US115670A - wheeleb - Google Patents

Description

NORMAN w. wnEELEn, on Monnrsrowiv, NEW JEnsEY.

:menos/WENT In STEAM Poitrine-Encinas.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,670, dated June 6, 1871.

To all 'whom it may concer-a:

Be it known'ithat I, NORMAN W. WHEELER, of Morristown, Morris county, and State of l New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Steam Pumping-Engines 5 and I do hereby declare that'the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, the letters of reference marked thereon being similar for the same parts shown'n the different i'igures- Figure 1 being a sectional elevation; Fig. 2, a sectional plan; Fig. 3, a sectional elevation to show details; Fig. 4, a side elevation; and Fig. 5, an end elevation.

- This invention is based upon the principles involved in the steam pumpingengine of Savery, described in elementary and historical works upon the steam engine, and also chiefly upon the following well-known facts: When water is inclosed or impounded in a vessel made of good heat-conductin g material, and the vessel is exposed to sufficient heat, the water will be wholly or partially converted into steam and a pressure be exhibited within the vessel; and if the vessel be then exposed to a lower heat the pressure will be reduced within it 5 and when steam is introduced into a body of cool water below the surface the steam will rise up through the water in the form of bubbles and be wholly or partially condensed.

In the drawing, A is a furnace or nre-place;

- B, the furnace-door; C, the smoke-pipe; L, a

boiler, formed of tubes in the example before us; and O, a steam-pipe connecting the boiler with a steam-chest, g. Within the steam-chest g isa double slide-valve, M, familiar to steamengineers, with 'two exhaust-cavities, b b, and

lworking upon a proper seat, which has two steam ports or passages, c c, which passages connect with the upper parts'of two working vessels, P1132. The seat has also two exhaust ports or passages@ a, leading to. two exhaustchambers, t t. Upon the side of each working vessel P1 or P2 is secured a valve-thrower, consisting of the barrel fi, flexible diaphragm k closing the end of the barrel li, which ,diaphragm may be replaced by a piston, and a c division-plate, m, into which are set the tubes h projectinginto the working vessel. The tubes h have closed ends and open into the barrel i. A button, i, is fitted to come in contact with the outer surface of vthe diaphragm 7s, and attached, by means of the yoke;l anda suitable rod, to one end of a lever orrdouble arm, Z, mounted upon a rook-shaft, d, which passes through a stuffing-box into the steamchest y, and, by the arm c mounteduponit, is

capable of moving the valve M. Two standpipes, fw w, are provided, and each connected with aworking vessel, l? P, by a channel, c, in the channel-plate p, which plate supports the whole engine. To the stand-pipes w w are attached the suction clack-valves R1 R2 opening Yinto the stand-pipes, and both valves connected with the suction-pipe T. c To the tops of the stand-pipes 'w w are attached two delivery clack-valves, opening outward into and connected with the delivery-pipe S. The ,exhaust-A chambers t t are connected each withthe standpipe upon its own side by the exhaust-pipes Y Y, and above the openings of the exhaustpip es into the stand-pipes w w is an inverted distributing-cup, s, perforated with small holes. The functions of this engine are the drawing and forcing of water or other liquids which are capable of being vaporized into steam, and its preparation and action may be described in the following words: The barrel i of each valve-thrower is to be filled withwater through the cock u to such an extent that the barrel i? and the tubes 71, will be full when the diaphragm Vlo is retracted into the barrel t', as shown in the drawing, and the cock u closed, thus impoundin g the water within.- rlfhe standpipes w w, the working vessels P P, and the spaces connected with them are to belled with water, a part of which will pass through one of the passages c into the steam-chest g,

vand thence through the steam-pipe O into the boiler L and fill it. A nre is then to be lighted in the furnace A, which will heat the water iu the boiler and finally generate steam.v The valve m is made too short to wholly cover both of the ports c c at the same time, so that the steam is at no time confined by a greater force than that of the column of water in the standpipes w fw and the delivery-pipe S; but the valve M should be so placed as to completely uncover one of the ports c at starting, when one button, l, will be in contact with its dia- Y phragm la. The steam generated in the boiler sage c into the upper part of one of the working vessels P, displace water from the steamchest g and working vessel P, and force out through the delivery-valve It an equivalent volume ofwater. This action will continue until the water in the working vessel P is depressed so far that the tubes h will be surrounded by steam instead of by water, as before, when the heaty of the steam will pass through the metal of the tubes h, heat the impounded water within them, and generate steam pressure within the valve thrower, which will take effect upon the diaphragm k, distend it, and, by its connection through the buttonl, yoke and rod j, lever Z, rock-shaft d, and arm e, shift the valve M so as to shut off the steam-passage c, which hadbeen open, and direct the steam into the other working vessel P through the other passage c. The steam generated within the valve-thrower, by reason of the contact of working steam with the tubes h or any part of the impounding-vessel, we may designate as secondary steam. f

