US1702403A

US1702403A - Ratus co

Info

Publication number: US1702403A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1929-02-19
Anticipated expiration: 1946-02-19

Description

Feb. 19, 1929.

E. L. HOLMES INTEGRATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1925 INVENTOR .Ilhh Hum H-I IIHHXI hatented Feb. 19,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD L. HOLMES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HOLMES NAVIGATING APPA- RATUS CO., INC., OF NEW YORK, Y., A OOR-POEATION OF NEW YORK.

INTEGRATING APPABA .aUS.

Application filed January 24, 1925.

The following is a description of integrating apparatus embodying my invention in the form and manner at present preferred by me; but it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and without exceeding the scope of my claims.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated the preferred form of devices for carrying out my invention and in which Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the apparatus; Fig. 2 is an end perspective view thereof; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a counter having attached to one dial thereof a shutter for concealing the numbers of said counter, such shutter being partially broken away; F 3* is sectienalview of the counter shown in Fig. 8, showing the left-hand dial of said Fig. partly in elevation and partly in section, to illustrate the manner of attaching said shutter to said dial. Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

The apparatus integrates and registers two functions ,of all of operation with time of operation. For purposes of illustration it will be described as installed upon a ship or other mobile object, travelling at a uniform speed, and as being controlled by a master-compass to integrate, with time of operation, the sines and cosines of all angular m vements of said ship or mobile ob ject relative to a set path it is thus possible by means of the invention to determine the distance which the mobile object has traveled from said set path and from its known point of departure. It will, however, be understood that my invention is useful in other connections than as an aid to navigation, it being applicable generally to the integration of functions of angles of operation ith time of operation.

Referring to the drawings: At the lefthand side of Fig. 2 is shown a mechanism for integrating and registering in numbers sines of angles of operation with time of operation; and at the right-hand side a mechanism for integrating and registering in numbers cosines of angles of operation w th time of operation. Attached to otati 1 able shaft 1 at the left-hand end thereof s Serial No. 4,620.

spoked wheel 2, and attached to said rotat able shaft at the right-hand end thereof is spoked wheel Q. Mounted upon spoked

wheels

2 and 2 respectively are

compass cards

3 and 3. Rotatably mounted upon the left-hand end of shaft 1 is yoke l, carrying at the outer end of one arm setscrew 5; and similarly mounted upon the right-hand end of said shaft 1 is yoke :l, carrying at the outer end of one arm setscrew 5 These set-screws are for the purpose of clamping the yokes to th annular portions of spoked

wheels

2 and 2 respectively. The other arm of yoke l carries at its outer end a pin 6, engaging a vertical slot in cruciform yoke 7, whereby said pin actuates said cruciform yoke. The cruciform yoke is support d by

grooved rollers

8, 8 8 and 8 on yoke-track 9. Attached to rrm which carries pin 6 is a pointer 25, is mounted in radial alignment with .nce to the centers of shaft 1 and said Mounted on the lower portion of is a sine-integrating unit cruci 'orin yoke l driven by integrating disk 10, and comprising 'ntegrating wheel 11, counter-driving 12 (rotating in suitable bearings), and .oun

ters 13 and lei, carried by said shaft 12. grating wheel 11 is maintained in driving contact with sine-integrating disk by bar 1! pressed by

springs

16 and 17 against roller 18, mounted on the lower end of said cruciform yoke 7. Yoke P, at the righthand side of the device, has a yoke-pin ena corresponding cruciform yoke 7 supported in like manner on a yoke-track 9, and carrying a cosine-integrating unit comprising an inte rating wheel, a c-ounter d iving shaft and

counters

13 and 14, carl e I r' I 1 lied o said shalt. lhe OPQlitt-INQ relationship between the cosine-integrating cruciform 7 and its yoke pin is not the same as the operative relationship between the corresponding sine-integrating elements, l i such that, as appears from Fig. 1, when the sine-integrating cruciform yoke 7 is central with reference to sine-integrating d 0, cosine-integrating cruciform yoke '4' at its extreme outward position with refer ence to cosine-integrating disk 10 Thus, while sine-integrating wheel 11 is in its cen tral non-rotating position of contact with sine-integr ti 10, cosine-integrating wheel 11 is in its extreme outward position .pass. with time of operation.

manner by a cam (not shown), operated by handwheel 21, and acting upon frictionbrake governor 22 The clock is so designed that it keeps correct time when the motor is opera ng at normal speed. By comparison of his clock 20 with a standard timepiece,

the correctness 1 incorrectness of the motor speed may at any time be dc rmined.

