Improvements in Apparatus for Indicating the Correct Course for Ships to Steer on Sighting other Ships or the Lights thereof, in Accordance with the Rules of the Road at Sea.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 10th June,
1000
Complete Specification Left, 10th Mar., 1899-Accepted, 15th Apr, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 10th Mar., 1899-Accepted, 15th Apr, 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Indicating the Correct Course for
Ships to Steer on Sighting other Ships or the Lights thereof, in
Accordance with the Rules of the Road at Sea.
I, JOHN WILLIAM RAY, of 8, Canning Place, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Nautical Instrument Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows..
This invention relates to an apparatus adapted for the use of the navigating
officer of a ship and by means of which he may, when he sees another vessel or
sights the lights thereof, ascertain the course prescribed under the circumstances
by the rules of the road at sea.
According to the established practice in the matter of signal lights at sea,
a sailing ship sighted at night will show a red light, or a gieen light, or both
red and green lights, according to the direction in which she is moving in relation
to the observer; the same also holds good in the case of a steamer, with the
exception that the latter is distinguished from the sailing ship by the addition of
a white light which is always seen when either the red, or green, or both show.
It will be seen therefore that, considering steamers and sailing ships, there are
six possible combinations of lights, and if the bearing of any one of these combina-
tions relatively, say, to the fore-and-aft line of a ship be known, then the proper
course for that ship to steci, according to the rules of the road at sea, can be
determined,
In carrying out the present invention advantage is taken of the fact that the
two elements which determine the course which a ship ought to steer, on sighting
another vessel, are the combination of lights and the bearing of such lights
relatively to, say, the fore-and-aft line of the ship
According to the present invention a dial is provided which consists of a sector
of a circle whose angle is equal to, say, twenty points of the compass, and on the
said sector six annular spaces are marked off corresponding to the six aforesaid
combinations of Lights The sector 18 fixed in a convenient position on a standard
on the ship's deck or on the bridge, so that the bounding radu of the sector
point symmetrically aft. A rotatable pointer is also preferably provided which
is pivoted at the centre of the circle of which the sectoi forms part and on which
two vertical sighting lines may be mounted, the arrangement being such that
when a vessel is sighted by means of the pointer, the position of the latter
relatively to the dial shows at once the bearing of the vessel relatively to the
fore-and-aft line of the ship on which the apparatus 18 placed Each annular
space is divided angularly and the divisions are so coloured in white, ied and
green, (to indicate respectively steady, port and starboard), that when the pointer
is directed towards a light or combination of lights the proper course to steer,
(whether steady, poit or starboard), is indicated immediately below the marked
end of the pointei on the annulus corresponding to that light or combination of
lights, thus when, say, a red light alone is seen a point on the starboard bow,

page_text: which would indicate a sailing vessel crossing the bows from starboard to port,
it would be found (if the dial were placed on a steamer) that the appropiate
annulus under the marked end of the pointer, when the latter is directed towards
the said light, would be coloured red, indicating that the proper order for the
quarter master, according to the rules of the road at sea, would be-" Port".
At the edge of the sector the annuli are distinguished by suitable marks, say,
an actual representation of the lights to which they correspond, and the pointer
may be provided with an indicating alide which 18 moved along the pointer till
it is over the appropriate annulus In some cases, however, the pointer may
be dispensed with, and the finger run round the appropriate annulus so as to be
in line with the light and the centre of the dial, in this case, the annuli may be
separated by raised ridges so as to avoid accidental movement from the one to
another
Instead of, or in addition to the colours, the surfaces of the annuli may be
grooved, 11dged, or otherwise made distinguishable to the touch, so that in event
of the failure of the light used for illumination at night (which is preferably
placed below the dial), the apparatus might still be used The colours, or surface
maikings,, as the case may be, are varied in degree so as to indicate the amount
of "porting ог starboarding" necessary under the circumstances, and when
as there may be in some cases, there is a choice of courses, the appropiate colours
or surface markings run together side by side in the one annulus, the amounts
of their respective radial widths varying in proportion to their relative importance
or value.
