US581668A - Hydraulic elevator plants - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l. R. C. SMITH. OPERATING HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR PLANTS. NO. 581,668.

Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

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(No'ModeL) R; 0. SMITH. OPERATING HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR PLANTS.

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Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

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RUDOLPH O. SMITH, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE OTIS BROTHERS & COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

OPERATlNG HYDRAULlC ELEVATOR PLANTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,668, dated April 27, 1897. Application filed M y 29,1894. Serial No. 512,926. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH (1. SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Yonkers, Vestchester county, New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Operating lIydraulic-Elevator Plants, of which the following is a specilication.

My inven tion relates to an improved method of operating hydraulic elevators.

The object of my invention is to obtain in the operation of hydraulic elevators the highest economyin the consumption of fuel without adding greatlyto the first cost of installation and with the use of as ordinary an apparatus as is now used for this purpose. T attain this result, I combine three instrumentalit-ies for this purpose-first, a multiplepressure system by means of several reservoirs; second, an improved n1ultiple-pumping apparatus withimproved connections and automatic starting gear; third, automatic valve devices to combine the various powers by means of these instrumentalities, according to the requirements of certain predetermined loads.

The invention is illustrated in the diagram shown in Figure l of the drawings, and, further, in the enlarged detail shown in Fig.

The lift-engine may be of any suitable construction and either-single or multiple. As shown, it is multiple, with three cylinders 1, 2, and 3, the central cylinder being largestin diameter, and the piston-rods of the pistons 4: of all the cylinders being connected to one cross-head 5, the operation of which will serve to lift the cage 36 by the descent of the pistons and to lower the cage by the ascent of the pistons. To lift the cage, water is introduced from an inlet-pipe 6 to the side cylinders and from an inlet-pipe 50 to the central cylinder, and to lower the cage the water is circulated from the cylinders through the pipes 6 50 and through pipes 43 44: through a valve apparatus E, with which the pipes 6 O communicate, and through a valve apparatus D, through which the pipes 43 44c communicate. The valve apparatus D is the main valve of the engine, and while it may be operated directly it is shown as being operated by means of a pilot-valve appliance l3.

\Vater at diiiferent pressures is admitted to the main cylinder or to both the main and the subordinate cylinders from two pipes 19 20, and is controlled in its flow by the said valve apparatus. The pipe 19 is supplied with water at high pressuresay one hundred and sixty poundsand the pipe 20 from water at a lower pressuresay one hundred poundsand ahollow tubular valve 22 is secured to a stem 32, which carries a piston-valve 23 and a larger piston 24, fitting the larger area of. the casing, so as to act as the piston of a motor that operates the main valve and constitutes a part of the main-valve device. The main valve 22 is so constructed that when it descends below the pipe 19 water from the latter can flow to the pipe 50, and when it ascends above the pipe 20 water from the latter can flow to the pipe 50, flow from both pipes being cut olf when the valve is in the midposition, covering the port shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2.

lVhen the lower valve is below the ports of the pipes 43 44, the latter are in communication, and when the valve 23 is above the ports of the pipes 43 44 the water will flow therefrom to the port I) and thence through the discharge-pipe 21 to a discharge or suction tank 23*.

The casing of the pilot-valve device B communicates through a port 0 and pipe with the top of the casing a, above the piston 24. Two ports 27 29 are connected by a circulating-pipe 33, and below the port 27 is a port 29, and below the latter is a port communicating with a discharge-pipe s, leading to the discharge-pipe 21. A port 58 above the port 27 communicates, through a pipe 41, with the high-pressure pipe 10, and in the casing of the device B is a valve 20 and a counter-balancing piston 25, both upon a stem 35, connected to one end of a lever 60, to the opposite end of which the stem 32 is pivoted. At a point to one side of the center of lever 60 is pivoted a link 61, extending to a crank 62 upon the shaft of a wheel 63, to which movement is imparted from the cage of the elevator through the medium of any suitable operating appliances. In combination with these parts I make use of an automatic regulator F, consisting of a casin f and containing a port 64, closed by a valve upon a stem carrying a piston 55. top of the easingf to the pipe 50, and a pipe 67 leads from the bottom of the casing to the port 29 of the pilot-valve device.

The valve device E, which is an automatic regulator, consists of a casing containing a hollow tubular or sleeved valve 51 upon a stem 68, which carries two pistons 09 and a piston-valve 71, and which is counterbalanced by a counterbalance-lever 72. From the top of the casing g extends a pipe 70, which communicates with the pipe 50.

