US1566170A - Steam engine - Google Patents

Description

.Dec. 15, 1925. 1,566,170

a. w. soul l-: ET AL STEAM ENGINE Fi y 14. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 15, 1925- 1,566,170

G. W. SQULE ET AL STEAM ENGINE Fi y 14. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 15, 1925- 1,566,170

G. w. SO'ULE ET AL STEAM ENGINE Fil y 14. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 3 & 3Z1 v v WGROHWQS I .Dec. 15, 1925. 1,566,170

G. w. soups ET Al. 7

sum ENGINE Filed July 14. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 G. W. SOULE ET AL STEAM ENGINE Fi y 14. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

UNITED STAT PATENT 'QYFEICE- GEORGE w. scorn, DEGEASED, Lease or MEaInmn; rssrssrrri; Bi: con'srnnon G. SOULE AND CLYDE WpSOULE, EXEoUnoIgs, or rtnmmniq, ivrrsslssrrnr; Ann CLYDE w. SOULE, OF MERIDIAN, rssrssrer r, essrenons To soULn'sT nM FE D WORKSLA conronn'rron or MrssIssrPrI.

STEAM GIN Apphcation f led July 14, H223. Serial No. 651,605.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that GEORGE W. SOULE, deceased, in his lifetime a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Meridian, Mississippi, and CLYDE V. SOULE,& citizen of the United States, and residing at Meridian, Mississippi, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam Engines; and it is declared that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in steam engines, and more particularly to engines in which directional rotation of the same is controlled by means of a reversing valve without the interposition of the usual reversing gear. The engine has been particularly designed for use in driving saw mill carriages in small or medium size mills with limited boiler power, but the engine is capable of much Wider application.

The inventionhas for its object'toimprove upon engines of the type indicated'in various particulars, among which may be mentioned the provision of a twin cylinder engine wherein the cylinders and frame are castin one piece so as to provide a sturdy engine and one which can be readily and economically manufactured; to so dispose the crank shaft in the engine frame as to permit direct coupling to either end thereof of the shaft or machinery to be driven; to provide means in connection with the engine frame which will permit the mounting of the reversing controlling gear on one side or the other thereof in accordance with .the requirements of the particular mill in which the engine is to be used; to provide an improved form of directional controlling means for the engine, such means including a special arrangement of steam ports and cylinde:= slide valve; and to orovide certain other improvements as will more fully appear hereinafter, and in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specif cation.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved engine; p Figure'LZ is aplan view of the same;

is rea and iew 9. the eng nes.

Fig. 4 isa front end view ofthe engine;

F ig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55, Fig. 2; I

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the steam chest with the cover removed;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-.7, Fig. 6; J

Fig. dis a plan view of the valve chest with the cover removed;

Fig. 9'is 'a sectional view taken on the line 99,"Fig. 8;

Fig. 14) is a sectional view taken on the line 10-10, Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a "sectionalvi'ew line 11- 11, Fig. 7;

' Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing the relationship between various ste m'passages; 'The im"'1-oved engine is made with two cylinders arranged side by side, and cast integrally with'a frame which supports the crank shaft and other mechanism of the engine, the one-piece cast structure being conveniently designated the engine block, and generally designated by the numeral 1. The forward end of the frame has spaced, forwardly projecting sections 2, the ends of taken on the .which'terminate' in bearings 3, within which the crank shaft is mounted. The frame adjacent the cylinders is provided with standards or legs 4 and the crank-sha-ft-en'd of the frame is preferably cast with a drip pan 5, and is also provided with standards or legs 6, the said legs 4 and 6 serving to support the engine. proper in spaced relation from its foundational support.

The two engine cylinders are indicated at 7 and are arranged side. by side in a horizontal'plane. The engine frame which proje'cts therefrom is of open construction and has upper and lower, parallelly extending cross head guides S, one set of guides for each cylinder. This arrangement of cross head guides with respect to the cylinders enables" the machining of the cross head guides by the same tool whichbores out the cylinders, and a very material saving both in time and'lab'or is thereby efiected, as will b re i y ppl etd y t se S l e in the art.

The outer ends of the cylinder are provided with the usual heads and which are amiab ner, as by cap screws 10. In order to enable the front cylinder head to be positioned and secured, the engine frame in front of the cross head guides 8 is provided with an enlarged opening 11, through which the front cylinder head may be passed. The front cylinder head is indicated at 12, and 1s preferably screwed into the cylinder as indicated at 13, the head being provided with the usual stuffing box 14.

