US1033985A - Rotary motor. - Google Patents

Description

L. W. BUOHER.

ROTARY MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1911, 1,033,985. Patented July 30, 1912.

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ROTARY MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1911.

1,033,985. Patented July 30, 1912.

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COLUMBIA PuNoBRAPN 60., WASHINGTON D c L. W. BUGHER.

ROTARY MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1911.

1,033,985, Patented July 30, 1912.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

LEVI W. BUCHEB, OF WASHINGTON, DTSTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

ROTARY MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1912.

App1ication filed November 6, 1911. Serial No. 658,818.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEVI W. BUOHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Tmprovements in Rotary Motors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention is an improved rotary motor which may be operated by compressed air, steam or other fluid under pressure and consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

One object of my invention is to effect improvements in the construction of the rotor.

Another object is to efiect improvements in the construction of the radially movable pistons which are carried by the rotor.

Another object is to provide improved means for packing the rotor so as to prevent loss of pressure between the rotor and the casing in which it revolves.

Another object of the invention is to effect improvements in the means for packing the pistons.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a motor constructed in accordance with my invention, showing the same in connection with an air compressor which is operated by the motor; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the motor on a plane at right angles to that of Fig. 1 and showing the rotor shaft in cross section; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the motor; Fig. 4 is an elevation of the rotor, detached from the casing and showing the rotor shaft in cross section; Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the rotor; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the pistons; Fig. 7 is a detail transverse sectional view on the plane indicated by the line aa of Fig. 3; and Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of one of the packing heads of the rotor.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings 1 show a suitable base 1 on which are standards 2 which are provided with bearings 3 for a rotor shaft4. The shaft is shown as provided with a flywheel 5 and also with a pulley 6. An air compressor is shown at 7, the shaft of which is connected to the rotor shaft 4: by means of a variable speed gear, the elements of which are indicated at 8, 9, 10 and 11. This speed gear is specifically described in a co-pending application for Letters Patent of the United States for improvements in rotary motors, executed by me of even date herewith. The rotor 12 of the motor is secured on the shaft 4 and operates in a casing 13. The said casing is circular in form, comprises a pair of circular heads or walls 14 and an annulus 15 which forms the peripheral portion of the casing. This annulus is interposed between the heads and is secured thereto by means of a suitable number of bolts. The outer side of the annulus is circular in form, but its inner side is slightly elliptical, thereby providing diametrically opposed crescent shaped compressed air or steam spaces 16 and abutments 17 between the said spaces.

The rotor 12 is provided with radially movable pistons 18 which are carried thereby and are disposed at ninety degrees apart. The casing is here shown as supported by standards 19 which rise from the base 1. The diameter of the circular rotor is substantially equal to the least diameter of the casing, between the points 17, so that the motor fluid pressure chambers 16 are on opposite sides of the rotor. Supply ports 20, 21 are provided for the casing at diametrically opposite points, opposite the abutments 17 and are respectively provided with oppositely extending branch passages 22, 23 and 24:, 25. A controlling three-way valve plug 26 is seated at the intersection of the port 20 and its passages 22, 23. The passage 22 terminates in inlet and outlet ports 27, 28. The passage 23 terminates in inlet and outlet ports 29, 30. The passage 24: terminates in inlet and outlet ports 31, 32 and the passage 25 terminates in inlet and outlet ports 33, 34:. A three-way valve plug 35 is located at the intersection of the inlet port 21 with its passages 24, 25. A three-way valve plug 36 is located at the intersection of the passage 22 and its ports 27, 28 and the other passages 23, 24. and 25 are respectively provided with similarly located and constructed three-way valve plugs 37, 38 and 39. Each of the said three-way valve plugs is provided with an outwardly extending shaft 40, which shafts are mounted in suitable bearings and are respectively provided, at their outer ends, with crank disks 26, 36 37, 35 38' and 39 A disk 41 is mounted for oscillation on a sleeve 42, through which the rotor shaft extends and is provided with a radial arm 43 which extends downwardly therefrom and is connected by a rod 44 to a reversing lever 45 which is mounted on one of the standards 19. The said standard has a toothed segment 46 and the reversing lever has a locking dog 47 which co-acts with the toothed segment to lock the said lever and, hence, also the disk at any desired position. The disk is connected to the various crank disks of the valve plugs by means of longitudinal extensible or adjustable rods 48. It will be understood that the lever and the connections hereinbefore described enable the valve plugs to be simultaneously operated so that they may be set as required to cause the rotor to revolve in either direction. The casing is provided at diametrically opposite points with exhaust ports 419 which are controlled by manually operated valve plugs 50 which have their stems provided with hand-wheels 51, whereby they may be turned to opened or closed position, as may be required. These valved exhaust ports enable compressed motor fluid to be exhausted from the chambers 16. After the motor has been stopped this enables the motor to be the more readily started again.

