US2190534A - Multistage control device for power driven vehicles including a plurality of prime movers - Google Patents

Description

ER 2,190,534 0R POWER DRIVEN VEHICLES Y 0F PRIME MOVERS Feb. 13,1940. H. NYFFENEGG MUL'I'ISTAGE CONTROL DEVICE F INCLUDING A PLURALIT Filed Oct. 5, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

fIZW/ZZZ/P Feb. 13, 1940. NYFFENEGGER 2,190,534 MULTISTAGE CONTROL. DEVICE FoR'PowER DRIVEN VEHICLES INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF PRIME MOVERS Filed Oct. 5, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Eye/22hr I Q/WWWW AW X Z Patented Feb. 13, 1940 OFFICE MULTISTAGE CONTROUDEVIGE Eon POW- Ea" DRIVEN VEHICLESv INCLUDING VA. PLURALITY F PRIME ov as Hans Nyfienegger, Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to Schweizerische Lokomotivund Maschinenfabrik, Winterthur, Switzerland c Application October 3, 1938, Serial No. 233,10;

- In Germany October 7, 1937 7 Claims.

This invention relates to multistagecontrol devices for power driven vehicles including a plu rality of prime movers. v v

I The vehicle comprises driving axles'each of which or groups of which are driven by one or more prime 'movers the pressure fluid admission of which-can be controlled in steps.

The control may, for example, be effected, as

10 by means of adisplaceable control shaftcarrying stepped cams. In control devices of this kind the number of control stages is obviously limited due to the space requirement for shifting the cam shaft. This holds true to a particularly great extent for thecontrol stages for driving backwards for which in these circumstances it is usual to provide, for example, only two control stages. In the operation, a steam control which can be varied in steps only is liable to have a, disturbing effect for the reason that the tractive effort, for example, of a locomotive may prove to either be too great or too small for maintaining the desired speed of driving;'when a certain control stage or the next lower stage, respectively,

is used, so that in such casethe driving must be continued with the greater steam admission and throttling of the steam by means of thethrottle.

In vehicles having no preferreddirection of driving and in which the number of control stages for driving backwards is increased at the expense of the number of stages for drivingforwardsthis deficiency is particularly inconveniencing. But alsoduring starting, the small number of available control stages is unsatistfactory. This de- '1 ficiency could be moderatedby increasing the number of control stages but, as explained above, this is impracticable on account ofwant of space. The object of the invention is to improve the finenessof gradation of multistage control of the tractive effort Without resorting tov expedients such as throttling the pressure fluid supply to the prime movers, and varying the number of stepped cams. This is accomplished, according to the invention, by the provision that. the control devices of individual prime movers or groups of such engines are rendered adjustable to different control stages of pressure fluid admission at the same time. t

Since for each control stage 0t steam admission or cut-off any steam prime mover produces a uniform tractive effort, within a speed range of an adequate extent, in an arrangement, according to the invention, comprising a, plurality of such ;'5 engines a hi ly n armand, fin l st pe? device shown in Fig. 1, and

I axially shifted by an auxiliary pressure controlled v piston 13, through the intermediary of a coupling "1, in order to provide cooperation of either one a or; the cams O, I, II with the valve guide roller 4,

trol of the tractive-effort can be obtained by summation of individual tractive efforts. f A form'of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings by way of example only,

in which I 5 Fig, 1 is a schematic view of the control devices of two steam engines included in a loco- .motive; I disclosed in United States Patent No. 1,634,736 ;;intermediate position; ,10

Fig. 2 is a view of .controlparts of Fig. 1 in an Figs. 3 and 4 each represent a view of a different form of control parts;

Figs fi and fi-illustrate diagrammatically the tractive efforts produced without and with the aid of the inventiomrespectively; 15

Figs. '7 and 8 each indicate diagrammatically a ,difierent control device for steam locomotives including a plurality of steam engines;

Fig. 9 illustrates a modification of the control.

20 Fig. 10.is a view of the assembled partsof a steam admission control device according to the invention. I

, i As shown in Fig. 1, inlet valves I and 2 of steam cylinders, one of which is shown at C, in Fig. 10, of two steam engines operatively connected with the axles of the vehicle to be driven (not shown) are adjusted by control shafts 3 by "meansof guide rollers 4 for admitting steam to the cylinders C in the direction of the arrows A, *B (Figs. 1, 10).

Each control shaft carries cams O, I, II corresponding tothree difierent steam cut-offs. The control shaft 3 is displaceably arranged in bearings 5 so as to be adapted to be Ila as desired. Driving movement is transniitted to the control shaft 3, via a gear wheel 3a, and

cooperating gearing means, from the crank shaft of the steam engine, in a manner not shown.

