US1354231A - Hydraulic motor - Google Patents

Description

G. WEBER.

HYDRAULIC MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. I7, 1919.

1,354,231 Patented Sept. 28, 1920.-

3 SHEETSSHEET 1- I ijwuawtoz G. WEBER.

HYDRAULIC MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 11. 1919.

1,354,231, Patented Sept. 28, 1920.

mb m 8/140 e 4:4 Geozye Mafia)? G. WEBER.

HYDRAULIC MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 17. m9.

1 ,354 ,231 Pamntedsept. 28, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- PATENT OFFICE.

' GEORGE WEBER, OF STUART, NEBRASKA.

HYDRAULIC MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 28, 1920.

Application filed October 17, 1919. Serial No. 331,256.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Gnoncn WEBER, a citizcn of the United States, residin at Stuart, in the county of Holt and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Motors, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a hydraulic motor.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of hydraulic motors and to provide a simple, practical, and efficient hydraulic motor equipped with a water wheel adapted to furnish a maximum amount of power and provided with automatically operating buckets adapted under the action of the water to assume an operative position for driving the water wheel and capable of automatically closing when not subjected to the action of the water wherebyfriction is reduced to a minimum.

It is also an object of the invention to pro vide means adapted to permit water to actuate the buckets at one side of the water wheel and at the same time enable the returning buckets at the opposite side of the wheel to travel out of the water from the point where the water is discharged from the race-way to the point where the buckets are again acted on by the water.

The invention also has for its object to provide a track for supporting the movable members of the buckets while they are sub jected to the action of the water in the raceway, and also to enable the buckets to travel 'frictionlessly over a track in the bucket return way in the event of the breakage of the supporting spring of a bucket.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, but within the scope of the appended claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a hydraulic motor constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the hydraulic motor, on the line IIIIII of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a portion of the water wheel.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the buckets.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view on the line VI-VI of Fig. 1.

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated one embodiment of the invention, the water wheel of the hydraulic motor comprises in its construction a horizontal rotary wheel 1 and an annular series of water buckets 2 depending from the outer portion of the wheel and arranged to operate in a substantially annular channel formed in reinforced concrete or other suitable material and providing a curved raceway 3 and a curved bucket return channel a. The concrete may be reinforced in any desired manner and masonry may of course be employed where desired, and the annular channel is provided with an inner annular wall 5 and an outer substantially annular wall 6 having a water outlet 7 and connected at substantially a diametrically opposite point with side walls 8 of a fiume 9. The flume 9 extends from a dam 10 located at a body of water 11 adapted to furnish the power for operating the water wheel. The hydraulic motor may be of any desired size, and the proportions in practice will be constructed with reference to the character of the work to be performed and the head of water at the dam 10. The flume is provided with an outlet 12 formed between one of the walls of the flume and a transverse abutment or wall 13, and the said fiume outlet is controlled by a swinging water gate 14 hinged at one side of the fiume at 15 and controlled by suitable operating mechanism which may consist of a rod or member 16 and an operating wheel 17 carrying a nut 18 for engaging threads 19 of the rod or member 16.

The rod or member 16 is pivoted at 20 to the flume gate and the operating wheel is mounted in suitable bearings at the juncture of the outer wall of the annular channel and the adjacent side wall of the flume. The fiume gate 14 is curved and serves as a defleeting member for directing the water from the fiume toward the buckets in the raceway.

Any other suitable operating means may of course be provided for opening and closing the flume gate, and in practice suitable means will be provided for controlling the flow of water through the dam 10.

The wheel 1 comprises a central hub 21, a channeled rim 22 and oppositely inclined radially arranged spokes 23, but the spokes may be arranged in any other desired manner, and other spokes may be employed where greater strength is required, and in practice various other forms of wheel structures may be embodied in the water wheel. The hub is suitably secured to a vertical wheel shaft 24 stepped at its lower end in a bearing 25 having a ball 26 to receive the lower end of the wheel shaft 24. The bearing 25 is suitably secured upon a central support 27 arranged within and concentrically with the inner annular wall 5' of the concrete structure. The vertical wheel shaft is arranged at its upper portion within a bearing 28 provided with antifriction rollers 29-and secured to the inner ends of inclined radially flanged braces 30 which are suitably secured at their outer ends to the outer wall of the annular channel. The outer ends of the inclined braces 30 are arranged upon the upper edge of the outer wall 6 and while three are shown in the accompanying drawings, any desired number may of course be employed. Also any otherform of antifriction bearings may be provided for mounting and supporting the vertical wheel shaft.