35
The colouring of the annuli of a dial for a sailing ship would of course be
different from that of one intended for a steamer, and there may be differences
in those of steamers of different speeds; moreover if the use of the apparatus
should become general, it might be found desuable to modify the rules of the
road at sea to suit. I do not of course restrict myself to the number of annuli
mentioned, as it may be necessary in some cases to have additional annuli, to
include for instance those cases in which, on sighting a sailing ship, the direction
of wind has to be taken into account in addition to the two elements already
referred to.
The dial would be usually mounted on a suitable stand and would be made of
glass, so that, as stated, it might be illuminated from below
Dated this 9th day of June, 1898.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Indicating the Correct Course for
Ships to Steer, on Sighting other Ships or the Lights thereof, in
Accordance with the Rules of the Road at Sea.
I, JOHN WILLIAM RAY, of 8, Canning Place, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Nautical Instrument Maker, 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:
-
This invention relates to an apparatus adapted for the use of the navigating
officer of a ship and by means of which he may, when he sees another vessel or

page_text: sights the lights thereof, ascertain the course prescribed under the circumstances
by the rules of the road at sea
According to the established practice in the matter of signal lights at sea,
a sailing ship sighted at night will show a red light, or a green light, or both
red and green lights, according to the duection in which she is moving in relation
to the observer the same also holds good in the case of a steamer, with the
exception that the latter is distinguished from the sailing ship by the addition of
a white light which is always seen when either the red, or green, or both show.
It will be seen therefore that, considering steamers and sailing ships, there are
six possible combinations of lights; and if the bearing of any one of these combina-
tions relatively, say, to the fore-and-aft line of a shup be known, then the proper
course for that ship to steer, according to the rules of the road at sea, can be
determined.
in carrying out the present invention advantage is taken of the fact that the
two elements which determine the course which a ship ought to steer, on sighting
another vessel, are the combination of lights and the bearing of such lights
relatively to, say, the fore-and-aft line of the ship
According to the present invention a dial is provided which consists of a sector
of a circle whose angle is equal to, say, twenty points of the compass, and on the
said sector six annular spaces are marked off corresponding to the six aforesaid
combinations of lights. The sector is fixed in a convenient position on a standard
on the ship's deck or on the bridge, so that the bounding radi of the sector
point symmetrically aft A rotatable pointer is also preferably provided which
18 pivoted at the centre of the cicle of which the sector forms part and on which
two vertical sighting lines may be mounted, the arrangement being such that
when a vessel 19 sighted by means of the pointer, the position of the latter
relatively to the dial shows at once the bearing of the vessel relatively to the
fore and aft line of the ship on which the apparatus is placed Each annular
space is divided angularly and the divisions are so coloured in white, red and
green, (to indicate respectively steady, port and starboard), that when the pointer
is directed towards a light or combination of lights, the proper course to steer,
(whether steady, port or star board), is indicated immediately below the maiked
end of the pointer on the annulus corresponding to that light or combination of
lights; thus when say, a red light alone is seen a point on the starboard bow,
which would indicate a sailing vessel crossing the bows from starboard to port,
it would be found (if the dial were placed on a steamer) that the appropriate
annulus under the marked end of the pointer, when the latter is directed towards
the said light, would be coloured red, indicating that the proper order for the
quartermaster, according to the rules of the road at sea, would be-" Port".