The piston rod is indicated at 15, the piston head at 16, the cross head at 17 and the connecting rod at 18, these parts being of more or less conventional construction. The crank shaft is indicated at 19 and the connecting rod 18 is connected thereto by suitable bearings 20. Any suitable or preferred type of oiling system may be employed, oil cups 21 being shown for convenience in illustration.

The cylinders are provided with steam chests 23 at their lateral sides in such a manner that the valve seats lie in planes transverse to the horizontal.

Referring to Fig. 7, numerals 2 L indicate a pair of communicating steam ports, which may serve as conduits for live steam or exhaust steam depending upon the directional rotation of the engine, as will hereinafter be fully explained. The steam ports which lead to the respective ends of the individual cylinders, are indicated at 25, and these serve alternately as conduits for the admission of live steam into the cylinder in one direction of the movement of the piston and as conduits for the exhaust steam on the return movement of the piston, as will be readily understood.

Between the conduits or ports 25 is a port 26, which is similar to the ports 24, that is to say, the port 26 will serve as a conduit for live steam or as an exhaust port, depending upon the directional rotation of the engine determined by the position of the reversing valve, hereinafter more fully described. The slide valve which cooperates with the said ports is indicated at 27, and the valve stem thereof at 28. The back of the valve 2'? is provided with spaced seats or saddles 27, within which the valve stem 28 is received, and the latter is confined against longitudinal movement with respect to the valve by means of set collars 29 on the valve stem, said collars permitting relative adjustment between the valve stem and its valve, as will be readily understood. The outer end of the valve stem is slidabl received within the socket bearing 23 of the steam chest casing 23. The cover plate of the steam chest is indicated at 30 and is retained thereon in any suitable manner by cap screws 31. The stuffing box (the packing and nut not shown) through which the valve stem passes is indicated at 32, which latter is, of course, aligned with the socket bearing 23 at the opposite end of the steam chest.

In order to provide for the more efi'ectual seating of the valve 27 on the seat, there is provided a spring S, which is arranged between the valve 27 and the stem 28 therefor, the spring being conveniently made from spring wire, which intermediate its ends is looped about the valve stem 28, and has its free ends positioned in a shallow channel in the back of the valve. This manner of positioning the ends of the spring in the channel serves to prevent displacement of the spring along the valve stem. The spring S may be relatively light for reasons which will more fully appear hereinafter.

The end of the valve stems adjacent the stuffing box are provided with knuckles 33, which are connected to valve rods 3a, which in turn are connected to individual eccentrics 35, preferably cast integrally with the crank shaft and being arranged at an. angle of 90 with respect to the adjacent crank of the crank shaft, it being understood that there is an eccentric for each crank of the crank shaft, or in other words, for each cyl inder;

It will be noted that the ends of the crank shaft extend beyond its supporting bearings 3 in the engine frame for some considerable distance, and that the eccentrics 35 are disposed on the outer sides of the said bearings The terminal ends of the crank shaft 19 are tapered as at 36, in order to facilitate the direct coupling of the crank shaft to a shaft or other mechanism to be driven. Both ends of the crank shaft are tapered as said to permit coupling to be made at either end of the same depending upon the conditions in the mill in which the engine is to be used. The crank shaft is preferably a. cast member suitably cored. The crank shaft is cast with drum-like members 37 between the cranks and on either side thereof. and within these drums may be deposited heavy metal for counterbalancing the crank shaft.

The reversing valve for the engine is contained within the steam chest 38, located on top of the engine cylinders. The live steam pipe which leads to the reversing valve steam chest is indicated at 46, the cover plate of the chest being indicated at 14 and shown as secured thereto by means of cap screws 45. The reversing valve is a D-valvo as indicated at 41, and on its back, has a U- shaped saddle within which is received a valve stem 42, the latter being confined against longitudinal movement with respect to the valve by means of set collars 43 affixed to the rod 42 on either side of the saddle, as will be readily understood. The valve rod e2 passes through a suitable stuffing bog; 4H (the nut and packing therefor flow to the ports mechanism hereinafter specified.

