An Electro-magnetic Revolution Counter, Specially Applicable to Ships' Logs.
Year: 1885

page_text: An Electro-magnetic Revolution Counter, Specially Applicable
to Ships' Logs.
I, BERNARD FAYMONVILLE, residing at N° 1812 Washington Street, in the city
and county of San Francisco, State of California, one of the United States of
America, Insurance Agent, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
AN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC REVOLUTION COUNTER SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO SHIPS'
LOGS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
"
My invention relates to a speed-register, the registering of which is produced by
an electro-magnetic apparatus, which will be more fully explained by reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the speed-indicator, showing my attachment.
Figure 2 is a view of the mechanism for registering:
Figure 3 is an end view of the indicator, with a portion broken away to show
the interior construction.
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the magnet-armature and wheel.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 are views of the indicating mechanism..
A is an exterior cylindrical case, having propeller-shaped wings or vanes B,
secured to it, so that when the apparatus is drawn rapidly through the water, the
propeller-vanes will cause the cylinder to revolve about a stationary. shaft or
axis C, by which it is supported.
A second cylinder D is fitted to revolve inside of the cylinder A, and between it
and the supporting-axis C; and for the purpose of my invention it is desirable that
this interior cylinder, which is driven from the exterior one, should revolve at a.
speed considerably less than that of the outer cylinder:
In order to effect this, a pinion E is fixed to the head F of the outer cylinder by
a stud or other fastening.
A secondary gear-wheel G is mounted upon a stud which secures it to the
head H of the shaft C, about which the cylinders revolve. The interior of the
tube D has a gearing formed at its outer end; as shown at I, and this meshes with
the teeth of the pinion G, which revolves loosely upon its supporting-stud, so that
as the outer cylinder A revolves, it communicates motion through the pinion E and
gears G and I, to the interior cylinder D, which thus moves at a comparatively

page_text: low rate of speed. The supporting-shaft C, with its bearings H and H¹, about
which the cylinders revolve, and the interior cylinder D, are made of some non-
. conducting material. Holes are made through the central shaft longitudinally, and
are separated from each other so that wires J may pass through them from the
exterior to any suitable point within the length of the tube. These wires are bent
outward, and have metallic shoes or plates K upon their outer ends, and the
cylinder D has a metal plate L fixed in one side of it, so that whenever this plate
is brought around by the revolution of the cylinder D, it comes in line with the
plates K on the ends of the wires J, and makes a metallic connection between them
for an instant.
These wires extend outwardly, and in 'the present case the device with which
they are connected, is represented as a rotating log, which is used to indicate speed
of a vessel through the water by being towed behind the vessel as the latter moves,
the vanes or wings B causing the casing to revolve, as before described, the inner
shaft remaining stationary.
These wires, which are insulated from each other, may pass through a hemp or
other rope, which relieves them of strain; and are connected in the usual manner
with a battery at M, and an electro-magnetic coil at N. O is an armature, which,
⚫ when the connection is made by the rotations of the cylinder D, will be drawn.
downward by the action of the electro-magnet, and will be released again as soon
as the current ceases. This armature is supported upon the end of an arm P, the
opposite end of which may have a suitable fulcrum, and it may have a spring by
which when released from the attraction of the magnet, it will be thrown upward
so as to carry the armature away from the magnet.
6
A small pawl is fixed to the lever-arm P, at such a point that when the
armature and this arm are drawn downward, the pawl will engage the teeth R of a
wheel which is mounted upon a shaft so as to be in proper position for this
purpose. Upon the shaft of this wheel is a beveled pinion, which engages another
pinion upon a shaft S, so as to rotate the latter when the wheel is in motion.
A spur-gear T upon the end of this shaft engages a similar gear U upon the
shaft V, and this shaft in turn carries a partial or mutilated gear W, as shown in
Figure 5. Above this is another gear-wheel X, upon the shaft Y, which is so placed
as to be engaged by the partial gear W when it turns around.
A wheel or drum is fixed to the shaft Y, having ten indicating faces Z.
This drum is enclosed in a casing having an opening upon one side, through
which the plates may be exposed as they are brought opposite the opening, the
others being all concealed within the casing. These plates may be marked from
one-tenth to ten-tenths, or from one to ten, or other numbers, as it may be desired.
The operation will then be as follows: The number of teeth in the partial
gearing W are sufficient to make one-tenth of a revolution of the drum having the
faces Z, at the time when this gearing engages with the gearing ✗ of the drum ;
consequently it will bring one of the plates or faces Z to a point opposite the
opening at each time when it makes a revolution.
A series of drums are mounted upon the same stationary shaft with this first
one, which may indicate units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc, and each of them
is moved forward one point at each complete revolution of the cylinder preceding
it, and by which it is operated.
Upon the end of the first drum is fixed a rod a, which slides toward the periphery
of the drum through guides b.
A spring c acts to force the rod inward toward the center, and it has a head
upon it which rests upon the exterior face of a cam d, which is secured to the
shaft upon which the cylinders are loosely supported. When the projecting or
elevated portion of the cam d arrives at a point beneath the rod a, it forces it
outward. The outer end of the rod has an arm or lug a', projecting at right angles
from it, and when the rod has been forced toward the periphery of the drum, it
will engage with one of a series of ten pins e, which are fixed inside of the periphery
of the succeeding drum,

page_text: Having engaged this pin, the cylinder from which the pin projects will be carried
along with the arm a, until the latter passes over the high portion of the cam and
drops back again, so as to withdraw it, and take the projection a¹ out of contact
with the pin e. This allows the cylinder to remain at rest until the preceding
cylinder has made another revolution, when it will be moved forward, so as to
exhibit another plate or index.
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
1. In a speed-indicator, an electro magnetic circuit, connected with an indicating
mechanism, in combination with a revolving portion and a means within the
revolving portion, whereby an electrical current may be completed and interrupted,
so as to produce a record, substantially as herein described.
2. A rotating indicator, and a means for making and breaking an electrical
circuit connected therewith, in combination with an electro magnet with an
armature, a pawl and a train of gearing, whereby the recording devices are moved,
substantially as described.
3. A means for moving the indicator drums, consisting of a radially sliding rod
upon the first drum, and an actuating, cam between the drums, together with pins
projecting from the faces of the succeeding drums, so as to be engaged by the
sliding rods when they are forced outward by the cams.
Dated this Sixteenth dev of Santember 1885