At the edge of the sector the annuli are distinguished by suitable marks, say,
an actual representation of the lights to which they correspond, and the pointer
may be provided with an indicating slide which 18 moved along the pointer till
it is over the appropriate annulus In some cases, however, the pointer may
be dispensed with, and the finger run round the appropriate annulus so as to be
in line with the light and the centre of the dial, in this case, the annuli may be
separated by raised ridges so as to avoid accidental movement from the one to
another
Instead of, or in addition to the colours, the surfaces of the annuli may be
grooved, ridged, or otherwise made distinguishable to the touch, so that in event
of the failure of the light used for illumination at night (which is preferablý
placed below the dial), the apparatus might still be used The colours, or surface
markings, as the case may be, are varied in degree so as to indicate the amount
of "porting or "starboarding" necessary under the oircumstances, and when,
as there may be in some cases, there is a choice of courses, the appropriate colours
or surface markings run together side by side in the one annulus, the amounts
of their respective radial widths varving in proportion to their relative importance
or value.
29

page_text: The colouring of the annuli of a dial for a sailing ship would of course be
different from that of one intended for a steamer, and there may be differences
in those of steamers of different speeds; moreover if the use of the apparatus
should become general, it might be found desirable to modify the rules of the
road to suit. I do not of course restrict myself to the number of annuli
mentioned, as it may be necessary in some cases to have additional annuli, to
include for instance those cases in which, on sighting a sailing ship, the direction
of wind has to be taken into account in addition to the two elements already
referred to
t
I have illustrated what I have found to be a convenient form of my invention
in the accompanying drawings in which Fig I 18 a plan view of the dial showing
the arrangement and markings of the annul, Fig II 18 a section on the
line A, A, of Fig. I, Fig. III a perspective view of the dial with the pointer
mounted thereon; and Fig IV illustrates a convenient mode of mounting the
apparatus on the compass binnacle
1..
Throughout the drawings, the same parts are indicated by the same reference
figures
'
The dial 1, which is carried in a brass frame 1' and held in place by a ring 111,
is preferably of opal glass and is divided, in the apparatus illustrated, into eight
annuli, and the annuli are divided angularly and coloured as described in red,
green and white
In the drawings red colouring is indicated by the full cross
hatching, green colouring by the dotted cross hatching, and the white portions
of the annuli are left plain The combination of signals to which the annuli
respectively correspond are clearly and graphically marked at the two margins;
for instance the inner annulus 18 used when a white and green light is sighted,
the outer annulus when a red light is aghted, and so on. In the case of the fifth,
sixth and seventh annuli (counting from the centre) which correspond to a sailing
ship showing red and green lights, the cases are differentiated according to the
direction of the wind, this is indicated by the arrows placed adjacent to the
circles representing the lights
The dial is divided into degrees at the periphery, and into points and half
points of the compass at the centre.
The pointer 2 is pivoted at the centre of the dial and is provided with two
sights 3 and 4, and has a sliding window 5 which is adapted to be moved radially
along along the pointer so as to be brought opposite the marginal representation
of the signal lights sighted, after which the pointer is turned about its pivot till
the sights bear on the lights observed, the colouring on the annulus below the
window will then indicate the order to be given to the quartermaster according
to the rules of the road at sea
The operation will be more readily understood if a few examples are con-
sidered. Suppose a red light to be sighted:--the window will be moved till it is
over the single red circle shown in the margin, this brings it opposite the outer
annulus; the pointer is now moved till the sights bear on the red light seen
If on sighting the light the pointer is anywhere between 50° and 110° on the
starboard side it will be seen that both green and white show through the window,
but that the less the angle, within the above limits, the greater the width of the
green strip, which implies that, though according to the rule of the 1oad it is
optional whether to steady" or "starboard" between 50° and 110°, the latter
order gains in importance as the angle diminishes If on sighting the light the
pointer should be between 400 and 50° on the starboard side, then as the green
colour fills the width of the annulus under the window the order 18 "starboard";
should the pointer be between 40° on the starboard and 20° on the port side, the
ied colour fills the width of the annulus under the window, and the order is
