US464806A - tower - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheeN 1.

B. TOWER. APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING'A CONSTANT PLANE IN FLOATING VESSELS.

Patented Dec. 8, .1891.

2Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

B. TOWER. APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING A GONSTANT PLANE IN FLOATING VESSELS No. 464,806. Patented Dec. "811 91.

Bn'AUoH'AM-r TOWER, or-

APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING A CON PATENT OFFICE.

WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND.

smurrt'mt' m FLOATING VESSELS.

'srncmea'non forming pen. of teeters Patent No. 464,806, dated December 8, 1891 who. eria1No.372,089. on

kpplloation filed November 20,

Trance October 16, 1890, No. 208,905, and in Italy KovemhbrilB, .1890, LVI, 56.

Toall whom it'fntay concern."

lie it known that I, BEAUCHAMP TOWER, a citizen of: England, residing atfNos5 Queen Anues Gate, Westminsten'in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus, for Maintaining a Constant Planein a FloatingVessel, (for which I have obtained patents in Great Britain, No, 20,220, dated December 16, 1889; in France, No. 208,905, dated October 16, 1890, and in. Italy, Vol. LVI, 56, dated November 12, 1890,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to improve the apparatus for maintaining a constant plane in a; floating vessel, for which Letters lgtsgem No.*366,438 were-issued to me July 12,

. To such 'ehd" myinvention consists in the features of construction and the combination or arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claim'ed,reference being made to theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a vertical central sectional view of suflicient of the apparatus to enable my present invention to. be understood. Fig. 2

is a plan, and Fig. 3 an elevation, partly in section,showing one of the improvements ac-' cording to my present invention, Fig. 4 is a plan showing a gun mounted on the apparatus. Fig. 5 is an. elevation, partly in section, showing the mounting of the gun and means, according to my present invention, of correcting slight errors in its elevation. Fig. 6 is a part plan showing the correcting appliance.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the heavy reaction-wheel A, mounted on a spherical hollow pivot B, is provided with horizontal channels 0.

To the vessel coiitaining the reaction-wheel A are fixed the four hydrauliceylinders F,

each fitted with a plunger, and two of these plunger-s are linked to one of the gimbals G and the other two are linked to the remaining gimbal G, all in such manner that the' vessel is free to oscillate as described in my patent before alluded to.

parts of the cylinders F the channels or pipes E communicate through a head E with orifices I), located on the under side of the head E immediately above the nozzle D, which From the upper model.) retained in England December 16,1889,

'proj ects u pwardl from the reaction-wheel pipe 1, Fig. 1, flows throughthe spherical hollow bearing B and partly to thechannels' c and partly to the nozzle Din the line the reaction -wheel L is caused to revolve rapidly by the action of the water issuing from its horizontal channels 0, its axis tends to remain permanent in position even when forceis applied to. alter it. As long as the axis 'of the vessel containing the reactionsuch wheel the, jet from the nozzle D acts equallyon the water. in the orificesb, thereby producing equal pressure in;the four the vessel containing the wheel move a little out of alignment with the axis of such wheel, then one or the other of the orifices b will receive more of the jet from thenozzle D than the other orifices, and theflpressure in that one of the cylinders F with which that orifice communicates will be increased, causing its plunger to tend to move outward, and thus imposing a strain on the {that plunger is linked. This excess of force on one of the gimhal-arms reacts on the vessel, causing it to recover its normal position and bringing itsaxis into coiucidence wit-h the axis of the reaction-wheel A. Consevolves the axis of the vessel is main tained in a permanent .position. By this means, the axis of the reaction-wheel A remaining con- =porm and other G tend to deviate from the axis of the wheel A more of the jet from the nozzle'D would be directed into one of the channels or pipes E than into the others, thus creating a greater 'pressure'in one of the hydrauli cylindersF and must such depression of that'cylinder as to correct the deviation. I

