Improvements relating to Starting Gear and to Vertical Shaft Bearings for High Speed Rotary Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Sept., 1890
Complete Specification Left. 24th June, 1891-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Starting Gear and to Vertical Shaft
Bearings for High Speed Rotary Machines.
I CHARLES EDMUND WEBBER, Companion of the Bath, Major General of Her
Majesty's Royal Engineers, of 17 Egerton Gardens South Kensington in the
County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of this invention which has
been communicated to me from abroad by John Head, Woolwasher, and Henry
O'Kelly Webber, Woolwasher, both of King Williamstown, Cape Colony, South
Africa, to be as follows:-
:-
This invention has for its object to utilize the power accumulated in one machine
revolving at a high rate of speed for the purpose of overcoming the inertia and
starting a second rotary machine and for transmitting power from a second to a
third and so on.
This accumulated power so far as I know when a machine has done its work has
hitherto been neglected or wasted on the brake.
My invention is applicable to rotary machines such as wringers and the like
wherein driving power is applied through bevel or friction gearing to a central
rotary spindle.
66
"
on or
In applying my invention to two or more such machines I dispose in close
proximity to the spindle cones a corresponding independent or idle friction cone or
bevel wheel of such diameter that it will simultaneously gear with both or all the
said spindle cones, and for the purpose of throwing it in and out of gear I arrange
suitable hand gear; on the frame of the machines in convenient position I fix a
simple arrangement of levers forks and hand gear for traversing the power shafts
and throwing the driving cones or wheels alternately in and out of gear with the
" off."
spindle cones, and I provide an indicator dial showing the gearing
When one machine is at work the next is made ready to start and at the proper
time the running machine is disconnected and the idle wheel thrown into gear
simultaneously with the running cone and the stationary cone, the momentum of
the former is then transmitted to the latter and starts it from rest; when both
machines are revolving at the same speed the idle wheel is disconnected and the
usual driver geared with the second cone which is then driven at normal speed, the
momentum of the first having thus been utilized to start it. To prevent oil running
down the spindles I provide catch boxes thereupon.
My invention further comprises a special foot bearing for the rotary spindle and
a lubricating device for same, the lower part of the spindle is or may be reduced in
diameter and pointed at its foot; it passes through a steadying collar bearing in
the base plate and is supported in a closed cup bearing beneath same, the cup
bearing contains the lubricant which is supplied from an external receiver at a
higher level by a pipe: all dirt settles to the bottom of the cup and a cock is
provided to clear same when required: thus both bearings are always well
lubricated.
Dated this 24th day of Sentember 1890.
J. C. CHAPMAN,
Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Starting Gear and to Vertical Shaft
Bearings for High Speed Rotary Machines.
"-
I CHARLES EDMUND WEBBER Companion of the Bath, Major General of Her
Majesty's Royal Engineers, of 17 Egerton Gardens, South Kensington in the
County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of this invention which has
been communicated to me from abroad by John Head and Henry O'Kelly
Webber, Woolwashers, both of King Williamstown, Cape Colony, South Africa,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention has for its object to utilize the power accumulated in one machine
revolving at a high rate of speed for the purpose of overcoming the inertia and
starting a second rotary machine, and for transmitting power from a second to a
third and so on.
This accumulated power so far as I know when a machine has done its work has
hitherto been neglected or wasted on the brake.
My invention is applicable to rotary machines such as wringers and the like
wherein driving power is applied through bevel or friction gearing to a central
rotary spindle.
In applying my invention to two or more such machines I dispose in close
proximity to the spindle cones a corresponding independent or idle friction cone or
bevel wheel of such diameter that it will simultaneously gear with both or all the
said spindle cones; and for the purpose of throwing it in and out of gear I arrange
suitable hand gear on the frame of the machines in convenient position.
I fix a simple arrangement of levers forks and hand gear for traversing the
power shafts and throwing the driving cones or wheels alternately in and out of
gear with the spindle cones, and I provide an indicator dial showing the gearing
66 on" or "off."
