IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR STEERING SHIPS BY STEAM POWER
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Ross Simey, of Sunderland, in the County of
Durham, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR STEERING
SHIPS BY STEAM POWER."
Sealed the 7th November 1879, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
and dated the 22nd Anvil 1870
Sealed the 7th November 1879, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
and dated the 22nd April 1879
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Ross Simey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd April 1879.
CHARLES ROSS SIMEY, of Sunderland, in the County of Durham.
MENTS IN MECHANISM FOR STEERING SHIPS BY STEAM POWER."
"
'IMPROVE-
My Invention relates to improvements in steam steering gear, and consists of
self acting apparatus by which the steam is completely shut off when (or just
before) the helm attains the desired position, which is indicated by a handle and
pointer moved by the steersman. The engine can therefore never by any
negligence of the steeraman be allowed to continue working so as to force the rudder
too far over.
I prefer to employ two vertical cylinders driving a crank shaft geared by a worm
pinion with a worm wheel on the ordinary hand steering wheel shaft which is geared
in turn with the rudder chain wheel or barrel shaft. I prefer to use valve gear of
the piston class actuated by a single eccentric and the valves to be without lap or
lead.
The reversal of the engine may be effected by a D valve in a separate valve chest
which when moved to either end of its course permits steam to pass by one or other
of two pipes to the front or back of the piston valves as the case may be, and
when in its mid position shuts off the steam. The D valve is actuated both by
hand and by the steering gear itself; by the former to admit the steam to the
engine, and by the latter to return said valve to its former position and gradually
shut off the steam. This may be effected by the following arrangement :-A
vertical spindle is mounted in front of the steering gear, having on its upper end a
pointer and handle for working it, and at its lower end a lever arin connected by a
link with one end of a lever crosshead pivoted at its centre to the D valve rod. A
hollow spindle encircles the said spindle, and has also a lever arm at its lower end

page_text: similarly connected with the opposite end of the lever crosshead.
This hollow
spindle carries a segment with which a pinion on the chain barrel shaft gears, and
by which it is rotated in order to shut off the steam at the proper moment, a pointer
at the top of this hollow spindle showing the movement and position of the helm.
The lever arms on the two spindles work in opposite directions, the action of the
one counteracting in turn that of the other as soon as they come opposite one
another. Thus when the handle and pointer on the inner spindle are moved by the
steersman to " port or "starboard the D slide is moved accordingly, and the
engines are started in the required direction, and while the engines are working
and moving the helm to the desired position the outer tubular spindle is rotated by
the chain wheel shaft, and its lever moves the lever crosshead and D slide in the
opposite direction to that in which they were moved by the steersman, so that the
steam is automatically shut off as soon as the helm reaches the desired angle which
is indicated by the pointers on the two spindles coinciding in direction.
"
I do not limit myself to the arrangement described, as I can dispense with the
D slide and piston valves, and by pivoting the lever crosshead to a rod connected to
a lever arm on a weigh shaft having other lever arms each connected to the slot
link of ordinary reversing gear, I can effect the same object. Then the movement
of the lever crosshead by the inner spindle throws the reversing links into position
for running the engine one way or the other, to port or starboard, the helm and
the movement of the same crosshead by the outer spindle actuated by the chain
barrel shaft as before, draws them back again so as to shut off steam and stop the
engine as soon as the helm reaches the desired position.
The inner spindle can be worked from the upper deck by a forked rod or by
means of idle wheels so arranged as to span over or pass up at one side of the hand
steering wheel shaft. The hollow spindle can be carried up in a similar manner to
show the position of the helm on the upper bridge if desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Ross Simey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th
November 1879.
CHARLES Ross SIMEY, of Sunderland, in the County of Durham.
MENTS IN MECHANISM FOR STEERING SHIPS BY STEAM POWER."
