US593049A

US593049A - Apparatus for compressing aie ok gas

Info

Publication number: US593049A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1897-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 1914-11-02

Description

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

E. HILL.

APPARATUS FOR GOMPRESSING AIR 0R GAS.

No. 593,049. Patented Nov. 2, 1897.

B A i H A H WM H (No Model.) -2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. HILL. APPARATUS FOR GOMPRBSSING AIR 03 GAS.

No. 593,049. Patented Nov. 2, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrca EBENEZER HILL, OF SOUTH NORVVALK, CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING AIR OR GAS.

SIBECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,049, dated November 2, 1897.

Application and August 17,1896.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EBENEZER HILL, of South Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Apparatus for Compressing Gas or Air; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a plan view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a view thereof in elevation; Fig. 3, a detail view of one of the charging-stands.

My invention relates to an improved apparatus for charging tanks with compressed air or gases, the object being to provide a markedly convenient apparatus which will secure an economy of fuel, labor, and time, but, primarily, which will be adapted to have its aircompressors located at a central station or at substations, according to the dictation of circumstances, to obvious advantage in several ways.

with these ends in view my invention con: sists in an apparatus having certain details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims, the apparatus being constructed so that any one of its independent air-compressors may be manually turned upon the particular locomotive connected with it or diverted into the system, according to the demands made thereupon at any one time, and so as to help out the other air-compressors in charging the locomotives connected with them.

The apparatus chosen for illustration em ploys three air-compressors A, A, and A which may be located at'a central station or in different substations, according to the dietation of circumstances. The said air-compressors are connected,respectively, by means of pipes B, B, and B with charging-stands G, C, and G which are coupled by means of pipes D, D, and D to a charging-stand coupling-pipe E, which, as shown, has an air-reservoir F connected with it, though in case the pipe E is very long or in case it is comparatively large in size it may itself constitute a the stands, because they are all alike.

$erial No. 502,940. (No model.)

reservoir of compressed air, in which event the air-reservoir F may be dispensed with. The chargingstands O, C, and 0 being connected together by the charging-stand coupling-pipe E, which makes them interdependent in use, are in one view of them sections or members of a single charging-stand, but inasmuch as they may be in the use of my apparatus widely separated, though coupled, I have chosen to speak of them as individual charging-stands from the fact that each one of them'is independently connected with an air-compressor.

A detail view of the charging-stand O is shown in Fig. 3, which is illustrative of all of This stand comprises valves G and G, which may be of any approved construction, the handle G of the valve G being connected by a coupling-lever G with the handle G of the valve G. When the handle G is operated to open the valve G, the valve G will be closed, and vice versa. A check-valve H, located above the valve G, permits the current to flow through it only in one direction, which is indicated by the arrow h. The charging-stands are thus seen to have two valved passageways and to constitute a double connection, as it were, between the respective air-compressors and the general apparatus, which is typified by the charging-stand coupling-pipe E. Thus by opening the valve G and closing the valve G all of the air compressed by the air-compressor individually connected with the stand will be directed into the locomotive connected with the stand, while, on the other hand, by closing the valve G and opening the valve G all of the air compressed by the compressor connected with the stand will be diverted from any locomotive connected with the stand and into the general apparatus, throughout which the pressure will be raised more or less, according to the pressure in the apparatus at the time and to the pressure of nected by the locomotive coupling-pipeK to the valve G. The handle G of the said valve is now operated to open the valve G, whereby the valve G is simultaneously closed. The pressure in the tank of the locomotive, in the. compressor A, in the pipe B, in the reservoir F, and in the pipe E will now be equalized by compressed air flowing to the locomotive through the pipe B and thence through the valve G and locomotive coupling-pipe K, and.

also by compressed air flowing through the pipe D, check-valve H, valve G, and locomotive coupling-pipe K to the locomotive; but

the equalization of air, as described, is only temporary, for the air-compressor O, continuing to force air through the pipe B, through the valve G, and through the coupling-pipe K to the locomotive, will raise the pressure in the locomotive above the pressure in the pipes D and E and in the connections thereof,

