US394295A

US394295A - Piston

Info

Publication number: US394295A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1888-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 1905-12-11

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. POORB.

PISTON.

No. 394,295. Patented Dec. 11, 1888.

W tnesses: v [12 wanton G: CZ v flaza My n. PEYERS. mammnm Wm EC 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

PISTON.

No. 394,295.- Patented Dec. 11, 188 8.

Inventor:

JMM

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC TOIVNSEND POORE, OFSORANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

PISTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'394,295, dated December 11, 1888. Application filed April 23, 1888. Serial No.- 271,585. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I; TOWNSEND PooRE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pistons; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists in a novel and improved construction of a piston, whereby a continuous and uniform lubrication is obtained in a piston while being worked under very high pressure.

My invention is of essential value in mining-pumps which have to lift water to very great elevations and which are worked at a very high rate of speed. The old plungerpum'ps do very good service at a moderate speed; but at a comparatively high speed the inertia of the heavy plungers and connections reciprocating with the same have a very bad effect upon the working machinery and necessitate frequent repair. The ordinary packed piston, being much lighter than the plunger, can be operated without the aforesaid difiiculties; but its lubrication under modes and constructions as heretofore under heavy pressure has proved inadequate to the requirements, and the wear of piston and cylinder has been very considerable, not only on account of dry friction, but also on account of contact with sulphur waters lifted from mines, which are usually of a highly-corroding nature. Therefore, the piston packing and cylinder, when used for mining purposes, will work most successfully when the segmental or sector packing is made of wood segmental blocks and adjustable by a stiff split springring, or by a more yielding split springring and set-screws, and is seated upon an india-rubber or similar elastic band, and cushioned by one or more india-rubber or similar elastic gaskets, and provided with receptacles filled with a solidified or nearly solidified lubricant,wh.ich retains a fixed form, constitutes a part of said packing, and is adjustable with it, so as to be supplied just in proportion as the packing wears down, said rubber seatband, rubber, cushioning gasket or gaskets, and solid lubricant'insuring the pistons working water-tight in the cylinder, and also serving to protect the piston while subjected to undue strain and concussions, and acting at all times as a seal against the entrance of corroding water into the body of the piston,thus saving its interior parts and rendering frequent repairs unnecessary; but while the piston for mine-pumps works best with solid lubricant, it will, if made without receptacles for such lubricant, but otherwise constructed as above mentioned, be very enduring and useful in other relations.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of ahorizontally-arranged piston, illustrating one mode of using my invention, two rows or circles of segmental packingblocks being shown. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the packing, follower, and confining-nut of the same. Fig. 3 is an end View of the same, the confining-nut, follower, and cushioning-gasket being removed. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, the receptacles for solidified lubricant being omitted and cushioning-gaskets being applied between the flange-plate and follower, as well as between the two rows or circles of segmental or sector packing-blocks. Fig. 5 is end view of the piston with the confining-nut and follower re moved, the cushioning-gasket being in place, this view illustrating a stiff split spring for adjusting or expanding the packing, the setscrews and their connections being omitted. Fig. 6 is a similar view to Fig. 1, but showing one row or circle of segmental packingblocks, and cushioning-gaskets between the blocks, flange-plate, and.follower of the piston. Fig. 7 is a similar view to 2 of the piston shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a similar view to Fig. 3 of the piston shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Fig. 9 is a similar view to Fig. 5 of the piston shown in Fig. 6, the spring being stiffened and the set-screws and their connections omitted, as in Fig 5. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 1, A B represent the piston-head; G, the follower; A, the piston-rod, and A the screw end for receiving a confining-nut, A

D D are two rows or circles of segmental packing-blocks formed with angular ends, as at g.

E is an india-rubber or other elastic seatband, upon which the segmental packin piston-head and between the flange-plate B- and follower C, as shown, it being of the same external diameter as the internal diameter of the seat-band E and about as broad as said seat-band.

Z) Z) are set-screws provided with segmental foot-plates h, resting on the hub portion A of the piston-head, and movable segmental head- The band E may be perforated at f,

pieces (7, fitted loosely on the outer ends of the screws, and operating-nuts c and jam-nuts c, as shown.

a represents deep receptacles formed in the periphery of the segmental packing-blocks, and a solidified or nearly solid lubricant placed firmly in said receptacles, so as to be adj usted outward with the said block by the action of the set-screws, and thus always be in contact with the cylinder of the pump and lubricate it and the piston.

