US1013061A - Governing mechanism for turbines. - Google Patents

Description

R. H. RICE & J. G. GALLAN. eovmmm'e Mncmmsm FOR TURBINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2, 1907.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

Inventors: 'Richar'd H.Ri'ce John G.Ca|lan,-

wltnesses'.

R. H. RICE & J. G. GALLAN. GOVERNING MECHANISM FOR TURBINES 1,01 3,061 Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

. 3 BHEET8SHEET a.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2, 1907.

IIIIIIIlIl/ I/lllllllllll l nventor' sz Richard H.F\ice,

WitneSSJeS: I

' JohnG.Callan,

coLumBlA PLANQGRAPH cc.. WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD H. RICE, OF LYNN, AND JOHN G. CALLAN, OF NAHANT, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIGNORS TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GOVERNING MECHANISM FOR TURBINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We,R-ICHARD H. Rion and JOHN G. CALLAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Lynn, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, and at Nahant, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Governing Mechanism for Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to governing mechanisms for elastic fluid turbines having one or more valves, and more especially to those having a plurality of valves which are successively actuated by mechanical means in response to a speed governor.

The object of our invention is to provide a governing mechanlsm which is simple 1nconstruction and effective and reliable in operatlon.

For a better understanding of our invention, attention is called to the specification and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one of the embodiments of our invention, Figure l is a view in end elevation of a turbine equipped with our improved governing means; Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal section of the valve gear and its actuating mechanism; Fig. 3 is a view, par tially in section, taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2; Figs. 1, 5 and 6 are detail views of the coupling for uniting the parts of the governor shaft, Figs. 4 and 5 being sections on the lines 4-4 and 5-5 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an oil scoop.

1 indicates the casing of the turbine containing a wheel 2 mounted on the shaft 3 and provided with one or more rows of buckets 4. When more than a single row of buckets is provided on the wheel for abstracting the energy of the motive fluid by successive operations, intermediate buckets 5 are provided. Steam or other elastic fluid is delivered to the buckets by the nozzles 6, the latter being of the sectionalized type, having a plurality of discharge passages, which passages maybe expanding or non-expanding in character. The nozzle proper is attached to a plate 7, the said plate being bolted to the casing of the turbine. Surrounding the plate 7 is a valve chest 8 which is bolted to the casing of the machine. In this valve chest are valves 9 arranged to open and close tiary shaft 19.

the passages 10 communicating with the nozzle passages. Each of these valves may control one or more of the passages. Mounted I or wall 11. The outer end of the valve stem is connected to a cross-head 15, which crosshead is provided with a block 16 on the upper side. The cross-heads are adapted to be actuated by dogs 17 that are mounted on eccentrics 18 driven by the eccentric or ter- As the shaft rotates, it causes the dogs 17 to constantly move toand-fro with a certain number of strokes per unit of time. Under certain conditions the forward end of the dog will engage the block and open the valve 9, and under other conditions, the heel of the dog will engage the block and close the valve, the action of the dogs on the valves being controlled by the speed governor, as will appear hereinafter.

In order to obtain the necessary power to actuate the valves successively and also to drive the speed governor, the following mechanism is provided: Mounted on the main shaft 3 of the turbine is a worm 20 meshing with a worm wheel (not shown), mounted on a vertically disposed shaft 22. The worm wheel is inclosed by a casing 23 forming an extension or enlargement on the side of the pillow-block 24:. The casing is divided into two parts, the upper part being removable with the cap of the-pillow-block, while the lower part is integral with the main portion of the pillow -block. The worm Wheel is arranged to rotate in a bath of oil. Situated directly above the shaft 22 and in axial alinement therewith, is a shaft 28 having a suitable bearing carried by the bracket 12. In order to prevent relative distortion between the bracket and its connected parts and the shaft 22 from afiecting the operation of the governing mechanism and also to facilitate assembling and disassembling, a somewhat flexible coupling is provided between the shafts 22 and 28, comprising for example an intermediate shaft section 29 and a pair of tubular members 80 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) of rectangular cross-section, one end of each member receiving the squared end of a shaft and also of the intermediate shaft section 29. The tubular members closely embrace the squared ends of the shafts on both sides, while a slight clearance is provided at the ends, the clearance at one end of the member being displaced 90" from that at the other end so as to compensate for any lack of alinement.

