US1330380A - Windmill - Google Patents

Description

E. H. MANNING.

WINDMILL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-15,]917. 1 ,330,380. Patented Feb. 10,1920.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

A TTOR/VEVS E. H. MANNIN WINDM'ILL'.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15, 1917.

Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES l/VI/E/VTOH Eb n62 6727i. Jifanvzing A TTOR/VEYS E.'H. MANNING.

WINDMILL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15. I917.

Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOI? l'i'be maze rflffllanndng 2a? A TTORNEYS E. H. MANNING;

WINDMILL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I5. 19!].

Patented Feb.10,1920.

.4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

14 TTORA/EYS INVENTO/f l'bemezwdimnnvzg WITNESSES f5). 1

owirnn 3TATE3 rain orrion.

EBENEZEB HARDEN MANNING, OF TGMALH, "WISCONSIN.

Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

wiizrnicrnn 1,33@,38. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 15, 1317. Serial No. 207,267.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Ennnnznn H. MAN- NING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Tomah, in the county of Monroe and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Windmills, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in windmills, being more particularly an improvement on my Patent Number 1,219,339, dated March 13, 1917, and it consists in the constructions, combinations, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a windmill including a rotor carrying a plurality'of vanes with means for rotating or feathering the vanes on their respective axes in such a manner as to expose them to the wind at the angle of greatest efficiency at every degree of the circle while traveling with, across and against the wind, cooperating means being provided for controlling the vanes entire y automatically.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide a windmill having a rotor with vanes as described, including a governor acting upon the controlling means for the electric motor by means of which the vanes are feathered when the speed becomes excessive, a meter controlled device also being incor porated for acting upon said motor controlling means to feather the vanes in accord ance with the quantity of electrical energy in a storage battery which is char ed by a gene: rator operated by the windmill.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide a windmill as described, wherein the positions of the vanes are adjusted according to varying velocities of the wind, so that substantiallv uniform speed of rotation of the rotor is obtained.

inother ohiect of the invention is to provide a windmill as described, inchiding means whereby all vanes are feathered or moved simultaneously to vary the surfaces exposed to the wind, by means of a single central controlling gear operated preferably automatically, or manually if desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a windmill of such a design wherein the number of power vanes may be increased or decreased as desired, to add or subtract the number of power units.

@t-her objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is side elevation of the upper portion of the windmill tower showing a rotor constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail section showing the arrangement of one of the feathering shafts.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a portion of the device showing the controlling means.

Fig. 4c is a diagram illustrating the feathcring action of the vanes, and

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the various electrical circuit connections.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a tower 1 which has a lower deck 2 and an upper deck 3. The decks are spaced apart by suitable braces, thus providing a frame in which a. rotor i revolves by wind pressure.

The rotor t. has a main power shaft '5 shown in 3. Power from the shaft 5 is transmitted to an operating rod 6 by the gear train 7 indicated in Fig. 1. lhe power may be taken from the power shaft 5 by means other than the gear train, the ultimate purpose being to utilize the power developed by the rotor a in driving farm or other machinery and more particularly in generating electricity for driving said machinery, and furnishing light and heat. v

The windmill is capable of performing four major functions: 1st, feathering the vanes of the rotor by the windmill rudder under normal wind velocities. 2nd, feathering the vanes by a mechanical governor ac- I tion under abnormally high wind velocities.

3rd, feathering the vanes upon current eonsumotion to a predetermined low point. And, 4th, feathering the vanes upon the recharging of thebattery to a predetermined high point. j

The 1st function is performed by a rudder 8 mounted on a rudder shaft 9 at the top of the windmill. The rudder 8 is properly connected to turn or feather a plurality of vanes 10 rotatably mounted in the rotor 4, under normal wind velocities.

