US1751289A - Disengaging gear for lifeboats - Google Patents

Description

March 18, 1930. P. a. PERSSON DISENGAGING GEAR FOR LIFE BOATS Filed July 16, 1929 M m n im W T Maw Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES PER IBOTVID PERSSON, F MALMO, SWEDEN DISENGAGING GEAR FOR LIFEBOATS Application filed July 16, 1929, Serial No. 378,719, and in Sweden July 21, 1928.

The present invention refers to disengaging gears for life boats of the kind consisting of turnable hooks which in a manner known in itself are provided with toothed segments for coaction with slidable toothed racks or the like for turning the hooks, locking members normally preventing the displacement of said toothed racks in a direction for disengaging the hooks being simultaneously releasable by means of acommon handle, so that the hooks at both ends of the boat may be simultaneously disengaged at the release of the locking members. The locking members are also combined with the toothed racks in such am'anner that the latter are displaceable by means of the former into a position for engaging the hooks with the tackle eyes carrying the boat. As the locking members are releasable by means of the handle irrespective O of whether the hooks are under influence of the weight of the manned boat or not, the disengagement of the hooks may be performed at any moment during the launching, even if the boat is not afloat on the water, if the hooks are constructed in the manner specified be low. This fact involves a very great. advantage, as it permits the boat to be disengaged, for instance when not entirely lowered and lifted by the crest of a'wave, so that the severe stresses arising on the tackles when the wave falls again will be avoided. Further it is essential that the boat can be disengaged at any moment, for instance when the ship is 5 rolling on the seas and the life boat runs the risk of being crushed against the shell-plating of the former. Finally the life boat can also be disengaged when the ship is still steaming ahead at a rather good speed, which is advan- 40 tageous in case of rescue work of every kind. According to the invention the hooks are disengaged from both of the tackles at exactly the same moment even if one end of the life boat should have been lowered more than the other, and the disengaging gear, when once released, cannot hook on again by itself. Hereby the disadvantage is eliminated, that One or both of the tackle eyes, when hanging loose after the boat is afloat, can catch again in case the boat should be further lowered by descending between two waves. Hence, it

will be apparent that the disengaging gear according to the invention involves asubstantially higher degree of reliability than similar devices now in use, which in most cases cannot be disengaged until the lift boat is afloat and the load relieved from the tackles supporting the same.

A preferable embodiment of invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 shows an elevation of the disengaging gear, the thwart at the one end of the boat supporting the same being shown in vertical section.

Fig. 2 shows the disengaging gear seen from the under side of the thwart.

Generally it is to be remarked that a re leasing gear of the kind shown in the drawing is intended to be at hand at each end of the life boat, both of such gears being manually operable by means of a common handle,

as will be described in the following.

The pivot pin 1 carries the hook 2 which is provided with a toothed segment 2 placed in engagement with a toothed rack portion 3 of a slidable rod 3, so that the hook will thus be turned when sliding the said rod. The rod 3 is preferably mounted on a plate 8 connected with a fork member 17 forming a bearing for the pin 1 and serving as a guide for the hook 2 in transverse direction, such fork member by means of a sturdy bolt 4 being affixed to the keel of the boat in a protected position beneath the thwart 6, which latter is I provided with an aperture 6" for inserting the eye 5 or the like provided on the supporting tackle (not shown) and adapted for engagement with the hook 2 when desired.

In the embodiment of invention shown in Fig. 1 the construction of the hook'2 is of such akind that its supporting surface 2, from the point of contactwith the eye 5 has a slightly'arc-shaped form upwardly. When the boat (and the load thereon) is supported by the eye 5, the tensional stress arising will have a component tending to turn the hook 2 in a direction for disengagement of the eye 5. In order to prevent such turning movement until desired, a locking member is provided, which normally prevents the backward displacement of the rod 3 until manually released.

In the embodimentshown the said locking member consists of a rockable arm 7 the end of which in the locking position is located in the path of travel of the end of the rod 3 remote from the hook 2, or else such arm could engage airecess'in or coactwith another abutment provided on the said bar. For steadying the arm I in its locking position a guide slot is provided in the plate Ss'o th-at'ithe arm cannot yield for the pressure thereon from the rod 3 on account of the loadon-theh'ook.

By the means just described it will be apparent that an automatic disengagement will 7 occur as soon 7 as the arm7-is manually reeye 5, and thus it will be self locking so that a disengagement of the same must'be performed by 'fo'rciblyturning the hook by slidingthe rod 3. If the point of thehook has a sufliciently low position, it may happen that the locking action willbe so strong that a manual disengagement cannotbe performed unless the load is relieved from theeye 5, i; e. unless the boat is afloat on the water. In certain cases a constructional modification of this kind willperhapsbe desired,- butzin case of life boats for sea'going vessels the first embodiment described above no do'ubti-s to be preferred, especially if a skilled'crew is accessible. i V I In respect of both of the embodiments of invention described above it is desirable or necessary that th'e rod3 can be manually displaced by me'ansof a handle 1O preferably at, fixed to a shaft 9iextendingr in the direction of length offthe boat along the keel ofth'e same,

such shaft at each end' being provided with anarni7 oi the kind described above.

