US1032896A - Railway-tank. - Google Patents

Description

L.T.HAGAN.

RAILWAY TANK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 19 10.

1,032,896. Patented July 16, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM c0 WASHINGTON, 0.1:.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFTGE.

LOUIS 'I'. HAG-AN, OF WINCHESTER, KENTUCKY, AS SIGNOR TO THE HAGAN GAS ENGINE AND MFG. 00., F WINCHESTER, KENTUCKY, A CORPORATION OF KEN- RAILWAY-TANK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 28, 1910. Serial No. 563,985.

T 0 all whom at may concern:

I citizen of the United States, residing at Winchester, in the county of Clark and State of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Tanks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway water tanks and particularly to automatically operating means for maintaining a sufficient quantity of water therein.

The primary obj ect of the invention is to provide a simple and effective organization of instrumentalit-ies for starting the supply of water to a railway tank the moment the outlet valve or means is opened and insuring a complete refilling of the tank after the outlet valve or means is closed without the least waste of water from the tank.

lVith this and other objects and advantages in view, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts which will be more fully hereinafter specified.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation embodying a water tank and other instrumentalities involving the features of the invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through a portion of the water tank showing the outlet valve open and the motor electric circuit closed, or the position the parts occupy when the tank is being filled.

The numeral 5 designates a water tank of any usual or approved construction properly supported, as for instance by a platform or bed 6 having legs 7. In the bottom of the tank 5 an outlet opening 8 provided with a gravitating or automatically closing valve 9 of any preferred construction forms a part of the tank organization, and connected to the bottom of the tank over the opening 8 is an outlet pipe 10 having a downward inclination as usual in railway tank structures and provided with a flexible coupling tube 11. Close to the outlet opening 8 in the pipe 10 is a water motor 12 which is so positioned as to be in direct line of the outflow of water through the pipe and having its shaft 13 projected exteriorly and supplied wlth a small pulley or analogous device 1d. On the top of the tank is a valve opening lever 15 intermediately fulcrumed ona support 16 secured over the upper edge of the tank 5 and having an arm 17 projecting upwardly from the center thereof. The one arm of the lever 15 projects outwardly from the tank and has a pull-chain or analogous device 18 attached thereto and depending within easy reaching distance of the ground surface. The remaining arm of the lever 15 extends inwardly over the top portion of the tank 5 and has a connecting chain or analogous device 19 attached thereto and t0 the valve 9 so that when the outer arm of said lever is lowered by pulling downwardly on the chain or analogous device 18 the valve 9 will be opened and remain open as long as the downward pulling tension is exerted on the said outer arm of the lever. \Vhen the pullchain or analogous device is released the lever 15-returns to normal position and the valve 9 closes, and to assist in this operation or to insure a positive return of the lever 15 and valve 9 as shown by Fig. 1 a counterpoise weight 20 is employed and is shown as applied to the inwardly projecting arm of the said lever 15. This counterpoise weight may be applied to some other portion of this particular part of the tank organization to effect the same operation. At a point diametrically opposite the lever 15 a bell-crank lever 21 is movably applied to the inner surface of the side wall of the tank and the lower arm 22 of this lever is provided with a float and the upper arm 23 is connected by a cord, wire or analogous device 2 1 to the arm 17 forming part of the lever 15. The arm 23 of the bell-crank lever 21 carries a contact 25 suitably insulated therefrom to engage knife switch members 26, as shown by Fig. 2, said knife switch members having the terminals of circuit wires 27 and 28 connected thereto and also attached to the sparker or igniter 29 of an explosive engine 30 and to one pole of a battery 31 respectively. The remaining pole of the battery 31 is suitably connected by a wire 32 to the explosive or gas engine 80 to complete the circuit in the latter, as will be readily understood from the usual arrangements of sparkers or igniters. It is proposed to adopt any preferred form of sparker or igniter and to include therewith any suitable timing mechanism, the engine 30 being shown diagrammatically and adapted to'be located at any desirable point either under the tank or at a distance from the latter.

The pulley 1 1 on the projecting shaft 13 of the water motor 12 has a belt 33 trained thereover and over a pulley 3 1 operatively Patented July 16,1912.

associated with the crank ot the gas-engine 30 so as to start the latter. A suitable pump 35 connected to any source of water supply is used for filling the tank 5, and has a pipe 36 communicating therewith and with the bottom of the tank 5. The gas engine 30 is operatively connected to the pmnp by a belt 37 engaging pulleys 33 and 39 of the gas engine and pump respectively.