As the top of the working vessel which will be brought into communication with the boiler by this action is higher than the previous level of the water in the steam-chest g, the first effect will be the flow of water from the working vessel P through the lower part of the passage c into the steam-chest g to equalize the level; while steam will flow through the `upper part of the passage c in the reverse direction, and the water lost by vaporization in the boiler L will be replaced by water from the steam-chest g ilowing through the steampipe 0, which must be so large that the current of steam will not prevent the flow of the reverse current of water. Thus the boiler L will be kept supplied with water. During the further depression of the Water in the Working vessel thus brought into work, and until the water shall have reached thelowestpart of the passage c, the surplus water in the steam-chest g will flow back into the working vessel P, after which the water will be depressed and a volume of water be forced out through the appropriate valve R, as described in connection with the rst working vessel. When the valve M is shifted to direct the steam into the second workin g vessel, the first steam-port c will be covered by the exhaust-cavity b, and the steam in the rst workin g vessel be free to escape through the passage c, cavity b, chamber t, and pipe Y, into the stand-pipew under the distributing-cup s, which will break the current of steam into small bubbles, which, upon rising through the cold water in the upper part X of the stand-pipe w, will be condensed. This will have the effect of producing a more or less perfect vacuum in the stand-pipe w, workin g vessel P, and their connections, whereby water will be drawn in through the suction-pipe T and valve R, and the working vessel be lled with water ready for another stroke. The water which re-enters the workin g vessel will be cooler than the stream which 2 nacre previously surrounded the tubes h, and will condense the steam and cool the impounded water, relieving the pressure, and allowing the diaphragm 7c to retract so as to oier but little if any resistance to the next required shifting of the valve M by the action of the opposite valve thrower, which will operate when the working steam reaches its tubes h, as before described. Thus the engine will continue to operate, each working vessel alternating with the other; the boiler supply being automatic and reasonably sure,the danger from explosion reduced to aminimum,because the greatest possible pressure will be that due to the hydrostatic column in the delivery and stand pipes; the friction and wear of parts amounting to very little because of the simplicity and small amount of motion in their working parts; and the attendance required will be but little more than the feeding of the fire.

This engine is in many respects similar to that of Savery, before mentioned. The drawing has been lettered to correspond, so far as possible, with the cut of the Savery engine published in Bournes Steam-Engine, for the purpose of indicating the similarities and differences. working vessels P1 P2, the valves R1 R2 R3 R4, and the connecting-pipes. His steam-pipes O1 O2 correspond to my steam-pipe O and passages c c, except that I have added exhaust functions to those ofthe passages c c. The valve M corresponds to mine, except that mine is worked automatically, and his was handwrought. His pipes Q Q correspond to my channels v fv. He instructed his assistants that a loss of heat would follow the complete expulsion of water from the working vessels, because of the cold water which would then be introduced and come into contact with the steam upon the surface, and directed them to shift the valve M before the working vessel under pressure was completely lled with steam; and I accomplish a like result by attaching the valve-throwers to the workingvessels some distance above their bottoms. In the engine under'consideration these difficulties are not encountered; the valve thrower has ample power to throw the valve at the proper time the boiler is separate and distinct from the working vessels, and is never placed in direct connection with the Acondensers to draw off steam which does no work.

It is not claimed that by the use of' this engine a high duty per pound of coal can be realized, as the losses from absorption and radiation of heat will be considerable, and nol benefit can be derived. from the expansion of steam in the working vessels; yet the aggregate of these losses will be scarcely greater than that of the ordinary piston steam-pump practice; While for many uses the safety, au-

tomaticity, and intrinsic cheapness of my enf gine will make it of great use to the public.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination and arrangement, in reA lation to each other, of the stand-pipe w, dis- We see in both the boiler L, the

ranged as to supply the boiler with Water, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. The combination of the automatically-operated valve M with the two Working vessels PIPZ and the two condensing stand-pipes w zc, substantially as and for the purposes described. 7. `Actuating a valve, as M, by means of the pressure of secondary steam, generated in the manner and in the apparatus substantially as described.

NORMAN W. WHEELER. Witnesses:

Tiros. S. DAY, JOHN H. ALLEN.

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