The reversing valve il co-operates withv and 40, and. is of a size to completely cover these ports at one time. hen the reversing valve 41 is moved to open the port are) the admission of live steam from the steam piped-6, steam will flow through said port 2*Jto the ports 24. in the steam chest for the respective cylthree ports, 24, 26

inders, it being'remembered that the ports 2d are in communication. It will be noted that live steam-which enters the-ports 2a of the cylinder steam chest, meets the side of the slide valve 27. Referring to Fig. 7 and assuming that the slidevalve 27 is moved to the right, steam will enter the front steam port 25' at the left of Fig. F and enter the cylinder and :i'ert its eX- pansive force against-the piston, which will thereupon move toward the right. Steam from the other side of the piston at this time is being exhausted through the-other port 25 and into the port 26, this port being in communication with the port 26 in the reversing valve steam chest, by reason of the revs sing valve 41 having been moved to the right, it being in communication with the port d in said reversing valvesteam chest, the ports- .0 being in communication with the'exhaust pipe 6O (sce Figs. 1, 2 and 3) which is appropriately connected to the reversing valve steam chest. Asloig as the reversing valve 41-1 remains in position to all w the port 2 1 to be opened to ,live steam, the slide valve 27 will, move back and forth to admit steam from the ports 24 into the ports 25, and the engine will run in a given directioiuas will be readily appreciated- Assuming that it is desired to cause the engine to rotate in the opposite direction from that above indicated, the reversing valve 11 will'be moved to close the port 24 and to open the port 26. tolive steam. Inasmuch as the port 24. is now closed to live steam, it follows that no live steam will 2a in the cylinder steam chest. It will also be observed that the port 24' will be in open communication with the port $0 in the reversing vilve steam chest. It will be further remembered that the port 26 in the reversing; valve steam chest is in direct communication with the port 26 in the cylinder steam chest, and consequently live steam will flow to the port 26 when the reversing valve is in the last named position. Again assuming; that the engine cylinder slide valve 27 is at the right in Fig. 7, live steam will flow from the port 26 to the port at the rig-n of the said port 26. with the result that the steam will enter the cylinder between the piston and the front cylinder head 12. It "i l be recalled that when live f-steam was admitted to tlreports24i, that the to its seat.

steam entered the port 25 at the'leftof Fig. 7, wherebysteam, was entered into the cylinderbetween the back cylinder head 9 and the piston. As. long as the live steam is permitted to flow into the port 26, the engine will continue to rotate in its new direction.

When. the slide valve 27 moves to the left in its normal cycle of operation, the port 25 at, the right of the port 26 will be closed to live steam and brought into communication with the port 24 at the right,- of the port26. It will be recalled that the port 2ft is in communication with the port 24 in the reversing valve steam chest, and that this latter port is closed against live steam and is in open communication with the port 40, which latter is in communication with the exhaust pipe, as has already been indicated. Referring to Fig. 5, reference characters 2% indicate a continuation of the ports at and 2 1, and reference character 26 indicates a continuationofthe ports 26 and 26. I

It will nowbe seen that the direction of rotation of the engine is controlled by the reversing valve by admitting live steam into one or the other of theports 24l or 26. and that Whether or not the ports 24 and 26 serve as ports for live steam or as exhaust ports depends upon the positioning of the reversing valve 41. 7

It hasbeen pointed out that a spring S is preferably employed in connection with the. slide valves to hold them to their seats.

Inasmuch as the live steam does not enter the steam chest in a manner to exert pressure on top of the slide valves, as is the usual practice in steam engine construction, means are provide d in addition to the spring S to hold the slide. valves .to their seats,'such means including a port 61 throuszhthe slide valve through which steam may pass, and

exert pressure upon the exterior of the valve.

A check valve. preferablyin the form of a ball 62 (Fig. 11) is placed in the port 61 to prevent return of steam under pressure from the back of the valve. When the port 26 is supplying live steam, some of the steam will enter the port 61 and find its way into the steam chest and exert pressure to hold the valve to its seat. lVhe-n the ports 2 1- are the live steam ports, it is found that the steam which is being exhausted through the port 26 will pass through the port sufficient to exert suificient pressure on the back of the valve to hold the same to its seat, it being; remembered that the check valve 62 will prevent the return of steam from the steam chest through the port 61. Also any steam that may escape from the ports 2% and into the steam chest will assist in holding the valve the spring S in connection with the arrangement iust specified. is suiiicient to hold valve, in proper functioning position.

It any. a so ene e ed ut hat inasmu In anv event, it is found that as the slide valves have their faces arranged in substantially vertical planes, it is desirable to provide a bearing 22 at the lower edge of the slide valve, this bearing having an appropriate seat at the lower end of the steam chest, as will be readily understood.

