US1067064A - Water-wheel. - Google Patents

Description

J. D. RIPSON.

y WATER WHEEL. APPLIUATION FILED JULY 11, 1912.

1,067,064. Patented Ju1y8,1913.

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J. D. RIPSON.

WATER WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, i912.

Patented July 8, 1913.

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JOI-IN D. RIPSON, 0F WEST TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

WATER-WHEEL.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed. Julyll, 1912.

Patented July 8, 1913.

Serial No. 708,829.

To all whom 75 may concern Be it known that I, JOHN D. RirsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Test Toronto, in the county of York, Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in TvVater-VVheels, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a water wheel or current power machine that can be supported from the bank of a stream, the blades of which are immersed in water, the wheel being driven by t-he ordinary current of the water in the river or creek in which the blades are immersed.

Another objectI of my invention is to construct the wheel so that it is supported from a bearing on but one side thereof.

Another object of my invention is to make the blades on the wheel adjustable so that they can be raised or lowered according to the stage of the water in the river or creek, without shifting the axis of the wheel or without materially changing the diameter of the wheel.

Another object of my invention is to provide gearing by which the power of the wheel is transmitted directly to the machinery on shore that is to be driven thereby.

Another object of my invention is to mount the wheel so that it may be readily taken fromA the water so as to stop the driving thereof.

These and other objects of my invention will be fully illustrated in the drawings, de-

scribed in t-he specification and pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my wheel as it will appear mounted upon the bank of a stream. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of my wheel with all but two of the blades or flanges omitted therefrom. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the housing or box in which the transmission gear is contained. Eig. l is a front view of one of the blades or flanges of the wheel. Eig. 5 is a section on the line .5X-5X in Fig. el. Fig. 6 is a section on the line (3X-GX in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a perspective view partly broken away of a modified form of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings like reference numerals refer to like parts.

In the drawings reference numeral 1 indicates the bank of a stream and 2 indicates the water in the stream.

8 is the concrete or masonry base which is first laid for the mounting of the wheel. On top of this is placed the base plate l of the machine which is fastened to the concrete base by the bolts 5, 6, 7 and 8. On top of the base plate 4 is the shell 9 which together with the base plate f1 constitutes a housing for the beveled gear 10. The shell 9 is fastened to the base l by studs which pass up through the base from below, the two parts being connected together before the base is fastened in place by the bolts 5, 6, 7 and 8.

The beveled gear 10 is mounted upon a shaft 11 to which it is keyed and which rotates therewith. The base plate l is finished with a boss 12 which forms a bearing for the beveled gear 10 which takes up the vertical thrust thereof, and the shell 9 is provided with a journal box 13 at the top thereof in which the top of the shaft 11 is free to rotate. On top of the shell 9 are provided the lugs 14, 15, 16 and 17 in which is pivotally mounted a plate 18, the lugs being shown in F ig. 8 and the plate being shown in section in F ig. 1. On this plate is a segmental gear 19, which gear extends down through the opening 20 provided in the shell 9 therefor.

Mounted in the shell 9 is the shaft or stem 21 which extends through the side of the shell and has upon the outer end thereof the operating lever 22 and upon the inner end the pinion or gear 28. This pinion meshes with a segmental gear 19 and by this pinion the segmental gear 19 is operated, so that the plate 18 can be tilted from the angular position shown in Fig. 1 to a horizontal position corresponding wit-h the top of the shell 9. The outline of this plate 18 is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Mounted in the plate 18 and stationary therewith is the shaft 241, which shaft has a flange 25 at the bottom thereof by which it is fastened to the plate 18 by means of the screws 26 and 27. Mounted to rotate upon this shaft is the crown gear 28, which gear has the teeth 29 thereon which mesh with similar teeth upon the beveled gear 10 by which the motion of the wheel is transmitted to the beveled gear 10. The plate 18 and a collar 33'whi'ch is fastened to the shaft by means of a pin 34. tAbove the collar 33 on the shaft-24, and mounted'to rotate around 15' :the shaft24, is the'wheel 35. This wheel has xa Circular groove 36 therein and the collar '33 has a similar groovethereon, which f grooves constitute between them a ball race in which a string of balls is placed that constitutes a thrust ball bearing between the 'wheel35 and the collar 33.