'port"; from 20° on the port side to 110° on the port side the annulus is plain
and the order therefore is "steady
66
"
It will be seen that on sighting a red light 40° on the starboard side the
wrdow comes over a part of the annulus where the two colours meet and it is a

page_text: question therefore as to whether the order should be "port" or "starboard"; in
such cases it is well to keep the sights on the light observed and notice whether
the angle is becoming greater or less If as the ships approach the angle widens
out it is evident that starboard" is the correct order, but if on the other hand
the angle becomes less as the shups approach, then the proper order is "port"
As already stated, the amount of poiting" or "stai boarding" requied under
the cucumstances may be roughly indicated by the gradation of the depth of
colour, for example in the outer annulus just referred to, the two colours where
they meet (40° on the starboard side) are painted a very deep tint, but from this
point the tint in each case becomes gradually lighter. It will be readily under-
stood that if a red light be sighted say 10° on the port side, very little porting"
will serve to avoid collision, whereas it the same light be sighted say 350 on the
starboard side a very considerable amount of "porting" would be required to
avoid collision If on the other hand the same light be sighted at 450 on the
starboard side, it is evident that more "star boarding" would be required than if
it were sighted at say 70° on the starboard side. In this way therefore the depth
may be anlanged-to serve as a guide, and as the depth of colouring cannot be
represented in the annexed drawings it may be well to point out that where the
two colauis abut, as for example in the outer annulus at 40° on the starboard
side, the depth of the tint is usually deepest, since, although at these points there
18 to some extent a choice of two courses, it is necessary to act promptly which-
ever is decided upon.
The same reasoning holds good in respect to the other annuli.
The sliding window 5 18 piovided with a spring presser piece, housed in the
casing 6, and adapted to engage with depressions on the pointer and prevent
accidental displacement of the window after it has been set to the appropriate
annulus
As stated, the dial is preferably lighted from below and I have shown in
Fig IV a convenient mode of carrying the apparatus from the compass bin-
nacle 7, so that the lamps 8 which light the compass are adapted to illuminate
the dial from below
It 18 to be understood that while I have shown in the accompanying diawings
the form of apparatus I have found most convenient in practice, i do not limit
myself to the precise form illustrated for instance in the diawing the dial 18
fixed relatively to the ship and the window 18 movable, but obviously the dial
may be made movable and be provided with sights, and the window fixed
Neither do I limit myself to the dial markings shown, but having now particu-
laily described and ascertamed the nature of hy said invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim 18,-
1 The improved apparatus for indicating the corect course for ships to steer
in accordance with the rules of the road at sea, which consists of a dial fixed icla-
tively to the ship and divided into a number of annuli each coliesponding to a
combination of signal lights, and each so divided and coloured that when the
combination of lights to which it comesponds is sighted from the centre of the
dial, the proper order 18 indicated on that portion of the annulus under the line
of sight, substantially as described and illustrated.
2 The improved apparatus for indicating the correct course for ships to steer
in accordance with the rules of the road at sea, which consists of a dial fixed
relatively to the ship and divided into a number of annuli each corresponding to
a combination of signal lights, and each so divided and coloured that when the
combination of lights to which it corresponds is sighted from the centre of the
dial, the proper oider 18 indicated on that portion of the annulus under the line
of sight, and a pointer having two sights and a movable window through which
latter the proper order is seen when the sights are directed on to the signal lights,
substantially as described and illustrated."
3 The improved apparatus for indicating the coricet course for ships to steer

page_text: in accordance with the rules of the road at sea which consists of a dial divided
and coloured as described, and a window, one being fixed relatively to the ship and
the other being movable and provided with sights, substantially as described
and illustrated
4 In apparatus of the kind hetein described, the mode of making the annul
in graded fints, substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated
5. In apparatus of the kind herein described, the mode of making the annuli
in colours having varying widths, substantially as and for the purpose described
and illustrated
6 The improved apparatus substantially as described and illustrated in the
drawings
Dated this 9th day of March 1899
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Chartered Patent Agents, 34, Castle Street. Liverpool.