June 19, 1.945.
F, GASCIHE
2,378,474
STEERING MECHANISM
Filed Oct-7‘, 1945
s Sheets-Sheet 1
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A9T5rd7a2re
QO‘GAIINVENTOR
BY ‘PW/#6379!»
ATTORNEYS
‘June 19, 1945.
F. GASCHE
2,378,474 "
STEERING MECHANISM
Filed ‘Oct.- '7, 1943
3 sheets-jsheet 2
ATTORNEYS
‘ June 19, 1945.
F, GAS¢HE
>
2,378,474
STEERING MECHANISM
.
Filed OctQ'7, 1945
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3 Sheets-Sheet 3
r6”, '
ATTORNEYS -
Patented June 19, 1945
2,378,4741 I
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' Pare-NT 5
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' Fried? Gasche, Titusvi‘lle, Pa“, assignontor Struthers-v
' ' Wel'lszEorpnratibn; -'1¥itusville;.Pa=., . a corporation
of/ Maryland.
I Claim;
the: hydraulic- cylinders by. various.» means” such‘.
This invention. relates.» to. a; control. mechanism»
for the hydraulic. steering; mechanism. 0t ships»
for; example,,_ as. thoseswhich. are shown in United.
States. Patents Nos. ‘7924;787, ‘ 1,108,443 and.
1,993,435, and. which include a Waterburyv hy
and has; for its. objectthe provision. of a machani'sm. ‘of this. character which is. simpler and‘
lessexpensilve in construction than. those ‘here?
tofore .in use,. which'ris. positive (in. its; operation.
and.‘ which. Will" reliablyv hold; the.‘ rudder in. any-1
draulic.v pump I41 driven by. a. continuously nun?
nin-g. electric motorv 20,. conduits 2t, 22. connect~ .
mg. opposite sides.~ of. this. pump. with. the. outer
ends of thepower. cylinders and. a. reversiblecon
trol mechanism 23 having a valve shifting rod.
desired'posi‘ti'on with a minimum. expenditure: of?
power.
.
.
In the accompanying drawings;
Fig. 1 is a. diagrammaticpla-n view: ofrthecone
trol’. mechanism- embodying. this. invention“
10
Fig; 2 is an. elevation. 01; a. portionthereof;
Fig. 3 isla fragmentary vertical longitudinal;
liquid? under. pressure. through. one. of the conduits‘
"to. one. of. the cylinders. and. Withdraw liquidv
section, on an. enlarged scale,. takensubstantially
on line. 3-—3,,F.'i'g. ‘1;.
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throughtheother conduitfrom the other cylinder
.
Figs. 4' and“ 5" are cross sections. taken; on, the
I correspondingly numberedi lines in. Figs’3 and;
andthuscause therudder to- be turnedv in. onedi
rection. from itslcentral position, and. vice. versa.
The shittinglrod of.‘ the reversiblecontrol mech
showing. the Genevaston-mechanism in.one.po.- ‘
sition..
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20 anism. is.» set. by aeontrol. shaft 25 which. may. ‘be
Fig; 6 is av crossv section- talien. on. line, 6-——6-,.
operated. either by. a. hand. or trick whee1.25'con-'
nected directly therewith or this shaft may» be
Fig. 3 but showingthe Geneva stonymechanism in.v
another position.
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or. stem 241Which. uponresting ins-its. central po
sition will cause the pump. toznot discharge. any
liquid‘ but. which. upon. being moved- in one. (11-;
rectionwill cause/the. pump tordeliver oil. or.- other
providedwith anextension. 21, asshowm by dotted
>
In the following, d‘ecsripti'onl similar ‘reference. \
lines-in: Fig. 1. which is-connectedwith' aman
characters indicate like parts in. the. several views. 25 ually operated: transmitting mechanism in. the
of'the drawings‘.
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pilot house located=v on. the shipremote from the
.
The steering. mechanism of the ship.»in.connec.-;
steering mechanism.
tion 'with- which the present invention. is used;
may be. variously constructedtbutv that; shown, in
the, drawings, as an example, capable. of? embcdy-,
31
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 postiofthe. ship. and.pro.
vid'ed on its lower‘ part with tl'ielusual. rudder. Hi
while its‘upper end or head has. secured thereto
a tiller or. steering arm l2"which in. this. instance.
projects forwardly. A horizontally turningmove- '
ment‘ is imparted. to this tiller. by. a hydraulicac
tuator' consisting. preferably of two, hydraulic.
power‘ cylinders I3; M’ mounted‘. transversely on.
the ship on opposite; sideswof' the tiller and} a.v
double ram 01" plunger. movable lengthwise.- with.
its outer ends, lj5,. I'Sji'n said- cylinders.
and pro.
_
vided with a- cross head I“! which slides. radially"
in a guideway l'8, in the. tiller- Upon‘alternat'ely
introducing'liquid under pressure into" the outer“
ends of these cylinders andlwithd'rawihg the.
same‘ therefrom thedouble ram or plunger willbe ' '
reciprocated‘ and cause the‘ tiller and? rudder: to
be‘ rockedv toward‘ and‘ from‘ a central“ position
for‘steering the‘ ship.
