Automatic pilot mechanism for ships

摘要

1,020,288. Steering ships and submarines. HARLAND ENGINEERING CO. Ltd. Nov. 26, 1963 [Nov. 30, 1962], No. 45378/62. Heading B7V. [Also in Division G3] An automatic pilot mechanism for steering ships or submarines comprises a pilot valve 341, Figs. 2a-2c (not shown) which is actuated by a gyro compass 190 in response to deviations from a set path to control the supply and exhaust of fluid to the opposite sides of a piston 581. Movement of the piston 581 acts through a lever 361 to provide a feedback to the pilot valve and through a rod 681 to actuate a phase advancer 661. The phase advancer comprises a piston 741 connected by a rod 641 to a lever 601 opposite sides of the piston being connected by a passage 921 containing a throttle 941. The output rod 821 of the phase advancer is connected to a bellows 761 loaded by a spring 861 and a spring 901 is located between the bellows and piston, the combined rate of the bellows and spring 861 being several times stiffer than the spring 901. The output of the phase advancer thus anticipates the correction and operates a valve 114 to control the supply and exhaust of fluid to a ram 1361 which actuates the rudder. Movement of the ram provides a feedback through a lever system to the valve 1141. In a submarine, a second system, similar to the above is provided to actuate the hydroplanes, the system being responsive to the depth as measured by the hydrostatic pressure.