US1449536A - Locomotive - Google Patents

Description

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MUHLFELQ ET Mm LOCOMOTIVE .Filed Apr. 17, 1920 5 sheets-sheet LOGOMOTVJ l?, 1920 5 sheetsfsheet 2 INVENTORS.

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uMann. 2.7, 1923.

Filed Apr. l'f.. 19:50

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Mar. 27, i923.

J. E. MUHLFEL ET Al.,

LocoMoTIvE Filed Apr.

51.5152 I l v J.

Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

entre wSTATES JOHN E. MUHLFELD, F SCABSDALE. ANID VIRGINIUS Z. CARACRISTI, OF BRO'NX- VILLE. NEW YORK.

LOCOMOTIVE.

Application led April 17, 1920. Serial No. 374,721.

To nl! whom z'z may Concern Be it known that we, JouN ll. lllinhriann. mechanical engineer, a citizen ot the llnited States. and resident vot Scarsdale. in the count \v ot 'estchester and State ol: New

York. and VInolXiUs Z. (inacms'ri. mechanical engineer, a citizen ot the llnite-.l States. and resident ot lronxville. in the county ot llvestchester and State ot New York. have invented certain new and usetul lmprovements in Locomotives. ot' which the following is a description.

This invention relates to steam motive power, and generically considered comprehonds a railroad locomotive ot either they simple, compound. triplex or other steam tvpe having an improved boiler structure and a main and supplemeutarj,v drive means upon which .the boiler structure is balanced` and whereby the adhesive pressure upon the rails may be utilized to tull advantage in overcoming inertia and accelera-ting the starting motion ot the locomotive and hav ing improved means tor utilizing waste h eat.

It is onel ot the important objects ot' our present invention to provide a rigid and safe boiler structure consisting ot a combination ot' water and tire tubes and a pluality ot ater circulating drums and a.

the gases ot' combustion pass. with spaced heads rigidly uniting the drains and the elvlinder. Means of this improved boiler structure we ailn to increase rigidity and thercb)v obviate vibration to a larger e.\tent and .rclieve the parts ot' undue strains and stresses which have a tendency to promote rupture and leakage.

lt is also an object ot our invention to provide means for the use ot gaseous. liquid, pulverized or solid tuels. supplied either by manual or mechanical nie-ans on grates or in retorts. or in suspension. iu order to more etl`ectively utilize the heat ot combustion at the turnace end ot the boiler.

lt is also an object. ot our invention to provide means in the .nature ot a tuel economizer tor utilizing the waste gases tor the purpose ot' heating the, boiler teed water, and for this purpose we have provided a novel arrangement ot dampers controlling the passage ot the products o'lE combustion steam generating cylix'ider. through whichthrough the smoke box ot the locomotive whereb)v such products will be first directed into contact with the superheater units and then caused to impinge upon the Walls of the teed water reservoir both when the locomotive is in operation or is not using steam.

Our invention also contemplates an iinproved exterior arrangement ot the steam deliver)v pipe connection between the superheater and the boiler header constituting the steam collecting dome. together with a steam separator and a throttle valve interposed in said pipe connection.

ln addition to the above mentioned t'eatures, we 4also provide an auxiliary superheater arranged in the loeomotive cab or other suitable. location for the purpose ot' supplying" either saturated or superi-heated steam 'for the operation ot the reversing gear, air pump, grate mechanism, feed water pump. lubricator and other mechanical aecessories with which the locomotive may be equipped. and which are now operated bv saturated steam. n

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the improved construction, combination and relative arrangement ot the several parts. as will hereinafter be more Yfull)v described, illustrated in the accompanying dra-wings, and incorporated in the subjoiued claims.

In the drawings. wherein we havevillustrated one practical embodiment ot our invention. and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation ot aA locomotive diagrannnatically illustrating the salient 'features ot our invention.

Figure .2 is a longitudinal section through the locomotive boiler, certain parts being broken away. l l

.Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3 3 ot .Figure l.

