AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Elsworth Sickels, of New York City,
United States of America, but now residing at the Golden Cross Hotel,
Strand, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS."
Sealed the 10th October 1862, and dated the 17th May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Elsworth Sickels
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th May 1862.
I, FREDERICK ELSWORTH SICKELS, of New York City, United States of
America, but now residing at the Golden Cross Hotel, Strand, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improvement upon the Invention of steering
ships by means of steam power, for which Letters Patent were obtained
on my behalf in the name of George Tomlinson Bousfield, bearing date
21st October 1859 (No. 2410) the object being to adapt the Invention more
completely to ships of war. In the Specification of the above-mentioned Patent
the barrel which operates the steering chains receives axial motion directly
from a pair of small steam engines, the valves of which are governed by the

page_text: steersman, the steering wheel being connected with the excentrics which work
the valves. By this arrangement all the force the steersman is required to
exert is just sufficient to work the valves of the engines, who by merely
letting steam into one or other of the steam cylinders will communicate an
axial motion to the crank shaft on which the chain barrel is mounted, and
through the chains shift the rudder to and retain it at any required position.
In ships of war it is desirable to place this machinery low in the vessel out
of the range of shot, while the steersman occupies a good look out position.
To provide for this latter necessity while the machinery is kept low down is
the object of the present Invention. To this end I propose to operate upon
the excentrics by means of a tension rod or its equivalent. Thus I propose
to connect the excentrics of the engines with a hollow barrel, which is in-
tended to receive on its periphery a cord, the free end of which may be led
away to any desired part of the vessel. Within the barrel I fit a coiled
spring, the tendency of which is to keep the cord wound upon its barrel. The
steersman holds the free end of the cord, and by drawing it towards him he
will give an axial motion to the barrel, which by being suitably connected to
the excentrics will shift the steam valve of the engines and thereby cause the
engines to operate the steering chains leading to the rudder. When the
rudder is required to be operated in a reverse direction, the steersman slackens
the cord and allows the coiled spring to act, which, by driving round the
barrel in the opposite direction will reverse the action of the valves. By
fitting, the cord or the terminal of the cord with knots, studs, or other
indications, the steersman will be enabled to judge at all times of the exact
position of the rudder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Elsworth Sickels, in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
. ELSWORTH SICKELS, of New York City, United States of America, but now
residing at the Golden Cross Hotel, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
. Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of May, in, the year of our Lord One

page_text: thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign
did, for Herself, Der heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Frederick Elsworth Sickels, Her special license, that I, the said Frederick
Elsworth Sickels, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
5 as I, the said Frederick Elsworth Sickels, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR STEERING VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Frederick Elsworth Sickels, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Elsworth Sickels, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to an improvement upon the Invention for steering
ships by means of steam or other fluid, for which Letters Patent were obtained
on my behalf in the name of George Tomlinson Bousfield bearing date
Twenty-first October, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine (No. 2410),
the object being to adapt my said Invention the more completely to ships of
war. In the Specification of the above-mentioned Patent, the barrel which
operates the steering chains receives axial motion directly from a pair of small
engines, the valves of which are governed by the steersman, the steering
wheel being connected with the excentric which works the valves. By this
arrangement all the force required to be exerted by the steersman is just
sufficient to work the engine valves, which by merely letting steam into one or
more of the steam cylinders will cause an axial motion to be imparted through
a crank shaft to the chain or rope barrel, and through the chains or ropes
wound thereon to the rudder, which may thus be retained at any required
position.
In applying this. Invention to ships of war it is desirable to place the
machinery low in the vessel, out of the range of shot, while at the same time.

page_text: the steersman must occupy a good look out' position: To provide for this
latter necessity while the machinery is kept low down is the object of the
present Invention. I now. propose to operate upon the excentric, which
governs the inlet and discharge of the steam or other motor to and from the
cylinders by means of a tension cord or its equivalent, which may be led up-
wards and conducted to any part of the ship where it may be found desirable
to post the steersman. The manner in which I prefer to apply this improve-
ment is to connect the excentric of the engine valves with a hollow barrel or
drum, carried by the crank shaft, and intended to receive on its periphery a
portion of the cord, the free end of which is led upwards to the deck or other
part of the vessel where the steersman is stationed. Within this drum I fit
a coiled spring the tendency of which is to keep the cord wound upon the
drum. The steersman holding the free end of the cord will, by drawing it
towards him give an axial motion to the drum, which, by its connection with
the excentric, will shift the valves of the engines and thereby cause the engines
to operate the steering chains leading to the rudder. When the rudder is.
required to be operated in a reverse direction the steersman has merely to
slacken the cord and allow the coiled spring within the drum to act, which
spring by driving round the barrel in the opposite direction will reverse the
action of the valves.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn my improvement as adapted
to an arrangement of steering apparatus placed below decks and driven by
motive power engines after the manner of the Patent before referred to. I
have however so modified the arrangement that if found advisable under any
unlooked for contingency both my present and former Inventions may be readily
set aside and the ordinary steering wheels brought into use.
Fig. 1 shews in partial longitudinal section the steering apparatus fitted
either to work by steam or by hand, and capable of being actuated by the
tension cord as described above or by an ordinary 'steering wheel in substi-
tution of the tension cord; Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of a vessel fitted
according to the Invention, a portion of the upper deck being broken away to
shew the arrangement of the steering clain, and the ropes connected with the
steering barrel; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the steering wheels and engine
drawn to an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the samé, and
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the engine and parts for working the valves in partia
section; Fig. 6 is a section taken through the crank shaft of the engine in
the line 1, 2, of Fig. 5, and shewing the means for reversing the excentric
Fig. 7 is a section of one of the cylinders, and slide valves of the engine

