An improved Steering Gear for Barges and other
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 16th July, 1886.
Complete Left, 16th Apr, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 17th May, 1887.
An improved Steering Gear for Barges and other V 088018.
PERCY JOHN NEATE, Engineer 5 Newton Terrace Rochester in the County of
Kent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Whereas in steering gears made with right and left handed screws cut on different
portions of the same length of shaft which carries the steering wheel and fitted with
right and left handed nuts actuating a tiller head by means of short and long
connecting rods respectively as at present made are only capable of working properly
when the axis of the steering shaft is at right angles to the axis of the rudder pin
(any other angle being impossible except by reason of the bending of the various
parts or looseness of the joints). And whereas no provision has yet been attempted
for readily fixing the axis of the swivel bearing at the after end of the screw shaft in
such a position that it shall coincide with the axis of the rudder pin: I have invented
a tiller head in which provision is made for the steering shaft to be free to work
properly when its axis is at any angle approaching a right angle to the axis of the
rudder pin and in which the swivel bearing at the after end of the steering shaft can
be easily adjusted forward or aft and which is capable of swivelling to a small extent
on a transverse horizontal axis, as will as on a vertical axis.
For the purposes of the following description it is to be understood that the rudder
is assumed to be amidships and hung on a vertical pin, and the screw to be horizontal
unless otherwise specified.
I effect these improvements by using a steering gear similar to that described
above in which each connecting rod is formed by two horizontal links one above and
one below the screw but instead of these links being attached to vertical cantilever
pins fixed in the tiller head I attach them to the extremities of the tiller head through
the intervention of a ring with vertical trunnions slipped over a pin in the end of the
arm of the tiller head or by any other suitable form of universal joint.
For the swivelling bearing of the after end of the screw I use a short vertical
cylinder having a bearing bored out of it at right angles to its axis, or any other
shaped block may be used having cylindrical ends. This block fits in a chamber in
the tiller head and is guided laterally by parallel rubbing strips between which it can

page_text: slide fore and aft. The block is made with slightly spherical ends and may be a loose
fit vertically in the chamber. A small hole is drilled through its upper end con-
centrically and a similar hole is drilled and tapped in the top of the tiller head on the
axis of the rudder pin. A set screw passing through this hole in the top of the tiller
head into the short cylinder or block prevents its traversing fore and aft but allows it
to tilt sufficiently for all practical purposes.
This apparatus may be modified by substituting for the above-described arrange-
ment a bar revolving in suitable attachments on the tiller head and having the
connecting rods articulated direct thereto. In this case the bar may be divided into
two and each end may work independently or it may be made to carry the sleeve
bearing for the steering shaft either by means of a vertical pin and double eye beyond
the end of the sleeve or by splitting the bar and inserting the sleeve in the cleft and
fixing the same with set screws or trunnions. In this case the bar may be split
throughout its whole length or made of suitably shaped half round sectioned bars.
What I claim is as follows.―
1st. The use of a universal joint at the after extremities of the connecting rods and
in the attachment of the sleeve bearing for the steering shaft.
2nd. The attachment of the sleeve bearing in such a manner that its position can be
accurately and easily determined on and that special castings shall not be required for
each variation of the build of the barge as is now frequently the case.
3rd. The special forms of universal joints and adjustment of sleeve bearing sub-
stantially as herein described and for the purpose herein described.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Steering Gear for Barges and other Vessels.
I, PERCY JOHN NEATE, of 5, Newton Terrace, Rochester, in the County of Kent,
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 :-
Steering gears as heretofore usually made with right and left handed screws cut on
different portions of a steering wheel shaft and right and loft handed nuts working
on the said screws for actuating the tiller head by means of connecting rods, are only
capable of working properly when the axis of the steering shaft is at right angles to
the axis of the rudder pin. Working at any other angle was impossible unless it
was effected by the bending of certain parts of the apparatus or by the use of loose
joints.
