Improved Mechanism for Recording the Movements of Steering-gear.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Mechanism for Recording the Movements of Steering-gear.
I, JOHN EVELYN LIARDET, of 16, Hyde Park Gate, in the County of London,
Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
.
This invention is designed to record chronologically every movement of the
rudder of a vessel, from starboard to port and vice versa.
In order to record the movements of the rudder, on to the sprocket wheel on
the steering wheel spindle, I attach a toothed wheel or wheels which engage with
other wheels of a train of wheels. Above the chain spindle I fix a frame carrying
two or more reels and a drum over which a tape passes. Near the said drum
I mount a pointer provided with a pencil or other suitable means for marking.
The said pointer is caused to travel horizontally; this may be done by means of a
worn or screw rotated by the aforesaid train of wheels, so that as the steering
wheel is turned, the pencil will mark on the tape the exact action of the rudder.
I provide suitable means for causing the pencil point to travel in either direction
for indicating starboard or port steering.
According to this invention, in order to have a chronological record of
the above movements of the rudder, I provide a time piece, which may move
with the pencil beforementioned. By means of this time-piece, rotary motion
is imparted to a wheel or wheels or disc or discs bearing round its or their
periphery or peripheries at regular intervals stamps for recording the time, or
the time and date. The stamps are kept inked if necessary by a ribbon or other
suitable means. Means are provided for causing the time stamps to continually
advance and recede while the steering wheel is being turned, thus automatically
recording the time of each movement of the rudder upon the recording tape
beforementioned, and also indicating the length of time during which the rudder
is stationary.
According to one way of effecting this backward and forward motion of the
time stamps, the said stamps are mounted on the case of the time-piece, and
the whole case is capable of motion about a hinge. A rod is jointed to the
case and bears at its other end an eccentric strap. This strap embraces an eccen-
tric which is turned by the turning of the steering wheel: so moving the said.
case backwards and forwards about its hinge. The length of the said eccentric
rod may be adjusted by means of of an adjusting screw or otherwise.
I may mark the actual centre line on the tape by means of a knife-edged
wheel or disc suitably mounted and supplied with ink.
The apparatus need not necessarily be fitted immediately above the rudder:
it may be upon the bridge, or at any part of the vessel where convenient.
1711 day of October 1899
BROWNE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant,
9, Warwick Court, Gray's Inn, London, W.C.

page_text: Improved Mechanism for Recording the Movements of Steering Gear.
I, JOHN EVELYN LIARDET, of 16, Hyde Park Gate, in the County of London,
Electrical Engineer, 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 is designed to record chronologically every movement of the
. rudder of a vessel, from starboard to port and vice versa.
In order to record the movements of the rudder, I attach on the steering-wheel
spindle, a toothed wheel engaging with a train of wheels. Above the chain
spindle I fix a frame carrying two or more reels and a drum over which a tape
passes. Near the said drum I mount a pointer provided with a pencil or other
suitable marker. The said pointer is caused to travel horizontally: this may
be done by means of a worm or screw rotated by the aforesaid train of wheels,
so that as the steering wheel is turned, the pencil marks on the tape the exact
action of the rudder. I provide suitable means for causing the pencil point to
travel in either direction for indicating starboard or port steering.
their
According to this invention in order to have a chronological record of
the above movements. of the rudder, I provide a time piece, which may move
with the pencil beforementioned. By means of this time piece, rotary motion
is imparted to a wheel or wheels, disc or discs bearing round its or
periphery or peripheries at regular intervals stamps for recording the time or
the time and date. The stamps are kept inked if necessary by a ribbon or other
suitable means. Means are provided for causing the time stamps to continually
advance and recede while the steering wheel is being turned, thus automatically
recording the time of each movement of the rudder upon the recording tape
beforementioned, and also indicating the length of time during which the rudder
is stationary.
According to one way of effecting this backward and forward motion of the
time stamps, the said stamps are mounted on the case of the time piece, and
the whole case is capable of motion about a hinge. A rod is jointed to the
case and bears at its other end an excentric strap. This strap embraces an excen-
tric which is turned by the turning of the steering wheel, so moving the said
case backwards and forwards about its hinge. The length of the said excentric
rod may be adjusted by means of an adjusting screw or otherwise.
