USRE7019E - Improvement in hydraulic elevators - Google Patents

Description

2 SheetsSheet 1.

c. w. BALDWIN. HYDRAULIC-ELEVATOR.

Reis sued March 2a, 1876 ,municating cylinders,

water-escape UNI E STATES PAT NT" QFFI E.

ovens w. snnnwrmor CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT In iwo'nAuLuc-nsvxrons.

Specification forming part of Letters men No.'162, 262, dated AprilBO, 1875 reissue No. more. and 7 March 28, 1876; application filed January 26, 1876. 4

To all whom it mag-concern.- Be it known that I, Ovens W. BALDWIN,

v of Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new "and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Elevators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,

reference being bad to the accompunyingdraivlugs, forming part of this specification, in

which- Figure lis a vertical section of the elevator with a single tube and piston. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the elevator, with two cylinders and two pistons. Fig. 3 is a vertical section, taken through the eenterof Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a togplan view of the elevator shown in Fig. 2. g. 5 is a'horizontal' section of the same in theliue a: c, Fig. 2. Figs. 6,7, 8, 9, and 10 are sectionalviews, showing the various posh tions 05- the escape-cock employed with the' compound elevator.

Similar lettersoi' reference in .the accompanying drawings denote the same parts.

The principal object of my invention is to u'tilize the force of the water with as little waste as possible and to thisend it consists, first, in raising the elevator-carriage by the n the piston, and the normal pressure of the atmosphere above the piston,-such forces being applied by drawing the water from the cylinder below the piston. It further consists in I uating the quantity of water expended or discharged to the weight to be lifted. It further consists in the combination, with the stationary elevator-tube and the elerater-carriage, of a piston adapted to travel within the tube with a column of water above thetopofa building. Itcommunicatesthrough.

snopeningfl at its upper endi with a water within the carriage.

the weight, or the pressure and we ght, of the water upo scendiug piston upon a solid tank or reservoir, C, and carries within it a hollow piston, D, having a lisp or hinged valve, E, atfits top, like the 'box.of anordinarylitting-pump. The piston is-suspended from a rope or band, F, which passes over a pulley, G, at or near the top cylinder, and is attachedto the carriage H, arranged, in this instance, to move between the cylinder and a guide, I., The valve E is attached to one end of a hand-rope, J, which also passes over the pulley G, and has its opposite end secured K is. a cock or valve, placed at the bottom of the cylinder, of sulficient capacity to discharge-the water therefrom as rapidly as may be necessary to obtain the requisite speed of the carriage. L is a tank, arranged at the side of the cylinder, about fifty feet above the lowest point reached by the carriage in its descent. Communication betwcenthe cylinder and tank is made by an escape-cock, M,inserted in the side of the cylinder. The weight of the piston should nearly counterbalance the carriage, and when the latter-is down the piston is at the highest point in the cylinder, which is normally filled with water above and below the piston.

In order to raise the carriage, the escape.

cock M is opened by any suitable means to discharge the water from the cylinder beneatir the piston into the tank'L, thus causing the piston to descend and the carriage to he raised. This moveinentot' the piston is due, first, to

atmospheric pressure above the piston, causedby the escape ofwater below; secondly. the

vity

the piston, acting as .a variable force dependent upon outside circumstances-as, for example, the pressure in the city mains, or the difference in height between the top of the cylinder and the level'ot'tho water in the reservoir O. The atmospheric pressure decreases in force as the column of water beneath the dedecreases in' height; but its loss is compensated for by the lengthening of the column above the piston.

When the piston, in its descent, reaches about the level of the escape-cock M, the lat-' terlmay be shut off and the lower cock -K opened to admit a further descent of the piss of thewater'directly upon the piston; and, thir(ily,'the pressure 'of the water upon ton. The water from this latter cock may es cape into the sewers, or he raised to the reservoir O by suitable means, to be used over again. The water in.the tank L may also'be carried to the reservoir 0" for the same purpose. The carriage is stopped at any-point by arresting the flow of water, and as long as there is a supply of water to the cylinder thereis no danger whatever of the carriage falling by reason of any displacement or disarrangement of the piston.

