Improvements in Driving Mechanism for Dynamos and other Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 20th June, 1899-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Driving Mechanism for Dynamos and other
Machines.
I, WILLIAM LORD BLISS, of No. 128, Front Street, in the City of New York,
State of New York, United States of America, Electrical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
-
The object of this invention is to provide a means whereby the rotative motion
of an axle or shaft, which is either out of true, or runs out of true, or which is
subject to vibration, or to lateral or longitudinal motions, may be utilized for
driving machinery which requires perfectly smooth and-true rotation for its
operation.
An immediate application of my device is in the driving of a dynamo by means
of a car axle, said dynamo being suitably mounted on the truck frame for that
purpose. In this instance, the car axle is generally out of true, rough, unfinished,
and tapered, and present railroad practice prohibits all devices which contem-
plate turning, or in any way tooling or machining said axles.
It is also undesirable to employ devices which necessitate the use of set screws,
roughened clamps, etc., in applying to the axles false sleves, having previously
had trued spaces turned, upon them for the reception of gear wheels and
supporting bearings. Such devices require skilled labor in trueing them in place,
and even then such trueness is only approximate.
My device eliminates all these objections, no skilled labor being necessary,
and no trueing in place being required. And further, such axles are subject
to severe 'shocks and vibrations, and have considerable free motion relative to
the frames of the trucks.
My invention enables a dynamo to be mounted on the truck frame, thereby
utilizing the cushioning action of the car springs to relieve the dynamo from
vibration and shock; dispenses with carrying any portion of the weight of the
dynamo upon the axle, as in present street railway motor mountings, and those
mountings using false sleeves bolted to the axle; does not require the axle to
be finished, to run true; and avoids the necessity of maintaining parallelism'
between the car axle and the dynamo shaft.
The motion is communicated from the axle to the wheel which drives the
armature pinion or pulley, through a flexible driving connection, which transmits
only the rotative component of the axle motion, all other components being
lost.
I prefer to use, in practice, on account of its simplicity, a dog clamped upon the
axle, which dog does not require a special seat on the axle for its reception,
but may be clamped directly upon the unfinished rough tapered axle, and no
special care need be exercised to make it run true, it being quite as effective
when out of true, as when nicely adjusted.
My device is not of necessity confined to driving a dynamo from a car axle, but
may be used in the shop, factory, or any situation wherein the rotation of an
untrue shaft may be made available without turning or otherwise trueing the

page_text: said shaft, or without turning or trueing an attachment carried by said shaft
for the purpose of utilizing its rotary motion.
I will first describe my invention in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings, and afterwards point out its novelty in the claims.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a dynamo and its driving mechanism as
applied to a car truck, only so much of the truck being represented as is necessary
to illustrate the invention;-
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the driving mechanism, taken through the line a-a
of Fig. 1;
1
Fig. 3 is a plan view of said dynamo and its driving mechanism;
Fig. 4 represents one of the nose bars which rest upon the truck frame, and
support the dynamo and its driving mechanism; and
Fig. 5 illustrates a desirable method of transmitting the motion of the rotating
dog, which is clamped upon the axle, to the driving lugs upon the hollow shaft.
Similar parts of all the figures are represented by the same letters.
A, A designates the frame of a car truck and B designates one of the axles
thereof, which may be constructed and combined, as in ordinary railway cars.
C, C¹, is the dynamo, which may be of any known or suitable kind, but which is
preferably of the iron-clad internal pole type. In the drawings, the dynamo
is represented as circular in form, and provided with two extension pieces ])
and E, which form a hollow pillow block. The dynamo is divided in a horizontal
plane along the line b-b, the upper half C being cast or made integral with the
extension pieces D, while the lower half C¹ is separate from the extension
piece E. This particular construction is not essential, but for many mechanical
reasons it is very convenient.
The extension piece I may be made separately, and bolted to the upper half
of the dynamo C, but the method described and shown is simpler and better.
The extension pieces D and S form a pillow block or bracket consisting of the
hollow cylindrical part I and the ribs G, G¹. This particular construction is
not necessary, but the ribs G, G¹, carry out the contour of the dynamo, and
add great strength to the cylindrical part F, thus making a neat and substantial
design. Of course the parts C, C, D, and E, are to be bolted or fastened
together in any suitable manner well known in the art.
Suitable bearings H, H¹, are provided in the side castings of the dynamo for
the reception of the armature shaft J, which is shown carrying the tooth pinion K.
The armature proper is mounted on the shaft J, and is inside of the dynamo, but
as it forms no essential part of this invention, it is not shown. The toothed
driving gear L is of ordinary construction, being made into symmetrical halves
fastened together by the bolts M, M. The gear L is mounted on a hollow
shaft N, which is turned true on its outer. surface, and finds a bearing on the
inside surface of the pillow block F, which is similarly turned to a true bearing
surface.
