US2498284A - Steering control with pneumatic pickup - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 21, 1950 LEONARD 2,498,284

STEERING CONTROL WITH PNEUMATIC PICKUP Filed April 22, 1946 27 2a\ EL. 1 &

l"; CD 1? WITNESSES: INVENTOR Me/flflfleo/mrd ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1950 STEERING CONTROL WITH PNEUMATIC PICKUP :Merrill G. Leonard, Sharon, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse. Electric Corporation, EastPittsburgh, Pa., a corporation, of Pennsylvania -Application April'- 22, 1946,- SerialNo. 663,805

A Claims. (01.114-25) 'My invention relates to z pneumatically controlled: devices; and. more particularly to apparatus for. controlling. thepath of operation of a: torpedo :bythe use of; pneumatic equipment.

With "the .lelectrically propel-led torpedo so generally :used :of late. electromagnetic devices are used :toucontrolthe-depth asvwell as the direction of operation of the torpedo; but some of .the; recentlyldevcloped torpedoes do not in- 011.16.812.11}? electric; equipment and with some-electrically propelledztorpedoes.itz-is not feasibleor desirable to? electrically: control: the depth or the steeringr' orqthe" torpedo.

One abroad: obiectyoi.my-;-invention, is the provision: or torpedo t-rudder moon-trolling devices of the non-electricalytype.

, Another "broad object of :v my invention is the provision of pneumatically controlled, rudder actuating ;;devices :ior ma conveyance :moving through a fluid: medium.

A more specificzobject=;of,:my invention isthe provision For! pneumatic devices for controllin the angular: movement: of 1 the. elevator rudders of a conveyance moving throughla fiuidimedium'.

'A. still" more-specific object of my. invention :is the provisionrofa. pistonzdisposed int a cylinder for actuating the elevator: rudders .of .-;a torpedo by means of pneumatic -selements,: coupled to: the depth responsive tdevices .ofaa torpedo, for controlling the operation .of athe episton.

The objects;;hereinbeiore stated care merely illustrative of :manyother objects and: advantages that will become; -m0re;a app rent from a stu y of the followingspecification-and the-accompanying drawing-zinr whichz Figure. I is; a, schematic. showing of my invention 'asdisposed rinuthe tailcone of 'a' torpedo;

. Fig. 2..is. a longitudinal sectional. view of the piston and, cylinder'elements. and-the jet pipe for controlling the position ofthepiston in the cylinder; and

Fig.3 isa sectional riewrof-adetail of the elements for actuatingtthe jet pipe from the depth" responsivesdevices.

In=Eigure.1, the tailcone I of a torpedoeis shown-.somewhat. schematic. .On. the: bulkhead 2, or any other suitable element .fixed. to the torpedo, I mount the pump cylinder 3; A :pis.ton 411s disposedin theicylinder and this piston by means of a. connecting rod;,5 and Jan. eccentric,

orcam :6, coupledltothe.outer-shaft 1 ofthe piston rod..29. by agarter spring 53.

Dhe fluid pressure in chamber-8 isnused .to actuate both the steering rudders and the *elevator rudders. To this end, onev conduit, 9: transmits huidrundenpressure to the gyro G. The arrangement is such-that the .gyro controls the flow of fluid. either to the top. or-ibottom of a piston in the cylinder lll--.depending -0ntheposition of the :control element in the: housing II coupled to the gyro. .Thewpistonin cylinder Ill actuates the rod. [2 either up-or-downdepending on the control effect produced .by the; gyro.

:The rod. I2 is. coupled to' thebell-crank lever l3 pivoted at M. Movement ofthe hell-crank lever l3'movesthelink l5 longitudinally. of itself to thus. actuate the steering rudders- I 8 through theyoke l1 and the crankarmz l6 fixed to the yoke-and operatively coupled to the link [5.

Asecondconduit I9 transmits fluid under .pressure from the chamber 8 to the jet pipe 26, the transmission being through the connection 2 I the annular groove 22 in the..bearing portion of the frame F; the radial openings 23 in the shaft portion 24 of the-{let pipe.2ll and theaxialchannel in thisshaft portions-of. the, jet pipe. A suitablenut 25 and spring washer 26 firmly but movably holds the jet, pipe 20 in position. in the bearing portion of -.theframe. F.