Above the 'wheel 35 is provided a collar 37 which is keyed to the shaft 24 and holds i thewwheel 35'in place. Cut in the back of the gear 28 are the radial slots 38, 38, twenty-two of which are shown in Fig. 2,

Valthough it is obvious that these may be of Yany desired number. These radial slots are spaced evenly apart with the same angular distance between them. One of these slots is shownin Fig. 6. On each side of the radial slots are bolted thefianges or braces 39' and 40. Pivotally mounted between these vflanges or bracesand the pinsV 41 are the arms 42. On the end of these arms are provided the` blades 43, one of which is shown complete inA F ig. 4. The arm 42 is divided, one part of which extends along and is riveted to the upper edge of the blade 43, and :the other part ofwhich extends vdown and is riveted along the end and the bottom of the blade, strengthening the blade and making it more rigid. These blades at the outer end are bent up at an angle and at the bottom are bent up with a flange 44, so that the whole when finished' forms a bucket or cup against whichY the water positively engages `in order tov force the rotation of the wheel to which it is attached. ATwo of these blades are shown in top planview in Fig. 2. On the back of each blade is mounted a brace V4E which extends rearwardly and makes contact with the succeeding blade, by which the blades tend to hold each other equally in position. The braces 45. are only fastened to one blade and maintain only sliding contact wit-h the blade at the rear. This permits this blade to rise and. fall separately from the rest, asobstructions in the stream may necessitate, such as iioating ice or wood, etc.

Fastened to the wheel 35 are the pulleys 46 over which extend the cables 47, each of which Cables is fastened at the outer end to a lug 48 on the blade 43. The cable passes over the pulley 46 and is connected to a rand the blades should be drawn up to a uni- Aform position. The blades should be imwindlass 47A-uponwhich it is wound up.

,This windlassl'has thereona, pinion or gear '70 51. Also mounted to rotate between the flanges 50 and 51 is the crankshaft 52 having `the pinion 53 thereon, which pinion meshes with the pinion 48, so that the pinion 48 and windlass 47 can be turned by turning the crank 54. A pawl 55 and ratchet 56 are furnished on each of these crank shafts to prevent backward rotation thereof. By turning the crank 54 the cable 47 may be drawnfdown andthe blade 43 connected thereto may be drawn up toany position desired. Each of the blades may be drawn up in they same way by t-he operation of its particular crank, windlass and cable,

mersed so that the water comes just to the top of the blade. xAs the water in the stream rises the blades can' be. elevatedA to any desired height.

The fianges39 and4'0 afford a strong and sufiicient bearing to take up the leverage of the arm42 and causel the wheel to rotate uniformly therewith, and the cables 47 are amply strong enough to support the blades 43 in any'position in which they may be placed whileV the wheel is rotating, due to the flow of the current.

Mounted upon` the concrete base 4 is the upright 57. Journaled in this upright and in lthe back of the housing 9 is 4the shaft 58. The back of the housing is reinforced by the angle 59 which furnishes additional bearing surface for the shaft 58. Keyed to the shaft 58 are the beveled 'gear 60 and the pulley 61. The beveled gear 60 meshes with the beveled gear 10 and isldriven thereby. A belt may be driven by the pulley 61 and applied to any machine orgearing on which the power is intended to be used.

Instead'of the pulleys'46 and cables 47, tie rods connecting between the blades 43 and the wheel 35 may be used, which tie rods may include turn buckles by which the blades 43 may be raised and'lowered as 115 desired.

The operation of my machine is as follows: After the parts are placed in position as above described, the plate 18 and beveled gear 28 may be tilted to the posi- 120 tion shown in Fig. 1 by the operation of the lever 22 and pinion 23. The blades may be placed at the desired `height with reference to the level of the water in the stream by raising or lowering on the cables 47. The 125 iow of the water. in the stream will carry the blades 43 therewith and cause the beveled gear 28 to rotate. This in turn will communicate its power tothe beveled gear 10, which in turn will communicate its power to 130 the beveled gear 60, driving the shaft 58 on the pulley 6l.

If it is desired the blades 4 3 can be drawn part way out of the water, which will vary the speed of and the power developed by the wheel.