The object of this invention is to construct steering gear or apparatus in such
manner that the steering shaft is free to work properly when its axis is at any angle,
approaching a right angle, to the axis of the rudder pin, and to render the gear or
apparatus applicable to the rudder-posts of barges or vessels of different builds without
the necessity of using special castings for each variation as is at present usually
necessary. According to this invention the after end of the steering shaft works in a
bearing pivotted to the tiller head in such manner that the axis of the pin or pivot is
co-axial with that of the rudder pin, the bearing being so constructed and arranged
with reference to the tiller head that its connection with the latter forms a universal
joint. The bearing may be made adjustable fore and aft in the tiller head to which it
is applied so that it may be pivotted directly above the axis of the rudder pin of the
vessel to which it is applied. In steering gear or apparatus according to this inven-
tion a steering shaft with right and left handed screws and nuts, with two pairs of
connecting rods of the usual construction are employed. The connecting rods are
cach jointed at one end to a pin or trunnion formed on its respective nuts; the other
ends of these rods instead of being attached to long vertical cantilever pins fixed to
the ends of the tiller-head in the manner heretofore usual, are jointed to vertical pins
or trunnions formed on rings that are also jointed to the ends of the tiller, the arrange-
ment being such as to form universal joints at each side of the tiller-head. The
swivelling bearing through which the after end of the steering shaft works, consists of
a short cylinder having a hole therethrough at right angles to its axis. The bearing
may be of other shape, provided its end portions are of cylindrical or curved form.
The bearing is fitted in a chamber in the tiller-head, and is guided laterally by parallel
rubbing strips between which it can slide fore and aft when being adjusted, and work
after being pivotted; it is made with slightly spherical ends that are a loose fit
vertically, with the adjacent parts of the chamber. A hole or recess is drilled into
the centre of one end of the bearing, and a similar hole is drilled and tapped in the
adjacent part of the tiller-head in line with the axis of the rudder-pin. A set serew
or pin passed through this latter hole and extending into the hole or recess in the

page_text: Dearing or cynnder, serves to pivot the two together, and prevent end wise movement
of the bearing in its chamber. The set screw or pin and the recess into which it
enters are such as to allow the bearing to tilt or swivel sufficiently for all practical
purposes.
The apparatus may be modified by substituting for the above described bearing, a
cross bar revolving in suitable bearings in the tiller-head, and having a sleeve bearing
for the steering shaft, pivotted thereto. The connecting rods are hinged or jointed
direct to the cross bar. The bar may be made to carry the sleeve bearing for the
steering shaft, either by means of a vertical pin and double-eye at the end of the
sleeve, or the bar may be split, and the sleeve inserted in the opening and pivotted
therein by a set-screw or set-screws or by trunnions. In this case the bar may be split
throughout its whole length, or be made of two suitably shaped half round portions
of metal. Or the cross-bar may he divided into two portions that work independently,
the sleeve being arranged between their adjacent ends.
Referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a plan partly in section of steering gear according to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section showing the application of the steering
gear to a rudder post.
Fig. 3 is a side view of the tiller head and an attached ring.
Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line A, B, in Fig. 2 looking in the direction of
the arrow.
Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a plan and side view, both partly in section, illustrating
a modification, and
Fig. 7 is a detailed view thereof.
Figs. 8, 9, and 10 illustrate a further modification hereinafter described.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, 1 is the steering wheel shaft with right and left handed
screws 2 and 3, and corresponding nuts 4 and 5. 6 is the swivelling bearing through
which the after end of the steering shaft works. 7 is a tiller-head secured to the
upper end of the rudder-post 8 (Fig. 2); it carries a set-screw or pivot 9 by which it
is pivotted to the bearing 6 so as to be capable of turning about the axis of this
screw, or pivot as a centre when it is operated by the nuts 4 and 5. 10 is the
rudder-pin. The axis of the screw or pivot 9 and that of the pin 10 are arranged in
the same straight line. The swivelling bearing 6 is, in the example shown, in the
form of a cylinder with a hole through it at right angles to its axis; through this
hole the shaft 1 works. The bearing is arranged within a chamber 11 in tho
tiller-head, and is guided laterally therein by metallic strips 12 at the sides
of the chamber between which it slides when being adjusted to position, and
between which it works, after being pivotted to the tiller head. The ends, of the
bearing are made approximately spherical, and take a bearing in the chamber 11, the
arrangement of the pivot 9 being such as to allow of the bearing and shaft 1 turning
through a small angle in a vertical plane.
