US1219511A - Air-compressor. - Google Patents

Description

C. W. WEISS.

AIR COMPRESSOR.

APPLICATION man JULY 13, 191s.

CARL W. WEISS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

.AIR-COMPRESSOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

Application filed July 13, 1915. Serial No. 39,533.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARL W. WEISS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn of the city of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Compressors, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to air compressors and is concerned particularly with the construction of the suction and discharge valves therefor, the formation of the compressor head, and the disposition of the valves with respect to each other, to the compressor cylinder, and to the inlet and discharge passages. In carrying out the invention it has been sought to provide a construction in which the volumetric eiciency of the compressor shall be a maximum without, however, sacrificing such desirable details in structure as are of prime importance to the manufacturer in constructing and assembling the various parts of the valves, both from the standpoint of initial cost and convenience. The invention provides a compressor head which is mounted directly upon the compressor' cylinder and has formed therein separate valve chambers for the communicating inlet and discharge passages, the parts within these valve chambers being readily accessible for replacement and adequately cooled by the formation of cooling chambers in which the valve chambers are disposed and which occupy all of the remaining space within the compressor head. The controlling valves are disposed within the respective valve chambers and in communication withthe compressor cylinder so as to lie in planes which are substantially at right angles to the cylinder, whereby the pressure of the compressed air upon the valves is less than in known constructions where the valves are exposed directly to the compression space. Further, the passage between the'compressor cylinder and the valves is somewhat tapered so that the volume of air which reaches its upper end approaches Zero and the volumetric efficiency is accordngly enhanced. The improved valves themselves comprise generally a valve cage in which are detachably secured in operative relation to each other, a valve seat, a spring check valve thereon and a guard to limit the movement of the valve from the seat, each of the enumerated parts being of standard design and being with corresponding parts and the valve unit as a whole being readily removable f from its valve chamber and susceptible of remounting in the other valve chamber, the only change occasioned by this interchange being in the direction of flow of the compressed air. Again, if desired, the standardized parts of the valve unit referred to may be removed from the valve cage and reassembled in such relation to each other and to the cage as to permit the valve to seat in a direction opposite to that first assumed, whereby the particular unit in question is adapted for the control of air flowing'in an opposite direction, the advantages of such change in any given unit residing principally in the facility with which the character of the compressor may be changed, the initial assembling of parts expedited,

and in the compensation for wear thereon from time to time by the reversal of the wearing faces. Another feature of the invention lies in the construction ofthe improved spring valve which embodies the advantages of cheapness of cost and effectiveness in operation, its form being such as to prevent teetering and consequent loss of pressure and wear. Improved means for maintaining the valve units removably in place so that they may always' be readily accessible are also included 'and their nature will be pointed out in detail hereinafter together with certain other features which need not be referred to at this point, reference now being had to the accompanying drawings for a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which- Figure l is a fragmentary view in transverse section taken through a compressor head embodying the improvements.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the improved compressor head.

Fig. 3 is a View in transverse section through the head taken on the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. t is a detail view on a somewhat larger scale of the improved spring valve.

The improved compressor head, indicated generally at a, is shouldered atv its lower edge at a to afford a seat for the head on the upper edge of the'compressor cylinder7 a fragment of which is shown at I) in Fig. l, and the head may be secured detachably to the cylinder through suitable bolts passed through channels a2 readily interchangeable formed in the head, as

' of'the fluid, although as will appear hereinwill be apparent. In the heada' are formed centrally thereof oppositely extending valve chambers 0, d, the outer ends of which areI exposed through the walls 'of the head and` .the inner ends of which terminate in a chamber al' (illustrated as the discharge chamber) may communicate with a delivery pipe through a duct a4 also formed in the compressor head.

The'improved valve units willgiirst be described in. detail and their disposition within the improved head and the means formaintaining them removably in position will then be pointed out. The valve which controls thel inlet ,must necessarily function in a -slightly different manner from that controlling the outlet in so far as its movement is concerned in respect to the direction of flow after the elements of the -valve units are in mit the flow a screw 7a. which -both instances identical and interchangeable. The-unit for controlling the inlet comprises Ia cage'ff formed as a spider between the arms of which are ample openings f to perof air therethrough and this spider has its arms shouldered, as ata/2, to

afford a substantial seat for the valve seat through which extend circumferential slots g which are normally closed by a spring valve It, illustrated particularly in Fig. 4.

The construction of this valve- -is such as to afl'ord ample resiliency for quick movements from its seat and at thesame time present a relatively large surface to the compressed fluid to insure a correspondingly quick seating in the manner well known in checkv valves. The substantially cylindrical sections z. of the valve L which lie directly over the circumferential recesses g in the valve seat g are of relatively large area and may be said to be carried yieldingly on spiral arms la? stamped integral with said sections and with what may be termed the valve body la, so that under varying pressures in one direction or the other the portions It are drawn from or toward the valve seat g. The valve seat g is held on the shouldered portion f2 of the spider f by means of a shouldered guard z' for the valve, through which extend ample openings z" to permit the flow of fluid therethrough. The valve seat g, the valve 71, and the valve guard are assembled in the relationship described and maintained in such. relationship by means of l passes through central openings formed in each of the parts and is threaded into the Yspider f whereby these several parts with the spider become, in effect, a unitary structure which may be assembled and placed in positiony or removed therefrom as a unit. In, making the assembly it is necessary that the parts be so constructed as to lie in proper relationship to each other and to this end the'mechanical details will have to be worked out by one skilled in the art. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the valve guard i is slightly recessed, as ati?, and is formed centrally with a hub 153 which presses directly against the valve 7LA to maintain the same in snug` engagement with the face of' the valve seat g. By this construction an ample air space is lef't between the rear side of thevalve Guard z' and the valve, but at the same time the range of movement of the controlling valve sections h. is properly limited and the body of the valve z. is held firmly in place. Again, it is desirable to recess the front face of the guard i at its central portion, as indicated at 4, to the end that the head of the screw 7c may rest therein and lie flush with the outer face of the guard. The valve unit for controlling the discharge of the fluid is composed of the same elements described in connection with the inlet valve, these elements being merely rearranged to permit the spring valve hy to be moved inthe proper direction for the escape of fluid and to seat upon the valve seat g to prevent the inflow of' Huid in a manner usual in check valves. In assembling the unit for the control of the discharge the guard i is inverted with respect to the position which it occupies in the inlet valve and is placeddirectly against the spider f on the shouldered arms of' which it rests on a cooperating annular shoulder 5. In this position, theihub 3 abuts against the spring valve It in the relation pointed out with respect to the inlet valve thereby leavingl a chamber between the guard z' and the valve and the valve seat g abuts against the valve -with the face of the seat, in the manner pointed out in connection tion of the inlet valve.

