US229468A - Eighths of his right to uriah k - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. R I O H M A N N.

Air Compressor.

No. 229,468. Patented June 29, 18801.

Witnesses I14 \rentav ".PEI'ERS PNOTO-LI'I'HOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C

(HO M0061.)

H. RIOHMANN. Air Compressor.

Patented June 29, 1880.

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N-PETERS, PHDTO-UTHOGRAPKER- WASHINGTON, D, C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY RICHMANN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF FIVE- EIGHTHS OF' HIS RIGHT TO URIAH K. ARNOLD, OF SAME PLACE.

AIR-COMPRESSOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,468, dated June 29, 1880. Application filed April 14, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY RICHMANN, of the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, haveinvented an Improved Air- Compressor 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to certain improvements in air-compressors; and my improvements consist, first, in providinga peculiarlyshaped double crank for communicating the power from the steam-cylinder to the air-compressing piston, the crank for the cross-slide of the steam-cylinder beingformed in one piece [5 with that for the cross-slide of the air-cylinder; second,in providing for the pistons of the air-cylinders double piston-rods, whereby the pistons are more evenly balanced and room left in the cylinder-heads for valves of large area; third, in constructing the pillars and bed-pieces of the frame-Work hollow, and so connecting them that said frame shall act as an air-receiver; and, fourth, in certain details of construction, as is more fully described in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view. Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are details.

The bed-plate A and standards or pillars A are made hollow, and on the upper plate is formed a tube or hollow ofl'set, a, connecting the upper ends of the hollow standards, as shown, and the whole space thus connected serves as a reservoir for the air compressed by the air-piston and led into such reservoir through suitable passages.

The steam-cylinder B is placed on the bedplate, and its piston B has two piston-rods, b, which connect with a cross-slide, 0, above. The air-compressing cylinder D on the upper plate has also double piston-rods b b on its piston B, these rods also being connected below to a cross-slide, C. Guide-rods E extend from the upper plate down to the steam-cylinder or to the bed-plate, to keep the motion of the slotted cross-heads in line. The upper or air-cylinder cross-head, C, has sliding clamps e c, which move outside the guides E, and the loweror engine-cylindercross-head, C, has similar sliding clamps e e, which move inside of the guides, the two cylinders being so nearly in line that the one set of guides serves for both cross-heads.

In the working of the cross-heads by the cranks, as hereinafter described, the crossheads are 116"61 far apartin their motion, and whatever tendency to lateral pressure is engendered by the sliding crank-pin boxes in the cross-slides is prevented by the sliding clamps e 6, one pair being inside the guides and the other pair outside, the pressure or strain of one being counteracted by that of the other.

Combined with these slotted cross-heads I use a peculiarly-formed three-armed or compound crank, by means of which I am enabled to utilize the power of the engine in a most economical manner for compressing the air.

Ordinarily the crank of the engine operates a shaft on which there is another crank for communicating motion to the piston of the aircylinder. This necessitates the air-compressing-cylinder being at some distance from the engine-cylinder and very much out of a direct line, and the air-compressing appliance is correspondingly enlarged. There is also considerable torsional strain upon the shaft, depending upon its length. I desire to make my air-compressor in as compact a form as possible, and to bring the air-cylinder as nearly in line with the steam-cylinder as may be, at the same time providing a peculiar connection of the two pistons, whereby the greatest power of the engine is exerted as the air reaches its highest compression. I therefore employ this peculiar compound crank and the connectingslides.

The two crank-pins are supported and connected with the axle or shaft by the three arms f, f, and f standing at acute angles 0 with each other, and producinga peculiar following motion of the cranks and the piston, as will be hereinafter described.

0n the crank-shaft F is an arm, f, the crankpin of which moves in the sliding boxgin the 5 cross-slide C. On this pin of the arm f is formed another arm, f, placed at an acute angle to the armf. This arm f has its pin moving in a sliding box, g, in the cross-slide C, and on its pin is the third arm, f set at an I00 acute angle to the center arm,f'. as shown. This third arnnf is keyed to or formed with theopposite end oi'the crank-shaft, upon which the fiy-wheel G is secured, and this shaft F is in line with the shaft F. These two cranks may be cast or forged in one piece, or each one may be formed separately and keyed to the shafts, with the crank-pins uniting them, as shown.

Neither of the three arms are in line with one another, nor is either one at right angles to any other; but they are so arranged with relation to each other and the crank-pins that the greatestpower of the engine is exerted at its most effective point with relation to the air-compressing piston-that is to say, that at the moment when the air in the compressing cylinder has been half compressed by its piston being moved halfway up, then the crank ot' the engine-cylilnler is nearly at right angles to the line of travel of the piston of the engine-cylinder, and at its most etfective point for exerting the pressure necessary to compress the already partly-compressed air in the compressioncylinder. The same is the case on the downstroke of the piston.

