US451460A

US451460A - Compressor for air and gases

Info

Publication number: US451460A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1891-05-05
Anticipated expiration: 1908-05-05

Description

2 'Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

T. O. ORAVEN.

COMPRESSOR FOR AIR AND GASES.

No. 451,460. Patented'MaJy 5, 1891.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. C. CRAVEN. COMPRESSOR FOR AIR AND GASES.

YME Numus Ps1-Ens co., muraurno, wAsNxNnmN, uA ci NITED STATES PATENTn OFFICE.

THOMAS C. CRAVEN,OF NEWARK, NET JERSEY.

COMPRESSOR FOR AIR AND GASES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,460, dated May 5, 1891,

Application iiled June 7, 1890. Serial No. 354,544. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern 13e it known that l, THOMAS C. CRAvEN, 'a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the coniity of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Compressors for Air and Gases, of which the following is a specification.l

.Great'difficulty has heretofore been experienced in pumping air and other gases when undei` a very high pressure, because the expansion of the air either in the cylinders or the passage-ways frequently prevents: the drawing in of a fresh supply upon the backstroke, and the compression of the air in the cylinder at the end of the stroke is often but little more than the pressure of airin the reservoir into which such airis forced.

In my present invention I make use'of a pump that acts upon the water or similar iiiud, and this water is automatically directed into one or two cylinders or chambers and displaces the air therein, forcing the same out from the vessel and into a receivingchamber after the pressure has accumulated sufliciently to pass by the retaining-valves, and when one cylinder is full of liquid the connections are automatically changed to the other cylinder and the operations are repeated therein, While the water is allowed to run out of the first cylinder and atmospheric air to pass in and take its place, so that this cylinder is ready for the air to be compressed therein, when the automatic mechanism is again shifted from one cylinder to the other.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view at the line c of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is avertical section at the line y y, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section at the line ze of Fig. 2, showing also the upper portions of the air-cylinders and valves in section. Fig. A is an elevation of one of the float-valves.

The air-cylinders A B rest upon andare bolted to the base-plate C, and below this base-plate or within the saine is the valvechest D with a cover 2, and within the valvechest is the frame E around the valve F, and there are ports 3 and et in the valve-seat leading to the respective cylinders A and B, andv there is an exhaust-port 5 leading to the discharge-pipe G. The valve F is represented as an ordinary D slide-valve, as the same is best adapted to this apparatus; but I do not limit myself in this particular.

The water-supply pipe H leads from any suitable water-pumping apparatus to the valve-chest D, and by the valve F water is directed through the port 3 to the cylinder A or through the port a to the cylinder I3, accordin g to the position of the valve.

At the top ends of the respective cylinders A and B are valves I within the conical heads K of the respective cylinders, and at the apex of each conical head is a check-valve G at the junction of such conical head K with the branch pipes Ii, leading to any suitable airholding vessel or accumulator. It is preferable to place an adjusting-screw 7 over each of the check-valves 3 to limit the movement of such valve, the said adj usting-screw passing throughperforated bridge pieces or disks, and I remark that it is preferable to have upon each valve 6 a cylindrical stein S to the valve, the same sliding within the cylindrical or tubular portion at the apex of the conical head, and this cylindrical portion is channeled upon its edges up to the valve, the channel being sufficiently large for the free passage of the air under pressure as it is forced from the cylinder A or the cylinderB into the branch pipe L.

Each of the valves I is conical in its external configuration, and the stein 9 passes through and is guided by the bridge or perforated disk 10, so that the valve when open rests upon such bridge 10, and in order to close the valve a float 11 is provided for each valve, which is usually conical and held between strips or basket-shaped supports 13 from the valve I, and I prefer to make the iioat 1l of cork.

Upon the Valve-frame E and at opposite ends thereto are the rods 13 and le, passing through stuffing-boxes 15 at the ends of the valve-chest D, and at each end of the valvechest and lin line with the same are cylinders M N, containing valve-moving pistons O and P, that are preferably provided with cupleatliers and permanently connected to the

respective rods

13 and 14, and there are pendulous levers Q, pivoted at 1G and provided with weights R, and these pendulous levers are connected by link-joints 17 and 1S to the valve-moving pistons t) aud l), respectively, and iii line with the rods l-i aud Al-l-,and there is a hole ft.) passing from the cylinder A into the cylinder )l and a similar hole 2O from the cylinder B into the cylinder N,and these cylinders M and N remain full of water between the valve-moving pistons O l and the ends of the valve-chest D. The valve-chest D also remains full of water, and the operations of the parts are as follows:

lVater being forced through the supplypipc ll by competent power applied to a pump, such water is admitted bythe valve F to one of the ports 3 or i-. In Fig. l. the