Figure l is a tragmentanvv section taken on the line 4 4 ot Figure Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the nline 5 5 ot l `igure l.

Figure G is a similar section taken on the line (5 6 ot Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view through the smoke box of the locomotive,

,showing one of the feed water reservoirs areoinotive is lin operation.v

Fi re 8 is a siinilai' view showing the arv gu i l5, storage dome.

rangement ofthe dampers when the locomotive is not in operation. i

. `Figuies 9 andv l() are sectional and plan views respectively or" a part. oi', the supplemental drive unit.

Figure l1 isf'ay detailed sectional Vview 4,illustrating the manner of connecting thev v dry steam pipeto the intermediate boiler .header which serves a steam receiving and Referring in detail to .the drawiiigs, 'wherein We have illustrated av loeon'iotive which may be eitherol. the simple, coinpound, triplex or other type. the locomotive @520. structure is mounted and/supported in` proper balance upon the main drive trucks 5 and the front and rear trucks (3 and 7 respectively. its is well known, in the'custoinery locomotive constructionthe wheels of the latter triicks'exert no positive trai-tive present invention to provide nieans whereby such-adhesive pressure ot' these reineoi'tfupon the rai-ls as an aid in the propul- :sion of the locomotive, but constitute inerely auxiliary guiding and supporting ihe'ans. However, thatr portion ot the weight ot tue *30 locoiiiotivewliich devolvcs upon the wheels of the rear truck 7 results in av high4 adhesive pressure of these wheels upon the track rails. As lwill 'De hereinafter inoi'e i'ully'disclosed` uitI is one ofl the primary purposes ol' our `trailer wheels 7 may be utilized a material supplement to the inain trai-tive driving force ot' the wheels 5 upon the rails, whereby `inertia may be quickly oif'eicoine and the` 4starting movement oi" the 'locomotive accelef' 3 rated. tiinilai supplemental drive means may also be applied to the leading truck l Wheels of the locomotive.

The locomotive boiler, as herein shown.'y

l'iiiicludes pairrof laterally spaced upper vdrinne 8 which extend substantially the entire' length of the boiler structure, and a Ipair of 'laterally spaced ,relatively short lower drums 9. The latter driimslextend rearwardly et the cylinder or shell-1t). A 'lieader 1l is secured upon the upper portion of the cylinder 1G, which is in coiinnunication with said header through the openings l2 in the cylinder wall. The Jforward ends of thedruins 8 are supported in said header nd 'Communicate therewith through the -eiiin fs 13 the header walls having steam- 9 r1 tight connection with the wall ot' the drinn.` A The intermediate header 14 connects the rear end' of the cylinder l0 with they upper aiidlower pairs of drains 8 and Si, and these Yi'liu'ins communicate" with the header' 14- through the openings 15 and 16 respectively.

ane drains V8 and 9 are connected to each disposed,

other attheir rear. ends by means ot Va third "ranged therein, and illustrating the arrangement ont the draught dainpers when the loheaderl 17, said drunis communicating with the headerthrough the openings lwind 19,

respectively.

The lower driiins '9 extend through the' 70v lire box at either side ot' the grate 24), said fire box having refractory or other suitable side walls 2] covered b v the insulating inai 'and arel inclined rearwardly and do\vn' wardly i'ronfthe rear header 1'7 tothe intermediate header 1.4 Between the front ends of'said conduits and the grate 20 a bridge Ywall 25 is built and a ballle wall 2o is 4ai'A` ranged upon the upper sides of the conduits 2,4-, and extends troni the bridge wall, 25 to a point adjacent the header 17. This baille wall at its side edges is adjacent to the banks of tubes-23. vlt will thiisbe apparent iroin reference to Figure 4 otethc drawings that the greater volume ot the products of combustion gases can only escape from the combustion chamber in a .lateral direction sii by passing between and in contact with the additional water tubes 3() are arranged and connect the headers 'I4 aud 117 to each other. Through the header I7 spaced tiucs ill are and fixed at their ends to the header walls. Each of the tubes receives' an .auxiliarysupci'heatei unit 32:, which Vfurnishes supcrheated steam tor` the operation oi' the air punip and' other mechanical accessories oi' the locomotive.` The saturated and supcrheated steain headers of the auxiliary superheater unit are arranged in the engineer tion andequipped with conveniently located control valves.