.The frame F is-rigidly secured. to the tailcone and.acylinder 21 is rigidly secured. to the frame. The cylinder is ofthe simplest construction containing no valves of any v.kind. -A threaded cap 28 closes. the left or forward end of the piston whereas the right or aft end is providedflwith anaxial bearing opening for receiving the piston rod 29 0f the,-piston.3ll.

.,In the bearing opening in the aft end of cylinder 21, I dispose suitableliquidseals.-5ll,of one or-more units. Each unit includes a retaining .shell 5|,a neopr-eneorrubber ringr52 shaped as-shownand held in operative relation, tolthe The liquid seal prevents the loss of. pressure in the aft end of .the cylinder .21 and prevents theentry of foreign materials as dust,.dirt, oil, or other fluids from enteringthe cylinder.

,The pistonis provided with a channeIL3-I opening .into the forward. portionof the cylinder and. .a second channelopening into the aft end of the cylinder. The channels 3|.and 32 traverse the piston rod-longitudinally to a point aft of thexaft end of the cylinder where they both turnoff radially in...the same plane and emerge onthe sideatclose spacingas shown in. Fig.2. "The ,jet

pipe-.20 has its nozzle directly in'iline wjithth'ese openings, the arrangement being. such that the fluid issuing from the nozzle will enter the channels 3! and 32 and thus cause pressures to build up in the cylinder 21.

It will be obvious that if the jet is centered with respect to the two radial openings of the channels 3| and 32, the pressure in the two ends of the cylinder will be equal, and there will be no motion of the piston. If, however, the jet is displaced, say to the right, then the pressure will increase in the forward end of the cylinder and will be decreased in the aft end of the cylinder, thus forcing the piston 30 to the right until it again centers on the jet. Thus the piston follows the jet accurately.

The reaction force of the jet pipe 20 is transmitted directly to the bearing region so that no torque need be applied to control its position except to overcome the force of friction at the bearing. On the other hand, the force on the piston is large because the jet velocity-head is converted into substantially constant pressurehead with good efiiciency, the efliciency being of the order of 70% or better. Thus, an amplification factor from one ounce to two hundred pounds, or 3200 times is easily obtained.

To prevent the jet pipe from getting out of alignment with the radial openings at times when the fluid pressure is not on a pair of stops 33 and 34 are provided on the piston rod 29. During normal operation, the nozzle end of the jet pipe does not, of course, touch either stop.

These stops 33 and 34 introduce the possibility of damage to the nozzle end of the jet pipe in case of violent movement of the jet pipe. Such violent movement of the jet pipe is prevented by the nature of the coupling between the depth responsive device 35 and the jet pipe. The nature of the coupling will become apparent presently.

The depth responsive device comprises a pendulum P pivoted at 36. The pendulum is also coupled through the diaphragm 31 and link 38 to be actuated by the hydrostatic pressure of the sea. The swing of the pendulum P with reference to the torpedo is thus a function of the angle the longitudinal axis of the torpedo makes with the horizon or the depth of the torpedo below the sea surface, or both. For the details of the depth responsive device reference may be had to my Patent No. 2,417,768, issued March 18, 1947, and entitled Control device.

The pendulum P is coupled to the lever 39 in shape of an L upside down. The lower surface 4| of the horizontal leg of this lever 39 is flat and engages with a like top surface on the hub of the jet pipe 20. A stud bolt 42 is fixed in the hub as shown passing through a relatively large opening in the horizontal leg of the lever 39. The upper end of the stud bolt 42 is threaded to receive a nut 43 and washer 44. A compression spring 45 under adjustable compression by the nut 43 is disposed between the washer 44 and the horizontal leg of the lever 39. The spring pressure thus assures that the jet pipe 20 moves with the movements of the pendulum for all normal movements of the pendulum, but does not move with the pendulum for the violent pendulum movements such as that which occurs when the torpedo is fired from the firing tube.

The piston rod 29 is by means of the link 46 connected to the crank arm 47 on the yoke for actuating the elevator rudders 48. From the foregoing, it is apparent that the elevator rudders follow the control effect produced by the depth responsive device 35 and that the steering rud- 4 ders follow the control eflect produced by the gyro (3-.

