Especially Applicable to Counter Shafts.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 25th May, 1887.
Specification Accepted, 28th June, 1887.
Communicated from abroad by CHARLES AXEL BACKSTROM, of Trenton, in the
County of Mercer, New Jersey.]
Especially Applicable to Counter Shafts.
I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.L.M.E. do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what inanner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention has relation to counter-shafts which are intended for the conveyance
of power from a motor to a machine and is located intermediate thereof.
The principle object of the invention is to reduce to a minimum the power required
to operate the counter-shaft itself. Heretofore, in this class of mechanism, the force
exerted to bind the parts in operative position, has acted to produce increased friction
between the moving parts, and, secondly, an increase of the power required to drive
the same.
By this construction the separable parts of the mechanism which are manipulated as
hereinafter described, to convey from one to the other the driving power, are so
constructed, arranged and combined, that the force required to bind said separable parts
operatively together, cannot in any possible manner operate to increase the friction or
pressure of the moving parts upon each other, or increase or consume the power
overcome by operate the same and the driven machine, and hence the resistence to be
required to the driving power remains unaltered and is reduced in amount to
that produced simply and solely by the weight of the parts themselves upon the
shaft which support them.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following
description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in
the claims.
Referring to the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of a counter-shaft constructed in accordance
with this invention, the separable parts being represented as in operative contact.

page_text: Fig. 2 is a like view showing the position certain elements assume when the
separable parts are in non-operative position.
Fig. 3 is a perspective of the releasing yoke.
Like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.
A represents any suitable standard, column, or support for the shaft, B, on which is
mounted the power receiving and conveying devices. The shaft B, in this instance,
is provided with an annular collar or shoulder, B¹, and is screwthreaded and provided
with a nut, B2, for binding the same non-rotatively or rigidly in the column A. In
this instance, I also provide a screwthreaded plug, B³, for closing an oil-chamber, B*,
extending into the shaft, and provided with oil-ducts, B³, leading to the periphery of
the shaft. Any suitable oil-receptacle, B, is mounted upon the standard and com-
municates by an oil-duct, B', with the oil-chamber of the shaft. Oil-ducts, C6, are
formed in the sleeve to convey oil to the outer surface thereof where the wheel and
pulley rotate thereon. The periphery of the shaft, as shown, is provided with oil-
grooves. The opposite end of the shaft B is screw threaded, in this instance, in two
sizes, B8, B, A nut B10 is fitted to the screwthread B8.
C represents a sleeve freely mounted on the shaft and extending from the collar or
the standard to the nut B¹0. I deem it proper to state at this point that the thread, B³,
may be extended to the end of the shaft in one size, and that the collar B¹ may be
omitted and the shaft screwthreaded bodily into the standard, in which case, the
sleeve would be arranged adjacent to the standard, but having such relations thereto
and to the nut B10 that no appreciable resistence to the free rotation of the sleeve
upon the shaft would be offered by either the nut B10 or the standard.
Upon the sleeve C and at one end thereof, I form a shoulder, C, and at the opposite
end thereof an external screwthread, C, upon which is mounted an interiorly screw
threaded collar, C. The collar C is provided with apertures, C5, for the reception of
a pin or lever for moving the same upon its thread, or it may be provided with any
suitable wrench-hold.
Upon the sleeve () is loosely mounted a driving-pulley, D, which may or may not
be provided with a babbet bearing D₁ as shown. One side of the pulley is interiorly
cone-shaped, as at D2, for the reception of a cone, E¹, formed upon the driving-
wheel E, which, in this instance, is circumferentially grooved for the reception of a
belt. Upon the opposite side of the driving-wheel E to that on which the cone E¹ is
arranged, is formed a hub, E², The driving-wheel is also loosely mounted upon the
sleeve C.