In so far as the operation of our improved mechanism is concerned, the shafts 22 and 28 with the coupling between them may be treated as one shaft. The coupling is inclosed by a tubular casing member 31 mounted on the casing 23 and secured thereto by bolts. The upper end of said part 31 extends into close proximity to the bearing for the upper end of the shaft 28, but does not contact therewith, so as to avoid the necessity of a fitting at this point. On the shaft 28 is a worm 35 meshing with a worm wheel 36 that is mounted on the short, horizontal shaft 37, Figs. 2 and 3. This shaft is mounted in suitable bearings formed in the bracket 12, and the shaft openings in the bracket are closed by plugs 38, the latter serving to prevent the escape of oil from the chamber in the bracket. Mounted on the shaft 37 is a gear 39 meshing with a gear 40 keyed to the eccentric shaft 19. It will thus be seen that the eccentric shaft and the dogs mounted thereon will be continuously operated by the main shaft 3 through the worm 20, its worm wheel, shaft 22, intermediate shaft section 29 and coupling, shaft 28, worm 35, worm wheel 36, shaft 37 and gears 39 and 4:0. The vertical shaft 28 is also employed to drive a suitable speed governor inclosed in a casing 73, the weights of the governor preferably acting by centrif ugal force and inertia to shift the eccentric carrying shaft 19 back and forth in an axial direction so that the proper dog will engage and actuate a valve to satisfy the load requirements. A governor of the type described was divided out of this application and is included in a separate applica tion now pending. By mounting the speed governor on the secondary shaft we decrease the troubles incident to balancing the same, and also those incident to transmitting motion from the governor to the tertiary shaft controlled thereby. Since the speed of the governor shaft is relatively low it follows that the lubricating of the parts is simplified. It also follows that the relative surface speeds of the parts forming the slipjoint between the rotating and non-rotating parts is low. The low shaft speed also enables us to use a simple and powerful governor of the centrifugal and inertia type.

As the shaft 28 rotates, the governor weights acting by centrifugal force and inertia, adjust the valve actuating mechanism to cause one or more valves to open or close as the occasion demands. The movements of the weights are opposed by a suitable spring.

The next step to be considered is how the movements of the speed governor are trans mitted to the eccentric carrying shaft 19 for operating the valve gear. The governor weights are suitably connected to a rod 67 projecting outwardly from the casing 73. On the rod is a thrust collar mounted in a casing 70, there being a slip-joint between the rotating and non-rotating parts. The casing 70 is pivotally mounted in the forked end of the horizontal arm 71 of a bell crank lever, the latter having a pivot 72 carried by ball bearings. The lower arm 7 4: of the bell crank lever enters the chamber in the bracket 12 and is connected with the eccentric-carrying shaft 19 by a universal coupling. To the end of the bell crank lever is pivotally connected a forked piece 7 5 which is connected to the pin 76. On the end of the pin is a ball 77 located in a suitable receptacle located in and attached to the end of the tertiary shaft 19. The coupling is located in a chamber formed in the bracket 12 which is more or less filled with lubricant. In order to prevent foreign matter from getting into the chamber, a cover 7 9 is provided that is mounted on and moves with the vertical arm 74 of the bell crank lever. This cover is made of such dimensions that the chamber is always covered irrespective of the position of the said lever.

