Title of Invention

AN IMPROVED SYSTEM OF INDICATING DIRECTION OF ROTATION AND SPEED OF ROTATION SHAFTS PARTICULARLY THAT OF A PROPELLER SHAFT OF A SHIP

Abstract

Present invention provides a Rotary Direction Indicator which has improved visualization of direction of rotation of a Shaft, particularly that of a Propeller Shaft in a ship. The invention comprises of an Indicator Panel or a Screen on which lamps are mounted to form a circle. The said lamps are lighted in one by one sequence that give appearance of a rotating Spot or Arc of Light, that simulates the Direction of Rotation of the Propeller Shaft of the ship, thereby indicating to its operatives which way the ship is being driven by the Propeller in two directions "Ahead" or "Astern". An electronic Circuitry doing the function of lighting lamps in sequential manner is totally static and as such is immune to shocks and vibrations.

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENT ACT 1970 (39 of 1970) & The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See section 10 and rule 13) . 1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION : An improved system of indicating direction of Rotation and speed of rotation shafts particularly that of a Propeller shaft of a ship. 2. APPLICANT (S)' (a) NAME : M/s Beacon Industries Pvt. Ltd. (b) NATIONALITY : Indian (c) ADDRESS : Shree Ram Industrial area, Block No. A-13 1st floor Katrak road, Wadala Mumbai - 400 031. 3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION COMPLETE The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performs. 4. DESCRIPTION (Description shall start from next page.) 5. CLAIMS (not applicable for provisional specification. Claims should start with the preamble "I/We claim" on separate page) 6. DATE AND SIGNATURE (to be given at the end of last page of specification) 7. ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION (to be given along with complete specification on separate page) Field Of Invention the present invention relates to a novel design & manufacturing method of system indicating direction of rotation and speed of rotation of shafts particularly that of propeller shaft of a ship indicative and communication instruments housed therein. Background of Invention The ship moves forward or backwards according to the direction of rotation of its Propeller Shaft which may rotate either in clockwise or in anti-clockwise direction. A ship moves forward when the Propeller is rotating in clockwise direction, and, the ship moves backwards when the Propeller is made to rotate in reverse direction, meaning anti--clock-wise-direction-In marine terminology, the direction_ of _rotation„.of Propeller Shaft that drives the ship forward is called "AHEAD" and the one the: drives the ship backwards is called "ASTERN". For the sake of simplicity in the entire specification the clockwise direction is mentioned as "AHEAD" and anti-clockwise direction as "ASTERN" although in practice conditions may be otherwise. Thus the ship moves in the forward direction when the Propeller rotates clockwise and the ship moves in the backward direction when the Propeller rotates anti-clockwise. 2 -1- Conventional Systems and their Disadvantages One system presently used for the indication of the direction of rotation of a Shaft comprises of a reversible motor with a pointed hand that rotates clockwise or anticlockwise according to the direction of rotation of the Shaft. For example, when the Propeller Shaft rotates clockwise the reversible motor makes the pointer i.e. the pointed hand move in the clockwise direction and when the Propeller Shaft rotates anti-clockwise the motor makes the pointer move in anti-clockwise direction. Another system for indicating direction of rotation of a Shaft comprises of moving con* type electric meter with upright pointer that tilts clockwise or anti-clockwise according to the direction of rotation of the Shaft. The clockwise side is marked as "AHEAD" and the anti-clockwise side is marked as "ASTERN" to indicate in which direction the ship is moving. For example, when the Propeller Shaft rotates in the clockwise direction the upright pointer tilts clockwise and shows "AHEAD" and when the Propeller Shah rotates anti-clockwise the upright pointer tilts anti-clockwise and shows "ASTERN". 3 3- Both these systems are not static as they consist of moving parts such as pointer, motor, spring, etc which are subjected to constant wear and tear. The above systems moreover are not immune to vibrations and shocks. These systems are also not self-illuminating due to which they need external lighting when used in semi-illuminated or dark areas. A. third type of system is an electronic Indicator which indicates positive "+" sign and negative "—" sign for clockwise and anti-clockwise direction of rotation of the Propeller Shaft respectively. This system is no doubt static with no moving parts as well as self-illuminating but the main disadvantage of this type of indicating system is that it does not provide good visualization. Complete Description of the Present Invention The invention relates to indication of direction of rotation of a. Shaft such as Propeller Shaft of a. ship. The ship moves forward or backwards according to the direction of rotation of its Propeller Shaft which may rotate either in clockwise or in anti-clockwise 4 4 direction. Such information about the direction of rotation is provided by the present electrical-cum-electronic Direction Indicator. The main object of the present invention is to give better visualization of direction of rotation of the Propeller Shaft in ships. This is done by using small lamps forming a circle, such lamps being lighted one after the other in a sequential order to give the appearance of a rotating Spot or Arc of Light that simulates the rotation of the Shaft under observation. Following is the description of the complete system that embodies the present invention. Fig-1 illustrates the system which comprises of the following: 1. Propeller Shaft (1.1) 2. Tooth wheel (1.2) 3. Proximity Sensors (1.3) and (1.4) 4. Logic Circuit (1.5) -5- 5- 5. Cable (1.6) 6. Timer Circuit (J.7) 7. Etecirical Counter cum distributor (1.8) 8. Indicator (3.9) Since the inventor claims only component 8 in the present specification, components from 1 to 7 have not been elaborated in the present specification. Although the working principle has been described succinctly to give a clear picture of the invention. With reference to Fig-1, the Tooth Wheel (1.2) is