Improvements in Wind Mills.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 8th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 8th Dec., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wind Mills.
We, ROBERT WARNER, Proprietor of the Engineering Works and Foundry,
Walton-on-the-Naze, residing at Widford Lodge, Chelmsford, and ROWLAND
RACKHAM, Engineer, of Walton-on-the-Naze, all in the County of Essex, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
The arms to which the vanes are pivotted are fixed to the end of a hollow
horizontal shaft which by means of an eccentric or otherwise gives motion to the
machinery. The vanes have fixed to them levers pivotted to arms fixed to the end
of a spindle free to move end wise in the hollow shaft, the other end of the spindle
being pivotted to one arm of a bell crank lever whose other arm carries a weight.
This weight tends to close the vanes whilst the pressure of the wind tends to
open them and thus the vanes automatically adjust themselves to the strength of
the wind.
The bearings of the hollow shaft and the bearings of the pivot of the bell crank
lever are fixed to a table or flange on the top of a vertical hollow boss (through
which the connecting rod operating the machinery passes) working inside a tubular
bearing fixed to the frame of the mill a ring of balls being interposed between the
top of the bearing and the flange of the boss. Outside the tubular bearing is an
annular table which can be raised and lowered on it by a vertical rod having a
screw thread at its lower end working in a nut to which is fixed a bevel pinion
gearing with a bevel pinion on a horizontal shaft carrying a hand wheel, or the nut
may be turned in other ways.
Resting on the annular table are two vertical rods passing up inside the hollow
boss and working in bearings carried by it and its flange. These rods carry at their
upper end a roller which by turning the nut can be brought to bear against the
under side of the bell crank lever thereby raising it, opening the vanes and
throwing the mill out of action. When the vanes are in this position the levers
operating them are nearly at right angles to the arms to which they are pivotted.
and the weight on the bell crank lever is not always sufficient to close them again.
In order to assist its action a roller is provided above the bell crank lever which is
pressed down by a spring or weight. When the mill is in action however the
weighted arm of the bell crank lever works freely between the two rollers without
touching either of them.
To
We also simplify the method of constructing the sail rings and vanes.
accomplish this we make the sail ring in one piece of metal which can be made
solid with the centre boss or the arms may be of separate pieces of metal cast or
fixed into same.
Around the periphery of the ring, where the stems of the vanes are connected
the metal is raised to an angle and on this portion the stems of the vanes'
are fixed.
Another plan is to make the ring flat and twist the stems of the vanes.
In order to stop mills of small power we provide on the connecting rod a sleeve
free to move up and down on it but prevented from turning by a groove and
feather. This sleeve is raised and lowered by a nut working on a screw thread on
the rod. Above the sleeve is a helical spring which can be raised by the sleeve
until its upper end comes against a fixed abutment so that the rod in rising works

page_text: against the spring and by sufficiently compressing the latter the mill can be stopped
without shock.
ROBERT WARNER.
ROWLAND RACKHAM.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wind Mills.
We,
ROBERT WARNER, Proprietor of the Engineering Works and Foundry,
Walton-on-the-Naze, residing at Widford Lodge, Chelmsford, and ROWLAND
RACKHAM, Engineer, of Walton-on-the-Naze, all in the County of Essex, 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:
Figure 1 shows a sectional elevation of a mill constructed acording to this
invention.
The arms a to which the vanes are pivotted are fixed to the end of a hollow
horizontal shaft c which by means of an eccentric d or otherwise gives motion to
the machinery. The vanes b have fixed to them levers e pivotted at e' to arms f
(see also Figure 2) fixed to the end of a spindle g free to move endwise in the
hollow shaft e the other end of the spindle being pivotted at h¹ to one arm of a
bell crank lever h whose other arm carries a weight 2. This weight tends to close
the vanes whilst the pressure of the wind tends to open them and thus the vanes
automatically adjust themselves to the strength of the wind.
The bearings c¹ of the hollow shaft c and the bearings h³ of the pivot of the bell
crank lever are fixed to a table or flange j on the top of a vertical hollow boss j'
(through which the connecting rod d operating the machinery passes) working
inside a tubular bearing k fixed to the frame of the mill a ring of balls ¹ being
interposed between the top of the bearing & and the flange of the boss . Fixed
to the boss j¹ and turning with it is a tubular guide ². Outside the tubular
guide 2 is an annular table (see also Figure 3 which is a section on the line X X
Figure 1) which can be raised and lowered on it by a vertical rod l having a screw
thread at its lower end working in a nut 2 to which is fixed a bevel pinion gearing
with a bevel pinion on a horizontal shaft carrying a hand wheel 1º, or the nut
may be turned in other ways.
Resting on the annular table are two vertical rods m passing up inside the
hollow boss and working in bearings carried by it and its flange. These rods
carry at their upper end a roller m' which by turning the uut 12 can be brought to
bear against the under side of the bell crank lever thereby raising it, opening
the vanes and throwing the mill out of action. When the vanes are in this
position the levers e operating them are nearly at right angles to the plane
containing the arms a to which they are pivotted and the weight 2 on the bell
crank lever is not always sufficient to close them again. In order to assist its
action a roller n is provided above the bell crank lever which is pressed down by
a spring n' or weight. When the mill is in action however the weighted arm
of the bell crank lever works freely between the two rollers without touching either
of them.
We also simplify the method of constructing sail rings and vanes. To accomplish
this we make the sail ring o (Figure 4) in one piece of metal which can be made
solid with the centre boss or the arms may be of separate pieces of metal cast or
fixed into same.
Around the periphery of the ring o, where the stems of the vanes bare
connected the metal is raised to an angle and on this portion the stems of the vanes
are fixed as shown at Figures 5 and 6 and the left hand of Figure 4.

page_text: -
Another plan is to make the ring o flat and twist the stems 61 of the vanes bas
shown at Figures 7 and 8 and the right hand of Figure 4.
In order to stop mills of small power we provide on the connecting rod d' a
sleeve p free to move up and down on it but prevented from turning by a set screw..
This arrangement is shown in sectional elevation and plan at Figures 9 and 10.
This sleeve p is raised and lowered by a nut 9 working on a screw thread on the
rod d'. Above the sleeve p is a helical spring r which can be raised by the sleeve
until its upper end comes against a fixed abutments so that the rod in rising
works against the spring and by sufficiently compressing the latter the mill can be
stopped without shock.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The combination of the rising and falling table with the rods m for actuating
the lever substantially as described.
2. The combination of the roller n forced downward by a weight or spring with
the roller m' provided with means for raising and lowering it substantially as
described.
3. The combined apparatus for starting and stopping wind mills substantially as
described.
4. The methods of constructing the sail ring substantially as described and shown
in Figures 4 to 8 of the drawings.
5. The apparatus for stopping mills of small power substantially as described and
shown at Figures 9 and 10 of the drawings.
Dated this 6th day of November 1894.
ROBERT WAKNER.
R. RACKHAM.