According to the invention-the displacement of the rods 3 can beperforined by'means of the handle 10- by the:intermediaryxot the arms 7 and a'fork-shapediplate.12 pivotally 'mounted on a pin: 11 aflixed to theplate 8.

The plate 12 is provided with :a recess 13 for coaction with the freeend of the arm 7, and

.therodl3isiprovided with a bolt 14 penetratng an oblong 'slot 15 in the plate 12, such slot having a' shape so as to permit the turning of the plate simultaneously with the dislacement of the red 3 andthetoothedrack portion 'otthe same. Theplates is alse'previdefd "with slot 16 penetrated by'the' bolt 14,

which is sl'idatle in said slo ing simultaneously and releasing the eye 5.

In the drawing the mechanism is shown in a position for supporting the boat, the mechanism being locked. Supposing that an actuation of the handle 10 causes a turning of the arm 7 from the position shown, the upper end of the same (see Fig. 2) will at first be drawn away from the end of the rod,3 and take a position opposite to theirecess 13 the plate 12. Now, in case the hook 2 is of the automatically disengaging type described above,

nofiurther 'inanilpnlation is required for disengaging the boat, the weight of the boat and the load-being sufiicient for instantaneously pushing back the rod 3, the hook turn- On the contrary, if the hook 2 is of the automatically locking type referred to above, the turningof the arm 7 will atrfirst result in nothing, but the gear isready for disengagementof the, boat from its tackles by a further pull in the handle 10, assoon as the boat is afloat. At a manual disengagement of this kind the arm 7 now located in'thev recess 13 is turned further; Thereby-it strikes 2 the opposite side ofthe recess vand causes a turning movement of the plate 12 which latter by means of the constructional parts described above positively displaces ,the rod 3 in a direction forv disengagingrthe" boat. As both of the hooks mounted at the respective ends of the boat are combined iby means of the shaft 9, the disengagementis simultaneousat both ends. It is apparent'that the hooks 2 bymeansbf the handle also be turned back into theirnorm-alYworking position, and thereafter they are locked by means of the arm 7 then taking'the position shownin the drawing. "The handle may suitably be combined with sealing means (st ing and lead seal) when in the locking position, so that the. seal must be-broken at the manipulation of-the mechanism What I claimand desire to secure tyLetters Patent is: a r

1. A disengaging gear for life boats comprising at each end ofthe boat, a turnable hook member, a toothed segment connected therewith, a 'sli'dab'le toothed rack member engagingsaid 'segment, locking means coac't ing with said rack member and normally preventing r the di plac ment; of j the same into a hook releasingposition, means for simultaneous release of said locking means 7 'atb'oth ends'of the boat, and means for posilocking means.

2. A disengaging'gear'for life boatscbinprising, a turnable hook member at each end of the boat,a toothed segment connected-with 1 each hook, at slidable; toothed 1 rack; member engaging "each segment, locking means eoactinggwith each rack member'andgnormally preventing the displacement of thesameiiito a hook releasing position, a common-connect- Cil ing means connecting the locking means at both ends of the boat, a handle means connected With said connecting means, and means for positively displacing the rack members into a hook releasing position, such last-mentioned means being combined with the said locking means and acted upon by the latter in such a manner, that after a release of the locking means a continued movement of the same will positively displace the hook members into a release position.

3. A disengaging gear for life boats according to claim 2, characterized in that the connecting means between the locking means at both ends of the boat consists of a turnable shaft mounted longitudinally in the boat and connected with a handle bar.

4. A disengaging gear for life boats comprising, a turnable hook member at each end of the boat, a toothed segment connected with each hook, a slidable toothed rack member engaging each segment, a shaft mounted longitudinally in the boat and provided for each toothed rack member with a locking arm normally taking a position in the path of travel of said rack member for preventing the hook to be turned into a release position, handle means connected with said shaft for turning of the same, and means actuated by the locking arms for positively displacing the hooks into a release portion after the said arms have been moved out of the path of travel of the toothed rack members.

5. A disengaging gear for life boats comprising at each end of the boat, a turnable hook member, a toothed segment connected therewith, a slidable toothed rack member engaging said segment, a turnable locking arm normally located in the path of travel a of said rack member so as to prevent the rack member to be slided into a hook releasing position, means for turning of said looking arm, a turnable connection member between the locking arm and the toothed rack, a recess in said connection member adapted to take up the end of the locking arm, and means for pivotally connecting the connec tion member with the toothed rack member in a manner so that the latter may be slided by the turning movement of the former when acted upon by the locking arm.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

PER BOTVID PERSSON.

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