US1265048A - Air-compressor. - Google Patents

Description

(LIA. V. CARLSSONL AIR COMPRESSOR. APPLICATION men MAY 24. I916.

Patented May 7,1918.

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ii/40% AK A non/v5 rs C. A. V. CARLSSON.

AIR COMPRESSOR. APPLICATIONFILED MAY24|1916- Patented May 7,1918.

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WTTOBIVEYS C. A. V. CARLSSON.

AIR COMPRESSOR. APPLICATION FILED. MAY 24. l9l6- Patented May 7,1918.

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AIR COMPRESSOR. APPLICATION man MAY 24. L916.

Patented May 7,1918.

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ATTORNEYS NlTE CARL A. V. CARLSSOILOF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

AIR-COMPRESSOR.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 24, 1916. Serial No. 99,611.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL A. V. CAnLssoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Vvashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Air-Compressors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in air compressors, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an air compressor which will deliver air to a storage tank in such quantity as to keep up the pressure in the storage tank to a predetermined point even if the air is used in greater quantity at certain times than at other times.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described in which valves are usedwhich are automatically operated by the air itself, means being provided to hold open certain of the valves, as for instance, the suction valves during the whole or a part of the compression stroke of the piston, so that all or a part of the air taken into the cylinders will be pushed back into the suction chest instead of the delivery pipe leading to the storage tank or receiver.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described in which comparatively simple apparatus is used to accomplish the control of the valves.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, in which:

Figur 1 is a plan view of a portion of the device, certain parts being shown in section. T Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the device shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 44 of Fig. 3. 1FFig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 6 is a section along the line 6-6 of is detailed view, partly in section.

showing the actuating means for the valve control members.

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail view showing the operation of the valves.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown therein a cylinder 1 which is provided with a piston 2 and with intake valves 3 and exhaust valves 4, see Fig. 8. The intake valves communicate with an intake manifold, while the exhaust valves are connected to the tank or receiver 6 from which a pipe 7 may lead to the place where the air is to be used.

The description thus far is that of the ordinary air compressor. It may be stated here that the invention is designed to apply to various types of air compressors, but the one illustrated in the accompanying drawings is typical of many forms that might be devised which would work on the same principle.

The valves which are used in connection with the preferred form of air compressor are those of the so-called feather valves which are common in the art. In Fig. 1 I have shown an intake valve and an ex aust valve.

The means for controlling the valves is operated from the cross head, in this particular instance. In Fig. 7 I have shown a portion of the cross head 8 which is arranged to be moved back and forth in the ordinary manner and which in its movement tends to give to a grooved rod 9 an oscillatory movement about its axis. The rod 9 is provided with an arm 10 which is connected by means of a link 11 with the arm 12 secured at the end of a shaft 13 which is journaled in bearings 14 at one end, the opposite end of the shaft extending through a sleeve 15, see Fig. 4, and being feathered to the sleeve so as to permit a longitudinal movement of the sleeve with respect to the shaft, while communicating the oscillatory movement of the shaft to the sleeve.

The sleeve 15, as will be seen from Fig; 4:, is provided with a stationary collar 16 near its center, and with a removable collar 17, between which collars a yoke 18 is disposed, which yoke is at the end of a lever 18 pivotally mounted at and arranged to be operated so as to move the sleeve longitudinally with respect to the shaft 13.

Thesleeve isprovided with a series ofhelical Patented May 7, llfi ild. I

grooves 15 at one end and a similar series of grooves 15 at the other end, the grooves 15*, however, running in one direction around the sleeve, and the grooves 15 running in the other direction.

The grooved sleeve 15 is arranged to enter the interior of the hubs 19 and 20 of the cam members 19 and 20 respectively. These hubs are mounted for revolution in bearings 19 and 20 respectively. It will be observed that the grooved sleeve is in enga ement with the inner end of the hubs 19 and 20 respectively, so that when the sleeve is moved longitudinally with respect to the shaft 13 it will cause the simultaneous revolution of the hubs 19 and 20 of the cam members 19 and 20 respectively, around their axes, but in opposite directions.

In Fig. 3 I have shown in detail one of these cam members, to wit, the cam member 20. This, as will be seen, is a cylinder having on one side a cam surface 20. A cam roller 21 is mounted on a bell crank lever 22 which is pivoted at 23 and is connected by means of a link '24 with the bell crank lever 25 pivoted at 26. The end of this bell crank lever 25 is arranged to engage a slidable pin 27 Whose head bears normally on the end of a lever 28 which is pivotally mounted at 29. This lever 28 bears a cross bar 30 bearing pins 31 arranged to extend through openings 32, see Fig. 1, these openings being controlled by feather valves 33 like that shown in Fig. 2. A spring 34 is secured to the lever 28 and tends to hold the latter "and the bar 30 bearing the pin 31 away from the valve 33. It will be obvious, however, that if the bell crank lever 25 is moved so as to force the rod 27 inwardly, the pins 31 will be forced inwardly, thereby pressing the valves 33 from their seats.

