US2244770A - Operating device for propellers, turbine wheels, and pump wheels having rotatable blades - Google Patents

Description

June 1941- J. E. ENGLESSON 2,244,770 OPERATING warm FOR PROPELLERS, TURBINE WHEELS, AND

PUMP WHEELS HAVING ROTATABLE BLADES Filed Jan. 12, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 f, ma /aw by I a I! I June 10, 1941. J ENGLESSQN 2,244,770

' OPERATING DEVICE FOR PROPELLERS, TURBINE WHEELS, AND

. PUMP WHEELS HAVING ATABLE BLADES Filed Jan. 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 john [Vov-[rysson or y J. E. ENGLESSON 2,244,770

OPERATING DEVICE FOR PROPELLERS; TURBINE WHEELS; AND

June 10, 1941.

PUMP WHEELS HAVING ROTATABLE BLADES 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Q \N 1 Q \\\\\\i 71/7? AAAAQAAQ Filed Jan. 12, 1938 m! i. I a. N w k 1V m I HP WWW m hm E L Lilli!!! If! flflllllll I Patented June 10, 1941 I OPE-RATING DEVICE FOR PROPELLEES, TURBINE WHEEIIS, AND PUMP WHEELS HAVING ROTATABLE BLA'DES John Elov Englesson, Kristinehamn, Sweden Application January 12, 1938, Serial No.'184,512 In Sweden January 15, 1937 6 Claims. (01. 121-41 The present invention relates to an operating device for propellers, turbine wheels, and pump wheels having rotatable blades or vanes. Screws or wheels of this kind, the blades or vanes of which are rotatable while in operation, are now used in Kaplan turbines, turbine pumps, and blowers, and as propellers for ships and aircraft, and are usually placed in such manner that it is impossible to observe directly the position of the rotatable blades or vanes. Moreover, when rotation of the blades is effected by means of a servomotor with an associated control valve,.as is often the case, it is not possible to ascertain the position of the blades from the position of the operating lever. In such cases, therefore, it is often very desirable in practice that a visible indicator be provided which shows the position of the blades. In such wheels, however, in which the servomotor is built into the hub of the wheel, or into the shaft, so that it rotates with these members, quite considerable diillcultiesare encountered in providing a visible indicator.

It is the purpose of the present invention to eliminate these difliculties and to provide a combined operating and indicating device in which the member of the control valve which is actuated by the control impulses, is also utilized to indicate the position of the movable member of the servomotor and thus of the rotatable blades.

With this purpose in view the invention consists principally in the member-the slide or the slide seatof the control valve which is connected to the movable member--i. e. the piston or the cylinder-of the servomotor, being provided with stops serving to limit the movement of the other the servomotor and thus also the position of the Preferably, an elastic or rerotatable blades. silient coupling is interposed between the member of the control valve actuated by the impulses and the operating lever or the like which serves to give the control impulses, while the member of the regulating valve actuated by the impulses is connected through a non-elastic motion transmitting device with an indicator or pointer device which indicates the position of the rotatable blades. 7

The accompanying drawings illustrate by way of example two constructional forms of the invention, as applied to the propeller of a ship. It will be understood, however, that the arrangement may also be applied to the other types of wheels above mentioned.

Fig. 1 shows an axial section through the hub of a propeller, and Fig. 2 shows an axial section through a portion of the propeller shaft. Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically an assembly of the entire operating and indicating device, and Fig. 4 shows a side view of the indicator proper. Fig. 5 shows to a larger scale the elastic coupling. Fig. 6 shows an axial section through a modified constructional form of the invention. Fig. '7 shows a modified detail of the stops.

In the propeller hub shown in Fig. 1, I denotes the hub body which is rigidly connected to the hollow propeller shaft 2. Fitted in bushings 3 and 4 in said two members is the hollow piston rod 5 which is movable in the axial direction. Secured to the left-hand end of said rod, as viewed in Fig. 1, is the servomotor piston 8 which is slidable in the servomotor cylinder 1., which is closed by means of the head 8 the outer portion of which is formed as a hub cone 9. l0 denotes one of the propeller blades which is journalled by means of its flange and the crank pin .ring II, on a ring l2 secured to the hub body I,

in such manner that the blade is rotatable on an axis perpendicular to the axis of the hub body.

