Improvements in Indicating, Registering, and Recording Apparatus, Chiefly Designed for Ascertaining the Speed of, and Distance Run by, Ships or Vessels.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in
Indicating, Registering, and Recording
Apparatus, Chiefly Designed for Ascertaining the Speed of,
and Distance Run by, Ships or Vessels.
We, JOHN YOUNG, of 13 Mowbray Road, Brondesbury, in the county of
Middlesex, Ship & Insurance Broker, and JOHN RICHARDSON, of 64 Torriano
Avenue, Camden Road, in the county of Middlesex, Scientific Instrument Maker,
do hereby declare the nature of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN INDICATING
REGISTERING AND RECORDING APPARATUS CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR ASCERTAINING
THE SPEED OF, AND DISTANCE RUN BY, SHIPS OR VESSELS," to be as follows:-
The object of our invention is to provide apparatus whereby the speed of a ship
or vessel, when steaming or sailing, can be ascertained at any time, and which will
register or record the distance run by the said ship or vessel, and, in some cases,
also the speed thereof.
An important feature of our said invention is the employment of a speed
indicator, such, for example, as that described in the specification of former
Letters Patent dated 7th October, 1881, N° 4359, in combination with suitable
registering or recording mechanism.
Our apparatus is designed to be fixed on the taffrail or other convenient part of
a ship or vessel and to be operated by a screw or rotator attached to the driving
spindle or shaft of the said apparatus by a rope or cord, or otherwise, and drawn
through the water like the screws or rotators commonly employed in connection
with ships' logs.
Our invention is conveniently and advantageously carried into practice as herein-
after described, that is to say:-A bevel gear or other suitable wheel is fixed upon
the driving spindle or shaft of the apparatus and gears with a suitable pinion fixed
upon the governor spindle of the indicator, or upon a spindle connected therewith
by suitable gearing. The governor spindle is extended and a pinion is fixed
thereon and gears with a toothed wheel mounted upon another spindle or shaft
connected by worms and worm-wheels or other gearing with registering or
recording mechanism comprising a series of discs so arranged that, when the
first disc of the series has made one revolution, it will turn the second disc one-
tenth of a revolution, and, when the second disc has made one revolution, it will
turn the third disc one-tenth of a revolution, and so on. The apparatus thus
Do31
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page_text: constructed is a combined log and speed indicator, the indicator shewing the actual
speed of the ship at any moment, and the registering or recording mechanism
shewing the total distance travelled by the ship.
We sometimes combine, with the indicator and the said registering or recording
mechanism, means for recording the speed of the ship or vessel on a strip of paper
moved along, by clock work, in contact with a pencil or tracer.
For this purpose
we prefer to use apparatus such as that described in the specification of former
Letters Patent dated 26th November, 1881, Nº 5175.
Any suitable screw or rotator can be used for operating our apparatus, but the
construction and adjustment of the speed indicator and the arrangement of gearing
whereby it is connected with the screw or rotator must be so adapted to the pitch
of the said screw or rotator that the speed will be properly indicated upon the dial
of the indicator. This dial is graduated and marked either so as to show the
speed in knots per hour, or in any other desirable manner.
It is obvious that the object of our invention can be attained by combining
indicating mechanism and registering or recording mechanism differing in con-
struction from that above described or referred to; we, therefore, do not confine
ourselves to any special manner of constructing our apparatus, but have herein-
before described what we deem the most advantageous method of carrying our
Baid invention into practice.

page_text: Improvements in Indicating, Registering,
and Recording
Apparatus, Chiefly Designed for Ascertaining the Speed of,
and Distance Run by, Ships or Vessels.
JOHN YOUNG of 12 Chapter Road, Willesden Green in the county of Middlesex,
Ship and Insurance Broker, and JOHN RICHARDSON of 64 Torriano Avenue, Camden
Road, in the county of Middlesex, Scientific 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:-
:-
The main object of our invention is to provide apparatus for indicating the speed
of a ship or vessel at any time, when steaming or sailing, and for registering or
recording the distance run by the said ship or vessel, and in some instances the
speed thereof.
An important feature of our said invention is the employment of a speed
indicator such, for example, as that described in the specification of former
Letters Patent dated 7th October 1881, Nº 4359, in combination with suitable
registering or recording mechanism.
Our apparatus is chiefly designed to be fixed on the taffrail, or other convenient
part, of a ship or vessel, and to be operated by a screw or rotator attached to the
driving spindle or shaft of the said apparatus by a rope or cord, or otherwise, and
drawn through the water like the screws or rotators commonly employed in
connection with ships' logs.
In some instances, we modify our apparatus to adapt it for indicating and
registering or recording the number of revolutions of an engine shaft.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the combined indicator and register or counter.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, part of the casing being removed to
shew the internal mechanism.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the same, the front part of the casing being
removed to shew the internal mechanism.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the combined indicator and register or counter
with the screw or rotator attached thereto.
Figure 5 is a similar view shewing a device for suspending the screw or rotator
from the side of a ship or vessel.
The mechanism of the indicator shewn in the drawing is somewhat similar to
that shewn in Figures 3 and 4 of the said former specification.
a is the casing of the apparatus, b is the governor spindle of the indicator.
c, c, are the governor balls or weights which are connected with the sliding sleeve
or bush & by the arms or links e and with the fly wheel ƒ by the arms or links g.
h is the spiral spring which surrounds the spindle 6 and which presses at one end
against the fly wheel f and at its other end against the sliding sleeve or bush d..
i is a forked arm or lever, which is pivotted at i¹ to a frame j and is provided with
studs or projections which fit into a circular groove or channel d in the sleeve d.

