IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING THE SPEED OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND THE VELOCITY OF RUNNING OR FLOWING WATER
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Henry, of 68, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR MEASURING THE SPEED OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND THE VELOCITY
OF RUNNING OR FLOWING WATER."-A communication from abroad by
Louis Alfred Anfonso, of 33, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th March 1867.
I, MICHAEL HENRY, of 68, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING THE SPEED OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS,
AND THE VELOCITY OF RUNNING OR FLOWING WATER," communicated to me from
abroad by Louis Alfred Anfonso, of 33, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris,
France, to be as follows:-
The object of this apparatus is to measure the velocity of ships or other vessels
and the flow of running or flowing water. The apparatus is thus constructed:-

page_text: A screw or helix or shaft carrying blades or vanes is caused to revolve by the
motion of the vessel or of the water whereof the velocity is to be measured,
and thus communicates motion by means of electric agency to one or more
pointers travelling over a dial or dials suitably graduated or marked.
In order that the Invention may be fully understood I describe by way of
example one arrangement for carrying it into effect as applied to measuring
the speed of a vessel, thus serving as a ship's log. In this arrangement the
dial or indicating part of the apparatus is fixed in a convenient part of the
vessel, while the screw or blade shaft which is apart from it works in the
water, and is connected with the dials or indicating appliances by a cable or
conductor; such screw travels in the wake of the vessel. On the boss of the
screw is a cam path in which works a finger or bar carrying a tongue spring
or contact piece. With each revolution of the screw shaft the finger or bar
by its motion in the cam shaft brings this tongue or contact piece in contact
with one end of the conductor which communicates with electrical arrange-
ments in immediate connection with the dials or indicating appliances in the
vessel; in these arrangements there is an electro-magnetic coil with an
armature. When the current passes through the coil the armature is
attracted, and a rod which it carries works an escapement at one end of a
train of gearing or clockwork, which actuates pointers travelling over suitably
graduated dials, which pointers are thus caused to work according to the
revolutions of the helix or screw or blades. The same arrangement may be
adapted for measuring the velocity of running or flowing water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Michael Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th September 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
HENRY, of 68, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agent, -send
greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Michael Henry, Her special licence that I, the said Michael
Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Michael Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time.

page_text: 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 'AP-
5.PARATUS FOR MEASURING THE SPEED OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS AND THE
VELOCITY OF RUNNING OR FLOWING WATER," communicated to me from abroad
by Louis Alfred Anfonso, of 33, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, France,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Michael Henry, 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 Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent..
:
:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Michael Henry, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof as communicated to me, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the construction of a log or apparatus to be
worked by electricity for the purpose of indicating or measuring the speed of
ships or other vessels and the velocity of running or flowing water. The
apparatus comprises a screw helix or worm which is caused to revolve by the
motion or progress of the vessel or by the flow of the stream to be measured,
and it transmits by means of electricity its velocity of rotation to one or more
indicators or pointers travelling over a dial or dials. The apparatus thus
consists of two parts, one containing the dial and pointer or indicating appliance,
and the other being the screw which is submerged, and which is secured on
the outside of the ship or in any convenient position; or it may be apart from
the ship and connected with it by a cable or conducting wire. The dial
apparatus consists of clockwork and of an electro-magnetic coil with an
armature or pallet which carries a rod, one end of which actuates an escape-
ment movement at the end of the train or system of clock work. When the
current passes through the coil the armature will be attracted and the rod will
work the escapement, thereby moving the escapemeiit wheel one tooth and
actuating a pointer, which is 'worked by the same and travels. over a dial.
When the current is interrupted the armature is restored to a state of rest by
a spring. From the first wheel of the train of wheels motion may be
transmitted to other wheels and other pointers at pleasure. This apparatus.

