US2378474A - Steering mechanism - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1.945. F, GASC HE 2,378,474

STEERING MECHANISM Filed Oct-7 1945 s Sheets-Sheet 1- A9 22 T5 are rd I QO GAIINVENTOR ATTORNEYS E BY PW/#6379! June 19, 1945. F. GASCHE STEERING MECHANISM Filed Oct.- '7, 1943 3 sheetssheet 2 ATTORNEYS June 19, 1945. F, A HE 2,378,474

STEERING MECHANISM Filed OctQ'7, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS Patented June 19, 1945 Fried Gasche, Titusville, Pa, assignontor Struthers- Wel'lszEorpnratibn; -'1itusville;.Pa=., a corporation of Maryland.

I Claim;-

This invention. relates. to. a; control. mechanism for the hydraulic. steering; mechanism. t ships and has; for its. objectthe provision. of a mach-- ani'sm. of this. character which is. simpler and lessexpensilve in construction than. those here tofore .in use,. which' is. positive (in. its; operation. and. which. Will" reliablyv hold; the. rudder in. anydesired'positi'on with a minimum. expenditure: of?

power.

In the accompanying drawings;

Fig. 1 is a. diagrammaticpla-n view: ofrthecone trol. mechanismembodying. this. invention Fig; 2 is an. elevation. 01; a. portionthereof; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section, on an. enlarged scale,. takensubstantially on line. 3-3,,F.'i'g. 1;. Figs. 4' and 5" are cross sections. taken; on, the

I correspondingly numbered lines in. Fig 3 and;

showing. the Genevaston-mechanism in.one.po.-

sition.. 4 I

Fig; 6 is av crossv sectiontalien. on. line, 6-6-,.

Fig. 3 but showingthe Geneva ston mechanism in.v

another position. I

In the following, decsripti'on similar reference characters indicate like parts in. the. several views.

of'the drawings. I

The steering. mechanism of the ship.in.connec.-; tion 'withwhich the present invention. is used; may be. variously constructedtbutv that; shown in the, drawings, as an example, capable. of embcdy-,- ing this invention is. constructed as followsz...

. The numeral HI represents-the. upright. rudder stock or shaft which is iournal'edl in any, suitable.

1 manner on the rudder post ofthe. ship. and.pro.-

vid'ed on its lower part with tl'ie usual. rudder. Hi

while itsupper end or head has. secured thereto a tiller or. steering arm l2"which in. this. instance.

projects forwardly. A horizontally turningmovement is imparted. to this tiller. by. a hydraulicactuator' consisting. preferably of two hydraulic. power cylinders I3; M mounted. transversely on.

the ship on opposite sides of' the tiller and a.v

double ram 01" plunger. movable lengthwise.- with. its outer ends, lj5,. I'Sji'n saidcylinders. and pro.-

in a guideway l'8 in the. tiller- Uponalternat'ely introducing'liquid under pressure into" the outer ends of these cylinders and withd'rawihg the.

of the ship andextends througha: stationary con-- trollbox housing or. casing; Zltwhich: encloses mostthe: hydrauliccylinders by. various. means such for; example,, as. those which. are shown in United. 1,108,443 and.

States. Patents Nos. 924;787, 1,993,435 and. which include a Waterbury hydraulic. pump I41 driven by. a. continuously nun nin-g. electric motorv 20,. conduits 2t, 22. connectmg. opposite sides.- of. this. pump. with. the. outer ends of thepower cylinders and. a reversiblecontrol mechanism 23 having a valve shifting rod. or. stem 241Which. uponresting ins-its. central position will cause the pump. to not discharge. any

liquid but. which. upon. being movedin one. (11-;

rectionwill cause the. pump tordeliver oil. or.- other liquid? under. pressure. through one. of the conduits "to. one. of. the cylinders. and. Withdraw liquid throughtheother conduitfrom the other cylinder andthuscause therudder tobe turned in onedirection. from itslcentral position, and. vice. versa.

The shitting rod of. the reversiblecontrol mechanism. is. set. by aeontrol. shaft 25 which. may. be

operated. either by. a. hand. or trick whee1.25'con-' nected directly therewith or this shaft may be providedwith anextension. 21, asshowm by dotted lines-in: Fig. 1. which is-connectedwith' amanually operated transmitting mechanism in. the pilot house located= on. the shipremote from the steering mechanism. v p

Thecontrolshaft 25. is. arranged horizontally of. the. parts constitutingthe. steering mechanism.

The front. part ot the control shaft. is journaledin a bearing 29 mounted on the 'front part of the-housing and the rear end of this shaftrotates. iniabearing -3 0.-ofany suitableetype arranged withintherear partcot the bore of a tubular follow-up or restoring; shaft. 3 I while i theinterme.-- diate part of. the; control shaft-is journaled by ansintermediatebearine 32 on the. front end. of

the follow-up. shaft, as shown; in Fig. 3.. The

follow-up. shaft turnsin a-bearing 33zon' the rear part. 01 the housing.