Secured to the crank pin ring II is a crank pin H which is journalled in a slide block I! that is slidable in a slot in a projection from the piston rod 5, said slot extending at right angles to the axis of the rod.

Secured in the left-hand end of the hollow piston rod 5 is a sleeve i5 which forms a seat for the hollow control valve slide I6 which is slidable in the axial direction. Said slide I6 is attached to the slide rod [8 which extends through the hollow propeller shaft 2, and which also is hollow so that liquid under pressure may be supplied through the same for actuating the servomotor. The portion of the slide l6 located within the sleeve i5 is provided with three circumferential grooves Ilia. lib, and lie in its outer surface, and with radial ports I9 and 20 which connect the grooves Ilia and lie, respectively, with the axial bore 23 in the slide it, said'bore communicating with the bore in the slide rod l8.' The groove |6b communicates through a port 24 in the sleeve I! with the intermediate space 25 between the piston rod 8 and the slide|8 and thus with the space 28 intermediate the slide rod 18 and the propeller shaft 2, said spaces serving as a discharge conduit for pressure liquid from the servomotor.

In the sleeve l8 and piston rod 8 there are also provided radial ports 2| and 22 leading to the chambers to the right and left, respectively, of the servomotor piston 8. These grooves and ports in the slide, the sleeve, and the piston rod, are so arranged and so placed relatively to each other that when the slide l8 is displaced some distance in one direction or the other, liquid under pressure is supplied to the chamber on the right-hand side or on the left-hand side of the servomotor piston 8, in such manner that the piston is caused to move in the same direction as the slide l8, which is thus hydraulically connected, as it were, with the servomotor piston.

According to the invention, the portion of the control valve l8, IS, in this case the sleeve 18, which is connected to the movable member of the servomotor, that is to say, in the instance illustrated, the servomotor piston 8, is provided with two stops 21 and 28 which serve to limit the motion of the slide l8 in such manner that the slide can only move a very short distance relatively to the sleeve ii. For this purpose, the slide 13 is provided, at its left-hand end in Fig. 1, with a stop flange 29 which is situated between the two stops 21 and 28 and is so dimensioned that there is a certain play between the same and the said stops, This play thus determines the range of movement of the slide it relatively to the sleeve I8. When the slide has moved, in one direction or the other, a distance corresponding to this play, the flange 29 strikes against the stop 21 or against the stop 28, after which the slide it is restrained to follow the movement of the sleeve l 5 and thus of the servomotor piston 8.

- Assuming, for instance, that the slide i8 is moved to the left in Fig. 1, it opens communication through the ports l9 and 2! between the liquid supply passage 23 and the chamber on the right-hand side of the servomotor piston 8, and at the same time the chamber on the left-hand side of the piston 8 is put in communication with the discharge conduit 25, 26 through the port 22, the groove I61) and the port 24. As soon as the stop flange 29 strikes against the stop 28, the.

movement of the slide l8 to the left relatively to the sleeve 5 and the piston 8 is stopped. Said piston 6 continues its motion to the left, however, until the slide Hi again comes in the neutral position shown relatively to the piston, in which position the slide covers the ports 2i and 22. Again, if the slide 16 is moved to the right in Fig. 1, the liquid supply passage 23 is put in communication with the chamber on the left-hand side of the piston 6 through the ports 28 and 22, and the chamber on the right-hand side of the piston 6 is put in communication with the discharge conduit 25, 28 through the ports 2| and 24. In this case the stop 21 stops further movement of the slide 16 to the right relatively to the sleeve I5 and the piston 6. In both cases, after the slide 18 has performed the short stroke mentioned, it cannot move faster than the piston, and therefore, the slide and the piston will accompany each other.

Since the servomotor piston is positively connected to the propeller blades l0 through the members 5, l3, l4, and II, it will be understood that each position of the piston 8 corresponds to a certain position of the propeller blades, and since the slide l8 accompanies the piston, the position of the slide l8 corresponds to the position of the propeller blades. This fact is utilized, according to the invention, by the movement of the slide l8 and of the slide rod l8 connected thereto being made visible outside the propeller shaft, preferably by the aid of the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive.