Referring to Fig. 3, 16 represents one of the blocks attached to the crosshead 15 of the valve stem. This block is provided with projections 80 and 81 which govern the action of the reciprocating dog 17 on the said blocks 16. The dogs 17 have fairly long hubs on the shaft 19 to afford a good bearing, and the portions engaging the blocks are or may be of such width that they can move to-and-fro without engaging either projection 80 or 81, in which case, the valve actuated by the dog will open and close with every revolution of the shaft 19, or they may be somewhat wider than the space between the projections, in which case the projections will prevent movement of the valve except upon a change in speed. The dogs are so mounted wit-h respect to the blocks 16 and their projections that the valves will open and close successively. In this figure, the first two valves are open and the last three valves are closed.

The dogs and their actuating'mechanism being all inclosed, are fully protected from injury from any cause, and being located in a chamber filled to a greater or less degree with lubricant, freedom of action is assured at all times. In order to insure the proper lubrication of certaln of the moving parts, we provide devices 82, Figs. 3 and 7 on cer- Q 65 shaft for successively actuating the valves,

tain of the shafts, each comprising a disk with a projection 83 thereon arranged to form a scoop for conveying lubricant from the periphery of the disk to the center where it is fed to a hole or other lubricating channel in the shaft or other part. The short horizontal shaft 37 is provided with a longitudinal channel 84.- that is fed by one of these scoops so that the bearings at opposite ends are well lubricated.

Assuming the parts to be in the position shown, and the load on the turbine increases this will result in a slight decrease in speed of the main and governor shafts. This means that the governor will pull the horizontal end of the bell crank lever downward, causing the lower end of the lever to pull the shaft 19, upwardly in Fig. 3, and with it the dogs 17 Under this condition, the third dog from the bottom, Fig. 3, will engage its block 16 and open the third valve. On the other hand, if the load decreases and the speed rises the governor will, raise the horizontal-arm 71 of the bell crank lever, while the lower end will push the shaft 19, downwardly in Fig. 3, and cause one of the dogs 17 to engage a block 16 and close a valve.

Steam or other elastic fluid is admitted to the valve chest by a conduit containing a stop valve, the casing 87 of which is shown in Fig. 1.

On the lower end of the secondary shaft, and in a casing 88 forming-a part of the lower portion of the pillow-block of the main shaft, is a gear pump 89 for supplying lubricant under presure to the linings of the various bearings, and to maintain a supply of lubricant in the various chambers containing moving parts. Where the main shaft passes through the pillow-block a disk 90 (Fig. 2) is provided which makes a close fit with the inclosing ring 91 to prevent the escape of oil.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, we have described the principle of operation of our invention, together with the apparatus which we now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but we desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

lVhat we claim as new and desire to secure by Leters Patent of the United States, 1s

1. A turbine and its shaft in combination with a plurality of valves for regulating the admission of motive fluid to the turbine, a secondary shaft arranged at right angles to the turbine shaft and driven thereby, a tertiary shaft arranged transversely to the secondary shaft and driven therefrom, mechanical means operated by the tertiary I and a governor driven by the secondary shaft which controls the action of said means.

2. A turbine and its shaft in combination with a plurality of Valves for regulating the admission of motive fluid to the turbine, a secondary shaft driven from the turbine shaft which is arranged at one side of the turbine shaft and at right angles thereto, a tertiary shaft driven from the secondary shaft which is arranged at right angles to the secondary shaft, mechanical means driven by the tertiary shaft for successively actuating thevalves, a governor driven by the secondary shaft, and a connection between the governor and the tertiary shaft for moving the latter to control said means.

3. A turbine and its shaft in combination with a valve regulating the admission of fluid to the turbine, a secondary shaft driven by the turbine shaft, a tertiary shaft driven by the secondary shaft, an actuator for the valve driven by the tertiary shaft, a governor mounted on the secondary shaft, and a means actuated by the governor for moving the tertiary shaft endwise to cause the actuator to move the valve.