When the carriage is to descend the escapecocks are closed, 'and the operator pulls upon the cord J to open the valve E, so that the piston shall be moved upward through the water by the weight of the car, the Water passing through the piston in proportion to the opening of the valve. This proportion is governed by the loadto be carried down. 1 If 'it is very light, or is only the empty carriage,

then the-valve maybe opened to its fullest extent; but it. the load. isjhe'avy, then it is opened but a short distance to retard the flow of water through thepiston. The carriage is thus allowed to siiilu oiselessly and smoothly, its speed being also regulated by the operator in opening or closing the valve to a. greater or less extent. By this means the piston performs the oflice of a graduating as wellas a lifting piston. I

To adapt the principle of the invention for use in hotels, public buildings, and other 10- calities'where prolonged duty is required and heavy loads to be raised, two cylinders may be employed instead of'oue, each containing'a piston, one of which is a graduating and the other a lifting piston, as shown in Eigsrz and 3.

In this-modification, A' Bare the two cylinders, communicating with each-other at the bottom, and at the top theyfare in free co'mmnnication with the water-supply tank 0 through the openings B. The main cylinder A contains the lifting-piston E, which is made solid, and the cylinder B contains-the graduating-piston D, constructed as 'hereinbefore described. The elevator-carriage, in thisin stance, may move up and down between the cylinders as guides, and is connected with the lifting-piston by cords, wire ropes, or chains F, passing over pulleys G G at or near the top of the cylinders.- The graduating or valve piston is suspended by a rope or cord, Q, passing over pulley 0, and made fast to a drum, P, on the axis of the pulleys G, which are rotated by the movement of cords otthe liftingpiston. The valveof the graduating-piston is also provided with an operating-cord, J, which runs over the pulley O and is made fast tO'B drum, P. The valve-piston, in this instance,

travels upand down in its cylinder about three-fourths only of the distance traveled by the lifting-piston, andthe drum P isa-therefore proportionately smaller than the pulleys G. L is the receiving-tank, arranged at the sine of the graduating-cylinder, and M is the water-discharge cock, located in the-side of the cylinder about thirty feet below the highest point reached by the lifting-piston in the other cylinder. This distance is, perhaps, the most available; but, while it mn y be less than thirty feet, it should not much exceed that distance.

To control the escape of waters four-way cock. 3 is inserted in the discharge-cock M. Any otherdevice may, however, be employed for this purpose, providedit has the capacity to close the cylinder and discharge-cock at certain times; at other times to close the discharge-cock and open the cylinder; and at still othertilnes to open both the discharge-cock and the cylinder. The discharge-cock has a stem, 0., extending out through cylinder B, to

receive a wheel, W, and to this wheel thevalve cord Vis made fast, after extending over pulleys T U at the top and bottom of the apparatus, respectively, as shown in Fig. 2. It

is made fast to the upper pulley T, and to the axis of thispulley an eccentric, R, is secured, so that itsouter end shall bear against or engage the valve-cord J. A movement of this eccentric in eitherilirection will displace or bend the cord sutficiently to lift the valve E of the graduating-piston. There is, however, sufiicient play between the eccentric and its cord to allow thevalvo-cord V to be pulled sufficiently for opening the escapecocks Y before the piston-valve E is operated.

