Patent GB-432670-A (GB)
Title: Arrangement for starting, rapidly accelerating, or keeping running an inert mass
IPC: F16H47/07
Filed: 1934-10-19
Abstract: 432,670. Momentum power storing apparatus. FOTTINGER, H., 172, Berliner- Strasse, Charlottenburg, Berlin. Oct. 19, 1934, No. 30040. Convention date, Oct. 19, 1933. [Class 10] In apparatus for use in connection with trains, vehicles, and machines, subject to intermittent loading, and comprising a small flywheel driven through mechanical and hydraulic gears at a higher speed than the main shaft, which stores energy at times of light loading and delivers it back at times of heavy loading, energy is supplied to or withdrawn from the flywheel through an hydraulic torque-converter, that is, a hydraulic turbo-gear with a stationary guide wheel, which may be employed in addition to or in substitution for an hydraulic coupling. By the use of the converter, a substantially constant primary torque and output from the power source may produce a torque on the flywheel at starting of from five to eight times the primary torque, and the final speed of the flywheel may rise considerably above that of the primary shaft, allowing small flywheels to be used with peripheral speeds of from 400 to 500 meters per second. Fig. 3 shows one arrangement of apparatus, in which the power-source 1 drives through a shaft 2 and gears 3, 4 a hollow shaft 5 on which are mounted one wheel 6 of an hydraulic coupling K and one wheel 7 of an hydraulic . converter W having a stationary guide wheel 14. The secondary wheels 10, 11 respectively of the coupling and converter are connected to a shaft 9 carrying the flywheel 13. The power-output shaft 16 is driven through an hydraulic or mechanical releasable coupling 17 from the shaft 2. For balancing the apparatus gyroscopically a second flywheel 131 is driven similarly to the flywheel 13, but with the interposition of a gear 4<11> for reversing the direction of rotation. Assuming the apparatus to be employed on a vehicle, the flywheels may be speeded up or " charged " when the vehicle is stationary by opening the coupling 17 and cutting-in the converters W, W<1>, or, when decelerating the vehicle, by closing the coupling 17 and throttling down the engine. The flywheel energy may be employed on re-starting the vehicle by cutting-in the couplings K, K<1> and 17. The couplings K, K<1> which have a higher efficiency than the converters W, W<1>, may for this reason be employed for the portion of the " charging " period of the flywheels during which the primary and secondary wheels of the converters are rotating at neighbouring speeds. For example, the converter W may be employed, until a slip of 20-15 per cent exists between the two speeds, at which point the drive is transferred to the coupling K, to be retransferred to the converter when a slip of 2-3 per cent exists. In a modification, further torque-converters are provided through which the flywheels drive the apparatus when giving up their energy. In a further modification, Fig. 5, the gears 3, 4, 4<1>, 4<11> are duplicated, the flywheels being mounted between them and capable of being disconnected from either set by the converters and couplings, in which case the coupling 17 need transmit only the torque of the motor 1 and not that due to the flywheels, and may therefore be of smaller size than in the case of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3. Another modification is shown in which two-stage gears are employed, the couplings and converters being mounted on the intermediate gear shafts and therefore rotating at a lower speed than the flywheels. A special motor which may be driven by exhaust steam or gas from the main motor, may be coupled to the shaft 9 for temporarily running the flywheel up to speed, or the flywheel itself may be provided with turbine blades for the same purpose.