US1522671A - Combined propelling and steering mechanism for vessels - Google Patents

Description

Jam 1925- 1,522,671

(2. CALLAHAN ET AL COMBINED PROPELLING AND STEERING MECHANISM FOR VESSELS Filed June 1, 1921 ig 7 4 N0 32 9 19 I .22 17 9. 2 i7 Z Z1 35 quumu Jll qry-sjlaniod sequently Patented Jan. 13, 1925.

pairs. stares LEZZSH i i F F EQE if NT COMBINED PROPEIlLING' AND STEERING MECHANISM. FOR VESSELS.

Applieationfiled'June 1, 1921. Serial No. 474,186.

'1 0 all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that. we, CATHERINE GALLA- HAN and Mann lVlANNS, citizens of the United States, residing at. Butfalo,-..in the county of Erieandstate of New. Yorlnhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined .Propelling andzSteering Mechanismif'or Vessels, of which the followingzis a specification.

Our. invention relates. to. improvements in apparatus for propelling and steeringz'boats, and more particularly for propelling and steering large cargo-carrying vessels.

In: large cargo-carrying. vessels, the power propellers are. invariably submerged and located at the rear end of the vessel, andconit is an extremely difficult. matter to control the front of the vessel in harbors, slips, etc, without toguideboth the front and: the rear ends-of the vessel.

, The primary object of our. invention: is to provide an apparatus wherebya vessel of this type can be steered in small, placesand directed intoslips or narrow branches with out the use of tugs to direct thesa-me.

Another object of our invention is the provision of an apparatus of this kind, which is located at the front end'of the vessel, and which may serve to. assistjin propelling; the vessel in a' straight a-head course. or

inturning, and when in coeactioni with the submerged: propeller: andtheirudder at the rear end" of thevessel willimake it possible toturn; the vessel in a circleof smaller diameter. than would' be. otherwise possible.

A. further-object is 'to-provide an apparatus'ofthis. kind, which canbe arranged to assistin moving-the.vesselzrearw ard ly.

A. still further object is to provide an apparatus which, while primarily designed for steering. or controlling the. front end. of a vessel; will co-act witlrthesubmerged propeller at thevrear end of the vessel and=1ncrease'thespeedof the vessel,

Astill furtherob'ect of' our invention is the provisionv of an. apparatus of this kind having; an air-propeller. rotatable to any angle within a complete circle, and-which may be controlled fromany desired point within the vessel.

A still further object of our invention is to provide an; elevated air-propeller. having its.shaft-swiveled about afixed-center so as to positionthe propeller parallel with'or at any angle to the longitudinal center: of the the use, of tugs; arrangedvessel; to provide means for positioning the propeller, and for rotating the propeller. at any desired speed, said means being controllable from a point distant from the propeller.

Vi ith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in a propeller adjustable in an arc of a circle or around a circle and which-is located at the front end of the vessel to assist. in propelling. the vessel, or to'assist in steering or controlling the front end thereof.

It further. consists-in a rotatable air-propeller elevated to a plane above the deckof the vessel and adjustable to any angle within a circle so as to assist in propelling the vesselforwardly or rearwardly, or steering the same in any direction.

It further consists in the use of a rotat able air-propeller adjustably mounted to swing to any angle, means controlled from a distant point for adjusting the propeller, and means for rotating the propeller, also controlled from a distant point.

' It further consists in the novel features of construction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the subjoined claims.

Inthe drawings Fig. 1 isa side elevation of afreight vessel. showing our invention applied to the front end thereof.

Fig.2 is a side elevation ofour invention as applied to thedeck of a vessel.

' Fig. 3 is a plan view. r

Fig. 4t is a transverse section taken on line i -4i, Fig. 2, the annular contact memher being omitted.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing a vessel inposition within a'harbor and-about to be steered into a slip, as indicated by dotted lines.

