Improvements in Hydraulic or Steam Steering and Reversing Gear and in other Allied Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hydraulic or Steam Steering and Reversing Gear
and in other Allied Machines.
I WILLIAM BLAYLOCK CREIGHTON of the Foundry Stepney Causeway
London in the County of Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
The said invention is intended for reversing and steering gear and other allied
machines.
In carrying out this design the framing of the engine is raised to clear
the tiller and driving link one end of which is engaged to the end of the tiller and
is free to work in a segment of a circle with it the other end is loosely attached to
the piston crosshead which is guided to move in a straight line radial from contre
of rudder post to centre of segment of circle. The action is such that when steam
is applied the crosshead moves slowly relatively to the tiller; gradually the
conditions change until the piston or crosshead moves quickly and the tiller
relatively slower thus increasing the applied power as the resistance requires.
In carrying out this operation one of the slide valves (the cut off valve) is
controlled by the crosshead through a lever which is so proportioned as to give the
requisite amount of stroke to the valve which constantly bears a fixed relation to
the crosshead in its travels. The other valve which may be called the starting
valve is worked by the man at the wheel.
The valves are so arranged that while the starting valve admits steam and
propels the crosshead which again moves the cut off valve thus shutting off the
steam or water. The operation serves equally at each end of the stroke according
to the way the wheel is moved. There is also an arrangement by which the action
of the starting valve is stopped until the piston or crosshead arrives at the end of
the stroke at which point the stop is automatically relieved leaving the action of
the starting valve free; the rudder is then tilted to port or starbord the starting
valve opened and the pressure which is then brought to bear moves the rudder to
the position indicated by the steersman.
W. B. CREIGHTON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hydraulic or Steam Steering and Reversing Gear
and in other Allied Machines.
WILLIAM BLAYLOCK CREIGHTON of the Foundry, Stepney Causeway,
London in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
My invention is intended to be applied to reversing and steering gears and other
machinery in which the power is applied intermittently and in an accumulative
form and so that the action is such, that when steam is applied the crosshead moves
slowly relatively to the tiller or lever, gradually the conditions change until the
piston or crosshead moves quickly and the tiller or lever relatively slower thus
increasing the applied power as the resistance requires.
.
In carrying out my said invention, as applied to steering gears, the framing of
the engine is raised to clear the tiller and driving link, one end of which is engaged
to the end of the tiller and is free to work in a seginent of a circle with it, the

page_text: other end is loosely attached to the piston crosshead which is guided to move in a
straight line radial from centre of rudder post to centre of segment of a circle.
In performing this operation one of the slide valves (the cut off valve), is
controlled by the crosshead through a lever which is so proportioned as to give the
requisite amount of stroke to the valve which constantly bears a fixed relation to
the crosshead in its travels. The other valve which may be called the starting
valve is worked by the man at the wheel.
The valves are so arranged that the starting valve admits steam and propels the
crosshead which again moves the cut off valve thus shutting off the steam or water.
The operation serves equally at each end of the stroke according to the way the
wheel is moved.
The rudder is tilted to port or starboard and the starting valve opened by the
first motion of the steering wheel and the steam pressure which is then brought to
bear moves the rudder to the position indicated by the steersman.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a plan partly in section and Figure 2
is an elevation of steering gear constructed according to my invention the parts
being represented in their normal positions. Figure 3 is a plan of the same
showing the parts in the positions which they occupy when the tiller is nearly half
over to starboard. In the following description the drawings are referred to by
the letters and figures marked thereon, the same letters and figures of reference
being used to indicate the same parts in all the figures of the drawings.
a is the rudder post, is the tiller, c is the framing which supports the engine.
d is the cylinder of the engine. e is the piston, is the piston rod and g is the
crosshead which works in guides formed in the framing c. h is a link which
connects the crosshead to the outer or free end of the tiller, b, by means of which
link the motion of the piston is communicated to the tiller b when the tiller lies
to one or other side of its neutral position and steam or water is admitted to the
cylinder d. is the starting valve. jis the cut off valve and i'jare rods by
means of which the said valves are respectively actuated as hereinafter described.
