Improvements in Apparatus for Recording the Course of Vessels, Vehicles, and the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
:.1.1.
[Communicated from abroad by GUSTAVE REININGHAUS, of Drieberhausen, near
Gummersbach, in the Province of the Rhine, Kingdom of Prussia, Empire of
Germany.]
Improvements in Apparatus for Recording the Course of Vessels,
Vehicles, and the like.
I, THOMAS RICHMOND of 79, St. James Street, Burnley, in the County of
Lancaster, Patent Agent, 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 :-
My invention relates to an automatic apparatus for recording the course of ships
in such a manner, that the course kept at any time may be readily ascertained
afterwards. When employing a self-registering speed-indicator in combination
with my improved apparatus, it is possible not only to determine the course kept at
any time, but also the actual way made by the ship.
My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved apparatus and Fig. 2 a central sectional
elevation of the same.
Like letters indicate. like parts in both views.
The casing C contains the magnetic needle P, pivotted in the usual manner.
At
a short distance from the pivot a sleeve A is secured to the needle P, and this
sleeve passes through an appropriate slot, about semi-circular in shape, of the
compass' dial-plate. Inside the sleeve A, there is a pencil or scriber B, the point
whereof bears elastically on a paper scroll N', carried on with a uniform continuous
motion by means of the rollers M M¹, which are driven by a clock-work of any
suitable construction, as indicated at D. It will be obvious that the line produced
on the paper-scroll N' by the pencil or scriber B will be an exact representation of
the course kept by the ship; as long as the same course is maintained, a straight
line will be produced, parallel with the direction in which the paper-scroll is trans-
ported, and at any change of the course the pencil will deviate more or less from
the centre-line of said paper-scroll. The latter may be provided with parallel
longitudinal lines, which would indicate in degrees the deviation from the magnetic
meridian, and with parallel transverse lines, which will indicate the time and will
be placed at regular intervals. Thus it will be easy to ascertain at any ulterior
time the course kept by the ship during the entire voyage or at any period of the
If at the same time the ship's speed has been recorded by means of a self-
registering apparatus or by any other means, it will be obvious that the way of the
ship may be drawn on the chart by the aid of these two indications.
same.
have located the sleeve A near the pivot of the magnetic needle P in order to
impede the vibrations of the latter as little as possible, and also to avoid too great
lateral movements of the pencil or scriber B.
It will be obvious that the pencil or scriber may be replaced by an ink-writer or
any other device adapted to produce a line on the paper. I wish to state expressly
that the line may be produced not only by friction, but also by means of electro-
mechanical, electro-chemical or photo-chemical action. I will shortly describe an
arrangement which effects the recording of the ship's course by photo-chemical
action.
The dial of the compass is provided with a circular or semi-circular-opening, and
to the magnetic needle itself a circular piece of suitable opaque material is secured,
o that no light has access to the paper-scroll N', except through a small hole
pierced through said opaque disc. The paper-scroll is made sensitive to the action

page_text: of light, so that a continuous line will be produced on said scroll. During the night
a suitable artificial light will be provided, so that the line will not be interrupted.
This arrangement is perhaps more convenient than that described above, in which a
pencil is employed, as the friction is greatly reduced.
My improved registering-apparatus may also be employed for any kind of vessels
or vehicles when it becomes important to record the course of the same.
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. An apparatus for automatically registering the course kept by a vessel, vehicle
and the like, in which the oscillations of a magnetic needle are recorded on a paper-
scroll carried on with a uniform motion, so that a line indicative of the course kept
is produced, for the purpose as described.
2. In an apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 1: the combination, with the
magnetic needle P, of the pencil or scriber B, or its equivalent, which by gliding
over the paper-scroll N', carried on with a uniform motion, marks a continuous line
on the same, for the purpose as described.
3. In a self-registering apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 1: the combina-
tion, with the magnetic needle, of an opaque plate or disc provided with a hole,
through which light falls on the sensitive paper-scroll moving on uniformly, and
marks on the same a continuous line indicative of the course kept, for the purpose
as described.
Dated this 4th day of July 1892.
THOS. RICHMOND.