IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OB APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE SPEED OF VESSELS, AND FOR TAKING SOUNDINGS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT: to Thomas Walker, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS
OB APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE SPEED OF VESSELS, AND FOR TAKING
SOUNDINGS."
.Sealed the 11th June 1862, and dated the 13th December 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Walker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th
December 1861.
I, THOMAS WALKER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE SPEED OF VESSELS, AND FOR TAKING
SOUNDINGS," to be as follows:-
For indicating the speed of vessels, I apply the inclined vanes upon a tube
capable of freely rotating upon a central spindle or axis when acted upon by
passing through the water. The fore end of the axis is provided with a pro-
tector, which I prefer to be of a conical form, adapted to prevent the water
pressing upon the end of the tube carrying the vanes, and thereby causing
friction, which would impede the proper working of that tube by the action of
the water on its inclined vanes. The wheelwork for registering the rotation
of the vanes is carried by a frame, which, like the protector, does not revolve,
and is enclosed within the tube, or within the protector, or it is carried by
some other part of the apparatus which does not revolve. Motion is given to

page_text: the registering wheelwork by a wheel attached to the tube of the rotators
acting on a pinion, or by a stud on the tube of the rotators acting on the arms
of a wheel affixed to a worm or pinion giving motion to the first of the series
of wheels, or by other suitable means. I arrange the wheelwork in relation
to the rotator that the first dial may indicate minute knots, or proportional
parts of minutes of 102 feet (the sixtieth part of a nautical mile) per minute,
the second moves a nautical mile or other proportional part of a nautical mile,
and the succeeding dials corresponding in relation to nautical miles, the object
being that the mile may be divided into parts corresponding with minutes or
half minutes of time. A slide or other cover encloses the dials, capable of
easy removal to see the distance run without removing. the wheelwork. The
arranging the wheelwork to give motion to the dials in the relations stated is
also applicable to when the rotator is connected to the index by a rope or
other line. For taking soundings the apparatus is similarly arranged, but
with a weight to assist its descent, and the dials are formed to indicate fathoms
and parts of fathoms in place of miles and parts of miles..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Walker- in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
13th June 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WALKER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Walker, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Walker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Thomas Walker,_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 " IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE SPEED OF VESSELS,
AND FOR TAKING SOUNDINGS," upon the condition (amongst others), that I;
the said Thomas Walker, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in

page_text: writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Thomas Walker, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
For indicating the speed of vessels, I apply the inclined or oblique vanes
upon a tube which is capable of freely rotating upon a central spindle or axis
The fore end of the axis is
when acted upon by passing through the water.
provided with a protector, which I prefer to be of a conical form, adapted to -
prevent the water pressing upon the end of the tube carrying the vanes, and
thereby causing friction, which would impede the proper working of that tube
by the action of the water on its oblique or inclined vanes. The wheelwork
for registering the rotation of the vanes is carried by a frame, which, like the
protector, does not revolve, and is enclosed within the tube, or within the
protector, or it is carried by some other part of the apparatus which does not
revolve. Motion is given to the registering wheelwork by a wheel attached
to the tube of the rotators acting on a pinion, or by a stud on the tube of the
rotators acting on the arms of a wheel affixed to a worm or pinion giving
motion to the first of the series of wheels, or by other suitable means. A slide
or other cover encloses the dials, capable of easy removal to see the distance
run without removing the wheelwork. For taking soundings the apparatus is
similarly arranged, but with a weight to assist its descent, and the dials are
formed to indicate fathoms and parts of fathoms in place of miles and parts
of miles.
But that the nature of the improvements, and the means which I adopt
in carrying the same into effect, may be better understood, I will proceed to
describe the accompanying Drawings.
"
Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 a section, and Figure 3 an end view of
an arrangement of apparatus, according to my Invention, for indicating the
speed of vessels; Figure 4 shews, the rotator and its axis separately; Figure 5,
the dials separately-on-a-larger scale.-
a is a tube or cylinder, upon which are applied the vanes a' forming the
rotator. This tube a is affixed to the axis or spindle a², which is supported
with capability of rotation in the bearing 6', carried by or forming, part of the
tube or protector b, containing the wheelwork for operating the fingers on the