page_text: The lever i is connected by a link k with a toothed segment 7 pivotted at 1 to the
frame j, and geared with a pinion m on the arbor or spindle of which the pointer n
is fixed. The dial o is graduated to indicate miles or knots per hour. When,
however, the apparatus is to be used for indicating and registering the number of
revolutions of a shaft, the said dial is graduated as described in the said former
specification.
A bevel pinion p is fixed upon the spindle b and is geared with a bevel gear-
wheel g fixed upon the driving spindle or shaft r of the apparatus. A pinion s is
fixed upon the shaft r and geared with a toothed wheel s fixed upon a shaft &³, on
which is formed or fixed a worm t geared with a worm-wheel t¹ fixed on a spindle t'.
A bevel gear-wheel u is fixed on this spindle and geared with a similar wheel u'
mounted upon the spindle v of the registering or recording mechanisın-This
mechanism comprises a series of discs so arranged that, when the first disc of
the series has made one revolution, will turn the second disc one-tenth of a
revolution, and, when the second disc has made one revolution, it will turn the
third disc one-tenth of a revolution, and so on- -These discs are suitably marked
with numeral characters in a well known manner.
it
The shaft is provided with a suitable universal joint w having an eye w¹ to
which one end of a wire or other rope or cord is attached-A screw or rotator y
of any suitable description is attached to the other end of this rope or cord as
shewn in Figure 4.
The apparatus, constructed as above described, constitutes a combined log and
speed indicator, the rotation of the shaft r by the screw y actuating the register or
counter and thereby registering or recording the distance run by the ship or vessel
in any given time, and at the same time causing tho pointer to partially rotate
and indicate upon the dial o the actual speed of the ship at any moment. The
register or counter may be arranged to shew the distance run in miles and tenths
or other fractions of a mile, or in any other convenient manner.
We sometimes connect the governor spindle of the indicator with a driving shaft
which projects beyond the bottom of the casing as shewn in Figure 5, and connect
the said shaft with the register or counter by any suitable gearing-This modi-
fication is well adapted for use with a screw or rotator carried by a frame z
suspended in any suitable manner at the side of a ship or vessel.
The fly wheel fis fitted loosely on the spindle b and is merely driven by the
friction between it and the spindle as described in the said former specification,
so that steady indications of the pointer on the dial will be ensured even when the
speed of the screw or rotator is irregular by reason of the rolling or pitching
of the vessel.
We sometimes connect the driving shaft of our apparatus with the shaft of an
engine so that it will indicate and register or record the number of revolutions of
the engine shaft. The distance run by a steamship can, by this means, be ascer-
tained by making proper allowance for the slip of the propeller.
We sometimes combine, with the indicator and the register or counter, means
for recording the speed of the ship or vessel on a strip of paper moved continuously
in one direction, by clock work, in contact with a pencil or tracer. For this purpose
we prefer to use apparatus such as that described in the specification of former
Letters Patent dated 26th November 1881, Nº 5175.
Any suitable screw or rotator can be used for operating our apparatus, but the
construction and adjustment of the speed indicator, and the arrangement of gearing
whereby it is connected with the screw or rotator and with the register or counter,
must be so adapted to the pitch of the said screw or rotator that the speed will be
properly indicated upon the dial of the indicator, and the distance run properly
registered or recorded.
It is obvious that the object of our invention can be attained by combining
indicating mechanism and registering or recording mechanism differing in con-
struction from that above described or referred to, we therefore do not confine
ourselves to any special manner of constructing the parts of our apparatus, but

page_text: have herein before described what we deem the most advantageous method of
carrying our said invention into practice.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and the manner of performing the same, we declare that what we
claim is:
First. An apparatus consisting essentially of a speed indicator and a register
or counter connected by suitable gearing in the manner, and for the purposes,
above specified.
Second. The combination, with our combined indicator and counter, of a screw
or rotator connected there with, substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Third. The modification of our invention which consists in combining, with the
other parts of the apparatus, means for recording the speed on a strip of paper,
substantially as set forth.
Fourth. The modification of our invention wherein we provide for suspending
the screw or rotator at the side of a ship or vessel, as, and for the purpose,
specified.
Fifth. The improved apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as
described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, or to Figure 5 of the
accompanying drawing and operating as, and for the purposes, specified.
DALS
101.1
11000
JOHN YOUNG.
JOHN RICHARDSON.