page_text: taken through the line 3, 4, of Fig. 5. The same letters refer to correspond-
ing parts in all the Figures.
A, A, are two small steam engines used for driving the barrel C, which
through the ropes or chains wound thereon, gives motion to the rudder.
These engines are set at right angles to each other, and are connected as
usual with a common crank shaft B, upon which the barrel C is loosely
mounted, and to which it is attached by means of a clutch box. The tiller
ropes wound on the barrel C pass through blocks a, a, (see Fig. 1) connected
with the chain attached to an arc upon the rudder head. As here shown the
engines are placed below the water line upon the orlop deck. The cord for
operating the slide valves of the engines is shewn at D. It is coiled around
a small drum E, mounted on the crank shaft B, and led upwards through the
decks by means of suitable guide pullies to the spot where the steersman is
situated. This drum E is coupled by bolts to the valve excentric F, which by
means of a strap connected with the valve rods G and H, actuates the valves
through those rods, the rods being placed at right angles to each other.
The excentric F is mounted loosely on the crank shaft B, and provision is
inade, as shewn on the enlarged scale at Fig. 6, for limiting its axial motion.
Within the drum E is the coiled spring D', one end of which is connected to
a sleeve shaft attached to one end of the shaft B, while the other end of the
coiled spring is connected to the excentric F attached to the drum E. This
spring I set with sufficient tension to enable it to drive round the excentric F,
and thereby move the valves when required; M is a stop on the shaft B,
which acts against a counterbalance weight N secured to the side of the
excentric F, for the purpose of limiting the axial motion of the excentric. If
now in order to apply steam so as to cause the engines to turn the shaft B, in
one direction the cord D be pulled by the steersman, or if by slacking the cord
Dhe permits the spring D' to wind it up and turn the excentric in the
other direction, the valves will be alternately prevented by the stop M from
moving beyond the middle of their course, when the engine to which the
valve belongs is upon its centre (that is to say), this stop is so placed as to
prevent either valve while the excentric is turning in either direction from
passing beyond the middle of its traverse, when the engine to which it is
attached is on its centre. Thus the stop will pernit the excentric to make
5 half a revolution on the shaft before bringing up either way, supposing the
engine shaft to remain stationary. The valve I use is by preference the
ordinary slide valve with the exhaust ports cut out in the valve so that both
the cylinder ports will be in connection with the exhaust port, when the valve

page_text: is at the middle of its traverse.
This arrangement enables me to use
indifferently, either steam or water for actuating the engines, a freo exhaust
being ensured for any fluid that may be in the cylinder with ample lap on the
admission side of the valve to prevent blowing through while in operation. If
the valves are balanced as shewn in the Drawings, they will work with great
ease, fixed guides being used, as also shewn in the Drawings, to keep the
valves to their seats. When the steersman by pulling the cord D, turns the
drum E, and with it the excentric F, and thereby causes the engines to move
the rudder hard over in one direction, say until the are on the rudder head is
brought into contact with the stop T, Fig. 2, the cord by resisting the further
pull of the steersman will shew that the rudder has reached an extreme
position. If on the other hand by releasing the cord D, and allowing the
spring D¹, to wind up the cord on the drum, and give rotary motion to the
excentric F, in the opposite direction, the engines will be caused to move the
rudder hard over the other way, and bring the arc on the rudder head in
contact with the stop S, then by the drum E ceasing to drag the cord D, the
steersman will know that the rudder has moved to its extreme position on the
other side. Thus at any time he may judge of the position of the rudder by
the length of the cord that is unwound from the drum, and if marks or
numbers are put at regular intervals on that portion of the cord handled by
the steersman, they will afford him the means of more accurately knowing the
position of the rudder. A hand wheel R, shewn at Fig. 5, is for the purpose
of actuating the drum E, in substitution of the cord D, it being only necessary
to remove the screw b, which makes fast to the shaft B, a cap c, by which the
sleeve shaft d before mentioned is connected through coupling pins to the
shaft B. When the screw b is removed, the hand wheel R may be slidden
up to a clutch on the drum E, and when made fast by a screw e, it will work
the excentric F, after the manner described under the before-mentioned
Patent. This hand wheel R is shewn out of use in the Drawing, and it can
be taken away when not required.
It is obvious that irrespective of this Invention any ordinary steering gear
can be attached to the rudder head so as to work the rudder by hand, the
steering chain being detached from the arc on the rudder head. And by
reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen that notwithstanding the application of my
improvement by simply slipping back the clutch P, by means of the lever
Q, the engines will be detached from the barrel C, and the vessel can then be
steered by the hand wheels O, O.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of an "Improved

page_text: Apparatus for Steering Vessels, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that, under the above in part
recited Letters Patent, I claim governing the action of engines employed to
operate the rudders of ships by means of a tension cord or an equivalent
connection capable of indefinite extension for the purposes above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Elsworth Sickels, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
FREDERICK ELSWORTH SICKELS. (L.S.)
66, Chancery Lane.