With all of the above-described parts arranged substantially as shown and specified, when the valve 22, which, as shown, has no paekin g, is in a central position there can be a slight leakage of water from the pipe 19 to the space below the piston 24, and assuming that the cage has but a light load, sufficient to be lifted by on e hundred pounds pressure in the engine, the operation will be as follows: The operator by moving the hand device in the cage can so turn the wheel 63 that the pilot-valve is thrown down to open the port 0 of the pipe 40, when the pressure below the piston 24 will lift the latter, raise the valve 22, and permit water at one hundred pounds pressure to pass to the central cylinder 2 to depress the piston therein and raise the cage. As the piston 24 of the valve device D rises above its mid-position the piston 26 of the control-valve begins to descend and, after a movement depending on the height to which the piston 26 has been raised, closes the port 27 as the piston 24 and valve 22 reach their desired position. If it is then desired to descend, the operator still further throws down the pilot-valve 26 until the port 58 is uncovered,when water at high pressure will pass through the pipe 41 and port 58 into the pipe 40 and equalize the pressure on both sides of the piston 24, when the pressure on the piston 23 will cause the latter to descend below the ports of the pipes 43 44 to the desired extent, when the port of the pilot-valve will be closed by the action of the piston 24. The water will now circulate under pressure from above the piston of the cylinder 2, and also from above the pistons of the other cylinders through the pipes G, 50, 43, and 44, and the cage will descend downward through the hollow valve 22 and to the pipes. The casing a is of sufficient length that the valve 22 can ascend to such an extent as to open the port of the pipe 19. A very slight opening is sufficient to allow the increased pressure to enter the pipe 50. Of course the diameter of the valve-casing is varied according to the character of the work to be done. During these operations with a light load the pressure in the pipe 50, in consequence of the movement A branch pipe 66 leads from the of the piston of the engine, will be less than one hundred pounds. If, however, the load in the cage should be so great that one hundred pounds pressure will not lift the same, there will be an increase of pressure in the pipe 50, which, acting upon the piston 28 of the regulator F, will cause the said piston to descend and carry down the secondary valve 65 and open the port 64, when the space above the piston 24 of the valve device D will-be put in connection through the pipes 40 "a, port 64, pipe 67, and port 29 with the discharge-pipe s. The operator having in the first instance moved the control-valve so as to raise the valve 22, the pressure resulting from opening the port 64 will cause the piston 24 to be further elevated until the port 29 is closed, when the lower edge of the valve 22 will have uncovered the port between the pipe 5 and the pipe 19, and water at one hundred and sixty pounds pressure will pass to the cylinder 2, a stopvalve 31 preventing the water from being forced back through the pipe 20. The power is thus automatically increased without any direct act of the operator, who simply opens the control valve in the first instance, and the pressure then adjusts itself to the load. If the load is still too great to be lifted by the increased pressure acting on the piston 4, the pressure in the pipe 50 will further so increase as to act upon the piston 69 of the valve device E and force the latter down until the hollow valve 51 is below the pipe 50 and the valve 71 below the pipe 6, when water at one hundred and sixty pounds pressure will pass through the valve 51 from the pipe 50 to the pipe 6 and to the auxiliary cylinders, and will act upon the pistons thereof, the increased piston area thus afforded serving to secure the raising of the increased load, and this additional power being secured automatically and in proportion to the increase of the load without any act on the part of the operator in the cage.

Under any of the circumstances, whatever may be the pressure when the cage is to descend, the operator simply restores the control-valve 26 to its reversed position, when the valve 2 will be brought to its lowest position and the valve 23 opens the pipe 43 and water will circulate from end to end of the cylinder, as above described. hen the valve 22 is above the pipe 20, of course the pressure is operating at one hundred pounds. Then the valve 22 is below the pipe 10, the water is supposed to be admitted at one hundred and sixty (100) pounds for circulation, but at the same time that the valve goes below the pipe 10 the lower valve 23 goes below the pipes 43 and 44 to allow the water to circulate and the cage to descend.

