APPARATUS FOR STEERING SHIPS, OR MACHINERY FOR WORKING HELMS OR RUDDERS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Robert Hay Fisken, of Mirfield, in the
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
County of York, Engineer, for the Invention of
APPARATUS FOR STEERING SHIPS, OR MACHINERY FOR WORKING HELMS OR
RUDDERS,"
Sealed the 7th November 1871, and dated the 17th May 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Robert Hay
Fisken at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 17th May 1871.
I, THOMAS ROBERT HAY FISKEN, of Mirfield, in the County of York,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STEERING SHIPS, OR MACHINERY FOR WORKING
HELMS OR RUDDERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for steering
ships and vessels or machinery for working the helms or rudders of ships
or vessels for the same purpose. Upon that part of the helm or rudder
shaft which usually is above the deck of the ship or vessel I mount fast

page_text: wheel (in a convenient and suitable position) provided with internal
teeth, within which (or within its bosom or interior) I place a second
wheel provided with external teeth, but with a less number than the
internal wheel, and gearing into the same. The bosom or external
wheel is mounted loosely upon an eccentric, which is likewise mounted
loosely upon the rudder shaft, (or the shaft upon which the internal
wheel is mounted,) and forms part of the boss of the hand wheel, or it
is otherwise fixed or connected to the hand wheel, so that both the
eccentric and the hand wheel move or are actuated together. Upon
the external wheel is cast or otherwise fixed or formed an arm of
suitable and convenient length, in the outer end of which is a slot
which works upon a pin attached securely to any near and suitable part
of the ship or vessel, or the framework which encloses and supports the
rudder shaft. By this means the arm is prevented from having a
revolving motion, but it is allowed to have an oscillatory motion,
regulated according to the throw of the eccentric.
"
The means of actuating the rudder and of steering the ship or vessel
will be mainly as follows:-The hand wheel being moved as desired
by means of its eccentric actuates the bosom or external wheel, the
arm of the latter however prevents it from having a revolving motion,
but having a less number of teeth than the internal wheel, it imparts
motion to the same and so actuates the helm, which is moved either
"starboard or "larboard" according as to whether the hand wheel
is moved either to the right or to the left. If however the internal
wheel is mounted upon a separate shaft and suitably held fast, the arm
upon the bosom wheel (if not held by the slot and pin) will then move
either to the right or to the left, according to the movement given to
the hand wheel, and the motion from the arm can be imparted to the
tiller or lever of the helm or rudder, by being connected thereto by
any suitable connections or fixings.
The hand wheel and other parts herein-before mentioned appertaining
or relating to my Invention may be placed or situated in any convenient
and suitable nositions

page_text: UI
filed by the said Thomas Robert Hay Fisken in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 17th November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ROBERT HAY FISKEN, of Mirfield, in the County of York, Engineer,
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 thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Robert Hay Fisken, Her
special licence that I, the said Thomas Robert Hay Fisken, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Robert Hay Fisken, 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 " IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STEERING SHIPS, OR
MACHINERY FOR WORKING HELMS OR RUDDERS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Robert Hay Fisken, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of my 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 Robert Hay Fisken, 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 in writing, reference being had to
the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for steering ships
or vessels, or for working the helms or rudders of ships or vessels for the
same purpose.

page_text: One modification of this Invention is illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 4, on Sheet 1 of the accompanying Drawings, showing the mode of
actuating the rudder when the hand or steering wheel is placed in a
vertical position.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal, vertical, central, sectional elevation ;
Figure 2, a front end elevation; and Figure 3, a plan view of this modifi-
cation; Figure 4 is a transverse section through the line 1-2, Figure 3,
of the stud frame. A represents that part of the helm or rudder shaft
which is usually above the deck of the ship or vessel, upon which is
mounted fast the internally toothed wheel B, within which and gearing
thereinto is placed the externally toothed wheel C, having a less number
of teeth than the wheel B. The wheel C is mounted loosely upon the
eccentric D, and is cast with or otherwise secured to a slotted arm E,
which is controlled in its movements by the stud F, held firmly by the
pin in the stud frame G. The eccentric D is mounted loosely upon
the shaft A, and is cast with or made fast to a bevil wheel H, which
gears into a bevil wheel I fast on the horizontal shaft J, on which the
hand or steering wheel K is also mounted fast. The shaft J is mounted
upon the framework L, G, and revolves in bushes M held therein. N is
the bed plate of the apparatus, and may be bolted or otherwise fixed to
the deck of the ship or vessel. O is a bracket, (bolted or otherwise
made fast to the bed plate N,) in which the rudder shaft A works, and
by which it is held in position.
x
―
The mode of operation and action of this modification is as follows :-
Motion is 1st given to the steering wheel K (by the "man-at-the-
wheel," or by other suitable power) which causes the bevil wheel I fast
on the same shaft to give motion to the bevil wheel H on the shaft A,
which by means of its eccentric D imparts the motion to the wheel C
(within the wheel B), but this being held by its slotted arm E, and pin
or stud F is prevented from having a circular motion, and only allowed
a lateral reciprocating motion equal to the throw of the eccentric D, so
that it further imparts the motion to the wheel B fast upon the rudder
shaft A, and causes the same to turn either to the right or left according
as to whether the wheel K is turned in these same directions, and con-
sequently the helm or rudder is moved either to starboard or larboard,
and the ship or vessel steered accordingly.
A 2nd modification of the Invention is illustrated in Figures 5
and 6, Sheet 1, of the accompanying Drawings showing the steering