Consider Fig. 3; here the rudder shaft 9 is adapted to turn a master gear 11 on a gear shaft 19.. The'turning of the master gear 11, revolves a plurality of pinions 13 which mesh therewith. Each of the pinions 13 is mounted upon a feathering shaft 14 radiating from the center of the rotor as indicated. Each feathering shaft 14 carries 12 are separate. The gear shaft 12 is made to turn with the rudder shaft 9 through the medium of the rudder 8 under normal wind velocities, through intervening connections consisting of a motor bracket 18, a pinion 19, and a segment 20 with which the pinion 19 meshes. The motor bracket 18 has a hub 21 secured to the rudder shaft 9. A motor 22 is mounted upon the motor bracket. The shaft 23 of the motor has a worm pinion 24L meshing with a worm gear 25 on the upper end of a shaft 26 which carries the pinion 19 on the lower end.

The pinion 19 is adapted under certain conditions, to be revolved by the motor 22 and turn the gear shaft 12 through the segment 20. Under the conditions which is now being considered, namely the performance of the 1st function, this does not occur. It will readily be understood that in the present instance the relationship of the pinion 19 with the segment 20 is fixed. It therefore follows that when the rudder 8 is shifted by the wind, the shaft 9, motor bracket 18, pinion 19, segment 20, and gear shaft 12, move as a unit, rotating the pinions 13, consequently the vane shafts 17, and adjusting the vanes 10 to the proper positions wherein they will act most efficiently under the normal wind velocities.

It must be understood that the rotation of themaster gear 11 is not continuous. Ordinarily the wind blows in one direction with very little variation and thus, under ordinary conditions, the master gear 11 will remain relatively stationary. The pinions 13, however, being in engagement with the master gear 11, are continuously rotated because of the turning of the rotor 4. This continuous turning of the pinions 13 upon the master gear 11 serves to feather the vanes 10, or in other words, turn each of the vanes through one half revolution on its axis as the rotor 4 makes a complete revolution. The purpose of this arrangement is, to exposeeach of the vanes to the wind at the angle of greatest efficiency at every degree of the circle, while traveling with, across and against the wind, there being only about thirty degrees of the circle when the vanes face the wind edgewise to a degree where they are not efiicient. This action will readily be understood from Fig. 4:. The

, shaft 12.

wind pressure is delivered at a given distance from the center of the rotor, the source of the wind beginning at the bottom on the figure, against the vanes as the rotor rotates in a counter clockwise direction. The various positions of the vanes '10 illustrate how the vane shafts 17 are turned through the rotation of the pinions 13 upon the master gear 11, as just described. The relatively small angle wherein the vanes are not efficient in turning the rotor, occurs at the point where the vanes adjust themselves to the edgewise position at 'the left side of the figure.

The performance of the 2nd function is rendered by a governor 27 and occurs under abnormally high wind velocities. Consider Fig. 5. The governor 27 is driven from the power shaft 5 of the rotor 4:, through suitable gear connections and the governor shaft 28. The gear connections are omitted from the illustration, since they are not essential to the understanding of v the operation. When the speed of rotation of the rotor 4: becomes excessive, the governor balls 27 fly out, causing the governor sleeve 29 to move down. The downward movement of the sleeve 29 depresses one end of an arm 30 pivoted in a bracket 31, causing the elevation of the other end of the arm to which a link 32 is pivoted. The upward movement of the link 32 will eventually cause the rotation of a; commutator 33 in a clockwis direction, When this occurs, a series of reversing contacts R move into engagement with a series of spring contacts 5, thus completing an electrical circuit through the motor 22, which therefore, operates and rotates the The rotation of the shaft 12 is accomplished through the segment 20 with which the pinion 19 meshes, the pinion .19 being driven through the wornigear 25 and the worm pinion 24.

The motor circuit is closed by the clock wise rotation of the commutator 33 at which time the circuit through contacts R engaging the sprin contacts S is as follows: The illustration of the commutator 33 in Fig. 5 should be first understood, however. The longitudinal section of the commutator at the left, and the cross section thereof at the right, are one and the same commutator. There are not two commutators as it would appear, but this method of illustrating the action is best in tracing the circuits. The contacts it on the cross section at the right are the same contacts indicated R at 809., at the bottom of the longitudinal section at the left.

