US611455A

US611455A - Vacuum producing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US611455A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1898-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 1915-09-27

Description

No. 6H,455. Patented Sept. 27, I898;

w. E. MAY.

VACUUM PRODUCING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Aug. 12, 1897.)

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Shaet I- In! 11am: PETERS co, PHOYO-LIYHON WASmHGTON. a c.

N0. 6|l,455. Patented Sept. 27, I893.

W. E. MAY. A

VACUUM PRODUCING APPARATUS.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

III]! IIIIL (Application filed Aug. 12, 1897.)

(No Model.)

m: uoams PETERS cov PMDYG-LH'MO, wAsnmorcw n No. 6|I,455.

Patented Sept. 27, I898. W. E. MAY.

VACUUM PRODUCING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Aug. 12. 1897-) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(N0 Model.)

Zia 6250f.

No. 61!,455. Patented Sept. 27, I898. W. E. MAY.

VACUUM PRODUCING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Aug. 12, 1897.)

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

K it l0 UL JQMW m: wzmms Pawns co, Pnwoumu, msnmc'rom u c.

Patented Sept. 27, I898.

W. E. HAY.

.VAGUUM PRODUCING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Aug. 12, 1897.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

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v S'rarn PATENT Orricn.

W'ILLIAM ELLIS MAY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELLIS MAY VACUUM STEEL SYNDICATE, LIMITED, OF SAME PLACE.

JACUUM-PRODUClNG APPARATUS.

SFECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,455, dated September 27, 1898.

Application filed August 12,1897. Serial No. 648,062. (No model.) Patented in France March 3,1897,N0.264,642, and in Belgium March 10,189'7,N0.1Z6,877-

T0 (tZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WIL IAM ELLIS MAY, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Bromley, London, in the county of Kent, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vacuum-Producing Apparatus, (for which I have obtained patents in France, No. 264,612, dated March 3, 1897, and in Belgium, No. 126,877, dated March 10, 1897,) of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in vacu um-producin g apparatus. In apparatus which has been hitherto usually employed for this purpose the rarefaction of the air has been effected by the movement of a piston in a cylinder connected with the chamber in which the vacuum is to be produced, and it is well known that with ordinary apparatus of this kind it is not possible to obtain a complete vacuum in spaces or chambers of any size, chiefly owing to the fact that the piston works against a pressure (usually that of the atmosphere) and that a clearance-space is left between the piston and the cover or end of the cylinder in which it moves,which space at the end of the compression stroke of the piston is filled with air at the pressure of the chamber into which the air is forced from the cylinder, such pressure being, as above mentioned, usually that of the atmosphere. On the next suction stroke of the piston this air expands and mixes with the air drawn from the chamber to be exhausted, and, it will be obvious that air will be continued to be drawn from the said chamber until the pressure therein is equal to that of a quantity of air which when the piston is at the end of its outward stroke fills the cylinder and which when compressed by the said piston into the clearance-space between the piston and the cover of the cylinder has a pressure equal to that of the atmosphere.

Now it is the object of my invention to provide means whereby a more perfect vacuum can be obtained than with apparatus of the kind above described; and to this end I combine with a novel construction of exhauster hereinafter described an auxiliary pump or exhauster,whereby, notwithstanding that the air is reduced to such low tenuity in the exhauster that its piston has to travel nearly or quite to the end of its stroke before producin g a pressure of air inside the exhauster equal to or greater than that of the atmosphere outside, the tenuity of the air will be still further reduced, the piston of the auxiliary pump being so arranged relatively with the piston of the exhauster that immediately the exhauster-piston reaches the end of its compression stroke the plunger or piston of the auxiliary pump makes its compression stroke to force out the air in front of it. This compound action will allow the air to be reduced to a very low tenuity in a short time.