The shifting of the sleeve 15 by means of the lever 18 is accomplished by means of air pressure through the medium of a mechanism, the specific construction of which forms no part of the present invention, the same bein'g old in the art. I will therefore refer only to the essential parts.

Considering then Fig. 6, it will be seen that I have provided a pipe 35 leading from the air receiver, and communicating with a cylinder 36 having'a plunger 37. A weight 37 has an *arm 37, see Figs. 2 and *6. The upper end of this arm is bent over the end of theplun'ger 3'7 and is provided with a suspending member, 'such as the screw 37, by means Of which the force of the weight is directly applied to the plunger. A spring 38 surrounds the upper end 'of the plunger and also tends to aid in exerting a '-'downward force *o'n t'he plunger. The purpose of "the spring, however, is mainly that of adjustingtlre farce exerted the plunger,

which tends to resist the air pressure in the manner hereafter explained. A yoke 39 is engaged by a collar on the plunger and opcrates a bell crank lever 40 whose end is connected by means of a link 41, see Figs. 1 and 4, with a lever 42 pivotally mounted at 43 on the large lever 18. The lever 42 is connected by a link 44 at its end with a lever 45 which is pivotally mounted at 46. It will be seen from Fig. 2 that this has its arms at the end of the central pivot portion 46, so that the arms do not lie in the same plane. One end of the lever is provided with a head 45 which enters a recess in a slidable valve member 47 disposed in a valve casing 48.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

Let use assume that we wish the pressure in the receiver 6 to be kept at 100 pounds. \Vith the apparatus as shown in the drawings, the suction valves 3 will operate in the ordinary manner; that is to say, they will open at the first forward stroke of the piston, remain open during the entire stroke, and close during the reverse stroke, so that air is forced from the cylinder through the delivery pipe 4 see Fig. 8, past the outlet valve 4, until the pressure reaches the desired point. During this time the rod 13 is oscillating in the manner already described, but the roller 21 (see Fig. 3) is riding on the lower part of the cam 20 on the arc of a circle, and therefore there is no movement of the bell crank lever 22 or of the rod 24 which transmits the movement of the bell crank lever to the pin for holding open the valve.

When 110w the pressure reaches the desired point, the force of the weight 37 a and spring 38, will be overcome, so that the air pressure will force the plunger 37 upwardly against the action of the weight, thereby moving the bell crank lever 40 and causing the link 41 to move to the left, in Figs. 6, 4 and 1. This will swing the lever 42, which, as stated, is mounted on the lever 18"-, toward the left, and through the medium of the link 44 and the lever'45, will move the valve member 47 toward the right in Fig. 4. Let us consider the condition just before the valve is moved to the right in Fig. 4. At 50 and 51 at opposite ends of the valve casing, I have shown pipes which communicate with the receiver for admitting air into the interior of the auxiliary cylinder 52. The latter is provided with a plunger 53 to which the large levers 18 are pivoted at 20". With. the position of the valve shown in Fig. 4,air is admitted to both ends of this plunger, and the pressure being equal there is no tendency for the plunger to shift. When, however, the valve 47 is moved to the right," then the left end of the cylinder is opened to the exhaust 54 and is closed to the pressure coming through the pipe 51, while the pressure coming through the pipe 50 still has access to the end of the plunger 53 and it will thereby force the latter toward the left in Fig. 4. The end of the lever 18 is fulcrumed at 55, see Fig. 4, so that as the plunger 53 moves toward the left, the lever will swing so as to shift the sleeve 15 toward the left, thereby causing the rotation of the cam members 19 and 20 in opposite directions, so as to bring the am surfaces which are similar to that shown at 20 in Fig. 3 underneath the roller 21, thereby moving the roller, the bell crank lever, the link 24, bell crank lever 25, rod 27 and pins 31 so as to engage the feather valves 33 and hold them open as long as the roller is on the high part, 2'. 6., the part corresponding to 20 of the cam. The valve being held open, of course the a1r is merely drawn into the cylinder of the compressor and then is forced out through the same valve where this automatic controlling device is arranged in connection with the suction valve.

Obviously it is a mere matter of adjustment to cause the suction valves to be held open beginning at any point with the stroke of the piston, and such adjustment will be made to suit different conditions.

When the lever 18 is moved by the movement of the plunger 53 toward the left, the lever 42 which is pivoted to the lever 18 at 43, will be swung toward the right, due to the fact of its connection to the link 41. This will move the valve engaging end of the lever 45 to the left and will carry with it the valve member 47 so as to bring it into the position shown in Fig. 4, in which pressure is admitted to both ends of the plunger 53, thereby holding the plunger in position.