Variousmeans may bev employed: for transmit.-

ting'moticn from. the. rams or plungers-to the vided with across head I! which slides. radially" same therefrom thedouble ram or plunger willbe reciprocated and cause the tiller and? rudder: to

be rocked toward and from a central position forsteering the ship. v v

I"he liquid for operating the double. ram or plunger in this manner" may be alternately supplied toandwithdrawn" fronr'theouter ends arts follow-up shaft, those; shown. in the drawings comprising: a follow-upor restoring gear rack.

34 arranged parallel; with. the. rams and con-- shaft and which comprises. a front. section; 3.1 journaled 'in a. bearing 38'on a tubular differential shaft 39 which is connected by a key 36 or otherwise with the control shaft in rear of the bearing 29, and a rear section 40 which is journaled on the control shaft by means of two bearin'gs 4| arranged between the bearing 32 and the tubular shaft 39. The two sections of the spider extend laterally from the control shaft and have their outer parts connected by bolts 42, as shown in Fig. .3.

The numeral 43 represents a front differential gear wheel secured to the rear end of the differential shaft 39 and the numeral 44 represents a rear differential gear wheel secured to the front end of the follow-up shaft 3|. The two differential gear wheels 43, 44 are arranged on opposite sides of the rear section 40 of the spider and are concentric with each other and the control shaft 25, the differential shaft 39 and the follow-up shaft 3|. The numeral 45 represents an intermediate floating differential gear pinion which intermeshes on its opposite sides with the opposing faces of the differential gear wheels and which is pivoted on the rear section of the spider by means which include a pivot shaft, stud or arbor 46 mounted radially on the rear section of the spider. provided which cause the hydraulic shifting mechanism to hold the rudder in its assigned position, or cause the rudder to be moved different' distances from its previous position and then held there.

In their preferred form these shifting means are constructed as follows:

The numeral 4'! represents a rock shaft arranged parallel with the control shaft and journaled in bearings 48, 49 mounted on the front part of the control box or housing. On its outer end this rock shaft is provided with a rock arm 50 which is operatively connected with the control rod or stem 24 by an elbow lever 51 pivoted on the pump casing and having one of its arms connected with the pump control stem 24 while its other arm is connected by a rod 52 with the rock arm 50.

On its inner or rear end the rock shaft 4! is provided with a lock arm 53 of a locking device which is adapted to oscillate with this rock shaft and which is provided with a radial slot 54 and two curved locking faces 53, 51 on opposite sides of the radial slot, the axis of each of these faces being concentric withthe axes of the control shaft 25 when the axis of the respective locking face and those of the control shaft and rock shaft are in line, as shown in Fig. 4.

The numeral 58 represents a trip arm which is part of a trip device and which is preferably integral with the front part 31 of the spider and provided on its outer end with a trip roller or tappet 59 adapted to engage with the slot of the lock arm 53, and also provided on the periphery of its hub 69 with a receding clearance face SI and a cylindrical locking face 52 which is concentric with the control shaft and extends from one side of the clearance face to the other.

When the trip arm is in its central position its tappet 59 is arranged in the slot of the lock arm 53, as shown in Fig. 6, in which position the lock arm is free to be turned in either direction by the tappet of the trip arm until the locking face on one side or the other of this slot engages the periphery of the locking face on the hub of the trip arm, as shown in Fig. 4, after which the rock shaft is held against further rotation but the trip arm and its hub are free to rotate further independently of the lock Shifting means are arm and thus hold at rest the parts which are operatively connected with the lock arm in a manner similar to the operation of a Geneva stop mechanism.

The operation of this steering apparatus is as follows:

If the rudder is in its central position, as shown in Fig. l, the pump control stem or shifting rod 24 is in its central position so that there is no discharge of liquid within the running pump at which time the trip roller or tappet 59 engages with the slot 54 in the lock arm 53, as shown in Fig. 6, and the rudder is held against movement in either direction by the liquid in the outer ends of the cylinders l3, l4 resisting the movement of the rams or plungers.

If the skipper wishes to turn the rudder so that the ship turns starboard (right), he turns the trick wheel 26 and the control shaft 25 clockwise to an extent corresponding to the degree he wishes to turn the rudder in the respective direction. During this rotation of the control shaft 25 the front differential gear wheel 43, which turns in unison therewith, causes the differential pinion 45 to roll on the rear differential gear wheel 44, which latter is standing still at this time, so that this pinion is carried bodily clockwise and causes the spider to turn inthe same direction.