\Vhile I have referred to a multiple engine, it will be evident that the device above described (exeept the regulator E) maybe used in connection with a single engine and with two pressures, and it will also be evident that where additional pressure is required it may be obtained by using additional pipes and control devices communicating with a source of greater power. It will be seen also that the various valve devices may be constructed in any of the usual ways, so as to open the ports as required, and also that when it is not desired to make use of a motor for operating the valve 22 the latter may be operated directly from the control device of the elevator without the use of an engine, and in such case the pilot-valve will be dispensed with. In connection with said appliances I make use of means whereby to maintain constantly the requisite pressure in the high and low pressure pipes, and to this end I use high and low pressure reservoirs or tanks, two, 81 82, being employed when there are two different pressures desired,the normal pressure in tank 81 being, say, one hundred and sixty pounds and that in tank 82 one hundred pounds. It will of course be understood that instead of pressure-tanks gravity-tanks placed at different heights may be employed or weighted accumulators capable of giving different pressures may be used with like effect. W'ith said tanks or their equivalent (which I shall include under the term tanks hereinafter) I combine pumps G and H of any suitable character, reciprocating pumps being shown, the pump II being an ordinary high-pressure pump and G being an ordinary compound or double-expansion pump with a high-pressure cylinder 9 and a low-pressure cylinder 10, and between pumps G H is receiver 11, which receives the exhaust from the pipe 1a of the pump II, which pump derives its water-supply from the tank 3*. From the steam-receiver 11 a pipe 82 passes to the high-pressure cylinder 9, and in the pipe 82 is a valve 38, which is controlled by any suitable form of governor 18, connected with the tank 82 in such manner that the pump G will be put in operation whenever the pressure in the tank 82 is below normal, and the supply of steam will be cut oil? to the pump G whenever the pressure rises above normal. The pump H also communicates through a pipe 83 with the tank 81, which has a governor 17, like the governor 18, connected to control a valve 37 in the steam-supply pipe 84, which communicates with a generator capable of supplying steam at the same pressure as the maximum power desired-say, for instance, one hundred and sixty pounds. The generator also communicates through pipe 85 with the receiver 1.1, and the said pipe 85 is provided with a re duction-valve 13, which will prevent the main steam-supply being transmitted to the receiver 11 at a greater pressure than may be predeterminedsay, for instance, seventy pounds-and an escape-valve 12 permits the steam to escape from the receiver 11 should it exceed the said pressure of seventy pounds.

It will of course be understood that the pressure in the tanks is proportioned to the required service and that the pumps and engines are of proper relative size. For instance, of pump G, I assume that the multiple engine has a high-pressure cylinder fourteen inches in diameter and a low pressure cylinder twenty inches in diameter with a water-cylinder fifteen inches in diameter and twelveinch stroke and receiving its suction-water from tank 3 through a branch pipe 82 and delivering into the tank 82 through a pipe 87. The pump H will in such case have a steamcylinder of twenty inches diameter, a waterter-cylinder twelve by fifteen inches receiving steam at one hundred and sixty pounds pressure and exhausting into the receiver 11 against seventy pounds back pressure. Ordinarily it receives its suction-water from tank 82 through a pipe 85, communicating with the pipe 86; but the piping should be of such a character that each pump in case of emergency may be used to pump from tank 3 into tank 81 or from tank 82 into tank 81 or from tank 3 into tank 82. Assuming that each tank 81 82 is half-filled With water and at normal pressure, if Water is withdrawn from the tank 82 the governor 18 Will open the valve 38 and the pump G will be put into operation, and water will be pumped into the tank 82 through a pipe 87. In like manner when the pressure descends in tank 81 in consequence of water being withdrawn therefrom the governor 17 will open the valve 37 The pump will be put into operation and Will withdraw water from tank 82 and pump it into the tank 81, and of course the withdrawal of water from tank 82 will cause the governor 18 to put the pump G into operation to supply the deficiency in the tank 82. It will thus be seen that the tanks and the water ends of the pumps are so arranged as to be in series, so that the pressure side of one pump forms the suction of the next.

It will be seen that the reduction of pressure in the high-pressure tank and the corresponding operation of the pump H cause the water and the pressure in the low-pressure tank to be lowered and put in operation the pump G, which supplies the said low-pressure tank from a separate tank 3, and I am therefore enabled, in consequence of this action, to make use of a triple or multiple expansion of the steam, employing only ordinary commercial pumps. Thus it will be seen that the exhaust from pump II passes to the receiver 1]. with one reduction of steam-pressure, which operates in the high-pressure cylinder 9 of the pump G, and from the latter it passes to the low-pressure cylinder 10 with a second reduction of pressure, and thence to the atmosphere, so that I use the steam in the apparatus under three different pressures, while making use of a direct-pressure pump and a compound pump, such as can be purchased upon the market. It will also be seen that the effective pressure in pump II, in order to IIO maintain one hundred and siXty pounds in tank 81, is much less than would be necessary to maintain this pressure by means of a pump communicating with and receiving its supply from an ordinary non-pressure tank. This results from the fact that the pump H received its water at a pressure of one hundred pounds from tank 82, so that the available steam-pressure for operating the pump H will be about thirty pounds, where otherwise it would have to be one hundred pounds.