As shown in Fig. 2, the hollow propeller shaft 2 is connected through a coupling 38 with the engine, which is not shown, and is journalled in a bearing 3|, Fig. 3, The slide rod I8 is slidable in a bushing 32 provided in the hollow propeller shaft, the left-hand end of said bushing being shaped as a pressure liquid inlet 33 which puts the stationary liquid supply pipe 330. in communication with the bore of the slide rod l8, the space 28 between the slide rod I8 and the propeller shaft 2 being in communication with the stationary liquid discharge pipe 331). The slide rod 18 is moved by means of an entrainer 34 which is connected through a ball bearing with a ring 35 provided outside the propeller shaft and rotatable relatively to the same, in such manner that the slide rod Hi can be moved axially by axial displacement of said ring.

The said ring 35 is pivotally attached to a forkshaped lever 36a, Fig. 3, which is pivoted at 36, and which in its turn is pivoted to a resilient or elastic coupling 31. The said coupling 31 is connected through a transmission wire with an operating lever 38 which is pivoted on a stationary pivot 39 in a bracket 40, Fig. 4. Also pivoted on said pivot 39 is a pointer 4| the movement of which can be read off on a stationary scale 42 over which a pointer 38a. connected to the lever 38 is also movable, as will be seen from Fig. 4.

The elastic coupling 31, which is shown to a larger scale and in longitudinal section in Fig. 5, consists of two rods 43 and 44 rigidly connected to one another, and which are slidable in a sleeve which consists of two short sleeves 45 and 46 rigidly connected to one another by means of a tube t1. Slidably mounted on the inner reduced portion 48 of the rod 43 are two spring washers 49 and 5!) between which a compression spring 5| is inserted. Said spring normally maintains the washers in the positions shown in Fig. 5, the washer d9 bearing against the thicker portion of the rod 43 as well as against the inner end of the sleeve 45, and the washer 50 bearing against the inner ends of the rod 44 and of the sleeve 48.

The tube 41 is pivoted by means of pins to the shanks of the lever 38a, as indicated in Fig. 5.

From the rod 43 a wire llll extends to one end of a two-armed lever 52, Fig. 3, from the other end of which a second wire I02 runs over a pulley 53 to one arm 54a of a two-armed lever rigidly connected to the operating lever 38.

A third wire I03 extends from the rod 44 over a pulley 54 to the other arm 54b of the two-armed lever connected to the operating lever 38. In this way the operating lever 38 is thus resiliently connected to the lever 38a. The sleeve 45 is connected through a wire 14 running over pulleys I05 and I06 to the right-hand arm I01 of a twoarmed lever rigidly connected to the pointer 4|, the other arm 1B of said lever being connected through a. wire I09 running over a pulley H0 to the sleeve 46. In this way the pointer 4| is connected through a non-elastic motion transmitting device to the lever 38a and thus to the slide rod l8 and the slide it.

Operation The described arrangement operates in the following manner. The operating lever 34 is shown in Fig. 3 as occupying its middle or zero position, in which also the servomotor piston occupies its middle position, and the propeller blades iii are so adjusted that they are inoperative. Also the pointer 4| occupies its zero position. If the.

lever 35 is turned to the right in Fig. 3, for going ahead, and is flxed in the position to which it has been moved, the rods 43 and 44 which are rigidly connected, are also moved to the right in Fig. 5. The rod 43 brings along the washer 49 so that the spring 5| becomes more compressed and exerts an increased pressure on the washer 50 which still bears against the sleeve 45. Due to the influence of the spring pressure the members 45, 41 and 46 begin moving to the right, thus moving the lever 36a to the right in Fig, 3. As a result the ring 35 is moved to the right in Figs. 2 and 3 on the propeller shaft and brings along the slide rod 18 and the slide I6.

