Abstract: One or more remotely disposed valves may be opened or closed by a control handwheel by means of rotatable flexible shafting and mechanism associated therewith which may reduce the torque required to rotate the hand wheel and permitting much lighter weight and less costly flexible shafting to be employed. The associated mechanism comprises pulley-belt arrangements and/or gearing structures at each valve to be opened or closed as well as an optional pulley-belt arrangement cooperating with the handwheel. A torque limiting clutch device may readily be incorporated into the system for providing necessary slippage to the valve stems in the event one or more of the remotely disposed valves reaches the end of its travel prior to the remaining valves in the system.

Abstract: A flexible shaft casing assembly for use in permanent installations wherein the flexible shaft may rotate at high speeds along a tight radius bend or bends in power driven application. The assembly includes a plurality of rigid, curved, tubular casing members which are capable of defining the bends. The casing members are provided with a flared portion at one end which secures a bearing member therein. The casing members are frictionally rotatable 360.degree. within each other by means of the flared portion of one engaging the non-flared portion of an adjacent casing member. Suitable high-temperature epoxy resin renders the bearing members secure in the flared portions of the casing members to provide a permanent installation.

Abstract: Simple and inexpensive steering mechanism for marine craft wherein motion from a manually-operated steering wheel controls a remotely disposed rudder or other steering member. The present invention is characterized by an absence of gear mechanisms after the steering wheel for "stepping-up" the number of revolutions from the steering wheel in order that the steering member may be moved into steering position without requiring an excessive number of steering wheel revolutions. In lieu of such gear mechanism, a pulley-belt device is employed. As in the prior art, the stepped-up revolutions are conventionally fed into a rotatable flexible shaft assembly; and a ball screw cylinder or the like converts the rotary motion of the stepped-up revolutions into linear motion of a member which controls the steering.