The auxiliary pump may be provided with springs to act as buffers at each end of the stroke and may be driven by any suitable motor the starting and stopping mechanism of which is connected to the rods projecting into the path of the exhauster-piston.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional view of an apparatus embodying my invention, taken through the main exhauster,tl1e store vacuumchamber being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 represents a top plan view of the main exhauster and auxiliary pumps and their connections, the store vacuum-chamber being removed. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the devices shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on line at 4, Fig. 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged side and end views, respectively, of the valves interposed between the main exhauster and the auxiliary pumps. Figs. 7 and 8 are r espectively a side elevation and top plan of a modified form of apparatus, showing a main exhauster of different construction from that shown in the preceding figures. Figs. 9 and 10 are sections, respectively, on the lines 9 9 and 10 10 of Fig. 8, said sections being drawn to a larger scale. Figs. 11 and 12 are front views of the valves shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, n is the cylinder of the main exhauster, and u n are the inlet and outlet valves, respectively, of the same. The piston n in this instance is double-acting and is actuated by screws 0 0, driven from the shaft 0 of a reversing steam-engine 0 or other motor through the medium of gear-wheels 0 o 0 In the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 7 and S the exhauster is formed of two singleacting pumps mwith a steam cylinder 19 placed between them, the pistons 01 of the pumps being connected to and driven by the piston 13 of the steam-engine.

Referring again to the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, q q are the rods projecting through the covers of the exhauster into the path of the piston 01 the said rods being connected by the levers q and rod g so that they are simultaneously actuated. One of the said rods q is connected to the slide-valve of a steam-cylinder r, the piston of which is connected by a rod 0 to a clutchlever s, engaging with a clutch s. The clutch s is designed to engage with either of two sets of clutch -teeth upon bevel gearwheels 25 t, which wheels both gear with another bevel-wheel 15 mounted upon the shaft i carrying the fiy-wheel t of the motor 0 u u are a rod and lever connecting the clutch-lever s and the reversing mechanism a of the motor 0 Assuming the parts of the mechanism to be in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the piston 02 and the fly-wheel t to be moving in the direction of the arrows, when the piston n arrives at the end of its stroke it will come into contact with the rod q, projecting into its path, whereby steam will be admitted to the left-hand end of the steamcylinder 7' and the piston of the latter will be caused to move the clutch-lever s, so as to disengage the clutch s from the wheel 25 and engage it with the wheel t. The momentum of the fly-wheel t then instantaneously reverses the movement of the shaft 0, and consequently that of the piston a the movement of the clutch-lever s at the same time actuating the rod u and lever u, to reverse the engine. A similar operation of the parts will take place when the piston n arrives at the other end of its strokethat is to say, the other rod q will be actuated and operate the steam-valve of the cylinder 4', so as to cause its piston to move in the opposite direction to that hereinbefore described, whereby the clutch s will be disengaged from the wheel t and caused to engage with the wheel 15, the momentum of the fly-wheel t instantly reversing the movement of the shaft 0. In Figs. 7 and 8 the reversal of the piston n is effected by the auxiliary pump in connection therewith, as hereinafter described.

In Fig. l I have shown a store vacuumchamber 2 in connection with the exhauster, pipes 12 '12 passing to the inlet-valves n.

w w, Figs. 2, 3, 7, and 8, are the cylinders of the auxiliary pump which I use in connection with my air-pump or exhauster, this pump being similar in construction to the exhauster shown in Figs. 7 and S and actuated in a similar manner by a steam-cylinder 50, arranged between the cylinders. In Figs. 2 and 3 the cylinders 10 are connected by two pipes w to the ends of the exhauster, outlet-valves n from the exhauster being arranged at the points 10 10 while in Figs. 7 and 8 only one pipe '10 with valves is shown in connection with each cylinder 20 of the auxiliary pump.

