US2753690A - Combination hydraulic overflow power dam - Google Patents

Description

July 10, 1956 D. CAMPBELL COMBINATION HYDRAULIC OVERFLOW POWER DAM Filed Feb. 20. 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR panajd Cam v ZreZZ ATTORNEY5 y 0, 1956 D. CAMPBELL 2,753,690

COMBINATION HYDRAULIC OVERFLOW POWER DAM Filed Feb. 20, 1953 4 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY 5 y 10, 5 D. CAMPBELL 2,753,690

COMBINATION HYDRAULIC OVERFLOW POWER DAM Filed Feb. 20, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet s "z 7.2- 7. Z I. INVENTOR L. D nald Ca/m JZeZZ Wq M ATTO RNEYS July 10, 1956 D. CAMPBELL COMBINATION HYDRAULIC OVERFLOW POWER DAM Filed Feb. 20. 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Dona, ZZ Ca. m aZ'eZZ ATTORNEYS United States Patent COMBINATION HYDRAULIC OVERFLOW POWER DAM Donald Campbell, Medford, Greg.

Application February 20, 1953, Serial N 0. 337,951

4 Claims. (Cl. 61-19) This invention appertains to an improvement in dams, and more particularly relates to a novel means for utilizing as a power source all of the water in a river or similar body of water.

An object of this invention is to provide a means for automatically varying and controlling the overflow of the pools, and means selectively positionable in sluiceways within which the overflow flows for using the overflow as an auxiliary power source.

Generally speaking, it is the practice in constructing a power dam to provide a single dam or barrier, which creates a pool tip-stream therefrom. Conventional hydro electric turbines or similar machinery are located in a power house at the base of the dam and water from the bottom of the pool is utilized to drive such machinery and passes through the turbines on past the dam to the level of the water down-stream therefrom.

The overflow is not harnessed or utilized in any fashion and there is no means provided for controlling the overflow or for varying the level of the pool. Further, the operation of the hydro-electric turbines or similar machinery depends upon the single pool for its power source and during periods of drought the pool has a tendency to dry up and thus limit the operation of the hydro-electric turbines or similar machinery.

it is the primary aim and purpose of my invention to obviate these defects in a twofold manner, first, by utilizing the overflow to power a number of generators, and

For example, three dams may be constructed at spaced points in a river and each dam creates a separate pool. The water from the first pool not only can be used to drive the power machinery associated with the dam, but also can be used to augment the supply of water in either the second or third pools and/ or to assist in driving the power machinery in either the second or the third dam. It is necessary that the dams be at different levels so that the dam up river or up-stream is above the level of the pool of the dam below it. Thus, a series of dams, of any number, is constructed in a river and a number of spaced pools are created, the dams being above the level of the I path of the water, as it flows down the face of the dam, 7

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and which are connected by a transmission system to a battery of generators. The transmission system is controlled so that any one or all of the generators can be driven, dependent upon the amount of water flowing down the face of the dam. Preferably, the water wheels and generators are housed in rooms, which are formed in the dam and which open through the face of the dam into the sluiceways provided in the face for the flow of the water spilling over the top. The water wheels are bodily movable into the sluiceways from the rooms for contact with the flowing water and through a belt transmission system drive the generators. The rooms are vertically spaced in the dam and any number can be provided, so that it will be seen that at vertically spaced points along the face of the dam the retractable water wheels will be positioned in the sluiceways. Thus, the overflow is used to drive a considerable number of generators.

Briefly stated, my invention utilizes all of the water flowing in a river or the like body of water a multiple number of times, whereas a conventional hydro-electric dam uses part of the water at a single point but once, that is to say, that my system embodies the provision of means for using all of the same water over and over again (for example, with three dams, three times) whereas a conventional dam uses part of the same water only once.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

F'gure l is a front elevational view of one of the dams illustrating the sluiceways formed in the face thereof, and showing the water wheels extended from the rooms into the sluiceways;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the top portion of one of the dams and is taken on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of one of the generator units, showing the water wheel in the retracted position or housed within the room;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, showing the generating unit in side elevation;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3, and illustrating the means provided for moving the water wheels out of or into the room;

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of Figure 3, and illustrates the clutch means provided for selectively engaging and disengaging any of the generators with its water wheel;

Figure 7 is a detailed sectional view which illustrates the mounting means for the doors which are provided to close off the rooms from communication with the sluiceways.