The wheel 1 is equipped at the lower face of the rim 22 with a horizontal ring 31 ex; tending from the outer edge of the bottom flange of the channeled. rim to a point slightly beyond the plane of the outerface of the inner wall 5 and supporting the depending buckets 2 which are suitably secured to the horizontal supporting ring 31. Each bucket comprises relatively fixed and movable members, the fixed member consisting of a vertical end wall 32, inner and outer side walls 33 and 34, and a top wall 35 which is suitably fastened to the lower face of the horizontal supporting ring 31. The movable member comprises a bottom plate 36 hinged at one end at 37 to the transverse end wall 32 at the lower edge thereof and provided with inner and outer side flanges 38 and 39 constituting partial walls and extending longitudinally of the bottom plate 36 to within a short distance of the free end of the bottom plate. The bottom plate is adapted to swingupwardly and downwardly and when not subjected to the action of the water of the race-way is maintained in an elevated position by a tension spring 40 secured atone end to the top wall 35 and connected at the other end to the bottom plate 36 in any desired manner. The bucket may be of any desired size and it is arranged 'in spaced relation with the bottom 41 of the race-way, the distance between the lower edge of the transverse end wall 32 and the bottom of the race-way at X being preferably about one and one-half times the depth of the fixed part of the bucket, but the size of the bucket and the proportions of the parts may be varied, as will be readily understood. The bottom of the race-way is oppositely inclined at 42 and the free end of the hinged plate or member 36 is tapered at 43 to conform to the configuration of the bottom race-way, and the said free end of the plate or member 36 is provided with a roller or wheel 44 suitably mounted on the said plate or member 36 and arranged to run upon a rail 45 located in a groove 46 in the bottom of the annular channel and adapted to support the free end of the bottom plate or member 36 in close spaced relation with the bottom portion and inclined portions 42 of the race-way while the buckets are subjected to the action of the water. The-free terminal portion of the bottom plate or member 36 of one bucket underlaps the hinged end of the bottom plate or member of the adjacent bucket, as shown in Fig. 4, when the hinged bottom plates or members are supported in an elevated position by the springs as when the buckets are, traveling through the return passage'or portion 4 of the annular channel. The hinged bottom plates or members of the buckets are inclined when the buckets are subjected to the action of the water and maximum speed and power are imparted to the water wheel by the water owing to the elimination of the greater portion of the friction by the track and the wheels and rollers and also by the return of the buckets in an elevated position out of contact with they water. The race-way inclines downwardly from the flume to the outlet 7 and the wheel is actuated by the pressure of the head of water and also by the'fall of water due to the inclination of the race-way and the pivoted bottom plates or members of the buckets automatically maintain a proper relation to the inclined bottom of the raceway and move downwardly as they progress alon the inclined bottom of the race-way. The rail 45 is preferably channeled as shown, and in event of the breakage of a bucket the roller or wheel thereof will run on the rail 45 which is continuous and which will guide the bucket through the return passage or portion 4 of the annular channel to the head of the raceway. The inner side walls 33 of the bucket form a practically continuous inner wall around the water wheel, while the outer walls 34 provide openings to permit the water to enter the water buckets as they pass into the upper end of the race-way.

The return passage or portion 4 of the annular channel inclines upwardly from the outlet 7 and a shoulder 47 is formed at the upper end of the return passage or portion 4 and provides a wall for preventing the fiume water from flowing down the said return portion or passage 4. This not only avoids loss of water but prevents the water from retarding the return of the buckets to the race-way.