Resuming, now, the path of the motor operating circuit. Current flows from the positive pole of a local battery 3 over the wire 35, through contact S into contact H out at contact S over wire 36, wire 37, through the commutator of the motor 22,

over wire 38, in at contact 8*, through contact R out at contact 3*, over wire 39, in at contact G of the side of the commutator carrying a series of contacts F for accommodating another circuit, through contact F on the same side, over shunt 40 through the commutator, through contact R out at contact S over wire 41 to the blade 42 of a pair of switches, over wire 43 to motor 22, and over wire 44 to the negative pole of the battery.

The electrical circuit just traced operates the motor 22 in the reverse direction and feathersthe vanes 10 to a position where the motion of the rotor 4 is reduced to thedesired velocity. This feathering action is performed through the rotation of the master gear 11 in Fig. 3, and the rotation of the feathering shafts 14 which act upon the vane shafts 17 through the gear connections 15 and 16. The segment 20 will rotate in the clockwise direction indicated in Fig. 5. A portion of another electrical circuit will he completed upon release of the blade 45 of the other one of the pair of switches previously referred to, by the stud 46 on the hub of the segment 20, after the segment moves a short distance. The stud 46 will eventually engage the blade 42 of the other of the pair of switches, and break the original circuit and stop the motor 22. In order to differentiate between the original circuit and the secondary circuit about to be eX- plained, the original or primary circuit is indicated in heavy lines, while the secondary ircuit is indicated in light lines.

The 3rd function is performed when the current in the storage battery in which electrical current is stored through the operation of the rotor, falls to a pre-determined low point. The vanes 10 are then feathered to set them properly against the wind and operate the generator supplying the storage battery. This function is accomplished through the agency of an ampere-hour meter. Consider Fig. 5. The meter 47 has a contact 48 which constitutes the pre-determined low point, and a contact 49 which constitutes a pro-determined high point to be de scribed. A pointer 50 moves over the dial of the meter 47 in a counter-clockwise direction when current is being consumed, and in a clockwise direction when current is being stored. hen the pointer 50 engages the contact 48, a circuit is completed through the motor 22, operating the motor to feather the vanes 10 for the purpose described.

The circuit thus completed is as follows: the commutator 33 is in a neutral position in the illustration at the right of Fig. 5. When the pointer 50 engages the contact 48, current flows from the positive"pole of the battery 34 over the wire 51, through the pointer 50 to contact 48, over the wire 52 to a contact 53 on a bracket 54, through a contact-55 in normal engagement with the contact 53 and mounted upon a releasing lever 56, over wire 57 to a catch magnet 58, over wire 59 to the negative pole. of the battery.

The catch magnet 58 being thus energized, attracts a catch 60 moving it on its pivot 61 against the tension of a spring 62. The end of the releasing lever 56 is normally retained. in a recess 63 in one edge of the catch 60. The attraction of the catch 60 cause? the release of the end of the lever 56,- whereupon a spring 64 secured to an arm 65 on the armature 33, pulls the arm 65 down. The releasing lever 56 is rocked on its fulcrum 66 on the bracket 54 through the con' necting link 67 between the arm and the lever. The magnet circuit is thus broken at the contacts 53 and 55. The armature 33 was rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, moving a series of contacts F into engagement with a series of spring contacts G.

This closes a forwardly rotating motor circuit as follows: Current from the local battery 34 flows over the wire 35 to a wire 68 to contact G through contact F over bridge 69 in the body of the commutator to contact F out at contact G overwire 7 O to wire 38, through the armature of the motor 22, over wire 37, wire 71, to contact G through contact F over bridge 72 in the body of the commutator, through con tact F out at contact G over wire 73 into contact F through contact G out at contact Gr, over wire 74 to the switch blade 45 which was moved into engagement with its companion contact when the stud 46 was moved away, over Wire 75 to wire 43,through the motor, over the Wire 44, back to the neg ative pole of the battery. The motor is now operating in a forward direction. The rotor 4 is in turn operating the generator (shown in Fig. 5) which is storing chemical energy in the storage battery (also shown in Fig. The pointer 50 will now rotate in a clockwise direction over the dial of the meter 47 indicating that the current is building up.