fitted on the Propeller Shaft (1.1) such that the former rotates according to the rotation of the Shaft. The tooth wheel is made out of metal. Near the circumference of the tooth wheel Proximity Sensors (1.3) and (1 A) are mounted such that when the tooth wheel is rotating, its teeth pass by the tips of the sensors. Sensors are mounted independently from the tooth wheel. There is no mechanical contact between sensors and tooth wheel There is a small gap of about one or two millimeters maintained between the face of the tooth and the tips of the sensors. -6- -6- The function of Proximity Sensors is to detect the presence of metal when it comes in proximity of their tips. In this case it is the metallic tooth which while rotating comes closer to the sensor tip, the sensor gives out a signal in terms of electric voltage and when the tooth moves away from the tip i.e. the tip is in the gap between the two teeth, the sensor does not give out any signal. The sensors (1.3) and (1.4) are so placed that the distance between their tips is approximately equal to half the face of the tooth. Thus when the tooth wheel rotates in clockwise direction the face of the tooth comes near to the tip of Sensor (13) first and then comes to the tip of Sensor (1.4). This way when the tooth wheel is rotating in clockwise direction, signal output of Sensor (1.3) precedes that of Sensor (14). Now when the tooth wheel rotates in anti-clockwise direction, the sequence of outputs of (1.3) and (1.4) is reversed - meaning the signal of (1.4) precedes that of (1.3). It is this change of sequence that tells the direction of rotation. One can know the direction of the Propeller Shaft by knowing this sequence. The Logic Circuit (1.5) does this " 7" -7- work of analyzing the signals coming from sensors. There are many ways by which the sequence of the signals coming from sensors can be determined. It can be done by using discrete component circuits or by using a Microprocessor Chip. The Logic Circuit gives its output as "High" or "Low" according to the direction of rotation of the tooth wheel. For example, if the direction of rotation is clockwise, the Logic Circuit output is "High" and for anti-clockwise the output is "Low". The "High" or "Low" signal obtained from Logic Circuit (1.5) is then carried through cable (1.(5). Often more than one Direction Indicators are required in a ship. In that case more than one cable is used to carry Logic Circuit signal to different locations where Direction Indicators are fitted, Etg-2 describes working of the invention in further details. Here (2.1) is the Indicator on the front panel or screen of which are mounted lamps 1,2,3,4 arranged in a circle. -8- In this particular case 50 such lamps are used to form the circle. The last lamp No. 50 will then come adjacent to lamp No. 1. Now when lamp 1 is switched on, it appears as a Spot of Light at the bottom of the circle. Next if lamp 2 is switched on and lamp 1 is switched off at the same time, it appears as if the Spot of Light has moved from position 1 to position 2. Again in the next step lamp 3 is switched on and lamp 2 is switched off simultaneously. The Light Spot will then appear to have moved from position 2 to position 3. Thus by switching on and off the lamps in step by step sequence, the Light Spot appears to be rotating in the circle. If the sequence of the lamps lighting is 1,2,3,4 ... and so on, the Light Spot appears rotating in clockwise direction and if the sequence is reversed, Light Spot appears rotating in anti-clockwise direction. Such rotating Light Spot can be made to simulate direction of rotation of Propeller Shaft. (2.2) is a. Timer Circuit that generates train of electric pulses (2.3). There are different types of ICs (integrated circuits) that can be used for generating such train of pulses. IC type 555 is found quite suitable for the purpose. The pulses (2.3), so generated by the Timer Circuit (2.2) are then fed to electronic Counter-cum-distributor (2.4) that counts the pulses and distributes them to lamps of the Indicator (2.1) in same sequential order so that first pulse lights lamp 1, second pulse lights lamp 2 and so on. 9 The process continues even after the last lamp SO is lighted. This is how we see lamps being on and off in step by step sequence that gives appearance of rotating Light Spot. The Counter-cum-distributor (Z.4) can also be set in reverse mode. In that case lamps light in reverse order i.e. 50, 49,48 ... and so on. In the forward mode the Light Spot appears to be rotating in clockwise direction and in the reverse mode the Light Spot appears rotating in the anti-clockwise direction. The counter mode can be changed by signal given to its mode set point (2.5). For example, if the signal given to the point (2.5) is "High", the counter operates in forward mode resulting in the Light Spot rotating in clockwise direction. If the signal given to point (2.5) is "Low" the counter acts in reverse mode and as a. result, the Light Spot rotates in anti-clockwise direction. The Signal for the mode set point (2.5) is obtained from the Logic Circuit (1.5) through the cable (1.6) shown in fig-1. Thus when the Propeller Shaft rotates clockwise, the Logic Circuit gives "High" output and the Light Spot of the Indicator moves clockwise and when the Propeller Shaft is rotating in anti-clockwise direction, the Logic Circuit gives "Low" output that reverses the sequence of the Counter-cum-distributor resulting in the Light Spot moving in anti- -10- clockwise direction. In this way the Light Spot on the Indicator screen correctly simulates the direction of rotation of the Propeller Shaft. Lamps used in the Direction Indicator (2.1) can be any type of electric lamp. LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamps are found more suitable because of their quick response. Light emitting diodes are available in variety of colours. Light emitting diodes are also available in one piece having two colours. Such dual colour Light emitting diodes can be lighted in either of the two colours by suitably connecting their terminals to electric supply voltage. Instead of using discrete electronic components, a Micro-processor chip can be used to do multiple functions with an advantage that one chip can do the work of Timer (2.2) as well as Counter-cum-distributor (2.4). Further advantage of a Microprocessor is that it can be programmed and hence it is more versatile. Direction Indicator described herein above can have added variations in order to get improved visualization. One such variation is to have two or more consecutive lamps lighted simultaneously. This way, instead of just one rotating Light Spot, the Indicator screen shows Arc of Light rotating in circle. 