New or Improved Apparatus for Recording the Oscillations and Vibrations of Locomotives, Rolling Stock, Various kinds of . Machinery, and of Structures.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Apr., 1889-Accepted; 10th Aug., 1889
OF PUIFICATION.
New or Improved Apparatus for Recording the Oscillations and
Vibrations of Locomotives, Rolling Stock, Various kinds of
. Machinery, and of Structures.
1, JOHN MILNE of Ingleside Birdhirstrise Croydon in the County of Surrey,
Professor of Mining in the Imperial University of Japan, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to new or Improved apparatus by means of which an
indication and a perimanent record of the oscillations and vibrations of locomotives
rolling stock various kinds of machinery and of structures, and of other similar move-
ments may be obtained.
In apparatus constructed according to these Improvements, the vertical vibrations
are indicated and recorded by means of a system consisting essentially of a spring
which is stretched or coiled by a weighted lever; the horizontal oscillations and
vibrations are similarly indicated and recorded by means of a pendulum or pendulums
or by means of a pair or pairs of mutually compensating pendulums.
I will proceed to particularly describe my Invention with reference to the accom-
panying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view and Fig. 2 an end view of the
apparatus for indicating and recording the vertical motions; Fig. 3 is a cross section,
and Fig. 4 is a side view of the apparatus for indicating and recording the horizontal
movements; Figs. 5 and 6 represent modified forms of the apparatus for the horizontal
movements, and Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the apparatus for recording all the move-
ments. It will be understood that the various Figures are diagrammatic and that
they are not intended to represent the apparatus exactly as it would be constructed;
the details of construction are well understood, and if they were shewn in the drawings.
they would tend only to confuse.
In the apparatus for indicating and recording the vertical movements, as repre-
sented in Figs. 1 and 2 and in Fig. 7, A is a spring similar to a clock spring which is
kept coiled upon its axis by means of a lever B C and the adjustable weight W. D is
a pointer for giving a multiplied representation of the vertical movements; E is a
spring to counteract any tendency to continued upward motion of the weighted lever,
and P is a pen or scriber.
The spring A may be arranged as indicated in Fig. 1 or as in Fig. 7. In Fig. 1,
the inner end of the spring is attached to the fixed axle B and the outer end to the
case G which is capable of rotation and to which the arm D is attached. In Fig. 7
the outer end of the spring is attached to a fixed part of the apparatus and the inner
end to a rotatable axle to which the weighted lever and the multiplying arm are attached.
The spring A is wound or coiled and the weight W is adjusted so that the lever B C is.
normally in a horizontal position. When the weight is first depressed and then
released, it returns to its normal position; but when it is raised, instead of returning
it may tend to continue its upward motion. This tendency may be neutralised by
means of the spring E which may be adjusted by means of its nut and screw F so as
to restore the weight after being raised, to its normal position. In this apparatus,
when the axle B is exposed to upward and downward movements, some point in W
remains at rest, and the pointer which is fixed at right angles with the lever, gives a
multiplied representation of the vertical motions.
The horizontal oscillations or vibrations are indicated and recorded by means of
pointers or pens attached to and operated by two pendulums or two pairs of pendulums.
These pendulums are so arranged that each pendulum or each pair of pendulums can
wing in one plane only and so also that the two planes in which the pendulums
espectively move, are at right angles to each other. In its simplest and most

page_text: .
elementary form this part of the apparatus consists of a metallic cylinder H Figs. 3
and 4. This cylinder is free to swing between the pivots I I near its upper edges.
For a quick displacement of II to the right or left when viewed in cross section as
in Fig. 3, some line such asi i in H may be regarded as the instantaneous axis of
rotation relatively to II which is the axis of percussion. A multiplying arm or
lever D is attached to the cylinder H and may be provided with a pen or scriber P
as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.
If I, as viewed in Fig. 3, is moved to the right or left, a point in the instantaneous
axis may be considered as being practically at rest, and a multiplied representation of
the motion of I as described, is therefore given at the upper end of the pointer D and
can be inscribed on the surface S by the pen or scriber P which may slide in suitable
guides. The motions of the cylinders may be made approximately dead-beat by giving
a certain frictional resistance to the movement of the pointer D. This may be done
conveniently by loading the pen or scriber P.
The method which I prefer to adopt for the purpose of controlling the free swing
of the pendulum is illustrated by Fig. 5 of the drawings. According to this arrange
ment, the pendulum H is connected by means of a sliding joint with a second
pendulum K. For greater convenience of illustration, the two pendulums are
represented as two flat bars; H pivoted at L, and K pivoted at M. The two pendulums are
connected by the fork N attached to K which can slide on the pin O secured to H.
If the frame carrying the two pendulums is displaced to the right or to the left, for
example, to the left as indicated by the dotted lines, then, insomuch as the lower
pendulum tends to fall towards the right, or in the direction of the arrow x and the
upper pendulum tends to fall towards the left, or in the direction of the arrow y, it is
evident that these two pendulums may be so proportioned or suspended that the
pivot O may, relatively to M or L, be a centre of oscillation and therefore the point o
may remain practically at rest.
A somewhat more elaborate method of constructing the simpler form of the
apparatus shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, is illustrated by Fig. 6. This method of construc-
tion enables the calculation of the position of the instantaneous axis to be avoided.
As shown in the Figure, the cylinder H is pivoted on its axis ii within the frame Q,
and this frame in its turn is pivoted at II within the fixed frame R. The multiplying
arm D is fixed to the frame Q. In this case ii is the instantaneous axis which
practically remains at rest while the frame R moves backwards and forwards. As
represented in the drawings, it will be observed that the pens or scribers are arranged
vertically, but by tipping the instrument, they may be made to inscribe their records
in any plane, even if they are placed horizontally.
Fig. 7 illustrates the combined apparatus as ordinarily arranged for work. T is an
ordinary driving clock giving motion to the drum U upon which there may be secured
metallic or other paper, or the surface of which may be smoked or otherwise prepared
to receive the record. The recording points may be strips of metal, pins, pens, or
pencils as is well understood. The recording point 1 is that of the apparatus for
recording the vertical movements and which is illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2; the
recording points 2 and are those of the apparatus for recording the horizontal
movements. These two apparatus are constructed as illustrated by Fig. 5 but the
pendulums instead of being flat bars are cylinders, and they are so arranged relatively
to each other that the plane in which the pendulums in one apparatus move, is at right
angles to the plane of oscillation of the pendulum of the other apparatus. The
pointer 3 may be caused to write on the same plane as the pointer 2 by the interven-
tion of a bell crank lever.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
claim is :-
(1) An apparatus for indicating and recording vertical vibrations such as are fo
example experienced on locomotives; constructed arranged and operated substantially
as hereinberore described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

page_text: (2) An apparatus for indicating and recording horizontal vibrations such for
example as are experienced on locomotives; constructed arranged and operated
substantially as herein before described and as illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
(3) An apparatus for simultaneously recording all the oscillations and vibrations
similar to those which are experienced for example on a locomotive; constructed
arranged and operated substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.