US511186A - Staeting geae foe compound engines - Google Patents

Description

4 Sheets Sheetl,

(No Model.)

C. A. BALL. STARTING GEAR PON GOMPOUNN ENGINES. No. 511,186.

Patented Dec. 19, 1893.

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STARTING GEAE EOE 00E/POUND ENGINES.

No. 5l1,186.

Patented Dec. 19, 1893.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

C. A. BALL. STARTING GEAE EOE GOMEOUND ENGINES.

No. 511,186l Patente-d Dec. 19, 1893.

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TNI Dumon. mm COMPANY.

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4 sheds-sheen 4Q.

(No Model.) v

C. A. BALL.

v STARTING GEAR POR COMPOUND ENGINES.

Patented Deo. 19, A18,93.

WITNESSES; ffm/W tion of the apparatus shown in the right end of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section showing thevalve gear connections on a larger scale. Fig. 6 is a 5 fragmentary View showing a part of Fig. 5 and illustrating a modified connection. Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section through the centers of the high and low pressure cylinders and steam chests, its planes being dexo noted approximately by the lines 7-7 in Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a plan of the steam chest casing or frame removed.

My improved locomotive in the construction shown in the drawings resembles the usual American type of locomotives, except in those particulars hereinafter described.

Instead of having a single cylinderon each side of the locomotive, there are two cylinders, a high pressure cylinder A, and a llow zo pressure cylinder B, the latter being by preference arranged in front of the former, as shown in Figs. l, 3 and r@and with its center suiticiently nearer the middle line of the locomotive than that of the high pressure cylinder to enable the piston-rod b of the low pressure cylinder to pass alongside of the high pressure cylinder, as shown at the left in Fig. 3. The piston-rods a b of the two cylinders are iixed to cross-heads ct h in the 3o usual manner. To these cross heads are coupled connecting rods C C respectively, which engage with crank wrists or studs c c respectively on the main or forward driving Wheels.

On top of the cylinders A B are arranged steam chests or valve chests A B', in which work the valves A2 B2 for the high pressure and low pressure cylinders respectively. These valves are driven by Valve rods e e 40 respectively, which pass out through stuffing boxes at the rear ends of the chests, and are connected to a link motion or any other suitable valve gear. In the construction shown the two rods c e are both jointed to the upper arm of the usual rock lever H of the valve gear, the lower arm of which is pivoted to the Sliding block d of the link D, which link is connected as usual by eccentric rods to the 'two eccentrics. The link is raised or lowered 5o to determine the direction of running of the engine and the point of cutoi, by being connected in the usual manner by a connecting barfto an elbow-lever F on the lift or re versing shaft, which is connected by a bar g ,5 to the usual reversing lever or control-lever G in the cab. This lever carries a latch h, operated by a handle h in the usual way, and entering notches in the ixed sector G as usual, whereby the reversing lever when 6o thrown to any position is held there. These parts are best shown in Fig. 5, where the reversing lever Gr is shown as thr'own to its extreme position for starting, its latch h entering'the final' notch G in the sector. In the 61; construction here shown the notches t" to i4 are those used in normal running, while the notches i5 and i6 corresponding to an extreme or normal movement of the valve gear, are those used in starting or in climbing heavy gradients. Y

Steam is taken from the boiler in the usual manner through a pipe I (Figs. l and 3) which branches into two pipes I I leading tothe smoke-bex, and communicating withv dinary slide valve which may be balanced onV not, but the employment of these particular types of valves is not essential, the use ot' any suitable kind of valve being admissible. In the construction shown, steam from the passage I2 passing around and through the grooves of the valve A2, is admitted into one of the cylinder ports m m leading to the high pressure cylinder (Fig. 7), while the exhaust therefrom escapes through the other port m into the interior of the steam chest A', and passing through the hollow piston valve A2 flows through a neck or communicating passage j into the cavity of the steam chest B', and is controlled by the low pressure valve B2, passing thence through one of the cylinder ports n into the low pressure cylinder, from which .cylinder the exhaust escapes through the other port, through the D-'Valve, and through an exhaust port o (Fig. 7), from fwhich it flows through the port 0 (Fig. l) into the exhaust nozzle 7c, which discharges beneath the stack in the usual manner. The operation thus described is that which takes place when the engine is running under normal conditions as a compound engine. The pistons in the two cylinders move simultaneously in opposite directions, exerting contrary thrusts against the cranks c c', and being so proportioned in area relatively to the respective high and low steam pressures as to exert substantially equal thrusts in contrary directions against these cranks, whereby the engine is balanced.