In this way the port 20 in the slide is put in communication with the port 22 in the piston rod, so that pressure liquid is supplied to the chamber on the left-hand side of the servomotor piston 5, liquid being simultaneously discharged from the chamber on the right-hand side of the piston 6 through the ports 2| and 24. The piston 6 thus starts moving to the right in Fig. 1, and begins to adjust the propeller blades ill for running ahead. When the slide l6 has moved a very short distance to the right relatively to the sleeve IS. the stop flange 29 strikes against the stop 21, as above explained, after which the slide, which is under the influence of the pressure of the spring 5|, follows the motion of the servomotor piston. This motion of the slide continues until the washer 50 again comes to bear against the inner end of the rod 44, when the elastic coupling 31 has resumed its balanced position. While the operating lever 88 may be'rapidly moved to and fixed in a certain position, the control impulse thus produced acts comparatively slowly on the control mechanism due to the elastic coupling. Since the pointer 4! is connected through a non-elastic motion transmitting device, comprising the parts I04, I09, 41, 36a, 35, 34 and 18, to the slide I6, said pointer is forced to follow precisely the gradual movement of the slide 16, and therefore, the pointer will at every moment show the momentary adjustment of the rotatable propeller blades, and, when the elastic coupling 31 has resumed its balanced position, also the final position of the propeller blades.

The pointer 41 will, therefore, stop right opposite the pointer 38a on the operating lever 38 as soon as the desired adjustment of the propeller blades has been effected. The smaller the play between the stop flange 29 and the stops 21 and 28 is, the more accurately does the pointer 4| show the position of the propeller blades. It will be understood from the above, however, that a certain play is necessary in order that the slide 16 shall be able to initiate the operation of adjusting the blades. The described operating device thus enables the commander of the ship by a simple movement of the operating member to effect a certain desired adjustment of the propeller blades, and afterwards by the aid of the indicator device to make sure that the propeller blades have actually been set in the desired position.

In the constructional form above described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the servomotor with the associated control valve 18, I5 is provided in the propeller hub. This construction is probably most suitable in practice, in view of the fact that the large forces which are set up when shifting the position of the propeller blades are taken up directly by the hub body and need not be transmitted through the propeller shaft. It will be understood, however, that the invention may also be applied to such constructions in which the servomotor is built into the propeller shaft. A construction of this kind is shown in Fig. 6.

According to Fig. 6 the hollow propeller shaft 2 is rigidly connected to th servomotor cylinder 55 which in its turn is connected to the driving shaft 56. The servomotor piston 51 is attached to the heavy piston rod 58 which is movable axially in the bushing 59. The movements of the piston rod 58 in the axial direction are transmitted to the propeller blades in the same way as according to Fig. l by means of slide blocks and crank pins. The ring 5?], which corresponds to the ring 35 in Figs. 2 and 3, and which is slidable on the propeller shaft 2, is in this construction connected directly to the slide 62 which is slidable in the servomotor cylinder 55 and passes through a bore in the piston 51. The function of the slide 52 corresponds to that of the slide 16 in Fig. l. The slide 52 carries at its end the stop flange Bl which cooperates with the two stops 11 and 18 which are provided in a member 19 secured to the piston 51. In order to prevent bending stresses on the slide, the servomotor piston is also guided by a guide rod 63 which is secured in the servomotor cylinder and extends through a bore in the piston on the side of the piston rod 58 remote from the slide 62. The pressure liquid required for the operation is supplied to the hollow propeller shaft 2 through the pipe 64 and flows through the passage 65 to an axial passage 65a in the slide 52, the displacement of which effects distribution of the liquid through the passages 66 and 61 to the chambers on either side of the piston 51. The pressure liquid discharges through the passage 68 in the piston 51 and through the axial passage 69 in the piston rod 58 to the discharge pipe 10.

The mode of functioning of this arrangement is substantially the same as that above described in connection withthe constructional form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive.

Fig. 7 shows a modified constructional form of the two stops which, according to this construction, are made resilient or elastic so that when an impulse force greater than normal is used, said stops can yield somewhat and allow the impulseoperated control slide to move a somewhat greater distance relatively to the part of the control valve that is connected to the movable part of the servomotor. For this purpose two washers 1| are provided between the stops, as shown in Fig. 7, which washers may consist, for instance, of rubber or resilient sheet metal. .In the event that particles of dirt have gained access to and clogged the passages in the slide, the said elastic stops allow the control slide to move so great a distance that the particles of dirt can be brought along by the pressure liquid and be removed. If desired, the elastic washers may be made of such thickness that there is no play between the same and the stop flange, so that the washers must begin to yield immediately upon displacement of the slide.