11 11 Another variation that improves visualization is by use of different colour lamps for clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. This can be done more conveniently by using dual colour Light emitting diodes. We can have Indicator screen displaying Spot of Light or Arc of Light of one colour, say green, rotating in clockwise direction and another colour, say red, rotating in anti-clockwise direction. Yet another improvement that can add to better visualization of Light Spot or Arc is by increasing or decreasing its speed of rotation according to the speed of the Propeller Shaft, This is done by taking signal from Speed Sensor Circuit (not shown) and feeding the same to the Timer (2.2) such that the Timer gives out faster or slower pulses according to the signal from the Speed Sensor Circuit. This way the circulating Light Spot or Arc rotate faster or slower according to the speed of rotation of the Propeller Shaft. SPEED INDICATOR Any of the two Proximity Sensors (1.3) or (1.4) of Fig-1 can be used to sense speed of rotation in addition to their functions for direction sensing described earlier. Proximity Sensor senses the proximity of each tooth of the tooth wheel That way it gives out 12 electrical pulses corresponding to the number of teeth passing by its tip. For example, if the tooth wheel has 30 teeth on its periphery, then the Proximity sensor will give out 30 pulses for each revolution of the Propeller Shaft. Suppose if the shaft is rotating at speed of 120 revolutions per minute (RPM), the Sensor gives out 120 x 30 = 3600 pulses per minute. The Speed Sensor Circuit does the work of counting these pulses received from the Proximity Sensor and computing the value of the speed of rotation in RPM and then gives it out to Digital Display (not shown) where the RPM value is displayed in digital form. In this particular example the digital display will show 120 RPM. One more variation in the Indicator described as above is to use only a part of the circle instead of full circle of lamps. Even if we have half the circle of lamps, it gives good visualization of the direction of rotation. Further it is also found convenient and useful to combine the Direction Indicator with Digital Speed Indicator such that one display screen can show the circulating Light Spot or Arc as described above and also the speed of rotation of the Propeller Shaft in Digital form. -13 One more variation of the present invention is to use computer screen as the front panel of the Indicator (2.1). By using suitable computer software, one can have a Light Spot on the computer screen that moves in circle in either clockwise or anti-clockwise, thereby simulating the rotation of Propeller Shaft. Advantages of the present invention •. (1) The circulating Light Spot or Arc of Light gives better visualization than other conventional indicating systems. Since the Light Spot or Arc rotates in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction it gives a better perception. Thus the present invention is simple to read and understand. lust by looking at the Indicator one feels as if he is looking at the rotating Shaft itself and immediately conclude whether the ship is being driven " Ahead" or " Astern". 2) The present system is all static because it is electronic and has no moving parts. As such it is not subject to wear and tear nor is it vulnerable to ambient conditions and hence less bound to failures. 14- indicator screen displays light spot or arc of another color, say red, rotating in anticlockwise direction. 11. Yet another improvement that can add to the visualization of ligrr: spot is done by increasing or decreasing its speed of rotation accordingly to the speed of the propeller shaft. This is done by taking signal from speed sensor fitted on the propeller shaft and feeding that signal to timer a (fig-1 now fig 2) such that the timer gives out faster or slower pulses according to the signal from the speed sensor as described in fig 2. This way the circulating light spot of the indicator rotates faster or slower according to the speed of rotation of the propeller. Description Of Accompanying Drawings Figure 1 illustrating a typical sketch diagram showing set up of complete system that embodies the present invention. Here "A" is the propeller shaft on which a tooth wheel is mounted. CI and C2 are proximity sensors and D is the logic circuitry that gives output that may be high or low according to the direction of rotation of the propeller shaft. F is the timer circuit, G is the electronic circuit cum distributor and H is the indicator. Figure 2 illustrating a propeller shaft (A) with the timer circuit, B is which the electrical pulses generated from the proximity sensors is. Electronic counter (€) cum distributor. The mode set point (D) coupled with (E) the light emitting diodes which light up either in a clockwise or anti clockwise direction as per the direction of the propeller shaft of the ship. 16 15 Indicator screen on which lamps are mounted in circular form, (1.6) is a Cable that carries signal from the Logic Circuit to mode set point of electronic Counter-cum-distributor. Fig-2 shows (2.2) which is the Timer Circuit which is same as (1.7) of Fig-1. (2.3) are the electrical pulses generated from the Timer Circuit (2.4) is the electronic Counter-cum-distributor which is same as (1.8) of fig-1. (2.5) is the mode set point that receives signal from the cable (1.6) of Fig-1. (2.1) is the Indicator screen which is same as (1.9) of Fig-1 on which lamps are mounted in circular form. 16 18 Abstract Present invention provides a Rotary Direction Indicator which has improved visualization of direction of rotation of a Shaft, particularly that of a Propeller Shaft in a ship. The invention comprises of an Indicator Panel or a Screen on which lamps are mounted to form a circle. The said lamps are lighted in one by one sequence that give appearance of a rotating Spot or Arc of Light, that simulates the Direction of Rotation of the Propeller Shaft of the ship, thereby indicating to its operatives which way the ship is being driven by the Propeller in two directions "Ahead" or "Astern". An electronic Circuitry doing the function of lighting lamps in sequential manner is totally static and as such is immune to shocks and vibrations.