page_text: wheel in a horizontal position, and in direct communication with the
wheels C and B having as or part of its boss the eccentric D. Figure 5
is a vertical, central, longitudinal, sectional elevation, and Figure 6 a
plan view of this modification. Similar reference letters in all the
Figures 1-6 on this Sheet illustrate the same parts of the apparatus.
The operation and action of this modification is similar to that above
described in reference to modification 1, except that the eccentric D
receives its motion direct from the hand wheel K which is held in
position upon the rudder shaft A by the cotter w.
A 3rd modification of the Invention is illustrated in Figures 7, 8,
9, and 10, Sheet 2, of the accompanying Drawings, showing how the
Invention can be applied when the actuating apparatus is placed at a
distance or detached from the helm or rudder shaft, which in this case
works in the bush M fitted in the bed plate or deck N. Figure 7 is a
front end elevation; and Figure 8 a vertical, central, longitudinal,
sectional elevation of the actuating apparatus; Figure 9 is a plan view
of this modification, and Figure 10 is a vertical section through the
line 3-4, Figure 9, of the tiller bar P, and a side elevation of the rudder
shaft to which it is mounted fast by the pin c, also showing the helm or
rudder A¹.
In this modification the steering wheel K is mounted loosely upon the
horizontal shaft J, and it is in direct communication with the wheels C
and B which are placed in a vertical position, its boss (or part thereof
being the eccentric D. It will be observed that in this modification
the hand wheel can be placed either horizontally or perpendicularly as
described; when it is placed horizontally it will actuate the wheels C
and B by means of bevil wheels as in modification 1. The internally
toothed wheel B is cast with or otherwise made fast to a frame B¹,
which is bolted or otherwise secured to the bed plate or deck N, it is
also made fast to the shaft or stud J by the pin v; C is the externally
toothed wheel gearing into the wheel B, and is mounted loosely upon
the eccentric D, and is cast with (or has otherwise secured to it) the
quadrantal arm E to which are attached the chains or ropes m, which
are also secured to the tiller bar P at a; N represents the bed plate
or the deck or other part of the ship or vessel to which the machinery
or apparatus embodied in this modification is bolted or otherwise
fixed.

page_text: Figure 9 illustrates one arrangement of the ropes or chains m, by
which the helm or rudder is actuated from the hand wheel K. They
pass round and are held in position by pulleys Q which are, or may
be held to the sides of the ship or vessel or to any other convenient
and suitable part thereof. The pulleys guide the ropes from the quad-
rantal arm E to the tiller bar P; X represents a plan of the outline
of the ship or vessel, showing how the Invention is or may be applied
thereto.
The mode of operation and action of this modification is as follows:-
The hand or steering wheel K is 1st actuated by the "man-at-the-
wheel," or by other suitable power, and by means of its eccentric D
imparts the motion to the externally toothed wheel C. The motion of
this wheel is both circular and lateral, the lateral motion being equal to
the throw of the eccentric. The quadrantal drum E being cast with or
otherwise secured to the wheel O receives the motion therefrom, and
further imparts it to the chains or ropes m, and these being attached to
the tiller bar P convey the motion desired to the helm or rudder to the
shaft A of which the tiller bar is made fast. Thus motion being given
to the hand wheel K either to the right or left, by the means imme-
diately above described is imparted to the helm or rudder A¹, and causes
the same to turn either left or right, or larboard or starboard, and so
steers the ship or vessel in such direction as may be required.
A 4th modification of the Invention is illustrated in Figure 11,
Sheet 2, of the accompanying Drawings.
x +
According to this modification the internally toothed wheel B is
mounted fast upon a separate shaft J, which is held fast in the bracket O
by the pin In the slot of the arm E works a stud F, which is
secured to the tiller bar P, or may form part thereof. The tiller bar is
mounted fast to the rudder shaft A. which works in the bracket or bush r,
bolted or otherwise secured to the bed plate or deck N. The hand
wheel K being actuated as herein-before described, the wheel C receive
both a lateral and circular motion, the latter motion by means of the
slotted arm E is imparted to the tiller bar P, which being mounted
fast upon the rudder shaft A imparts the motion thereto either to the
right or left according as to the motion given to the hand wheel. It
must be observed that in this modification of the Invention the hand
wheel can be mounted either horizontally as shown, or vertically, as

page_text: herein-before described, actuating the wheels C and B by means of bevil
wheels.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention
for "Improvements in Apparatus for Steering Ships, or Machinery for
Working Helms or Rudders," together with the matter in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I
would remark in conclusion that I claim as my Invention, the improved
apparatus or means for steering ships or vessels, or for working the
helms or rudders of ships or vessels for the same purpose, substantially
as above described, and as illustrated on the accompanying Drawings,
or any mere modification or adaptation thereof.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Robert Hay Fisken,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of November
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.