or figures at the point indicating the
ship's head so that through the inking ribbon aforesaid the requisite imprint is
made upon the sheet or strip of paper before described. The farther revolution of
the cam withdraws the roller and lowers the card again on to its pivot ready for the
next operation. The paper upon which the record is taken is simultaneously
moved forward so as to present a clear surface for printing the next record.
These records may be periodically removed from the apparatus and placed in
the log book. By this means the exact position of a ship at any moment may
be automatically recorded and rendered visible at the time or at any subsequent
period.
Dated 10th Cantanha, 1001
WM. HILLIER,
22, St. Andrew Street, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Registering Ship's Compass.
I ARTHUR FOSTER SMITH, of the City of Melbourne in the Colony of Victoria
Australia, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the
following Specification :-
The object of my invention is to provide ships or mariners compasses with means
whereby they are rendered capable of registering the course of ships at sea the said
means being simple and efficient in construction and not such as to cause injury to
the compass itself.
The compass proper consists of the compass needle connected to the compass card
which may consist of a disc of brass (but it may be of any suitable material) on
which the ordinary compass markings "points" and parts of points or degrees are
marked in such a manner that imprints can be taken from them. The compass
card may be mounted upon a pivot and normally swings or rides between plates
frames or holding devices. I also provide an arrangement of levers and springs
P7
•

page_text: or equivalent mechanical device by means of which the compass may be moved
from off its pivot and then be held between the said plates or frames whilst an
imprint of the letters or signs indicating the courses of the ship is produced upon
the sheet or strip of paper or other suitable material in such a manner that such
imprint denotes and records the position of the ships head relatively to the compass 5
at the time such imprint is made.
The above mentioned arrangement of mechanism by means of which the said
imprint is made and record taken and the movement of the two plates or frames is
preferably actuated and controlled by a train of clockwork which may be. with or
without a striking train.
The whole apparatus may be enclosed in a cuse or box mounted or hung on gimbals
or floated in mercury in the well known manner.
The printed records may be inspected immediately after imprint and the record
may be removed from time to time and placed in the log book.
In order that my invention may be well understood I. will describe with:
reference to the accompanying drawings the manner in which I prefer to carry
it into effect premising however that I do not limit myself to the precise details
shewn.
Fig. 1 is a plan and Figs. 2 and 3 are side and end elevations respectively.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
A is the compass needle, riding on a pivot in the usual way. B is the disc or
compass card firmly connected with it, on which are marked the compass "points,"
but for the purpose of the special object I have in view the markings are raised
or chemically prepared or otherwise contrived so that impressions may be obtained
from-them.
Above the needle and disc there is a horizontal fixed plate D', and beneath them
is a disc C with an opening in the middle so as to clear the compass pivot. The said
disc-C rests upon a double link connected as a parallel motion device by which the
plate C is capable of being raised and lowered.
When the disc C is raised, it will lift the compass card off its pivot and press
it firmly against the plate D, the compass being thus held, as in a vice, constituted
by disc C and plate D', and while thus rigidly held the record is taken as herein-
after explained.
In order to thus raise the compass off its pivot at the desired intervals of time I
operate the double link motion E E' by a train of clock work which I can con-
veniently arrange beneath the parts already mentioned.
Hand I are two discs, fixed on the spindle H', and shaped in such a manner as
to perform the work required of them as hereinafter explained.
The axle H of the said discs is influenced by a spring (which may be either
a separate spring or the main spring of the train of clockwork already mentioned)
any
convenient or well known manner, so that the axle would rotate if not
held fast.
in
The periphery of disc H has an indent or other irregularity with which the
end of pawl G engages. On any convenient wheel of the train. of clockwork
there is a pin or the like which at regular intervals causes the pawl G to be dis
engaged from the disc H so that the said discs H and I under the influence of the
spring will make a revolution when they may be stopped by the pawl G dropping
into position again.
It is obvious that the exact means employed for thus lifting the pawl may be
varied considerably and by lever systems the movement for lifting the pawl may
be given from any convenient wheel of the train of clock work.
In the drawings I have shewn a reel F placed on the spindle of what would
otherwise be the hour hand of the train of clockwork. In the end of the reel,
pegs Fare fixed which as the said reel rotates come in contact with pawl G
(which turns on the centre G¹) thus moving it from engagement with the indent in
the disc H thereby allowing the axle H' to rotate under the influence of the spring.
In order to arrest the action at the end of one-rotation I provide an angle lever Z