The constructional forms above described and illustrated in the drawings are only to be regarded as examples, and it will be understood that the same are capable of modification in various ways as regards their details without departing from the principle of the invention. For instance, the arrangement may also be made in such manner that the servomotor cylinder is movable instead of the servomotor piston.

I Finally, it may be observed that the pointer ll is not strictly necessary, because if the force applied to the operating lever 38 for moving the same is not great enough to compress the spring the position of the said lever also indicates the position of the blades. It is, therefore, possible to feel by the operating lever whether the slide rod I 8 and thus the servomotor piston and the propeller blades are brought along in the movement. This is of particular importance when navigating in the dark.

I claim:

1. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, a servomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate with the same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one of said members being movable and connected to said machine element, a control valve associated with said servomotor and comprising two members, one of said members being connected to the movable member of said servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided on said member of the control valve connected to said movable member of the servomotor and adapted to restrict motion of the second member of the control valve in such manner that said second member is capable of moving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member of the control valve, an operating lever, an elastic coupling connecting said operating lever to said second member of said control valve and holding said second member during its movement by the first member against one of said stops, an indicator,-and nonelastic motion transmitting means connecting said indicator to said second member of said control valve.

2. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, a servomotor, part of .which is located in said shaft so as to rotate with the same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one of said members being movable and connected to said machine element, a control valve associated with said servomotor and comprising two members, one of said members being connected to the movable member of said servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided on said member of the control valve connected to said movable member of the servomotor and adapted to restrict motion of the second member of the control valve in such manner that said second member is capable of moving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member of the control valve, an operating lever, an elastic coupling connecting said operating lever to said second member of said control valve and holding said second mem-- ber during its movement by the first member aaginst one of said stops, a pointer, and nonelastic motion transmitting means connecting said pointer to said second member of said control valve, and a scale common to said operating lever and said pointer and over which said lever and said pointer are movable.

3. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, a servomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate with the same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one of said members being movable and connected to said machine element,

I a* control valve associated with said servomotor and comprising two members, one of said members being connected to the movable member of said servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided on said member of the control valve connected to said movable member of the servomotor and adapted to restrict the motion of the second member of the control valve in such manner that said second member is capable of moving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member of the control valve, means connected to the second member of said control valve for operating the same, and means connected to said second member of the control valve for indicating the position thereof.

4. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, a servomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate with the same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one. of said members being movable and connected to said machine element, a control valve associated with said servomotor and comprising two members, one of said mem bers being connected to the movable member of said servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided on said member of the control valve connected to said movable member of the servomotor and adapted to restrict motion of the second member of the control valve in such manner that said second member is capable of -moving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member of the control valve, an operating lever connected to the second member of said control valve, and an indicator connected to said second member of said control valve.

5. In a hydraulic operating device for. a machine element on a shaft, a servomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate with the same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one of said members being movable and connected to said machine element, a control valve associated with said servomotor and comprising two members, one of said members being connected to the movable member of said servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided on said member of the control valve connected to said movable member of the servomotor and adapted to restrict the motion of the second member of the control valve in such manner that said second member is capable of moving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member of the control valve, and means connected to the second member of said control valve for operating the same, said means also serving as an indicator for the position of said movable member of the servomotor and thus of said machine element.

6. In a hydraulic operating device for an adjustable propeller blade on a hollow shaft, a servomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate wit-h the same,'said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one of said members being movable and connected to said adjustable blade, a control valve associated with said servomotor and comprising two movable members, one of said members being connected to the movable member of said servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided on said member of the control valve connected to said movable member of the servomotor and adapted to restrict the motion of the second member of the control valve in such manner that said seoond member is capable oi. movinzonly 1 short distance relatively to the first mentioned member or the control valve. n fluid pressure supply pipe within said hollow shntt end oonnected to the second member of said control valve for operating the some, and manually controlled meme oonneoted to said supply P 98 in move the some end indieete the extent 0! movement thereof and hence to indicate the position of adjustment of sold blades. I

JOHN mov momssou'.

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