so that the check-valve II will automatically close and prevent any of the air flowing from the compressor A from' being deflected into the general system or from going elsewhere than into the locomotive I, the pressure in the tank of Whichwill be gradually raised until the same is fully charged. This then will bethe operation of the apparatus as to charging the locomotive 1, unless it happens that the action of the compressors A and A shall raise the pressure in the charging-stands- O" and C and hence in the pipes D and D j and pipe E, sufliciently to overcome the pressure tending to keep the check-valve H closed and automatically open the same and contribute to the charging of the locomotive I. When the locomotive I has been charged, the handle-lever G of the valve G is seized and operated to close the valve G, whereby through the office of the lever G the valve G will be opened, after which the compressed air brought to the charging-stand C from the? compressor A through the pipe 13, finding no outlet through the valves G or H, will pass through the valve G and pipe D into the pipe E, so as to raise the pressure therein and in the connections thereof, including the reservoir F. Now if at the time the valve G is closed and the valve G opened, on account. of the completion of the charging of the locomotive I, the locomotives I or I either or both, should come in and be connected, by means of the pipes K and K with the charging stands C and C the air coming from the i compressor A will pass throughthe chargingstand 63 and thence through the pipeE and its connections to the charging-stands O" and 0 through which it will flow into the tanks of the locomotives I or I until the pressure therein is raised by the action of the compressors A and A with which the said locomotives are now connected, above the pressure of the air coming from the compressor A, at which time the check-valves of the stands 0 and C will be automatically closed. Then the air compressed by the compressor 7 A will be utilized to raise the pressure in the reservoir F and the pipe E and the connections thereof. The charging of the locomotives I and I will be effected, of course, in the same manner as the charging of the locomotive I, which, if it comes in to be charged after the locomotives I or I have been charged, will be assisted in being charged by the air-compressorsA and A which will make their contribution until. its. own aircompressor A. has raised'the pressure in it sufficiently to close the check-valve H of its charging-stand.

It will thus be seen that by employing, sev- 7 eral air-compressors as many charging-stands having independent connectionwith the said air-compressors and valved as described or equivalently and means for coupling all of Y the charging-stands together I-am enabled to use all of the compressorsv all of the time, for when any compressor is not forcing air into 1 the tank of a locomotive connected with its own charging-stand. it is assisting the other compressors in, charging the locomotives connected with their charging-stands or in raising the pressure in, the air-reservoir or in the coupling-pipes of the system, the particular action of any one compressor at any one time being dependent, of course, upon the number of. locomotives being charged, the pressure of air in their tanks, and the pressure in. the 5 air-reservoir and in the coupling-pipes.

The .main advantage resulting from the l use of my apparatus lies in its concentration (of. several air-compressors upon one locomotive and the separation of the compressors, i so as to cause them, to act individually upon 3 the locomotives directly connected with them, and all this in perfect harmony with the de- 1 mands put upon the apparatus at any moment, 3 whereby I secure a marked economy of power 5 and the greatest possible despatch.

1 It is not necessary, as before stated, that 7 all ofthe charging-stands should be situated f in the immediate vicinity of each. other, for, as before suggested, they may be located. in i widely-separated sections of a city or town, but however located they will all be connect- 5 ed together by the chargingstand coupling- I pipe E, which, it long enough and large f enough, may be of such great capacity as to itself, constitute an air-reservoir and render the use of a. special.v air-reservoir, such as F, unnecessary i ors: grouped together at a central station or I distributed in substations throughout alarge area my apparatus secures a great convenience heretofore unattained.

In, its adaptation to have its air-compress- IIO The peculiar advantages of my improved apparatus are realized in a measure by employing only two air-compressors and conjunctive accessories, but the effect is increased when three or more are used, and it is very evident from the description and drawings that the apparatus can be indefinitely extended by duplicating the air-compressors and charging-stands and their connections and accessories. I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown and described, but hold myself at liberty to make such variations therefrom as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

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

1. A charging-stand for use in conjunction with an apparatus for charging tanks, the, with compressed air or gas, the said stand being adapted to be connected with an air-conipressor, and also with one or more similar charging-stands, and containing two independent valved passageways, one of which has a check-valve and the other two manualvalves between which the check-valve is interposed.

An apparatus for charging tanks, &c., with compressed air or gas, having" two or more air-compressors, individual chargingstands connected with the respective air-compressors, and a charging-stand coupling-pipe connected with all of the charging-stands which are adapted to have locomotives connected with them, the valves for the chargingstandsbein g constructed and arranged to permit the compressed air brought to them by their respective compressors to be concentrated upon the particular locomotives connected with them, or diverted into the system, according to the conditions of pressure therein.

3. An apparatus for charging tanks, &c with compressed air or gas, having two or more air-compressors, individual chargingstands connected with the respective air-compressors, acharging-stand coupling-pipe connected with all of the charging-stands which are adapted to have locomotives connected with them, and an air-reservoir connected with the said charging-stand coupling-pipe, and accumulating compressed air when the same is not taken by the locomotives attached to the stands.

4. An apparatus for charging tanks, &c., with compressed air or gas, having two or more air-compressors, individual chargingstands connected with the respective compressors, and a charging-stand coupling-pipe connected with all of the charging-stands which are adapted to have locomotives connected with them, the valves of each charging-stand being constructed and arranged to concentrate the pressure of its air-compressor upon the locomotive attached to it or to divert V such pressure from it to the other stands.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EBENEZER HILL. \Vitnesses:

JOHN A. OSBORN, JNo. P. TREADWE'LL.