US1484980A

US1484980A - Turbine wheel

Info

Publication number: US1484980A
Application number: US566396A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank M Zottoli
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1922-06-06
Filing date: 1922-06-06
Publication date: 1924-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 1941-02-26

Description

Eek 26 1924. 1,484,980

F. M. ZOTTOLI TURBINE WHEEL Filed Junes. 1,922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. M. ZOTTOLI TURBINE WHEEL Feb. 26, 1924.

Filed June 1922 2 Sheets-Shea FW him k b ,W W Ar-kys Patented F eb. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES FRANK M. ZOTTOLI, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TURBINE WHEEL.

Application filed June 6,

T 0 all "whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK M. ZOTTOLI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Turbine Wheels, of which the following is a. specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. V

The invention relates to a new and useful improvement in turbine wheels and systems, and is an improvement on the invention shown and described in an application filed by me December 3, 1921, Serial No. 519,7

One feature of the invention relates to the construction of the turbine wheel itself and its mount, and consists in so constructing the wheel and the float on which it is mounted that it will rise and fall as the water rises and falls.

Another feature of the invention relates to the construction of the channel or canal in which the turbine wheel is set so that the wheel will be driven in whichever direction the currentflows, and to accelerate and increase the force of the current.

Another feature of the invention consists in making the blades of the wheel hollow.

Another feature of the invention relates to the means for storing up water in a reservoir during the rising of the tide to furnish a source from which the flow will be controlled to drive the wheel or wheels at the change of the tide either full tide or low tide when the current is normally very slow or dead.

As is well known the flow of the tide has the strongest current when it is midway between high and low and from that point it diminishes as it approaches high tide or as it approaches low tide. One feature of the invention is to provide means whereby the rate of flow through the channel in which the turbine wheel is located will be maintained practically uniform throughout the various stages of the ebb and flow of the tide.

.Other features of the invention will be more particularly set forth and describedhereinafter.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description when'taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

1922. Serial No. 566,396.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a diagram of a system for a single channel and reservoir embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a system with a single channel and a double reservoir.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a system with a single reservoir and a double channel.

the upper set of blades in staggered relation tothe next lower set of blades on the same hub.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of one of the current controlling turbines shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of a modified arrangement showing a channel with two turbine wheels disposed in a row transversely of the channel and cooperating with each other. 1

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of float and mount for a wheel.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view showing the construction of one of the hollow blades and its pivotal connection with the hub of the wheel.

. Referring now to the drawings, A represents one of the turbine wheels embodying the invention which will usually be arranged in a system, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, containing a plurality of said wheels. The preferred form of such wheel, as shown in Figures 4, 5, 7 and 9, has a central hub 1, preferably made of some material which will float and is mounted on a shaft 2 in such manner that the hub is capable of moving up and down on the shaft and will rotate with the shaft. In the form shown the shaft- 2 is formed with longitudinal ribs 3 so that it is sort of star-shaped in cross section, thatis, itis formed with a plurality of radiating projections 3 and the barrel 4 of the hub l is formed with a cor responding set of grooves with which said star ribs 3 engage, so that the shaft will rotate with the hub and at the same time permit the hub to slide longitudinally thereon. Any other suitable" form of construction may be employed which will permit seated a flange 12- which engages over' the upperside of the head 7 of the shaft to hold the said shaft from rising up out of its bearflu the upperend of the shaft 2 is mounteda gear wheel 13 adapted to'engage with a gear, not shown, for transmitting movement to -the mechanism which is to be driven. Thepaddle blades 14 are pivotally con- 'nected with the hub 1 in series. around its periphery, as shown in Figures 4 and 9. Preferably the blades instead of extending the full height of the hub are divided into sections or into a series of sets one above another and with the blades of one section staggered with relation to those of the adjacent set above or below, as shown in Fig- 'ures 5 and 7. In Figure 5 there are shown three sets in vertical series. The object of arranging them in a vertical series and staggeredis in order that more uniform action may be obtained. The sectional feature is shown in my prior application, No. 519,- 7 53, previously mentioned but not in staggered relation. Y V

Each blade 14 is pivotally connected with the-hub at 15 as already described, and a stop member 16 is provided at the back side of each blade to limit the backward movement ofthe blade.