stantially the same as described and shown in my Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to, andin order to improve such apparatus and maintain constancy in .the direction of the axis of the reaction-wheel A, I arrange the of'the axis of the reaction-wheel A. While hydraulic cylinders F. Should the axis of gimb'al-arm to which quently as long as the reaction-wheel A re-- The apparatus thus far described, is sub-' The water under pressure. entering. by the a wheel remains coincident with the axis of stant in direction, should the axis of the platparts carried by the gimbals center of the spherical bearing ll to be as nearly as possible coincident with the center of gravity of the wheel A, and I- mount on the hydraulic eylindm's lfour bell-crank lcvers having their vertical arms loaded by equal weights J and having'on their horizonttil arms rollers K, which bear on the upper surface of the wheel A. The bell cranks might, be arranged at a lowerlevel ith their rollers bearing against the under surface of the wheel A. liy tllcau'lluu of the pend ulous weights J any tendency of the wheel A to deviate from true horizontality of its upper or under surface is at once corrected. When a gun II is mounted on trunnions on the apparatus, as shown in Fig. 4, I apply to it means of correcting slight errors in elevation, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Over the jet-orifice of the pipe I), I fix a guard L, having a round hole through its middle and sloping down to its outer edge. The water from the jet-pipe 1) passes through the central hole of the guard L, and the water which is dashed back is deflected by the border of the guard L, so as to take a course outward clear of the wheel A, the action of which might be more or less interfered with by the water dashing on it.

Besides the four quadrantal orifices 0f the channels E, leading to the four hydraulic cylinders F, I provide two rectangular orifices and channels M N from the head E, Fig. 5, leading, respectively, to the lower and upper ends of a hydraulic cylinder 0. This cylinder is 'fitted with a piston I, whichtis maintained in middle position between two springs. To the piston-rod is connected by a spherical joint a socket-nut Q for the elerating-screw R of the gun ll. The gun being once set to the desired elevation, is maintained without change of elevation byj the action of the piston 1, subject to excess of pressure on the one side or the other, resulting from direction of the jet more into the one of the channels M N than into the other.' If, for instance, the breech of the gun descended a little, the channel M would receive more of the jet from the pipe D than the channel N. The piston I, being therefore pressed more on its under than on its upper side, would rise a little, raising the breech; and, in like manner, if the breech rose alittle the excess of pressure would be on the upper side of the piston I, causing the breech to descend.

The correcting appliance shown in Figs. 5

and t; as applied to maintain constant position of the longitudinal axis of a gun, might be applied also in a plane at right angles to the plane of that axis in cases where a platform requires to be kept always parallel to one plane, the platform being in this case mounted on gimbals.

llaving thus described the nature of this invention and the best means I know of carrying the same into practical cll'eotgd elaim---.

1. In anapparatus for maintaining a constant plane in a floating vessel, the combination, with the reaction-wheel mounted on a spherical bearing having its center coincident with the center ofgravityof the wheel. of bell-cranks provided with pend ulous weights and having rollers acting against the surface of the reactiomwheel, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In an apparatus for maintaining a constant plane in a floating vessel, the combination, with the cylinders, the plungers arranged in the cylinders, the gimbals connected with the plungers, the reaction-wheel, the jet-pipe, and channels leading to the cylinders, of the guard L, having a central oritice and arranged over the delivery-mouth of the jet-pipe, sub stantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for maintaining a constantplane in a floating vessel, the combination, wit-h the reaction-wheel, the jet-pipe at, the center thereof, the cylinders, the channels leading from the cylinders to points over the jet-pipe, the plungers arranged int-he cylinders, and the gimbals connected with the plungers, of the subsidiary cylinder 0, containing a piston P, and the supplementary channels MN, leading from points above the jet-pipe to the subsidiary cylinder, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two'subscribing witnesses, this 3d day of N0 veinber, A. D. 1890. i 4

vBEAUCHAMP TOWER. \Vitnesses: I l l OLIVER IMRAY, 5 i Patmtgerd, 28 Southampton B u-ildings, Lon

don, O. i

J No. P. M. MILLARD,

Clerk to Messrs. Abel &' Imrdy, Consulting Engineers and Pdte'nt Age'hts, 28 Southampton Buildings, London,

Images