US1877102A - Hydraulic control means - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 13, 1932. F. N. wHrrEsELl. 1,877,102

HYDRAULIC CONTROL MEANS Original Filed Nov. 6, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet' l Sept. 13, 1,932. F. yN. wHlTEsELL HYDRAULIC CONTROL MEANS originenA Filed Nov. 6, 1926 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 13, 1932. F. N. wHlTEsELL HYDRAULIC CONTROL MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 original Filed Nov. e. 192e lNVENToR i Patented Sept. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES FREDERICK N. WHITSELL, OF' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO FAIRBANK-S, 'MORSE & l

PATENT OFFICE /1 CO., 0F CHICAGOQILLINOIS, AA-CORlPORATION OF ILLINOIS `HiDRAULIc CONTROL Manns4 Original application filed N ovember,

4ling the winding drum of automatic hoists,

whereby the bucket or skip will be hauled up to the storage bin, dumped, lowered to the loading hopper and started on its upward trip again without any attention from an attendant.

l .Another object of my device is to provide automatic hydraulic controlling means for a drum hoist, which prvides maximum safety i in operation, and which has means associated therewith for automatically stopping the drum in' case the regula-r cycle of operation is interrupted o r interfered with for any cause, y

A further obj ect of my invention is to provide means whereby the hoisting mechanism `.is automatically `,stopped whenever the pressure in the hydraulicvsystem is, for any cause, lowered beyond a pre-determined value.

A stillfurther object of-my invention is to provide, in a hoisting mechanism of the class described, a control cylinder and piston -having means for retarding the action of the piston for any pre-determined length of time and at any predetermined position of the pis- Further objects and advantages of this invention'will appear from the drawings and the description thereof, and from my co- 'pending application, Serial No. 146,7 20, filed Nov. 6, 1926, issued as Patent No. 1,7 66,236,

June. 24, 1930, of which the present subjectA matter` is a'division. A Although my invention consists lar ely 1n the construction and arrangement o parts hereinafter described and particularly pointl ed out in the claims, yet I do vnot limit -my invention to theprecise form or construction. of parts shown or the several parts thereof,

inasmuch as .various alterations may be made without-changing the scope of my lnvention. In theV drawings, Fig. 1 is a'dlagrammatio 1926, Serial No. 146,720. Divided and this application led February 10, 1928. Serial No. 253,412.

showing of a preferred form of my hydraulic system; Fig. 2 is a detail elevation, partly in section, of the hydraulic operatingv cylinder and valve; Fig. 3 is a' fragmentary detail view of my control-piston valve stem; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4 4 in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view, taken along the line 5-'5 in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevationy of a modified form ofv my valve stem and operating pistofn; Fig. 7 is an elevational view of a modified form of valve stem; and`Fig. 8

is a sectional elevation of a modified form of myV valve ring; Fig. 9 isa plan view of a preferred safety cylinder; Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation taken along theline 9-9 in Fig. 9 and showing, in addition, the safe-V ty control rods and lever; Fig. 11- is a fragmentary view of my safety control rod and lever shown in Fig. 10, but shown in a neutral position.

rllhe reference characters o f the drawings represent like parts throu hout the several views, and are the same as t ose. appearing in my application of Serial No. 146,720. The same system of reference is used in order better to co-ordinate the subject matter of both the present and the parent applications.

It will be understood that the hydraulic operating mechanism or motor herein described is but one example or embodiment of the present invention, and that substantial changes may be made in the described construction without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, and its underlying principles. The present example is arranged for operative connection with a control shaft,

such as 52, by the movements of which av full 'automatic control of other mechanism, such as a drum hoist, is effected. The connections between shaft 52 and the hoisting mechanism` proper form no part of the present invention,

but may .be made as set forth in my co-pending application', mentioned above.