It will be seen by the foregoing description that the blades of the water wheel are immersed only on one side and that the blades on the other side are elevated above the bank of the stream and that the water wheel is supported entirely from one bank of the stream and that no obstruction need be placed in the bed of the stream that will interfere with the flow of the water.

It will also be seen from the sectional view in Fig. l thatthe machine is mounted so that the base and housing partially overhang the water, so that the blades will have water of sufficient depth at which to operate. The angular position of the wheel causes the blades as they leave the water to pass up over the land and enter the water from the upside of the stream.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a modified form of my invention, the purpose of which is to provide for the use of my improved water wheel on the banks of streams where the banks are high and steep and where there is great fluctuation in the stage of the water. In this modification I provide a sill on each end of which are mounted inclines 7l having runners or guides 72 and 7 3 therein. In this instance the shell or frame of the machine is not anchored to the base but is mounted to run up and down upon these guideways. For this purpose I provide the shell with lugs or guides 74, 75, 76 and 77 on each side thereof, which guides engage with the guides on the stationary frame and hold the shell ,in any position in which it may be placed with relation to the frame. On top of the shell I provide the lugs 7 8 and 79 to which are attached cables 80 and 81 which pass up over the pulleys 83 Iand 83 and down over the drum of the windlass S4. By turning the windlass the shell may be raised up or down and suspended in any desired elevation. The water wheel will be mounted upon the inclined face of the drum with its blades extending down into the water at the lower edge, as is illustrated in the other figures of the drawings. Then this modification is used the water wheel as a whole will be raised and it will not be necessary to rock the wheel by the use of the lever 22 and the parts associated there with.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and patentable is as follows.

l. The combination in a water wheel of a wheel having blades thereon distributed around the periphery thereof, said wheel being mounted at an incline to the water,

a shaft for supporting said wheel, around which shaft said wheel rotates, said shaft being inclined from the vertical, means for tilting said shaft to a vertical position and carrying the wheel therewith, a beveled gear mounted on an upright axis a beveled gear upon said shaft, said gears being in mesh with each other when said wheel is in its inclined position, said gears being arranged to permit adjustment of the tilt-ing gear without disturbing the gear on the upright aXis.

2. The combination in a water wheel of a base plate, a housing therefor, a vertical shaft mounted between said base plate and said housing, a beveled gear keyed to and mounted to rotate with said shaft, said housing being inclined on one side, a plate pivotally mounted on said'housing and adapted to be tilted between the horizontal top of said housing and the inclined side thereof, a shaft mounted on said plate a beveled gear provided with blades adapted to rotate around said shaft, said gears being adapted to mesh with each other when the plate is in an inclined position.

3. The combination in a water wheel of a base plate, a housing therefor, a vertical shaft mounted between said base plate and said housing, a beveled gear keyed to and mounted to rotate with said shaft, said housing being inclined on one side, a plate pivotally mounted on said housing and adapted to be tilted between the horizontal top of said housing and the inclined side thereof, a shaft mounted on said plate, a beveled gear adapted to rotate around said shaft, a ball bearing provided between said beveled gear and said plate.

t. The combination in a water wheel of a base plate, a housing therefor, a vertical shaft mounted between said base plate and said housing, a beveled gear keyed to and mounted to rotate with said shaft, said housing being inclined on one side, a'plate pivotally mounted on said housing and adapted to be tilted between the horizontal top of said housing and the inclined side thereof, a shaft mounted on said plate, a beveled gear adapted to rotate around said shaft, a ball bearing provided between said beveled gear and said plate, said beveled gear being grooved on the back thereof, flanges on either side of said groove, blades pivotally mounted between said flanges.

5. The combination in a water wheel of a base plate, a housingl therefor', a vertical shaft mounted between said base plate and said housing, a beveled gear keyed to and mounted to rotate with said shaft, said housing being inclined on one side, a plate pivotally mounted on said housing and adapted to be tilted between the horizontal top of said housing and the inclined side thereof, a shaft mounted on said plate, a beveled gear adapted to rotate around said shaft., a ball vfio saI

#therefrom to engage the preceding blade.

onV said` wheel' for raising or lowering said blades.

