AN IMPROVEMENT IN INSTRUMENTS AND MACHINERY FOR STEER- ING SHIPS, WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO VICES AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND MACHI- NERY FOR OBTAINING POWER
Year: 1850

page_text: J. & J. LONG AND
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
LONG and JAMES LONG, of Little Tower Street, in the City of London,
Mathematical Instrument Makers, and RICHARD PATTENDEN, of Nelson
Square, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty, in the eleventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Joseph Long, James Long, and Richard Pattenden, our exors, adññors,
and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
we, the said Joseph Long, James Long, and Richard Pattenden, our exors,
adñiors, and assigns, and such others as we, the said Joseph Long, James
Long, and Richard Pattenden, our exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to timo and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, excrcise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
our Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN INSTRUMENTS AND MACHINERY FOR STEER-
ING SHIPS, WHICH IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO VICES AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND MACHI-
NERY FOR OBTAINING POWER;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that we, the said Joseph Long, James Long, and Richard Pattenden
or some or one of us, should cause a particular description of the nature of our

page_text: said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of some or one of us, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Joseph Long, James Long, and Richard Pattenden, hereby declare that the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
are fully described and ascertained, in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
Firstly, our Invention, in so far as it regards instruments and machinery
for steering ships, consists in the adaptation thereto or embodiment therein, of
an improved system of leverage, whereby an uniform maximum of useful effect
may be obtained from such instruments and machinery, with as little draw-
back from slipping or reaction as may be.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a steering apparatus constructed accord-
ing to this system. A is the rudder head, B a horizontal cogged segment
attached to A; C is a vertical wheel, such as is in ordinary use, which is
mounted in a framework D; and E is what we will call a "curvilineal lever,"
which is attached to or formed on the face of a plate B, mounted on the outer
end of the spindle or axis of the wheel C, and works into the cogs of the
segment B. The peculiar sort of curve to be given to the lever E, and the
mode of practically producing it are shewn separately in Figure 1*, Figure 2*,
and Figure 3*. The first thing to be determined is the extreme diameter to
be given to the curvilineal lever, and that will depend on the width of the
cogs of the segment B and of the spaces between them. Supposing the cogs
to be four inches wide, and the intermediate spaces also four inches wide, or
the distance from centre to centre to be eight inches, then the extreme diameter
of the curvilineal lever should be twice that, or sixteen inches, so that by one
entire turn of the wheel C, and consequently of the lever plate P (in either
direction), the cogged segment B will be moved round to the extent of eight
inches and four revolutions of the wheel and plate C. P will bring the rudder
from its centre to an angle of 45°, which is the extent of divergency generally
.required in steering. (If greater divergency is required, this may be obtained
.by the addition to the segment B of one or more additional cogs at each end.)
The extreme diameter of the curvilineal lever having been thus obtained, the
next thing to be donc is to strike a circle of that diameter (which circle may
be supposed to represent the plate P), and divide the circumference of the

page_text: same into any number of equal parts or segments, as sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-
four, &c.
The greater the number of sections the more minutely exact will
be the curve produced, but for all practical purposes sixteen will be found suf-
ficient, as exemplified in Figure 1*. A space equal to the joint depth of the
cogs of the segment B, and of the lever E, which is to work into them is then
to be marked off on the divisional lines A, B, C, D, &c., and that space is sub-
divided transversely into as many equal parts (namely sixteen) as the circle may
have been divided into, as is also exemplified in Figure 1. If then a line be
drawn from the point A in the circumference of the circle through these
divisional lines successively, and inclining continuously towards the centre
in such ratio as to intersect each line at one sixteenth part nearer to the
centre than the intersection immediately preceding, the curve so obtained will
terminate at R, and represent the outer line to be given to the curvilineal
lever E. But to find the different centres of the separate portions of the
general curve (A, R,) belonging to each division, the workman must proceed
as follows:-Let him draw from the point A a segment through the centre of
the circle Figure 1*, and then a similar segment from the point B, the point
where the two segments intersect one another will be the centre from which
the portion of the general curve A, R, laying between A and B, must be
described; and so on throughout the sixteen (or any like number of) divisions;
the separate centres from which the successive portions of the curve A, R, are
to be described will be the points of intersection of two segments drawn
through the centre of the circle (Figure 1*) from the points B, C, C, D, D, E,
&c. It is farther necessary, in order that the lever should have an equal and
full bearing throughout on the cogs, with which it interlocks, that it should be
bevilled at the sides, and increased in the depth in a ratio corresponding
exactly with that of the interior inclination of the line of curvature. Figure 2*
shews the bevil to be given both in the case of the cogs being taken up on the
outside, and of their being taken on the inside of the curvilineal lever. The
dark shaded part represent the bevil required in the former case, and the
dotted lines that required in the latter.
Figure 3* is a sectional plan, illustrating the bearings of the cogs and lever
in respect to each other.
Figures 2, 3, and 4 represent modifications of the steering wheel represented
in Figure 1. In Figures 2 and 3 the curvilineal lever E is attached to an
open wheel frame F (instead of the solid plate P), and in Figure 4 it is attached
directly to the driving wheel C. The lever E works into the segment B, as
before described.
Figure 5 is a front elevation, and Figure 6 a side elevation, of a steering