The power may be transmitted from the vertical wheel shaft by bevel gears 48 and 49 which connect the Vertical shaft with a horizontal power shaft 50 j ournaled in suitable bearings 51 and 52 and equipped at its outer end with a pulley 53 for the reception of a belt, not shown. Any other suitable means may of course be employed for transmitting the power of the water wheel from the wheel shaft to the machine or other de vice to be operated! To facilitate repairs to the underside of the water wheel and its bearings and to permit access to the bearings without removing the wheel and to provide for drainage from within the inner annular wall 5, I provide an opening 55 in the latter. This opening may be of any convenient form or size.

If desired, the buckets may be braced in any suitable manner, as for instance, each by a brace 54: extending from the part 32 of each bucket to the horizontal annular member 31.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of depending buckets comprising relatively fixed stationary sections or members and movable sections or members hinged to the fixed sections or members, and means for normally urging the movable sections upwardly whereby the said movable sections will be elevated automatically when not subjected to the action of the water.

2. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of depending buckets comprising relatively fixed stationary sections or members and movable sections or members hinged to the fixed sections or members, means for normally urging the movable sections upwardly whereby the said movable sections will be elevated automatically when not subjected to the action of the water, and a rail arranged to receive and support the movable sections or members when the bucket is subjected to the action of the water.

3. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of depending buckets comprising relatively fixed stationary sections or members and movable sections or members hinged to the fixed sections or members, and springs connecting the movable and stationary sections or members for urging the movable sections or members upwardly,

4. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of depending buckets comprising relatively fixed stationary sections or members and movable sections or members hinged to the fixed sections or members, springs connecting the movable and stationary sections or members for urging the movable sections or members upwardly, rollers or wheels carried by the movable sections or members, and a rail arranged to receive the rollers or wheels when the movable sections are subjected to the action of the water.

5. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of buckets each comprising a station ary section having inner and outer walls and provided with a transverse end wall, and a bottom plate or member-hinged bot-ween the inner and outer walls and movable upwardly and downwardly, the outer walls of the buckets being arranged in spaced relation to permit the entrance of water.

6. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of buckets each comprising a stationary section having inner and outer walls and provided with a transverse end wall, a bottom plate or member hinged between the inner and outer walls and movable upwardly and downwardly, the outer walls of the buckets being arranged in spaced relation to permit the entrance of water, and the inner walls of the buckets forming substantially a continuous inner wall around the wheel.

7 A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of buckets each comprising a stationary section having an end wall and provided with inner and outer side walls, and a movable bottom plate or member hinged between the said side walls, the bottom plates or members of the buckets being arranged in overlapping relation;

8. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with an annular series of buckets each comprising a stationary section having an end wall and provided with inner and outer side walls, and a movable bottom plate or member hinged between the said side walls, the bottom plates or members 01 the buckets being arranged in overlapping relation, means for normally urging the hinged bottom plates or members upwardly, and guiding means for supporting the bottom plates or members when the same are swung downwardly.

9. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with buckets each comprising a stationary section having side walls and a connecting end wall, and a bottom plate or member hinged between said side walls and arranged to swing upwardly and downwardly and provided with side flanges adapted to limit the upward swing of the bottom plate or member, means for normally urging the bottom plate or member upwardly, and a rail arranged to support the bottom plate when the same is moved downwardly by the action of the water.

10. A device of the class described including a water wheel provided with buckets having hinged bottom plates or members provided with tapered free terminal portions and a race-way having an oppositely inclined bottom conforming to the contour of the pivoted plates or members when the latter are swung downwardly.

11. A device of the class described including an annular channel provided with an outlet and forming a race-way at one side of the outlet and a return passage at the other. side of the outlet, a rail arranged at the bottom of the channel, a water wheel provided with buckets having hinged bot tom plates or members having means to run on the said rail, and means for urging the bottom plates or members upwardly.

12. A device of the character described including an annular channel provided with an outlet and having a race-way at one side of the outlet and a return passage or channel at the other side of the outlet, said raceway and return passage being inclined and the channel, being provided ,at the upper ends of the said race-way and passage with a shoulder forming a wall for preventing water from entering the return passage, a flume connected with the annular channel at the upper ends of the race-way and return passage and provided with a wall or abutment forming an outlet, a hinged water controlling and defiectinggate arrangedat the said outlet, and a water wheel having buckets operating in the annular channel.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.- GEORGE WEBER.

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