US1382073A

US1382073A - Submergible vessel

Info

Publication number: US1382073A
Application number: US177512A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fort Louis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1917-06-28
Filing date: 1917-06-28
Publication date: 1921-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 1938-06-21

Description

L. FORT.

SUBMERGIBLE VESSEL. I APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28, 1917.

1,382,073. PatentedJune 21, 1921.

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L. FORT. V

I SUBMERGIBLE VESSEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28. 1917. 1,382,073, Patented June 2 1921 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

vwam-toa: Louis Fort,

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L. FORT.

SUBMERGIBLE VESSEL.

APPLICATlON men JUNE 28., 1917 1,382,073. Patented June 21, 1921."

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LOUIS roar, or JERSEY crrY, NEW JERSEY."

' SUBIVIERGIIBLE VESSEL.

To all whom itmag concern:

Be it known that I, Lou s FoR'r, a c1t1zen' of the United States, and a resident of J ersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New,Jersey,-haveinvented certain new one skilled inthe art may make and use the same. i I

The invention relates to submergible vessels generally, and is particularly directed to submarines andwhat might be termed dirigible torpedoes. Itpertains to a method I andmechanism for varying and controlling the displacement of the vessel in; contrad si tinction to maintaining a constant displacement thereof, and controlling the submersion by varyingthe condition .ofweight or ballas In present practice, water pumped into and out of the tanks of the hull serves to f instance, fuel, armament, etc are varied;

with referenceto vits buoyancy so that its in a very short period of time;

In so faras known, ithas been a common practice with a vessel or" any given displacement andbuoyancy toovercom e the buoyancy by the addition of weight in the form of water ballast. This has ,beenpumped into and out of, suitable. ballast tanks-and In vessels of this character; this taking on of ballast or expellingv it has required un- I usually efficient and cumbersome apparatus and considerable power and; the necessary conditions in the variousballast tanks. 7 V 7 Furthermore, in such vessels, t has been necessary. to keep the :submarine 'under way? 1n order to malnta n the tion of ballast and submersion.

It is the principal-object of thepresent inf vention to provide for variation 'in displacement of the vessel so that its'natural buoyancy and differing conditions of displacementwill aidin making it more stable,

giving a better control and providing a means-'whereby hovering may beeffected.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June Application filed. June 28,1917. Serial in. 177,512.

f large measurediagr mmatic;

Figure 1 illustrates across-sectional view -vary the conditionsof weight or ballast'and j a ls ps 7 these must be regulated other weights, for

, ancmg pistons.

any well kno' lindrical openings,

proper condii V g two arrangedaft,there'being In the device hereinafter described," is

possible to arrange to maintain the vess l" any desired degree of deptho ffsubmerslon by agslmple and efiicient means and the'sameform as inthe present types of submarines. V I slred, ballast tanks withpumping devices,

I Itis also intended that, fwhenrdesuch as are at present employed, may be used. These are primarily effective in bringing the vessel' down "to zthe 'critical point of its loss of buoyancy duringsubv mersion. The full loweringorrising ofthe vessel may'then be taken} care of by the apparatus'describede i Refe'rringto the drawings, whichare inj'a Fig. 2 is a "diagrammatic plan of t eta- Fig. 3 is a side-elevation-jwith away about one of the balancingpistons.

7 g Fig. 4 illustrates 'in'four diagrams a form submergence may be controlled andsecured ,pf 6 1f1 11C 1 r 1 'fOIi'eaGh 0f, the'balanc mg motors.

-without requiring the vessel to be under and useful Improvements in Submergible f- .Vessels, of which the followingis a full,

clear, and exact description, whereby any all of the ordinary fins, plane's, 5

parts broken 7 Fig. 5o is a detail View illustrating 51min 1 of driving the balancing pistons-f Fig. l 7 is 'a' sectional view of V torpedo illustrating a use ofthefinvention."

illustrating the control. 7

Fig. 9 is a wiringdiagram of the control ling device. 1

i The shell or hull of the vesselmay, be of V 11 type and is indicated asat :i

1,1as being ofthedouble skin formation;

sultably arranged and opening out et the as many jgoomts as may be c'les'ired ar'e has controlled thelbuoyancy or rather has I g-' i a'cr s e na w F g 7, been used t o-overcome the buoyancy of the W vessel.

cylindrical ope'ningS 2, :3, 5." As illiis- ,t a ed in F g.2, there. are four of these cytwo v arranged "fore and two ontheport and. two on the starboard side. These, of

'course,'areto :be arranged below the normal,

water line and may be provided with siiitable screen's orother protective devices to'prevent the ingress of mud and prevent fouling.

Each cylindrical tube which, of course, will be of suitable dimensions, i's provided c amidships or forward or with a piston 6, having any suitable means for moving it rapidly backward and forward in its cylinder. As illustrated, the piston 6, is connected through a quick pitch screw 7, with an actuating worm gear 8, which -in turn is driven by a worm 9, connected with a suitable motor 10. I 1

For the purpose of convenience, each of the pistons has an individual separate drive and is independently controlled through manual means, though preferably through automatically actuated means. These cylinders and pistons form a means for varying the displacement ofthe vessel and as the pistons are moved forward and back, the vessel will have increased creased buoyancy depending upon the difference in the degree of its displacement.