water is represented as passing by the port 23 into the cylinder A, and as the water rises in such cylinder the air above it is compressed, and when the pressure of the air becomes equal to the pressure of the air in the branch pipes L the valve G opens and the air under pressure continues to pass into such branch pipes L andthe container or accumulator, and when the water rises around the float ll the water lifts such float and closes the valve l, so that water does not pass into the pipes L, and the water in the cylinder A being now confined the pressure accumulates and the water passes through the hole lf) into the cylinder M, and the pressure becomes sufficient against the valve-moving piston O to move the same along in the cylinder M against the action of the pendulous levers Q and weights R, and the frame E is moved at the saine time, and the weights pass over the pivots of the pendulous levers shortlybefore the end ofthe frame E comes in contact with the valve, and as the pendulous leversQ and weights fall in the other direction the valve F is moved and the water admitted to thecylinderB through theportt. Duringtheforegoingoperationthe water in the cylinder B has been running out by gravity because the valve F has opened a passage-way between the port l and the exhaust-port 5, and during this operation the valve G tothe cylinder l has been closed; but airis admitted into such cylinder B as t-lie water runs out in consequence of the cheek-valve S, of any suitable construction, opening inwardly and connected with the cylinder B or its conical head l, and the supply is such as to allow the cylinder l5 to become emptied, or nearly so, by the time the cylinder A has become filled and the valve changed, as before mentioned, and after the valve has been changed the water under pressure passes by the port i into the cylinder l, the cheekvalve S closes, and as the water accumulates and the pressure increases the valve G to the cylinder B is opened and tlieair under pressure passes to the branch pipes L and accuniulator until the valve I of the cylinder ll is floated and closes, and the water under the accumulation of pressure passes by the hole 20 into the cylinder N and gives motion to the valve-moving pistons and valve in the same manner and in the opposite direction before set forth, and during this operation thc water has been ruiming out from thc cylinder A through the port 3 alid ixliaust-port 5, the air entering such cylinder A through the cheek-valve T, and it willbe apparent by these alternating` operations the air is compressed in first one cylinder and then in the other by the direct action of the water, and the water-pump can be run at any desired speed and the cylinders A and ll can be of any desired size. llenee the pressure of air can be very high, according to the uses to which the compressed air is put, andthe cylinders A and I3 become air-puinping cylinders with water-pistons, and such cylinders do not become highly heated by the compression of the atmosphere, because of the cooling action of the water, and such water as it is run out from first one cylinder and then the other may be received into a vessel sufficiently charged to allow such water to cool before it is used over again.

In cases where a pump is used to compress air to the extent of two or three atmospheres it can be made to operate reasonably well, and hence air under such pressure may be supplied by pipes through the check-valves S T into the cylinders A B, and the powerful compression will be effected by the water in such cylinders A B as it rises, as aforesaid.

It will be apparent that the weights R can be adjusted to any desired position, and the 'farther the weights are elevated the higher the pressure will have to accumulate before the valves are moved and the greater will be the leverage exerted by such weights in moving the valves, and by adjusting these weights the amount of pressure that accumulates in the cylinders before the valve F is moved will be determined.

It is to be understood that water always remains in the cylinders M N between their stationary heads and stuffing-boxes l5 and the respective pistons O P, and that the passage-ways lt) and 2O are full of water and always reinain open into the respective cylinders; but the weights R, acting on the levers, valve-rod, and valve-moving pistons, prevent the pressure of water moving the valves until the pressure in one of the cylinders A oi' B is sufficient to overcome the resistance afforded by the said weights R and levers Q, and this pressure varios according to the position of the weights on the levers and the leverage exerted by them to hold the valvemoving pistons in a state of rest. XVhen the pressure becomes sufficiently great in one cylinder A or l, (the other cylinder at that time is being diseharged,) the water that is forced into such cylinder passes through the port 19 (or 20) and moves the pistons 0 alid l) from one position to the other7 and the valve F is moved as soon as the levers Q pass the vertical position and are acted upon by the weights to cause them to swing downward and give motion to the valve-rods 13 14E to cause the water-supply to pass to the other cylinder and open the discharge of tlietirst cylinder. rllic ITO positions of the weights R can be adj usted so that their leverage will be more or less, and a greater or less pressure will have to accumu-v late before motion is given to the valve. Hence a safety-valve to the apparatus is not needed, as the cylinders A B will discharge successively and automatically, and should the pressure in the pipes L be greater than that at which the weighted levers Q R are set to mowe no air will be forced into such pipes L; but so soon as the pressure in the pipesL is lessened the air will be forced in by the successive rising of the water in the vessels A B. The floats l1, being immediately below the valves I, act directly upon them, and when the water accumulates lsufficiently to lift the float the valve is closed, and thereby the flow of water from the vessel A or B into the pipe L is prevented, and being confined the water as it is pumped into the vessel causes an in.- crease of pressure and the Water goes by the passage 19 or 2O into the cylinder M or N and acts directly upon the valve-moving piston O or P and the weighted levers to change the position ot' the valve and direct the lWater into the other cylinder.

I claim as my invention- The combination, with a pipe through whicl water' under pressure is supplied, of a valve and valve-chest .receiving the water, vertical waterreceiving cylinders or vessels, ports leading from the valve-seat to the receivingcylinders and to an exhaust, air-valves and floats at the upper ends of the water-cylinders, and pipes to convey away the compressed air to a receiver or holder, and valve-moving pistons and cylinders for the same, provided with uncontrolled openings between the respective water-cylinders and cylinders for the valve-moving pistons, whereby the valve is' moved to admit water to one cylinder or the other automatically, substantially as set forth. Signed by me this 4th day of June, 1890.

THOS. C. CRAVEN. Witnesses:

Gno. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. MoTT.