US1415705A - Apparatus for maneuvering ships and aircraft - Google Patents

Description

E. S. G. REES.

APPARATUS Fon MANEUVERING SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT. APPLICATION FILED NOV- 2, 1 920.

6 SHEETS-SHEET I,

Wing,

E. S. G. REES.

APPARATUS FOR MANEUVERINGSHIPS AND AIRCRAFT. APPLlCATlON FILED NOV. 2. 1920.

Patnted Mayf), 1922. N 6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. n 7 nd .622 fi yzww E. S. G. REES.

APPARATUS FOR MANEUVERING SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-2. i920 Patented May 9, 1922.

6 SHEETS-"SHEET 3.

E. S. G. REES.

APPARATUS FOR MANEUVERING SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 2. 1920. 41 705 1 Patented May 9, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WWW

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2. 1920.

Patented May 9, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5- -s a R m m V s l n/Q III/I/Wl/JAAAA/AAQwill/Ilflllll/ll/llll m R N w&

\ N m N Km QR N U s w lazmw E. S. G. REES.

APPARATUS FOR MANEUVERING SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2. 1920 1,415,705. PatentedMay 9, 1922.

6 SHEETSSHEET 6.

EDMUND soo'rr ou'sTAvE Runs; on WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR MAN E'UVERING SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT.

i Specification of Letters Patent.

l fatented May 9, 1922- Application filed November 2, 1920. Serial No. 421,363.

To all whom it may conccm:

Be it known that I, lfinlne'zvn Soor'r AVE Runs, a subject of theKing of Great Britairn residing in Vl olwrhanipton England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for"llllaneuver ing Ships and Aircraft, of. which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for maneuvering ships, aircraft and other craft driven by screw propellers wherein the fluid stream set in rearward motion by the propeller is confined within a fixed duct or tube which is open at each end andthe direction of flow of the stream withinthefixed tube and its issue therefrom is controlled by means of pivoted van-es or pallets at the rear end of the tube. Such a maneuvering apparatus enables the propeller to be driven continuously in one direction and the speed and direction oi movement of the craft to be varied as required solely by manipulation of the maneuvering apparatus.

The present invention seeks to increase the efficiency of such maneuvering apparatus by improvements in the construction. of: the pivoted pallets and the means for op erating them and of the fixed duct with which they co-operate. In this improved construction the pallets, which are mounted on parallel posts the axes of which prefer ably lie between the longitudinal axis of the duct and the walls of the same, are formed with abutting tips on their rear edges shaped to remain in contact over a considerable angular range of movement when the pallets are swung together. in the same sense with closed rearward edges for sternward maneuvering. Also, the forward portions of the pallets are so shaped and dimensioned that, while in the. iiull speed ahead position they close on the outer surface of the walls of the fixed duct or tube of which they then form a continuation, in all other positions they form in conjunction with the said walls :iorwardly directed nozzles or channels through which the water banked up in the tail end of the tube by the closure of the pallets ejected or deflected. Thepallets are operated by gear with an interposed yielding clutch or spring permitting the continued movement of the operating wheel or its equivalent and of one of the pallets afterthe'other pallet is arrested in its limiting position against the wall of the fixed duct.

The fixed duct is preferably given such a rearward expansion as may be necessary for its etlicien't action as an augmenter while at the same time"facilitating the fitting and operation of the pivoted vanes or pallets by making the sternward portion of the duct (it square or oblong cross section while the front portion is of circular section merging either directly into the square part or into an intermediate part of oblong section which in turn merges into an oblong sternward POI'illOIl.

These other features of the invention will be more particularly described with reiterence to theaccompanying drawings where in Fig. l is a central longitudinal section of the stern of a ship fitted with augmenter tube and maneuvering pallets constructed and operating in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a part sectional and part plan view of same 011 line 2-Q of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the augrnen'ter tube on line 3-'3 ofl ig. 1 but with the pallets in fore and aft positions; Figs. 4: and 5 hori zontal longitudinal sections of the tube and pallets showing thelatter in the positions forgoing astern to port and to starboard respectively; Fig. ("l is a longitudinal elevation of a'modilied constructioh of augmenter tube shown in association with an air propeller; Fig. 7 and .7 are plan views of same showing the pallets in alternative positions; Fig. 8 is an end elevation; Fig. 9 is a sectional plan showing the tail end of a fixed maneuvering tube and modified construction of apparatus embodying the invention, with both pellets in position :tor full speed ahead; Fig. 10 is a halt plan showing a pellet in position for full speed astern; Fig. 11 a similar view showingthe pallet hard over for going to starooard; and Fig. 12is a diagrammatic side view o l the rear end ol? the tube. o

It will be understood that when the invention is applied to aircraft the maneuveu ing tubes maybe arranged with the axes oi the maneuvering pallets horizontal instead of vertical as shown, while in the case of submarines theywould be so arranged when the zipper 'atus is used to effect submersion or emersion of the vessel.