The motors for each of the'pistonsbeing independently controllable, makes it quite possible to provide great stability and give unusual latitude of action of the crew. Obviously, the independent operation of the pistons will permit automatic ballasting and balancing.- 1

To provide for maintaining definite depth of submersion and to quicklymodify the critical condition of buoyancy, there is arranged in any suitable position, a pair of inter-connected'pistons 11, 12. These are inter-connected through driver 13, which may be driven by a wormwheel 14, and worm 15, connected with a suitable motor 16. I

As illustrated, the

pistons

11, 12, have

con necting rods

11, 12 and as the driving member 13, is rotated, these pistons are driven backward in their

respective cylinders

17, 18. r 1

. The movement of these pistons may be made very rapid and provides a very' sensitive means of adjusting thedisplacement of the vessel for hovering. -Even with the-form of driving apparatusillustrated, their movement is readily controlled and is sensitive to slight modifications in pressures under submersion, as more; fully hereinafter described.

It will be apparent that with the vessel at its critical point of buoyancy or loss of buoyancy, these pistons may re-act to vary that condition so that a hovering effect may be secured and thevessel may be held at any predetermined and pre-arranged depth of submersion. '7

As a simple means of controlling the operation of the pistons 6, through their respective motors,there is illustrated in Fig. 4:, a series of electrical controls for the electric motors.

An efiectlve simple means of controlling the circuits of the motors of the hovering pistons, 11, 12, is illustrated in conjunction with the torpedo of Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive, wherein the external pressures upon the hull or dey a common actuating 'dicated in conjunction .with

illustrated, consists .of a weighted pendulum 20, having a suitable switch barnormally in contact with the main circuit through

contacts

21, 22, which are connected with the main source of {power 23." The armature circuits are controlled through contacts 21,

25, and the fields through contacts 26, 27 28,

and 29. A glance at the diagrams will indicate that the swing 'of-the pendulum from its normal central position will control the directional flow of current from'the main source, of power and as it swings from one side of normal to the, other, the direction of current will be reversed by reversing'the fields.

The obvious result of this is to drive the motor in one direction or the other and thereby move the respective pistons in either 'direction.

Of course, many means might be devised for controlling the motors automatically or they may be controlled manually and whether of the'electric or other type, they may be individually or collectively controlled by other apparatus so that the pis- ,;tons can be moved to any desired degree.

No attempt has been made herein to elabrate in detail the various parts of the mechanism and structure, and in fact, the drawings are of more or less diagrammatic type.

It is'a matter of indifference just what power or means is employed for propelling the various pistons, so long as there is anarrangement of them which willchange the displacement of the vessel and thereby produce eificient means for submergingfiit to any degree and with features of balancing the vessel while submerged. i

' It is also possible to use water ballast entirely in place of the main balancing cylinders 2, to 5, inclusive and still maintain the hovering.

pistons

11, 12,. which will operate for the critical point ofbuoyancy during submersion. i

The depthcontrolis'not specifically in- .the hovering pistons of Figs. 1 ,to' 3', and for ,clearness is illustrated in Figs? 130 9, where the in 'vention is shown as applied to a dirigib le :As illustrated in "itheidia gramjthere is a driving motor 53,-which may be ofthe ordinary compressed air type commonly employedor may *be an electric =motor. In

7 -eithercase, it*drives*-the propellersof'the torpedo.

The source of electrical energy for'ioperat- -ing the torpedo and its depth controlling in tubes or gcy'linders 63, '64, which are arapparatus maybe storage'batteries; although these are not specifically illustrated herein.

WVithin the icompartment :52, there ."lS a motor 54:, suitably geared to acountershaft '55, which ithrougha: pinion 56, and spro'ck ets 57 58,:drives the

piston rods

59, 60, in such relation that

theinrespiective pistons

61, 62, are movedaway'i'rom or :toward each other, depending 1 upon the direction of Frotation :of the countershaft, and motor: shaft.

As illustrated in the diagrams, sprockets and chains are indicated :where: any desired form of drive =may be "employed and, as

shown, the sprockets 5 7,"-'58, :are *threaded threads upon the piston rods to engage 59,60. 1

The

pistons

61, 62, a're 7 arranged to 1 move ranged respectively on oppositesides of the center l'ine of the torpedo -to 1 give balance and at opposite ends of its 'fin 'or keelf65.

It is obvious that asthe pistons are moved backward and forward, the 'torpedo}: will be submerged to a greater or less :degree and may be maintained'at a constant depth "of submergence.

'For controlling the degree of submer, gence, a circuit of the motor 54, is controlled through a simple switch mechanism which reverses the direction of current in the motor. 1

As illustrated in Fig. 8, there is a diaphragm 66, which is sensitive to the external pressures of the hull of the torpedo. This is backed up by an adjustable spring 67, which, through any desired indicator mechanism, may be set to difl:'erent tensions. As illustrated, an adjusting nut 68, is provided upon a spindle 69, which is connected with the diaphragm 67, and is pivotally connected as at 70, with swinging switch tacts 75, 76, the flow of current will be.

though the field and armature, in the direction of the dotted arrows. V

the switch .;In other words,.theicontrolling devicereverses thermotor-iconnections to give afre- -versed rotationatothe armature.