The control shaft 52 may be 'operated by means of hand lever 53, preferably rigidly atmatically by means of a preferred form of my hydraulic operating mechanism through quadrant Gland link 62. Quadrant 61 is tached thereto, or it may be operated auto- Y My hydraulic operating mechanism preferably consists of an operating cylinder 68 having a double ended piston 69, adapted to operate therein (see Fig. 2). A rocker arm 7 0, preferably having afixed pivot 71', car- ,under the action of springs 7 8.

ried` in any suitable manner by cylinder 68, is preferabl lemployed to` connect piston'69 to link 62 W ich operates quadrant 61. Piston 69 is preferably provided at each end with a workin head 72 and 72, each of which heads prefera ly carries a sliding stemrnember 73 and 73 attached thereto in any suitable manner, and preferably haviiig a lluted cross section as shown in Fig. 5 with the exception of 'solid portion 79. 74' and 74 designate the cylinder head members for cylinder 68, preferably provided with openings 75 and 7 5 through which stems 73 and 73 are adapted to project. End- caps 76 and 76 are preferably attached to cylinder heads 74 and 74, serving to enclose stems, 73 and 73 when at the outer end of their strokes. Within the cylinder heads, and preferably adapted to surround each of the stems, are annular valve rings 77 and 77 ,-preferably held apart by meansl of springs 7 8. ,These rings preferably form a close movable'it about thestems and preferably bear againstthe inner end of the end- caps 76 and 76 and the shoulder 78 of cylinder heads 74 and 7 4 respectively,

The function of the inner valve ring 77 is, to co-act with a solid portion 79 (see Fig. 4) on stems 73 and 73 to close completely openings 75 and at such times when the piston has moved to positions where the solid portions 79 are directly in contact with the rings 77 Byass valve openings 80 and 80 are preferab y-provided in the cylinder heads so as to connect the interior of the cylinder heads with the interior of the cylinder 68 at either end. These by-pass valve openings are preferably controlled by means of adjustable needle valve members 81 and 81 which may be `provided with suitable lock nuts 82 for maintaining any desired adjustment. Suit- - able pipes 83 and 83 are preferably provided and adapted to connect the interior of'each of said cylinder heads 74 and 74 with a four- Way valve 84. Valve 84 is connected with an inlet pipe 85, a drain pipe 86, and may be provided with a rotary valvemember 87, having' passages 88 and 89 therein and adapted to connect each of thelcylinder head pipes 83 and 83- alternately to the inlet and to the drain.` lA suitable. lever servesto'operate the valve member 87.

It will be understood that while Ishow a valve of the rotary type, I do not limit my- Lerares self to the use of any particular type .of valve or valves for performin these functions.

ber 87 rotated so as to connect pipe 85 to pipe 83', it will be seen that fluid under pressure will be applied to working face 72 of piston 69 .through the luted passagesof` stem 73 and through opening 75. At the same time, pipe 83 of cylinder head 74 will be connected to drain pipe 86 and the pressure" on working face 72 will be reduced substantially to atmospheric. The piston 69 will therefore be moved to the left (in the gurel' the fluid ahead of face 72 being discharged through opening 75, ,the'iuted passages in stem 73 and pipe 83, into drain 86. As piston 69 moves to the left it will rotate control shaft 52 in a clock-wise manner through rocker. arm 70, link 62, quadrant 61 and lever 53. This movement of the control'shaft may be used, for example, to stop the hoisting mechanism at either-limit of its travel. If this is the case, a certain time lag is desirable for the hoist to load or unload. To

this end, it is necessary to retard the action of piston 69 at this point. tions 79 of the stems 73 and 73 are preferably so placed that when piston 69 has moved the controls into the position referred to above, they will start to .co-act with valve rings 77 to close openings 75 and 75 into the cylinder. In the preferred construction shown, the tension of springs 78 is preferably so adjusted that the pressure of the fluid being forced out of the cylinder will move the ring -77 away from shoulder 78 slightly so as to cause the solid portion 79 to coincide with ring 77 at that end of the piston which is receiving the pressure, slightly in advance of their coincidence at the discharge end. This prevents the building up of a sudden pressure at the discharge end of the piston and insures that the pressure at the pressure end will always be in excess of that at the discharge end. It will be noted iny Fig. 2, that ring 77 controlling opening 75 has moved away from shoulder 78 under the action of the outgoing fluid ahead of working head 72. Once the solid portions 79 have moved into coincidence with rings-77' The solidv por? .s-LI