G G G are india-rubber cushioning and sealing gaskets placed, respectively, between the two rows or circles of packing-blocks, and between said blocks and the flange-plate and follower of the piston, as shown in Fig. 4C, or only between the said rows or circles of blocks, as shown in Figs; 1 and 2; or, as when a single row of such blocks is used, placed between the flange-plate B and the blocks and between the follower and the blocks, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The cushioning gaskets are respectively as broad as the distance between the india-rubber seat-band E and the periphery of the rings of packing-blocks, and are thick enough to form a yielding cushion be tween the two rows of blocks or yielding cushion between said blocks themselves and the blocks and flange-plate and follower of the piston, accordingly as they may be used. Ordinarily one cushioning gasket placed between two rows or circles of packing-blocks is sufficient; but the other two (shown in Fig. 4) may be employed to seal the joints between the flange-plate B and the blocks and the follower and the blocks. So, also, one gasket may be placed either between the follower C and the blocks or the flange-plate and the blocks when one circle or row of packingblocks is used; but I prefer to use two gaskets, as shown in Fig. (5, so as to more effectually seal the joints against the entrance of corroding water or substances into the piston.

In Figs. 5 and 9 I have shown the split spring F stiffened and employed separately from the set-screws for adjusting or expanding the packing-blocks. This construction would answer for a twelve-inch cylinder if the spring is one-half inch thick or more on one side and three-sixteenths of an inch on the other and tapered, as shown. The spring for use with the set-screws is made of uniform thickness throughoutsay one-fourth of an inch thick.

To adjust or expand the circle or circles of packing formed of blocks 1) D, and along with the same the lubricant a, the nuts 0 are turned so as to move the head-pieces (Z outc rd radially and cause them to press forcibly against the inside of the spring F, and

thereby expand said spring and cause it to expand the seat-band E, and in turn the circle or circles of packing-blocks. The same action upon the seat-band E and the ring or rings of packin g-blocks follows when the spring alone, as in Figs. 5 and 9, is adopted for making the adjustment mentioned; but in the latter case the adjustment takes place automatically and simultaneously with the wearing down of the packing and solid lubricant. In fitting the setscrews b to the piston their lower ends may be set in sockets cut into the hub portion A of the piston-head and the plate h dispensed with; but it is more convenient for insertion and removal to have the screws set into segmental-packing-plates, as shown.

The piston herein described, and shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3,-by having the elastic seatband E is sealed tight at the joints between the follower and flange-plate and the packingblocks, and whentwo circles or rows of packing-blocks are employed said seat-band E and the cushioning-gasket G between said rows or circles of blocks also seal the joint where the gasket is located, thereby excluding the corroding mine-water from the interior parts of the piston and thus saving the same from rapid destruction and avoiding frequent withdrawal of the piston for repairs on account of leakage and imperfect fitting of the packing, the cushioning-gasket also allowing the piston itself to yield, so as to (void injuries often experienced from the binding of the packing-blocks, due either to the swelling of the wooden segments under the action of water or to the increase of the diameter of the piston-packing by reason of the great resistance or pressure to which it is subjected while operating. By providing the wooden packing-blocks with lubricating material, as a, which is of a suitable consistency to're main in nearly a fixed form and lubricate between the piston and cylinder by mere contact or abrasion as fast as the packing and lubricant wear down, and also providing for automatic or hand adjustment of both the packing and lubricant, very important benefits are secured. The lubricant is best for ordinary purposes when of the consistency of tallow or beeswax, and it preferably may be of simple substancessuch as tallow, beeswax, and the like or it may be of suitable known compounds having a fixed well-known melting-point; or the lubricant may be plumbago. By making the segmental packingblocks of some durable substance permeable to greaseas, for instance, durable wood--' the packing is not liable to corrosion from mine-water, while it is capable, on account of its texture, of being impregnated during its manufacture with a waterproofing lubricant additional to the fixed lubricant placed in the holes a.

In actual practice the lubricant in a fixed form and made adjustable with the packingblocks has been found abundantly sufficient for lubricating the piston and cylinder, and by using said lubricant in connection with the .india-rubber seat-bandE and the cushioning gasket or gaskets G G water is effectually excluded from the interior of the piston. Thus a piston is provided which, in a high degree, is proof externally and internally against the attacks of corrosive waters, and will therefore wear very slowly, without much liability of.

leakage or getting rapidly out of working condition, and while this is so the cylinder is kept constantly coated with a protectingfilm of lubricating substance not fully dissolved, and is thus well guarded against undue wear and corrosion. 7

Numerous experiments have been tried in order to effectually lubricate pumps used in mines and worked at high speed; but they have not proved satisfactory, because liquid lubricants have not yet been found to possess enough adhesion to resist a great pressure without giving way and exposing the metals to the corroding waters, and, besides this, the old constructions of pistons have not been found to answer for this purpose.

It has been found by experimenting with my invention that a pump havingan ordinary piston which had to be inspected and repaired every third or fourth'day on being supplied with one of my improved pistons was found to work serviceably and steadily by day and night for nine months with a pressure of a column of water three hundred and seventyfive feet high, and when examined was found in good working condition as to both piston and cylinder.

