US53904A - Improvement in steam hoisting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

' through the liquid.

UNITED STATES Prion.

ATTLNT OTIS TUFTS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN `STEAIVI HOISTING APPARATUS.

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Orrs TUFrs, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam HoistingMachinery; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Like letters indicate the saine or like parts in all the drawings.

. With reference to the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a perspective view. Fig. 2 is a side view of the movable valveseat for steam.. valve; Fig. 3, an edge view of same, with steamvalve and section of steam-chest. 4 isla section of movable valve-seat at line B. Fig. 5 is asection of'same at line A. Fig. 6 is.a sectional view of the liquid-stop. In this view the valve is open. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the piston-rod, valve, and stem of same, with valve closed. Fig. 8 is a view of the piston with valve partly open.

The nature of my invention relates- First, to a combination of devices applied to perform the function of stoppin g, starting, regulating the speed, and reversing the direction ofmotion in steam hoisting machinery.

Secondly, to the employment of a device for stopping the motion of the machinery in a steam hoisting apparatus, and to lock the same and hold it stationary, with or without its load, the device consisting of a piston connected to the moving parts of the apparatus and made changeable at the pleasure of the operator, andwhile in motion, from a closed impervious to an open frame or perforated one, and back again, so' as, in the irst case, to allow it to pass freely through a liquid within a vessel, towhich the piston is fitted closely or loosely, according to the degree of perfectness required, or, in the second case, not to be movable at all This I have denominated a liquid-stop.7

Thirdly, to the combination of the two foregoing features, so as to secure automatically a conjoint action, causing the stop always to act at the proper point of time relatively to the movement of the stopping and starting device, which controls the admission of steam to the engine or engines.

An engine-bed, a', supports a drum-shaft, b, oarryingdrum c, for windingthe hoisting-ropes.

This shaft is driven directly, or through intermediate gearing, by the engine-shaft d and gears ef.

The steam'cylinders g-one, two, or moreare secured to bed a, their pistons being connected in any of the usual modes to cranks h, and driving them. These cylinders g are furnished with steam-chests and common slidevalves and suitable ports, the valves being driven by eccentrics on shaft l in the usual manner.

In the space intervening between the slide valve i and seatj, as shown, I interpose a secondary movable seat, k, arranged to lnove transversely to the valves line of motion, and having one series of openings corresponding to the steam ports and passing directly through it, and another series of openings also corresponding to the steam-ports on the two sides, but which, in passing through the seat, exchange locations, the one corresponding to one steam-port on the valve side of the movable seat coming out to match the opposite port on the cylinder side, so reversing the steam from one end of the cylinder to the other, accordingly as themovable seat'k is changed, so as to bring one or the other series of openings to match the steam-ports. This movable valve-seat lc is furnished with a stem, l, passing through a stuffing-box in the side of the chest, and joined to a rack, m, which rack is moved to change the seat 7c by the pinion a on shaft 0, and this shaft o is furnished with wheel p, upon which play the hand rope or chains used to rotate it. These hand ropes or chains q q pass from this wheel through or near the hoisting-platform, and extend all the way to an elevation above the highest point to which it is to be raised, and are thus ever accessible to the operator, who may be standing on the moving platform or at stationary points, the ropes passing from wheel p over a wheel, r, at the top, and back to the wheel again. On this shaft is fixed a pinion, s, which plays into and causes to rotate, through one-half revolution, awheel, t. From a pin in this wheel t aconnecting-rod passes to, and connects with, directly or by intervention of crank u and rod, the slide fw.

A cylinder or other vessel furnished with a piston, fr, and supplied with water or other liquid, is secured to bed a. The piston is furnished with a rod, Q, and a series of ports or perforations and a valve, z, with corresponding ports or perforations,is iitted t0 turn upon this piston, so that the ports or perforations may be alternately opened and closed, and is furnished with a hollow stem, II, incasing rod y, the stem, rod, and piston all moving lengthwise together, but the hollow valve-stem and valve are susceptible of a reciproeatin g rotary movement independent of piston m and rod y. This movement opens and closes the ports or perforations in the piston by bringing those in the valve to coincide with them or otherwise. The inner rod, fa ,is connected to a crank, III, by which the piston is made to reciprocate within the vessel IV. The hollow valve-stem II is furnished with an arm, V, which may also be a part of, or be connected to, a stufng-box for stem Il. Within this arm the stem is prevented from turning by being splined or made square for that purpose, and can only turn with the arm.