Preferably. each blade is made with a hollow interior 17, as shown in Figure 11, so that the blade may be light to aid in floating. 1 When thewater rises above the level of the top of the upper blade of the wheel, as viewed in Figure 5, the wheel will rise on the-shaft 2-by reason of the floating character of-the hub 1 and thereby at all times receive the full force of the current, as the current is stronger at the top than at the bottom. I v w l If the water fa'lls below the upper series of blades when the'wheel is at its lowest point, as shown in Figureb, then the blades 14 of this series will be-allowed to remain folded against the hub 'until they are brought into contact with the current again.

The hinged gate 18 is automatically operated by the current for two purposes,-one is toextend the amountof currentwhich strikes against the blades of the wheel, and the other, is to deflect the current so that it will be given direction toward the wheel to open the blades and concentrate the current.

. In.- the modified form of construction, shown in Figure 10, to allowfor'the' vertical sliding movement of the wheel, the shaft 21. i

is madefast tothe hub 22 of the wheel and the shaft 21 is vertically slidable in its bear-.

1 ing-23,-so that the shaft rises and falls with the wheel. The hub of the wheel is mounted in a float--24: having a passage 25 therethrough to allowrfor the passage of water.

-is employed, are intended to be set in a sluiceway having walls to direct the current or flow of water directlyagainst the blades of the wheel; A simple form of such con structi'on showing only a single wheel is illustrated in F iguret. "In this construction thesluiceway is provided with two vertical walls 3080 and the wheel is set on end i midway between the two walls. The'wheel isadapted tobe driven from right over to the left, as viewed in saidfigure and as will be plain from the disposition of the blades, as thecurrent should strike against the concave face of the blade.- As-shown in said the left. It isdesirable that the current figure, the current for the time beingis' sup- 'posed'to be flowing from the rlght-toward 7 should beslightly deflected from a straight I course through the sluiceway so as to strike as nearly as possible at right ang'les to the blades. The side walls 30' -3O of the sluiceway are preferably of just sufiicient distance blades are extended to the full, limit they will just graze by the side of thewalhas shown atthe upper: part of Figure 4:. "In

order to deflect the current in thatdirection, there is provided a vertical guide wall 81 extending toward the interior'of the sluice, way on a curvefromthe wall :30 on the op- "posite side from-that to which the current isintended to be deflected. Onthe diametrically opposite side-of the wheel there is anapart'fromeach other so that when the other curved guide 32 whichis so set as'to 7 ust allow the blades of'the wheelto graze r by on the latter part of th ir for-ward sweep. "so as to still keep the current substantially at right angles'to the plane of the blades.

This wall 32 issupplemented by a hinged V gate 18 to still continue the deflection of the;

current until it has passed the center and 7 serving a similar purpose as the gate 18. I On thelatter half of the rotation of the: wheel,

that is, when the blades begin to travel.

"waterandtherefore they will be folded or partially foldediagainstthe side of'thehub we ofthe wheel, as clearly shown in Figure t,

:until they swing around toward the front past the finger 18 once more ready to begin their forward movement again.

As already stated, the apparatus is intended to operate equally well whether the current is flowing in one direction or the other, and is, therefore, adapted to be used in tide water where the direction of cur- .rent will flow for a period in one direction and then will reverse and flow in the other direction. In order, therefore, to deflect the current when it is reversed so as to flow from left to right, as viewed in Figure i, there is provided a curved deflecting wall 31 similar to the [deflecting wall 31 but diametrically opposite therefrom, and there is also provided a deflecting wall 82 directly opposite the deflecting wall :32.

' It is well known that the current of tide water flows the slowest at the height of the flood and at the bottom of the ebb, and flows fastest at the intermediate stage, and it constantly decreases from said intermediate stage to the height of the flood or to the bottom of the ebb and conversely it increases from the two extremes to the middle.

One object of my invention is to provide means for controlling this normal variation, so that there will be a uniform rate of flow against the wheel at all stages. To this end I provide a sort of a gate at each end of the sluiceway in which are mounted a plurality of turbine wheels B placed parallel with each other and so constructed that they are somewhat elliptical in shape viewed in front elevation, as shown in Figure 6, that is, tapering from the middle toward the top and toward the bottom and placed as closely together as possible without interfering with each other. These wheels furnish a sort of check to the flow of the water, the greatest obstruction being at the middle of the wheels where they are widest and the obstruction diminishing toward each end. These are so set that the upper ends will be at about the level of the water when the water is at the highest and the lower ends will be at the level of the water when the water is at the lowest. It will thus be seen that the water will be the least obstructed where the spaces between the tapered portions of the wheels are the widest and the obstruction will be the greatest where the blades of adjacent wheels are nearest together and just clear each other. Thus the degree of check will vary with the variation in speed of the current due to changing level of the water and a practically uniform rate of flow will be maintained during all of the changes in tide level.