.
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rI"he liquid for operating the double. ram orv
v
p ,
Thecontrol- shaft 25. is. arranged, horizontally
of, the ship andextends througha: stationary controllbox housing» or. casing; Zltwhich: encloses most
of. the. parts» constitutingthe. steering mechanism.
The front. part ot the control shaft. is journaled-I
in a bearing 29 mounted on the 'front part of
the-housing and the‘ rear end of this shaftro
‘- tates. iniabearing -3_0.~of~ any suitableetype arranged
withintherear partcot the bore of a tubular fol-v
low-up! or restoring; shaft. 3 I. while i the- interme.-~
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.
Various»- means may bev employed: for’ transmit.
. ,ting'moticn from. the. rams or plungers-to the
follow-up shaft, those; shown. in, the drawings;
comprising: a» follow-up- or restoring gear rack.
34» arranged. parallel; with. the. rams’ and: connectedatherewith sorthat-they move: inrunison and?
a. follow-up gear pinion. 35 secured to-the. rear‘
7 end.of.the.~ follow-up. shaftlandmeshing. with the
gear, rack. On. the. controlv shaft. is- mounted a
spider which is.v rotatable. abeut. thev axis of this‘
shaft and‘ which comprises. a front. section; 3.1
plunger‘ in ' this‘ manner" may’ be alternately sup
journaled 'in a. bearing 38'on altub‘ular differen
‘ plied to‘andwithdrawn" fronr'theouter ‘end‘s arts‘ tial‘ shaft 39 which is connected‘ by a key 36v or
2 .
2,378,474
otherwise with the control shaft in rear of the
bearing 29, and a rear section 40 which is jour
naled on the control shaft by means of two bear
in'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
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
gear wheel secured to the rear end of the differ 10 discharge of liquid within the running pump
at which time the trip roller or tappet 59 engages
ential shaft 39 and the numeral 44 represents
in Fig. .3.
The numeral 43 represents a front differential
with the slot ‘54 in the lock arm 53, as shown
a rear differential gear wheel secured to the front
in Fig. 6, ‘and the rudder is‘ held against move
end of the follow-up shaft 3|. The two differ
ment in either direction by the liquid in the outer
ential gear wheels 43, 44 are arranged on oppo
site sides of the rear section 40 of the spider and 15 ends of the cylinders l3, l4 resisting the move
are concentric with each other and the con~
trol shaft 25, the differential shaft 39 and
the follow-up shaft 3|. The numeral 45 repre
sents an intermediate ?oating 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
ment 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 de
gree he wishes to turn the rudder in the respec
tive direction. During this rotation of the con
trol shaft 25 the front differential gear wheel
43, which turns in unison therewith, causes the
differential pinion 45 to roll on the rear differ
rear section of the spider. Shifting means are
ential gear wheel 44, which latter is standing
provided which cause the hydraulic shifting
still at this time, so that this pinion is carried
mechanism to hold the rudder in its assigned
bodily clockwise and causes the spider to turn
position, or cause the rudder to be moved differ
in‘the same direction.
ent' distances from its previous position and then
During the ?rst part of this rotation of the
held there.
3O
spider the tappet 59 will engage the port side
In their preferred form these shifting means
of the slot 54 in the lock arm’ 53 and turn the
are constructed as follows:
latter in an anti-clockwise direction and permit
The numeral 4'! represents a rock shaft ar
the tappet to move out of‘ this slot and engage
ranged parallel with the control shaft and jour
the locking face 55 of the lock arm with the
naled in bearings 48, 49 mounted on the front
cylindrical locking face 62 of the trip arm 58, as
part of the control box or housing. On its outer
shown in Fig. 4, thereby holding the lock arm
end this rock shaft is provided with a rock arm
at rest but permitting the trip arm 58 to con
‘50 which is operatively connected with the con
tinue movement in this direction. This turning
trol rod or stem 24 by an elbow lever 51 pivoted
on the pump casing and having one of its arms 40 movement of the rock shaft 41 in an anti-clock
wise direction is transmitted by the .arm 50, rod
connected with the pump control stem 24 while
52 and lever 51 to the pump control stem 24
its other arm is connected by a rod 52 with the
so that the liquid is now forced by the pump
rock arm 50.
19 into the starboard cylinder I4 and liquid is
On its inner or rear end the rock shaft 4‘!
is provided with a lock arm 53 of a locking 45 withdrawn from the port cylinder I3 and thus
causes the rams to be moved toward the port side
device which is adapted to oscillate with this
of the ship and turn the rudder toward the star
rock shaft and which is provided with a radial
board side of the same causing the ship to turn
slot 54 and two curved locking faces 53, 51‘ on
starboard.