page_text: dials c, c¹, c³, c³, and thereby indicating the rotations of the rotator. The
tube contains the wheelwork, and is, formed conical at its fore end 6, to
facilitate passage through the water, whilst it acts to prevent the water
pressing upon the end of the tube a, and by the pressure thereof from inter-
fering with the free action of that tube. Upon the end of the spindle a² is
formed or affixed-a pinion a³ of eight teeth, which take into the teeth of the
first wheel d (of twenty-four teeth) upon the axis d¹, which is formed with
a screw thread to take into the teeth of the second wheel e (of 34 teeth),
having upon its axis the hand e¹ and the pinion e2 of 6 teeth. The teeth of
this pinion & take into the teeth of the intermediate wheel ƒ (of 18 teeth),
upon which is formed or affixed the pinion f' (of 6 teeth), the teeth of which
take into the teeth of a wheel g (of 20 teeth) on the axis g', carrying the
band g, on the dial cand pinion g³ of 6 teeth, which take into a wheel i of
18 teeth, to which is affixed a pinion i¹ of 6 teeth, taking into the wheel j
of 20 teeth on the axis j¹, on which is affixed the band ja and pinion j³,
of 6 teeth. The teeth of the pinion j³ take into the teeth of the wheel k of
.18 teeth, and upon this wheel is affixed a pinion ¹ of 6 teeth, which take
into the teeth of the wheel of 20 teeth on the axis 1', carrying a hand 12.
As in a geographical or nautical mile there are 6120 feet, that number being
divided by 60 (as the hour is divided into 60 minutes), will give 102 as the
number of feet there are in the sixtieth part of a mile, and this I call a
minute knot, as it has the same proportion to a mile as a minute has to an
hour. The rotator a is adjusted to make one revolution in six feet, or
17 revolutions in one minute knot, or 1020 revolutions in one nautical
mile, and the wheelwork is arranged in relation to the rotator a, that the
first dial may indicate six minute knots of 102 feet each; the second index
moves once round in a nautical mile, and the succeeding dials register 10 miles
and 100 miles respectively, the object being that the mile may be divided into
parts corresponding with minutes. To facilitate the registry of present speed
of a vessel, the apparatus may be attached to the end of a rod held over the
side of such vessel. The use of the first or minute knot dial is applicable"
more particularly to the ascertaining of such present speeds, and except for
ascertaining present speed, I should commence with the second or one-mile
dial, the second then indicating 10 and the third 100 miles. h is a shifting
cylinder capable of turning on the tube b, containing the wheelwork. When
the opening h¹ of this cylinder is coincident with the opening in the tube b
opposite the dials, the indications on these dials may be seen.. The dials
may be protected when the apparatus is in operation by turning the cylinder h
over them.

page_text: The rope for holding the apparatus in the water whilst taking indications,
of a vessel's speed is attached to the ring or eye b³.. Figure 6 shews a modi-.
fication of this part of the improvements, adapted to when it may be desired,
for: the motions of the rotator being continuously indicated on deck in addition
to or in substitution of the indications in the apparatus, as already explained.
It will be seen that the axis d' is extended, and has applied to it a pinion o,
which takes into and drives the teeth of the wheel p. To the axis p¹ of this
wheel' p is applied a cord or rope q,, which passes through and is enclosed by.
the tube r, which is formed of india-rubber, cloth, or other suitable flexible
material over helical wire to keep it distended, such tuber being connected
at one end to the conical end 62 of the case b, and at the other end to the,
bent end of a metallic tube s, extending from a suitable part of the vessel.
The cord or rope 7 passes up this tube s, and is then connected to the axis
of one of a series of wheels adapted, by means of pointers on dials, to represent
the speed of the vessel in a similar manner to that already explained in
respect of the dials c, c³, c, c, or otherwise.
Upon the axis a³ is formed
the wheel j, to give rotary
Figures 7 and 8 shew two opposite side views, and Figure 9 an edge view,
of a modification of the above apparatus as adapted for taking soundings;
Figure 10 is a transverse section of the same. i, i, is the framing of the
apparatus, which will be attached to the sounding line by the eye i¹, whilst a
suitable weight will be attached to the eye i. This framing it will, be seen,
more particularly by Figure 10, is especially adapted to protect the vanes of,
the rotator from injury, whilst those vanes are free to be acted upon by the
water. whilst the apparatus is passing through it. a is the barrel of the
rotator, with its vanes a¹ affixed to the axis a², supported with capability for
freely turning in the bearings is of the frame i.
the screw thread a³, which receives the teeth of
motion to it. On this wheel j is applied a small stud wheel j', with studs
acting on teeth to take into the teeth of the wheel k, and give a slower
rotary motion to that wheel. and m are fixed pointers to indicate the
position of the wheels j and k by the figures thereon. Before using this
apparatus the wheel; should be turned so that the figure 10 thereon is under
the pointer 1, and to avoid the necessity for turning the wheel k to a con-
siderable extent for the same purpose, and which could only be done by moving
the rotator, the figures for _this_wheel_k, in place_of_being_engraved thereon,-
are engraved on a separate plate ³, held to and so as to move with that
wheel k by means of a slight spring in the boss 2, and this plate should in
setting the apparatus be turned till the figures 150 thereon are under the
pointer m. n is a lever turning upon a fixed axis n', carried by the frame i,

page_text: and borne upon by the spring o, with a tendency to keep the projecting end.n²
thereof, except when otherwise raised, between the vanes a¹ of the rotator,
and thereby act as a stop to prevent its rotation. In order, however, that.
the rotator may be free to revolve during the descent of the apparatus.
through the water in taking soundings, the lever n is provided with a pro-
jection or vane n³, against the under side of which the water acts in the
descent of the apparatus in the water when sounding with force sufficient to
raise the point n² of the lever n out of the way of the vanes a¹, as indicated
by red lines, but so soon as the apparatus is again drawn upwards through
the water the water acts on the upper side of the projection n³ in aid of the
spring o, to cause the point n³ of that lever to hold the rotator from turning.
The part of the frame i is formed conical, as a protector to prevent the
water from acting upon the end of the cylinder a, and by friction retarding
the rotation thereof.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the means
which I adopt in carrying the same into effect,. I would have it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details shewn and described, as
these may be varied; but what I do claim is,
First, the adaptation or combination of means forming apparatus for
indicating the speed of vessels, substantially as explained.
Secondly, I claim the adaptation or combination of means forming apparatus
for taking soundings, substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Walker, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
THO. WALKER.
(L.S.)