US717356A - Means for coaling ships at sea. - Google Patents

Description

mm n ms. H Patented Dec. 30, m2

' A. C. CUNNINGHAM.

MEANS FORBOALINGSI'IIPS AT SEA v (Applicltion filed Oct. 26. 1901A (No Model.)

3 Sheets-sheaf I.

' HHEHHHIHHHHHI:'I IIIHH H |I 140. 717,356." Pten ted Dec. 30,1902;

A. c. CUNNINGHAM. j'

.MEANS FOR CUALING SHIPS AT SEA (Application filed Oct. 26, lom (No Model.) 3 Sheets-heet 2.

- I i 1 "a" s MH'I'I'I H'I; M hlr wj W Patented Doc. 30, 1902;.

A.-c. CUNNI NGHAM. MEANS. FOR COALINGSHIPS AT SEA.

7 {Application filedoct. 26, 1901.)

a Sh6ets-Sheet a.

(ljo Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE,

ANDREW O. CUNlQ'INGHATI, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.-

MEANScFOR COALlNG SHIPS AT SEA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,356, dated December 30, 1902. Application filed October 26, 1901. Serial No. 80.067. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, ANDREW O. QUNNING- HAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coaling Ships at Sea; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full,clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to the art of coaling ships of war,.merchantmen, and other seagoing vessels in the open'water, where'moorings or anchorages are impossible and where it is necessary to take on coal while under way or drifting. It is not particularly concerned with the means employed for transferring the coal from one vessel to another, but has to do with the connection of the ves-' be secured together at such distance apart as not to interfere with-each other in pitching or rolling; second, that the connection between them should be such that each is free to pitch and roll independently of the other or at least so that the effect of such movements of one upon the other is minimized as far as the conditions will permit, and, third,

thatthe established distance and relation between the two shall be substantially maintained throughout the coaling process in order to hold the vesselsapart and for keeping the e evated carriers employed in the operation, on the one hand, as nearly taut as possi- We, and, on the other, without imposing such strains on the apparatus as to endanger its safety.

Many different plans have been proposed for coaling ships at sea, but so many difliculties have been encountered in realizing the above conditions when coaling athwartships the open water.

" or beam when not under way that the plan of coaling in tow-that is to say, steaming ahead at a slow rate with one vessel towing the other-has been decided. upon as practically the only feasible plan to meet the varying conditions encountered at sea. This plan is, however, objectionable for many reasons unnecessary to here recount. On the other hand, the advantages of eoaling sidewise or with the'ships abeam are obvious and .of great importance, especially when time is an object and it is desirable to eifect the operation when not under headway.

The present invention therefore relates to the latter plan; and itconsists, broadly stated, in means for connecting the vessels abeam or side by side at a sufficient distance apart to eliminate the danger'of interference with each other due to the pitching, rolling, or other-necessary movements of either, said means being any sortof flexible connection between thevessels to preventthem from moving farther apart, combined with means for instituting or creating and maintaining a lateral pressure between either or both the vesse'ls and the surrounding water, tending to force them apart against the tension of the connecting-cable. I

In carrying out the invention I employ a chain cable, rope hawser, or any other sort of flexible connection between the vessels, and although the invention is not limited to the employment of any particular means for creat ing the force tending to hold the vessels apart I prefer to employ a modification of an old hydraulic apparatus that has been proposed in many difierent forms as a steering auxiliary in maneuvering ships at dock or in The manner in which I make this connection between the vessels and the way in which I prefer to install and operate thehydraulic apparatus for forcing the ves-' sels apart are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a. sectional view of a battle-ship and collierconnected together in the way contemplated by the invention and showing one form of hydraulic apparatus. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the battle-ship provided with another form of hydraulic apparatus,

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are diagrammatic plan views illustrating the general operation of the in vention, the third figure showing only the battle-ship provided with a hydraulic apparatus, the fourth showing both ships provided with similar apparatus, and the fifth Showing two battle-ships coaling simultaneously from the same collier, the ships only being provided with hydraulic apparatus.