v The primary snperheater indicated at-34j is arranged in advance. of the` cylinder 1t) and fthe usual superheatei units are provided and extend into the front ends of the fire tubes 27. The saturated stean'i header is connected by the steam delivery pipe 35 mediate header 14, which serves in the capacity ot a steam donie.' Any approved means to the upper and central poition 0in-.the inters cab 33 or other suitable locaeti may be employed for establishing a steamtight connection between the plpe and the header. As seen in Figure ll of the drawings, for this purpose we provide the wall ofithe header 14 with a flanged nipple 3G, with which the flanged end of the pipe 35 is engaged. Collars 37 and 38 are respectively engaged on the pipe 85 and nipple 36, and are conected by the clamping screws 39. By this means the abutting flanges may be securedly clamped in tight engagement with each other.

11i indicates an indentation of the rear wall of header le opposite the steam delivery pipe opening in order to properly stay this portion of the wall against internal steam pressure.

The supcrheated steam header connected in the usual manner by a pipe l() to cach of the steam chests. A throttle valve ll is interposed in the pipe P and operated by suitable connections from the engineer"s cab I il. 'The steam separator Llvl may be located rearwarrllv of the throttle valve, or in advance of the same as shown. lt is to be observed that this pipe connection and the throttle valve are disposed extmiorly of the boiler proper and between the two upper drums H.

ln order to further contribute to the free circulation of the water and steam between the cylinder l() and the drums 5%. said cylinder is connected to the drums by means of` a plurality of curved alternately arranged pipes -l-, said series of connecting pipes extending the entire length of the cylinder.

Between the bridge wall Q5 and the cylinder lt). doors 43 are provided, seen in Figure 5, which afford access to the interior ofthe yboiler for the purpose of making repairs and inspecting and cleaning the lire tubes 2T. These openings and doors may be arranged in any other suitable manner.

The locomotiye is provided at its front end, with a smoke box 44, having the stack outlet 45. ln the upper part of the smoke box and above the flues 27 a. feed water tank or reservoir all is arranged. Prefeably, one of these reservoirs is located at each side of the stack 45. A vertical plate or 'diaphragm 47 sep; ates the smoke box from a chamber it into which the primary superheater headers and units are located. A main damper plate elf) is pivot-ally mounted at its lower end, as at 50, and is movable between the upper edge of the diaphragm 4'( and a stop flange 51. t its lower end the diaphragm is provided with an opening 52 and a second pivotally mounted damper plate. 53, controls the passage of the produets of combustion through this opening. The damper plates 49 and 53 are connected to each other by a rod 54, and manual or automatic operating means of any suitable character is provided, whereby said damperl plates may be operated in unison. Each of open ended tubes 4G extending longitudinally therethrough. and through which the products of combustion may freely pass.

ln Figure 7 of the drawings we have illustrated the arrangement of the damper plates when the locomotive is in operation. From reference to said figure it will be seen that the damper plate 4S) is in contact at its upper end with the upper edge of the diaphragm 47, while the damper plate 52B is in an open position. Thus the induced draught created by the steam nozzle draws the main products of combustion upwardly into contact with the superbcater units, which extend in to the forward ends of thc tubes 2T, and hence through the tubes 4(3 of l'ecd water heater.