It has been pointed out how the directional rotation of the engine may be controlled by the reversing valve. It will be remembered that the engine is primarily designed for operating carriages in saw mills. The operator who is controlling the engine to move the carriage, finds it highly desirable to have the carriage travel in the same direction in which the engine-controlling lever is moved. That is to say, if the lever which controls the engine is moved to the right, it is desirable that the carriage shall move toward the right and vice versa. In order to allow the engine to be readily adapted to this condition, there is provided between the reversing valve and the controlling lever therefor, a lever arrangement which will enable the directional rotation of the engine to be set as desired.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the stem 42 of the reversing valve projects beyond the stufling box some distance. Operatively connected with the valve stem 42 is a lever 48, which is anchored at one end to a post 50, which is screwed into a boss 49. This lever 48 is adapted to be controlled by a main controlling member 55, which projects upward from a rock shaft 54, which is mounted at one of its ends on a boss 53, which projects from the engine frame.

Projecting from the rock shaft 54 is a crank arm 56, to which is connected by means of a pin 58, a rod 57, which extends toward and is connected to the lever 48, there being a short section of link between the lever 48 and the rod 57. It will now be readily appreciated that the reversing valve can be controlled by proper manipulation of the controlling lever 55. If the assembly shown in Fig. 2 does not give the desired directional rotation to the engine for a certain swinging movement of the contrel lever 55, it is only necessary to change the lever 48 from a lever of the first class to a lever of the second class. In order to effect this change, there is provided an addi tional boss 49 on the other side of the valve stem 42 to permit the removal of the fulcrum post 50 from the boss 49 to the boss 49'. When the fulcrum post '50 has been positioned at the boss 49, the lever 48 will be positioned in such a manner that the end 48 thereof will be connected to the valve stem 42 and the intermediate joint 48 will he fulcrumed or connected to the post 50. The lever 48 is provided with an extra opening 51 so that the link 52 can be connected to the opening 51. By thus converting the lever 48 into a second class lever instead of a first class lever as shown in Fig. 2, means have been provided for moving the reversing valve in one direction or another with respect to the control lever.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 2 that a pair of bosses 53 is provided, one on each side of the engineframe, and that the terminal ends of the same are tapered. The provision of a pair of bosses is desirable in order to allow the controlling lever 55 to be positioned on one side or the other of the engine. It will, of course, be understood that the lever 48, which connects directly to the reversing valve, will be appropriately disposed depending upon what side of the engine the controlling lever 55 is to be placed. The bosses 53 are tapered so as to permit the rock shaft 54 to be readily positioned thereon. The rock shaft 54 is preferably a whole tube, as a piece of pipe, such as may be found about the mill where the engine is to be used. The pipe which is to constitute the rock shaft is slipped over the tapered part of the lug 58 and so positioned thereon as to have a free rocking fit. The other end of the pipe or rock shaft will be positioned in a suitable bearing (not shown) of any desired form.

It may be pointed out that a convenient form of connection between the lever 48 and the valve stem 42 includes a pair of set collars 42 affixed to the stem 42 on either side of said lever. The lever 48 is preferably yoked, as shown in Fig. 8, to receive the valve stem 42 and to receive the post 50.

Suitable means to provide for the taking up of wear between the various parts of the reversing controlling mechanism are preferably provided at the joints, and such means between the fulcrum post 50 and the lever 48 may conveniently take the form of a hexagonal nut 50, which will be screwed on to the post 50, the nut having diametral recesses or a hole passing therethrough for the recep tion of pivot screws 50, which will be screwed into the side bars of the yoke of the lever 48. A similar connection may be used between the lever 48 and the valve stem 42.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has been provided a.

twin engine which while particularly adapted to a special use, is nevertheless well adapted to various uses and which is simple in construction and not liable to get out of order. While the invention has been described with considerable particularity of detail, it is to be distinctly understood that no limitations are intended except as may be imposed by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a steam engine, means for reversing the directional rotation of the engine comprising a reversing valve for cont-rolling tWo independent steam ports, a control lever mounted at a point remote from the reversing valve, means between the control lever and the reversing valve for moving the. said -v valve by the control lever, said means including a lever of the first class connected to the reversing valve, said first class lever provided With means permitting the same to be changed into a lever of a difierent class to 10 permit the reversing valve to be moved in an opposite direction having given movement of the control lever.

In testimony whereof We hereunto afiiX our signatures.

CONSTANCE G. SOULE, CLYDE W. SOULE, Eeeeewtors 0f the Estate of George W. Soule, deceased.

CLYDE W. SOULE.

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