For admitting high pressure steam into the low pressure cylinder in order to start the locomotive, a starting valve is provided which .as a whole is lettered P. This valve might be variously constructed, the only thing essential being that it shall be normally closed but shall be capable of being opened to admit high pressure steam from the boiler to flow directly into the steam chest of the low pressure cylinder. In the construction shown there is a casing having an inlet port q communicating with the steam passage I2, as shown in Figs. 3 audit, and branching around, as shown in Fig. 2, to opposite sides of a double 4puppet valve p, which normally seats itself on conical seats in the casing. From the outlet IIO side of this valve asteani passage q extends, as shown in Fig. 2, and enters the low pressure steam chest B. In the'construction shown this passage opens into the neck j, from which the steam hows into the low pressure steam chest. (See Fig. l.) The movable valve or puppet p is fixed on a valve-rod P', which passes out through a stufng-box in the valve casing, in order that it may be operated to unseat the valve. The puppet valve p is a partially balanced valve consisting of two disks of unlike area receiving the high pressure steam aboveand below. The upper disk being the larger, the steam pressure tends to press the valve downward and consequently to close it and hold it against its seat.

In order to operate the starting valve, I provide by preference theffollowing described mechanism:-On the upper end of the valve stem P is fixed a cross-head p. Shown best in Fig. 2. Beneath this cross-head works a donble-armed lever or T-lever Q, the upper arms or head of which is adapted to act against the cross-head p when the T-lever is tilted to either side of its normal or mid position. In the construction shown the valve stem P intersects the pivotal axis of this lever, passing through a vertical slot in its cross-head Q', as shown in Fig. 4. The lever Q is pivoted in a frame fr mounted on the valve shell, or in any other suitable support, and its downwardly projecting arm Q2 is applied on the outside of this support, as shown in Fig. 4. To the lower end of this arm is jointed a rod s, the opposite endl of which is jointed to an arm S projecting from a rock shaft Si', which shaft extends transversely of the locomotive and has fixed to it the lever arms S for operating both the starting valves P P. It also has fixed to it at one end athird arm S2 (Figs. 1, 2 and 5) to the end of which is jointed a tappet-rod s which extends back along the locomotive and preferably enters the cab. This rod is provided wit-h tappets t t', consisting in the construction shown of nuts screwed upon it and set tightly in place. Againstthese tappets operate shoulders or projections connected with or carried by the reversing gear. Preferably these shoulders are constructed as a single stud T projecting from the reversing y lever G, as shown best in Fig. 5, the tappetrod s' passing through this stud so as to be guided thereby, and the tappets t t' being so set or adjusted as to come in contact with the stud T when the reversing lever is thrown to the farthest position from the center that it occupiesin normal running, in order that upon any displacement of the lever beyond such position,the stud T shall move against and displace the corresponding tappeti or t', thereby moving the rod s' endwise'in one direction or theoth'er, and consequ entlythrough the arm S2, rock shaft S',ar1ns SSand rods s s, tilting the T-levers Q in one direction or the other, and consequently lifting the cross-head p and valve stem P so as to open both the starting Valves PP. These valves are opened more or less according to theextent to which the reversing leverGis thrown beyond theextreme normal position. Sincein the ruiming of any ordinarylocomotive the engineer in order to start the locomotive throws the reversing lever beyond the normal running position,thatis,be youd one of the notchesz' he automaticall yand unconsciously by this movement converts the locomotive from a balanced compound engine into an unbalanced high pressure engine of abnormal power, the large diameter of the low pressure piston being utilized top receive the action ot' high pressure steam, and thereby exerting a heavy thrustfor starting the load. The high pressure steam b v being thus admitted to ll the inlet and exhaust sides of the high pressure cylinder, puts the pistonthereof in equilibrio, and thereby renders it ineiective. The result described is that ei'- fected if the reversing lever be thrown toits extreme position, that is to say, to either notch Q16. It it be thrown a less distance but still beyond that of normal ruiming, as for exam- `ple to either notch i5, the effect `produced is less in degree; that is to say, the starting valves are only partly opened,thereby increasing the pressure exerted against the low pressure piston to an extent less than that of the full pressure of the boiler. In this case the pressures on opposite sides of the high presshre piston may not be entirely balanced, so

that this piston may still exert some thrust, while the thrust of the low pressure piston is not increased as much as when the valve is fully opened. The tappet-rod need not necessarily be connected with the reversing lever Gr, as its connect-ion may be made with any other suitable part of the valve gear to like effect. For example, in Fig. 6, lever F is shown as provided at its upper end with a stud T taking the' place of the stud T in the construction shown in Fig.A 5, in order to act against the tappets t i on the rod s'.