page_text: apparatus, in which the curvilineal lever E is directly attached to the axis of
the wheel C, and takes into a cogged wheel or drum G, having two grooves,
one on each side of the circle of cogs, round which grooves there is carried a
chain, such as is in ordinary use, communicating with the tiller handle of the
rudder. Where the rudder is worked between decks, as in ships of war, an
arrangement such as represented in Figure 7 may be adopted. The wheel C,
which is mounted on the main deck M, communicates by a chain or band with
a drum O, of a curvilineal lever apparatus fixed on the gun deck beneath N,
of the same description as that represented in Figure 2, and before described,
with the exception only that it has no hand steering wheel immediately
attached to it. The wheel C and drum O, as here shewn, are of such relative
proportions that one turn of the former will produce three of the latter, but
these proportions may be varied at pleasure to any extent.
In all cases the centre of the curvilineal lever should be exactly on a level
with the cog wheel into which it works; when such wheel is placed horizontally,
and when the cog wheel is vertical, then the top of the wheel and centre of the
lever should coincide. To whatever angle the rudder is brought under these
circumstances by the action of the wheel and lever, it will remain fixed at that
angle, and can only be moved in either direction by a renewed application of
the hand (or other power employed) to the steering wheel. Instead of
employing one continuous curvilineal lover, such as before described, several
such levers may be substituted, that is to say, a curvilineal lever, constructed
according to the rules before laid down, may be divided into several portions,
and these portions affixed in different positions to an open wheel frame, as
exemplified in Figure 8 and Figure 8b.
Figure 9 exemplifies the application of the curvilineal lever employed in
the steering apparatuses before described to a vice. A is a slide plate of a
T form in its cross section, which is male fast to a basement B. C, C³, are
the two jaws of the vice, the former of which is a fixture, and made in one
piece with the slide plate A, and the latter slides on the top ridge of A. D is
a curvilineal lever constructed on the principle herein-before explained, which
is attached to a spindle centred in the back of the moveable jaw, and inclined
to the slide plate at an angle of about 20° to 25°. E is a handle by which
the lever is turned. F, F, are a series of cogs affixed to the upper surface of
the top ridge of the slide plate A, and bevelled like those of the cog wheel B,
before described. According as the handle E is turned to the right or left, the
curvilineal lever takes into or is withdrawn from the spaces between the cogs
F, F, and the moveable jaw C3 is made thereby to advance towards or recede
from the fixed jaw C¹.

page_text: Figure 10 represents a spanner, in which the curvilineal lever is applied to
the obtaining of power, in precisely the same way as in the vice just described.
Figure 11 exemplifies the application of the curvilineal lever to a ship's
windlass. A is the windlass; B, a vertical cog wheel, which is attached to the
middle of the windlass; D is the curvilineal lever, which is affixed to an open
wheel frame C, (for which a solid plate or disc may be substituted, if preferred,)
and takes into the cogged wheel B. G is a crank handle which is ordinarily
used to turn the wheel frame C, to which the lever D is fixed. The axle ends
E, E, of the spokes of the wheel frame C are made hollow for the reception
of the capstan bar F, by which the wheel frame and curvilincal lever aro
acted upon when a heavy purchase is required.
Figure 12 is a front elevation, Figure 18 a back elevation, and Figure 14
an end view, of a double action crab or purchase, constructed on the same
principle as the windlass last described (but which may be constructed with a
single action only). A is a barrel round which the chain works as usual.
B', B², two vertical cog wheels which are affixed to the ends of the barrel.
D', D, curvilineal levers which work into the cog wheels B1, B2, and are
attached to wheel frames C¹, C² (for which solid plates may be substituted as
aforesaid). E, E³, are pinions fixed behind the frames C³, C³, and on the
same axes, both of which gear into a toothed wheel F, mounted between the
vertical cog wheels B', B². G is a crank handle, which being applied to the
axis of F actuates the curvilinear levers, and through them the cog wheels
B', B, which turn the windlass.
Figure 15 exemplifies the application of the curvilineal lever to the im-
provement of the common lifting jack. A is the box; B, the slide plate or lift,
which is provided on one side with teeth or cogs; and C is the curvilineal lever,
which rests in an inclined recess made in the back of the box, and turns on a
spindle e. D is a crank handle by which the lever is turned, and caused to
act on the cogs of the lift B.
Figure 16 is a front elevation, and Figure 17 a side elevation, of a curvi-
lineal lever crane, which is so precisely similar in the arrangement of its parts
to the crab represented in Figures 12, 13, and 14, as to require no separate
description.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that the improvements which
we claim as comprehended in our said Invention are as follow:-
First, we claim the improvement in instruments and machinery for steering
ships represented in Figure 1, and the various modifications thereof exempli-
fied in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, that is to say, in so far as regards the

page_text: employment therein of the curvilineal lever E, such lever being constructed
according to Figures 1*, 2*, and 3*, and the directions herein-before given in
relation thereto, or according to the modifications represented in Figure 8" and
Figure 8, or any other modifications of an analogous and equivalent character:
And, second, we claim the application of the said curvilineal lever to vices
and other machinery for obtaining power, as exemplified in Figures 9, 10, 11,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17, and respectively before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Long, James Long, and Richard
Pattenden, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fourth
day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty.
JOSEPH (L.S.) LONG.
JAMES (L.S.) LONG.
R. (L.B.) PATTENDEN.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fourth day of July, in
the year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid Joseph Long, James Long, and
Richard Pattenden came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty.