STEERING QORAM VER IMPROVED APPARATUS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Joseph Curtis, of Holloway, in the County of
Middlesex. Civil Engineer, for the Invention of
BAB STEERING QORAM VER
IMPROVED APPARATUS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Joseph Curtis
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th September 1866.
I. WILLIAM JOSEPH CURTIS, of Holloway, in the County of Middlesex. Civil
Engineer. do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR STEERING STEAM VESSELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improvement upon my Patent, dated June 16th.
1862. No. 1782. in which a kind of ball-and-socket joint is provided for a
screw propellor, and the screw is used both for propelling and steering. the
axial line of the screw being thrown to an angle. with the driving shaft when
the screw is required to steer the vessel. The screw is carried by a spherical
boss forming the termination of a short shaft, which shaft has its hearing in
an after stern post which is free to turn on a shaft and trunnion in a line
with the centre of oscillation of the screw.
I now propose as an improvement on the above-mentioned Patent to pack
the ball-and-socket joint so as to reduce the vibration produced by the
Price Sd.1

page_text: coupling while rotating, and also to mount a rudder on the after stern post.
and to work it either independently of the swinging propeller or together with
it, or to throw it out of action when the screw is propelling and steering.
The usual plan of steering will be with the screw unassisted by the rudder.
the rudder will then be loose. By the use of the rudder an increased steering
power will be obtained, and the vessel may thus be turned in a shorter radius.
or the steering may be effected by the rudder alone. These compound or
independent motions are obtained by coupling the shaft of the after stern post.
with the rudder and separating them at pleasure. I use a steering wheel for
shifting the position of the screw and the rudder.
The apparatus may be thus described:-The screw has a hollow spherical
boss from which projects a short shaft that has its bearing in the after stern
post. The propellor shaft has a spherical termination which fits the hollow
spherical boss, which boss is packed with radial blocks of wood to give a good
bearing to the end of the propellor shaft. Through the spherical end of the
shaft a slot is made of suitable form to receive a transverse pin, and which is
secured in position so as to be free to oscillate therein. The ends of this pin
project beyond the shaft and form trunnions which enter journals formed in
the hollow boss. This arrangement constitutes a joint that allows of the screw
being driven by the rotation of the driving shaft and of swinging upon the
end thereof in answer to the movements of the steering wheel. The shaft of
the after stern post is made hollow and passes up to the deck, and it carries a
block keyed firmly thereto for the purpose of receiving the couplings (whether
pins. clicks, or other suitable contrivances) by which it is connected tem-
porarily with one or two segment racks: one of these segment racks is
mounted loosely on the hollow shaft, and the other is keyed to a shaft which
passes down through the hollow shaft. Both segment racks are intended to
gear with a shifting pinion on the steering wheel shaft, but whether they will
move together or transmit their motion independently will depend upon their
connection with the block of the hollow shaft. The central shaft is connected
by a link arrangement with the rudder shaft, and it thus transmits motion 10
the rudder from the segment rack keyed on its upper end: when, however.
this rack is locked to the block of the hollow shaft the rudder will move with
the swinging stern post and with the screw, but when it is free the rudder
may be made to answer to the steering wheel without affecting the position of
the swinging stern post and screw with respect to the line of the keel.
I would remark that I do not limit myself to any particular mechanical
arrangements for connecting and disconnecting the movements of the rudder
and swinging stern post, as it is the application of the rudder to the stern

page_text: post acting as above described that forms the chief novel feature of my
Invention.
In order to apply the power of the engine for actuating the steering
apparatus I transmit the motion of the propellor shaft by bevil gearing or
otherwise to a shaft above or near the deck, which shaft receives its motion
through a pair of bevil wheels made fast by a sliding clutch. On this shaft
I mount a worm which gears into a worm wheel carried by the rudder shaft;
by sliding, therefore, the clutch into gear with one or other of the bevil wheels
on the worm shaft rotary motion will be given thereto in the direction desired,
and the rudder will thus be actuated by the power of the engine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Joseph Curtis in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, WILLIAM
JOSEPH CURTIS, of Holloway. in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Joseph Curtis, Her special licence that I, the said William Joseph
Curtis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Joseph Curtis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR STEERING STEAM VESSELS," upon the condition amongst others)
that 1, the said William Joseph Curtis, 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 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 Oflice within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Joseph Curtis. do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement. reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed.
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The first part of this Invention consists of improvements upon the Invention
for steering steam ships described in the Specification of my Patent, dated
Sixteenth June One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two. No. 1782.
The second consists of a means whereby the guiding movements of the
screw and rudder, or of either singly. may be effected by gearing connected
with the propelling engine or an engine specially supplied for the purpose.
For the clearer comprehension of my Invention will describe each part by
itself although the Drawings show the improvements as they will in reality
be in combination.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. I is a side view, partly in section. of the
stern end of a steam vessel fitted according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is a front
elevation of the steering apparatus: Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 4
is a diagram plan in the line V. 2, of Fig. 1 showing the effects of the changes
and movements explained hereafter. and Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the
parts which transmit motion to and govern the movements of the rudder.
The same letters and figures apply to corresponding parts in the respective
Figures.
A is the propelling engine shaft terminating in a ball or boss (; B are
the blades of the screw cast on or attached to the hollow spherical socket E in
which the ball C is inserted, the two together forming as in my Patent above
referred to a universal or ball-and-socket joint, and thus leaving the screw
while rotating free to swing across the line of the vessel's keel. The ball C
of the driving shaft A is slotted to receive a coupling pin D, the rounded ends
of which enter bearings made to receive them in the spherical socket E. The
slot in the boss C is so formed as to allow for the vibration of the coupling
pin which transmits the driving motion to the screw, and which whenever the
screw is used for steering or is working out of the line of the driving shaft
must as a consequence rock in the slot. An eye is made in the middle of the
coupling pin to receive a cross pin d which connects it with the boss of the
driving shaft A. When the screw is at its extreme angle of forty-five degrees
with the propelling shaft & the coupling or driving pin D oscillates forty-five
degrees. the limits of which are shown by the angular lines in the section, and
which also represent the ends of the slot or socket in which the driving pin D
works. The front of the spherical socket E is secured by a ring held in
place by screws and forming at the same time a cap for the gudgeons of the
driver D. The interior of the socket is formed with recesses to receive blocks

page_text: of hard wood which if thought desirable may slightly protrude beyond the
surface of the metal. By this arrangement the friction of the ball-and-socket
joint will be greatly reduced, the water having at the same time free access
within the joint, and if necessary holes may be provided so that a circulation
or free passage of water may be ensured through the joint; I is the tail or
guiding spindle forming part of the hollow boss or socket E; this guiding
spindle H works in a bearing in the moveable or swinging after stern post F.
When, therefore. the latter is moved by the helm or tiller the screw is acted
upon in a corresponding manner. The moving stern post does not perform
the functions of a rudder because the current of water created by the action
of the moving screw acts always in the same line upon the after stern post
whatever angle the stern post takes with respect to the ship. As then the
positions of the stern post and screw with each other never change the after
stern post stands in the same relation to the steering screw as that of an
ordinary screw to an ordinary after stern post of an ordinary screw steamer.
G is the rudder connected with the after stern post in the ordinary way, the
shaft or spindle g of which is fixed to the crank r. the end of which crank is
connected with the moveable collar V by the link W. The collar Vis
carried by a double crank or saddle Y fixed to the lower end of the shaft n,
which passes upwards through the hollow shaft m (see Fig. 5) of the
swinging after stera post: this shaft is continued to the upper deck of the
ship, and is there connected with the helm or tiller O. so that when required
the rudder may be worked by hand in the ordinary way. The hollow shaft m
of the swinging stern post passes through the socket of the carriage fixed to
the lower deck; a prolongation of this carriage is carried sternwise, and two
bosses formed upon it have holes to receive respectively the shifting bolts T
and S. which are to be applied when required as hereafter explained; R is a
bar or lever fixed upon the hollow shaft m of the swinging stern post, and Q
A bar or lever P is hung
is a bar or lever fixed upon the rudder shait n.
loose upon the upper end of the hollow shaft m. so that if the usual hand gear
of the rudder or wheel and barrel and tiller ropes were employed the ropes
would be fastened to the end of the lever P; then when the bolt S is inserted
in R. and the bolt T in Q. as shewn in the Drawing, the effect would be that
the screw and rudder would act in concert and aid in guiding or steering the
ship. When the bolt T is withdrawn the screw acts alone in steering the
ship. the rudder trailing in the water and producing no effect whatever. When
the bolt S is inserted in the hole S', thus nniting the levers Q and P together,
and the bolt T is inserted in the socket T'. thus locking the lever R and the
shaft m to which it is keyed, the screw and after stern post become fixed,

