US1455586A - Stream-flow-controlling instrumentality - Google Patents

Description

May 15, 1923. 1,455,586

v HAJEK STREAM FLOW CONTROLLING INSTRUMENTALITY Filed April 12, 1923 ill/l a IG. v. F 2

Patented May l5, 1923,

VLADIMIR HAJEK, 0F PRAGUE, GZECHOSLOVAKIA.-

Application filed Apri112, 1923. Serial No. 631,577.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VLADIM R HAJEK, a citizen of Czechoslovakia, residing at Prague, Kgl. Weinberge, Czechoslovakia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stream-Flow-Controlling Tnstrumentalities (for which I have applied for patent in Germany, filed July 26, 1921, and in Czechoslovakia on May 9, 1921), of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to streamflow-controlling instrumentalities, andpertains more particularly to instrumentalities of this type wherein the movable element is capable of being raised bodily out of the channel and at the same timepermit the element to be moved between channel-closing and channel-open positions to control the water level in the dam or the dike being controlled by the instrumentality. Structures of this type'are generally of massive formation and are more or less difficult to move between the closed and open positions by reason of the extremely heavy weights that are required to be moved, this beingtrue especially where the instrumentality is designed to control a channel of considerable width.

Among the objects of the present invention are to minimize the weight and the size of the instrumentality while maintaining.

the efliciency, and also to provide an ar-. rangement which will permit the pressures of the confined water to aid in moving the instrumentality from its closed to its open position.

'lNith these general objects in view and others that will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims. I I

In the drawings forming a part of this application, and in which likedesignating characters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of one form of flow-controlling instrumentality.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the movable part or plate of the instrumentality.

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of a modified form of theinvention, showing a movement controlling arrangement employed, with the dam plate, I

Figure 4 is a vertical"cross-sectional view of another form of the invention, showing a valved opening in the dam-plate,

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another form of dam-plate, v

Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to 1 Figure 5, showing the dam-plate in shifted position, i

Figure 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another form of the invention,

Figure 8 is a detail-sectional view of a valve device which may be substituted for the movement-controlling arrangement of Figure 4.. I

Figures 1 and 2 show the dam-plate A in its flow-controlling position, the face of the plate being inclined upwardly to the horizontal and vertical in the direction of stream flow and thus slanting against the current of the water. The plate, in its rear, is provided with vertical supporting bars B at given intervals.

These supporting bars, which can I be constructed of concrete and integral with the dam-plate, have at their lower end metal insertions o which in their turn find support upon the inclined metal plate a of a low prop D suitably arranged in the bottom of the river. These props protrude from the river bottom only a few centimeters.

Dam-plate A has at its lower end a cushioning member 'if which'permits the darn plate to be closed watertight on the bottom of the channel. The supporting bars B can be connected with each. other by means of transverse members 9. a

In Figure 3 the dam. plate is shown as I adapted to be shifted manually to an open Here thesupporting bars B are ions C which engage curved racks O which are fastened to the shore-props Thus,

turning of the pinions G acts to lay the dam-plate flat backward. For-guiding of the lower end of the dam-plate, I provide A rollers C which move upon'segmental guiding rails O The outer supporting bars B are provided with pinion-segments Z2 which engage gearing formed on the bearing a.

The upper end of the dam-plate is shown.

as provided with an extension plate P, the

movement of which, by Shifting on its pivot to a horizontal position or belowthe hori zontal, serves to cause the water-level to lower from hto 72?.

Figure 4 is a dam-plate which moves to open position automatically. For this purose the lower half 2, 3, of dam-plate A, held in closed position by the pressure of the water exerted in the direction R, is provided with an opening (Z which is closed by aflap element of valve cl. Now, if this flap element is opened, thepressure of the water upon'the lower lialtQ, 3, or" the dainplate is lessened and the danrplate, because of the super-pressure upon the upper half 3, 4-, turns flat backward. The rapidity of this turning portion of the upper half can be regulated by the size of opening (Z and the full" or partly opening ot the same.

Figure 5 represents an arrangement whereby the supporting bars B are connect; ed with each other by a transversely running wall which stands perpendicularly to the dam-plate A. This wall C forms a part of the support for dam '-plate A, and also forms, with the dam-plate, the supporting bars and the bottom. of the channel,

a number of chambers the cross-sectional form' of WlllClf is shown by the reference numerals 1, 2 and 3, and which are connectedwith each other through the open space beneath the supporting bars. Thus they form in their eii'ect a single chamber. By means of controllable passageways f, with whichthe shore-props are provided, water from above the dam-plate can be brought into that chamber to produce a pressure therein on the side or the lower portion of the dam plate, so that the plate is subjected to different pressures above andbelow the normal line of thrust, thus caus-. ing the dam plate to turn to its horizontal position. 5

- In order to prevent this motion to be too sudden, the wall C is provided with opening e-.- just below dam-plate A. Now, the size of the two circulationchannels 7 is so proportioned that the quantity of water which flows through them equals the quantity of water which runs out of opening (a, then only. the pressure ot the volume of: water below the opening will be' effective in the chamber beneath the transverse wall C.

' But if the" quantity of water flowing through regulated. This, construction also allows the use ofthe'iextension valve P.

Figure 6 shows adamplate of the gen- .L l r llle SHOW'S 3. p 86 1.8 arrangement which permits the plate of Figure 3 to be turned over into its horizontal position rapidly. To this end the props oi' shores are provided with a section of a rack M- which turns upon a pivot J. Pinion C of the dam-plate engages this rack. Under ordinary operatiom'i'novement of the pinion causes dam plate A to tiltover because rack M is then held against edge m, n, of the prop bythe rotation of the pinion. In case of sudden pressure applied by the water upon the plate, it, together with the rack M, tilts over following the direction of the current.