" IMPROVE-
My Invention relates to steam steering gear, and consists of improved self acting
apparatus by which the steam is completely shut off when (or just before) the
helm attains the desired position. The position to be given to the helm is indicated
by a pointer moved by the steersman, and the actual movement of the helm is
indicated by another pointer moved by the machine itself, which being self con-
trolling as above mentioned shuts off the steam and stops itself when these two
pointers coincide. The engines can therefore never by any negligence of the
steersman continue working so as to move the rudder beyond the point desired, or
force it too far over.
In carrying out my Invention I may use valve gear of the piston class actuated
by a single eccentric, the valves being without lap or lead. The reversal of the
engines may in that case be effected by a D shaped reversing valve in a separate
valve chest, which valve when in its mid position shuts off the steam, and when
moved to either end of its course permits steam to pass by one of two pipes to the
front or back (as the case may be) of the piston valves and to exhaust through the
other pipe.
The reversing valve is actuated both by hand and by the steering
gear itself; by the former to admit the steam to the engines, and by the latter to
be returned to its former position and gradually shut off the steam. This is effected
by the following arrangement:-
A vertical spindle having on its upper end a pointer and handle for working it,
and at its lower end a lever arm is connected by said lever arm and by a link with
one end of a lover crosshead pivoted at its centre to the reversing valve rod. A
hollow spindle encircles the said spindle and has also a lever arm at its lower end
similarly connected with the opposite end of the lever crosshead. This hollow
spindle carries a toothed segment with which the chain barrel shaft gears, and by
which it is rotated in order to shut off steam at the proper moment, a pointer at
the top of this hollow spindle showing the movement and position of the helm.
The action of the second lever arm counteracts that of the first as soon as it comes
diametrically opposite to it. Thus when the pointer on the inner spindle is moved
by the steersman to "port" or "starboard" the reversing valve is moved accordingly
from its mid position and the engines are started in the required direction; and
while the engines are working and moving the helm to the desired position the
outer tubular spindle is rotated by the chain wheel shaft, and by its lever moves
the lever crosshead in the opposite direction to that in which it was moved by the
steersman, thereby returning the reversing valve to its mid position and so shutting
off the steam. This occurs as soon as the helm reaches the desired angle which is
indicated by the pointers on the two spindles coinciding in direction, so that the
farther the pointer is moved by the steersman the farther the helm will be put
over.
I do not however limit myself to the foregoing arrangement, as I can substitute
for the reversing valve and piston valves the ordinary link motion reversing gear with
double eccentrics and common slide valves. In this case I pivot the lever crosshead
on a rod connected to an arm on a weigh shaft having two other arms connected to the
slot links of the link notion. Then the movement of the lever crosshead by the
inner spindle throws the reversing links into forward or backward gear so as to
port or starboard the helm, and the movement of the same crosshead by the outer
spindle actuated by the chain barrel shaft as before mentioned draws them back
again to their mid gear position, thereby shutting off steam and stopping the
engines as soon as the helm reaches the desired angle.

page_text: The inner spindle can be worked from the upper deck by placing it to one side
of the shafts, the pinion which gears with a segment on the outer spindle being in that
case geared with the chain wheel shaft instead of being placed directly upon it.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a rear elevation, Figure 2 a side elevation, and Figure 3 a plan of
steam steering gear provided with my improvements applied in connection with
reversing gear of the ordinary locomotive type last described, which is the arrange-
ment I find works best in practice.
A, A, are a pair of horizontal steam cylinders; a, their piston roda; and a' con-
necting rods to cranks b on a shaft B; c is a worm keyed on shaft B and gearing
with a worm wheel C on the shaft d, on which is keyed the chain wheel or barrel D.