When accumulators are used, they perform the same office as the tanks and have devices for controlling the respective pumps according to the pressures exerted by the accumulators, and I therefore include under the term pressure-tank an accumulator or equivalent pressure-storing apparatus; and while in the connection above described great advantages are secured when pumps operating under steam-pressure are used, so as to sesure the advantages of the multiple expansion of the steam, yet in some in stances pumps driven by hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, or gas motors may be used with automatic switch devices and other requisite gear; and I can secure the same advantages from the result of the pumps connected with the tanks under different pressures and operated by governors, as set forth above in connection with hydraulic pumping apparatus.

I do not here claim the main-valve device and its connections for regulating the admission of different fluids, as this is the subject of a separate application, Serial No. 562,673, filed September 16, 1895.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts shown, I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of high and low pressure water-tanks, engine and discharge tank, high and low pressure pumps G and H and connections between the said tanks and pumps arranged to permit either pump to be put into connection to receive water from either the discharge or low pressure tank and to discharge water either into the high or low pressure tank, substantially as described.

2. The combination in an elevator apparatus of a main engine having multiple cylinders and pistons and a main valve, pipes communicating with different sources of power and leading to different ports of the main valve, a motor for the main valve, and a pilot-valve controlling said motor and connected to be operated from the cage to open the main-valve port communicating with the lowest source of power, and means for automatically opening the other of said ports as the load to be lifted increases, substantially as set forth.

The combination in an elevator apparatus, of two tanks containing motor fluid at different pressures, two independently-operating pumps for supplying said tanks, the pumps being in series with themselves and the tanks, one pump taking its water from the low-pressure tank and delivering it to the high-pressure tank, and one pump being operated by the exhaust-steam from the other, and valves, and governors each controlled by the pressure in one of the tanks to control the flow of steam to one of the pumps, substantially as described.

4. The combination of two pressure-tanks and independently operating pumps, the pumps being in series with themselves and the tanks and one pump having its deliverypipe communicating with the high-pressure tank and its receiving-pipe communicating with the low-pressure tank, and the other pump discharging into the low-pressure tank,

and a hydraulic-power apparatus provided with valves controlling the flow from the different tanks, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a hydraulic-power apparatus and control-valves and separate tanks, containing water under different pres: sures, of a pump operating under high pressure communicating with one of the tanks, a second independent pump operating under low pressure with its discharge-pipe communicating with-the other tank and the latter also communicating with the receiving-pipe of the high-pressure pump, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a hydraulic-power apparatus and control valves and tanks, one tank communicating with a pump operating under high pressure, the other communicating with the receiving-pipe of said pump and with the discharge-pipe of another independent pump operating under low pressure, and automatic governors for starting and stopping the pumps according to the pressure in the tanks, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with ahydraulic-power apparatus and its valves, of tanks for containing motor fluid under different pressures and separate independently-operating pumps arranged in series with themselves and the tanks for supplying said tanks, the high-pressure pump receiving its fluid from the lowpressure tank, a source of steam-supply communicatin g with the high-pressure pump, and a reducing-valve in a'steam-pipe supplying the low-pressure pump, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination of a hydraulic apparatus having two or more cylinders, tanks containing motor fluid at different pressures, and means for automatically maintaining said pressures, and automatic valve devices whereby the high or low pressure is admitted according to the load to be lifted, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination in a hydraulic-power apparatus, of tanks, high and low pressure pumps supplying said tanks, one pump being a compound-engine pump and the highpressure cylinder thereof receiving steam from the exhaust of the other pump, an ele- IIO Vator cylinder and piston, and means for antomatically directly opening communication between the high-pressure tank and the cylinder when the load in the cage is excessive, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination in a hydraulic-power apparatus, of tanks, high and low pressure pumps supplying said tanks, the high-pressure pump drawing Water from the lo\v-pressure tank, one pump being a compound-engine pump and the high-pressure cylinder thereof receiving steam from the exhaust of the other pump, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as RUDOLPH C. SMITH.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY L. BRANT, H. W. BARKLEY.

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