An Improved Stroke-registering Apparatus for Steam Engines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 7th June, 1892-Accepted, 9th July, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by CHARLES CAMPBELL WORTHINGTON, of
Irvington, in the State of New York, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer.]
An Improved Stroke-registering Apparatus for Steam Engines.
I HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of The Office for Patents, 6, Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of London, Patent Agent 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 an engine register, that is to say, an apparatus for
registering the number of strokes made by the engine.
It is the especial object of the invention to provide a register for this purpose
which shall operate in such manner as to make a complete and accurate register of
the number of strokes made by the engine, regardless of the length of said strokes.
In crank engines the strokes are, of course, always of the same length, and as a
consequence, there is no necessity of providing means in the register for registering
strokes of different lengths, but in direct-acting engines, where the movement of the
piston is not regulated and controlled by a crank, the stroke of the engine varies
widely, sometimes being of maximum length, and at other times falling very much
below maximum length. To provide an efficient register, therefore, for use in
connection with such engines, it is necessary to so organize the register and the
mechanism through which it receives motion from the piston rod of the engine, that
each stroke will be registered regardless of its length. This is accomplished in
the register constituting the present invention, in the manner which will now be
described.
In the accompanying drawings :—
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an ordinary direct-acting pumping engine, provided
with a registering mechanism constructed according to the present invention. The
registering mechanism is shown in this view as located in an arbitrary position,
simply for illustrating the manner in which the motion of the piston rod may be
communicated to the registering mechanism. It is to be understood, however, that
the register may be located in any suitable position upon or adjacent to the engine,
any suitable form of connection being provided for transmitting motion from the
piston rod to the registering mechanism.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the register.
Fig. 3 is a similar view, with the face plate containing the sight openings
removed.
Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 of Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 of Fig. 4; and
Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6 of Fig. 4.
Referring to said figures, it is to be understood that the register consists primarily
of a number of discs a, having numbers from 0 to 9 arranged either upon their faces,
or on their peripheries, in the manner common in registers. Located above the
discs a, is a face plate b, which is provided with a number of sight openings d,
which are so arranged as to expose one figure upon each of the discs; different
figures being successively brought into position to be exposed through the openings
as the discs are revolved in the manner common in registering apparatus. The
plate will usually be covered by a glass plate e, so as to protect the apparatus from
dirt, which otherwise would pass through the openings d, and the latter is enclosed
in a suitable casing. The discs a are mounted upon sleeves turning on studs, and
the sleeves are provided with discs g having laterally projecting studs 2, which are
engaged by discs mounted on the sleeves of the adjacent discs h, so as to prevent

page_text: י
the discs from turning, except at the proper time. The turning of the discs is
effected by means of studs 3, which project from the discs h, and engage with
laterally projecting teeth 4 carried by the discs g, these parts being arranged so
that the second disc a is moved one-tenth of a revolution at the end of each
complete revolution of the first disc a, and the third disc a one tenth of a revolution
at the end of each complete revolution of the second disc a, and so on throughout
the entire series. The mechanism, as thus far described, is substantially the same
as is common in registering mechanisms, and will be readily understood by those
familiar with the art, without a more particular description.
For the purpose of setting the train of discs a in operation, so as to cause them
to register the number of strokes made by the engine, the sleeve upon which the
first disc of the series is mounted, is provided with a ratchet wheel k, having ten
teeth 5, which are arranged to be engaged by a pawl, which is oscillated from the
piston rod or other moving part of the engine, so as to revolve the ratchet wheel,
and the disc a with which it is connected, with a step by step movement, the disc
being revolved one step so as to bring a number into position so as to be exposed
through the sight opening above that disc at each stroke of the engine. Where the
strokes of the engine are of uniform length, as in the case of crank engines, the
step-by-step movement can be readily imparted to the ratchet wheel k, and to
the discs of the series, by an ordinary pawl, which is retracted over a tooth of the
ratchet wheel as the engine makes its stroke in one direction, and engages with the
tooth to impart a partial revolution to the ratchet wheel as the engine makes its
return stroke. In the case of direct-acting engines, however, the strokes vary in
length, as before stated, being at some times of the maximum length, and again, at
other times, so short that a pawl operated in the ordinary manner would fail to be
retracted sufficiently to pass over the tooth of the ratchet wheel, or if it passed over
the tooth of the ratchet wheel, it might not be advanced sufficiently to give the
required partial revolution to the ratchet wheel to bring the next figure on the disc
into proper position to be exposed through the sight opening, and the next tooth of
the ratchet wheel into proper position to be engaged by the pawl upon the next
stroke, and thus such short strokes would fail to be registered. It is, therefore,
necessary, in order to provide for contingencies of this character, to so organize the
pawl mechanism for operating the ratchet wheel k, that a very slight movement of
the driving pawl, which receives its motion from the piston rod of the engine, or
from some other moving part, which moves synchronically with the piston rod, and
is therefore moved a distance proportionate to the length of the stroke, will be
sufficient to cause the ratchet wheel k to move the required distance, and it is also
necessary to so' organize the pawl mechanism, that the ratchet wheel will be
operated just as the engine passes the middle of its stroke. For the purpose,
therefore, of imparting the necessary movement to the ratchet wheel k, there is
provided a lever m, which is fulcrummed upon a stud rising from the base of the
register, and is provided at its inner end with a pivotted spring-pressed pawl n, the
operating end of which is arranged to engage with the teeth 5 of the ratchet
wheel k. The outer end of the lever m is connected in any suitable manner with
the piston rod, or some other moving part of the engine, as before explained.
As shown in Fig. 1, the lever m is connected to a rock arm o, extending from one of
the rock shafts through which the valve of the engine is operated, and which shaft
is in turn rocked from the piston rod of the engine.
It is to be remarked, however, that this connection is purely arbitrary, as any
other form of connection may be employed, and the lever m may be connected to
any other suitable moving part of the engine. The pawl n is so arranged that
upon being retracted over one tooth of the ratchet wheel k, it will pass over and
take in behind that tooth, just after the engine has passed the middle of its stroke
going in one direction. If the engine is making a long stroke, the pawl will be
retracted idly during the remainder of that stroke, its carrying arm m having such
length that the path of movement given to said pawl will be in such an arc that the
pawl will be carried away from the ratchet wheel, and consequently not engage a