As shown generally in Figure 1, and more particularly in Figure 2, each of the dams is formed in its top with a number of parallel channels 28, the channels being provided for the passage of the overflow water from the pools. Communicating with the channels and formed in the face of each dam are a number of sluiceways 30. The specific construction of the channels and sluiceways is set forth in my copending application Serial No. 337,283, filed February 17, 1953, entitled Power Dam and will be only generally referred to here. As disclosed in my copending application, control gates 32 are positioned in the channels 23. Beneath each of the control gates a well 34 is formed and a pipe 36 communicates the well with the .pool, the flow of water through the pipe 36 to the well being controlled by suitable valve means. The gate 32, as shown in Figure 2, pivotally overlies the well 34 and 'J is positioned between the side walls of the channel 23 and a sealing means 38 is pivotally connected between the front wall of the well and the underside of the gate, so that the well is tightly sealed to prevent the escape of water therefrom. Thus, the admission of Water into the well 34 by the pipe 36 will cause the gate 32 to move upwardly and assume the desired inclined position with relation to the bottom wall of the channel. The gates are thus operated to form an adjustable barrier in the channels 28 and control the overflow of water from the pools through the channels 23. In other words, the gates provide a means for controlling the depth of the water spilling from the channels down through the sluiceways 30. The control of the amount of overflow or depth of the water flowing through the channels 28 into the sluiceways 30 is of importance for the purpose of using such overflow as a source of power for the generating units 40.

In the dams proper a number of rooms 42 are formed. The rooms are vertically spaced, as shown in Figure 2, and house the generating units 40. It is to be noted that a plurality of generating units 46 are provided, as shown in Figure 1, the generating units being housed in each of the rooms which are formed in horizontal rows across the face of the dam and are vertically spaced along the sluiceways. For example, with a darn that is approximately 500 to 1000 feet high and approximately 800 to 1000 feet wide, the rooms would be spaced apart vertically about 70 feet and would be approximately 16 feet high. The sluiceways 30 would be spaced apart approximately 50 feet and the width of the sluiceways would be approximately 36 feet. The rooms could be co-extensive in width with the sluiceways.

To permit of access to the rooms 4-2, an elevator shaft 44 is formed vertically in the darn proper and communicates with the rooms 42 that are at various levels. Also, hallways are provided to interconnect the rooms at each level with the elevator shaft. The floors 46 of the rooms are inclined downwardly at their forward ends 48 so as to permit the water wheels 50 to be easily swung out into the sluiceways and retracted back into the rooms. The water wheels 50 are rotatably carried by arms 52 that are pivoted at 54 to a bracket 56, which depends from the roof of the rooms on supports 57. The arms 52 form one part of a crank, the other arm 58 of which is provided at its outer end with an axial slot 60. A rack bar 62 is vertically movable in the rooms and extends at its ends into a travel slot 64 formed vertically above and below the rooms. The rack bar 62 is emmeshed with a pinion 66 that is driven by a suitable prime mover 63, such as an electric motor. The rack bar on its plain side carries a pin 70 which is engaged in the slot 60. Thus, the vertical reciprocation of the rack bar 62 is translated by the pin and slot arrangement into a bodily oscillatory movement of the water wheel 50. The water wheel 50 is bodily moved through the open front 72 of the rooms and the amount of penetration of the water wheel 50 into the sluiceways 30 is controlled by the movement of the rack bar 62, for a purpose to be described. To close off the open front 72 of the rooms, when the water wheel is in its retracted position, as shown in full lines in Figure 5, a door 74 is provided. The sluiceway is undercut above each room to receive the door 74, so that the outer surface of the doors is flush with the bottom wall of the sluiceway. The side edges of the doors are held in place by blocks 76 and 78, which abut the side walls of the sluiceways and are held in place by a bar 3 3, as shown in Figure 7. Of course, this manner of slidably mounting the doors is merely exemplary since any type of door may be used to close off the open front of the rooms and it is contemplated to use folding doors which can be automatically operated. The important feature is the provision of some means for closing off the open front of a room, when the generating unit in the room is not in operation so that the water flowing down the associated sluiceway will not spill into the room.