In the construction shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the auxiliary pump is actuated from ,the exhauster by the following means-that is to say, the rod (1 is connected to the slide-valve rod 00 of the steam-cylinder 00 through the medium of the bell-crank 00 rod :0 crank m shaft .92 crank :8 and rod 00 lVith this arrangement it will be seen that when the air is reduced to a low tenuity in the exhauster and the piston is traveling in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, the said piston will have to travel nearly to the end of its stroke before it produces a pressure of the air inside the exhauster equal to or greater than that of the atmosphere outside. The movement of the piston will cause the valve at the points 10 102 to open and allow the air, which is gradually becoming more dense as the piston 11 nears the end of its stroke, to pass into the cylinder it, which is practically exhausted of air, as hereinafter described. When the piston arrives at the end of its stroke and operates the rod g the slide-valve of the steam-cylinder x will be operated and will admit steam to the said cylinder, so as to drive its piston, and thereby the piston contained in the cylinder 20, toward the left hand, thus expelling the contents of the cylinderw through the outlet-valve 20 Asimilar operation takes place in connection with the other cylinder '10 when the piston n of the exhauster arrives at the end of the return stroke, the said operation also effecting the return stroke of the piston of the first cylinder, which is thus emptied of air behind the said piston. It will therefore be seen that with my combination of main and auxiliary exhausters the cylinder of the main exhauster is always in communication with a practical vacuum in one of the cylinders of the auxiliary exhauster, so that during each compression stroke of the main piston the latter has only to compress the air in front of it sufficiently to open the valve leading into the auxiliary cylinder and not to a pressure equal to that of the atmosphere, the piston-stroke consequently being effective for the greater part of its length instead of (as is usually the case) for a small portion only of the length.-

In Figs. 7 and 8 the devices g, which are actuated by the pistons u take the form of levers connected together by the rod (1 the motion of which is communicated to the slidevalve of the steam-cylinder x by a lever y. The reverse movement of the piston n is, however, caused by the auxiliary pump as follows-that is to say, rods or arms .2 are arranged in the paths of the pistons of the cylinders it, the said rods being mounted upon a bar 2', adapted to slide in bearings .2 when the arms are moved by the said pistons. This rod .2 is connected by a lever z" to the slide-valve of the steam-cylinder p of the exhauster. It will thus be seen that when either of the pistons of the cylinders it) moves inwardly it will come into contact with one of the arms 2, thereby actuating the slide-valve of the steam-cylinder p to admit steam, so as to drive the piston 19 in the opposite direction to that in which the pistons of the cylinders to have been moved, and so on.

.2 .2, Figs. 2, 7, and S, are springs arranged to act as buffers, against which the pistons of the main and auxiliary exhausters (shown in Figs. 7 and S) strike at the end of their inward strokes.

It will be obvious that instead of providing the auxiliary exhauster with two pumps in alinement with one another I can employ a single double-acting pump.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination with a main exhauster having a reciprocating piston, of an auxiliary pump communicating with the main exhauster, operating mechanism for said auxiliary pump and means for controlling said operating mechanism by the movements of the main-exhauster piston, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus forproducinga vacuum, the combination with the main exhauster and its reciprocating piston, of an auxiliarypump communicating with the main exhauster, operating mechanism for the auxiliary pump and controlling devices for said operating mechanism having a part extending into the path of the main-exhauster piston, substantially as described.

3. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination with the main exhauster and its reciprocating piston, of an auxiliarypump communicating therewith, a check-valve interposed between the main exhauster and the auxiliary pump,independent operatingmechanism for said auxiliarypump and controlling devices for said mechanism, operated by the piston of said main exhauster, substantially as described.

-l. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination with the main exhausterhaving a reciprocating iston, of an auxiliary pump communicatin with the main exhauster on opposite sides of its piston, an operating device for said auxiliary pump and controlling devices for said operating device operated by the piston of the main exhauster, substantially as described.

5. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination with the main exhauster hav ing a reciprocating piston, of an auxiliary pump provided with two cylinders and a piston in each cylinder, said cylinders communicating with the main exhauster on opposite sides of its piston, a single operating device for said auxiliaiy-pump pistons, and controlling devices for said operating device, operated by the main-exhauster piston, substantially as described.

6. In a vacuum-producing apparatus, the combination with a main exhauster provided with a reciprocating piston, of an auxiliary pump having two cylinders connected independently to said exhauster at opposite sides of its piston, and a piston in each of said cylinders, a single operating device intermediate said pistons and connected to each of the same, and controlling devices for said operating device having a part extending into the path of the main-exhauster piston, substantially as described.

7. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination with a main air-pump or exhauster, of an auxiliarypump comprising two cylinders with pistons arranged in alinement with one another and having a steam-cylinder between them the piston of which is connected to the pistons of the two cylinders and of means whereby the movement of the steamcylinder piston is controlled by the movement of the piston of the main exhauster, substantially as described.

8. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination of a main pump orexhauster and of an auxiliary exhauster comprising two cylinders, the pistons of which are connected to the piston of an intermediate steam-cylinder, of valve-controlled pipes by means of which each pump-cylinder is placed in communication with each end of the cylinder of the main exhauster and of means whereby the motion of the steam-piston is controlled through the medium of the piston of the main exhauster, substantially as described.

9. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination with an auxiliary air-pump or exhauster, of a main air-pump or exhauster consisting of a pair of cylinders arranged in alinement with one another, a steam-cylinder arranged between the two pump-cylinders, the piston of which steam-cylinder is con= nected to the two pistons of the pump-cylin= ders, and operative connections between said main exhauster and the auxiliary pump whereby the said auxiliarypump is controlled by the movements of the main exhauster, substantially as described.

10. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination of a main exhauster, comprising two air-pumps and an intermediate steam-cylinder the piston of which is connected to the two pistons of the said air= pumps, with an auxiliary exhauster also con sisting of two cylinders, the pistons of which are connected to the pistons of an intermediate stea1ncylinder, the pumps of the main exhauster being each connected with one of the cylinders of the auxiliary exhauster, and operative connections between the main exhauster and the steam-cylinder of the auxiliary exhaust-er, whereby the said steam-cylinder is controlled by the movements of the main exhauster substantially as described.

11. In a vacuum-producing apparatus, the combination with the main exhauster comprising two cylinders, a piston in each, an intermediate steam-cylinder, and a piston therein connected with the exhauster-pistons, of an auxiliary pump connected with the exhauster-cylinders, an operating device for said pump, and controlling devices for said pump operated by the pistons of the main exhauster, substantially as described.

12. In a vacuum-producing apparatus, the combination with the main exhauster comprising two cylinders, a piston in each, an intermediate steam-cylinder, and a piston therein connected with the exhauster-pistons, of an auxiliary pump comprising two pumping-cylinders each communicating with one of the main-exhauster cylinders, and provided with a piston, and an intermediate steam-cylinder provided with a piston connected with said auxiliary-pump pistons, and controlling devices for said auxiliary steam cylinder and piston having parts extending into the paths of the main-exhauster pistons, substantially as described.

13. In apparatus for producing a vacuum, the combination with a main exhauster comprising two pump-cylinders the pistons of which are connected to the piston of an intermediate steam-cylinder, of an auxiliary exhauster also comprising two pumps, the pistons of which are connected to the pistons of an intermediate steam-cylinder, of valvecontrolled pipes placing one end of each of the main cylinders in communication with one end of each corresponding auxiliary cylinder, of means whereby the motion of the steam-piston of the main exhauster is controlled by the motion of the pistons of the auxiliary exhauster and of means whereby the motion of the auxiliary steam-piston is controlled by the movement of the pump-pistons of the main exhauster, substantially as described.

14:. Apparatus for producinga vacuum consisting of a main exhauster having two cylinders n n, the pistons of which are connected to the piston of an intermediate steam-cylinder p and of an auxiliary exhauster also consisting of two cylinders 20 w, the pistons of which are connected to the piston of an intermediate steam cylinder w and one end of each of which is connected to one end of the corresponding cylinder of the main exhauster, of the levers and rods q g y whereby the auxiliary steam-piston is controlled by the motion of the main pistons 91 and of the rods and levers z, a 2 2 whereby the motion of the steam-piston is reversed by the pistons of the auxiliary pump-cylinders, substantially as described.

WILLIAM ELLIS HAY.

Witnesses:

G. F. REDFERN, O. G. REDFERN.