Compass card 8 on the cosine-integrating side is a duplicate of compass-card 3 on the sine-integrating side, except for the reversal of the figures thereon.

It is well known that when a rotary member is provided with a pin engaging in a slot of a linearly-moving member, the movement of the latter member may be correlated to the sine or to the cosine of the angle of movement of the rotary member.

The position of contact of integrating wheel 11 and its corresponding wheel on the cosine-integrating side with the integrating disks, and, consequently, the rate of rotation of said wheels and the value of the numbers registered by their counters, is governed through rotating shaft 1 by the operation of a motor and preferably by a step-by-step electric motor 23. Thus, angular move ments relative to the directional element of a primary compass may be caused, through a n'iaster-compass and suitable transmitting devices, to so energize some of the field magnets of step-by-step'motor 23 as to rotate shaft 1 and thereby bring integrating wheel ll to such a position of contact with integrating disk 10 as to impart to it a speed resulting in the registrati n by one of the sine-indi ting counters of a number which rcpre. ts an integration of the sine of the angle of movement with reference to the directional element of the primary com- Simultaneously. one of the cosine-indicating counters registers in numbers an integration of the cosine of such angle with time of operation. Thus, through the intermediary of step-bystep motor the integrating units become operatively electro-magnetically locked to the master-compass or other controlling device, and therefore reproduce all angular movements thereof and integrate all such angular movements with time of operation.

The apparatus is adjustable to integrate with time of operation sines and cosines of all angles of operation with reference to indicated direction of any base-linesuch adjustment being effected in the following manner: When no current flows through step-by-step motor 23, shaft 1, together with

spoked wheels

2 and 2" and attached

compass cards

3 and 8, is freely rotatable. Shaft 1 is manually rotated until the desired points (say 50) on the two compass cards register with fixed points, such as lubbers lines. Set-screws 5 and 5 are then released, and cruciform yokes 7 and 7 are moved upon their respective tracts until the cruciform yoke-pin pointers are also in alignment with the figures, such as 50, on the respective compass cards and with the respective lubbers lines-yokes 4L- and 4 being then clamped by their set-screws to the annular portions of spoked

wheels

2 and 2, respectively. Thereafter rotative movement of shaft 1 will cause a shifting of cruciform yokes 7 and 7 upon their tracks to positions correlated to thesine and the cosine, respectively, of such angle of rotation. The four counters are then set at zero, the clock is set, and the motor 19 (which actuates the two integrating

disks

10 and 10 and said clock) is started. The initial adjustmentof cruciform yoke 7 has brought sine-integrating wheel 11 to the center of sine-integrating disk 10, and the initial adjustment of cruciform yoke Y has brought the cosine-integrating wheel to its maximum outward position from the center of cosine-integrating disk 10. Therefore motor 19 will pro duce'no rotation of sine-integrating wheel 11, and will cause cosine-integrating wheel ll? to rotate at maximum speed. These conditions will obtain so long as there is no v riation relative to the directional element of the primary compass from the assumed position.

Assuming now that there occurs an angular movement of 1 relative to the directional element of the primary compass, as

r erzamplc, by reason of veering of the ship which carries the device and its conolling compass: Through the action :1

3-001" ass controlled by the primary .d a suitable transmitting device, 23 will be actuated to ted

wheels

2 and 2* he and yoke-pin 6. will be moved along its sh? ftin sineintegrat' "rein it. non-driven position i grating disk 10 1 master 'ein its speed will be corresine of the angle of 1. Snnuh through yoke t and its yelleloll-n yolie T will have been moved along its track, thereby shiftin the cosinei grating wheel from its e t ard position whereby its speed w ii be correlated CJI to the cosine of the angle of 1. I preferably so Ii the speed of motor 19 that at the end of one hour of operation the figure regist red by one or the sine-integrating counters will represent the actual sine ot the angle at which the de ice has been operating; and the number registered by one of the cosine-integrating counters will represent the actual cosine of said angle. For example, at the end of one hour of operation under the condition of the assumed 1 change from the initial 50 setting, one of the sine-indicating counters will register 0.017%, which is the sine ot the angle of 1; and one of the cosin -indicating counters will register 0.9998, which is the cosine of the angle of 1. As the counters register numbers in which time of operation is a factor, such numbers will progressively increase so long as the device continues to operate at 1 deviation from the original 50 setting. It the ship has traveled at a uniform speed one nautical mile in said hour, its oistance from its set path, at the end of such hour, will be .01. l of a nautical mile. It it has traveled at a uniform speed miles in said hour (as determined by any of the methods well ltnown in navigation), it is only necessary to multiply such registered number 0.017% by 15 to learn the distance (.261 of a nautical mile) from the ship to its setpath. Under the assumed conditions, the number 0.9998 on the cosineintegrating side of the device will indicate the distance in nautical miles between the known point of departure and the ship, as projected upon the set path, provided the ship has traveled at a uniform speed one aut-ical mile in one hour. If it has traveled at a uniform speed 15 miles in that hour, the distance between the known point of departure and the ship as projected upon the set path will be 15 .9998, or H.997 nautical miles.