Preferably the wheels in these gateways are made in series one above another, as plainly shown in Figure 6. As shown in Figure 6 these wheels B are made in four vertical series. Those which are above the water will for the time being be inoperative. The diflerence in the sweep of the wheels in the different series is obtained by varying the size of the hubs, the diameter to be varied .according to the check required at the corresponding levels of flow.

It is not necessary that these check wheels shall extend :to the bottom of the sluiceway.

The shafts of these wheels are journalled in stationary bearings 3334, at the top and bottom respectively.

I also provide means to prevent blocks of ice and other floating articles to be carried into the sluiceway. In order to prevent the large blocks of ice from being carried in, I provide rows of posts 35 at each end of the sluiceway a short distance from the entrance and spaced apart from each other at any desirable distance. Preferably there are two rows, one rowoutside of the other, and the posts in one row are arranged in staggered relation to the posts in the other row. Preferably also the posts in each row are in a line which makes an angle at the center, as clearly shown in Figure 4, the vertex of the angle pointing outwardly like the prow of a boat, so that the lines of the posts will serve to deflect the blocks of ice or other large floating articles, like timbers, and throw them off to one side as well as preventing their passage between the posts.

In order to still further form a guard against smaller floating objects, I provide a sort of stop or nose 36 composed of aboard or boards which meet at an apex 37 in the middle and diverge backwardly, and this board extends across the entire end of the sluiceway from one side wall to the other. This board should not extend to the bottom but only a short distance down into the water, so that the water at all times flows freely under it. It should also extend for a short distance above the level of the water. In order that it may remain at all times at substantially the same height above the water and at a uniform distance below the top of the water, I attach theboard to floats 38, one at each end and one in the middle, and in order that the floats may be maintained in proper position I surround them with a guard formed in part by the side walls 30 and in part by walls 39, which together with the side walls 30 form float chambers for the floats 38. There is a narrow throat 4:0 to each chamber so as to allow the water to freely enter the chamber, but the throat is so narrow that the float cannot slip out.

As alread stated, Figure l shows the simplest form of construction having only a single water wheel which has a spread equal to the entire width of the sluiceway. In Figure 9 there is shown a construction for a double row of wheel-s in the same sluiceway. The sluiceway is broken away &

so that only one wheel of each row is shown.

In this case the sluiceway will be made the right and the blades on the upper side of the lower wheel are moving toward the left, and the wheelsare so constructed that at the point where the two blades come the nearest together they will just graze each other. At this point the bladesof the upper wheel are folded and those on-the lower wheel are the most widely spread. The folded blades of the upper wheel serve to deflect the current against the blades of the lower wheel, thus serving the function ofa deflecting wall. There will be provided, however, the deflecting

walls

31, 31 and 32, 32 connected with the

side walls

30, 30 for the same purpose as previously described in connection with Figure 4:. There is required only one pair of fingers 18. 18 for the two wheels instead of two fingers for each wheel.

As already stated and as is well known. there is a short time at the top of the flood and at the bottom of the ebb when there is no current at all, and for some period of time before and after the top of the flood, and

just before and after the bottom of the ebb there is very little current under normal conditions.

Oneobject of my invention is to provide means to compensate for this stagnation, and I accomplish this by storing up water in a reservoir at the flood of the tide which may be utilized to create an artificial current at the time when needed One simple form of this is shown in Figure 1. In this figure there is shown a sluiceway C bordered by the two vertical.

walls

30, 30 in which are shown a series of turbine wheels A. vAlongside ofthis sluiceway I construct a reservoir I) of which one side may be one of the vertical walls 30; of the sluiceway and having walls 41 on the opposite side and at the ends. This reservoir has communication, as indicated at 4:2, with the sluiceway, and this is controlled by a. gate 43. When the water is near the height of the flood the gateway will be opened so that the water will rush into the reservoir, and this will produce an increase in the rate of flow of the current in the sluiceway to compensate for the normal sluggishness at that stage of the tide.