In practice, a suitable controlling valve, as described in my co-pending application before mentioned, will be employed in connection with the rotor, to cause the compressed air or motor fluid to be used expansively. This valve is located in a casing indicated at 52 and has a crank arm 53 which is connected, by a pitman 54, to a crank arm 55 on a pinion 56, which pinion is suitably mounted and is engaged by a spurgear 57 that turns with the rotor shaft. A suitable centrifugal governoris also indicated at 58, the pulley 59 of which is engaged by an endless belt 60 which is driven from the rotor shaft.

The rotor 12 comprises a peripheral or rim member 61 and a pair of heads or disks 62, the edges of which are secured in annular recesses 63 with which the rim member is provided, as by means of screws 64:. The rim member of the rotor is provided with radial recesses 65 in which the pistons 18 operate and shoulders 66 are hence formed between the said recesses, the shoulders being segment-a1 in form. The inner ends of the recesses 65 are formed by curved inwardly extending portions 67 with which the rim member of the rotor is provided, these portions 67 having openings 68 in which the radially disposed piston rod 69 operates. The rotor also has a hub member 70 which is keyed or otherwise suitably secured on the rotor shaft, the disks or plates 62 being secured to the hub member by means of screws 71. In the space between the plates 62 of the rotor are bell cranks 72,

73, the pivots of which are indicated at 74, 75. One of these bell cranks is used for each pair of the pistons, the piston rods being pivoted, at their inner ends, to the arms of the bell cranks. One rod of each pair of pistons comprises a pair of telescopically united members, one of which is provided with a stop nut 76. A coil spring 77 bears between this stop nut and a stop shoulder formed on the other member of said rod, the ofiice of the spring being to, form a cushion to take up lost motion between the pistons of each pair and cause both of them to be, at all times, in close engagement with the inner surface of the annulus of the casing. The outer ends of the piston rods are pivotally connected to the inner ends of the pistons as at 78.

I will now describe means for packing the rotor andembodying specific improvements. V s

The rotor annulus 61 is provided, in each side, with an outer annular recess 79 and an inner annular recess 80. There is a flange 81 at the outer side of each recess 79, a flange 82 at the outer side of each recess 80, which partly overhangs the recess 79 and there is also an overhanging flange 83 at the inner side of each recess 80. The ends of the shoulders 66 of the rotor are rounded, as at'84, and the said shoulders are provided in opposite sides with transverse, spaced slots 85. On each shoulder of the rotor is a packing head 86 which comprises a packing band 87, made of spring steel plate or other suitable material. Each packing band consists of a pair of segmental sides 88 and a pair of substantially semi-circular ends 89, the sides and ends being united and the packing band being preferably an integral structure. The sides of the packing band are concavo-convex in cross section and flare outwardly so that they project, at their outer edges, laterally from the shoulders of the rotor and bear against the casing in the angles between the heads and the annulus of the casing. On the inner sides of the side portions of each packing band are reinforced packing spring plates 90 which are formed at their outer sides with transversely disposed inwardly extending wings 91 which operate in the transverse slots of the periphery of the rotor. The inner edges of the sides of the packing band and of the reinforced packing plates are placed in the recesses 79 of the rotor and are engaged by the overhanging flanges 82. Screws 92 secure the packing heads to the rotor rim or annulus and cause the sides of the packing heads to be pressed against the flanges 81, which serves to spring them outwardly as shown in Fig. 7. The ends 89 of the packing heads, which are semi-circular in formand hollow, fit on the rounded ends of the shoulders so that the shoulders are covered by the packing heads, both at their sides and at their ends. Supplemental packing segments 93, which are concavoconvex plates of steel or other suitable material have their inner edges secured in the recesses 80 by screws 94: and engaged by the overhanging flanges 83, the said supplemental packing segments engaging the inner surfaces of the heads of the casing, at their outer edges. The wings 91 close the spaces between the flaring sides of the packing heads and the sides of the rotor annulus and, hence, prevent compressed air or other motor fluid from passing through such spaces from one chamber 16 to the other.