To provide for the unobstructed running of l the engine when steam is turned off, as forexample in descending a grade, the low pressure steam chest is provided with a relief valve R, consisting of a check-valve adapted to admit airin case asuctionis formed in the steam chest. Itis nnderstoodthat when the engine continues running after steam is shut oft, its pistons act as pumps to create a vacuum in the steam passagesI I2, and in the steam chests. In an ordinary locomotive this vacuum is relieved by admitting air to the steam chest through a relief valve consisting of an inwardly opening checlcvalve. In my improved compound lo comotive, I provide not only for thus relieving the vacuum `in the low pressure steam p IIO chest, but I equally relieve it in the steam inl let to the high pressure cylinder. This result is accomplished by the construction of the starting valve P as a puppet valve, its puppet disks being only partially balanced, so that while a steam pressure in the steam passage tends to seat the valve, a vacuum therein tends to unseat it. When the engine is coasting free with steam shut oft, the pumping action of the high pressure cylinder creates a vacuum in the high pressure steam inlet passages which lifts the puppet valve p, causing an inflow ot' air from the low pressure valve chest B', which itself is supplied with air admitted through the relief valve R.

In the practical construction of this compound locomotive, I mount the four cylinders on four separate half-saddles formed integrally therewith. The half-saddles J J have the high pressure cylinders A cast integrally lwith them as already stated, while the halfsaddles K K mounted in front of these (see Fig. l) have the low pressure cylinders B B cast integrally with them. Between the respective cylinders A B, is inticduced a single cylinder head et, consisting o1 a plate having bosses on opposite sides entering the respective cylinders, and bolted t and between them. The upper' sides of tie saddles over the cylinders are planed off fat, as shownin Fig. 7, both toform seats for the low pressure slide valves, and to provide a steam tight joint for the bottoms of the steam chests. To construct the steam chests I make a casting, best shown in Fig. 8, consist ng of two rectangular boxes o o respective y, formed Without top or bottom, and connected together by a neck w in the manner shown best in Fig. 7. This neck consists of a tubular portion 'constituting the steam passage for admitting the exhaust steam from the high pressure cylinder, which flows .into the steam chest A to pass into the steam chest B. The steam chests are closed by caps or top plates o2 o3 placed over the respective boxes t o', and fastened by bolts passing down through the top plates and box casting into the cylindercastings. The low pressure valve-rod e passes freely through the high pressure steam chest A', through an opening in the high pressure valve, and through an opening in the neck w to reach the low pressure valve.

The construction thus described affords simple and eiective means for providingthe two steam chests compactly with the minimum number of parts essential to ready accessibility of the valves, and with the least difticulty in fitting the respective packed surfaces together with the requisite accuracy and tightness.

I claiml. The combination with compound engine cylinders, valves and reversing valve-gear, of a starting valve adapted to admit high-pressure steam into the low-pressure cylinder, and a mechanical connection between said valve and the reversing gear for operating said valve, the 4same consisting of a tappet rod arranged to be displaced by shoulders carried by said reversing gear when the latter is in a positionbeyond that of normal running.

2. The combination with compound engine cylinders, valves and reversing valve-gear, ot a starting valve I adapted to admit highpressure steam into the low-presso re cylinder, having a normal tendency to close, and means for operating' said valve consisting of a tappet rod s connected to the valve and having tappet-s it arranged to be displaced by shoullers carried by-said reversing gear when the latter is in a position beyond that ot' normal running, and a double-armed lever Q connected to said rod and engaging the valvestem to open the valve upon the displacement 0E said rod in either direction.

3. The combination with compound engine cylinders, valves and reversing valve-gear, of a starting valve P adapted to admit highpressure steam into the low-pressure cylinder, constructed as a puppet valve Q9 closing with the steam pressure, a valve-stem P having a cross-head p', a double-armed rock lever Q Aadapted upon oscillation in either direction to dis place said cross-head and open the valve,

and mechanical tappet connections between` Said lever and the reversing gear adapted when the latter is moved to a position beyond that of normal running to displace said lever Q and force open the starting valve.

4. The combination with compoundengine cylinders, valves and reversing valve-gear, of

a starting valve adapted to admit high-pressure steam into the low-pressure cylinder, constructed as an unbalanced puppet valve having a normal tendency to close under the steam pressure, a mechanical connection between said valve and the reversing gearv for forcing said valve open when said gear is moved to its extreme position, and a reliefvalve adapted to ad mit air to the low-pressure steam-chest when the steam is shut oi and the engine continues running, whereby at such time the vacuum created by the pumping action of the high-pressu re piston unseats said unbalanced valve and draws air from the low-pressure chest through it into the high-pressure cylinder.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.A

CHARLES A. BALL.

Titnessesz GEORGE H. FRASER, CHARLES K. FRASER.

connected to the valve and having tappets g IIO

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