The wheel C is coupled with shaft d by a clutch C' to enable it to be disconnected
when the steam power is not used and the vessel is steered by hand, in which case
a sliding pinion keyed on the hand steering wheel shaft F is thrown into gear
with a spur wheel E fast on the chain wheel shaft d, the same lever C* serving to
operate both the clutch C' and the pinion e, these parts being all much the same as
in ordinary. G is a vertical spindle mounted in suitable bearings just behind the
hand steering wheel, and to one side of the shafts d and F. Upon this spindle aro
fixed one or more handles G¹ and pointers G³, and at its lower end is fixed a lever
arm g. His a short tubular spindle through which the spindle G passes, both G
and H passing through and being supported by hollow posts I (or brackets)
supporting a dial i over which the pointers work; H' is a segment of a bevelled
toothed wheel fixed on spindle H and passing through an opening in the post I;
and d' is a bevel pinion that gears with segment H. The pinion d is in one with
a wheel mounted on a stud de fixed at one side of the chain wheel shaft d, the
wheel d³ gearing with a wheel d' on said shaft d. The proportions of the wheels
and pinion are such that the segment H' is made to travel through a quarter of a
circle by the rotation of a chain wheel in moving the rudder from hard a starboard
to hard a port, and vice versa. He is a pointer fixed on the upper end of spindle H;
and is a lever arm, equal in radius to g, fixed on its lower end; K is a lever cross
head equal in length to h and g together, and connected at its opposite ends k¹, l³,
by links L, L, with the ends of arms h, g, respectively. This crosshead is pivoted
by a ball and socket joint m' at the middle of its length to the end of the valve rod
if a reversing valve is used; or, as in the example illustrated in the Figures now
described, to the end of a lever m fixed on a weigh shaft mounted in suitable
bearings m³, m³, are two other lever arms fixed on the same weigh shaft M and
connected by draw rods n, n, with the slot links N of ordinary link reversing
gear.
The action is as follows:-When the bandle G' and pointer G are moved by the
steersman one way or the other on the dial i the lever g is moved to a corresponding
angle or extent, and the beam K is oscillated on as a centro and caused to describe
an arc as shown approximately in the diagram Figure 4, thereby moving the centre
m' and consequently raising or lowering the slot links N to start and run the engine
in the required direction. The shaft d driven by the engine being geared by
pinion d', shaft d³, wheels d³, d, and segment H with spindle H rotates the latter
in the same direction as that in which spindle G was moved, thereby moving
arm until it comes diametrically opposite to arm g and moving tho end k³ of the
beam K on as a centre, causing it to describe such an arc, as shown in Figure 4,
as will bring the centro ml back to the position it formerly occupied, and thus
return the link motion to its mid gear position.
Figure 5 is a longitudiual section, on a larger scale, of a cylinder with piston
valve; and Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the reversing valve first herein
described. K is the lever cross head, and L, L, the links connecting it to the lever
arms by which it is operated as described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3. The
lever cross head is pivoted directly to the rod p of the reversing valve P which it

page_text: controls in the same way that it controlled the link motion in the former arrange-
ment. This valve P is contained in a separate chest O, and works over ports t, t', con-
nected by pipes with passages T, T', respectively in the piston valve chest, Figure 5.
S is the steam pipe, and R the exhaust. It will be readily seen that when port t is
uncovered steam enters the trough T and piston valve V to the two ends of the
cylinder A, and exhaust round the piston valve and through T₁, t', and that when
port t¹ is uncovered by valve P the direction of the steam is reversed, thus reversing
the engines.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
1st. In a steam steering gear the employment of a lever crosshead applied in
connection with reverting gear or a reversing valve, and operated successively by
hand and by the steering gear itself subatantially as specified to start the engines
and stop them when the helm has reached the desired position.
2nd. The combination with the lever crosshead, applied in connection with
reversing gear or a reversing valve as above specified, of the two lovers connected
to the opposite ends of the crosshead, and fixed on different spindles operated the
one by hand and the other by the steering gear itself, substantially as shown aud
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Ross Simney, have boreunto set my
hand and seal, the Seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
CHAS. R. SIMEY. (L.S.)