I will more fully specify my improvements in reference to the accompanying
drawings in which
Figure 1 is an elevation of a pair of hydro-extractors or centrifugal wringing
machines having my said invention applied thereto, and
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of a special foot bearing for driving spindles
hereinafter explained.
A. A' are the two machines and a. a' their central operating spindles: To the
tops of these are fitted the friction cones b. b adapted to be driven alternately by
bevel wheels B. B' keyed to shafts S. S¹ which carry pulleys s. s for belt or other
driving; the shafts S. S' run in bearings f. f upon a frame or yolk F fixed to and
above the machines A A'. In applying my invention I dispose in close proximity
to the spindle cones b. a correspondingly coned independent or idle wheel K of
such diameter that it will simultaneously gear with both (or three or four if there
be three or four machines in a group) the said spindle cones b. : for the purpose
of throwing this wheel K in or out of gear with the said cones the foot of its
spindle is made concave and mounted upon a pointed partly screwed shaft M
capable of vertical motion in bearings as at m, m, by a hand screw wheel m³,
and thus it is mechanically lifted out of gear but falls into gear by gravity.
For gearing the drivers B B¹ alternately with the cones b. b¹ the shafts S. S¹ are
arranged to be travelled horizontally by forks 1. formed on levers L. L' and
engaging clutches J. J'. The levers L L' are centred on the yolk F as shown and
are simultaneously operated through a connecting rod L2 by a lever H centred at h
on a boss on the frame, and worked by nut and screw g and hand wheels G. G¹
supported in a bracket, bearing g² on frame F; when lever H is in the vertical
position illustrated both drivers B. B' are out of gear with the cones b. b¹ but by
moving it to either side one or other is thrown into gear; on the bottom part of

page_text: bracket the words "ON ""OFF" may conveniently be inscribed, and an index
finger therefor fixed to the foot of lever H.
When one machine, for example A, is at work the next A' is made ready to start
and at the proper time the running machine is disconnected from its driver B
through the medium of the levers H, L2, and J, by turning hand wheel G. Then
by operating screw wheel m' the starting wheel K is allowed to fall into gear
simultaneously with both the running cone band the hitherto stationary cone b'.
The momentum of the former is then transmitted to the latter and starts it from
rest when both machines are revolving at the same speed the wheel K is dis-
connected by hand wheel m¹ and the driver B is then geared with the cone b*
by moving the levers L' L' and H as described; the machine A' is then driven
at normal speed, the momentum of the running machine A having thus been
utilized to start it. To prevent oil running down the spindles a a¹ I may provide
metal receivers such as N thereupon.
:
My invention further comprises a special foot bearing for the rotary spindles and
a lubricating device for same: the lower part of the spindle a is or may be
reduced in diameter and pointed at its foot as illustrated in Figure 2. C is the
collar bearing fixed to the inner side of the base plate of the machine A through
which the spindle passes, and its pointed foot is supported in a closed cup
bearing D fixed beneath the same: This cup contains the lubricant which is
supplied by piper from an external receiver Ŕ placed at a higher level so that
the cup
always full. All dirt settles to the bottom of cup D and a cock d
is provided to clear same when required, and thus both bearings are always well
lubricated.
Having now particularly described the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The arrangement of gear for starting high speed rotary machines in which an
independent or idle wheel is adapted to gear simultaneously with cones upon the
central driving spindles of two or more machines so that the momentum of a
running cone will be imparted and utilized to start another cone from rest,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The apparatus for starting high speed rotary machines consisting in the
combination with central coned spindles and their driving gear of independent
starting wheel K with its spindle and hand gear substantially as described.
3. The arrangement in combination with the above described apparatus of
levers shafts and hand gear for alternatively connecting and disconnecting the
drivers and the coned spindles of two or more machines substantially as set
forth.
4. The foot bearing for the central driving spindles and its lubricating
appliance substantially as described and shown in Figure 2.
Dated this 24th day of June 1891
J. C. CHAPMAN,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for Applicant.