, Figure 8 represents a valve which may be used to close the opening dot the damplate as described in Figure 4-. This valve rests with its upper end upon pipe or tube a", the latter being provided with a pinion' 9* which engages rack r on the lower side of the. valve. The lower end of valve N rolls, by means of roller is, upon dam plate A and is supported by reinforcing strip 7" and stopped by angle bar w. 1

As will be seen, the instrurhental'ity is practically produced by the movable .or

shittable element referred to aswthe dam plate, and which is made up of the face plate or member A and the supporting formations B. and the stationary element or.

with the movement provided by being ful crumed on the element D.

This general arrangement,disclosed 121 various forms in Figs. 1 to 6, presents the supporting formation as pre eQtmg rearwardly from face member A in a directio that is normal to the plane of the face member,- with the point of connection closer to the lower than to the upper edge of theface member,'

the position of the point of connection and the length of the supporting memberybeing? such that the'lower and the upper edges of the face member and the point of contact between the support-ingformation and the ele'' ment D-whieh can be considered as a susstaining formation-are relatively posi} tioned so that a cross-section of these parts will present these points in substantial, corresnondence to the apices of an approirimate right-angle triangle. is will be understood,-withsueh'an jarr rangement and with the face member in its inclined or channel-closing position, the fulcruming point of contact betwee the supportmg and the sustainlng formationswhich corresponds in general to the apex of the right angle of'the triangleis in proximity to the bottom of that portion of the channel below the plate, so that there is but slight obstruction to the flow of water past this sustaining formation when the movable element is shifted to its horizontal position. This is of advantage in that the direction of thrust is applied to a portion of the sustaining member that is practically the bottom of the stream itself. and hence requires but a comparatively small amount of built thrust-sustaining construction as compared with the general type of instrinnentality installations heretofore employed, especially under conditions where the instrumentality controls a stream of considerable width.

As will be understood this relative arrange ment which positions the face member edges and the fulcrum point of the movable element more or less similar to the apices of a triangle produces an effect that enables the change in conditions that are set up when the element is first shifted from its closing position to be of service in permitting the pressures on the face of member A to be effective in shiftingthe movable element to its horizontal plane; the flow of water heneath the face member, as the latter begins its opening movement, reduces the pressure on the lower portion of the face member, so that the pressure onthe upper portio of this member becomes superior and acts to carry the member to the horizontal plane.

In Fig. 5, this effect is extended in that it is not necessary to begin the movement of the movable element manually. In the form of Fig.5, the development of pressure within the chamber or chambers between the face member and wall C, serves to produce the effect of a counter pressure on the side of the face member opposite that which is being subjected to the pressure of the confined water, the result being that there is set up a difference i pressure values between the upper and the lower portions of the face member, thus enabling the superior pressure present on the upper side of the thrust line to become active and start the movement of the member away from this closing position, this in turn bringing into action the results-accruing from the flow of the water beneath the member.

What is claimed as new is 1. In the formation of dams, wherein the flow-controlling instrumentality is shiftable between channel-closing and. channel-open positions, an'instrumentality for this purpose including a shiftable element having a face member adapted to serve as a breast wall of the dam, said wall being shiftable toward and from the bottom of the channel and a support-formation projecting normal to said face member in the direction of stream flow and movable with said member during shifting movement between such positions, said face member and supportformation being rigidly connected, with. the I point of connectionintermediate the upper direction of stream flow, a cross-section of the instrumentality presentingthe upper and lower edges of the member and the point of contact of support formation and sustaining formation as relatively located in correspondence with the apices of an approximate right angle triangle of which said face represents the hypothenuse of the triangle, said support formation and the sustaining formation having relative fulcruming configurations to permit the element to shift so as I to pass the face member from its inclined plane position to an approximately horizontal plane while maintaining removable contact between the support and sustaining formations, the element having its movements about the approximate point represented by the apex of the right-angle of the triangle.

2. An instrumentality as in claim 1 characterized in that the supporting formation includes a wall having its Width extending, in the direction of projection of such formation from'the face member with the wall having a width generally less than the distance represented by the projection length of the supporting formation, the position of said wall relativeto the face memberbeing such as to produce a spaced relation therebetween to permit said wall to serve as a lowerlevel breast wall when the'face member of the element is shifted. into its inactive. horizontal plane. v

3. An instrumentality as in claim 1 characterized in that the supporting formation includes a wall having its width extending inthe direction of projection of such formation from the face member with the wall having a width generally less than the distance represented by the projection length of the supporting formation, the position of said wall relative to the face member being such as to produce a spaced relation therebetween to permit saidwall to serveas a lower-level bfea et Wall when theface men'1 less projeetien qf tfie fate member to prfo- 10 bet- 01 the elemenp is shifged ll 'l tO l tS lnacduce ecou ntel pregsu e effectlve on sald'por- 'tl'v horlzontal, plane, Said ell and. face. tlon of the face member.

member in the.;chan'f;el-clesing pdsition of In testimony whereof I affix mysignature.

5 the element being operative to produce a chamber in open mm'uni cetion With a con- I VLADIMIR HAJEK' trellable passagewedy ada pted to receive wa- VVitnesse: ter, from the damfat will be developpressure GINDY HAJKAVA,

, ithin thechanibef (Spposite the portion of RIEK.

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