At the inner ends of the valve chambers c, el, adjacent the passage e, are formed flanges Z continuous throughout and constituting shoulders upon which seat the valve units hereinbef'ore described. The inlet valve, assembled as above, is placed in the inlet passage c and the annular shoulder 6 of the guard i is seated upon the flange Z at the end of the inlet chamber. The flange Z conforms in outline to the outline of the guard sothat an air-tight fit is insured. The valve unit is maintained in place removably with the descripby means of a set screw m which passes through a cover plate n fastened to the outer wall of the compressor head a by bolts 0 and the head of the set screw may be completely covered by a cap p threaded into the cover plate. The function of the set screw is to maintain the valve unit on its seat on the shoulder Z, and accordingly the end of the set screw 'm bears against the spider f and is preferablyv positioned co-axially therewith. The cover plate and associated elements for the discharge passage (Z are duplicated` in every respect so that all of the corresponding elements used in the improvements are symmetrical and interchangeable throughout.

In assembling the improved structure two valve units are made up in the manner hereinbefore pointed out, the elements thereof being so assembled that the spring valves zr will serve to permit the inflow of air and in the other instance to permit the outflow thereof. The units are then placed in position on the shoulders Z and the cover plates n secured to the compressor head a, the set screws m brought into proper relation to the spiders f respectively 'and the caps p for the set screws inserted. The inlet duct a3 communicates with the source of fluid, while the discharge duct (L4 leads to a delivery pipe for the compressed fluid. 0n the suction stroke, air is drawn through the passages f" in the spider f, the passages g in the valve seat g, the sections z. of the valve t being unseated through their yielding supports 71.2, and the air passes on through the openings i in the guard i from whence it enters the cylinder b through the passage e. During the suction stroke. of course, the sections v/ of the valve h in the discharge valve unit are held to their seats so as to close the passages g in the valve seat g of the other unit. Upon the compression stroke, the discharge valve h will be forced from its seat and the compressed air Will be discharged through the delivery duct ai* while the valve k of the other unit will be pressed firmly against its seat g. The large surfaces presented by the sections it of the spring valves la, insure a quick sharp response to varying degrees of pressure so that the passages controlled respectively by these sections will be closed or opened quickly at the. required time. vThis large exposed surface and the manner of mounting the sections on the spring plates h2 as well as the relationship of the valve parts to the juxtaposed guards i further insure that the valve movements shall be quick and sharp and shall in no case result in teeteringand consequent loss of pressure and excessive wear on the contacting surfaces. Again, the responsiveness of the valves is enhanced by the positioning thereof in planes at` substantially right angles to the direction of travel of the air, that is, at right angles to the compressor cylinder b. The shape of this passage e is also of great importance in a device of this kind inasmuch as its tapered form is of minimum volume, approaching zero at the end remote from the compressor cylinder, thereby insuring the highest possible volumetric efficiency. It is quite evident that all of the constituent elements of the valve units are symmetrical and interchangeable with corresponding parts, so that in the initial assembly a large stock of pa'rts may be employed and drawn from as necessary. Further, the wear on the several surfaces may be equalized from time to time during the use of the compressor by withdrawing the units and reversing any one of the parts so that the wearing surfaces are changed. The formation of the valve chambers c, d, in the compressor head and the disposition therein vof the valve units and the cover' plates n insure accessibility to the valve. units and facilitate their removal as required. Advantage is taken of the character of the compressor head a. and the valve chambers c, (l, therein, in cooling the operative Darts of the compressor. To this end. the compressor head a is hollow throughout and a cooling medium. such as water, is introduced into the hollow portion through suitable passages f/ formed therein and this cooling water is permitted to circulate freely around the valve chambers c, d, as will be evident from Fig. 3. The construction throughout is one of simplicity, cheapness and accessibility.

Modifications in the details of construction and rearrangements of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, provided such departures fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In combination with a. cage, a valve unit' carried on the cage and composed of a seat, a plate valve and a guard, said seat being invertible and the seat and the guard being interchangeable in position relative to the cage without disturbing their operative relation to the plate valve whereby the valve may be caused to act either as an inlet or outlet valve with said cage.

2. In combination with a cage, a. valve unit cairied on the cage composed of a4 seat, a plate valve and a guard, both the unit and the plate valve being invertible, and the seat and guard being interchangeable in position relative to the cage without changing their operative relation t'o the valve.

This specification signed this second day of July, A. D. 1915.

CARL W. WEISS.

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

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