The performance of the 4th function oc curs when the amperage of the storage battery reaches a pre-determined high point, at which time the pointer 50 will engage the contact 49. The motor 22 will then again be operated in the reverse direction to again act upon the vanes 10 and throw the mill out of the wind. The circuit thus completed is as follows: It must be borne in mind thatthe releasing lever 56 is yet in the inclined position, the contacts F are still in engagement with the spring contacts G, the motor 22 is still rotating in the forward direction, and that the end of the releasing lever 56 is in engagement with the catch 60 above the recess 63. A pair of contacts 76 and 77 are thus held in engagement. Now, resuming the circuit: The pointer 50 having engaged the contact 49, current iiows from the positive pole of the battery 34 over the wire 51, through the pointer to the contact 49, over the wire 78 to the contact 7 6, from the contact 77 over the wire 79 to the releasing magnet 80, over the wire 81, wire 59, back to battery. 7

The magnet 80 being energized, the releasing lever 56 is attracted, causing the armature 33 to rotate in a clockwise direction until the series of contacts R engage the spring contacts S. The electrical cir-. cuit at the contacts 76 and 77 is broken. The spring 62 pulls the catch over until the end of the releasing lever 56 again rests in the recess 63. The contacts R and spring contacts S now being in engagement, an elect "ical circuit operating the motor 22 in reverse direction, the path of the circuit being the same as the primary circuit previously described, and indicated in heavy line at the left of Fig. 5.

The operation of the device is thought to be fully understood from the foregoing description. A brief review thereof may, however, be to advantage.

The parts illustrated in Fig. 5 are in a substantially normal position. The governor 27 acts only under abnormally high wind velocities, at which time the governor balls fly out farther than usual and act upon the commutator 33, rotating it in a clockwise direction. The commutator 33 is now in a neutral position. The end of the link 3:2 is slotted and the arm of the commutator has a pin which rides in the slot. The slot in the link permits a certain amount of play before the commutator 33 is actually rotated. Under normal conditions, the rudder 8 takes care of all of the feathering of the vanes 10 that is necessary to obtain the efficient operation of the windmill. In other words, ordinary wind velocities are taken care of by the rudder 8 and the vanes 10 are turned at the proper angles with respect to the head of the wind, through the master gear 11, the pinions l3, and the shaft 9 with the appended parts which act as a unit in turning the master gear 11, as previously fully explained. This action of the rudder 8 on the vanes 10 constitutes the performance of the 1st function.

Should a wind at an abnormally high velocity strike the windmill, the rotor 4 will,

of course, respond with the result that the governor'balls 27 will fly out unusually far, causing the rotation of the armature 33 in a clockwise direction through the interposed arm and link connections illustrated in Fig. 5. The series of contacts It on the commutator will then engage the series of spring contacts S, when a current will flow over the primary circuit indicated in heavy lines in Fig. 5, to rotate the motor 22 in a reverse direction. The segment 20 will consequently be moved in a clockwise direction as indicatedby the arrow, and all of the feathering shafts 1 iacted upon to turn the vanes 10 so that the wind at high velocity will have no damaging effect on the windmill. The primary motor circuit is broken when the stud 46 on the hub of the segment 20 engages the blade 42 of the upper knife switch. ,lVhen the speed of rotation of the rotor -l is reduced, the governor 27 will adjust the commutator 33 to the former neutral position. This constitutes the performance of the 2nd function.

When so much current from the storage battery has been used that the pointer 50 in moving in the counter-clockwise direction engages the contact 48, a circuit from the local battery 34: is, closed tl'irough the catch magnet 58 which releases the lever 56, thereby permitting the spring 64 to move the commutator 33 in a counter-clockwise direction, when the series of contacts F on the commutator engage the series of spring contacts G. This closes the secondary motor circuit indicated in light lines at the left of Fig. 5, and operates the motor in a forward direction. The vanes '10 are thus feathered to the wind, whereupon the rotor t operates the generator, rebuilding the current potential of the storage battery. This constitutes the performance of the 3rd function.