it is evident that no further movement of I piston 6 9 will ltake place unless pressure be applied v1n some manner'to the working face. This is accomplished by means of the by-pass openings '80 and l80 controlled by needle valves 81r and 81.A By setting these valves "at a pre-determined position, any amount of fluid 'desired may be admitted -behind the working face o f the piston, and by this means move ring 77 against shoulder 78 of head 74 due to the drop in pressure of the outgoing fluid ahead of face 72. Fluid under pressure will continue to be admitted behind face 72 of piston 69, however, through bypass opening 80 and Huid will be permitted to escape from in front of face 72 through by-,pass opening 80. Piston 69 will continue to move, therefore, but it will move very slowly, the rate of movement being controlled by the needle valves 81r and 81. After the solid portion 79 on stem 73 has moved past the ring 77 full volume will be admitted behind face 72 through opening 75 and piston v69 will begin to move more rapidly to the left (Fig. 2). At this instant the consequent rise in pressure ahead of face 72 will force ring 77 away from shoulder 78 of cylinder head 74 and opening 75 will be completely uncovered to permit substantially unrestricted loW of fluid out of the cylinder ahead of face 72. Movement of the piston to its extreme left hand position (Fig. 2), moves the control shaft52 in a clockwise direction,

for example, to start the operation of the hoist. When the skip or bucket of the hoist has reached the end of its travel, suitable mechanism (not shown), serves to move a lever 90 to actuate a four-way valve 84 to the dotted position in Fig. 2. A suitable 'operating control for valve 84 may be seen by reference to my co-pending application referred to above. The described movement of the valve 84 connects a pressure inlet pipe 85 to a cylinder head pipe 83 of cylinder head 74, and connects a drain pipe 86 to pipe 83 of cylinder head 74. The piston 69 now moves tothe right, (Fig. 2) with an effect on control shaft 5,2 similar to that described above, except that the movement is reversed, with respect to directions of motion. The described provision for a neutral position, atime-lag, or loading or unloading interval of a hoist, may be made during each direction of piston movement. It is usually advisable that the motion of piston 69, once a reverse pressure is applied thereto, is very rapid, and that the retarded motion of the f piston through neutral may be made as slowly as'mdesired. The various movements of the piston and the time periods thereof, may obviously begregulated to suit the requirements of the mechanism to be controlled by shaft52, or its equivalent. v In Fig. 6 I show a modifiedform of my valve stem 7 3. Inthis form I prefer to attach the valve stem to the working face 72 At almost the same heads.

by K ans of-a threaded portion 205,adapted to be screwed into a tapped hole 205 in y the working face, and held in any desired position by any suitable means such as lock nut 206. It will thus be seen that the relative position of the valve stem may be adjusted with respect to the piston and that the retarding action as described above, due to the co-action of solid portion 79 and valve rings 77 may be made to occur at any desired position of the piston. By providing my valve stems withv a plurality of solid lportions 79 it is evident that I may secure the above described retarding action at a plurality of positions of the piston. In

Fig. 7 I show a form of my valve stem having two such' solid portions 79 and it is evident that anynumber may be employed.4

` From an examination of Fig. 8 showing r a modified form `f my valve ring 7 7, it will be seen that by varyingthe dimension X of the valve ring, I may vary the length of time Vit will take for solid portion 79 to move past the valve ring, and therefore vary the period of retardation of the piston. This would permit a variation of the period of retardation for any given setting of the bypass valves described above, since for any given setting of the by-pass valve, thegreater the dimension X, the greater will be the period of retardation. VVhileI show a valvel ring 77 adapted t0 co-act with the solid portion or portions 7 9` on thevalve stems, I may eliminate the ring member 77 entirely by proportioning the valve stem and the openingsv and 75 such that the stem makes a tightmoving fit in the opening. Such a construction would operate just as effectively to close openings 75 and 75 at the desired times, but would require more accurate machine work in aligning the piston and valve stems with the cylinder The elimination of the valve rings 77 would not, however, make my invention inoperativein any sense.