The gate will be left open until the water flowing into the sluiceway has sufficient current to perform the required work without the assistance of the reservoir, and then the gate should be closed. The gate should be kept closed until at 'or'about the time when the tide is at the lowest,f and then the current being practicallyfdead't-he gate 43 should be opened so as to let. the water from the reservoir rush into the sluicewayf and produce a current to continue the driving of the wheels. The gates should be closed with the return of the tide after the water has gained suflicient current or head to perform the work required, and remain closed until at or about the top of the tide when the gates should be opened to again fill the reservoir as before.

In themodification shown in Figure 2 there are provided two. reservoirs D, D, one on each side of the sluiceway. By this means the sluiceway may berflooded from both sides. i

In this form of construction the end walls 45 of the two reservoirs are formed with walls which converge toward each other outwardly and are inclined to the side walls of the sluiceway. This is for the purpose of producing a deflection of the water.

In-the modification shown in'Figure 3, there is shown a single reservoir D of somewhat oval form, and a sluiceway C, which at each end of the reservoir divides into two branches C -C which pass around on opposite sides of the reservoir and unite again at the opposite end. There'is a' gate 43 at one end of the reservoir, and a second gate 44 across the sluiceway at's'ome distance away from the reservoir after the two branches are reunited so as to. prevent the water from flowing out while the reservoir is being filled.

lVh-at I claim is: V

1. In combination with'a sluiceway, a plurality of turbine wheels arranged in a row transversely of the sluiceway, each of said wheels having blades with hubs which have the greatest diameterat the middle of the axial length of the hub, and which have a diminished spread from the middle toward each end, whereby the clearance space be tween the several wheels in each row is greatest at the top and at the bottom of the wheel and diminishes toward the middle.

2. A turbine wheel having blades with hubs which have the greatest diameter at the middle of the axial length of the hub and which have a diminished spread'from the middle toward each end.

3. In combination with a sluiceway so lo.- cated in a body of water that there is a constant flow of water therethrough, a plurality of turbine wheels each mounted on a vertical shaft in said sluiceway and ar ranged in series lengthwise of the sluiceway, a reservoir extending alongside of the sluicewa surrounded by an enclosure, one side of the enclosure comprising a wall which separates the reservoir from the sluiceway and having a gateway from the reservoir into the sluiceway, a gate whereby the said way may be opened and closed at will so as to admit water from the sluiceway into the reservoir and to release water from the reservoir into the sluiceway, and a plurality of turbine Wheels arranged in a row transversely of the sluiceway at each end thereof to regulate the rate of flow of the water from the sluiceway, each of the turbine wheels in said series having blades with hubs which have the greatest diameter at the middle of the axial length of the hub and which have a diminished spread from the middle toward each end, whereby the clearance space between the several wheels in each row is greatest at the top and the bottom of the wheel and diminishes toward the middle.

4. In combination with a sluiceway located in a body of water having a current which flows through the sluiceway and. which has a varying level at difierent periods, a turbine wheel mounted on a rotary, vertical driving shaft in said sluiceway, and a plurality of current regulating turbine wheels arranged in a row transversely of the sluiceway between said first turbine wheel and each end of the sluiceway, said current controlling wheels each having blades with hubs which have a diminishing spread from the middle toward the top and toward the bottom, so that the clearance space between the several wheels in each row is greatest at the top and at the bottom of the wheel and diminishes toward the middle, whereby when the level of the water is at the line Where the said hubs have the greatest spread there will be offered the greatest resistance to the flow of the water and the resistance will be diminished as the level of the water rises above or falls below said middle line.

5. In combination with a sluiceway located in a body of water having a current which flows through the sluiceway and which has a varying level at different periods, a turbine wheel mounted on a rotary vertical driving shaft in said sluiceway, and a plurality of current regulating turbine wheels arranged in a row transversely of the sluiceway between said first turbine wheel and one end of the sluiceway, said current controlling wheels each having blades with hubs which have a diminishing spread from the middle toward the top and toward the bottom, so that the clearance space between several hubs in each row is greatest at the top and at the bottom of the wheel and diminishes toward the middle, whereby when the level of the water is at the line where the said wheels have the greatest spread there will be offered the greatest resistance and the resistance will be diminished as the level of the water rises above or falls below said middle line.

6. In combination with a sluiceway located in a body of water so that there is a flow of water therethrough, a turbine wheel mounted on a rotary shaft in said sluiceway, an anchored floating stop at the entrance to the sluiceway extending transversely thereof so that the stop will rise and fall with the rise and fall of the water in the sluiceway, said stop extending for some distance above and some distance below the level of the water but having at all times an open passage for water below the stop.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FRANK M. ZoTToLI.