When the amperage of the storage bat tery reaches the prescribed limit, the pointer 50 will be in engagement with the contact &9, thus closing a circuit from the local battery 34.- through he releasing magnet 80 which attracts the releasing lever 56 and rotates the commutator 33 in a clockwise direction. This brings the series of contacts R on the commutator again into engagement with the series of spring con-- tacts S, whereupon the motor is again rotated in the reverse direction to set the vanes out of the wind. This constitutes the performance of the 4th function.

The invention includes various details of construction which are illustrated more especially in Fig. 3. ()ne of the details consists of an adjusting sleeve 8:2. The sleeve 82 supports the gear shaft 12 through ball bearings 83 and adjusting screws 84. The screws 84; rest upon a solid portion of the device. When the master gear 11 be comes worn to any extent, the screws 84:

may be adjusted to lower the shaft 12 slightly and compensate for the worn gear.

A thrust bearing 85 is also provided to keep the master gear 11 in mesh with the pinions 13. A casing 86 covers the gear and pinions. A housing 87 covers the upper working parts of the device. Access may be had into the interior of the housing 87 throughthe door illustrated in F 1.

The diflerent wires of the operating circuits indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 5, are in practice conducted to a bank of brushes 88 which bear against the rings of a distributer 89. This is, howevena common expedient and fuller illustration than hat in Fig. 3 is thought unnecessary.

One of the principal advantages of the present construction is that of a substantially single main central shaft. The main power shaft, the gear shaft and the rudder shaft, are all disposed one above the other and on the same axis. his arrangement provides a well balanced device with comparatively few moving parts.

The device is intended primarily as a wind mill, but will work equally as well as a water wheel. Vi hen used for this purpose, the rotor will stand in the water in the same position as when used as a wind mill. The power may be transferred by gear mechanism either at the top or the bottom of the shaft.

While the construction and arrangement of the device as illustrated in the accompanying drawings is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made with ait departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a windmill, a rotor having vanes, a power shaft driving a generator for a storage battery, a motor for feathering the vanes, governor operated means associated with the rotor for obtaining the reverse rotation of the motor, and means associated with the storage battery for acting upon said means to obtain the forward rotation of the motor.

2. In a windmill, a rotor having vanes, a power shaft driving a generator for a storage battery, a motor for feathering the vanes, a reversing switch, electrical circuits controlled by the switch, means under control of the rotor for shifting said. switch in one direction to obtain the reverse rotation of the motor, and means under control of the storage battery for shifting said switch in the other direction to obtain the forward rotation of the motor.

3. In a windmill, a rotor having vanes, a power shaft driving a generator for a storage battery, a motor for feathering the vanes, and automatically operated means jointly associated with the rotor and the storage battery, for feathering the vanes according to varying wind velocities and the rise and fall in current potential of the storage battery, respectively.

4. Ina windmill, a rotor having vanes, a power shaft adapted to drive a generator and charge a storage battery, a motor for feathering the vanes, a rotary switch controlling the motor, means. associated with the rotor for shifting said switch in one direction to obtain the reverserotation of the motor and feather the vanes out of the wind, and means associated with the storage battery, rendered active upon fall of the amperage to a pre-determined point, in shifting switch in the other direction to obtain the, forward rotation of the motor and feather the vanes into the wind.

5. In a windmill, a rotor having vanes, a power shaft driving a generator for astorage battery, a motor for feathering the es into and out of the wind, a rotary .tch controlling the motor, atension device urging said switch in one direction,a governor under control of the rotor with connections to said switch for shifting said switch against said tension device and closing circuit connections to operate the motor in a reverse direction and feather the vanes out of the wind, and means coacting with the storagv battery and having means cooperating with the rotary switch for permitting said tension device to operate in the opposite direction and shift the rotary switch, obtaining the rotation of the motor in a forward direction, feathering the vanes into the wind.

6. In a windmill, the combination of the rotor and vanes, the power shaft adapted to drive a generator and charge a storage battery, a governor, a rotary switch, shifting connections between the governor and the switch, a magnetic latch device normally holding said switch from the motor forwardly rotating position, a spring exerting tension on said switch against said latch, and means associated with the storage batteryand controlling the operation of said magnetic latch.