While I have shown and described but one embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the exact disclosure made but wish to be limited only by the scope of the claims hereto appended.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus for controlling the direction of movement of a conveyance moving through a fluid medium, in combination, means for producing a control effect as a function of the deviation of the movement of the conveyance from a desired path of movement, a source of fluid pressure, a pivotally mounted jet pipe having a nozzle disposed to move as a function of the control effect, said jet pipe being connected to said source of fluid pressure, a cylinder, a piston in the cylinder having a piston rod projecting from one end of the cylinder, said rod being provided with a channel opening into the forward cylinder head and ending in a radial opening nearer the aft end of the rod and with a second channel opening into the aft cylinder head and ending in a radial opening directly adjacent the first radial opening but forward of the first radial opening, said radial openings being normally aligned with the nozzle of the jet pipe whereby the velocity head of the fluid issuing from the nozzle is transformed into equal static pressure-heads in each cylinder head when the openings and nozzle are in true alignment but becomes greater in the forward cylinder head and less in the aft cylinder head when the nozzle moves aft and becomes greater in the aft cylinder head and less in the forward cylinder head when the nozzle moves forward whereby the piston is caused to move with the movements of the nozzle, rudders for said conveyance, and means for connecting the piston rod to the rudders to thus cause rudder movements as a function of said control effect.

2. In apparatus for controlling the direction of movement of a conveyance moving through a fluid medium, in combination, means for producing a control effect as a function of the deviation of the movement of the conveyance from a desired path of movement, a source of fluid pressure, a pivotally mounted jet pipe having a nozzle disposed to move as a function of the control effect, said jet pipe being connected to said source of fluid pressure, a cylinder having a first cylinder head and a second cylinder head, a piston in said cylinder having a piston rod projecting from the second cylinder head, said rod being provided with a pair of channels, one opening into the first cylinder head and the other in the second cylinder head and said channels terminating in radial contiguous opening in the rod but in reverse order to the openings in the cylinder heads, said radial openings being aligned with the nozzle of the jet pipe whereby the fluid issuing from the nozzle will produce pressure effects in the cylinder heads causing said piston and thus the rod to follow the movements of the nozzle of the jet pipe, rudders for said conveyance and coupling means between the rod and the rudders to cause the rudders to move as a function of said control effect.

3. In the steering control for a torpedo, in combination, steering rudders for controlling the direction of movement of the torpedo, a pump operated by the torpedo propulsion equipment, a pivotally mounted jet pipe coupled to the depth control devices on the torpedo to thus swing as a 76 function of the control effect of the depth convelocity to the supply region of the pump to thus provide for recirculating use of the gas in the torpedo, a. cylinder, a piston having a rod projecting through a gas seal from one cylinder head, said piston rod being provided with a pair of channels opening respectively in the two cylinder heads and in closely spaced relation adjacent the nozzle end of the jet pipe, whereby said piston is caused to follow the swings of the jet pipe, and operative coupling means between the piston rod and the rudders to thus actuate the torpedo rudders as a function of the piston movement. a

4. In the steering control for a torpedo, in combination, steering rudders for controlling the direction of movement of the torpedo, a pump operated by the torpedo propulsion equipment, a gas pressure storage tank, a pivotally mounted jet pipe coupled to. the depth control devices on the torpedo to thus swing as a function of the control effect of the depth control devices, said jet pipe being coupled to be supplied with gas under pressure from the pump and producing a jet of gas under relatively high velocity to the supply region of the pump to thus provide for recirculating use of the gas in the torpedo, a cylinder, a piston having a rod projecting through a gas seal from one cylinder head, said piston rod being provided with a pair of channels opening respectively in the two cylinder heads and in closely spaced relation adjacent the nozzle end of the jet pipe, whereby said piston is caused to follow the swings of the jet pipe, and operative coupling means between the piston rod and the rudders to thus actuate the torpedo rudders as a function of the piston movements.

MERRILL G. LEONARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,261,851 Radiguer Apr. 9, 1918 1,851,816 Dieter Mar. 29, 1932 2,047,922 Seligmann July 14, 1936 2,104,627 Von Manteuflel Jan. 4, 1938

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