US2508078A

US2508078A - Diver's patch for propeller shafts

Info

Publication number: US2508078A
Application number: US686590A
Authority: US
Inventors: George B Rowley; Robert W Clements
Original assignee: UNIVERSAL DIVING SERVICE COMPA
Current assignee: UNIVERSAL DIVING SERVICE Co; UNIVERSAL DIVING SERVICE COMPA
Priority date: 1946-07-26
Filing date: 1946-07-26
Publication date: 1950-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 1967-05-16

Description

y 1950 G. B. ROWLEY ET AL 2,508,078

DIVERS PATCH FOR PROPELLER SHAFTS Filed July 26, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORJ M Qiimg.

ATTORNEK M y 16, 50 G. B. ROWLEY ET AL 2,508,028

DIVERS PATCH FOR PROPELLER SHAFTS Filed July 26, 1946 2 Sheets-Shem 2 INVEN T012;

fJ'. Vow-6L: Y may 41 Cay/K ATTUQNE Y.

Patented May 16, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DIVERS PATCH FOR PROPELLER SHAFTS Application July 26, 1946, Serial No. 686,590

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to a patch for temporarily sealing the stern gland of a ships propeller shaft, in order to allow work to be done on the gland from the inside of the hull without dry-docking the ship.

The invention contemplates an elongated patch of flexible material which can be wrapped around the rope guard of the ship overlapping the hub of the propeller and the hub of the stern post, and novel means for maintaining the wrapped patch tight in order to exclude water. The patch comprises, broadly, an inner member of soft resilient material and an outer resilient but non-extensible backing or reinforcing member. After the two members have been wrapped around the rope guard, and the ends of the outer member have been secured together, pressure is applied, either by expanding the inner member or by constricting the outer member, so that the soft inner member is squeezed between the non-extensible outer member and the rope guard, and forms water-tight seals at the ends thereof.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a patch which can be easily applied by a diver, and which will maintain a water-tight seal around the rope guard of the propeller shaft and the hub of the propeller.

Another object is to provide a patch which can be removed, from the surface, without necessitating under water work during the removal.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred apparatus and a modified form thereof, which should be read with the understanding that changes, within the scope of the claims hereto appended, may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts herein illustrated and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in said claims.

Reference will be made to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a longitudinal view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing a preferred embodiment of the invention applied to the propeller shaft of a ship.

Figs. 2' and 3 are respectively a broken outside elevation and a broken edge elevation of the patch when removed from the work.

Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively a broken outside elevation and a broken edge elevation of a modified form of patch.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal view partly in elevation and partly in section of portions of the propeller shaft and stern post of a ship showing the modified form of patch applied thereto.

Fig. '7 is a transverse section of the ship parts and the patch shown in Fig. 6.

In the drawings, the reference numeral l0 designates the stern post of a ship in which is mounted the usual bearing II for the propeller shaft l2. I3 is the hub of the propeller and I 4 is a portion of one of the blades thereof. I5 is the stern gland packing held in place by the ring [6. II is the rope guard, a tubular member surrounding and spaced from the shaft I2, and secured at its forward end I8 to the stern post H). The rear end IQ of the rope guard surrounds and is slightly spaced from a shoulder 20 of the propeller hub l3. The parts described above are standard construction.

In order to enable work to be done on the gland or the bearing H from inside the hull while the ship is in the water, it is necessary to seal the annular space between the end 19 of the rope guard and the propeller hub l3, and it is sometimes necessary also to seal the joint between the end l8 of the rope guard and the stern post. In its preferred form, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, our patch comprises a flexible fiat tube 2| formed of rubber reinforced with canvas or other suitable material, and a flexible but non-extensible steel backing or reinforcing strip 22. The rubber tube 2| has its sides vulcanized together along its longitudinal center, as shown at 23, to hold it in flat form, and is removably secured to the steel backing strip 22 by a series of snap fasteners 24.

The rubber tube 2| is wide enough to overlap the ends of the rope guard II, as is shown in Fig. 1, and it is long enough to wrap around the rope guard with at least a few inches of overlap at its ends. The steel backing strip 22 is slightly narrower than the rubber tube, and has a pair of hooks at one end comprising fiat spring fingers 25 with projecting lugs 26 at their outer ends. The other end of the backing strip has two series of spaced holes 21 in which the lugs 26 are fitted to hold the patch in wrapped position around the rope guard. The ends of the rubber tube are closed so that it is air tight, and it is provided near one end with a nipple 28 adapted for connection with an air hose, not shown, so that it can be inflated. For convenience in handling, the steel strip 22 is provided midway of its length with a transverse hinge 29.

In applying the patch, a diver wraps it around the rope guard as tightly as he can, with the end having the hooks 25 overlapping the end having the holes 21. He then engages the hooks with the holes and infiates the rubber tube by means of an air hose, not shown, connected with the nipple 28. Expansion of the rubber tube by air pressure causes it to be squeezed tightly between the steel strip 22 and the rope guard and the hubs of the stern post and the propeller to form water-tight seals at both ends of said rope guard. The stern gland can then be dismantled without risk of flooding, and if any slight leakage occurs it can be stopped by increasing the air pressure in the tubular patch.

The backing strip 22 is preferably made of some material having resilience and resistance to corrosion, such for example as stainless steel. It is thin enough to be easily bent around the rope guard by one man and held while the hooks 25 are being engaged in the holes 21. After the completion of the work on the stern gland, the patch is removed by a rope, not shown, attached to the hooks 25. The rubber tube 2| is first deflated by relieving the air pressure, and the rope is then pulled to disengage the hooks 25. The resilience of the steel backing strip causes it to expand and straighten out, and the entire patch can then be pulled to the surface by means of the rope. The removal of the patch, therefore, does not require a diving operation.