7. In a windmill, the combination of the power shaft driving a generator for charginga storage battery, a rotary switch having companion forward and reverse motor driving contacts, a magnetically operated latch including a releasing lever connected to said switch, a spring acting on the switchland said lever keeping said contacts in normal disengagement, a governor rotated by the power shaft, connections between the governor and said switch for shifting the .companion reversing contacts into engagement against the tension of the spring without disorganizing the magnetic latch, and means associated with the storage battery, capable of acting on the magnetic latch, freeing the releasing lever permitting the retraction of thespring to shift the motor forward rotating contacts into engagement.

8. In a windmill, vanes, a power shaft adapted to drive a generator for chargingza storage battery, a motor for feathering the vanes, a rotary switch controllingthe forward and reverse rotation of the motor, mechanical means ilnder control. of .the. power and shaft for shifting said switch into the motor reversing position, and electromechanical means under control of the storage battery adapted to shift said switch into the motor'forward rotating position.

9. In a Windmill, vanes, a power shaft adapted to operate a generator for charging a storage battery, a motor for feathering the vanes, a rotary switch having forwardly and reversely motor rotating contacts, mechanical means under control of the power shaft having connections with said switch adapted to shift said switch into the motor reversing position, electro-mechanical means under control of the storage battery, including a releasable element, and a resilient element adapted to shift said switch into the motor forwardly rotating position independently of the aforesaid mechanical connections, upon release of the releasable element by the action of said electro-mechanical means.

10. In a windmill, the combination of the 1 vanes and power shaft, a motor for feathering the vanes, a rotary switch including companion motor reversing contacts, electrical circuit connections between said contacts and the motor, a governor under control of the power shaft, and shifting connections between said governor and the rotary switch, for shifting said switch into the companion reversing contact engaging and motor reversing positions.

11. In a windmill, the combination of the vanes and power shaft, a motor for feathering the vanes, a rotary switch, electrical circuit connections between the switch and the motor, and a governor under control of the power shaft, with connections to said switch for shifting said switch in one direction.

12. In a windmill, the combination of the vanes and power shaft, a motor for feathering the vanes, electrical circuit connections to the motor, a rotary switch including forward and reversing contacts controlling said circuit and the motor, and a governor under control of the power shaft, with connections to the rotary switch for shifting said switch into the motor reversing position, only.

13. In a windmill, the combination of the vanes and power shaft, a motor for feathering the vanes, an electrical circuit embracing the motor, a reversing switch including forward and reverse contacts controlling said circuit, a governor under control of the power shaft, with connections capable of shifting said switch into the motor revers ing position only, to feather the vanes out of the wind, tension means adapted to shift said switch into the forward contacting position, and releasing means externally controlled, capable of counter-movement upon the governor connections, for permitting the functioning of said tension means.

14. In a windmill, a main power shaft, a

coaxially superposed gear shaft, and a coaxially superposed rudder shaft.

15. In a windmill, the combination of the rotor and vane shafts, a power shaft, radiating feathering shafts operating the vane shafts, a gear shaft'coaxially superposed on the power shaft, inter-meshing gears on the gear shaft and feathering shafts, a coaXially superposed rudder shaft on the gear shaft, and gear shaft rotating means mutually supported on said gear shaft and the rudder shaft, rendered relatively inactive at specifled times to turn the rudder shaft and gear shaft together.

16. In a windmill, a power shaft, feathering shafts radiating from the power shaft, a gear shaft coaxially superposed on the power shaft and controlling the feathering shafts, a rudder shaft coaXially superposed on the gear shaft, and means carried by the rudder shaft for rotating the gear shaft relatively to the rudder shaft, at times.

17. In a windmill, a power shaft, feathering shafts radiating from the power shaft, a gear shaft coaXially superposed on the power shaft and controlling the feathering shafts, a rudder shaft coaxially superposed on the gear shaft, means carried by the rudder shaft for rotating the gear shaft relatively to the rudder shaft, at times, and a rudder carried by the rudder shaft, said last-named means being inactive in relatively moving the rudder shaft and gear shaft, but active in moving said shafts together under the influence of the rudder.

