Improvements in Devices for Signalling or Communicating the Action of the Engines from the Engine Room to the Captain's Bridge, or other Place on Board Ship, or for analogous uses.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Apr., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 26th Jan., 1898- Accepted, 26th Feb., 1898
Improvements in Devices for Signalling or Communicating the
Action of the Engines from the Engine Room to the Captain's
Bridge, or other Place on Board Ship, or for analogous uses.
I, ROBERT ROBSON LITTLE, of 3, Meldon Terrace, South Shields, in the County
of Durham, Timber Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:
My invention relates to apparatus wherein devices movable in glass tubes or the
like are actuated through air or other fluid pressure from the engine to indicate at
the captain's bridge or other required place the action of the engines and enable it
to be ascertained whether orders have been properly attended to. Apparatus of this
character is described for example in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 5495
dated the 30th day of March 1889, granted to John Hall, Thomas Archer, and
myself. The object of my present invention is to provide an arrangement which
avoids concussion and is silent or practically silent and certain in action. Accord-
ing to my invention I make the device which moves in the glass or like tube in the
form of a cylinder or bobbin with rounded, concave, or convex, or pointed, ends,
and of somewhat less diameter than the internal diameter of the tube and with hoops
or rings preferably of rounded form, in cross section mounted on, or formed with,
the said cylinder or bobbin to come into contact with the tube without danger of
such adhesion thereto as would tend to render the device unreliable in action.
The pointed form of the ends will lessen the concussion as the device comes
against india rubber, or equivalent buffers at the ends of its movements.
If the device be made as a hollow cylinder it will have a plate, division, or filling
piece in it, preferably at the centre of its length to receive the pressure of the
actuating fluid.
Dated this 96th day of Anmil 1907
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
Improvements in Devices for Signalling or Communicating the
Action of the Engines from the Engine Room to the Captain's
Bridge, or other Place on Board Ship, or for analogous uses.
I, ROBERT ROBSON LITTLE, of 3, Meldon Terrace, South Shields, in the County
of Durham, Timber Merchant, 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:-
My invention relates to apparatus wherein devices movable in glass tubes or the
like are actuated through air or other fluid pressure from the engine to indicate at
TDi Q71

page_text: the captain's bridge or other required place the action of the engines and enable it
to be ascertained whether orders have been properly attended to.
Apparatus of this character is described for example in the Specification of
Letters Patent No. 5495 dated the 30th day of March 1889, granted to John Hall,
Thomas Archer, and myself.
The object of my present invention is to provide an arrangement which avoids
concussion and is silent or practically silent and certain in action. According to
my invention I make the device which moves in the glass or like tube in the form
of a cylinder or bobbin A as shewn in section in Figure 1 of the accompanying draw-
ing with rounded, concave, or convex, or pointed ends, for instance as shewn at a,
and of somewhat less diameter than the internal diameter of the tube B as shewn
in Figure 2 (which shews partly in vertical section the two tubes in their frame
with the cylinders or bobbins in place) and with hoops or rings a preferably of
rounded form in cross section mounted on, or formed with, the said cylinder or
bobbin to come into contact with the tube B without danger of such adhesion
thereto as would tend to render the device unreliable in action.
The pointed or equivalent form of the ends will lessen the concussion as the
device comes against india-rubber or equivalent buffers C at the ends of its move-
ments.
The glasses may be mounted in any suitable way.
As shewn their ends are
received in holes in the upper and lower members of a frame D and the cushions or
buffers C are placed next the ends of the tubes and over these are placed rubber
rings or the like c. The plugs E are perforated for escape and admission of air to
facilitate the movement of the cylinders or bobbins A and when put in place con-
fine the tubes and buffers between the said plugs and the ledges d formed on the
lower member of the frame. f are the tubes by which the air passes into the
tubes B.
If the device A be made as a hollow cylinder it will have a plate division or filling
piece in it preferably at the centre of its length as shewn at a³ to receive the pressure
of the actuating fluid.
The apparatus by means of which the air is caused to act on the cylinders or
bobbins A may be like that described in the Specification of Letters Patent
No. 14035 dated 5th September 1889.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In, or for, device for the purpose mentioned, a cylinder or bobbin, for work-
ing in the tube, the said cylinder or bobbin, being formed with ends which are in
part cut away for the purpose described.
2. In, or for, a device for the purpose mentioned, a cylinder or bobbin, for work-
ing in the tube, the said cylinder, or bobbin, being of less diameter than the tube
and being formed with hoops, or rings, to fit in the tube and having ends in part
cut away for the purpose described.
3. In devices for the purpose mentioned tubes mounted in a frame with resilient
cushions at each end and with cylinders, or bobbins, working in the said tubes so
that the said cushions act as buffers therefor, substantially as hereinbefore described.
4. For the purpose mentioned the arrangement and combination of parts as
herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 26th day of January 1898
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.