Improvements in and relating to the Direct Coupling or Connection of Rotary Fans or Pumps with Electric or other Motors or Engines Driving same.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Direct Coupling or Connection of
Rotary Fans or Pumps with Electric or other Motors or Engines
Driving same.
I, SAMUEL CLELAND DAVIDSON, of Sirocco Engineering Works, Belfast, Ireland,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention consists in an improved device for coupling or connecting the
enclosing casing of rotary fans or pumps (hereinafter referred to as the fan
casing) to the framework or casing of an electric or other motor or engine for
driving same (hereinafter referred to as the motor casing) and on the shaft of
which said fans or pumps are directly mounted. In the methods hitherto
employed of coupling up rotary fans or pumps directly to motors or engines any
alteration in the direction of the discharge nozzle necessitated structural altera-
tions in the form and arrangement of fan casing, so that different directions of
discharge involved differently constructed fan casings being employed therefor.
According to my invention the position of the discharge nozzle of the fan casing
can be so adjusted upon and relatively to the motor casing as to deliver the fluid
being discharged from said fan or pump in any required direction, either up-
wards, downwards or horizontally from either above or below same, without
necessitating any structural alteration in said fan casing. My invention further
consists in a special device to prevent the lubricating oil in the motor or engine
bearings being driven or drawn out therefrom, by any back pressure or suction,
as the case may be, which may be created by the operation of the fan coupled
thereto.
In carrying out my invention the frame or casing of the motor engine con-
structed with a bracket or facing on one side thereof (hereinafter referred to as
the bracket) and in the plane of revolution of the motor or engine shaft, so that
the centre of said bracket coincides with the centre of said shaft, and which is
at a greater height above the base of the motor or engine casing than the
maximum measurement from the centre of the fan or pump to the furthest edge
therefrom of the discharge nozzle. Said bracket or facing on the motor or
engine is suitably constructed around its outer edges for one side of the fan
casing to be bolted or otherwise attached thereto, and so that said casing over-
hangs therefrom without being otherwise supported.
The shaft or spindle of the motor or engine is projected through a suitable
orifice in the casing of the fan or pump, and which orifice may when necessary
be fitted with a fluid tight gland enclosing the motor or engine shaft or said
orifice may when employed with fans for air or gases be of somewhat larger diameter
than the fan itself, so that when said fan is constructed with a disc on the side
next the motor, and with the blades mounted on its opposite side, said disc in
combination with a projecting flange from the bracket sufficiently closes the
orifice to prevent any back flow of air or gases therefrom, in which case as there
is necessarily a slight space left between the revolving disc and the flange of the

page_text: The shaft or spindle of the motor or engine is projected through a suitable
orifice in the casing of the fan or pump. This orifice when employed with fans
for air or gases is usually made of somewhat larger diameter than the fan itself,
so that when said fan is constructed with a disc on the side next the motor, and
with the blades mounted on its opposite side, said disc in combination with a
projecting flange from the bracket sufficiently closes the orifice to prevent any
appreciable back flow of air or gases therefrom. But in this case, as there is
necessarily a slight space left between the revolving disc and the flange of the
bracket through which said back pressure or suction would take place (according
to the conditions under which the fan is operating), ventilating holes are provided
in the bracket to prevent said back pressure or suction driving or sucking the
lubricating oil out from the bearing of the engine or motor shaft within same.
The enclosing casing of the fan or pump is bolted to said bracket, and its
centre being as already described sufficiently higher than the base of the engine
or motor pedestal to allow that part of the enclosing casing of the fan or pump
which is furthest from the centre of the bracket to be clear of the floor, if it be
set in that direction, it is obvious that said casing can be bolted to said bracket,
so that its discharge nozzle may point in any direction around the shaft of the
engine or motor coupled therewith.
Referring to the drawings, in which I have shown my invention as applied
to a fan coupled to an electric motor.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the preferred form of my invention, and
Figure 2 is a rear elevation.
In the drawings, A designates a suitable base or support for the motor B,
which latter is here shown as an electric motor of common type, enclosed in a
protecting shell B', which is fixed to the base A by bolts C passing through
suitable flanges formed in the shell.
To the front of the shell B is fixed a casing D, which is preferably formed as
an integral part of the motor shell, and which forms an intermediate connecting
casing between the latter and the fan casing H. The casing D is formed on its
exterior with the bracket above referred to in the form of an annular vertical
flange E, to which the fan casing H is fixed by suitable bolts J, passing through
the flange and casing. The holes through which the bolts J pass are spaced
apart equidistantly around the flange E, and casing H, so that the latter may be
turned in any direction to bring the delivery nozzle P to the position best suited
to the individual requirements, whereupon the casing may be bolted in its
adjusted position. This permits a delivery of the fluid operated on in any direc-
tion two of the many positions being shown in dotted lines at P1 and P° in
Figure 2 and a third in full lines at P. The base A should be of sufficient
height to permit the nozzle P to pass to its lowest position (shown in dotted lines
at P2) without striking the floor. The fan casing is supported temporarily during
its adjustment by the connecting casing D which is shown as extending a short
distance into the fan casing.
The shaft G of the motor B preferably extends through a suitable gland or
stuffing box into the casing H, and preferably, as in the construction shown,
the rotary member of the fan is mounted directly upon the shaft. The type of
fan shown comprises numerous thin elongated blades L which are arranged in.
drum form and are fixed at their inner ends to a dise N, which is fixed to a
suitable hub K, mounted upon the shaft G. At the opposite or intake end of
the fan the blades .L are fixed to an annular support N which encircles the
blades at their outer edges. The intake end of the fan faces a suction eye or
inlet opening M formed in the casing, which latter is preferably provided with
a suitable mouth-piece or funnel M', for directing the fluid into the eye. The
Huid operated on is taken axially into the intake chamber of the fan, and is
discharged circumferentially into the casing through the spaces or ports between
the blades L, as shown by the arrows in Figure 1, whence it escapes through
the nozzle P. When operating as an exhaust with a free discharge through the

page_text: so that it may be adjusted to cause the discharge nozzle to extend in different
directions, and means for supporting the casing during adjustment, arranged
and operating substantially as hereinbefore described.
Deted this 26th day of April 1900.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.