US1663709A - Cooling device for valves and the like - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1928.

C. F. KETTERING COOLINGDEVICE FOR VALVES AND THE LIKE Ofizinal Filed Jan.l0, 1918 Witnesses Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

1r s ATas v 1,663,709 ATENT oFFica.

CHARLES E. KETTERING, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO DELGO-LIGHT COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

COOLING- DIJVICE FOR VALVES AND THE LIKE.

Application filed January 10, 1918, Serial No. 211,156. Renewed August 16, 1927.

cury, referred to herein asthe working me-' dium or working mercury, which vaporiz es orboils in contact with the heated surface, and the vapor is brought into contact with a heat absorbing or cooling surface.

A deviceof this character may consist of a valve or other engine part having ahollow body which is subjected to the heat caused by the engine operation. This valve contains a small quantity of working mercury, portions of which, when vaporized by the heat, pass upthe hollow stem of the valve into a cooling portion thereof, (preferably provided with coolin ribs), and the cooled or condensed vapor falls back to the working mercury, which process of vaporization and cooling dissipates the heat and materially reduces the temperature around the valve head.

It will be understood that the devices referred to are applicable not only to valves, but alsoto other other devices, wh1ch in operation are subjected to considerable heat and which it is desired to cool. However, as a specific cmbodiment of my improvements, the description whichfollows will be directed more particularly to'valves of engines of the character described. 1

Among the ob'ects of the presentin'vention are to provi e devices of the above character with improved means for facilitating the transfer of heat from the part to be maintained at a desired temperature or cooled; to increase the efliciency of valves of the kind above referred to, and to insure that the cooling action shall take place before the valve becom s too highly heated.

- In accordance wit my present invention, I provide devices of the character described with heat dissi ating or transferring bodies, as a result of w ich the valve or the like will be maintained in a cooled condition in an exarts of the engine, or to tremely effective manner. These heat transferring bod es may be a metalllc or amalgam coatlng or veneer on the interior of the hollow valve, and this heat transferring body appears to have the effect of facilitating the transfer of the heat from the metal of the valve to the working mercury, and vice versa. In other words, it'possesses the quality of providing good thermal contact, so

that heat readily flows from it to the mercury and vice versa, and also from'the metal ofthe valve to it,-and vice versa. 'As the result, the mercury is raised to a boiling point more rapidly than would be the case without any such. amalgam coating, and begins its function to cool the valve at a relatively early stage in its operation, and before the valve reaches an extremelyhigh. temperature. Moreover, when the working mercury is functioning to cool the valve, this veneer or coating of. amalgam or heat transferring medium appears to act as an effective intermediary to transfer the heat from the vaporized mercury to the metal of the cooling part of the valve, thereby coolmg or condensing the vaporized mercury indt aiding still further in dissipating the In order that my invention may be morereadily comprehended, I have described a preferred embodiment thereof herein with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows a valve in accordance with my invention in sectional elevation. For the sake of clearness the stem of the valve is shown greatly enlar ed.

Referring to the rawing, the valve consists of the hollow stem 20 and the head 21, tfiis head. consisting of the parts 22 and 23, t e the oint 24. and the part 23 being welded to the part 22 at the joints 25. The seat of the valve is approximately around the periphery of the'head 21 at the point 26.

The top of the valve stem is tapered at 30,

and this stem may serve to receive the an-' the valve. A plug34 closes the upper end part 22 being Welded to the stem 20 at.

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of the valve, and is welded thereto at its edges. A central opening 35, closed by a plug 36, may be provided for a purpose hereinafter described.

It is to be noted that the conical head of the valve encloses a chamber 40 of relatively narrow cross-section, and this chamber is provided in orderto form a receptacle for the working mercury 41, the arrangement being such that when the valve is heated, this mercury will boil and the mercury vapor will pass up towards the upper end of the valve stem, where it will be cooled and will then drop back to the valve head, as

described in the aforementioned co-pending application.

It is to be noted that the interior walls of the valve stem and the head are provided with a coating 42 of amalgam or heat-transferring medium, This coating is, for the sake of clearness, shown on an exaggerated scale in the drawing; but in practice it is generally relatively thin, the purpose of the coating being to facilitate the transmission of heat from the metal head of the valve to the working mercury in the interior of the valve, in order to initiate the boiling of the mercury before the walls of the valve become too hot, and also to facilitatethe transmission of heat from the mercury vapor to the walls of the valve while the cooling takes place. 7

I find that the best results are obtained by the use of amalgam coating, that is, an alloy of mercury and some other metal, and I find that if this amalgam be introduced into the valve, it will, in the course of the operation of the valve, become deposited upon the interior of the valve in the form 0 the coating 42.