When the described hydraulic operating mechanism is utilized for the control'of auto- -matic machinery of any kind, for example an automatic hoist, it is advisable to make provision for an emergency, such as failure'of pressure, for any reason, in the hydraulic system. Such provision is made in the present instance, by ,la safety mechanism, a preferred if Lerares @take the threaded ends of bolts 132. The

heads of these bolts are adapted to bear against flange 133 of head 126, and the function of the bolts is to maintain the relative position of cap 130 and member 129. It

` will be seen that as bolts 132 are screwed into lugs 131, cap 130 will be moved to the left as arsimple and positive means for adjusting ythe compression of a resilient member, such as spring 134 adapted to operate lwithin the chamber' 135 formed by member 129 and the inner surface of cap 130. Spring 134 is.,v adapted to operate between the inside end of cap 130 and a piston 136, to force the piston to the left in cylinder 125 (Fig. 10). Piston 136 preferably carries a piston rod 137 which projects through opening 138 in cap 130 and is supported at its free end by means of any suitable bearing member 139. The compression of spring 134 is so adjusted, by means of bolts 132, that when the fluid pressure within cylinder 125 ahead of piston 136 falls below a pre-determined value, the spring will move the piston 136 and rod 137 to its eXtreme-head-end position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 10. The compression is such, however, that when the fluid pressure in the hydraulic system reaches a predetermined value, the consequent pressure upon lpiston 136 through the agency of pipe connection 128 will force the piston to the right against the pressure of spring 134 to the posiv .means of the pins 141 and are provided at their opposite ends with slotted members 143, Within which rollers 144, at either end ofv double-ended lever 145, are adapted to operate. Lever' 145 may be secured to control Y shaft 52, either by 'a key, or through some suitable form of clutch, (not shown), to permit disengagement of the safety mechanism isl desired.

- The operation of my described form of safety device will be readily seen by an` eX-v amination of Figs. 9., 10and 11. When the mechanism is operating normally, and full pressure is maintained in the hydraulic sys-A tem, piston 136 and rod 137 will occupy substantially the position shown in Fig. 10. Rods 142 will therefore have 'substantially the position shown with respect to lever'145 and it will be seen that, due to the pivoted mountings of rods 142 and the length of the slots` in members 143, lever 145 may be rotated either clockwise or counter-clockwise with when manual operation of the control shaft control shaft 52 during normal operation. This is shown by the dotted positions of lever 145 ,in Fig. 10. Should the hydraulic presf' sure in the system fall below a pre-determined lpressure, for any reason, spring 134 will move piston 136 and rod 137 to the left in Fig. 10 until slotted members 143 have reached the position with respect to lever 145 and rollers 144, shown in Fig. 11. Due to the fact that cross head 140 is rigidly held on rod 137, the effect of the left-hand move-` ment of rod 137 will always be to move lever 145 .to the vertical position shown. This is 'for y evident from an examination of the dottedv sible, the effect of a drop in pressure in the hydraulic system will always move lever 145 to a vertical position.r Since lever 145 is preferably so connected to control shaft 52 that when the lever is in a vertical position, the shaft is so set that all controlsare in neutral, it is evident that a drop in pressure in the hydraulic system, for lany reason, will immediately and automatically set all controls in neutral and stop the hoist or other equipment.

The-major parts of the hydraulic system have been described in detail above, preceding the following descriptive matter relating to the pressure supply means and the, fluid connec'ting conduits. The last mentioned description will be more readily understood when presented in this order.