Referring first to Fig. 1, a denotes a pipe located in the hold below decks and having an intake a through the bottom of the ship near the keel. This pipe extends clear across the ship and has outlets (b on each side above the bilge. The intake portion of the pipe extends vertically a short distance, and an ordi nary propeller wheel or screw 1') is arranged therein Wit-h its shaft projecting upwardly above the horizontal portion of the pipe, where it is connected with suitable gearing, so as to take power from any of the engines aboard ship. low the screw with a valve 17 for shutting off the entrance of water, and the outlet ends of the pipe are provided with similar valves 11 b These three valves are here shown as sliding gate-valves; but obviously any other form of valves might be employed. The shaft of the screw should preferably have suitable bearings for its lower end in the intake-pipe, as well as other bearings above the screw for intermediate portions, and I prefer to locate grids or coarse strainers c in the intake below the screw to prevent the clogging of the pipe or screw by the entrance of fish, weeds, or other foreign bodies. It is also desirable to locate similar strainers at the outlet ends of the horizontal portions of the pipe.

In Fig. 2 a somewhat different form of this apparatus is shown. (t denotes the same horizontal pipe; but the vertical intake is dispensed with and in its place a depression or bend a is made in the pipe about centrally of its length and the screw Z)" is arranged to work horizontally, its shaft having hearings in the lower walls of the bend. In this modification the same sliding gate-valves L 1) are employed, and the operation ofthe apparatus is precisely the same as that shown in Fig. 1, except in the following particulars.

In the modification shown in Fig. l the ends 0. a are outlets only, and the water enters always at the intake a. In thisarrangement also the screw 1) is so geared up as. to be rotated always in one direction, and the direction of. the outflow is controlled entirely by the valves 5 If, the port valve being closed when the outflow is to starboard and the starboard valve being closed when the outflow is to port. In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the water is taken in always at one side and discharged at the other, and the direction of flow is controlled by reversing the rotation of the screw. In this arrangement alsothe valves b 1) are differently operated, for both must be opened and closed together, since each operates sometimes as an intake-valve and sometimes as an outlet-valve. It is be The intake is also provided be- Referring to this view,

lieved that neither of these forms of apparatus requires any further description of its construction or operation, and I will therefore proceed to describe the manner of utilizin the same in the carr in out of my invent-ion, it being understood that in the light of my invention either apparatus is to be regarded merely as a means for moving or tending to move the ship whereon it is installed sidewise away from the vessel to which it is connected while. neither of the vessels has steerage or headway.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 5, A A denote battle-ships, and B 13 indicate the colliers from which the coal is to be taken. In Figs. 2, 3, and 5 the ships are shown provided with the above-described hydraulic jet apparatus for moving them laterally; but it is to be un-. derstood that the colliers may also have similar apparatus, as indicated in Fig. 4. It is preferable toinstall one of these jet apparatuses in the bow and one in the stern of each of the vessels; but I do not regard the invention as limited to the use of any particular 'number of such devices or to any particular location of the same on board ship, and I do not int-end my claims to be restricted in either of these particulars.

In all the figuresabove referred to C C denote guy-lines that are made fast, preferably at or about the deck-line, to the collier and the ship to be coaled. .There may be any number of these lines, but two'will usually suliice, one forward and the other aft, as shown in the drawings. These lines form the means and the only means contemplated by my invention for connecting or securing the vessels together, and the only essential requirement (apart from their strength) is that they shall be flexible, so as to permit the vessole, or either of them, to roll toward each other and of sufficient length to localize the ships with respect to each other, so as to eliminate all danger of interference due to the rolling, pitching, or other movements of either.