Documents:

991-mum-2004-abstract(30-11-2005).doc

991-mum-2004-abstract(30-11-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-abstract.doc

991-mum-2004-abstract.pdf

991-mum-2004-cancelled page(30-11-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-claim(granted)-(30-11-2005).doc

991-mum-2004-claim(granted)-(30-11-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-claims.pdf

991-mum-2004-claims.rtf

991-mum-2004-correspondence(ipo)-(13-9-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-correspondence(ipo)-(14-11-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-correspondence-(30-11-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-correspondence-received-190705.pdf

991-mum-2004-correspondence-received.pdf

991-mum-2004-descripiton (complete).pdf

991-mum-2004-drawings.pdf

991-mum-2004-form 1(8-8-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 13(30-11-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 13(6-10-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 13(8-8-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 18(8-8-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 19(15-9-2004).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 19(25-8-2004).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 2(granted)-(30-11-2005).doc

991-mum-2004-form 2(granted)-(30-11-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 26(15-9-2004).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 26(18-8-2004).pdf

991-mum-2004-form 5(8-8-2005).pdf

991-mum-2004-form-1.pdf

991-mum-2004-form-13.pdf

991-mum-2004-form-18.pdf

991-mum-2004-form-19.pdf

991-mum-2004-form-2.pdf

991-mum-2004-form-26.pdf

991-mum-2004-form-3.pdf

991-mum-2004-form-5.pdf

991-mum-2004-granted.pdf

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