A preferred arrangement of my'hydraulic system is shown in Fig. 1.

adapted to be driven from a suitable source of power. Pump 156 is connected at its suctionv In this ligure, 156 denotes a pump of any suitable type.

pipe 85. Pipe 85, as described above, is connected at one end to the four-Way control valve 84, and it is preferably connected at the other end to the base 162 of an accumulator,

whose function it is to .maintain a constant Vpressure yin the hydraulic system. The pres- 4 '177 is connected to pressure release valve 117 at one end, and at the otherend to each end of operating cylinder 68 through one-way checkvalves 17 8 so that if for any reasonthe pressure at either end of piston 68 rises momentarily above .the normal pressure in the System, this increase in pressure will be rei lieved through these check valves, andluid .will ioW from' the cylinder into the safety pressure system until normal pressure' is restored. Pipe 128 to the safety cylinder 1 25, is connected to pipe 17 7,as shown, so that cylinder 125 will be at normal operating pressure at all times, as described above. Pressure release valve 117 is connected at its outlet opening (not shown) to drain pipe 86 by means of pipe 86, so that if valve 117 is opened, as eX- plained above,` the pressure in pipe 177, and

consequently in pipe 85, will drop to atmospheric, and the safety cylinder 125 will return all controls to neutral and stop the driven mechanism. Pipe 86provides for the return of fluid to the system through pipes 86 and- As a means for cutting-off the pressure to the Control. valve 84, land consequently, to the control cylinder 68, immediately the pressure release valve 117 operates, I prefer to insert a cut-off valve 180 in the pressure pipe 85. Valve 180, which may be of any suitable construction, is controlled by means of a stem 181, a lever 182 pivoted at 183 and' attached at 184 to a plunger rod 185. A suitable adjusting Weight 186 is also-attached tothe free end of lever 182. Plunger rod 185 may be operated by anyY suitable form of plunger (not shoWn)` Working in cylinder 187 and connected to the safety pressure system through pipe 179. It will be seen that as the fluid pressure is built up in the pressure and safety systems, the plunger (not shown) in cylinder 187 will be forced upward, under the action of this pressure, thereby opening valve 180 against the action of Weight 186. As soon, however, as pressure release valve 117 releases the pressure in the system, Weight 186 will close valve 180, thereby permitting the pressure in b'oth ends of cylinder 68 to drop to atmospheric. Thus when safety cylinder 125 returns the controls to neutral, it will not have to move piston 69against a pressure, and the setting of shaft 52 Willnot be retarded. l l

In operation, it Will be seen that as soon as pump' 156 is operated, it Will begin to build up a fluid pressure in the main pressure pipe 85 and safety pressure pipe 177', which pressure is maintained atsubstantially a constant value by means of the accumulator. As soon as this fluid pressure is 'built up, cut-olf valve` 180 opens and the mechanism is ready for operation. If. for any reason, release valve 117 is tripped the pressure in the safety system Will at once fall to zero. cutfofl' valve 180 Will close, and safety cylinder 125 Will act to set i, to its closedposition, and until the fluid pressure has hadsuliicient time to re-set safety cylinder 125 in its normal running position4 through the restricted feeder pipe 178 and open cut-olf valve 180.

From the above description of parts and their operation, it will be seen that I have provided. a complete hydraulic control system, susceptible of a variety 'of modifications for different uses,'the essential featuresof which may be vemployed for direct actuation of certain types of apparatus, as Well as for effecting an automatic control thereof.

` I claim:

1. In a hydraulic control system, a cylinder having a fluid supply opening therein, a piston in said cylinder, a Huid valve assembly for said cylinder comprising a supply valve member carried by said piston said` member having a passage extended into the cylinder, and a valve portion fixedly spaced from the piston face and a second valve member having an opening therein adapted to receive said first namedl valvemember, said valve members coacting to open and close said supply opening.

2. In a hydraulic control system, a cylinder having a fluid supply openlng in one of its Walls, and a piston4 1n said cylinder, a fluid supply valve assembl for said cylinder comprising a valve mem er adapted to be actu` ated by'said piston and including a valve portion Xedly spaced from the piston face, a spring pressed valveV ring adapted to receive and co-act with said valve portion to control the passage of fluid through the opening in said cylinder.

3. In a uid operated mechanism, a double-- ended operating cylinder having a fluid -supply opening at each end thereof, a piston lfor controlling admission of fluid through said openings. v

4. kIn a fluid actuated mechanism, a doubleended operating cylinder having a fluid supply opening at each end thereof, a piston havin a Working face at each end thereof and a apted to opera-te in said cylinder, means external to the cylinder, for the selective application of fluid pressure to said faces, a movably disposed valve seat for each of said supply openings, and valve members carried by said faces each equally and xedly spaced therefrom and adapted to coact with said valve seats for substantially closing said openings at a pre-determined position of the piston.