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opposite sides of the radial slot, the axis of each
of these faces being concentric withthe axes 60 The extent which the rudder is thus turne
toward the starboard (right) is determined by
of the control shaft 25 when the axis of the
the number of degrees which the trip arm 58
respective locking face and those of the control
is turned clockwise from its central position, in
shaft and rock shaft are in line, as shown in
asmuch as the pump‘ control stem will remain
Fig. 4.
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The numeral 58 represents a trip arm which 55 in the respective position until the rudder has
reached the desired angle. As the rams move
is part of a trip device and which is preferably
from their central position toward the port side
integral with the front part 31 of the spider and
the restoring or follow-up rack 34 which moves
provided on its outer end with a trip roller or
in unison with the rams‘ causes the follow-up
tappet 59 adapted to engage with the slot of the
lock arm 53, and also provided on the periphery 60 or restoring gear pinion 35 to turn anti-clock
wise, whereby the rear differential gear wheel 44
of its hub 69 with a receding clearance face SI
will turn the intermediate pinion 45 so that it
and a cylindrical locking face 52 which is con
rolls on the front differential gear wheel 43 in
centric with the control shaft and extends from
an anti-clockwise direction and thus cause this
one side of the clearance face to the other.
When the trip arm is in its central position 65 pinion to move bodily in this direction, together
with the spider upon which the pinion is mount
its tappet 59 is arranged in the slot of the lock}
ed. During this anti-clockwise movement of the
arm 53, as shown in Fig. 6, in which position
spider the trip arm 58 and the hub 63 of the
the lock arm is free to be turned in either direc
trip device move idly and the locking arm 53
tion by the tappet of the trip arm until the
locking face on one side or the other of this 70 remains standing still until the locking face 62
of the trip device has cleared the respective look
slot engages the periphery of the locking face
ing face 55 of the locking device and during
on the hub of the trip arm, as shown in Fig. 4,
the last part of this return or restoring move
after which the rock shaft is held against fur
ment of the trip device its tappet 59 engages the
ther rotation but the trip arm and its hub are»
free to rotate further independently of the lock 75 slot 54 of the locking device and turns the latter
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2,378,474
clockwise into its central position, thereby caus
ing 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.
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.
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In the absence of further manipulation of the
As a whole this steering mechanism is very
steering mechanism the rudder is held‘ in a posi
compact and sturdy in construction, it ‘is not
tion in which it inclines toward the starboard side 10 liable to get out of order and can be serviced con~
' until such time as the course of the ship requires
veniently' and easily, and the same permits of eas
changing. When it is desired to again return the ,
ily and quickly steering a ship and holding its
rudder to its central position the skipper turns
course with a minimum expenditure of manual
the trick wheel 26 anti-clockwise whereby the
front differential gear wheel 43- connected there 15
with Will cause the intermediate gear pinion 45
to roll bodily anti-clockwise on the rear. differen- ,
tial 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 there
with, thereby turning the locking arm 53 clock
wise and engaging its locking face 5? with the
locking face 62 of the trip device, as shown by
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 con
trol shaft, a tubular differential shaft surround
ing said-control shaft, front and rear differential
gear wheels connected, respectively, with said dif
ferential shaft and said follow-41p shaft, a ?oat~
25 ing differential gear pinion meshing on its oppo
site 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 ar
dotted lines in Fig. 4, and thereby holding the
ranged between said gear wheels and carrying
locking device against further movement while 30 said ?oating differential gear pinion and an outer
the trip device is free to move anti-clockwise as
section which turns on said differential shaft, a
far as required. Upon turning the rock shaft 4‘!
trip device connected with the front section of
clockwise in this manner the operating arm 50
said spider and having a trip arm provided with
thereof shifts the stem 24 of the pump control so
a tappet anda hub having a receding clearance
as to cause the pump to deliver liquid into the 35 face and a cylindrical locking face extending cir
outer end of the port cylinder l3 and withdraw
cumferentially around the hub from one side of
liquid from the outer end of the starboard cylin
said clearance face to the other side thereof, a
der l4.
When this occurs the rams are moved
lock arm having a radial slot adapted to receive
from port to starboard of the ship together with
said tappet and curved locking faces on oppo
the follow-up gear rack 34 connected therewith, 40 site sides of said slot adapted to engage said cir
whereby the follow-up pinion 35 is turned clock‘~
cumferential locking face, a rock shaft carrying
said vlock arm, an operating arm connected with
wise together with the rear differential gear wheel
My which is connected therewith by the follow-up ,
said rock shaft and operatively connected with
‘ shaft 3| . Inasmuch as the floating follow-up gear
‘said pump for controlling the same, a restoring
pinion 45 meshes with the rear differential gear
gear pinion connected with said tubular follow-'
‘Wheel 44, this pinion is rolled bodily in a clock
up shaft, and a restoringr gear rack meshing with
said restoring gear pinion and operatively con
wise direction on the front differential gear wheel
43 which is standing still at this time, thereby
‘nected with said rudder and motor, to move there
with.
causing the locking device to turn anti-clockwise
together with the operating arm 50 and causing 50
the latter to shift the control mechanism of the
FRED GASCHE.