US1214429A

US1214429A - Packing-ring.

Info

Publication number: US1214429A
Application number: US2696315A
Authority: US
Inventors: Eugene F Cook
Original assignee: HARWARD M F G Co
Current assignee: HARWARD M'F'G Co; HARWARD M F G Co
Priority date: 1915-05-10
Filing date: 1915-05-10
Publication date: 1917-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1934-01-30

Description

E. F. COOK.

PACKING RING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10. 1915.

Patented Jan. 30,1917.

mwwu Emwem%@r n -an ATENT cannon EUGENE F. COOK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR 'IO HARWARD MFG COMPANY,

OF ST. LOUIS MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

racmc-ame.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, 191?.

Application filed May 10, 1915. Serial No. 28,963.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE F. COOK, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Packing-Rings, of which. the following is provide simple and efiicient means for lubricating the packing rings of pistons without tending to pass too large a quantity of oil intothe combustion chamber.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figur elevation constructed according to my invention; Fig. 2 is'an edge view of the same; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showin the ring before a portion of the material chilled in casting has been cut away; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 1.

Packing rings of the type to which my invention is applied are conveniently formed by casting a cylinder of any required length, from suitable metal, then sawing or cutting the rings therefrom of the desired width. The rings are then split or cut across, and a portion of the metal removed at the place where the cut occurs so as to permit the ring to close up to the correct diameter of the cylinder, and the meeting ends are formed to provide an interlocking joint. In order that the ring shall have a substantially true circular form when its ends are pressed together so that it will fit snugly within the cylinder, it is next placed in a chuck with its ends so pressed together, and turned or ground on the outside so as to be made a true circle of the exact diameter of the cylinder. When released from the chuck the ring has the property of being able to spring open or exert radial pressure outward. As thus formed, however, the ring will not exert equal pressure throughout, but the end portions adjacent to the cut will exert greater pressure against the wall ofthe cylinder than the portion of the ring opposite the cut. Various means have been devised for e 1 illustrates a packing ring in side overcoming this objection, and producing a ring that will exert substantially uniform pressure on the wall of the cylinder throughout, the common way being to leave the portion of the ring opposite the split of substantially maximum thickness and to gradually cut away the ring from such thickened portion to the ends; or else to cut a groove in a similar way from the thickened portion to the ends, so that when the ring is allowed to expand in the cylinder the end portions, containing a less mass of metal, will exert a less pressure, z'. 6., they will tend to spring outward with less force, than if the ring were of the same thickness throughout.

It is well-known that in casting metal the portion of the metal coming in contact with the mold or sand is chilled and is therefore harder than the metal farther below the surface. In constructing the ring to which. I have applied my invention, the ring is cast in such form that the walls thereof, for about a third of the way around from the split, are thicker than the remaining third of the ring, and the inner surface of the ring, for a depth of a thirty-second of an inch, more or less, will be of hardened metal, this portion being referred to as the scale. I then cut away this scale for about a third of the distance around the ring, starting from the split, leaving the scale intact on about one-third of the inner circumference of the ring opposite the split. The scale thus remaining is of harder metal, and consequently more rigid than the metal compdsing the remaining two-thirds of the ring, so that in pressing the ends of the ring togather: the machined portions of the ring, that is the portions having the scale removed, are bent more easily than the remaining portion, and exert a correspondingly less degree of pressure when released. The ring thus formed will be placed in a chuck with its ends pressed together, and turned to true circular form in the wellknown way. A ring so constructed, when in use, will be found to exert a substantially equal pressure at all points against the wall of the cylinder.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates, generally, a packing ring, and the numeral 2 indicates the hardened or the ring oppositethe split. As shown by of' the scale thereon, indicated by 5. The

scale portion 5 is then cut off from the portions 3, 4, so that, as shown by Figs. 4 and 5,

.the thickness of the portions 3 and 4 of the ring will be equal in thickness to the portion of the ring containing the scale 2, and which for purposes of distinction I have indicated by the numeral 6. A ring constructed in this way may be produced at relatively low cost, will wear uniformly in use, and will yield the maximum of efliciency in opera tion. The joint at the meeting ends of the ring illustrated in Fig. 2, and indicated, generally, by the numeral 7, -is claimed in a companion application filed of even date herewith.