The arm V is connected by a link, VI, or otherwise, and receives a vibratory motion from slide fw.

The vessel 1V is supplied with water or other liquid, and when the ports or perforations in the piston fr are closed it cannot move inward by reason of the resistance of the water, nor outward by reason of the resistance of the atmosphere pressing toward the vacuum, which the withdrawing ot' the piston tends to produce. It is only necessary to close the valve z to stop the motion of the piston through the water. or to open it to allow it to pass freely, and the piston being connected to a crank on the drum-shaft that must stop and be liberated also with it. The vessel IV may be entirely filled with liquid, in which case the piston will be resisted on either side by liquid, instead of by the atmosphere on one side and water on the other, an ordinary stuffing-box being used around the stem II where it passes through the head in the one ease, but none being required in the other. Two or more ot' these liquid stops may be used, in which case the `crank-pins to which they are connected should be set at varying angles.

The operation is as follows: The movable seats lc for the steam-valves being adjusted centrally, in which position the steam is eX- cluded from the cylinders, and the valve z also being adjusted at its center of movement so as to prevent the passage of the piston through the liquid the operator, purposing to set the machinery in motion for hoisting, draws the hand-rope q, rotating shaft o, and, through pinion a andl rack m, moves the seat 7c, bringing its direct openings XIII to coincide with the steam-ports VII, and so admitting steam to set the engine in motion, the pinion s simultaneously driving the wheel t and causing the pin VIII to move from its central position, and consequently with its quickest motion relatively at the first start, communieating motion through rod IX, crank a, and rod XI to arm V, and thence through valvestem 1I to the valve z, so rotating the valve z and bringing its perforations to coincide with those iu the piston .fr and allowing the piston x to pass freely through the liquid. When the operator would stop the operation or motion he draws the other rope-rotating shaft 0 and pinion a in the opposite direction until the movable seats k are brought to a central position again, so shutting off the steam from entering the cylinder and through pinion s, wheel t, and connections to stem of valve z, returns this valve or secondary piston to its central position, where the passage ot' the piston through the liquid is made to cease, and, being confined, it obligcs the connected machinery to stand still. When he would start again in the same direction he gives areturn movement to the rope, opening the valves on the same side of the center of their movement; but if he would start in the opposite direction he continues the movement of the hand-rope in the same direction, causing the steam-valves movable seat 7c to move from its central position in the opposite direction, bringing the reversed openings XII in the valve-seat k to coincide with the steam-ports VII, so causing the steam, and consequently the motion, to be reversed, the'valve z being rotated in the opposite direction, but giving passage for the piston in the same manner by bringing the next series of openings in the valve z to coincide with those in the piston fr, thus liberating the machinery. I propose to adjust the valve z so as to open exactly at the 'same time the steam is admitted to the cylinders or either before or after, as may be found desirable under differing circumstances, but always in connection with, and by the same movement of, the hand-rope or chain as operates the seat.

By a slight movement of the movable seats through the means described the speed of the engine can be regulated by the operator at pleasure, as by this means he can cause from the smallest to the largest fraction of the width of the steam-ports to come into use to admit steam.

Having described the construction and operation of my improvements, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows: Y

l. rThe transversely movable valve-seats 7c, in combination with the pulley-shaft o and rack and pinion fm a, or equivalent, for the purpose of stopping, starting, regulating the speed, and reversing the direction of motion in steam-hoisting apparatus, substantially as represented.

2. In combination with ahoisting apparatus and more particularly with the starting and stopping cord or rod thereof of a closed vessel lled with liquid and provided with a piston, when such cord or rod is so arranged as by movement imparted thereto to open or close apertures which will, by allowing the liquid to pass the piston, permit motion of the hoisting apparatus, or by preventingthe liquid the steam-Valve or movable seat of the steamfrom passing the piston, will stop the hoisting engine motor operating substantially as deapparatus and hold it from moving, substanscribed. tially as described.

3. The combination, with the stopping and Witnesses: starting cord or rod of a hoisting,` apparatus7 of the Valves of a liquid-stop apparatus and OTIS TUFTS.

D. H. B. GoFFIN, Jr., A. J. TOLMAN.

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