I may mark the actual centre line on the tape by means of a knife edged
wheel or disc suitably mounted and supplied with ink.
The apparatus need not necessarily be fitted immediately above the rudder:
it may be upon the bridge or at any part of the vessel where convenient.
And in order that my said invention may be better understood I will now
proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawing accompanying this
specification in which Fig. 1 shews a front view of the apparatus and Fig. 2 a
side view of same.
The same letters of reference are employed to denote the same parts in both
views.
ashews the rudder chain trunk, b table to carry the recording gear, arms
to support the table b, d shaft to which hand steering wheel or other appliance
or appliances is or are attached. e plummer blocks for shaft d, f chain wheel
keyed to shaft d and carrying rudder chain g. h and h¹ are ratchet wheels one
of which is fixed to the bevel wheel k and the other to the bevel wheel k³.
ratchet wheel has its teeth disposed in an opposite direction to those on the other
One

page_text: ratchet wheel. shews pawls to the ratchet wheels h h. j shews springs to
the pawls i. k, kare bevel wheels both of which are mounted loosely on
the spindle d and engage with the crown wheel m keyed on the spindle n.
0
is
a worm
wheel engaging with the worm 0.
and s.
ገ
a
worm
on the upper end of the spindle n. is
is a tape drum_on the same spindle
as the worm wheel p. rands are other tape bobbins. tshews supports, carrying
spindles of the drum g and bobbins
u is a spur wheel on the shaft d
gearing through wheels v and to pinion x. shews a pencil carrier travelling
on the screwed spindle y (which carries the pinion r), and kept from turning
by the rod A. B is a spring pressing upon the pencil in the pencil carrier z,
to keep the said pencil against the tape.
The action of the above is as follows:-
When the steering wheel is turned, the bevel wheel or the bevel wheel k¹
(according to which way the steering wheel is turned) turns the crown wheel m
keyed on the spindle ». If the spindle d be turned in a certain direction, the
bevel wheel will be turned with it.owing to the engagement of the pawls
with the ratchet wheel h. This bevel wheel imparts motion to the crown
wheel m.
The bevel wheel, being loose on spindle d, does not affect the
operation. But if the spindle d be turned in an opposite direction, the bevel
wheel (turning also in a direction opposite to that in which the bevel wheel k
turned) will actuate the crown wheel m so that this latter turns in the same
direction as when actuated by the wheel k. This is necessary in order that the
ribbon may be always drawn in the same direction no matter which way the
steering wheel is turned. The worm o actuates the worm wheel and tape drum y.
This drum communicates motion by intermediate gearing D to the bobbin 7.
The tape is first wound on the bobbins and passes thence over the drum q to
the bobbin r on which it is wound.
The rotation of the shaft d is communicated through the wheels and w
and the pinion
to the screwed spindle y, so that the pencil carrier is moved
backwards and forwards along the said screwed spindle according to the move-
ment of the steering wheel, thus recording on the tape the direction of steering.
1 shews time piece represented independent of the pencil. 2 Fig. 1 is a wheel
turned by the clock mechanism and bearing round its periphery at regular
intervals, stamps for recording time or times and date. 3 is an inking ribbon.
The time piece is pivoted at 4 and a rod 5 is pivoted to it at 6, the other
end of the rod 5 being provided with an excentric strap embracing an excentric 7
on the spindle 9, which is turned by means of bevel pinions 8 from the spindle n.
10 is an adjusting screw to the rod 5.
Thus when the shaft d is turning, the time piece 1 is regularly rocked to and
fro by the excentric, rod 5 actuated by the bevel wheels 8 and the stamps on
the wheel 2 are brought into and out of contact with the tape on the drum q,
thus indicating the times at which records of the various movements of the
rudder were made.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
The combination, with automatic recording mechanism for steering gear, of
time-recording mechanism constructed and operated substantially as set forth.
Jateu
UHIS
BROWNE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
9, Warwick Court, Gray's Inn, London, W.C.