page_text: which strikes against a pin Z' of a wheel connected with the train of clockwork
actuating the axis H', so that when the pin ¹ cannot pass the bent end (Fig. 3)
of the lever Z the gear mounted on the axis H' is stopped. The action is as
follows: One of the pegs F¹ moves the pawl G so as to set the disc H free, and
if the peg Z' does not rest against the lever Z then the axis H' will move until the
peg Z rests against the lever Z and then stop. Soon afterwards the peg F' will
move the lever Z, setting it free from contact with the peg Z', the gear being thus
set free.
For
The pawl G when once disengaged from the indent in disc H can be caused in
various manners to again engage therewith as disc H comes round, such as by con-
necting lever Z with pawl G in such a manner that when at the end of a rotation
pin Z¹ again strikes lever Z the opposite arm presses G into the indent or it may be
caused to engage by.a spring or other convenient or well known means.
the purpose of dividing the strain on the train of clockwork I prefer to make
the pawl G as an angle lever bent at its end opposite that which acts as a pawl, the
end engaging with a wheel or cam X (Fig. 3) such cam being shaped and indented
in such a manner that the arm G'is caused to engage at the time that pawl G after
a revolution of disc H again engages with its indent.
The disc or cam I.(which may conveniently be provided with a grooved periphery
or a cam groove in its face) in the course of a revolution lifts and lowers the arm E³
of the mechanical motion É E' by means of the peg E' in contact with its periphery,
the said cam being shaped in such a manner that having effected the raising of the
compass from off its pivot, it again lowers it gently so as not to injure the pivot.
Ris a paper tape which may be similar to that used in printing telegraphic
instruments and is stored on the drum R' whence it is carried over the roller P,
plate D', rollers P1, P2, reel F, presser roller R' and is finally deposited at the
bottom of the box or there wound on a roller or led to any desired place. As
the reel F is constantly revolving and the tape is pressed against it by the
presser roller R the tape will be constantly traversed and unwound from the
drum R¹.
In the plate D'is made an elongated opening by which an inking ribbon can have
contact with the compass discs, and for the purpose of pressing the paper against
the disc and for producing an impression on the paper therefrom, the following
arrangement is employed.
To the upper end of the lever L turning on the centre pin M is hinged a
bar N to which is attached a roller O. The lower end of the lever L is pushed
towards the right by a pin 13 on the arm I' fixed on the spindle H¹, every
time the disc makes a revolution, and consequently the bar N with the roller Ŏ
travels to the left it being returned to its normal position by means of a
spring L
For the purpose of increasing the pressure exerted by the presser roller O over
and above that exerted by the weight of itself and the bar N°I provide the bar N
with a curved or inclined elongation T the free end of which just clears the top of
the plate D' and I provide a fixed bridge or roller Q in such a manner that as the
bar N travels to the left the free end of elongation T passes underneath the
bridge or roller Q which on account of the curved or inclined form of the elongation
presses down the bar N and roller O.
I may make roller O so much larger than is shewn in the drawings so that I
require only a section thereof, the motion becoming an oscillating one under the
influence of the lever L and arm N, and by weighting such roller and roller section
I can do away with the prolongation T and bridge Q.
Between the tape and compass disc is interposed an inking ribbon secured on
rollers 81, 82, so that it rolls off one on to the other which may be done occasionally
by hand. This ribbon may be above the tape in which case the impression would
appear on the upper side of the paper, the lettering on the compass disc being in
this event engraved the reverse way.
The combined action of the various parts and mechanisms hereinbefore described is

page_text: as follows:-Supposing the train of clockwork to be "going" and the pin F' lifts
the pawl G and lever Z, then the discs H and 1 are set free and rotate.
At the end of a revolution they will be again arrested by the pawl G but during
a revolution the cam 1 Jifts and lowers the lever E and consequently for a moment
jams the compass against the upper plate D¹ and at the same time the pin I'
pushes the bar L to the right, thereby causing roller O to travel over the tape and
inking ribbon impressing on the tape the particular marking on the disc which
happens to be directly underneath the tape. The cam 1 continuing its rotation
causes the compass to be gently lowered on to its pivot again, on which it is deposited
in exactly the same position as that in which it was in when lifted off it. By this
time the pawl G will have arrested the rotation of the cam I and the apparatus is
at rest, except for the continued movement of the train of clockwork. After the
predetermined period of time the operation is repeated.
It is obvious that the intervals of time may vary according to the speed of the
wheel on which pegs F¹ are fixed, and assuming say six pegs on a wheel travelling
round once in an hour the operation would be repeated every ten minutes.
As the "points" marked on the disc are very close together there may be more
than one impression visible on the tape for instance both S.S.W. (South South
West) and S.W. (South West) but it is naturally the point marked in the centre
(the markings being cross wise on the tape) which is the correct reading. It
becomes desirable therefore to have a centre mark on the tape. Such centre mark
may take the form of a centre line (or several parallel longitudinal lines) made
on the tape before it is put in the compass or such mark may be produced by a
line or dot making device in the apparatus itself such as a raised dot type as
at u (Fig. 1) on the bevelled edge of the opening in plate D¹, this type being
covered by the inking ribbon so that when the presser roller O passes a dot is
impressed in the centre of the tape in which it appears in a position relatively to
the impressions from the compass card to shew the true reading. As the tape
travels at a uniform rate it may likewise be provided with markings to indicate the
hour of day.
The entire apparatus may conveniently be mounted on gimbals W in a box D.
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 a recording compass the combination of plates and discs between which the
compass card or ring can be held whilst impressions are taken therefrom, means for
removing the said card or ring from the pivot by which it is normally supported
and means for taking impressions from the said card or ring whilst so held sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described.
2). In recording compasses the combination of plates and discs between which
the compass card or ring can be held whilst impressions are taken therefrom, means
for removing the said card or ring from the pivot by which it is normally
supported, means for taking impressions from the said card or ring whilst so held
and a clockwork by which the said means are operated at intervals substantially as
hereinbefore described.
3). In recording compasses the combination of plates and discs between which
the compass card or ring can be held whilst impressions are taken therefrom, means
for removing the said card from the pivot by which it is normally supported, means
for taking impressions from the said card or ring whilst so held, a travelling tape
or web upon which the impressions are taken and a clockwork by which the said
means are operated and the said tape or web is traversed substantially as herein-
before described.
4). In a recording compass the combination of plates and discs between which
the compass card or ring can be held whilst impressions are taken therefrom, the
double link motion E E' operated at intervals to move the said card or ring from the
pivot on which it is normally supported and means for taking impressions from

page_text: the said card or ring whilst so held substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
5). A recording compass consisting in the arrangement and combination of parts
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 10th day of June 1800
BONNE & Co.,
57 & 58, Chancery Lane, W.C., Authorised Patent Agents.