Improvements in Apparatus or Appliances for Signalling from the Engine to the Captain's Bridge or other place in Steamships, and for analogous uses.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left. 24th Dec. 1889-Accented. 15th Feb. 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus or Appliances for Signalling from the
Engine to the Captain's Bridge or other place in Steamships,
and for analogous uses.
We ROBERT ROBSON LITTLE of Westoe South Shields in the County of Durham
Timber Agent JOHN HALL of 3 Ellison Place in the City and County of Newcastle-
on-Tyne Steamship Owner and THOMAS ARCHER the younger of 6 Park Terrace
Gateshead in the County of Durham Engineer do hereby declare the nature of
this Invention to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is principally to provide apparatus or appliances by
which an indication is given from the engine to the Captains bridge or other suitablo
place for shewing that orders as regards the working of the engines have actually
been carried into effect thus preventing accidents frequently due to the present system
wherein the Engineer simply signals back the receipt of the order there being in the
said present system no indication to the Captain that his orders have not been put
into actual execution if the Engineer should not give proper effect to such orders.
According to this Invention there are provided in connection with some part of,
or connected with, the engine (which part moves in one direction when the engines
are going ahead and in the other direction when the engines are going astern) devices
which transmit (by mechanical, electrical or any suitable agency) a corresponding
movement to an indicator or indicators on the Captains bridge or other place which
shews or shew there that the engines are actually moving in the one or the other
direction. Whilst not limiting ourselves to precise details the following is a simple
and efficient arrangement according to this Invention. Upon the propeller shaft or a
shaft provided for the purpose and operated from the engine a projection is fixed and
in the path through which this projection moves as the shaft rotates are mounted two
tappets which are so constructed that when the shaft rotates in one direction one of
the tappets yields without being operated by the said projection the other tappet
being operated by the said projection and when the shaft rotates in the opposite
direction the tappet which was before operated is not operated upon and the tappet
which was before not operated upon is now operated upon. The said tappets when
actuated act upon an air pump or air displacer or the like each of which is connected
by a tube with the Captains bridge or place where the indication is to be given and
here the air pressure is caused to act upon a ball or the like which may be contained
in a glass tube so that the said ball rises and falls as the air pump is worked. Thus
the one or the other of the balls or the like moves according to which tappet is
operated and consequently according to which direction the engines are going and
the Captain by observing the said balls or the like can tell whether his orders have
been properly attended to. The number of movements which the balls or the like
make in a given time being in accordance with the number of revolutions of the
shaft will indicate or approximately indicate also the number of revolutions or speed
at which the engine is running.
Valves or cocks can be employed to regulate or shut off the air transmission as
required and if desired wires or the like may be led from the Captains bridge to
enable him to put the appliances out of action when desired.
In order to indicate the approximate speed as well as the direction I may use more
than one tappet and communicating ball and the like on each side of the shaft and
cause a governor to move the projection to act on one or the other in accordance with
the speed attained.
Datad this 30th day of March 1980

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus or Appliances for Signalling from the
Engine to the Captain's Bridge or other place in Steamships,
and for analagous uses..
:
We, ROBERT ROBSON LITTLE of Westoc South Shields in the County of Durham
Timber Agent.JOHN HALL of 3 Ellison Place in the City and County of Newcastle-
on-Tyne Steamship owner and THOMAS ARCHER. the younger of 6 Park Terrace
Gateshead in the County of Durham Engineer 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 :-
The object of this Invention is principally to provide simple and efficient apparatus
or appliances of the class in which an indication is given from the engine to the
Captain's bridge or other suitable place for shewing that orders as regards the working
of the engines have actually been. carried into effect thus preventing accidents
frequently due to the use of systems wherein the Engineer simply signals back the
receipt of the order there being in such systems no indication to the Captain that
his orders have not been put into actual execution if the Engineer should not give
proper effect to such orders. We will describe this Invention with reference to the
accompanying drawing which shows so much of an apparatus made according to
this Invention as is necessary to explain it.
Upon the propeller shaft A (or it may be upon a shaft provided for the purpose
and operated from the engine) a projection a is fixed and in the path through
which this projection moves as the shaft rotates are mounted upon the levers B. B.
centered at two tappets C. C. which are so constructed and centered to the
said levers respectively that when the shaft rotates in one direction one of the
tappets C yields without moving the lever to which it is attached the other tappet ()
being operated by the said projection a so that it does move the lever to which it
is attached and when the shaft rotates in the opposite direction the lever which
was before operated upon is not operated upon and the lever which was before not
operated upon is now operated upon. For this purpose the tappets have a part c³
which acts on the lever when the tappets are struck by the projection on the shaft
when moving in one direction and with a gap at c which prevent their operating
when struck in the reverse direction. The said tappets when they are operated
upon to move the levers to which they are connected cause the said levers each to
act upon an air forcing or suction device each consisting of a plunger D moving in
the tube or cylinder E which forms a continuation of the tube F and of the tube G
respectively. The plungers D are moved up by the said levers and afterwards
descend and so force or draw air along the tubes. The plungers may descend by
their own weight or they may be pressed down by springs d as shown. The tubes
and G are led to the Captain's bridge or place where the indication is to be given and
here the air pressure or air suction is caused to act upon a ball or spigot or the like so
as to cause it to move, it being preferably contained in a glass tube H which forms a
continuation of the leading tubes so that the said ball or the like rises and falls, as
the air forcing or suction device is worked. Where suction is employed the leading
tubes are preferably bent over as shown in the drawing before they are attached to
the glass tubes otherwise the said glass tubes could form a continuation of the
leading tubes. Thus the one or the other of the balls or the like moves according
to which tappet is operated and consequently according to which direction the
engines are going and the Captain by observing the said balls or the like can tell
whether his orders have been properly attended to. The number of movements which
the balls or the like make in a given time being in accordance with the number of
revolutions of the shaft will indicate or approximately indicate also the number of
révolutions or speed at which the engine is running.
Valves or cocks can be employed to regulate or shut off the air transmission as
required and if desired wires or the like may be led from the Captain's bridge to enable
him to put the appliances out of action when desired.

page_text: We are aware that it has before been proposed to use air tubes as the medium of
communication between the engine and the Captain's bridge or other place and we do
not claim that broadly.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is.
First In apparatus of the kind herein before referred to the combination of a pro-
jection from the propeller shaft (or from a shaft driven therefrom) and a pair of
tappets or levers and air forcing or drawing devices for operating a signal and acted
upon by the said levers in accordance with the direction of rotation of the shaft as
hereinbefore described and shewn in the accompanying drawings.
Second In pneumatic apparatus for conveying signals directly from the engine to
the Captain's bridge or other place the combination with air forcing or drawing
devices and tubes of balls spigots or the like moving in the said tubes to act as
indicators substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accoinpanying
drawings.
Dated the 21th day of December 1880
R. R. LITTLE.
JOHN HALL.
THOS. ARCHER, JUNR.