Referring to the various parts of the drawings by numerals of references, 6 designates a vessel; that shown being of the freight-carrying type. Vessels of this type are low and'narrow and-comparatively long and. they are usually of considerable draft to insure a large carrying capacity. Such vessels are in general use on large inland lakes, and at various points along such lakesmust be directed through narrow harbors and intosmall slips or branches, and as oftentimes miXed cargo is carried, shifts from one (lOCl-I or elevator to another, or from a lib") dock to an elevator or elevators, or reversely, must be made to deliver the several separate shipments. When directing a vessel from one place to another through crowded harbors or into narrow slips r passages, tugs must be employed at the front end of the vessel, and as the front end is two, three, or four hundred feet distant from the submerged propeller at the rear end thereof, said front end will not respond to the rudder as quickly as necessary under such conditions.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, 7 designates the usual submerged or partly submerged propeller at the rear end of the vessel, and 8 the rudder, commonly employed. 9 designates our improved apparatus which may be stationed at any suitable point at the front end of the vessel, as shown preferably in advance of the pilot or wheel house 10 of the vessel so that the pilot or wheelsman may control the apparatus and have the same in full view.

In its preferred form, our combined propelling and steering apparatus comprises a suitable structure 11, which rises a considerable distance above the deck, indicated at 12, said structure being positioned directly over the longitudinal center of the vessel and formed of structural iron or other suitable material. In the form shown it has upwardly converging supporting members 13 secured at their lower ends to the deck in any suitable manner and connected together at their upper ends, either by means of a casting, or structural connector pieces, as may be desired, said casting or connector pieces forming a head 14-.

Fastened to the deck 12 is a step bearing 15 into which the lower end of a verticallydisposed rotatable supporting rod 16 is entered. Said rod extends up through the head 14 and has a bevel gear wheel 17 secured thereto, said bevel gear wheel having a hub which is preferably secured within the head 14. In the drawing shown, the means employed for securing said hub within said head is a set screw 18. It is to be understood that said bevel gear, being fastened within the head of the structure 11, is nonrotatable and therefore serves as an annular rack, in view of which it will be apparent that any annular or curved rack, not

necessarily in the form of a bevel gearwheel, may be employed.

Fastened to the rotatable rod 16 above the rack 17-the bevel gearwheel being so termed in its broadest senseis the hub 19 of an outwardly extending arm 20, having a depending portion 21 at its outer end. IVhil'e we have shown said hub keyed to the rotatable rod 16 in Fig. 1, any other means suitable for fastening said hub to the rod may be substituted therefor.

Fastened to the under side of the arm 20 longitudinal center of the vessel, depending on the direction of rotation of the, motor shaft. Said motoris preferably a slow ro-' tatingmotor so that a slow swinging of the arm 20 will take place when current is passed through said motor, thus enabling the arm to be positioned accurately at any desired point without momentum of the arm and parts connected thereto being created, which would carry said arm beyond the desired point and require a reversal of the motor to correct the adjustment.

Fastened to the lower end of the depending portion 21 of said arm, or in other words, to the outer end of said arm, is an electric motor 24 having a gear-wheel 25 secured to its shaft, said gear-wheel be ing in mesh with a pinion 26 fastened to a propeller shaft 27 journaled in a suitable bearing 28 fastened to the lower end of the motor 24:, said bearing 28 having an extension 29 provided with a guide wheel 30. The pinion 26 is secured to the inner or rear end of the propeller shaft 27, while an air propeller 31 is secured to the front end thereof, said propeller having two or more arms 32 and being preferably of the type usually employed in aeroplanes.

Fastened to the frame or structure 11 in the plane of the guide wheel is a guide track 33, against which the guide wheel 30 rides, said guide track having preferably a projecting flange 34 and the guide Wheel 30 being peripherally grooved to receive said flange. Fastened to the frame or structure 11 above the track 33 is an annular contact 35 having a contact roller 36 adapted to ride over and in contact with the same, said roller being secured to an arm 37 depending from the motor 22 and serving as a current conductor for said motor.