18. In a windmill, the combination of the rudder shaft, a coaxially superposed gear shaft, feathering shafts radiating from the gear shaft and controlled thereby, and means carried by the rudder shaft arranged to act upon the gear shaft in rotating the gear shaft relatively to the rudder shaft.

19. In a windmill, the combination of the ruddershaft, a coaxially superposed gear shaft, a segment carried by the gear shaft, and motor driven means carried by the rod der shaft, adapted to act upon the segment and rotate the gear shaft relatively to the rudder shaft, at times.

20. In a windmill, the combination of the rudder shaft, a gear shaft, a power shaft, all of said shafts being in longitudinal alinement, motor operated means carried by the rudder shaft arranged to act upon the gear shaft. and rotate said shaft relatively to the rudder shaft, and a rotary switch including operating means under control of the power shaft for energizing said motor operated means.

' 21. In awindmill, the combination of a plurality of coaXially superposed shafts including the rudder shaft, the gear shaft, and the power shaft, motor operated means carried by the rudder shaft for acting on the gear shaft, a rotary switch controlling the operation of said motor operated means, and a governor driven by the power shaft and controlling the position of said rotary switch.

22. In a windmill, the combination of the power shaft, a rotor having a plurality of vanes, radiating feathering shafts acting on the vanes, gear and rudder shafts coaxially superposed on each other and on the power shaft, motor and gear devices carried by the rudder shaft, a segment carried by the gear shaft, arranged to be operated by said gear devices, a rotary switch controlling the direction of operation of the motor, and a governor driven by the power shaft, controlling the position of said rotary switch.

In a windmill, a power shaft, a rotor including a plurality of vanes, supported on the power shaft, radiating feathering shafts acting on said vanes in the rotationof the rotor, a gear shaft coaxially superposed on the power shaft, gears on the feathering shafts, and a master gear on the gear shaft meshing with said gears.

2%. In a windmill, the combination of the feathering shafts having gears, a gear shaft having a master gear meshing with said gears, a segment affixed to the gear shaft, a rudd r shaft coaXially superposed on the gear shaft, a bracket carried by the rudder shaft, a motor supported on the bracket, and gear devices meshing with the segment and adapted to be operated by the motor to turn the gear shaft relatively to the rudder shaft.

In a windmill, the combination of the feathering shafts having gears, a gear shaft having a master gear meshing with said gears, a se ent affixed to the gear shaft,

:2 1 a rudder shaft coaxlally superposed on the gear shaft, a bracket carried by the rudder shaft, a motor mounted on the bracket, gear devices meshing with the segment and adapted to be operated upon energization of the motor to turn the gear shaft relatively to the ruddershaft, and arudder carried by the rudder shaft, turning the gear shaft and rudder shaft together through the intermeshing gear devices, when the motor is inactive.

26. In a: windmill, the combination of the feathering shafts having gears, a gear shaft having a master gear meshing with said gears, a segment aflixed to the gear shaft, a stud carried by the shaft, rudder shaft coaxially superposed on the gear shaft, a motor carried by the rudder shaft, gear devices meshing with the segment adapted to turn the gear shaft relativelv to the rudder shaft upon energization of the motor, a rotary motor controlling switch including electrical circuit connections, and a switch in said circuit connections, carried by the rudder shaft and adapted to be engaged by the gear shaft carried stud to break said circuit connections.

27. In a windmill, a power shaft, a gear.

shaft coaxially superposed thereon the power shaft having a bearing connection with the lower end of the gear shaft, and an adjusting sleeve providing bearing support for the gear shaft.

28. In a windmill, a power shaft, a gear shaft having a master gear, the gear shaft being coaxially superposed on the power shaft and having bearing thereon, a segment including a hub affixed to the gear shaft, a sleeve surrounding the gear shaft, providing a bearing for said hubat the top and having bearings for the master gear at the bottom, and means for adjusting said sleeve.