A modified form of our patch is shown in Figs. 4 to '7. It comprises an elongated strip 30 of soft resilient material, preferably sponge rubber and a pair of non-extensible members such as chains 3! secured longitudinally to the back or outside thereof. For approximately half the length of the strip the chains are encased in rubber hoses 32 in order to prevent chafing the sponge rubber strip, and said hoses or chain pipes 32 are secured to the back of the sponge rubber strip by suitable clips 33.

The chains are provided at one end with toggle hooks 34 which are formed to be passed through the links at the other ends of the chains, and which draw said chains up tight when swung back as shown in Fig. '7. Sliding loops 35 are provided to hold the toggle hooks 34 in tightened position.

The modified form of patch is applied, as shown in Figs. 6 and '7, by wrapping it around the rope guard and drawing it up tight by means of the chains and the toggle hooks. It is long enough to have considerable overlap, as shown, and is Wide enough to extend beyond the ends of the rope guard and to bind against the hubs of the stern post and the propeller in order to make a tight seal. The patch is applied by a diver.

Lead weights 36 are attached to the edges of the patch, and when the hooks 34 are released to remove the patch, the weights 36 pull it downwardly off the rope guard and enable it to be handled easily under Water. The patch can be removed from the surface by means of ropes, not shown, attached to the sliding loops 35 which hold the hooks in tightened position. By pulling on said ropes the loops are drawn back from the hooks, which then swing open due to the tension of the chains. The weights 36 cause the patch to unwrap itself from the rope guard, and it can then be pulled to the surface by means of the ropes.

We claim:

1. A stern gland patch in the form of a strip adapted to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft in position to overlap the hub of the propeller, said patch comprising connected inner and outer members, said inner member being soft and yielding and said outer member being non-extensible, means for fastening together the ends of the outer member to maintain the patch in its wrapped position around the rope guard and the propeller hub, and means for applying pressure to one of said members to cause the inner member to be squeezed between the outer member and the rope guard and propeller hub.

2. A stern gland patch comprising a strip of compressible material having a length enabling it to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft, and having a width sufficient to overlap the hub of the propeller at the end of said rope guard, a flexible non-extensible member secured to the back of said strip, means for separably fastening together the ends of said nonextensible member, and means for tightening the patch when wrapped around said rope guard to seal the space between said rope guard and the adjacent hub of the propeller.

3. A stern gland patch comprising a compressible and expansible strip having a length enabling it to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft, and having a width sufficient to overlap the hub of the propeller at the end of said rope guard, a flexible non-extensible strip wrapped around outside said compressible and expansible strip, means for fastening together the ends of said non-extensible strip, and means for expanding said compressible and expansible strip within said non-extensible strip to seal the space between the end of said rope guard and the adjacent hub of the propeller.

l. A stern gland patch comprising an inflatable tube having a length enabling it to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft, and having a width sufficient to overlap the hub of the propeller at the end of said rope guard, a flexible non-extensible strip wrapped around outside said tube, means for fastening together the ends of said strip, and means for inflating said tube to cause it to seal the space between the end of the rope guard and the adjacent hub of the propeller.

5. A stern gland patch comprising a flat inflatable tube having a length enabling it to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft, and having a width suflicient to overlap the hub of the propeller at the end of said rope guard, said tube having its flat sides joined together along their longitudinal center line, a flexible non-extensible strip separably attached to the outside of said tube and wrapped around it, means for fastening together the ends of said strip, and means for inflating said tube to cause it to seal the space between the end of the rope guard and the adjacent hub of the propeller.

6. A stern gland patch comprising an inflatable tube having a length enabling it to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft, and having a width sufficient to overlap the hub of the propeller at the end of said rope guard, a non-extensible member wrapped around outside said tube, a hinge having a transverse axis between the ends of said non-extensible member, means for fastening together the ends of said non-extensible member, and means for inflating said tube to cause it to seal the space between the end of the rope guard and the adjacent hub of the propeller.

'7. A stern gland patch comprising a strip of soft compressible material having a length enabling it to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft, and having a width sufflcient to overlap the hub of the propeller at the end of said rope guard, a flexible non-extensible member secured to the back of said strip and wrapped around outside it, and means for fastening together the ends of said non-extensible member and drawing it tight around said strip to compress the same.

8. A stern gland patch comprising a strip of soft compressible material having a length enabling it to be wrapped around the rope guard of a ships propeller shaft, and having a width sufiicient to overlap the hub of the propeller at the end of said rope guard, a pair of parallel non-extensible members secured to the back of said strip and wrapped around it, one near each edge thereof, releasable fastening means for separably joining together the ends of each of said non-extensible members, and means for tightening said members around. said strip to compress the same.

9. Temporary sealing means for a ships stern gland comprising the combination with a propeller shaft, a propeller hub fixed thereon, a stern post through which said shaft extends, and a tubular rope guard surrounding a said shaft between said stern post and said hub, of a patch wrapped around said rope guard and overlapping REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,563,922 Pohler Dec. 1, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 24,323 Great Britain Oct. 31, 1906 101,479 Great Britain Feb. 8, 1917 377,422 Great Britain July 28, 1932 167,005 France Apr. 23, 1934