When the radius of curvature of the ends of the bearing are longer than half the length
of such bearing, as in the example shown, the ends must be loosely fitted in the chamber
to prevent jamming. By this construction the joint between the bearing and the
tiller-head constitutes a universal joint. 13, 13, and 14, 14, are two pairs of connecting
rods. One end of each rod 13, is jointed to a vertical pin or trunnion 15 on the nut 4,
their other ends being jointed to other vertical pins 16 formed on a ring 17 that is fitted
or jointed at one end of the tiller-head as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The connecting
rods 14 are similarly connected to the nut 5, and to the other end of the tiller-head.
The connection between each pair of rods and the tiller-head thus constitutes a universal
joint. The forward end of the steering shaft is carried in the usual well known
manner. Steering gear or apparatus constructed with universal joints as herein before
described is, before the pivot hole in the rudder head is formed, interchangeable, and
may be applied to rudders having pins, the axes of which vary more or less from a
right angle with that of the axis of the steering shaft, my gear after being so applied
only requiring that the pivot hole in the rudder head shall be made in line with the
rudder pin and the pivot screw or pin inserted.

page_text: In the modification illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7, the shaft 1 works in a bearing 6 in
the form of a sleeve. One end of this sleeve bearing 6 is bifurcated, the eye portions
18 embracing a cylindrical shaft 19 to which it is hinged or pivotted by a pin 9 that
is in line with the axis of the rudder-pin as before. The shaft 19 is carried in
bearings 20 in the tiller-head, and is free to rotate therein in order that the apparatus
may be applied to rudders whose pins are of varying inclination. The connecting rods
13 and 14 are jointed to the ends of the shaft 19 by bolts 21 as shown in Figs. 5 and 7.
22, 22, are rings encircling the ends of the shaft 19; they serve as distance pieces to
keep the ends of the connecting rods jointed to the shaft 19 the same distance apart as
the ends that are connected to the actuating nuts; they also serve as collars to keep
the shaft 19 in position endwise.
Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are views illustrating a modification, Fig. 8 being a vertical
section, Fig. 9 a sectional plan, and Fig. 10 an end view. In this arrangement a
bearing 6 of spherical form is employed for carrying the aft end of the shaft 1. It is
maintained in position by upper and lower plates 23 and 24 formed with concave
bearing surfaces as shown. The plates are held in suitable guides in the tiller-head 7,
to which one or both are secured by screws 9, the axis or axes, as the case may be,
being arranged with reference to the rudder pin as hereinbefore described. In other
respects this arrangement is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 4.
The screw or pin 9 that serves as a pivot for the shaft bearing 6 instead of taking
into a special hole, may take into a slot in which it may be adjusted to the required
position, and be afterwards tightened in place by any suitable means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner it is to be performed, I declare that what I claim in steering
gear for barges and other vessels is :-
1. Connecting the after bearing of the screw threaded steering shaft to the tiller-head
by means of a universal joint, that is, by one capable of motion with relation to the
tiller-head about two axes, one of which lies in the prolongation of the rudder pin
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
2. Connecting the after ends of the connecting rods to the tiller-head by universal
joints substantially as hereinbefore described for the purpose specified.
3. In combination with a rudder shaft bearing connected to the rudder-head by a
universal joint, universal joints between the connecting rods and the arms of the tiller-
head substantially as described.
4. The improved rudder head and after bearings constructed and arranged sub-
stantially as herein before described with reference to and shown in Figs. 1 to 4; in
Figs. 5 to 7; and in Figs. 8 to 10 of the drawings annexed.
Dated this 14th day of April 1887
Dated this 14th day of April 1887
PERCY JOHN NEATE.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.