5. In a hydraulic actuating mechanism, a cylinder having an opening in a Wall thereof,

a fluid-operated vpiston in said cylinder, a

longitudinally grooved rod constituting a valve element secured to the piston, and having a portion of even diameter, said. rod 'extending through said opening and said even portion adapted to serve as a closure for v closure means for the port, including a rod member secured to the piston, and extending through said port, the rod having portions of different cross section,-a,n auxiliary port, adapted to admit fluid to supplement the flow-through said supply port,and means associated with the auxiliary port adapted to controlthe movement of fluid therethrough. 8. In a hydraulic motor, a cylinder, a uid supply port therein, a piston therein, and means for retarding the supply of fluid to the piston between limits of its travel, said means including a" pair of-valve elements,

one of the elements having an aperture therein adapted to receive the other element,

whereby said elements are adapted to coact to close said supply port, one vof the elements being aflixed in spaced relation I, to-

the piston, y l

9. In a -hydraulic motor, a cylinder having a fluid supply port, a piston operable in the cylinder, and means for retarding the supply of fluid to the piston for a predeter-l mined period between limits of its travel, 40 said means comprising a rod member affixed to the piston, a pair of valve elements carried by the rod member and movable into coincidence adjacent said port; and means for i regulating 'said periodof retardation of the piston.

' l0. ln a hydraulic motor, a'cylinder having vvan inlet port, a piston operable in the cylinder, and means for arresting the move- P ment of lthe piston for a predetermined peri'od between its limits 'of travel, said means .including a valve having a closure element arranged to reciprocate with the piston and a resiliently positioned, apertured. member lcarried and adapted for actuation by said element, the member and element coacting to constitute a closure for the inlet port.y

l1. A hydraulic motor comprising a cylinder, a piston operable therein, means forming a port for admitting fluid to the cylinder, @and means, vincluding' an element afiixed to the pistoman apertured member ca'rriedby the element and yieldably positioned adjacent said admission port, said member adapted to be moved by said element into registration With a portion thereof, whereby to nemica between its limits of travel; one of said valves comprising a valve-member carried by the piston anda spring-pressed ring providing a seat for said valve member, the other of said valves comprising an adjustable port, adapted to admit a reduced volume of Working fluid when said first named valve is closed.

13. In a fluid pressure mechanism, an operating cylinder, a Apiston adapted to move therein, a passage for supplying fluid to said cylinder, and means actuated b y said piston for automatically varying the quantity of fluid` admitted through said passage, said means including a-rod member having a portion-of relatively enlarged cross section, and a spring pressed sleevevmember, each ofsaid members arranged for movement by the piston one of 'said members being affixed to the pi om-and carrying the other member, said members adapted forrelative movement7 one along another to control admission of fluid through said passage. Y

14. In a hydrauliomotor, adapted for operation atvariable speeds in predetermined cycles, an4 operatinor cylindenhaving a piston adapted to move tlierein, a main inletport arranged to supply fluid to the cylinderduring the major portion of the ,cycleof operation, and an auxiliary inletport', for supplying fluid to said cylinder during operation of the moto-r at relatively reduced speeds, means including an element afiixed to said piston for automatically varying the rate of ow of fluid through said main port intosaid cylinder, andmeans for regulating thesupply of fluid through the auxiliary port, during periods of ort. v 15. .Ina hydraulic control device, 'a fluidoperated piston motor including acylinder having a main inlet port a valve for the main port includingA an ele-ment secured to the piston, and 'provided with a portion arranged to obstruct said port and reduce the rate of piston movement in an intermediate p portion of its path, an auxiliary inlet port,

arranged tol supply fluid to said cylinder independently of the main port, and an adjustable valvei for regulating fiovvv through the auxiliary port, whereby said valves are "adapted conjointly to control inlet fluid movement. v

FREDERICK N. WHITE'SELL.

reduced flow through said main

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