The air-piston commences its return stroke before the engine-piston has reached the end of its stroke, and the peculiar connection of the two cranks and their uniting-arms with the sliding boxes is such that as the enginecrank begins to reach the highest or lowest point of its stroke it is forcing the sliding box 9' transversely to one side of its slotted crosshead, and this box becomes nearly stationary at the time when the engine-crankis passing its dead-point, so that the absolute work of the engine is at a minimum while the crank is passing the dead-point. After passing that point the power of the enginecrank increases until it reachesa position at right angles with the line of travel of the piston, and is exerted as a direct thrust upon the sliding box g through the connecting-arm f.

By my peculiar formation of the cranks and bringing the two cylinders nearly in line, I do not have to form two complete cranks but the central arnnf, which unites the two crankpins, serves to transmit the power of the engine to the piston of the air-compressor. This arm revolves bodily around the axis of the shaft, as both its ends are connected with the crank-pins, and its action is therefore that of a pitman or connecting rod, its peculiar movement being made possible by the action of the two transversely-moving boxes 9 g and their verticallynioving slides U C. This mechanism makes it possible to compress air to sixty pounds with a pressure of only thirty five pounds on the engine-piston.

In the ordinary construction of air-cylinders with acentrally-placed piston'rod the air-valves in the cylinder-head can never be made of large diameter, as they must occupy the space outside of the piston-rod and its stufting-box; but by employing two piston-rods (shown in my present construction) the space between them is so great that a valve of large diameter and capacity may be employed with all its attendant advantages.

In single-acting air-compressing cylinders, where the valve is in the piston the same advantages accrue, since a large valve may then be placed in the piston, the rods coming on the sides of said piston.

It will be seen that by having the double piston-rods, whether the valves are in the cylinder-head or in the piston, a large area is left for the valves, and their action may be rapid and free. With the piston-rod in the center not half of the area of either piston or cylinder can be utilized for valves and seats, while with the double rods over half the area may be so utilized.

Inclosing the double-acting air-compressing cylinder is ajacket, H, intended to hold water and answer as a water-jacket to the cylinder. The cylinder itself sets in a depression or circular box, I. under the top plate, into which the compressed air from both ends of the cylinder passes, suitable inlet and outlet valves being provided. The pipes m bring the air from the upper end of the cylinder down to the box I. The box or depression communicates with the hollow standards, upper holes, a, and bed-plate, and the supply pipe J delivcrs this compressed air to the source where it is to be used. Suitable openings are made to lead the air from the valves into the pipes m, as shown in Fig. 4, the said pipes m being shown in Fig. 5.

By having the hollow standards and bcd-.

plate the frame of the compressing apparatus serves as a receiver in which to hold the compressed air ready for use, the whole being in compact form.

By the means employed for transmitting the power from the engine to the air-compressing cylinder herein described I am enabled to compress the air with a comparatively slight expenditure of power, while the whole apparatus is in a very compact form.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The steam-cylinder B, having its pistonrod united with the cross-slides C, and the aircompressing cylinder I), having its piston-rod connected with the cross-slide (3', in combination with the three-armed double crank f f f z and the slide 9 g, whereby the motion of the engine-piston is transmitted to the piston of the air-cylinder, substantially as herein described.

2. In an air-compressing apparatus having an air-cylinder, I), and a steam-cylinder, B, placed opposite each other, with their pistonrods connected with the independent slides C U, the guide-rods E E, adapted to guide the clamps 0 e of the respective slides while allowing the slides to pass each other, substantially as herein described.

3. The single pair of guide-rods E E, adapted to guide the oppositely-curved sliding clamps e e of the parallel moving cross-heads O 0, whereby the lateral pressure and strain upon one slide is counteracted by that of the other, substantially as herein described.

4. In combination with the parallel moving cross-slides O 0, connected respectively with the pistons of the steam and air cylinder of an air-compressing apparatus, the double crank actuating the transversely-moving slides g g, and connected by the single uniting-arm f, whereby the steam-piston exerts its greatest power at the point of greatest compression of the air without the intervention of a shaft, substantially as herein described.

5. In an air-compressin g cylinder, the piston B, having two piston-rods, b I), connected at the sides of said piston, whereby valves of large area may be introduced between the rods either in the piston or the cylinder-head, substantially as herein described.

6. In an apparatus having the steam-cylincross-heads are steadied in their movements,

substantially as herein set forth.

7. In an air-compressing apparatus consisting of the steam-cylinder D, provided with an intervening connecting mechanism, as shown, the hollow supporting-frame A A a, forming a receiver for the compressed air and a sup-.

port for the operating mechanism, substantially as herein set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY RICHMANN.

Witnesses:

S. H. N OURSE, FRANK A. BROOKS.

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