Each piston 18 has concave sides in which are secured concavo-convex outer and inner packing plates 95, as by means of screws 96. The outer edges of these packing plates bear against the sides or heads of the casing. The curved ends of the packing heads 86 fit into the concave sides of the packing plates 95 on the front and rear sides of the pistons. Each piston is provided, at its outer end, with a similar pair of concavo-convex packing plates 97, which are secured as by means of screws 98. The ends of these packing plates 97 bear against the sides of the casing at points beyond the outer ends of the plates 95 and the edges of the said plates 97 bear against the inner periphery of the annulus of the motor casing. It will be understood that pressure of the motor fluid in the chambers of the casing assists the inherent elasticity of the various packing plates in keeping the edges of the packing plates in close, fluid-tight engagement with the sides and annulus of the casing.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In a rotary motor, the combination of a casing, a rotor having peripheral radial recesses and segmental shoulders between said recesses, the ends of the said shoulders which form sides of the recesses, being convex, radially movable pistons carried by the rotor and disposed in said recesses, the sides of the said pistons being concave, means to project the pistons, curved packing plates on the sides of the pistons and converging at the corners of the pistons, the concave faces of the said packing plates on the front and rear sides of the pistons being presented to the convex ends of the shoulders and those of the plates on the other sides of the pistons being presented to the sides of the casing, and curved packing plates on the outer ends of the pistons and presenting their edges to the inner peripheral wall of the casing, the edges of the other packing plates being presented to the sides of the casing.

2. In a rotary motor, the combination of a casing, a rotor having peripheral radial recesses and segmental shoulders between said recesses, radially movable pistons carried by the rotor and disposed in said re cesses and provided with packing devices and packing heads carried by the rotor, each packing head comprising a segmental spring band, placed on one of said shoulders of the rotor, the sides and ends of said bands respectively engaging the sides and ends of said shoulders, the sides of the bands flaring outwardly from opposite sides of the rotor and engaging the sides of the casing at their outer edges.

3. In a rotary motor, the combination of a casing, a rotor having peripheral radial recesses and segmental shoulders between said recesses, and having transverse slots, radially movable pistons carried by the rotor and. disposed in said recesses and provided with packing devices, and packing heads carried by the rotor, each packing head comprising a segmental spring band placed on one of said shoulders of the rotor,

the sides and ends of said band respectively engaging the sides and ends of said shoulders, the sides of the band also flaring outwardly from opposite sides of the rotor and engaging the sides of the casing at their outer edges, and being further provided with inwardly extending wings which operate in the transverse slots of the rotor shoulders.

4. In a rotary motor, the combination of a casing, a rotor having peripheral radial recesses and segmental shoulders between said recesses, radially movable pistons carried by the rotor, disposed in said recesses and provided with packing devices, and packing heads carried by the rotor, each packing head comprising a segmental spring band placed on one of said shoulders of the rotor, the sides and ends of said bands respectively engaging the sides and ends of said shoulders, the sides of the band also flaring outwardly from opposite sides of the rotor and engaging the sides of the casing at their outer edges, and means to close the spaces between the sides of the band and the sides of the rotor to prevent motor fluid from passing from one chamber of the casing to another.

5. In a rotary motor, the combination of a casing, a rotor having peripheral radial recesses and segmental shoulders between said recesses, the ends of said shoulders forming the sides of said recess and being rounded, packing heads carried by the rotor and each comprising a segmental spring band placed on one of said shoulders and having oppositely flaring sides engaging the sides of the casing and substantially semi-circular ends fitting on the rounded ends of the shoulder, and radially movable pistons carried by the rotor, disposed in said recesses and having curved packing plates on their sides and outer ends, the side packing plates engaging the ends of the packing heads and the sides of the casing and the end packing plates engaging the inner peripheral wall of the easmg.

6. In a rotary motor, the combination of a casing, a motor having peripheral radial recesses and segmental shoulders between said recesses, said shoulders being provided with side recesses and flanges overhanging the inner sides of said side recesses, and packing plates in the side recesses of the rotor and 10 having their inner portions engaged by the said overhanging sides.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LEVI W. BUCHER. Witnesses:

J. W. GARNER, J. W. MULLEN.

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

Washington, D. G.

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