The auxiliary piston B is controlled by apiston valve 8 in a manner known per se by supplying a;-,

pressure medium through pipes 9' or 9" respectively to either one of the end faces of the auxiliary'piston 6. The piston valve in turn is infiuencedstep by step by stepped slide members I4, Maby means ofa pusher I2 which is pivotally g connected to a resetting'lever II, at I0, and provided with a guide roller I3 o'rI3a. "The two stepped slide members l4, I la for adjusting the valves I, 2, respectively, of the cylinders of the cas n s arefirmlymnne tedpneiri w the other and are operated from a setting lever In Fig. 1 the two rollers I3, I3a are shown to be set on corresponding control stages I of the slide members I4, Ma. Accordingly each of the cam shafts 3 of the associated auxiliary pistons 6 are adjusted into corresponding. .positions in which the corresponding cams I of the two cam shafts 3 cooperate with the valves I, 2, respectively. Thus both engines operate with equal steam admissions.

On close inspection of Fig. 1', 'it will be seen that although the rollers I3, I3a controlling the two engines, respectively, are set to the same stage I of the associated slide members, one of the rollers I3 rests against the right section of stage I of the slide member I4, whereas the other roller I3a rests against the left section of stage I of the other slide member Ma at a distance a from a point corresponding to the point of the rightsection of the same stage of slide I4 at which roller I3 is positioned. r g

. Therefore, the stepped slide member Ida is displacedrelative to the associated pusher I'3a for a distance 1 o X 2a Thus, when the slide members I4, Ma are con- 1 jointly displaced to the left by the lever I5 for a distance a, the roller I3 of the-rollers I3, I3a is set on stage II, whereas the other roller I3a remains on stage I, as before, by merely shifting to the other'section of this stage, as shown in Fig.

2. If, thereupon, the control movement is continued for a further step a the other roller I3a is also raised onto the higher step II.

' In the position of the parts 'of the control device shown in.Fig. 1, both engines operate by means of the same steam cut-off; in the position shown in Fig. 2 the valve I is set for admitting a different, for example, a smaller amount of steam than valve 2. In the third, that is, the last-named position, in which both rollers I3, I3a are raised onto stage II, both valves are again set-for admitting an equal, but in the pres- .ent instance, smaller amount of steam. From this it follows that in the position shown in Fig. 2 an intermediate stage of tractive effort is provided, so that in an arrangement, according to the invention, a greater number of control stages for setting the tractive effort, that is, a finer gradation of. the tractive effort can be obtained. These different gradations are illustrated in the diagrams represented in Figs. 5 and 6.

In Fig. 5 are illustrated the control stages of tractive efiort of a locomotive with two steam engines both .of the five-stage control devices of which are always set to the corresponding steam cut-offs. By plotting the tractive efforts on the ordinate and the positions of the stepped slide members on the abscissa, the stepped line shown in Fig. 5 is obtained according to which along each stretch 2a the tractive effort, for example Zn of the locomotive is constant. On the other hand, by constructing the control device as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a more finely graded stepped line, as shown in Fig. 6 is obtained, due to the fact that in a position as indicated in Fig. 2 a ftu'ther tractive effort equal to the mean value of the tractive efforts Z1, Zn of the stages I, II, respectively, is obtained which amounts to ZLIII= Therefore, additional intermediate stages of tracbe obtained.

bracket ers cab, and intervening ample, by means of couplings I9.

tive effort are obtained between the main stages of tractive effort.

It will be readily seen that in this way, for example, in a locomotive or power rail vehicle including a relatively great number of steam engines a very fine gradation of tractive effort can If, for example, six steam engines are present, as schematically indicated in Fig. 7, a double amount of control stages of tractive v effort is obtained if, for example, the group of steam engines designated by b, on the one hand, and that designated by c, on the other hand, have admitted thereto the same volume of steam at each time. By admitting different volumes of steam to the two groups an additional intermediate control stage of tractive effort is ob tained. If each group is provided with five control stages, ten different control stages to which the tractive effort can be adjusted are obtained, according to the invention.

With another arrangement of groups of steam engines operating with the same volume of steam admission at a time, for example, an arrangement of three pairs of engines, as shown in Fig. 8, fifteen control stages to which the tractive effort can be adjusted are obtainable by admitting the same volume of steam'at a time to the steam engines designated by the same characters b, c or d. In this case, one or more pairs of engines can be run with the same vol- 7 ume of steam admission and the remaining pairs .steam engines individually with different volumes of steam admission instead of in groups. In this, way, between each two main control stages of tractive effort a maximum of five intermediate stages is obtainable.