A. horizontally disposed plate T() surrounds the lower end of the stack l5 and between the steam nozzlc 71. the plate T0 and the vertical diaphragm LT a sheet of heavy wire netting or perforated plate T2 isarranged,' through which the products of combustion are drawn after passing through the tubes 4G. Thus any cinders will impingc against'and be broken up by the netting or by other equivalent means. be deposited in the smoke box, and not projected through the stack outlet.

lllhcn the locomotive is not being operated, or the steam used, the damper plates are disposed in the position shown in Figure 8, wherein the upper end of the plate L9 is engaged with the stop flange 51` thereby stopping the flow of the gases through the superheater [lues while theplatc 523 is disposed in its closed position over the opening :32. The gases through the lower boiler tubes now take the course indicated by the arrows, and. are drawn 'upwardly in advance of the plate 4S), hence through the tubes 4G and. around the reservoirs 4G and finally through the foran'iinous wall 72 out through the stack 45. Thus in either arrangement of the damper plates it will be seen that the gases are caused to travel through the tubes lo and to also contact with the body wall of the feed water reservoir 4G, thus highly heating the water therein before it passes to the reservoir outlet for delivery into thel boiler. ln this manner considerable economy in the consumption of fuel may be devised simple. and effective means for a-pplying :i positive driving force to the wheels of the rear ti'ailcr truck 7, and thereby utilize the adhesive pressure o f the wheels upon the vi'ails for facilitating the starting' and accelerating movement of the locomotive. To-

`this end the' frame 55 is loosely mounted at Y' shaft, as at (57.4 Aclutch (38 is also pro# Vspaced points upon the truclcaxle 56, and vextends rearwardly thereironi. At its rear end.. saidfrainie is swiveled upon t'he upper end of the posty 5T,`\vhich. in turn, is swiveledat its lower end in a flved4 bearing 58,

'lrefci'.^1bly`a spring' 5S) surrounds the post 5T between the frame and the bearing; 5S, and serves to norn'ially `maintain the frame in a relativelyi'ieidposit-ion. Upon the axle o6 spaced cog' gears (Si) are ixcd. .lini'oiis (Si secured upon a shaft (i2, mounted in the `frame have constant meshing engagement ivi'tli the vrespective gears (S0. A beveled gear (i3 is also fixed upon the shaft (i2, and meshes with abeveled pinion ($4 upon the longitudinal shaft G5.

This shaft is driven by means ofa steam lturbine indicated at 6G. and suitable reducing' gearing' is interposed in the line ofsaid 5 vided for the pui'pose of interrupting transmission of' power to the drive pinion 64:5

'lhis clutch `may be of any desired automatic` type` so that when the locomotive hasattained a predetermined speed at which the pinion (il will be rotated through the gearing' at a Vspeed inexcess of the speed of rotation of the driving shaft 65, the clutch will open. 'ln practice the, turbine (36 functions until a speed of l5 to 25 miles is attained, when it is thro-wn out of operation either automaticallyor by the manual operation ot' a. suitable cut-oli' valve in thesteanrfeed Vpipe (SS), which supplies the turbine with supei'lieated steam from the steam chest pipe conm-ction JA). v

From the 'above description it will be s'een that we have devised very novel locomotive boiler structure` the 'several units of which are so correlated and rigidly secured tol each other to practically eliminate 'relative vibratioii. rllius tortional strains or stresses tendiner to weaken'or disrupt the joint coniiections betweentlie parts ofthe water Vand steaiiii circulating;i system will be obviated. 'llie weight of thelocoinotive structure is so distributed and balanced between the main drivers 5, the front support-ing truck and the. rear supplementary driver 7 thatJ a considera-ble adhesive pressure is exerted by the latter upon the rails. Therefore, by the application of a positive drivingforce to the wheels 7, 'as herein disclosed, a very appreciable additional tractive power is obtained.