As the motor receives-a supply ofcurrent, it moves the'pistons in onehdirection ort-he other .to increase or decrease :the displacement ?of the -:torpedo. With, this arrangement, '.the torpedo amay zbegheld constantly at-.a given depth below theysurface. 7

.There .arezpafticultr {advantages in such an arrangement of the invention asis lap- .=.plied Ito 'ztorpedoes. They 'may be; run at :the desired speed: from the. islelf-contained power plztnt, giving ;a greatyradius. 10f op- "eration, i-and ineedi :not .;rely. ;upon iagggiven speed and;;given regulated: angles :of controlling sveins and ,5 fins csuc h as, are 'commonlyemployed. "'VV'herera-n electrical-plant :is employed for driving such 5 a torpedo, .there .is little showing :of. its wake as znjaturallystherearexno air bubblesy 'device :for i a submergible Hvessel, such" as n; 15am :be understood that ithehovei'ing illustratediin Fig. .-1, 1may -;be automatically controlled by the c same diaphragm ;mech;a n ism'illustrate'd1in Fig. 8. f: I

It ..-1s obvious thatxnowattempt-haslbeen made :to zgoiintozexact detail of Zthe various mechanlsms for eaisubmergmg vessel or ;;a

:torpedo, buttthe' showing-is more. or less dia- 1 grammatic andiconfined to -illustrating a 'means fo'r trimmingandcbalancingavessel and "maintaininga e'given 'depthqot submergencef- By :adjusting'the pistons rof the bow :or sternythevessehmay: be caused to dive-when un'der :way', :or: the bowand 1' stern pistons may {-be utili zed for changing the edisplace= ments of the-=ivesselrsveryfrapidlyaup. to its critical point of complete loss of buoyancy. Thereupon, the hovering pistons will operate to maintainproper' equilibrium. A very slight adjustment of the hovering pistons,

which can be made very rapid, will sufiice to give submergence and maintain the vessel in' hovering position when it is not under way.

' The advantages of this are apparent as from a point of rest the vessel may be immediately submerged and when it has reached a given pre-determined depth, it may be put .under way with safety and without 7 liability of runningto too great a depth'as is oftenthe case with present methods where vanes-and fins are utilized.-

Itis understood that such modifications inv detail and design as are necessary may be:

employed. The main elements and "means of operation and purpose. thereof are hereinf above set forth. 7

'The hovering

tubes

17, 18, and their appurtenances are eifective for maintainmg a definite condition, causing either positive or negative buoyancy of the vessel, as they may be moved with great rapidity, It-is apparent that the vessel, when submerged, becomes either positlvely or. negatively buoyant, and the hovering tubes will correct these of the

tubes

63, 64, which serve toprovide the variation in displacement for the torpedo or vessel as well as to maintain it at its critical pointof loss of buoyancy after it has been set for adefinite displacement.

The buoyancy of the vessel may' be controlled with such accuracy 'and ease that the system is particularly well adapted for what might be termed a one-man submarine, capable of firing torpedoes. As the vessel can be made automatically adjustable for trim, all the operator would be compelled to do would be to give it proper directional course and release his torpedoes. His equilibrium, after the change in displacement due to discharge of torpedoes, may be compensated for by the moving pistons. V What I claim as my'nvention and desire to secure by Letters atent is:

1. A submersible vessel having a plurality of trimming tubes opening. outwardly through the hull of said vessel, pistons traversing said tubes, individual, means for driving each of said pistons in opposite direction to vary the displacement and trim of the vessel, means for controlling the move ment of'said individual means, and means.

for controlling the buoyancy of the vessel at its critical point of loss of buoyancy;

2. A submersible vessel having a plurality .of trimming tubes opening outward through the hull of said vessel, pistons traversing said tubes, means for moving said pistons in oppositedi'rection to vary the displacement of the vessel, automatic means controlling the movement thereof, and automatically controlled means for varying the buoyancy of said vessel at its critical point of entire loss of buoyancy. 3) x1 3. A submersible vessel carrying a power plant and means for driving thevessel and having tubes ,fore and aft opening; through the hull thereof, pistons traversing said tubes, individually actuated means for rap- .idlymoving each of said pistons in the tubes to vary the displacement offthe vessel, means for controlling its critical point o'f loss of 1 buoyancy, and automatic means operable by the changes in position of the vessel forcontrolling the driving means of said pistons.

4:. A submersible vessel having tubes fore and aft opening through the hull thereof,

reversible motor; devices for rapidly moving :said pistons forward and backward in their respective tubes to vary. the displacement of the vessel, means for, controlling its critical point of loss of buoyancy, and, automatic electro-mechanical means dependent upon the changes in position of the vessel for C011:- trolling the direction of rotation of the motor and the consequent movement of the pistons. r y I V LOUISIFORT.

. Witnesses: F L

fT. C. SHUHERN,

W. H. ADAMS.