A set of antifriction rollers 0, 0¹, are shown between the hollow shaft N and
the inside surface of the pillow block F. These rollers may be of any well known
construction, and may or may not be mounted in a guiding yoke or cage.
Spherical balls might be similarly employed to reduce the friction of the shaft N
in these bearings, in any of the well known ways.
A plain solid bearing might be used without rollers or balls, but it is probably
preferable to use some kind of an antifriction bearing.
The hollow shaft N is also divided into halves, and would, in practice, be
suitably bolted together. The hollow shaft N has shoulders or collars P, P₁,
upon its outer surface, which serve to keep it confined to the pillow block, and
absorb all end thrust. The collar P¹ is made preferably heavier than the collar P,
and carries upon its face one or more driving lugs Q, Q. The hollow shaft N, the
collars P, P, and the lugs QQ' would, in practice, be cast integrally and finished.
The inside of the shaft N need not be finished, since it is not in contact with
anything.

page_text: The hollow shaft N surrounds the axle B, and is spaced therefrom, so that a
slight excentricity in the axle B and shaft N is of no moment whatever. The
clearance between the axle B and the shaft N is made large enough to allow of
great vertical and horizontal motion of the axle B, without disturbing the
shaft N. The advantage of this construction is that the vibration, pounding,
and shocks, which originate in the car wheels and axle, are not communicated.
to the dynamo C, C¹.
The flexible connection for communicating the rotary motion of the axle B to
the hollow shaft N, is represented in the accompanying drawings as a split
dog R, consisting of one or more arms S, S¹, clamped upon the axle by means of
bolts T, T, said arms being extended between the pairs of lugs Q, Q. It is
desirable to have the lugs Q, Q¹ quite long in the direction of the axle B, and the
space between the dog R and the collar P considerable, so that a large end-play
in the axle B may be accommodated without disengaging the lugs Q, Q₁ and
the arms S, S¹.
In order to ensure even driving and equal pressure on the lugs Q, Q, I have
introduced springs U between the lugs QQ and the arms S, St. Suitable rods
or confining bolts V, VI, prevent the displacement of the said springs U.
It is obvious that the bolts V, V₁ must not fit tightly in the lugs Q Q and
arms S, St, but must admit of considerable play.
The so-called dog R, having the arms S, S₁, may be modified very greatly,
without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. In fact, the dog
may be dispensed with, and any flexible connection between the axle B and the
hollow shaft N substituted therefor, it being necessary only that the said flexible
connection shall communicate the rotative motion of the axle B to the shaft N,
or vice versa, without communicating any other kind of motion.
Only ordinary care need be exercised in mounting the dog on the axle, as it.
is quite as effective when out of true. The same is true in regard to mounting
the dynamo and pillow block on the car truck, an approximate centering of the
.axle B and the shaft N being all that is necessary.
The dynamo and pillow block are supported by lugs or noses W, W¹, resting
on the nose bar X, X. A side view of the nose bars is shown in Fig. 4, indicat-
ing their relative position to the axle B.
It is evident that the dynamo might be made entirely separate from the
pillow block D, E, the latter only being mounted on the truck. It would also
be possible to drive the dynamo from the hollow shaft by any suitable means,
such as belting, sprocket chains, friction gearing, etc., and I do not wish it under-
stood that I confine myself to a gear connection between the said parts, as shown
in the drawing.
The pillow block, hollow shaft, and flexible connection between the shaft and
axle, provide a means whereby smooth and even running may be obtained from
an untrue vibrating axle.
By making the lower half of the pillow block E separate, it may be removed
without interfering with the rest of the structure, thus enabling the axle to be
removed. And also the lower half of the dynamo C₁ being separate, it may be
removed and the interior of the dynamo inspected.
The upper half of the dynamo C and the upper half of the pillow block D
being supported by the nose bars X, X', remain undisturbed.
While I have represented the dog R as clamped upon the axle B, the said dog
might be forged or cast solid with the said axle, or be fastened thereon by any
suitable means.
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
I claim is:-
1. In combination, a truck frame, an axle, a hollow shaft mounted to rotate
in the truck frame, said hollow shaft surrounding, and spaced from, the said

page_text: axle, and a flexible driving connection between the said axle and hollow shaft,
substantially as set forth.
2. In combination, a dynamo, a truck frame, an axle, a hollow shaft mounted
to rotate in the truck frame, said hollow shaft surrounding, and spaced from, the
said axle, a driving connection between the hollow shaft and the dynamo, and
a flexible driving connection between the axle and the hollow shaft, substantially
as set forth.
3. In combination a dynamo, a truck frame, a pillow block supported by a
truck frame, a hollow shaft mounted to rotate therein, a driving connection
between the hollow shaft and the dynamo, an axle extending through the
hollow shaft and spaced therefrom, and a flexible driving connection between the
axle and shaft, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination with a pillow block and a hollow shaft mounted to rotate
therein, of an axle extending through the hollow shaft, and spaced therefrom,
and a flexible driving connection between the axle and shaft, substantially as
set forth.
