US522544A - Staktina - Google Patents

Description

3 Sheets--Sheet 1.

Atty.

Patented July 3, 1894.

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Patented July 3,1894.

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T Norms FEI'ERs ca, mom-1.1mm WASH To all whom it may concern."

UNITED STATES PATENT, I OFFICE.

DANIEL A. WIGHTMAN, on ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA- STARTING APPLIANCE FOR COMPOUND EN INES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 522,544, dated July 3, 1894.

Application filed July 13,1893. Serial No. 480,343. (NomodeL) 1 Be it known that I, DANIEL A. WIGHTMAN,

- of Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and- State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certaln new and useful Improvement in Starting {appliances for Compound Engines, of which improvement the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide simple and effective means for positively actuating the converting valve mechanism of a compound engine, either by'fiuid pressureor by manually applied power as desired, in order' to enable the engineer to operate the engine as a simple or non-compound engine, whenever and during such periods, of any desired length, it-may become necessary, or be deemed advisable, to so operate it, as when starting a train, or ascending along and heavy grade, and to immediately reinstate it in normal operation as a compound engine when the conditions are such as to make compound operation proper or desirable.

To this end, my invention, generally stated, consists in the combination of a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston working therein, avalve operating rod connected to said piston and to a converting valve mechanism, a distribution valve controlling the action of motive fluid upon said piston, a stem connected to said distribution valve and connections for positively actuating said stem by the reversing gear of a compound engine.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth;

My invention is more particularly designed for application in two cylinder compound 10- comotive engines, in which provision has heretofore been made for the direct admission of boiler steam to, and the independent exhaust of steam from,both cylinders of the engine, in the manner of a simple or non-compound engine, when a temporary increase of power 1s required, as in starting a train. The converting valve mechanisms employed for this purpose, which are of various constructions, are adapted, in many instances, to be automatically operated by variations of pressure, and in others to be operated by hand, through connections to a lever movedby the engineer. Inasmuch as it is desirable to avoid as far as possible, the use of levers additional to those gine as a compound, starting valves have been actuated through connections to the ordinary reverse lever,'as in the so-called Lindne'r system and others, but it will be obvious that in such cases, the friction and unbalanced pressure, if any, which resist the movement of the valve'or valves actuated by the engineer, impose additional labor upon him in moving the reverse lever.

Under my invention, the converting valve mechanism is normally and ordinarily actuated by fluid pressure, which is applied by the engineer, preferably in and by the movement of the reverse lever, and the only additional manual power exerted by him is that required to effect a short traverse of a small distribution valve, which is so slight as not to be appreciable. In the event of damage to or derangement of any of the fluid pressure members of the appliance, the mere detachment of the bolt connecting the piston thereof with the rod which operates the converting valve mechanism, enables the latter to be operated by hand whenever desired.

In the 'accompanyingdrawings': Figure l is a diagrammatic side view of a compound 10- comotive engine, illustrating an application of my invention;- Fig. 2, a side'view, in elevation, showing the fluid pressure cylinder, the reverse lever', and the intermediate connections from the reverse lever to. the distribution valve; Fig. 3, an end view, of the same; Fig. 4., a side view ofv the cam lever; Fig. 5, a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, and onan enlarged scale, of the fluid pressure cylinder, the distribution valve, and its chest, and Fig. 6, a transverse section through the same. j p

In the practice of my inyention, as applied in connection with a two cylinder compound locomotive engine of the general type now employed in American railroad service, I provide a fluid pressure cylinder 1, which may be, as shown, located within the cab 2, and se= cured to the side of the fire box 5. The cylinder 1 is provided with a---properly packed piston 6, secured upon a rod 7, which passes through a stuffing box 8, in one end of the cylinder. secured to the cylinder 1, and communicates A valve chest 9 is formed upon or spectively to supply ports 13 and 1 1- in a valve face 15 within the valve chest 9, A supply pipe 16, leads into the valve chest, above the valve face 15, from any suitable source of fluid pressure supply, being, in the instance shown, a chest 17, communicating, by a pipe 18, with the dome 19 of the boiler, and an exhaust pipe 20, leads from an exhaust port 21, located in the valve face, between the supply ports 13 and 1+1, to any convenient point of discharge, as for example, the ash pan 22. It will, however, be obvious that in engines which are provided with an air brake equipment, as is now generally the case, the supply pipe 16 may be readily connected with the main air reservoir, or other suitable member of the air brake apparatus, so as to ad mit of the employment of compressed air for the actuation of the piston 6, in lieu of steam as in the specific construction shown, and such connection, which is preferable when facilities therefor are available, I include in my invention as the mechanical equivalent of that shown.

The piston rod 7 is connected,by a detachable pin or bolt 23, to a valve operating rod 21, which extends toward the smokebox 4, of the engine, and is coupled by suitable intermediate connections, in this instance a double armed lever 25, and a link 26, to the stem 11, of a converting valve mechanism of anysuitable and approved construction, which is fitted to reciprocate in a chest in one of the saddle sections 3, on which the smoke box 4- is supported and to which the cylinders of the engine are connected. The lever is journaled on or by a pin 27, and the relative lengths of its arms are such as may be proper to impart the desired range of reciprocating movement to the stem 11 and the converting valve mechanism connected thereto.

Inasmuch as any suitable and preferred mechanism may be employed, and as the same does not, in and of itself, constitute part of my present invention, it will not beherein at length described.