By means of these devices thequantityof water expended is graduated to the weight of the load. Both cylinders are supposed 'tobc filled with water from the reservoir or city mains. When thecarriageis down the escape-cock is in" the position shown in Fig. 6. If it is desired to raise it loaded to itsfull carrying capacity, the escape-cock is turned to the right, into the position shplwn in Fig. 7, and the valve-cord is pulled to open wide the valve E of the graduating-piston. The [water below the lifting-piston will, under these conditions, puss" ontt-hrough the escape-cock, and the elevator will work atits full power; but if the load is less than the full lifting capacity of the elevator, then the valve is opened proportionately, as already described. In this case as the valve-piston rises there is a constant tendency to a vacuum beneath it, which has the eifect of carrying up through and above the escapecock a portion of the water that would otherwise be discharged. This water is kept in the cylinder whenthe car stops in its upward ascent,

inasmuch as thefour-way cock, to arrest the car, is turned to the position shown in Fig. 8. When the car is to descend, the cord is pulled to turn the escape-cock into the position shown in Fig. 9, thus closing the escape and opening the cylinder. This allows the carriage to settle down and the valve-piston to return to its original position just above the escape-cock, thedescent 0f the carriage being arrested by turning the escape-cock into the position shown in Fig. 10. The next'upward movement of the 'v'alvekpiston will have the raising elect of lifting the body of water above such piston into the supply-tank 0'. Thus, in efl'ect, s utilized the-surplus power of the elevator to carry back to the. supply-tank the water not needed to produce the liftingaction. So faras this graduating actionis concerned.

it is not necessary that the escape should be located with respect to the lifting-piston, as heroinbefore explained, for the escape" from the main cylinder may lead into a tank at the bottom of the apparatus, and from this tank a suction-pipe may lead to the graduatingcylinder. When the carriage descends, the valve-piston performs the function of decreasing the diameter of its tube or cylinder, making the latter, in effect, a smaller graduating conduit lifting-piston piston. As the lifting-piston ascends in its cylinder, it nrily l'fts'all the water above it intothe tank 0', and, as the latter is in connection with the cylinder or tube B, the water down through the valve-piston into the cylinder A, to fill the space under the liflzingpiston as it moves up. hus there is a circulation' of the water through the cylinders or tubes, the tank forming a part of the conduit therefor.

Having ,thus described my invention, I claim asnew- 1. In awater-elevatona movable piston, combined with a stationary upright cylinder having a water supply above and a water-discharge below the piston, for the purpose 0 the elevator-carriage by atmospheric pressure, and the weight, or the combined weight and pressure, of the water above the piston when the water below the piston is discharged, substantially as described.

2. In a water-elevator, an adjustable discharge or escape, combin with one or more upright cylinders, to graduate the quantity of water expended to the weight to be lifted, substantially as described F8. The combination,

- of a piston having a flexible connection the arriag and adapted f in the with the stationary Y i to! tube or cylinder and the elevator-can to travel with- I in the tube, with a column of water above and below it, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of the graduating valvepiston with one or more upright water-cylinders, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the two commu-v nicating upright cylinders, of the lilting-piston in one cylinder, and the water-escape in the other cylinder, located with respect to the lifting-piston, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, with the main cylinder and graduating-cylinder, of the lifting-piston, water-escape, and graduating .valve-piston,for joint operation, as shown and set forth.

7. The combination, with the graduatingcylinder B, of and the graduating valve piston, arrang and operating as shown and set forth.

8. The graduating-piston .B and its valve,

valve-cord and intermediate mechanism, by which sai valve and co are connected operated, snbstantiallyas set forth.

9. The combination, with the water-supply reservoir, the main cylinder, the lifting-piston, and the elevator-car, of the escape, the escapecook, the graduating-piston, and its valve, for

joint operation, as shown and set forth.

10. In combination with the main an graduating cylinders, elevator-car, and liftingpiston, the graduating-piston, provided with avalve opening upward, and arranged to rise graduating-cylinder when the car rises, substantially as shown and set forth. a

11. The stationary elevator cylinder or tube containing a traveling piston having a flexible connection with an elevator-carriage, the cylinder being joined by a tube or conduit provided with a valve b which the passage of the water from one side of the piston to the 7 other can be controlled at the will of the operator, substantially as described.

CYRUS w. BALDWIN.

Witn:

1' Pnmurs Anno'r'r, Buton Elam.

the escape, the escape-cock Y,

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