page_text: as in ordinary screw steamers, and the steering is effected entirely by the
rudder.
.
The Diagram. Fig. 4. which as before stated is a detached plan in the line
V, 2, of Fig. 1. shews the peculiar actions of the apparatus.
When the lever
Q which is keyed to the shaft is fixed the collar V which is also rigidly con-
nected with the same shaft is consequently immoveable. motion cannot now
therefore be communicated through the collar to the rudder, but by reason
of the link connection W when the stern post and screw occupy either of the
positions F, F, F", the rudder will be compelled to take one of the corre-
sponding positions G, G, G", and thus a double effect will be produced in
steering the ship. When the lever Q is liberated by the bolt T being with-
drawn the collar V becomes free, and the rudder G passively follows in the
wake of the ship. When the lever R is fixed, and consequently the after
stern post and screw as in an ordinary screw steamer, the levers P and Q being
united by the bolt S (inserted into the hole S') the movement of the helm
causes the collar V to vibrate in the are a, b, and by means of the link W the
rudder crank will move in a corresponding are a', b'. The rudder G will
thus be caused to move as shewn by the dotted arc or in the ordinary way
without the power being directly applied thereto. By this combination it will
therefore be seen that the important object is attained of a double power of
steering when required by combining the rudder and screw. The rudder will
not retard the speed of the ship when using the steering power of the screw
alone, and when using the rudder alone (without the action of the screw) the
ship will steer by momentum if the screw is stopped suddenly, when the
propelling power is for the time not required.
The second part of my Invention relates to a method of steering steam ships
by means of gearing connected with the propelling engine, or by a separate
engine adapted for the purpose. In Figures 1, 2, and 3 the apparatus for
communicating steam power to the steering screw and rudder before referred
to is shewn in side view, front view, and plan view. The apparatus although
shewn as applied to a screw is of course equally applicable to a paddle or other
steamer. On the main shaft A a spur wheel
wheel 2 on a shaft running parallel thereto.
wheel 3, which gears into a bevil wheel 4
shaft, which carries a bevil wheel 6 on its upper end; this wheel 6 gears
into a pair of bevil wheels 7 and 8. which are mounted loosely on the shaft 9.
and lying between them is a sliding clutch 18. The shaft 9 also carries a
worm 10 into which gears a worm wheel I mounted loosely on the hollow
shaft m (see Fig. 3); this wheel 11 is connected with a friction hoop 12, which
gears into and drives a spur
On this shaft is keyed a bevil
on the lower end of an upright

page_text: embraces a friction wheel 13 on the hollow shaft m. and to this friction wheel
the lever P is attached. Through this lever therefore, and its above explained
connections. the engine may be made to actuate the rudder either indepen
dently of or in combination with the propellor. The friction wheel 13 is hung
loose upon the hollow shafi m, and the lever P is fixed by bolts to this
friction wheel. Thus when the connection is made between the levers Q and
Pas has been before explained the effects are produced on the screw and
rudder before pointed out. The wheels 6. 7. 8. and clutch 18 constitute the
usual back and forward motions, so that when the clutch by means of the lever
14 is thrown into gear with 7 or 8 the shaft 9 and worm 10 causes the
friction wheel 13 with the lever P in turn to the right or left, as the case may
be, and when the lever 14 is in the vertical position the motion of the rudder
is suspended and it is kept in its position by the worm 10. then by moving the
lever forwards or backwards in the line of variation shewn by the dotted lines
the rudder is moved in port or starboard as may be required. The friction
wheel 13 is applied in order to meet the contingency of a heavy sea striking
the rudder which might endanger its safety, in which case the rudder would
give way, and the helmsman by merely throwing the lever into gear would
immediately bring the rudder into its proper place again, no re-adjustment
being required. When it is found desirable to use the helm by hand without
the steam power by drawing the worm 10 out of contact with the wheel 11
the apparatus will be instantly released: this may be effected in any well-
known way, such as that usual in the back motions of a turning lathe. The
steering lever may he placed in any convenient position forward on the bridge
or where the helmsman may keep his own look out. By the main shaft
being disconnected from the engine by a clutch or otherwise when the ship
is working under sails alone the propelling screw and shafts will turn round
by the progress of the ship through the water, so that the above-described
apparatus may be made to govern the rudder and steer the ship the same as
if the shaft were driven by steam as before described.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improved Apparatus
for Steering Steam 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.-
First, constructing the ball-and-socket joint with driving vibrating coupling
pin D and hard wood bearing blocks as shewn and described.
Secondly, the combination of swinging stern post and rudder with the
vibrating collar and the means of fixing and releasing the same for the

page_text: purpose of causing the screw and indder to act either in concert or singly as
described and shewn.
Thirdly, the means above described tor governing the rudder and steering
the ship by the power of the propelling engine or
propelling engine or of a supplementary
engine.
In witness whereof. 1. the said William Joseph Curtis, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Ninth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness.
JOSEPH R. ROGERS.
GG Chancery Lane.
W. J. CURTIS. (..s.)