6. 'The combination in a water wheel of a Lbasevplate, a housing therefor, a vertical shaft mounted between said base plate and said housing, a beveled gear keyed to and mounted to rotate with said shaft, said housing being inclined on one side, a plate ;pivotally mounted on said housing and vadapted to be tilted between the horizontal top of said housing and the inclined side thereof, a shaft mounted on said plate, a

"beveled gear adapted to rotate around said shaft, a ball bearing provided between said beveled gear and said plate, said beveled gear -being grooved on the back thereof, "flanges on either side of said groove, blades pivotally 4mounted between said flanges, a

win'tllass for each of said blades mounted on said beveled gear, pulleys supported above `*said beveled gear, cable passing between said Lblades and over said pulleys to said windlass` 'by which said blades niay be raised or lowered.

"7. Ina-water wheel the combination of a Vdisk mounted to rotate on a shaft pitched at an angle to the horizontal, radial arms pivw Avoted Von said disk, blades fastened to said arms,- eacli of'said blades having a brace mounted thereon and extending forwardly SIn a water wheel, the combination of a hollow base, a shaft mounted to roel: on

said base, a water wheel having blades thereon mounted -to rotate on said shaft, said shaft being capable of standing vertical with 1the wheel substantially horizontal and capable of being iiiolined with one side of the .f wheel depressed and the other side elevated,

al gear on the wheel adapted to rook and r0- tate therewith, a gear in the base adapted to rotate therein in a fixed position, said gear -on the wheel meshing with and driving the gear in the base when t-lie wheel is in an inclined position. 1 9. The combination of a water wheel, an axis therefor supported on one side, said axis being capable of tilting with its support from `an upright to an inclined position, blades on said water wheel being adapted to be raised or lowered with reference to said support, said blades engaging with the water on one-side of said wheel when the shaft is inclined and driving said wheel, a gear fastened to said wheel and adapted to rotate therewith, a gear mounted below said axis and independent thereof with which said rst named gear is adapted to mesh when the wheel is in its inclined position, said -wheel being adapted to transmit its power through said gears the same being arranged to pei-init adjustment of the tilting gear without disturbing the gear on the upright Vtate over it,a'gear on--saidf-water wheel, said water wheel being adapted to tilt to engage its blades on o-nefside'withl the-waterand bring said gears into meshvv with each other, means to raise and lower the blades of said wheel with reference Ito said gear.

12. In a water wheel, the-combination of a base having twosurfaees thereon which are inclined atan anglewtoy eachother, a shaft pivotally mountedlon said base at the junction o-f Ysaid surfaces, a water wheel adapted to rotate1around said shaft, said Vwheel having blades distributed -around the periphery thereof, said wheel and.- said fshaft being oapableof tilting to bring the wheel into contact-with either of said surfaces.

13. The combinationwin afwater wheel of aV hollow base,f afgear mounted to rotate therein lon anaxis, a vwheel havingblades thereon supportedabove said gear vwith a fixed support inter-posed between -saidgear and sai-d" wheel, said wheel being adapted to rotate oveivtlie"gear,` a gear ontlie waterl wheel moving'thei'ewith, saidA water wheel being adapted toI tilt to engage its blades on one side lof l"the water and bring said gears into mesh with each other.

14. In a water wheel the Vcombination of a wheel havingV a beveled gear thereon, a shaft therefor, saidwheel revolving around the bottom ofthe-shaft, a support for said shaft on which said shaft is adapted to rock toward and from 'the vertical, a beveledgear adapted to rotate under said support, said wheel andv lits 'shaft being capable of tilting to bring the vtwo beveled -gears `into mesh with each other.

15. In a waterwheel, the combination of ak ing said plate, a shaft Imounted on said plate and rocking therewith, a wheel adapted to revolve around said shaft and rock with the 'Shaft and plate.

16. Ina water'wheel, thecombination of a'support, a plateadapted toy rock on said' Cfr support, a quadrant Connected to said plate, a pinion mounted upon the support meshing with said quadrant for the purpose of rocking said plate, a shaft mounted on said plate and rocking therewith, a wheel adapted to revolve around said shaft and rock with the shaft and plate, a beveled gear on said wheel above the support, a beveled gear mounted on a shaft below the support, said pinion and quadrant being operable to move the 10 upper gear into and out of mesh with the lower gear.

In testimony whereof I aliiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JCI-IN D. RIPSON. Witnesses:

ANTHONY MATHONY, LENA M. Asi-r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of atents, Washington, D. C,

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