page_text: 12
second tooth. If, however, the engine is making a very short stroke, the lost
motion of the pawl, after it passes the ratchet tooth, will be little or nothing, but
the pawl having passed, the tooth will be in position to engage with it as the engine
makes its return stroke in the reverse direction, and thus move the ratchet wheel
a distance equal to that between two ratchet teeth. The ratchet wheel may be
prevented from moving backward when the pawl is retracted by a suitable friction
device, such as a spring pressing upon its shaft, or against some portion of the
wheel, or by means of an ordinary detent. As some engines are liable to make
such a very short stroke that the distance to which they will move the pawl, and
thus carry the wheel, will not be sufficient to bring the next number into position
to be exposed through the sight opening, it is desirable to supplement the pawl
with other devices which shall operate to continue and complete the necessary
movement of the ratchet wheel and the disc during, any such short movement of
the pawl after it has ceased to act, and thus not only bring the next number
upon the disc into proper position, but also being the next tooth 5 of the ratchet
wheel into proper position to be engaged by the pawl after it is retracted at
the next stroke of the engine. This result is accomplished by a spring-pressed
adjusting and holding pawl p, having a head provided with reversely inclined
surfaces 6. 7. This head is so positioned with relation to the normal position of
the ratchet wheel k, that as the ratchet wheel is advanced by the pawl, the incline 6
will ride by the rear side of the tooth 5 with which it is in engagement, so as to
permit the tooth to pass the head, and the parts are so positioned that immediately
after the engine has passed the centre of its stroke, the pawl n will have moved the
ratchet wheel sufficiently to cause the tooth to pass the point of the pawl p, so that
the incline 7 will act upon the front side of said tooth, and as soon as the parts
arrive in this position, which, as before stated, will be immediately after the engine
has passed the centre of its stroke, the spring of the pawl p will act to force the
head of the pawl inward between the ratchet teeth, and thus cause the incline 7 to
act upon the tooth which has just passed the head, and continue and complete the
movement of the ratchet wheel, so as to bring it and the disc a into proper position
to expose the next number through the sight opening, and bring the proper tooth
of the ratchet wheel into position to be engaged by the pawl n, when it is retracted
upon the return stroke.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with a direct-acting engine, of the discs a of a registering
mechanism, and the connections for imparting motion from one disc to another
throughout the series, a ratchet wheel k for moving the unit disc, a driving pawl
engaging said ratchet wheel, and connections between the pawl and a moving part
of the engine, having a movement varying with that of the piston, whereby the
pawl is retracted behind a tooth of the ratchet wheel as the engine passes the middle
of its stroke in one direction, and advanced to drive the ratchet wheel by said tooth
as the engine passes the middle of its stroke in the other direction, substantially as
described.
2. The combination with a direct-acting engine, of the discs a of a registering
mechanism and the connections for imparting motion from one disc to another
throughout the series, a ratchet wheel k for moving the unit disc, a driving pawl
engaging said ratchet wheel, connections between the pawl and a moving part of
the engine having a movement varying with that of the piston, whereby the pawl
is retracted behind a tooth of the ratchet wheel as the engine passes the middle of
its stroke in one direction, and advanced to drive the ratchet wheel by said tooth
as the engine passes the middle of its stroke in the other direction, and a spring
adjusting and holding pawl p having an inclined surface 7 engaging the ratchet
tooth, substantially as described.
3. The combination with a direct-acting engine, of the discs a of a registering

page_text: mechanism, and connections for imparting motion from one disc to another
throughout the series, a ratchet wheel k for moving the unit disc. lever m, swinging
pawl n mounted on said lever and engaging said ratchet wheel, and operating
connections between said lever m and a moving part of the engine having a
movement varying with that of the piston, whereby the pawl is retracted behind a
tooth of the ratchet wheel as the engine passes the middle of its stroke in one
direction, and advanced to drive the ratchet wheel by said tooth as the engine
passes the middle of its stroke in the other direction, substantially as described.
Dated this 7th day of June 1892.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.