In order to insure the rectilineal movement of the valve operating rod 24:, said rod is, adjacent to the fluid pressure cylinder 1, bifurcated or fixed to two parallel guide rods 24, which pass through guides 28 on the cylinder 1, and are connected, at their rear ends, by a block 29, which receives the connecting pin or bolt 23 of the piston rod 7, and is provided with a handle 38. In the event of the derangement or breakage of any member of the fluid pressure apparatus, or of the failure of supply thereto, the connecting pin 23 may be detached,iand the rod 24 and connected con- Verting Valve mechanism be operated by the engineer by the application of manual power to the handle 38.

The supply and exhaust of motive fluid to and from each end of the cylinder 1 are effected and controlled by a distribution valve 30, which is preferably, as shown, of the short D slide type, and is fitted to be reciprocated 0n of the engine, said connections being so organized that when the reverse lever is moved to or near its full forward or its full backward position, the distribution valve 30 will be, in either case, and in and by such movement of the reverse lever, moved into the position shown in Fig. 5, thereby admitting motive fluid on the rear side of the piston 6 and exhausting it from the front side thereof, while, in and by the movement of the reverse lever to any intermediate position, the distribution valve will be moved backward, so as to uncover the forward supply port 13 and place the rear supply port 14 in communication with the exhaust port 21, through the exhaust recess of the valve, thereby admitting motive fiuid on the front side of the piston 7 and exhausting it from the rear side thereof. The piston 7 will correspondingly be forced to and remain at the front or the rear end of the cylinder 1, and the converting valve mechanism be moved into position for the operation of the engine as a simple or as a compound engine, as thecase may be.

In the instance exemplified, the stem 31 of the distribution valve 30 is shown as coupled, either directly, as in Fig. 1, or intermediately, through a bell crank lever 33 and link 34, as in Figs. 2, 3, and 5, to one end of a cam device consisting of a double armed cam lever 35, which is journaled on a pin 30, below and adjacent to the segment 37 of the reverse lever 39. A curved slot 41 is formed in the arm of the cam lever 35, opposite to that which is coupled to the distribution valve stem, said slot being located below and eccentric to the segment 37 of the reverse lever, and having upwardly curved cam ways 42 and 43 at its ends. A pin or bolt 40, fixed to the reverse lever 30, traverses in the slot 41, and moves the cam lever about its pivot 36, by its engagement with and disengagement from the cam ways 12 and 43, as the reverse lever39 is moved into or out of either its extreme forward or its extreme backward position.

The entrance of the pin into either of the cam ways 42 or 43, depresses the arm of the cam lever 35 in which said cam ways and the intermediate slot 11 are formed, and elevates the opposite arm, thereby moving the distribution valve 30 to the right, and effecting the movement of the piston 6 in the same direction, by the admission of motive fluid thereto through the then open passage 12. Such movement of the piston moves the connected converting valve mechanism into the position proper for the operation of the engine as a simple or non-compound engine, which operation is continued so long as the reverse lever remains at, or closely adjacent to, either extremity of its arc of traverse. By the movement of the reverse lever, in either direction toward the middle of its are of traverse, for the purpose of cutting off steam at a desired point in the stroke of the pistons, as is practiced ordinarily after the train has been started, the pin 40 is moved into the portion of the slot 41 between the cam' ways 1 engine, which operation is continued so long as the reverse lever stands in such position,

'or is so moved, that the pin40 remains out of contact with either of the camways 42 or 43. The cam ways may,if desired, be so proportioned that the pin 40 will remain in contact therewith when the reverse lever is moved one or more notches out of either of its extreme positions, and it will be noted that the rear cam way 42 is madeof greater depth than the forward one, 43, to accommodate the increased degree of movement of the cam lever 35 at and near its rear end, due to the greater distance thereof from the pivot 36 of the lever.

While the provision of means for actuating the distribution valve in and by movements of the reverse lever, as above set forth, is

deemed by me to. be preferable in practice,

inasmuch as independent operation of said valve by the engineer is thereby rendered unnecessary, said means are not an essential element of my invention. Such manual operation may also be practiced, in the event of in the drawings.

breakage or derangement of any member of the intermediate connections between the distribution valve stem and the reversing gear, Fpon the detachment of the valve stem thererom.

Inasmuch as the upper arm of the reverse or link lifting shaft, in locomotive engines of the ordinary type, is coupled, by a reach rod, to the reverse lever, and has a similar move- Inent thereto,it will be obvious that the cam lever 35 could, if preferred, be actuated by saidreverse shaft arm, in lieu of by the re verse lever, and such construction I include as the mechanical equivalent of that shown It will, further, be obvious,

to a mechanic skilled in the art, that the requisite reciprocating movements of the distribution valve 30 may be imparted thereto, from the reversing gear of the engine, through intermediate connections differing structurally from those described and shown, without departure from the spirit and essential features of my invention. I do not, therefore, limit myself to such specific intermediate connections, and desire to include, as the mechanical equivalent therefor, any other connectlng elements whereby the distribution valve 1s, as in the instance herein set forth, moved, in onedirection, in and by the movement of the reverse lever to or near either of its extreme positions, and is moved, in the opposite direction, in and by the movement of the reverse lever to any intermediate position.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a compound engine, the combination, substantially as set forth, of a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston working therein, a valve operating rod connected to said piston and to a converting valve mechanism, a distributlon valve controlling the action of motive fluid upon said piston, and actuating mechanlsm connecting the distribution valve with the reversing gear of theengine.

2. In a compound engine, the combination, substantially as set forth, of a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston working therein, a valve operating rod connected to a converting valve mechanism, a detachable connection between said rod and said piston, a distribution valve controlling the action of motive fluid upon said piston, and actuating mechanism connecting the distribution valve with the reversing gear of the engine.

3. In a compound engine, the combination, substantially as set forth, of a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston Working therein, a valve operating rod connected to said piston and to ,4. In a compound engine, the combination,

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