In order to distribute the lubricant between the packing ringand the wall of the cylinder and at the same time reduce to the minimum the liability of the rin to permit more oil to pass by the ring 1nto the combustion chamber ,of the cylinder than is necessary for lubricating purposes, I have discovered that an arrangement of oil grooves, for example, as illustrated in Fig. 2 will accomplish the above objects in a .thoroughly eflicient manner. This novel arrangement may comprise two series of discontinuous or short superficial grooves 8, 8 and 9, 9, respectively. That is, the grooves constituting each series are separated from each other in a circumferential direction. The series 8, 8 extend partially around the periphery of the ring near one edge thereof.

And the series of grooves 9, 9 extend in a similar manner around the periphery of the ring near its opposite edge. The two series of grooves are separated from each other in a longitudinal direction on the piston ring, that is, in a direction parallel with the axis of the piston, and are arranged in a staggered or unalined relation to each other. These grooves will retain and carry individual quantities of oil, but as they are independent, that is, not connected, and are at a distance from each other, and 'do not lie opposite each other except at their end portions, it follows that there can be no flow or circulation of the oil around the ring with the tendency of the oil to continuously pass through at some point which might chance to fit the cylinder less snugly than other parts, and where the oil can pass by the ring into the cylinder; and there is very little or no tendency for the oil from one groove to get into another groove, which might result in an excess of oil collecting at some point in the ring where, as before,

the fit of the ring in the cylinder might be less tight than at other points, and through the opening thus provided allowing the oil to pass into the combustion chamber.

By the term superficially I mean that the grooves are formed in the outer surface of the ring and do not extend through its inner surface; these grooves are capable of retaining a liquid lubricant. They are preferably shallow as shown, but this is not essential.

A further'importaht features in connection with the oil-carrying grooves is the I fact that they terminate-short of the joint on either side of the split. It follows that 30 the oil cannot flow into-the joint from the oil-carrying grooves and thus getunder the ring and carbonize; nor can the oil, in such manner, pass into the joint from the grooves and through the joint to the com- 35 bustion chamber.

It will, of course, be clear that in the case of a ring of less width than that indicated on the drawing I can employ a single line of grooves instead of a double'line, the idea being that the grooves are not connected with each other nor with the joint.

The arrangement of oil grooves described is of pronounced advantage in connection with my improved form of ring for the rea- 5 son that the snug and uniform fit of this ring ,with the cylinder is insured, and hence the grooves act with the maximum efliciency in uniformly lubricating the cylinder with- .out carrying any excess of oil to the combustion chamber which, as is well-known, is very objectionable.

The feature of having the ends of the oil grooves adjacent to the opening in the ring terminating short of said opening would be of great importance even were a COI1tl11l10115- oil groove employed, as is now the custom, in place of the separated grooves contemplated by the present invention.

I claim: 1. A spring ring for packing pistons, operating to exert a substantially constant resilient pressure against the cylinder wall completely around its circumfererence, said ring having a series of peripherally short oil-retaining pockets formed superficially and extending around its periphery, said pockets being independent and separated from each other in a circumferential direction around said ring to prevent draining of the oil from any pocket into the next.

2. Aspring ring for packing pistons, operatingto exert a substantially constant resilient pressure against the cylinder wall completely around its periphery, said ring having two series of peripherally short oilretaining grooves formed superficially around its periphery, the grooves of each series being independent and separated from each other in a circumferential directlon naienae around said ring to prevent draining of the oil from any groove into the next groove of the same series, and one of said series of grooves being separated from the other. series of grooves in a longitudinal direction on the packing ring.

3.. A spring ring for packing pistons, operating to exert a substantially constant resilient pressure against the cylinder Wall completely around its circumference, said ring having two series of peripherally short oil-retaining grooves fgrmed superficially in and extending partially around its periphery, the grooves of each series being independent of each other and separated 15 from each other in a circumferential direction around said ring to prevent draining of the oil from any groove into the next groove of the same series, and one of said series of grooves being separated from the other se- 20 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 25 my hand.

EUGENE F. COOK.