4. A turbine and its shaft in combination with a valve regulating the admission of fluid to the turbine, a vertically disposed secondary shaft, a horizontally disposed tertiary shaft for actuating the valve, worm gearing between the turbine and secondary shafts, gearing between the secondary and tertiary shafts located above the worm gearing, a governor mounted on the upper end of the secondary shaft, a bell-crank lever actuated by the governor for controlling the action of the tertiary shaft on the valve, and a connection between the bell-crank lever and one end of the shaft.

5. A turbine, a casing therefor, a shaft which projects outwardly through the end of the casing, a pillow block for the projecting portion of the shaft, and a steam chest secured to the end of the casing, in

combination with admission valves in said chest, a bracket secured to the chest and extending outwardly over the pillow block, a tertiary shaft mounted in the bracket,- mechanical means driven by the tertiary shaft for successively actuating the valves, a speed governor for controlling said means which is mounted on the bracket, and a secondary shaft for driving the governor and the tertiary shaft which extends upwardly from the pillow block and is driven by the turbine shaft.

6. A turbine and its shaft in combination with valves for regulating the admission of motive fluid to the turbine, a secondary shaft driven by the turbine shaft, a governor mounted on the secondary shaft, a lever connected to and receiving motion from the governor, an eccentric shaft for actuating the valves successively, and a connection between the lever and the shaft for controlling the action of the latter on the valves.

7. A turbine and its shaft, in combination with a valve regulating the admission of motive fluid to the turbine, a divided secbndary shaft driven by the turbine, gearing between the shafts, a coupling between the parts of the secondary shaft, a tertiary shaft driven by the secondary shaft, a dog mounted on the shaft and constantly moved thereby for opening and closing the valve, a governor driven by the secondary shaft, and a means actuated by the governor for con trolling the action of the dog on the valve.

8. A turbine, ashaft therefor and a pillow block, in combination with a valve di rectly regulating the admission of motive fluid to the turbine, a vertically disposed secondary shaft, gearing between the shafts located in the pillow block, a chest for the valve attached to the turbine, a bracket sup ported by the turbine, a horizontally disposed tertiary shaft carried by the bracket, gearing carried by the bracket and driving the tertiary shaft, a worm on the secondary shaft for driving the gearing, a governor driven by the secondary shaft, an actuator for said valve driven by the tertiary shaft, and a connection between the governor and the tertiary shaft for moving said shaft to vary the effect of the actuator upon the valve.

9. A turbine and its shaft in combination with a vertically disposed secondary shaft driven by the main shaft, a speed governor located at the top of the secondary shaft, a

tertiary shaft driven by the secondary shaft and located below the governor, a plurality of valves controlling the admission of fluid to the turbine, dogs actuated by the tertiary shaft for opening and closing the valves successively, and a means actuated by the governor for controlling the action of the dogs on the valves.

10. A turbine, with its shaft, in combination with a secondary shaft which drives the governor, gearing between the turbine and secondary shafts, a valve chest attached to the turbine casing, a bracket supported by 'the turbine, valve-actuating mechanism supported by the bracket, a speed governor and its shaft also supported by the bracket, gearing between the governor-driving shaft and the valve-actuating mechanism, and a flexible coupling which unites the secondary shaft with that connected to the speed governor.

11. A turbine with its shaft and pillow 'block, in combination with a valvedirectly controlling the admission of motive fluid to the turbine, a valve-actuating means, a speed governor which regulates the action of said means on the valve, a shaft which drives the actuating means and also the speed governor, a bracket attached to the turbine which supports the valve-actuating mechanism and the governor and extends in the direction of the pillow-block, a vertically disposed secondary shaft driven by the main shaft and which in turn drives the shaft that drives said means and governor, and gearing between the main and secondary shafts located in the pillow-block.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this thirtieth day of April, 1907.

RICHARD H. RICE.

JOHN G. CALLAN.

WVitnesses:

JOHN A. lWIoMANUs, J r., HENRY O. WVESTENDARP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' Washington, D. G.

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