It will be understood that it the is, required to operate for long periods of time, counters may be en'iployed laving larger number of dials than that shown in the dra ings. It will also be understood that the gear ratios may, it de ...ed, be such that the dials will rot o more slowly than above indicated. .iple, these ratios may be such that. r the end or one hour of operation. the indi'ations oi the device counter dials will register a iigure presenting but one-tenth the actual sine or upon one of its counters a number representing the sine of the angle of 1 multiplied by the time in hours during which the device was operating at a 1 angle from the initial setting. It the ship be now headed toward its set path, the sine-indicating counter number will begin to decreasethe rate of such decrease being proportional to the new angle of direction of the ship relative to said set path. Thus, it the ship be headed directlv toward its set path, i. e. at an angle of thereto, sineinte *rating wheel 11 will be shifted to its maximum outward position from the center ct sine-integrating disk 10, and will therefore rotate in a reverse direction at its maximum speed. Regardless of the angle of direction at which the ship traveling at a uniform speed, approaches its set path, the sine-integrating counters will again register Zero when said set path is reached. Thus the sine-integrat'ng counshow at all times the integration of e sines of all the various angles at which device has operated, with all the various periods of time involved in such operation. Similarly, the cosine-integrating counters will show at all times the integration of the cosines of all the various angles at which the device has perated, with all the various periods of time involved in such operation. \Vith the distance and direction of the ship from its set path indicated, and with the distance indicated between a point of departure of known latitude and longitude and the ship as projected upon the set path, the position of the ship in terms of latitude and longitude may at any time be readily ascertained.

I employ counters ot the reversible t1 e,

one of each pair being right-hand drive and the other left-hand drive. lVith both counor" the path-indicator setat Zero when the ship is heading on its set ath, a veeri g to the right causes the number showing on the left-hand counter (Fig. 1) to increase. Simultaneousl a shutter automatically covers the negative, or decreasing, number on the right-hand counter. I believe this expedient of exposing one counter and covering the opposite counter is novel in this art; and possesses t- 1e advantage of instantly indicating the direction in which the setpath lies. It is further desirable in that the fusion which mi ht result :troin the ocot cousideri he values oi two sets ex ose l figures is thereby obviated. Moreove", uiien the ship, traveling at a uniform speed, crosses the set path, one shutter will automatically close, while the opposite shutter will automatically open; and this alternate closing and opening constitutes a practical and rea y-observable guide to the set path, which permits or" more accurate steering than is with 1. other apparatus or any other method with which I am familiar. The slittters are caused to tit) therefore not communicated operate in the describedmanner by attaching them over the highest digit of the highest dial of each counter, as illustrated in Fig. 8. In this position they respond immediately to the reversal of the counterdriving shaftwhich produces a negative reading.

My integrating apparatus may be used in conjunction with a gyro-compass of the t" in which an electric circuit is controlled by a rolling conductor attached to the sensitive element of said compass and contacts with conductors adjacent said sensitive element, and wherein the latter conductors are rapidly oscillated to overcome static friction. Such oscillations, which are at the rate of about two per second, are transmitted throughout the entire repeater-systen even the repeater-compass card having an oscillatory movement, which interferes with accurate reading thereof. tions (which are of the order of of one degree in extent) were communicated to

spoked wheels

2 and 2, to yokes and l, and to cruciform yokes 7 and 7, they would cause the integrating wheels to constantly shift backward and forward over the faces of the integrating disks, and the counters would be rapidly actuated in alternatedirections. This would produce undue wear throughout the mechanism, and would also render diiiicult the reading of the counters. lVhere it is desired to employ my integrating apparatus with such a gyro-compass, I provide means for preventing the communication of the oscillations to these parts and to the compass cards in the following man ner: I mount

spoked wheels

2 and 2 rotat ably, instead of fixedly, on shaft 1; and at tach to said shaft an arm 26, the outer end of which arm is bentat a right angle and oscillates about the center of slot 27, between

adjustable members

28 and 28 carried by member 29,. mounted upon spoked wheel 2-with0ut, however, contacting with said adjustable members. The oscillations are to the spolred wheel or to any of the devices actuated thereby. lVhen, however, step-by-step motor 23 moves in response to deviations of the ship, rather than m rely in response to escillations of the clectrcal terminals of the gyro-compass, arm 26 will take-up a new pcsit-ion, carrying with it poked wheel 2 and the parts con-trolled thereby, and will thereafter oscillate about a new center. The cosine side of the device will, under these circumstances, carry similar elements for preventing the communication of oscillations to its compass card parts associated therewith.