' Referring first to Figs.,1-5, the augmenter tube awhich is rigidly fixed below the counter of the vessel in substantially axial alignment with thepropeller b has a forward or entranceportion of circular cross section 0t a dimension just suflicient to encircle the propeller blades with only a small clearance. This merges into a sternward or tail portion which is square in cross section, the top and bottom plates of which are rigid with the remainder of the tube and furnish pivot posts for the pallets d, e which, in the open position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, constitute the rear portions of the side walls of the square. External to the plane of each side wall and rigid with the tube are two forwardly directed nozzles or ducts j, which may be regarded as being obtained by off-setting a vertical strip on each side of the square portion of the tube so as to increase the width thereof locally. When the rear edges of the pallets all, care closed in the central position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 their forward edges are closely adjacent to the rear edges of the ofl'set strips forming the nozzles f, so that the flume from the propeller is then deflected to either side and forwardly by the pallets and is discharged from the augmenter tube through the nozzles f forwardly parallel with the axis of the tube and the centre line of the ship, or substantially so. The area of the nozzles is designed to give the fullest possible conversion of the potential energy of the water within the augmenter tube into speed energy.

The pivots of the pallets are carried by inwardly projecting brackets d, e which bring the pivot axes considerably inside the planes of the side walls of the augmenter tube. There are certain advantages resulting from this disposition of the pivot axes as compared with pivots in the planes of the pallets which will be referred to later.

The steering or maneuvering pillars g by which the pallets d, e are manipulated are carried up through the counter of the ship and have arms g rigidly attached to them and sector arms 72, connected with them through yielding clutch members h of such character that when the two sector arms are turned continuously in the same sense by the operating gear, the gear can be continued to be turned in that direction after either of the pallets has reached its limiting position. Suppose, for example, that the pallet d is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 and the pallet e in the position shown in dotted lines and that the two pallets are swung together by the operation of the steering gearapplied through the sector arms it until pallet 03 is in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and pallet e in the position shown in full lines. Pallet (Z can move no farther in the same direction but its sector arm b can, since the clutch h slips compressing its holding spring h, and consequently the operating gear can be continned to be turned in the same direction and With it the pallet 6 even when pallet d has been arrested by the wall of the tube a. The pallets are urged towards the open or dotted line position by means oi a tension spring 9 which is connected by suitable flexible connections with the ends of the arms g.

The rear edges of the pallets are curved outwardly so as to remain in contact with each other over a considerable period of angular movement when they are swung in the closed position either to port or to starboard, and to assist in the relative sliding movement involved in such motion the inner curved surface of the tips of the pallets may be continued in the form of webs vi adapted to continue in engagement with the inner face of the opposing pallet throughout the range of the swinging movement of the pallets, or substantially so.

The sector arms in by means of which the pallets are operated, are actuated by means of drums j, each having its own steering wheel j and flexible cords 7a which wind around the respective drums and are led around suitable guides and connected with the inner ends of the sector arms. The drums j are normally coupled by means of a clutch which may be of the ordinary dog type so that both pallets are actuated siinul taneously by rotation of either steeringwheel 9', but the drums can be declutched one from the other against the action of a return spring by outward axial movement of one of them, in which case the two steering wheels are separately usable for turning the pallets in either direction. Thus, the extent of the separation of the rear tips of the pallets which is required is effected by the separate operation of one or both of the steering wheels, and any subsequent joint movement of the pallets in the same sense for steering purposes is effected by the steering wheels in their clutched position.

Referring now to Figs. 6-8, apart ruin the fact that the construction in thesefig ures is shown in association with an air propeller b in rear of which within the augmenter tube a there may be provided a stream line body Z of such dimensions and shape as will give any required rate of expansion of the passage inside the augmenter tube, the principal differences between this construction and that already described (()]lsist in the steering pillars and the Pnlltds d, e lying in the planes of the pallets them- I L selves, which necessitates the webs '1' which continue the curve of the inward surfaces of the rear tips of the pallets, being of considerably greater depth in order to maintain contact between the web and its opposing pallet over any considerable range of lateral swing of the pallets, and in the transition from the circular entrance of the augmenter tube a to the oblong rear portion there is interposed between the two an intermediate elliptical section. Further. the rizircular frontportion itself expands slightly from front to rear of its length.