Between the screwthreaded collar C and the driving-wheel is arranged a loose
washer, F, and between the collar C and the washer F, and encircling the sleeve C,
I arrange a coil or other spring, G. Upon the extreme end of the shaft B, I mount
a yoke, H, in this instance, by interiorly screwthreading the same to fit the thread B
on the shaft or as hereinafter indicated, it may be to fit the thread B10 thereof. The
arms of the yoke H are turned inwardly as at H¹, to include or embrace the
washer F.
This being the construction, the operation of this invention is as follows: Power
being conveyed from any prime-motor to the pulley D, will cause the same to rotate
upon the sleeve C, when not otherwise affected. Now when the driving-wheel E is
forced by any means toward the pulley D, the cone E¹ binds within the cone D³ of
the pulley, and the motion of the pulley by the friction of the parts is conveyed to
the wheel and from thence to the machine to be driven.
The means which I employ for the. purpose of forcing the driving-wheel cone
within the pulley, consists of the washer F, spring G, and collar C. While I
do not limit this invention to the employment of a spring in the device employed
for the purpose stated, still I secure an important advantage by its use, especially
in any class of machine which requires a uniform motion or which requires a
gradual easy starting. Both of these requirements exists in centrifugal machines,
in that it is desirable to start the same smoothly and to approach its desired
maximum speed or rotation gradually and to maintain the same. These particular
objects are obtained by the means employed, in that the speed of rotation of the

page_text: pulley as driven by the prime-motor being ascertained the collar C is caused to
compress the spring against the washer F so that a desired pressure relative to
the speed required is exerted by the spring which, being resisted by the relatively
fixed collar, acts to move the loose washer and the wheel E along the sleeve and
the cone of the wheel into the cone of the pulley.
It is apparent that in this manner the amount of force or degree of pressure
of the cone of the driving-wheel upon that of the driving-pulley may be regulated,
so that the friction produced in the cones shall be sufficient to produce and
maintain a desired number of revolutions of the driving-wheel. With the spring
adjusted to a desired tension, it is apparent that in starting the machine the
motion of the driving-pulley D will be gradually transmitted to the driving-wheel
until it arrives in speed to the maximum desired, when it will be uniformly
continued.
When it is desired to stop the revolution of the driving wheel, the yoke H, which
does not revolve with the shaft, is run outwardly along the thread of the shaft until
its inwardly turned arms come into contact with the washer F, when, by continuing
the rotation of the yoke, said washer is drawn toward the end of the shaft,
compressing the spring and releiving the force or pressure which the spring has
exerted upon the driving-wheel, whereby the frictional contact of the cones is
broken so that the driving-wheel comes to a standstill while the driving-pulley
may continue its rotation upon the sleeve.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the same
is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :
1. The combination of a shaft, a sleeve loosely mounted thereon, a driving-pulley
and a driving-wheel loosely mounted upon the sleeve and having frictional contact-
surfaces, and a device for forcing the wheel and the pulley into frictional contact,
substantially as specified.
2. The combination of a shaft, a sleeve loosely mounted thereon, a driving-pulley
and a driving-wheel mounted loosely upon the sleeve and having frictional contact
surfaces, a washer loosely mounted upon the sleeve, a collar rigidly secured to the
sleeve, and an interposed spring, substantially as specified.
3. The combination of a shaft, a sleeve loosely mounted thereon, a driving pulley
and a driving-wheel loosely mounted upon the sleeve and having frictional contact-
surfaces, a washer mounted for longitudinal movement on the shaft, and means
substantially as described for forcing the washer and drive-wheel against the pulley,
substantially as specified.
4. The combination of a standard, of a shaft non-rotatably mounted thereon and
provided with an oil-chamber, with oil-ducts, of a sleeve mounted loosely upon the
shaft and provided with oil-ducts, and of a driving-pulley and driving-wheel mounted
upon the sleeve, and means substantially as described for forcing the wheel into
surface contact with the pulley, substantially as specified.
Dated this 25th day of May 1887