Coupled to the shaft 82 on which the water wheel is fast and which is rotatably mounted in the crank arms 52, are belts 83 which are carried by pulleys on the rotated pivot shaft 54 and connected thereby to belts 34 and 86 which form part of a drive transmission system for the individual generators 83. The belts 84 and 86 are shown as the V-type, though any type of belt drive, or chain drive may be used. The belts are reeved on pulleys 90 which are fixed on the extending ends of the shaft 82. The generators 88 are shown in pairs, the generators of each pair being in side-by-side relation and the pairs being longitudinally spaced apart. The generators of each pair are individually driven by the belts 84 and 86. For example, the generators 83 of the first pair shown in Figure 3, have the belts 34 and 86 attached to their associated shafts by means of pulleys. The generators of the second pair are coupled to the first pair by belts 92 and the generator of the third pair are coupled to the generator of the second pair by belts 94. On each of the generator shafts, as shown more particularly in Figure 6, clutch means 96 is provided so that any of the generators may be selectively engaged or disengaged with the driving belts 84 and 86. On the generator shaft 98 a sliding clutch plate 100 is keyed for movement axially of the shaft under the impetus of operating means of conventional construction, and including the shifting rod 102. The clutch plate is adapted to be moved into and out of frictional engagement with the clutch plate 104 formed integral with the pulley 106 which is rotatably mounted for independent rotation on the shaft 98. Each of the generators has a clutch unit, as shown in Figure 6, so that by engaging the clutch plate of each unit with the rotating pulley, the generator may be coupled with the driving belts 84 and 86. The driving belts 84 and 86 are shown as extending from the opposite ends of the water wheel shaft 82, but it is to be understood that this is due to the illustrated arrangement of the battery of generators, and obviously, the generators may be arranged in different fashion and a single belt may be used or a multiple belt unit may be used.

The gates 32 control the amount of water spilling over the dam and running down the sluiceways 30 and the gates are moved up and down by the water pressure in the wells 34. Thus, if the water level in any of the pools rises, the gates can be raised by admitting Water into the wells through the pipes 36. This will control the amount of water flowing down the sluiceways. Obviously, if the water level is very high it is desirable to conserve the water and to use only the necessary amount of overflow to drive all the water wheels. If the level is low, the gates can be lowered or even moved to a fully down position to take advantage of what overflow may be present to drive the water wheels. The water wheels are selectively positionable in the sluiceways dependent upon the volume of water in the sluiceways.

It can thus be seen that a dam system is provided which will insure a permanent production of power Without any interruptions. For example, if one of the belts in the belt transmission system of the generating units 40 should become worn and need replacement, as frequently occurs, the clutch means may be used to throw the associated generator 92 out of connection with the water wheel, or if a number of belts of one unit need replacement, the entire unit can be rendered inoperative by retracting the water wheel associated therewith.

Accordingly, while the preferred form of this invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that other forms may be utilized so that limitation is sought only in accordance with the pending claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a dam having a spillway and a horizontally extending compartment opening into said spillway, a water wheel, means in said compartment supporting said wheel for swinging movement into said spillway, a power shaft in said compartment and fixed to the roof thereof, means connecting said wheel with said shaft in driving relation, and power takeofl? means mounted on said shaft, said first means comprising a pair of substantially right angled members each having an aperture extending through the junction of their respective arms rotatably receiving opposite ends of said power shaft therethrough, means mounting said wheel for rotation on one of adjacent pairs of ends of one pair of said arms, to etfect swinging movement of said first pair of arms and said wheel into and out of said spillway.

2, In a darn as defined in claim 1, said means for effecting said swinging movement comprising a T-shaped member having a cross-head and a stern, said cross-head having its respective ends connected to and extending between said adjacent ends of said other arms with said stem projecting away therefrom, and means connected with said stem to effect swinging movement thereof.

3. In a dam as defined in claim 2, said means connected with said stem comprising a gear rack, guide means in said compartment, said gear rack being mounted for vertical reciprocation in said guide means, a pin having an end thereof fixedly secured to said gear rack and projecting laterally therefrom, said stern having an axially extending slot formed therein to slidably receive said pin, a revers References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 439,165 Maginn Oct. 28, 1890 914,399 Fancher Mar. 9, 1909 954,999 Roell Apr. 12, 1910 1,594,578 Thurlow Aug. 3, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,959 France of 1830 OTHER REFERENCES Handbook of Applied Hydraulics, by C. V. Davis, 1st edition, pages 368 to 389, 555 to 565, and page 186. Copyrighted 1942.

Engineering News-Record, May 10, 1951, page 29.

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