Alternatively, instead of controlling the slide members It, Maand the rollers I3, lta by means of a linkage I 5, I 5a, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, this can be effected by means including a slide member'in the form of a screw nut I l provided with a longitudinal slot I4" (Fig. 3). This member is screwed to a spindle If on which it is secured against relative rotation by a stud It" on a l6 interengaging with the slot M. The spindle II, which is mounted in bearings I6, is rotatable by means of any suitable means, for example, by a handwheel 22, located at the drivbevel wheel drives it. The spindles I! of the control devices of the various steam engines are coupled together, for ex- Obviously the must be so adjusted relative to the spindles that the staggered relation thereof as indicated in Figs. 1 and 21s obtained.

Alternatively, the control of the rollers I3 may slide members It be effected through the intermediary of a stepped ference between the effects of two consecutive control stages.

The adjustment of the sections of the control device leading to the various engines or groups of engines is eifected by means of a single set-v ting lever or by means of a control handwheel utive main cut-off stages, and a single adjusting driven thereby, prime mover such as 22. Instead ofeffecting thecontrol of, each steam engine by means of a separate auxiliary. pressure controlled piston a single piston of this kind may be used for adjusting the cam shafts of a whole group of engines, as shown in Fig. 9. p

Various changes and modifications may .be made in the practice of my invention, without departing from the principle or spirit thereof, by adding customary practice and established knowledge of the art to and the scope of the appended claims is not to be regarded as limited except as specified therein. I claim: i

1. In a multistage control deviceicr power. driven vehicles including a plurality of pressure f fluid operated prime movers and driving axles driven thereby prime mover units includingat least one prime mover, individual control means correlated to each of said units for adjusting-the pressure fluid admission of each prime mover included in the respective unit in steps of consecutive main cut-01f stages, and means for commonly adjusting said individual control means of all of said units for a non-intermissive tractive effort of the vehicle by shifting said individual control means across coordinated main cut-off stages for unidirectional movement of said units, in relatively staggered relation, for obtaining intermediate cut-01f stages of the device between the main cut-off stages of said units.

2. In a multistage control device for power driven vehicles including a plurality of pressure fluid operated prime movers and driving axles unitsincluding at least one prime mover, individual control means correlated to each of said units for adjusting the.

pressure fluid admission of each prime mover included in the respective unit in steps of consecmember common to said individual control means for adjusting said individual control means of.

all of said units for a non-interm'issive traction effort of the vehicle by shifting said individual control means across coordinated main-cut-off said units,

stages for unidirectional movement of in relatively staggered relation, for obtaining intermediate cut-off stages of the device between the main cut-off stages of said units.

3. In a multistage control device for power driven vehicles including a. pluralityof pressure fluid operated prime movers and driving axles driven thereby, primemoverfiunits including at least one prime mover, control means correlated to each of said units for adjusting the pressure fluid admissionof each prime mover included in the respective unit, pressure controlled piston means includedin at least some of'said control means for the present disclosure.

cut-offs regarding different units.

4.111 a multistage control device for power driven vehicles including a plurality of pressure fluid operated prime movers and driving axles driven thereby, prime .mover units including at least one prime mover, control means correlated .to each of said units for adjustingthe pressure fluid admission of each prime mover included in the respective 'unit, pressure controlled piston means included in at least some of said control means for controlling the same, control slides associated with said pistdn means, stepped members for controlling said control slides, a single adjusting member common to said control means and operatively connected, with each of said stepped members for imparting said members a which is changed to a continuous movement stepped movement by said members for accordingly controlling said slides for the latter to ad just said control means to difierent fluid cut-offs regarding different units.

5. In a multistage control device for power driven vehicles including a plurality of pressure fluid operated prime movers and driving axles driventhereby, at least two prime mover units each including a like number of prime movers,

separate control means correlated to each of said units, stepped members having an equal number of stepsincluded in each of said control means for adapting said means to adjust the'pressure fluid admission to equal volumes at a time for all said prime movers in said units, and means for adjusting said control means to different fluid cut-oifs regarding different units.

6. In a multistage control device for power driven vehicles including a plurality of pressure fluid operatedprime movers and driving axles driven thereby, pairs of prime movers associated with an individual driving axle of the vehicle, one

of said prime movers of each of saidpairs includedin a unit of prime movers and theother one ofsaid prime movers of each of said pairs included in a second unit of prime movers, and

control means correlated to each of said units for adjusting the pressure fluid admission to equal volumes at a time for all said prime movers in said units, and means for adjusting said control means to diiferent fluid cut-offs regarding diiferent units.

7. In a multistage control device for power driven vehicles including a plurality of pressure fluid operated prime movers and driving axles driven thereby, prime mover units including at least one prime mover, control means correlated to each of said units for adjusting the pressure fluid admission of each prime mover included in the respective unit, and means for adjusting said control means to different fluid cut-ofis regardby no more than the dfference between the effects of (two consecutive main control stages of said ing different units, the admission volumes supplied by said fluid cutofis diflering from each other

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