29. In a windmill, the combination of the gear shaft having a segment, a separately mounted motor with gear connections for operating the segment, a power shaft, a rotary switclrfor controlling the direction of rotationof the motor, said switch including an arm with a pin, a governor operated by the power shaft, and arm and link connections between the governor and the switch arm, said link having a slotted end receiving said pin, giving the governor a range of movement without affecting'saidrotary switch.

30. In a windmill, the combination of the 'gear shaft having a segment, separately mounted motor and gear devices adapted tov operate the segment, a rotary switch including forwardly and reversely motor reversing contacts, an arm having a pin, on

the rotary switch, a pivoted releasing lever connected to the arm, a catch having arecess receiving the end of said lever, a power shaft, a governor driven by the power shaft, and arm and link connections 'between saidgovernor and the rotary switch arm, said link'having a slotted end receivmg the pin, and adapted to rotate the switch into the reverse contact engaging position, the forward contact engaging posltion being prevented by the engagement of the releasing lever with a portion of said recess.

31. In a windmill, the combination of the gear shaft having a segment, a separately mounted motor having gear connections. with the segment for rotating the gear shaft, a power shaft, a governor rotated by the power shaft, a rotary switch including forwardly and reversely motor rotating contacts, and connections between the governor and said switch, capable of moving said reversing contacts only into operative position, through the medium of the governor.

32. In a windmill, the combination of the gear shaft having a segment, a separately mounted motor having gear connections with the segment for rotating-the gear shaft, a power shaft, a governor rotated by the power shaft, a rotary switch including forwardly and reversely motor rotating contacts, connections between the governor and said switch, capable of moving said reversing contacts only into operative position, through the medium of the governor, and means having operative connection with said switch, capable of moving the forward contacts into operative position, independently of said governor connections.

33. In a windmill, the combination of the gear shaft having a segment, a separately mounted motor having gear connections with the segment for rotating the gear shaft, a power shaft, a governor rotated by the power shaft, a rotary switch including forwardly and reversely, motor rotating contacts, connections between the governor and said switch, capable of moving said reversing contacts only into operative position, through the medium of the governor, and means having operative connection with said switch, capable of moving said switch in either direction to bring either the reverse or forward contacts into operative position, independently of said governor connections.

34. In a windmill, the combination of the gear shaft, motor operating gear connections therefor, a rotary switch including companion motor reversing contacts, an arm on the switch, a pivoted releasing lever connected to the arm, and an electro-magnet arranged to attract the releasing lever upon energization, move the companion reversing contacts into engagement, and cause the rotation of the gear shaft in one direction through the reverse operation of the motor.

35. In a windmill, the combination of the gear shaft, motor operated gear connections therefor, a rotary switch including companion motor reversing contacts, an

arm on the switch, a spring connected to the arm, a pivoted releasing lever connected to the arm, and an electro-magnet arranged upon energization to attract the releasing lever and rotate said switch against the tension of the spring' 86. In a windmill, the combination of the power shaft for operating a generator to charge a storage battery, vanes, a motor having operative connections for feathering the vanes, a rotary switch including forward and reverse contacts controlling the rotation of the motor, a measuring device controlled by the storage battery including a movable pointer, a pair of contacts on the measuring device, adapted to be engaged by said pointer, and electro-magnetically operated means connected to and associated with the rotary switch, for obtaining the rotation of said switch in one or the other direction according to the engagement of said pointer with one or the other contact.

37. In a windmill, the combination of the motor, a rotary switch controlling the rotation of the motor, a measuring instrument including a movable pointer, a pair of contacts arranged to be engaged by the pointer, a catch, having a recess,a pivoted releasing lever having one end engaging the recess, an arm on the switch having connection with the other end of said lever, electro-magnets adapted to attract the releasing lever and the catch, and circuit breaking contacts associated with the re leasing lever and the catch, arranged to permit the energization of one or the other of the electro-magnets upon engagement of the pointer with one or the other of the associated contacts.

EBENEZER HARDEN MANNING.

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