Improved Apparatus for Preventing the Racing of Marine Engines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Sept., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 20th June, 1894-Accepted, 4th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Preventing the Racing of Marine Engines.
We EDWIN ELLIOTT, Railway Contractor, of 28 Victoria Street, Westminster
S.W., and WILLIAM HATFIELD COCKER, Clerk, of 28 Victoria Street,
Westminster, S.W., do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
This invention has for its object to prevent the "racing" of marine engines,
when the propeller emerges from the water, by providing means whereby the
supply of steam to the engines and consequently their speed is automatically
regulated according to the amount of thrust transmitted from the propeller through
its shaft so that the operation of the governor is much more immediate and effective
than would be the case were it dependent upon the acquirement by the engine
of an excessive speed in which case the liability of the engine to race could only
be palliated and not cured, whereas the operation of the governor of this invention
being dependent on the diminished thrust exerted by the propeller and not up in
the lessened resistance to rotary motion the governor comes into action as soon as
the propeller leaves the dense water in which it normally works and therefore
regulates the supply of steam before instead of after the motive power bas
overcome the "inertia" opposed by the engines and other moving parts to an
increase of speed.
The invention consists essentially in the interposition between the tail shaft upon
which the propeller is keyed and the portion of the shaft from which it is driven,
of a coupling which transmits rotary movement from the one part of the shaft to the
other whilst permitting longitudinal sliding motion of the tail shaft in the stern
post bearing, and in the application to the tail shaft of spring or other power
opposed to the thrust of the propeller and normally overcome thereby but sufficient
to move the propeller and tail shaft backwards when the thrust ceases, and thereby
to transmit through suitable mechanical or electrical connections, motion to a
throttle valve controling the supply of steam to the engines. The spring may
conveniently be contained within the coupling and act directly on the ends of the
two portions of the shaft and motion may be transmitted from the tail shaft
through a collar thereon and suitable lever and rod or other connections acting
directly or indirectly upon the throttle valve or its operating mechanism, or the
rearward motion of the shaft may be applied to establish a circuit through an
electric motor by which the throttle valve is operated.
In a modification instead of the propeller shaft acting directly on the throttle
valve this may be effected by means of a second or supplementary shaft provided
with a propeller and pressed outwards by spring or other pressure as above
described in connection with the main shaft the said supplementary shaft being
driven by the main shaft and connected by suitable mechanism with the throttle
valve so as to automatically cut off steam and prevent racing of the engines.
Dated this 20th day of September 1893.
TY
LOTT

page_text: Improved Apparatus for Preventing the Racing of Marine Engines.
We, EDWIN ELLIOTT, Railway Contractor, of 28, Victoria Street, Westminster,
S.W., and WILLIAM HADFIELD COCKER, Engineer, of 28 Victoria Street,
Westminster, S. W., 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 has for its object to prevent the "racing" of marine engines,
when the propeller emerges from the water, by providing means whereby the
supply of steam to the engines is automatically regulated according to the amount
of thrust transmitted from an auxiliary propeller working under the same conditions
as the main propeller but serving the purposes of a governor to control the
throttle valve, the operation of the auxiliary propeller being dependent on the
action of a spring in opposition to the thrust transmitted through the auxiliary
propeller shaft.
The operation of the governor is therefore much more immediate and effective
than would be the case were it dependent upon the acquirement by the engine of
an excessive speed, since in that case the liability of the engine to race could only
be palliated and not cured, whereas the operation of the governor of this invention
being dependent on the diminished thrust exerted by the auxiliary propeller and
not upon lessened resistance to rotary motion, the governor will come into action
as soon as the auxiliary propeller leaves the dense water in which the main
propeller normally works and will therefore regulate the supply of steam before,
instead of after, the motive power has overcome the "inertia" opposed by the
engines and other moving parts to an increase of speed.
We bave termed the governor screw an auxiliary propeller, but it will of
course be understood that its primary object is that of a governor, as it does not
appreciably assist in the propulsion of the vessel.
It will be understood that the countershaft may be geared directly with the
engines instead of with the main shaft.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing,
forming part of this Specification, which is a plan view shewing the governor
propeller in the normal position which it occupies when the main propeller is
fully immersed, and in dotted lines in the position which it is caused to assume in
order to cut off steam to the engines when the propeller rises out of the water.
The governor consists of the auxiliary propeller A revolving between the main
propeller and the stern post and mounted upon the end of a countershaft B driven
from the main propeller shaft C by any suitable gearing, such for instance as the
endless pitch chain D and sprocket wheels E and F. The shaft B may be mounted
alongside of, or above the main shaft C. When arranged alongside of the main
shaft the bearing through which it would pass out would be alongside of the
stern post bearing of the main shaft or at any convenient point in the run of the
vessel. The governor propeller being very much smaller than the main propeller
it would usually be driven at a considerably greater rate of speed, the gearing
being proportioned accordingly. The shaft B is free to slide longitudinally under
the effect of the thrust of the governor propeller A in the one direction and of a
spring which opposes the thrust in the other direction.
prevails which is the normal condition, the spring is overcome, but when by the
rising of the stern of the vessel out of the water the thrust of the governor propeller
ceases, the spring instantly moves it to the position represented in dotted lines.
The inner end of the governor shaft B is coupled by collars to, and revolves on, a
sliding block H so as to transmit its longitudinal sliding motion thereto, this block
being coupled by a lever I to the throttle valve or to a part operating thereon so
When the thrust

page_text: that the valve will thus be opened or closed by the inward or outward longitudinal
sliding motion of the governor shaft B. The spring G is confined between a
collar which participates in the longitudinal motion of the governor shaft, and a
suitable support g¹. The collar g is free to slide on guide rods g' mounted on
fixed supports g¹, g³, and is pressed upon by a shoulder 9' on the shaft B. The
spring may be otherwise applied to resist the thrust of the governor propeller
without preventing the rotation of its shaft, and it must in any case be sufficiently
strong to quickly overcome the friction and inertia of the parts constituting the
governor but weak enough to be overcome by the thrust of the governor propeller.
The shaft B is squared or splined where it passes through the boss of the wheel F
so as to turn with wheel F whilst free to slide therein.
The wheel E may be connected to the main shaft C by a clutch (not shown)
so that the governor propeller may be thrown out of action when navigating in
smooth water.
In order that the shaft B may make a tight joint with the stern post bearing,
it is provided with oppositely-coned bosses or shoulders 61, 62, which in the two
positions of shaft B act as valves, and close against correspondingly-coned seats in
the ends of a bushing of lignum vitæ or other suitable substance, the conical
shoulders and seats being contained within the stern tube or casing b.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:—
The herein described governor for preventing the racing of marine engines,
which consists of an auxiliary propeller upon a countershaft acting by its
longitudinal motion directly or indirectly on the throttle valve and slid in the one
direction under the effect of thrust and in the other direction by the action of a
spring, substantially as specified.
Dated this with day of
Luna 1891
Dated this 90th
h day
Luna 1891
E. ELLIOTT,
W. H. COCKER,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.