I contemplate modifying the piston described by employing ordinary follower-bolts instead of the single nut A and screw A as shown; also by dispensing, in some cases withthe elastic seat-ring Eas, for instance, when the elastic gaskets G G are used-at joints between follower and flange-plate of the piston and the packing-blocks, as in Fig. ,6, or both at said joints, and between the rows or circles of packing-blocks, as in Fig. 4; also, by leaving off in some cases the cushioninggasket G; also,'by making deep zigzag channels or grooves for holding the solid lubricant, as indicated in dotted lines at a in Figs. 1 and 6, said grooves either unitingv with holes or being continuous; or by dispensing with holes or grooves, as in Fig. 4, in which case I prefer to use packing-blocks D, made of a compound consisting, in proper proportions, of substances such as sulphur, plumbago, and tallow,'niixed so as to be in a against said spring and bearing with its edges against the follower and flange-plate of the piston, and rigid radially separated or divided segmental packing-blocks D, bearing against said band, all arranged between the flangeplate and the follower of the piston, substantially as described.

2. A piston constructed with a follower and flange-plate, which excludes water and vapor and comprising a split or cut packing-spring, F, rigid radially separated or divided segmental packing-blocks D, an elastic cushioning water excluding gasket, G, and elastic band E, the said gasket G extending from the base of the blocks to their periphery, while the said band rests on the spring and bears against the gasket and blocks against the follower and flange of the piston, all arranged between the flange-plate and follower of the piston-head, substantially as described.

3. A piston constructed with a water and vapor excluding flan ge-plate and follower and comprising a split or cut packing-spring, elastic water-excluding band E, bearing with its edges against the flange and follower of the piston, and rigid radially divided or separated segmental packing-blocks D, provided with receptacles a in their peripherybetween their faces for solidified lubricant, all arranged between the flange-plate and followerof the piston-head, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A piston constructed with a water and vapor excluding flan ge-plate and follower and comprising a split or cut packing-spring, F, elastic band E, bearing with its edges against the flange and follower of the piston, elastic cushioning-gasket G, said band resting on the spring and the gasket resting upon it, and rigid radially divided or separated segmental packing-blocks D, provided with receptacles a for solidified lubricant, said blocks resting on the band, and having their radial joints at the sides closed by the gasket and at the bases by the band, all arranged between the flange-plate and follower of the piston-head, substantially as described.

5. A piston comprising a flange-plate and follower, which excludes water and vapor, and rigid radially divided or separated segmental packing-blocks D, having lubricant-receptacles a for solidified lubricant, elastic cushioning-gasket G between the flat surfaces of the rows or circles of said blocks, and elastic water-excluding bands E, bearing against the flange and follower of thepiston, and packing-spring F, all arranged between the flangeplate and follower of the piston-head. I

6. The piston comprising a water and vapor excludin flange-plate and follower, separated rows or circles of rigid radially divided or separated segm ental packing-blocks D, elastic cushioning and water-excluding gasket G between the inner flat surfaces of the separated rows or circles of said blocks, the elastic water-excluding band E, and split or cut packing-spring F, said band bearing against the flange and follower of the piston and resting on the spring, and it and the gasket bearing against one another and closing the radial joints between the blocks, all arranged between the flange-plate and follower of the piston-head, substantially described.

7-. The piston comprising a water and vapor excluding flange-plate and follower, radially divided or separated segmental packingblocks D, the packing-spring F, elastic cushioning-gasket G, and set-screws b, provided with radially-sliding plates (1, foot-plates h, and nuts 0, said plates cl bearing against the interposed spring F, and said blocks D being constructed of rigid material and resting upon a yielding foundation, all arranged between the flange-plate and follower of the pistonhead, substantially as described. I

8. The piston comprising a water and vapor excluding flange-plate and follower, radially divided or separated segmental packing blocks D, the, split or cut packing-spring F, elastic band E, elastic cushioning-gasket G, and set-screws provided with plates cl and nuts 0, said spring bearing against said band, said gasket resting upon said band, and the gasket and band closing the radial joints between the packing-blocks, and said sliding plates being loose on the screws and bearing against the interposed spring, and said blocks being constructed of rigid material and resting on a yielding foundation-head, all arranged between the flange-plate and follower of the piston, substantially as described.

9. The piston comprising a water and vapor excluding flange-plate and follower, radially divided or separated segmental packingblocks D, having receptacles a for solidified lubricant, the packing-spring F, elastic cushioning-gasket G, elastic band E, and setscrews 17, provided. with plates (Z and nuts 0, and said plates bearing against the interposed spring, and said packing-blocks being constructed of rigid material, all arranged between the flange-plate and follower of the piston-head, substantially as described.

10. The piston comprising a water and yapor excluding flange-plate and follower, radially divided or separated segmental packing-blocks D, having receptacles a for solidified lubricant, the split or cut packing-spring F, elastic band E, and set-screws I), provided with plates d, foot-plates h, and nuts 0, said band bearing against the packing-blocks and the spring, andthe said plates 01 hearing against the interposed packing-spring, all arranged between the flange-plate and follower of the piston-head, substantially as described. In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TOWVNSEND POORE.

Witnesses:

WM. A. VVILcoX, J NO. P. ALBRO.