While the current may be supplied to the motors 22 and 24 in any approved manner, we preferably connect a current-conducting wire 38 to the guide track 33, a second current-conducting wire 39 to the step bearing 15, and a third current-conducting wire 40 to the annular contact 35. Therefore, when rotating the adjusting motor 22, as it may be termed, current is passed" through the wire 40,'through the annular contact 35, the roller 36 and arm 37, and the motor 22, and from the motor 22 through the arm 20 and rod 16 to the wire 39; said wires 39 and 40 necessarily leading to a source ofcurrent and having a suitable switch (not shown) to make and break the circuit formed by such parts, which switch may be within the wheel iii) or pilot house so that, while directing the engineer in the hold of the vessel by the usual means to assist in steering the vessel, the wheelsman or pilot may control our combined propelling and steering apparatus at the front end of the vessel. The pilot or wheelsman will, of course, control the direction of rotation of the motor shaft of motor 22 by any suitable electrical instrument for the purpose, and after adjusting the arm by means of the bevel gear 23 traveling in contact with the rack 17 to bring the shaft of the propeller at the desired angle, he may close the circuit in which the motor 24: is included, said circuit including the wire 38, guide track 33, guide wheel 30, and shaft bearing 28 electrically connected to said motor in any suitable manner; and from said motor the arm 20 and rod 16 are utilized with the wire 39 so that by means of a switch or other suitable device within the pilot or wheel house, the two wires 38 and 39 may be electrically connected to pass current through the motor 24 and rotate the shaft thereof, which through the medium of the gear wheel 25 and pinion 26 will rotate the propeller 31 at the desired speed. For example, assuming the vessel to be positioned within a harbor designated by the numeral a1 in Fig. 5, and adapted to enter a slip or branch of the harbor designated by the numeral 42, the wheelsman or pilot, whoever may have control of the combined propelling and steering apparatus, will adjust the propeller to the angle shown in said figure, at the same time the engineer is given the signal to assist in steering the vessel in the usual manner by manipulating the propeller 7. The velocity of the air-pro-peller 31 will create action against the air and draw the forward end of the vessel to the left, as indicated by dotted lines in said figure, thus making it possible to direct the vessel into the slip indicated at 42 without resorting to the use of tugs for the purpose, which would entail considerable expense and waste of time.

It will be apparent that by positioning the air-propeller 31 with its axis directly above the longitudinal center of the vessel, the rotation thereof will assist in propelling the vessel at increased speed, with the result that a larger number of trips can be made during a season, and this will also result in a considerable saving of coal.

Vhile an air-propeller arranged to swing in a complete circle will enable a vessel to be moved backward with greater facility,

a condition requiring such movement does.

not often arise. Therefore, it is not essential to our invention that the air-propeller be arranged to swing in a complete circle, as ordinary conditions of use may not require a greater range of movement for said propeller than ninety degrees, and therefore a segmental rack may be employed instead of the annular rack 17, also a segmental guide track and contact instead of the annular track 33 and annular contact Vhere a greater range of movement than ninety degrees is desired for the propeller, the segments employed in place of the rack 17 track 33 and contact 35 may be enlarged. We have, however, shown and described these parts as forming complete circles so that the full range of movement can be secured when desired.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. The combination with a vessel, ofa l frame rising from the deck thereof and having a curved gear rack at its upper end, an arm circularly adjustable, an electric motor carried by said arm, a gear wheel secured to the shaft of said motor and in mesh with said rack, an air-propeller mounted for rotary movement in said arm, a second electric motor carried by said arm and operatively connected with the shaft of said air-propeller, and electrical connections between said motors and a source of current to operate said motors.

2. The combination with a vessel, of a frame secured to the vessel having a rack at its upper end and a curved contact in a plane beneath said rack, a circularly adjustable arm having its axis coincident with the axis of said rack, an electric motor secured to said arm having a contact engaging said curved contact, a gear wheel secured to said electric motor and being in mesh with said rack, an air-propeller having its shaft journaled in said arm, a second electric motor carried by said arm, a gear wheel on the shaft of said second electric motor, a pinion on the shaft of said propeller in mesh with said last-mentioned gear wheel, and electrical connection between said curved contactand a source of electric current and also between said motors and said source of electric current, said electrical connections including means to control the current individually to said motors.

3. The combination with a vessel, of a frame secured to said vessel, an annular guide track on said frame, an annular contact on said frame above said guide track, an annular gear rack on said frame above said annular contact, a vertically-disposed rotatable rod extending upwardly through said frame and gear rack, an arm secured to said rotatable rod and extending laterally therefrom, said arm having a depending portion at its outer end, an electric motor secured to said arm and having a contact in engagement with the annular contact on said frame, a gear wheel on the shaft of said motor in mesh with said annular rack, a second electric motor secured to the depending portion of said arm, a gear wheel on the shaft Ell] lUO

of said second electric motor, a, bearing member secured to said motor having a guide said propellershaft in mesh with the gear wheel on the shaft, of said. last-mentioned electric motor, and 'Wires connected, respectively, to sziid annular track, said annular Contact and said rotatable rod, and; leading 10 to 'a source of power, said Wires and parts to which they are connectedbeing, arranged to conduct electric current through said electr cimot r In testimony whereof e affix our signa- 15 cures V 7 CATHERINE v GALLAHAN. MARY MANNS.

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