k is a shaft mounted in suitable bearings in which it is capable of rotation which
shaft is so geared with an ordinary steering wheel (not shown in the drawings) as
to be caused to turn in its bearings when the said steering wheel is turned. On
the said shaft is keyed a disc having a curved recess formed in it and on the
free end of the tiller & anti-friction rollers are mounted in such positions that
when the parts of the mechanism are in their normal positions the said rollers lie
in the recess in the part 1. By means of this arrangement the tiller is turned
through an arc of a few degrees on one or other side of its neutral position by the
first motion of the steering wheel in either direction the partial rotation of the
shaft produced by the turning of the said wheel causing one or other side of
the curved recess in the part to engage with one or other of the rollers
push the tiller off the dead point of its connection with the crosshead.
and
The rod of the starting valve is connected to a crank m on a horizontal shaft
geared to the shaft k by bevil wheels n n the arrangement of the said connections
being such that steam or water is admitted to the cylinder when the shaft kis
turned from its normal position in either direction. The rod j¹ of the cut off
valve is connected at to a lever o jointed at o' to a bracket secured to the
framing c which lever o is also jointed at o² to the crosshead g the arrangement of
the said connections being such that the said valve j is caused to cut off the supply
of steam or water to the cylinder when the piston has advanced sufficiently to move
the tiller to the required extent to either port or starboard as the case may be.
Thus the extent of motion of the piston and consequently of the tiller and rudder
is dependent on the extent to which the starting valve is moved and the motion of
this valve is effected by the turning of the steering wheel and the extent of motion
of the said valve is limited by the extent to which the steering wheel is turned by
the steersinan. The return of the rudder to its neutral position after being turned
to port or starboard or the reduction of the angle formed by the rudder relatively
to its neutral position is effected or permitted by the turning of the steering wheel

page_text: in a direction the reverse of that in which it was previously turned the starting
valve i being thereby moved so as to uncover the port which admits of steam or
water passing to the cylinder in front of the piston.
A modification of my invention is shewn on Sheet 2 of the accompanying
drawings and consists in the employment of a single valve the rod of the valve i
which is guided by the block p is jointed to one end of the lever o the other end of
which is slotted to work in the crosshead o* and connected by a rod q' to an
excentric so that as the shaft is moved the valve is opened (admitting steam)
which in turn is closed by the motion of the crosshead o³.
In Figure 4 the rod is jointed at one end to the lever the other end of which
is slotted to work in the crosshead and connected by a rod to an excentric or cam
and by bevil gearing to the steering wheel. The action being as before explained
so soon as the valve is moved steam is admitted and the crosshead moving closes
the valve and shuts off the steam as previously described.
The foregoing description relates to the application of my invention to steering
gear, but I do not limit myself to that application alone, as it is obvious that with
slight modifications of the apparatus I may adapt my invention-without departing
from the principle thereof to other machines such as reversing gear, rivetting
punching and other presses and allied machines.
In applying my invention to machines other than steering gear, the mechanism
is the same except as will be obvious that instead of connecting it to a tiller, the
same is connected to a suitable part or lever of the mechanism to which it is to be
applied.
Thus for example suppose my invention is to be applied to a rivetting machine
the arrangement may be as follows (see Figure 5 of the annexed drawings) viz.:
the cylinder will be attached to the lower lever of the rivetter on which are
fixed the guides to regulate the axial motion of the crossheads g and which by
means of the link 1 moves the lever 2 as it is correspondingly moved by the action
of the steam in the piston.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood
that my said invention is not restricted to the mere arrangement of parts herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings as the said arrange-
ment may be considerably varied without departing from the nature of my invention
hereinbefore described but I declare that I claim :-
First The improved apparatus hereinbefore described which improvements
consist essentially of arrangements by which the motion of the piston of a
hydraulic engine or a steam engine is so communicated to the tiller or corre-
sponding part of other machines that the rate of motion of the tiller or corre-
sponding part of other machines decreases relatively as that of the piston
increases thus concentrating the applied power at the period of greatest resistance.
Second The improved apparatus constructed or arranged and acting sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
:-
Dated this 24th day of September 1891
W. B. CREIGHTON.