The coating may consist of an amalgam of brass, which may be introduced either in the form of brass, or in the form of an amalgam, into theinterior of the valve in any suitable manner. For instance, it can be introduced at the time of brazing the joints of the valve by the use of brass as a brazing medium, an excess of brass being employed which passes into the interior of the valveand forms an amalgam with the mercury, which, in the operation of the valve, is transferred to the walls of the valve to form the coating 42. Or I may introduce a small quantity of an amalgam, through the opening- 35 at the top of the valve, which is thereafter plugged up and sealed hermetically as shown, and this amalgam is deposited upon the walls of the valve to form the coating 42 as herein described.

Instead of introducing an amalgam through the opening 35, a metal or metal compound ma be/ introduced, which will form an ama gam with the working mercur Various methods of amalgamating su valves and otherwise treating them are weaves described in the co-pending application of Thomas Midgley, Jr., Serial No. 211,224, filed January 10, 1918.

In the operation of my improved device, I find thatI- obtain markedly improved results from the introduction of another metal or amalgam as described herein. This I ascribe to the fact that; the metal or amalgam forms a coating on the interior of the wall of the valve which can be wetted by the working mercury and which facilitates the passage of heat from the metal of the valve to the interior metal and vice versa in a manner which appears to be absent in valves not having such a coating. As a result, I find that the valve in accordance with the present invention will be considerably cooler in operation than a valve which contains the working mercury alone. I believethat I am correct in describing the metallic coating as an amalgam or alloy of mercury, but it will be understood that I use this term generally to indicate the alloy or mixture of metals which is formed as a result of this .invention. 1

It will, of course, be understood that portions of the working mercury are continuously vaporized when the mercury reaches its boiling point; these portions pass up towards the upper part of the stem, and are there cooled and give up heat. The condensed mercury, thus transformed again into liquid form, falls by gravity back to the chamber in the valve head, thereby brin ing about a continuous and automatic coo lin operation; andthe device forming a self contained cooling system.

While I have referred herein to certain metals and amalgams which may be employed for the purpose of forming a coating or veneer herein, I wish it to be understood that other metals may be found to be suitable for the purposes of m invention, all coming within the scope o the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a device of the kind described including a hollow portion, a body of work ing mercury within said hollow portion, and a eat transferring body upon the interior walls of said hollow portion,

2. In a device of the kind described, in.- cluding a hollow portion, a body of working mercury within said hollow portion, and a metallic coating upon the interior walls of said hollow portion.

3. In a device of the kind described. including a hollow portion, a body of working mercury within said hollow portion, and an amalgam coating upon the interior walls of said hollow portion. a i

4. In a device of the kind described including a hollow portion adapted to be exposed to high temperature conditions, cooling means including a body of working mercury and another metal contained within the interior of said hollow portion.

5. In a device of the kind described, including a hollow portion adapted to be exposed to high temperature conditions, c001- lng means including a body of workin mercury and an amalgam contained within the interior of said hollow portion.

6. An engine valve formed with a hollow of said hollow portion.

8. In a device of the kind described, including a hollow portion, a fluid chemical element within said hollow portion, and a heat transferrin body upon the interior walls of said hol ow portion.

9. The method of facilitating the transfer of heat between mercury vapor and a metal body, which consists in causing the heat to traverse an interemdiate metal.

10. The method of facilitating the transfer of heat between mercury vapor and a metal body, which consists in causing the heat to traverse an intermediate amalgam.

11. The method of facilitating the trans fer of heat between a body of working mercury and another metal body, which consists in causing the heat'to traverse an intermediate metal in passing from one of said bodies to the other.

12. The method of facilitating the transfer of heat between a body of working mercury and another metal body, which consists in causin the heat to traverse an alloy of one of said bodies in passing from one body to the other. a

13. In a device of the kind described, including a hollow portion, a body of working mercury within said hollow portion, and a metallic coating upon the interior walls of said hollow portion, said metallic coating having the property of being wetted bythe working mercury.

14. An engine valve of the character described, comprising a hollow stem having a flared end portion, and.v means adapted to cooperate with said flared end portion to form a valve head, said flared end portion and said means being welded together about their circumferential edges, and said means comprising a cupped plate nested in said flared end portion.

15. An engine valve of the character described having a stem, and an enlarged head,

said head including a pair of plate members spaced apart to provide therebetween a hollow head, the one plate member being centrally secured to said stem and the other plate member being supported wholly by said first plate-member and secured thereto by welding about its peripheral edge, said plates being cupped and nesting with one an0ther..

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES F. KETTERING.

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