When now the pressure in the receiver falls below the predetermined amount, then the weight 37* will cause the plunger 37 to move in the opposite direction, thereby moving the bell crank lever 40, link 41, and lever 42 to the right in Fig. 1, thus moving the lever 45 to the left and permitting the air at the right end of the cylinder to discharge through the discharge outlet 47. This will cause the movement of the plunger 53 to the right carryin with it the lever 18 and causing movement of the sleeve 15 and rotation of the cams in the opposite direction. As the stroke is being completed, the lever 42 will be shifted to the left, thus bringing the valve member 47 into the neutral position and admitting air into both ends of the cylinder 52, thereby holding the plunger in position.

I am aware that it is old to govern the amount of air delivered from an air compressor by controlling the opening, of the valves broadly, but this device relates more particularly to the automatic control of valves which normally are operated by the air pressure, or so-called automatic valves as distinguished from positively operated valves.

There is one feature to which I desire to call articular attention. The position of the plunger 37 depends, of course, upon the pressure of the air or motive fluid, which enters through the pipe 35. The greater the movement of the plunger, the more the spring 38 is compressed, thus tending to resist the movement. The levers 19 which operate the plunger 53 move in accordance with the movement of the plunger 37, so that-the action of the plunger 53 is not a sudden one, but takes place gradually and is in strict relation to the plunger 37. It will be seen, therefore, that the opening of the valves is dependent upon the pressure in the receiver and is automatically regulated by this pressure.

I claim 2- 1. The combination with an air compressor having a series of air controlled valves, of a receiver connected with said compressor, and means controlled by the pressure in the receiver for holding open certain of said valves during a period when the valves are otherwise normally closed, said means including a stop finger, a cam roller, an oscillated cam, connections between said cam roller and said stop finger for operating the latter, means operated by the air from said receiver for shifting the position of the cam, said last-named means comprising a sleeve having spirally arranged engaging members for engaging the cam, and means for moving said sleeve longitudinally of its axis to cause the rotation of the cam.

2. The combination with an air compressor having a series of air controlled valves, of a receiver connected with said compressor, and means controlled by the pressure in the receiver for holding open certain of said valves during a period when the valves are otherwise normally closed, said means including a stop finger, a cam roller, an oscillated cam, connections between said cam roller and said stop finger for operating the latter, means operated by the air from said receiver for shifting the position of the cam, said last-named means comprising a sleeve having spirally arranged engaging members for engaging the cam, and a lever for mov ing the sleeve longitudinally of its axis thereby causing the rotation of the cam.

3. The combination with an air compressor having a series of air controlled valves, of a receiver connected with said compressor, and means controlled by the pressure in the receiver for holding open certain of said valves during a period when the valves are otherwise normally closed, said means including a stop finger, a cam roller, an oscillated cam, connections between said cam roller and said stop finger for operating the till latter, means operated by the air from said receiver for shifting the position of the cam, said last-named means comprising a sleeve having spirally arranged engaging members for engaging the cam, a lever for moving the sleeve longitudinally of its axis thereby causing the rotation of the cam, and a plunger operated by the pressure of the air from the receiver for moving said lever.

i, The combination with a compressor having a cylinder provided with automatic air valves at each'end thereof, a receiver connected with said compressor, means for holding certain of said valves at each end of the cylinder open during a'period when they are otherwise normally closed, said means comprising stop fingers, a pair of cams for operating said stop fingers, and means operated by the pressure from said receiver for rotating said cams about their axes in opp.o site directions and to the same extent.

5. The combination with a compressor having a cylinder provided with automatic air valves at each end thereof, a receiver connected with said compressor, means for holding certain of said valves at each end of the cylinder open during a period when they are otherwise normally closed, said means com-prising stop fingers,-a pair of cams for operating said stop fingers, and means operated by the pressure from said receiver for rotating said cams about their axes in opposite directions and :to the same extent, said last-:namedineans comprising a sleeve having helioally {arranged members on the out- Ooples of this patent may be obtained for side surface thereof, one end of said sleeve having said helical members extending in one direction around the sleeve and the'opposite end having the helical members extending in the reverse direction, and engaging portions of the cam, and means for shifting the sleeve longitudinally of its axis in either direction, thereby causing the rotation of the cams in opposite directions.

6. The combination with a compressor having a cylinder provided with automatic air valvesat each end thereof, a receiver connected with said compressor, means for holding certain of said valves at each end of the cylinder open during a period when they are otherwise closed, said means comprising stop fingers, a pair of cams for operating said stop fingers, and means operated by the pressure from said receiver for rotating said cains about their axes in opposite directions and to the same extent, said last-named means comprising a sleeve having helically arranged members on the outside surface thereof, one end of said sleeve having said helical members extending in one direction around the sleeve and the opposite end having the helical members extending in the reverse direction, and engaging portions of the cam, means for shifting the sleeve longitudinally of its axis in either direction, thereby causing the rotation of the cams in opposite directions, and means for holding the sleeve stationary until the pressure in the receiver reaches a predetermined point.

CARL A. V. CARLSSON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atemp, Washington, D.=G."

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