During the first part of this rotation of the spider the tappet 59 will engage the port side of the slot 54 in the lock arm 53 and turn the latter in an anti-clockwise direction and permit the tappet to move out of this slot and engage the locking face 55 of the lock arm with the cylindrical locking face 62 of the trip arm 58, as shown in Fig. 4, thereby holding the lock arm at rest but permitting the trip arm 58 to continue movement in this direction. This turning movement of the rock shaft 41 in an anti-clockwise direction is transmitted by the .arm 50, rod 52 and lever 51 to the pump control stem 24 so that the liquid is now forced by the pump 19 into the starboard cylinder I4 and liquid is withdrawn from the port cylinder I3 and thus causes the rams to be moved toward the port side of the ship and turn the rudder toward the starboard side of the same causing the ship to turn starboard.

The extent which the rudder is thus turne toward the starboard (right) is determined by the number of degrees which the trip arm 58 is turned clockwise from its central position, inasmuch as the pump control stem will remain in the respective position until the rudder has reached the desired angle. As the rams move from their central position toward the port side the restoring or follow-up rack 34 which moves in unison with the rams causes the follow-up or restoring gear pinion 35 to turn anti-clockwise, whereby the rear differential gear wheel 44 will turn the intermediate pinion 45 so that it rolls on the front differential gear wheel 43 in an anti-clockwise direction and thus cause this pinion to move bodily in this direction, together with the spider upon which the pinion is mounted. During this anti-clockwise movement of the spider the trip arm 58 and the hub 63 of the trip device move idly and the locking arm 53 remains standing still until the locking face 62 of the trip device has cleared the respective looking face 55 of the locking device and during the last part of this return or restoring movement of the trip device its tappet 59 engages the slot 54 of the locking device and turns the latter clockwise into its central position, thereby causing the pump control to be returned to its central position in which further'delivery of liquid to the starboard cylinder [4 and withdrawal of liquid from the port cylinder I3 is arrested and the rudder is held in the position in which it has been set.

In the absence of further manipulation of the steering mechanism the rudder is held in a position in which it incline toward the starboard side until such time as the course of the ship requires changing. When it is desired to again return the rudder to its central position the skipper turns the trick wheel 26 anti-clockwise whereby the front differential gear wheel 43- connected therewith Will cause the intermediate gear pinion 45 to roll bodily anti-clockwise on the rear. differential gear wheel 44 which is standing still at this time. During this movement of the pinion 45 the spider is also moved anti-clockwise together with the arm 58 and hub 60 of the trip device.

'This movement of these parts is continued until the tappet or roller 59 of the trip device has moved toward the starboard side of the slot 54 of the lock arm 53 and out of engagement therewith, thereby turning the locking arm 53 clockwise and engaging its locking face 5? with the locking face 62 of the trip device, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and thereby holding the locking device against further movement while the trip device is free to move anti-clockwise as far as required. Upon turning the rock shaft 4! clockwise in this manner the operating arm 50 thereof shifts the stem 24 of the pump control so as to cause the pump to deliver liquid into the outer end of the port cylinder l3 and withdraw liquid from the outer end of the starboard cylinder l4. When this occurs the rams are moved from port to starboard of the ship together with the follow-up gear rack 34 connected therewith, whereby the follow-up pinion 35 is turned clockwise together with the rear differential gear wheel M which is connected therewith by the follow-up shaft 3| Inasmuch as the floating follow-up gear pinion 45 meshes with the rear differential gear Wheel 44, this pinion is rolled bodily in a clockwise direction on the front differential gear wheel 43 which is standing still at this time, thereby causing the locking device to turn anti-clockwise together with the operating arm 50 and causing the latter to shift the control mechanism of the pump into central or neutral position for stopping the same and holding the rudder in its central position.

When it is desired to turn the rudder toward the port side of the ship the cycle of operations is performed in a manner reverse to those above described.

As a whole this steering mechanism is very compact and sturdy in construction, it is not liable to get out of order and can be serviced conveniently' and easily, and the same permits of easily and quickly steering a ship and holding its course with a minimum expenditure of manual effort or power.

I claim as my invention A steering mechanism comprising arudder, a fluid motor for moving said rudder, a reversible pump for actuating the motor to shift the rudder, a control shaft adapted to be manually controlled, a tubular follow-up shaft surrounding said control shaft, a tubular differential shaft surrounding said-control shaft, front and rear differential gear wheels connected, respectively, with said differential shaft and said follow-41p shaft, a floating differential gear pinion meshing on its opposite sides with opposing parts of said gear wheels, a spider turning about the axis of said control and follow-up shafts and having an inner section arranged between said gear wheels and carrying said floating differential gear pinion and an outer section which turns on said differential shaft, a trip device connected with the front section of said spider and having a trip arm provided with a tappet anda hub having a receding clearance face and a cylindrical locking face extending circumferentially around the hub from one side of said clearance face to the other side thereof, a lock arm having a radial slot adapted to receive said tappet and curved locking faces on opposite sides of said slot adapted to engage said circumferential locking face, a rock shaft carrying said lock arm, an operating arm connected with said rock shaft and operatively connected with up shaft, and a restoring gear rack meshing with said restoring gear pinion and operatively connected with said rudder and motor to move therewith.

FRED GASCHE.

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