5. The combination of a hollow pillow block, a hollow shaft mounted to rotate
in said pillow block, a driving axle extending through said hollow shaft, a clear-
ance between said driving axle and said hollow shaft, permitting excentric
motion of said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog mounted upon, or
forming a part of, said driving axle, and adapted to engage said hollow shaft,
whereby the rotation of said driving axle is communicated through said dog
to said hollow shaft, substantially as herein described.
6. The combination of a hollow pillow block, a hollow shaft mounted to rotate
in said pillow block, an anti-friction bearing between said hollow shaft and said
pillow block, a driving axle extending through said hollow shaft, a clearance
between said driving axle and said hollow shaft, permitting eccentric motion of
said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog mounted upon, or forming a
part of, said driving axle, and adapted to engage said hollow shaft, whereby the
rotation of said driving axle is communicated through said dog to said hollow
shaft, substantially as herein described.
7. The combination of a hollow pillow block, a hollow shaft mounted to rotate
in said pillow block, a driving axle extending through said hollow shaft, a clear-
ance between said driving axle and said hollow shaft, permitting excentric motion
of said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog mounted upon, or forming
a part of, said driving axle, and adapted to engage said hollow shaft, and one or
more springs interposed, between said dog, and the point of engagement of said
dog with said hollow shaft, whereby the rotation of said driving axle is com-
municated through said dog and said springs to said hollow shaft, substantially
as herein described.
8. The combination of a hollow pillow block, a hollow shaft mounted to rotate
in said pillow block, an anti-friction bearing between said hollow shaft and said
pillow block, a driving axle extending through said hollow shaft, a clearance
between said driving axle and said hollow shaft, permitting excentric motion
of said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog mounted upon or forming a
part of said driving axle, and adapted to engage said hollow shaft, and one or
more springs interposed between said dog and the point of engagement of said
dog with said hollow shaft, whereby the rotation of the said driving axle is com-
municated through said dog and said springs to said hollow shaft, substantially
as herein described.
9. The combination of a dynamo, an armature shaft thereof, a hollow pillow
block connected to, or forming a part of, said dynamo, a hollow shaft mounted
to rotate in said pillow block, suitable means for communicating the rotation
of said hollow shaft to said armature shaft, a driving axle extending through said
hollow shaft, a clearance between said driving axle and said hollow shaft, per-
mitting excentric motion of said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog
mounted upon, or forming a part of, said driving axle, and adapted to engage said

page_text: hollow shaft, whereby the rotation of said driving axle is communicated through
said dog to said hollow shaft, and thence to said armature shaft of said dynamo,
substantially as herein described.
10. The combination of a dynamo, an armature shaft thereof, a hollow pillow
block connected to, or forming a part of, said dynamo, a hollow shaft mounted
to rotate in said pillow block, suitable means for communicating the rotation of
said hollow shaft to said armature shaft, an anti-friction bearing between said
hollow shaft and said pillow block, a driving axle extending through said hollow
shaft, a clearance between said driving axle and said hollow shaft, for permitting
excentric motion of said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog mounted
upon, or forming a part of, said driving axle, and adapted to engage said hollow
shaft, whereby the rotation of said driving axle is communicated through said
hollow shaft, and thence to said armature shaft of said dynamo, substantially as
herein described.
11. The combination of a dynamo, an armature shaft thereof, a hollow pillow
block connected to, or forming a part of, said dynamo, a hollow shaft mounted
to rotate in said pillow block, suitable means for communicating the rotation
of said hollow shaft to said armature shaft, a driving axle extending through
said hollow shaft, a clearance between said driving axle and said hollow shaft,
permitting excentric motion of said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog
mounted upon, or forming a part of, said driving axle and adapted to engage said
hollow shaft, and one or more springs interposed between said dog and the
point of engagement of said dog with hollow shaft, whereby the rotation of said
driving axle is communicated through said dog and said springs to said hollow
shaft, and thence to said armature shaft of said dynamo, substantially as herein
described.
12. The combination of a dynamo an armature shaft thereof, a hollow pillow
block connected to or forming a part of said dynamo, a hollow shaft mounted
to rotate in said pillow block, suitable means for communicating the rotation
of said hollow shaft to said armature shaft, an anti-friction bearing between said
hollow shaft and said pillow block, a driving axle extending through said hollow
shaft, a clearance between said driving axle and said hollow shaft, for permitting
excentric motion of said driving axle within said hollow shaft, a dog mounted
upon, or forming a part of, said driving axle, and adapted to engage said hollow
shaft, and one or more springs interposed between said dog and the point of
engagement of said dog with said hollow shaft, whereby the rotation of said.
driving axle is communicated through said dog and said springs to said hollow
shaft, and thence to said armature shaft of said dynamo, substantially as herein
described.