page_text: is connected by a wire or cable with a screw working on an axis fitted to a
hollow cylinder containing arrangements for obtaining electrical contact. At
one end of the boss or cylinder carrying the screw, and at the adjacent end of
the above-named hollow cylinder, are the following arrangements:-On one
cylinder is an eccentric groove or cam path in which travels a guide or finger,
one end of which is engage to the cam path, so that as the boss or screw
revolves the guide rises and rants; and it is jointed at one part, and it carries
a tongue which as the guide rises comes in contact with the end of the
conductor which is in communication with the indicating apparatus; hence
at each turn of the screw contact is made, the current passes to the indicating
apparatus, and hence the number of revolutions in a given time are indicated
on the dial. Similar arrangements are applied in like manner to the
measuring of the velocity of running or flowing water.
The accompanying Drawings exemplify in what manner the Invention may
be carried into effect.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the indicating apparatus, part of the casing
being removed to shew the internal arrangements; Figure 2 is an elevation
of the screw, shewn partly in section; it is submerged outside the ship.
The indicating apparatus comprises a set of dials graduated according to
knots and nautical miles and provided with pointers. The dials are fitted in
a case X containing clockwork movement for actuating the pointers, and an
electro-magnetic coil G with an armature or pallet M, to which is attached
a rod N, which works at its upper ends an escapement arrangement at the
last wheel K of the train of wheels of the clockwork. When an electric
current is sent into the coil G the armature or bar M will be attracted, and
the rod N will thereby oscillate or work on its axis and act on the escapement,
and by that means cause the wheel K to escape or move to the extent of one
tooth, and will transmit motion through the wheelwork to the pointer S, and
cause it to move to the corresponding extent on the dial B. When the
electric current is interrupted and the armature M ceases to be attracted the
armature is brought back to its original position by a spring, where it remains
till the electric current again passes and the rod N again works the escapement
and moves the wheel another tooth, and so on. The wheel K transmits
motion to the other wheels of the train and thence to the pointers, travelling
on the various dials, causing them to move to the required extent thereon.
The dials may be so arranged that the two lower ones show the knots and the
upper one shews the nautical miles, and the pitch of the wheels is so arranged
and combined that when the pointers on the lower dials mark the number of
knots that make up a nautical mile the pointer of the upper dial moves

page_text: forward one interval to shew that one nautical mile has been travelled over.
The dials are graduated to shew quarters or other fractions of knots.
The indicating apparatus, Figure 1, which is in any convenient part of the
ship, is connected with the apparatus shewn in Figure 2 by an electric wire or
submerged electric cable.
A is a screw or helix consisting of a number of screw blades or vanes
on a boss or cylinder A which turns freely on an axis b, which is secured
to a bollow cylinder or tube A*, which contains appliances by which electric
contact is obtained and whence the electric action is communicated to the
indicating apparatus, Figure 1. The adjacent ends of the cylinders A, A*,
which are in contact are arranged as follows:-A cam path or excentric
groove is formed on the end of the cylinder A*; through this opening there
passes a guide or finger c formed on and projecting from the piece d, herein-
after described, and the outer end of this guide or finger c travels or works in
the cam path formed on the cylinder A; as the screw A turns the guide c
rises and falls in the cam path, and this action is of course communicated to
the part d, which is in a piece with it; this piece d is jointed at e, and to one
side of it is attached a thin metallic plate or tongue r. At each depression of
the guide c this tongue r comes in contact with a conducting wire o which is
in communication with the indicating apparatus, Figure 1; thus at each
revolution of the screw A contact is obtained between the tongue and the
wire o, and an electric current passes into the coil of the indicating apparatus,
causing the latter to act as above described and indicate the number of
revolutions made by the screw A in any particular interval of time whence the
number of knots and nautical miles travelled over may be calculated. The
guide c, the joint e, and the end of the wire o are enclosed in a protective
sheath of gutta percha, caoutchouc, or other flexible waterproof material
which prevents the water from getting at the parts at which contact is
obtained.
The above description suffices to describe how the Invention may be
applied to the measuring of the velocity of flow of water by causing the screw
to lie in and be worked by the stream of water.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim, first, arranging
such manner that the
and combining apparatus, substantially as described, in
velocity of rotation of a screw or helix caused to revolve by the motion of a
ship or vessel through or in the water or by the flow of a stream of water
shall be transmitted by the means or agency of electricity to an indicating
apparatus furnished with one or more dials and pointers.

page_text: Second, the general arrangement and combination of parts, substantially as
and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Henry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
E. DE PASS,
68, Fleet Street,
London.
M. HENRY.
(L.B.)