US1123264A - Safety device for marine engines. - Google Patents

Description

G. C. ELLERTON. SAFETY DEVICE FOR MARINE ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED DBG.27, 1910.

Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

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9.0. ELLERTON. SAFETY DEVICE FOR MARINE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 27, 1910.

- Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

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GEORGE o. ELLERTON, on THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MARINE ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 5, 1915.

Appiication filed December 27, 1910. Serial No. 599,362.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE C. ELLnR'roN, a citizen of the United States and an oflicer in the United States Navy, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Marine Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a safety device for marine engines and has for its object to provide a device which will prevent the engineer from making the mistake of going the wrong way, that is going ahead when the signal telegraph says astern, and vice versa; and this object I accomplish by providing a warning device such as an electric bell which rings whenever the engineer does not follow the signals which he receives.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is an elevation, the electrical connections and some of the other parts being shown diagrammatn cally; Fig. 2 is a section view on the plane IIII of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of the sliding contact piece; Fig.4 is a sectional view of. this contact piece on the plane IVIV of Fig.3; Fig. 5 is a modification, parts of the device being shown diagrammatically; Fig. 6 is a side View, part of the casing being shown in section; Fig. 7 shows the indicating dial of the telegraph; and Fig. 8 shows one method of insulating metal arts.

p Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 is a piece of metal secured at each end to the wire that actuates the gong and pointer of the engine room telegraph, the wire 2 extending to the bridge of the vessel in the usual way. Secured to this metal piece 1 is a spring contact piece 3 which may be of brass, turned up at one end, and shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4. The contact piece 3, Fig. 1, slides under a brass strip or bar 6 which is secured by means of the screws 14, 14 which are surrounded by hard rubber insulating sleeves, to any suitable support, shown as a base piece 15, of wood.

7, 8, are strips of brass secured to the base plate and arranged as shown, insulating strips 9, 10, of hard rubber being interposed between the strips 7, 8, and the base plate.

11 is a binding screw for securing the wire 28 to the strip 6, and 12, 13, are binding posts for securing the wires 24 and 25 respectively to the strips 8 and 7.

16 is a battery connected by a wire 17 to a bell or gong 18 and thence by wire 19 to binding post 20 which is secured to and passes through a hard rubber quadrant 49. To this quadrant are secured additional binding posts 21 and 22 which also pass through the quadrant 49, the lower ends of these binding posts being arranged at such distance apart that two of them will be connected by the brass spring 23 which is operated by the handle 27 or other device secured to the shaft of the reverse lever. The usual stops for maintaining the handle in the proper position are shown and marked Ahead, Stop, and Astern, this portion of the device being of the usual construction. From the binding post 21 the wire 24 leads to the binding post 12, and from the binding post 22 on the quadrant 49 the wire 25 leads to the binding post 13 on the strip 7. Only one bell is shown but another bell 18 can be placed on the bridge in parallel with the bell in the engine room so that both will ring at once, letting the captain or oflicer on the bridge know when the engineer is making a mistake in the operation of the engine.

The operation of the device so far described is as follows: Assuming that a signal is received by the engineer on the telegraph to go astern. The contact spring 3 as shown in Fig. 1 is in the normal stop position until the above signal is received, when it moves up as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l. The engineer then moves the reverse lever to backing position, as indicated at the bottom of Fig. 1, which action corresponds to that of the signal. The current will then pass from the battery 16 through the wire 17, bell 18, wire 19, binding post 20, spring 23, binding post 21, wire 24, binding post 12 and brass strip 8, where the current will be interrupted because the spring contact 3 is out of contact with the bar 8. If, however, the engineer should make a mistake and put the reverse lever into the go ahead position, then the spring 23 would be in contact with the binding posts 20 and 22 and the circuit from the binding post 22 would be through wire 25 to the binding post 13, strip 7, spring contact 3, bar 6, binding post 11, and wire 28 back to the other side of the battery. The bell would then ring, indicating at once to the engineer that he had made a mistake. And of course if the engineer should upon receipt of a signal to go ahead move his reverse lever to the astern position, a like warning would be given, as the spring con: tact 3 would then be in its lower position and complete the circuit.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show a modified form of device, Fig. 7 showing the face of an engine room mechanical telegraph without theanswering handle and pointer. In Fig. 5, 51 is the sprocket or notched wheel used to ring the gong when the signal is sent on the telebrush 61 which may be of spring brass,

which sweeps over the ring 60. 62 is a brush which may be of spring brass, which is secured to the ring 60. 63 and 61 are brass strips secured to and insulated from the top of the box which contains the pulley or sheaves and shaft, the lugs by which they are secured being outwardly projecting to clear the brush 62. These strips are attached to the outside of the box above-mentioned in such a way that they do not interfere with the working of the latch'and hammerthat strikes the gong, this latch and hammer not being shown as they are of the usual construction. The gong and dial, Fig. 7, fit over and conceal the parts of the apparatus just described. The brush 61 which is fixed, is curved to give it spring and is secured to the box but insulated from it by the distance blocks 65, a hard rubber washer 66 being located under the head of the screw 67 which secures the brush 61 in place; 68 is a binding post by which the wire 28 is con- 'nected to the brush.

The operation of the device is similar to that before described. Thus when a signal is sent to go aster-n, the sprocket 51 revolves carrying the ring and the contact spring 62 with it, this spring 62 sliding over the strip 64 and making contact therewith. If the engineer makes a mistake and puts the reverse lever in the ahead position the current comes from the battery through the wire-28 to binding post 68 on the spring 61, thence to ring 60, brush 62, strip 64, thence through the wire 25, binding post 22, spring 2?), binding post 20, wire 19, bell 18, wire 17 Come: of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,-

back to the battery 16. Thus the circuit is complete and the bell rings to indicate to the engineer that a mistake has been made. By tracing the current through the wires and various connecting devices it will be seen that when the reverse lever is in the correct position the bell cannot ring butwill ring only when the lever is in the wrong position. The devices as shown are simple and compact and easily installed.

It is to be particularly noted that the en gineer is warned before he can actually make a mistake in starting his engines in the wrong direction, as the reverse lever must be moved to valveis opened.

The combination telegraph, comprising a pivoted disk carryiiig a peripheral jc'ontact plate, contact points supported radially to said pivot and cocperating successively with said peripheral contact plate, said disk arranged tooscillate abcut said pivot and electrically connect an position before the throttle with an engine-room outer and the central radial contact points,

a battery, a bell, a conductor connecting the central radial contact and bell, and a second conductor connecting the other side of the bell to one terminal of the battery, astern and ahead ccntacts, a common contact adjacent said aster'n and ahead cone tact-s,-,sa1d coinincn contact electrlcally,

connected to the other terminalof said battery, the astern contact connected to one of the outer radial contact points, the ahead contact connected to the other outer radialcontact point, a movable member arranged to successively electricallyicom nect and disconnect the astern and con1-' points and astern and ahead contacts;

and battery and bellremaining open whereby the bell does not ring when the telegraph signal is correctly executed, and closed whereby the bell does ring, when the telegraph signal is incorrectly executed. I Iii testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses,

Witnesses:

R. Wns'rAco'r'r, H. D; JAMEsoN.

Washington, D. 0.

GEORGE c. ELLERTON. i

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