In View of the fact that the boiler has a very highesteam generating capacit the power necessary for4 the operation o the supple'- inentary drive whees will not lessen or dethe means above referred to for transmitting and controlling the power to the supplemental drivewheels 7 is merely suggestive,-

and various eq'ii'ivalent means might be substituted therefor, .the present application broadly comprehending the applicationvof power to the. wheels ofthe rear trailer truck in combination with a locomotive 'boiler structure of the type referred to, which has adequate steam and superheat generating 'capacity to operate the saine. This particular power unit for the truck wheels T will, however, be embodied in an independent application for patent as will also the vfeed water reservoirand damper plate arrangrement forming the fuel -econoinizer, and the fspecific gas, water and steam circulating' systeni of the boiler. Further, it is to be iinderstoodA that while wehave herein shown and described one practical and satisfactory embodiment of the several combination features of'our improvedlocomotive, these fea v tures may nevertheless be exemplified in various other alternative structures, and we accordingly reserve the privilege ofadopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope .of the invention as claimed While this particular description relates toa boiler adapted for a locomotive. such boileranay als'o be used for other stationary oi' niiobile purposes, Vas for example, for 'Steamship 'or road or farm tractors.

What we claim is l. In a locomotive, main and supplementary drive units, a balanced boiler structure .lia-ving an appreciable `portion of its Weight sustained by the supplementary drive unit, and power transmitting'ineans for the suppl'einentary drive unit located on the. opposite side oit'one of the main drive units from the supplementary drive unit and having I its weight vimposed upon the main drive units and directly actuated by the steam supplyof the locomotive boiler.

2. In a locomotive, main and supplementary'drive units,l a boiler structure mounted upon said drive.`iinits and'V means located substantially centrally of the main drive units and having its weight imposed 'upon the main drive units for directly converting steam power supplied by the boiler into inechanical energy for the operation of said supplementary drive unit.

3. In a locomotive, main and supplementary drive units, a balancedl boiler structure supported4 upon said drive. units and havingr prlmary and auxiliary steam superheaters and power transmitting means vfor said drive units directly actuated by steam from the, primary supe eater. 4. In a loc otve,.a boiler structure, said boiler structure-including a plurality 'of lll() steam and watercirculating drums, a steam generating cylinder, and spaced headers rigidly connecting said drums and cylinder to each other, primary and auxiliary steam superheaters, main and supplementary drive units supporting the boiler structure, and power transmitting means for said drive units actuated by steam from the primary superheater.

5. In "combination with a locomotive having a steam enel-ating capacity in excess of that required for the operation of the main drivers and having a rear overhanging portion extending an appreciable distance beyond the main drivers, a supplementary drive unit sustaining'the Weight of the overhanging rear portionv of the locomotive structure, and power transmitting means having its weight imposed upon the main drivers for directly convertingsteam power supplied 'b the locomotive steam boiler into mec anica energy for the operation of said supplementary drive, unit.

6. In a locomotive, a boiler structure having up er and lower longitudinaljdrums, a fire tu e cylinder, spaced headers :rigidly connectingthe drums and fire tube cylinder to each other, main and supplementary drivers upon which the Weight of the boiler structure is supported, andpower transmitting mechanism for the supplementary drivers having its weight imposed upon the main drivers.'

7. In a locomotive, a boiler structure having upper longitudinal drums extending ay proximately the entire length of the boiler, and lower longitudinal drums, a tire tube cylinder, spaced headers rigidly connecting the drums and lire tube cylinder to each other, main ,and supplementary drivers upon which the i/eight of the boiler structure is supported, und power transmitting mechanism for the supplementary drivers having its Weight imposed upon the main drivers.

8. In a.` locomotive, main and supplementary drive units, a boiler structure mounted` intermediate of the end members of the main driveunits and having its weight imposed upon the main drivers for transmitting power from the boiler for operating said supplementary drive unit independently of, or in combination with the main drive unit.

9. In a locomotive, main and supplementary drive units, a boiler structure mounted upon said drive units, means for transmitting power from the boiler to the main drive unit, and additional controllable means located substantially centrally of the main drive units and having its Weight imposed upon the main drivers for transmitting power from the boiler for operating the supplementary drive unit independently, or in combination with the main drive unit.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our invention, we have signed our names hereunder.

JOHN E. MUHLFELD. VIRGINIUS Z. CARACRISTI.

`upon said drive units, and means located

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