The normal position of the tank organization is shown by Fig. 1, and under these conditions the lever arm 22 carrying the float is in elevated position and the'igniting circuit for the engine 30 is broken by reason of the fact that the contact or blade 25 car ried by thearm 23 is out of engagement with relation to the knife contacts The valve 9 is also closed and the lever 15 is in substantially horizontal position. When the outer arm of the lever 15 is drawn downwardly through the pull-device 18 for the pur use of filling an engine tank from the tank 5, the valve 9 is elevated or opened and at the same time the arm 17 is thrown over toward the right and draws the arm 23 in the same direction through the connection 2st to close the circuit by forcing the contact 25 between the contact members 26, and as the arm 23 is pulled over to the right the arm 22 carrying the float is forced downwardly below the surface of the water in the tank. Simultaneously with the completion of the i gnition circuit of the engine 30 the water passing into the outlet pipe 10 sets the water motor 12 in' motion, and through the medium' of the belt 33 and pulley 34 the engine 30 is cranked and started and the motion of the engine is transmitted through the belt 37 and pulleys 38 and 39 to the pump 35 and the latter immediately begins to force water upwardly through the pipe 36 into the tank 5. This operation will not only ensue while the outer extremity of the lever 15 is manually held downwardly, but will continue after the said lever 15 is released and the valve 9 closed until the float carrying arm 22 of the lever 21 rises to the position shown by 1 and at which time the tank will be filled in accordance with a predetermined quantity desired to be normally stored therein.

One of the most essential features of the invention is the location of the water motor or water wheel 12 directly in the outflow pipe 10 and as close as possible to the outlet 8 so that the said water motor or wheel 12 will be affected by the water at a point where. the water has the greatest unatlected weight pressure to insure a positive rotation of the motor or wheel 12 to prelin'iinarily crank the engine 30 as soon as the ignition circuit is completed and without the least loss of time or motion. Another advantage is that the movement of the motor or wheel 12 is not ma teri ally retarded owing to the transmission of motion therefrom by the belt 33 to the pul ley 34 in cont-radistinction to organizations of this character having a plurality of mechanisms directly connected to the shaft 01 the water motor. In other words, all of the the tank a and the latter is resupplied with water through the pipe 36 as the water is flowing out through the pipe 10, and while the inflow into the tank is not as great as the outflow, the proportion of replacementof the water drawn off from the tank will result in a quicker filling of the tank and a material reduction in motion or actuation of the engine 30 after the valve 9 is closed. and a consequent economy in the cost of maintaining the water tank in operative con dition or always supplied with water.

What is claimed is:

1. The con'ibination of a tank having a valve-controlled bottom outlet constituting the sole water escape for the tank; manually operative means for opening the valve; an outflow pipe attached to said outlet; a water motor in the line of discharge of the water from said tank; means for supplying the tank with water; a gas engine operatively connected to the water motor and said supplying means; a normallyopen electric circuit including ignition means tor the gas engine; and means in the tank connected to the 1nanually-operative means for actuation by the same and simultaneously therewith, but free of operative connection with said valve, to close said circuit independently of the level of the water in the tank, and automatically operative to open the circuit when the water reaches a predetermined level in the tank.

2. The combination of a tank having a valveconti.'olled bottom outlet constituting the sole water escape for the tank; manually operative means for opening the valve; an outflow pipe attached to said outlet; a water motor in the line of discharge of the water from said tank; means for supplying the tank with water; a gas engine operatively connected to the water motor and said supplying means; a normally-open electric circuit including ignition means for the gas engine; and a float device in said tank provided with circuitclosing means and connected to said manually-operative means, but free of operative connection with said valve, for operation by said manually-operativc means and simultaneously therewith, to close said circuit independently of the level of the water in the tank, and automatically operative to open the circuit when the water reaches a predetermined level in the tank.

3. The combination of a tank having a valvecontrolled bottom out-let constituting the sole Water escape for the tank; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends upon the tank and provided with an upstanding arm; a manually-operative element connected to one end of said lever for actuating the same; a connection between the opposite end of the lever and the controlling valve for opening said valve when said lever is actuated; an outflow pipe attached to said outlet; a water motor arranged in the line of discharge of the water from said tank; means for supplying water to said tank; a gas engine operatively connected to said water motor and said supplying means; a normally-open electric circuit including ignition means for said engine; and means in the tank connected to said arm for operation by said lever when the latter is actuated by said element, to close said circuit independently of the level of the water in the tank, said means being automatically operative to open the circuit when the water reaches a predetermined level in the tank.

4. The combination of a tank having a valve-controlled bottom outlet constituting the sole water escape from the tank; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends upon the tank and provided with a centrally-located upstanding arm; a depending manuallyoperative element connected to one end of said lever for rocking the same in one direction; a flexible connection between the op posite end of said lever and the controlling set my hand in valve for opening said valve when said lever is rocked by said element; means located upon the second-named end of said lever for returning the latter to initial position when the pressure upon said manually-operative element is removed; an outflow pipe attached to said outlet; a water motor arranged in the line of discharge of the water from said tank; means for supplying Water to said tank; a gas engine operatively-connected to said water motor and said supplying means; a normally-open electric circuit including ignition means for said engine; and a float device in said tank provided with circuit-closing means and'having a flexible connection with said arm, but free of operative connection with said valve, whereby said device may be actuated by said lever to close the circuit independently of the level of the water in the tank when said lever is rocked by said element, and is antomatically operative to open said circuit subsequent to the return movement of said lever when the water reaches a predetermined level in the tank.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS T. HAGAN.

Witnesses:

CHAS. S. HYER, C, A. ROWE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0.

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