For constructional reasons the rectangular portion of the augmenter tube or the rearward. part of it carryingthe maneuvering; pallets is conveniently made separate from the remainder or forward portion of the au 'menter tube, and in certain cases of propulsion this forward portion may be omitted entirely and only the tail portion of the tube carryin' r the maneuvering pallets fitted immedlate y in rear or just embracing the propeller. The pallets may have their pivot axes either in the planes of the side walls of the fixed tube or duct or these axes may approximate to the axis of the duct or even be coincident therewith while the fixed side wall of the duct may be constituted solely by the forward nozzles or offset portions of the side Walls. In thelatter case when the rear edges of the pallets are closed in the central or astern position and their forwar'd edges are contiguous with the rear edges of the offset strips, the pallets in conjunction with the fixed side walls act simply as deflectors of the propeller Hume and not as nozzles or converters of ener 1n the modified construction shown in Figs. 9-12, m represents the side walls of a square or oblong fixed tube which may be immediately in rear of a driving propeller or may be the tail section of an augmenter tube hereinbefore described. The pallets a are carried by brackets a swinging on vertical pivots 0' and may be regarded as compris ing two parts, viz: the main or body part a to which the brackets are attached and which in the open position (Fig. 9) of the pallets form continuations of the side walls at, and forwardly projecting portions 79 which overlap the side walls m and are bulged outwardly as shown, save for the tip portions zl which lie flat against the walls of the tube.

he extent of overlap of the pallets and. tube is such that even when a pallet is hard over (Fig. 11.) the forward tip 7; of the pallet projects beyond the line of the wall m and no part of the deflected stream of water is divided forwardly inside the tube.

It will be seen that pallets having their forward ends constructed as herein shown form in conjunction with the rear ends of the walls at properly constituted discharge nozzles with converging inlets and diverging outlets for all positions of the pallets approximating to that shown in Fig. 10. The construction of these nozzles and their diverging outlets may be determined entirely by the formation of the pallet tips 7) or in part by shaped vertical strips m on the outer rear edges of the walls m, which also serve as reinforcements.

The concave surfaces of the pallets may be reinforced by webs as indicated at g, gf

iorinerfl integrally with or riveted to the pallets. and the outer hollow of the body portion a between the forward hulgirur portion 7 and the outwardly curved rear tips may be filled in with wood or otherwise encased to reduce shin friction. and prevent the lbrrnation of whirls and eddies in the full speed ahead position.

Fig. 112 shows the tail part of an au o mcnter tube the sid wall m of which terminates on the line A which corresponds with. the rear edge of the end wall indicated at A. in Fig. 9. Similarly the dotted lines E, C represent respectively the lines of the angle lar corner or heel of the pallet tip p and of the front edge of the pallet which are indicated by corresponding reference characters in Fig. 9. The line D is the corner or angle resulting from the merging of the forward circular or elliptical portion or of the augmenter tube into the rectangular tail portion.

It will be understood that many modifies tions may be made in the construction illustrated without exceeding the scope of the invention as herein described and claimed, as for example the position ofthe pivots both laterally and fore and aft with respect to the fixed tube. They may, for example, be coincident on the centre line of the tube. or they may be in the planes of the side walls or in any intermediate position.

Having; thus described the nature of the said invention and the best means I know of carrying the same into practical effect. l clain 1. In ships and, other propeller driven craft, in association with the propeller an augmenter tube of circular section at its forward. end and of rectangular section and greater area at its rear end.

2. In ships and other propeller driven. craft. in association with the propeller an augmenter tube or circular section at its forward end and oblon r section at rear end connected by an intermediate portion of substantially oval or elliptical section.

3. An augmenter tube as claimed in claim :2 having its tlomvard circular portion in creasing in cros. section from front to rear.

4:. In ships and other propeller driven craft, a fixed tubular duct associated with a driving propeller, rudder pallets pivotally mounted upon. the duct and having; their rear edges shaped to remain in contact over a considerable angular range of movement when swung together to one side or the other in the same sense.

5. In ships and other propeller driven craft,' fixed tubular duct, a driving propeller associated with said duct, rudder plates pivotally mounted upon the duct on separate axes inside the planes of said plates, said plates having their rear edges shaped to remain in contact over a consid' aircraft comprising a fixed tube extending: rearwardly oi the propeller, pallets pivotwl to said tube for controlling the discharge of fluid streams from the tube, the forward portions of the pallets being shaped to form in conjunction. with the walls of the fixed tube forwardly directed nozzles or discharge passages for all positions of the pallets approximating that of full speed astcrn.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EDMUND SCOTT GUSTAVE REES.

Images