US2205803A - Apparatus for determining alignment of locomotive smokestack and exhaust pipe - Google Patents

Description

I J. UHRIN 2 APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING ALIGNMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE .SMOKESTACK AND EXHAUST PIPE Filed June 28., 1938 'mvENToR (JOHN U mam Patented June 25, 1940 APPARATUS MENT OF AND EXHAUST PIPE FOR DETERMINING ALIGN- LOCOMOTIVE SMOKESTACK John Uhrin, Philadelphia, Pa. Application June 28, 1938, Serial No. 216,315 2 Claims. (01. 33-180) This invention relates generally to an improved apparatus and method for determining the exact alignment of a locomotive Smokestack with an exhaust pipe.

. The usual practice of locomotive builders in aligning the smokestack and exhaust pipe has been to support the boiler in a level position and employ a plumbob for determining the necessary vertical alignment between the smokestack and pipe. This procedure required the use of a crane to assist in levelling the boiler as well as requiring the services of several men.

t is an object of my invention to provide an improved method and apparatus whereby a smokestack and exhaust pipe may be efiectively brought into alignment with each other regardless of the position or location of the boiler.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig.1 is a transverse section through a smokestack and exhaust pipe with the boiler partially shown;

Fig. 2 is a plan view Fig. 1.

In the particular embodiment of the invention, such as is disclosed herein merely for the purpose of illustrating one specific form among possible others that the invention might take in practice, I have diagrammatically shown the invention as applied to a boiler l having a smokestack 2 with its usual component parts 3 and 4. A conventional exhaust pipe 5 connected to the engine cylinders is supported upon the upper end of a usual exhaust passage structure 6 extending upwardly into a customary cylinder saddle not shown.

It is of the utmost importance that the exhaust pipe 5 and Smokestack 2 be in axial alignment with each other, and to that end I have provided a template 8 of any suitable shape but having particularly a centering tongue or projection 9 of the same diameter as the upper end of exhaust pipe 5. Twosupporting ledges l8 lie in the same plane with each other and normally rest on the upper end of exhaust pipe 5 while a line, scribed or formed by any suitable indentations in the form of center punch marks ll, extend in a plane at right angles to the plane of shoulders iii. A small hole i2 is formed to the lower portion of template 3 and an indicating element such as a string or a fine linen thread [3 is secured to said hole l2 and extends upwardly to be tied to, or extend through an opening in, a rod or piece of wood it which rests upon the upper end of Smokestack 2.

taken on the line 2-2 of In operation, the rod M is suitably positioned on the upper end of Smokestack 2 so that string It lies in the center of the stack. This can be readily accomplished merely by measuring the distance of the string from two sides of the smokestack at 90 apart. The operator next places and manually holds the template 8 firmly on top of exhaust pipe 5 in the position as shown and observes whether the tautly drawn string l3 falls in alignment, with the line formed by the series of center punch marks H. The operator then rotates the template 8 through 90 and again observes whether the string I3 is in alignment with the line. If such alignment is obtained through the two vertical planes at 90 to each other, then the stack and exhaust pipe are in alignment with each other. If the string and line i l are not in alignment with each other, the stack 5 can be shifted either sidewise or forwardly or backwardly depending upon the direction that is necessary to bring the string and line in alignment.

As a result of my foregoing improved method and apparatus, it is seen that the exhaust pipe and Smokestack can be readily aligned with minimum effort and time and regardless of whether the boiler is level or lying on its side or in any other irregular position.

It will of course be understood that various changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for determining the alignment of a locomotive exhaust pipe and Smokestack comprising, in combination, a template having means for supporting and centering the same upon the upper end of an exhaust pipe, a line located on said template so as to be coaxial of said exhaust pipe when placed thereon, an indicating element secured to the lower portion of said template at a point which is in alignment with said line, and means for supporting the upper end of said element in the center of the Smokestack, whereby when said exhaust pipe and smokestack are in alignment with each other said indicating element is in alignment with the entire length of the line on said template.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said template comprises a flat sheet metal member having supporting shoulders and a center tongue adapted to project into the exhaust pipe.

JOHN 'UI-IRIN.

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