Various chart-recording devices, under control of both gyro-compasses and magnetic-compasses, are shown in the prior art. WVhile such devices, when properly designed and constructed, will record the integration If these oscillaof sines and cosines of angles of movements with distances of such movements, and with reference to a set path and a known point of departure, they are open to the objection that in order that the movements of the stylus used in connection therewith shall be of any advantage as a steering guide in relation to set path, the chart must be impracticably large. If large-scale charts be employed, they must be frequently changed. Moreover, the integrations on such charts are not shown in numbers, and distances must therefore be measured and computed. My apparatus is operatively independent of charts and their size limitations. Its rate of operation is preferably such that the counter registrations are in terms of one ten-thousandth of a nautical mile, at a uniform speed of one nautical mile per hour-thus constituting it a very sensitive and legible indication, for steering purposes, of departures from set path. In order that a chart might be equally legible, it would require to be on a scale of about 175 lineal feet per hour. If such a chart were intended to be used in connection with maneuvering, it would require to be pro ortionatelv wide. Therefore as a i. c 7

path-and-position indicator, my invention has the distinctadvantage over chart-recording devices of registering clearly-observable numbers which require but a simple multiplication to convert them into the desired terms of distance from set path and distance made good on set path from known point of departure; and of operating upon a scale very much larger than is feasible in a chart recorder.

il hat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, rotatable means for indicating the direction of any base line, and

means resp nsive to angular movement of said rotatable means away from said base line for integrating with time of oaeration and registering in numbers a function of the angle through which said rotat-a means has moved.

2.131 combination, rotatable means for producing an indication the direction of any base line, a motor and means actuated by said motor to integrate with time of GP. oration a function of angles of movement of d means rel e to the indica- 4c. in combination, a motor rotatable a substantially constant speed, means for H0- ducing an indication of the direction of any base line, said means being movable relative to said indicated base line, means actuator by said motor and cO-operative with said direction-indicating means to integrate with time of operation a function of angles of movement of said direction-indicating means relative to said indicated base line, and a counter for registering in numbers the result of such integration.

5. In combination, a motor, a disk driven by said motor, a wheel driven by said disk and movable across the taco thereot, and means for moving said wheel relative to said disk and adjustable to indicate the direction of any base line, said dist: and wheel co-operating with said wheel-moving and directionindicating means to integrate with time or" operation functions of angles of movement of said direction-indicating means relative to said indicated base line.

6. In a self-contained integrating appara tus, a rotatable member adjustable to produce an indication of the direction of any base line, and means controlled by said men bar for registering in numbers the integration, with time oi: operation, of a function of an angle of movement of said member relative to said indication of direction, said means comprising a motor rotatable at a constant speed, a disk driven by said motor, a wheel driven by said disk, and a device for moving said wheel across the face of said disk.

7. In combination, means for indicating the direction of any base line and angularly movable with reference thereto, means c0- operative with said direction-indicating means to integrate with time of operation a function of angles of movement of said direction-indicating means relative to said indicated base line, a pair of counters for registering in numbers the results of such such integi tions.

rotatable means for .ion of any base line, means (1()-0,l)0l21ii\'(3 with said rotatable means to integrate with time of operation two notions of angles of movement oi said iive to said indicated base line, and two pairs of counters for registering the results of such integrations, said counters being controlled by said inte rating means and being supported on yokes movable along tracks.

10. In combination, rotatable means for indicating any base line and means responsive to angular movement of said rotatable means away from said base line for integrating with time of operation and registering in numbers two functions of the angle through which said rotatable means has moved.

11. in combination, a self-contained de vice including a motor rotatable at a substantially constant speed, means actuated by said motor to produce an indication of the direction or" any base line, said means being movable relative to said indicated base line, and means whereby said last-named means integrates and registers in numbers two functions of such angles of movement with time of operation.

EDlVARD L HGLMES.