To this end these lines may be ordinary rope hawsers of appropriate material and dimensions or chain cables, and they may be made fast at any convenient point on either vessel. The length of these cables depends so largely upon the size of the vessels and the conditions of weather and water prevailing at the time that no particular rule as to length can be laid down, except that it must be such as to locate the vessels so far apart that there shall be no danger of interferencef'rom any of the causes above mentioned. NVithin the limits of this rule the nearer the shipsare together the more easily and speedily the coaling can proceed. As will be understood from the character of this connection, the only function of these cables is to prevent the ships from-moving apart, and the flexibility of the connection is essential in ordeii= hatthe ships may roll toward each other. Itis noti intendcd ordesired ICO that the ships shall move bodily toward each other,- because, apart from the danger of such end I employ any form of hydraulic appara-,v

movement, the .successful operation of the coal -transferring devices depends largely upon the maintenance of a substantially uniform. distance apart, and it is. in this respect that the greatest value of my invention is found. For the 'purposelof maintaining this separation of the two vessels experience has demonstrated that under ordinary conditions it is out of thequestionto employ'any force or means reacting between the vessels themselves, and the gist of my invention in this respect therefore consists in the employment of a force reacting between one of the vessels (it matters not which) and the surrounding water on the side toward the other vessel. To this tus (of which those illustratedin the ac- -companyingdrawings may be taken as a type) that will throw a jet of water, as D in all the lfigures, from the side of the vessel at a point below the'surface into the surrounding water. In order to produce the best results,

the p'oint'at which these jets issue should be.

at or. near the center of lateral resistance of the ship, thesize andvelocity of these jets depending, of course, upon the size of the pipes and the number of revolutionsof the screw, and, as will bereadily understood, this is entirely iinderconti-ol and may be regulated and stop'p'ed'and started whenever and as desired, having in mind that the principal object of this apparatus is to maintain the ships apart at or substantially at the distance that is predetermined and fixed by the length of the connecting-cables, so as to keep the etbles substantially taut or at least to keep the ships so far apart that although they are fastened together there shall be no 1 any particular distance.

tended to push the vessels apart with suilicient force to put any great strain on the eonofdanger fr'oin'collision.

liability of their approaching within the limit It is not intended that the vessel's should be so close together-that the jets D issuing from the'side of one should have any direct influence upon the other, though I donot desire to limit myself to the maintenance of Neither is it innectin -cahles. A safe workim rule in this b ca respect will be to regulate the speed of the screw in the pipe so as to throw a jet whose reaction between its own vessel and the waapart is concerned they ,are eonnected together' by a practically rigid connection, limcarried on while the ships are under way as tors Patent, is-

iting their movement in that direction; third, that as to all necessary movements toward each othen they are,- in effect, unconnected, so that'each is free to move independently ofthe other, and, finally, that by the employment of the described hydraulic jet apparatus the vessels are kept apart by an elastic force that, is regulable according to existing conditions and which reactson the surrounding medium without liability to jar or strain any part of either vessel" and greatly tending to steady both. It is further to be noted that, as indicated in Fig. 5, the invention permits the simultaneous coaling of the two ships from one c'ollier, one ship on each side thecollier, and also that the operation of coaling may be well as while they are at rest. Y

Although I have herein shown the hydraulic apparatus as only adapted to throw the jetsat right angles to the-keel of its own vessel, I may, if desired, direct them at angles forward or aftyit not being at all necessary that the direction of the jets should fall within the lines of the opposing vesseh \Vhat-I claim, and desire to secure by Let- 9 1. The combination of a ship to be coaled, a collier or supply-ship, a flexible connection athwartships between said ships of sufficient length to permit both ships toroll and pitch without interference with each .other, and 5 means for creating a lateral pressure between one of the ships and the surrounding water on the side toward the other ship suflicient to maintain them at such distance apart. 2. The combination of a ship to becoaled, I00

a eollier or supply-ship, a flexible connectionathwartships between said ships of sufficient length to permit'both ships to roll and pitch without interference with each other, and

means for creating alateral pressure between [05 each of said ships and the surroundin-g'water on the side toward the other ship suificient to maintain them at such distance apart.

3. The combination, to form afmeans for coaling ships "in the open water, of three no ships, flexible connections athwartships be-- tween said ships securing themtogether at sufficient distances apart to permit each to roll and pitch without interference with the others, and means for creating a lateral pressure between the outside ships and the surrounding water on the side toward the other ships sufficient to maintain them at such distances apart,

In testimony whereof I aifiig-my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW o. OUNNiNGI-liAM.

Witnesses:

EDWIN S. C-LARKSON, J. A. 'GoLnssonoucn.

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