IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOWING, COMPRESSING, AND DRIVING APPARATUS, AND IN MECHANISM AND DEVICES ADAPTED FOR USE THEREWITH, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO MINING
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Powley Alexander, of 14, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and British and Foreign
Patent Agent, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOWING, COMPRESSING,
AND DRIVING APPARATUS, AND IN MECHANISM AND DEVICES ADAPTED FOR
USE THEREWITH, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO
MINING." A communication from abroad by Oliver Stetson Presbrey, of
Port Henry, Essex County, State of New York, in the United States of
America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Powley Alexander
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th December 1880.
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and British and Foreign Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOWING, COMPRESSING, AND DRIVING APPARATUS, AND IN
MECHANISM AND DEVICES ADAPTED FOR USE THEREWITH, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO MINING." A communication from abroad
by Oliver Stetson Presbrey, of Port Henry, Essex County, State of New York, in
the United States of America.
The first part of this Invention relates to apparatus for compressing or driving
air, the second portion to arrangements whereby the air compressing driving
mechanism may be also utilized for other purposes, as for hoisting and the like,
and the third portion relates to clutch appliances, whereby the driving mechanism
may be readily thrown into and out of gear with the machinery to be driven, and
to certain new and useful details of construction hereinafter set forth.
The actuating cylinder which may belong to a hoisting, pumping, or other
driving engine, is in line with the compressor cylinder, the piston rod being
attached to the piston of each cylinder, and to a connecting rod, which actuates the
shaft of the hoisting or other mechanism, the same engine being made to drive
both the driving and compressing apparatus, the latter being used only in con-
junction with the engine, whilst the engine can, if desired, be used separately.
.מ

page_text: The air outlet of the compressing cylinder communicates with an air pipe or
receiver, and has at each end a casing containing a piston forming the head of a
relief valve smaller in diameter than the piston, and arranged to close and open
communication between the cylinder and the casing, which is provided with an
outlet. Each casing communicates with a chest containing a balanced valve, and
communicating by a port with an air pipe or receiver, into which the compressed
air is forced.
The balanced valve is under the control of any suitable governor, deriving its
motion from the engine. Another port in the chest is an outlet, and a third port
affords communication with a pipe leading to a loaded valve on the receiver or
discharge pipe. When the engine is at its maximum speed the balanced valve
allows the pressure of the air in the discharge pipe or receiver to be transferred to
the heads of the relief valves, maintaining them upon their seats whilst the
operation of the compressor is continued.
Whenever the speed of the engine is decreased the governor alters the position
of the balanced valve so as to cause the relief valves to be relieved from outward
pressure, when they will yield to the pressure within the compressing cylinder,
and permit the air to escape through the outlets, thus throwing the compressor
more or less out of action, and rendering the whole power of the engine available
for other purposes.
A slide or other valve which will control the communication
of the respective ports from the movement of the governor may be used if desired,
and a governor of any construction may operate the relief valves directly by rods
and levers. Any undue pressure that may accumulate in the discharge pipe or
receiver will lift the loaded valve thereof, and permit the air to raise the balanced
valve, thereby effecting the instant relief of the pressure. By thus connecting a
governor with the relief valves the necessity of using an engine large enough to
operate simultaneously both the hoisting or other appliances, and the compressing
mechanism is avoided, whilst the loss of time or efficiency in transferring the power
from the hoisting machinery to the compressor, or vice versa, is prevented.
It is often desirable to instantly arrest the hoisting or other mechanism, or to
throw it into operation without stopping the motion of the engine. According to
one of the means employed for effecting this, which constitutes the third feature of
the Invention, the driving shaft carries a loose sleeve, on which is a pinion gearing
with a toothed wheel on the shaft of the winding drum. The sleeve also carries a
friction disc corresponding to a similar disc which slides on but may turn with the
shaft, and which may be brought firmly against the opposing disc by a lever or
other device when the drum is to be thrown into gear with the driving shaft, or
may be quickly removed to stop the drum without the movement of the shaft
being in the least interfered with.
Where the work to be performed is not very heavy, a lever for operating the
sliding disc will suffice, but when large loads are to be lifted it is desirable to use
considerable power to bring together the discs. In this case two independent
shafts may be used, the one being hollow and turning as a sleeve upon or round
the other or driving shaft, a collar on the driving shaft constituting the end bearing
of the hollow shaft or sleeve.
The hollow shaft carries a pinion and friction disc, which engages with a sliding
disc carried by a sleeve mounted upon the driving shaft, so as to slide freely
without turning thereon.
This sleeve is threaded externally to receive a nut which takes its end bearing
against a permanent collar on the driving shaft, with which collar it is loosely
connected.
By imparting to the nut a rotation at greater or less speed than that of the
shaft carrying it, the said nut is caused to turn upon the sleeve, thereby carrying
the latter and its disc by a powerful pressure towards or from the opposite disc
according to the direction of the thread and the movement of the nut.
While the pressure thus applied is considerable, there is no end thrust whatever
upon the shaft bearings and no loss of power by increased friction at such bearings

page_text: the thrust from the contact of the discs being all brought upon the collars of
the driving shaft itself.
Other means such as toggle joints, may obviously be employed for forcing the
discs together and bringing the end thrust against the collars on the shaft. The
movement of the sliding disc may be effected by turning the nut faster than the
driving shaft or by applying friction to and retarding the nut. If desired the
rotation of the nut may be effected from the driving shaft through a secondary
shaft carrying suitable differential friction dises or other gears communicating the
requisite motion.
The gear may in some cases be thrown into and out of action by mounting the
secondary shaft upon a rock shaft having eccentric journals, so that the turning of
this shaft will carry the friction discs to and from the driving shaft.
To uncouple the driving shaft a break or friction should be applied to retard
the rotation of the nut, which may obviously be effected in various ways.
One of the greatest difficulties arising in the class of engines and in others where
a sleeve turns upon a shaft, results from the heating of the sleeve and shaft, and
the expansion or warping of the latter, so as to jam the sleeve upon the shaft.
Another objection is the wearing of the shaft and sleeve from their frictional
contact. These objections I overcome by making the opening in the sleeve larger
than the shaft and mounting the sleeve independently in the pillow blocks.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edwin Powley Alexander in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th May 1881.
$5
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and British and Foreign Patent Agent.
IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOWING, COMPRESSING, AND DRIVING APPARATUS, AND IN
MECHANISM AND DEVICES ADAPTED FOR USE THEREWITH, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES, SPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO MINING." A communication from abroad
by Oliver Stetson Presbrey, of Port Henry, Essex County, State of New York, in
the United States of America.
The first part of this Invention relates to apparatus for compressing or driving
air; the second portion to arrangements whereby the air compressing driving
mechanism may be also utilised for other purposes, as for hoisting and the like;
and the third portion relates to clutch appliances, whereby the driving mechanism
may be readily thrown into and out of gear with the machinery to be driven,
and to certain new and useful details of construction hereinafter set forth.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding
Figures.
The first and second portions of this Invention are illustrated in Figures 1 and 2
of the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 being a plan showing an engine and
compressor, and Figure 2 an enlarged sectional elevation showing one mode of
constructing and arranging the compressor.
A represents a cylinder which may belong to a hoisting, pumping, or other
driving engine; as shown it is the cylinder of a hoisting engine and is in a line
with the compressor cylinder B¹, the piston rod a¹ being attached to the piston of
each cylinder and to a connecting rod b', which operates upon the wrist pin of the
crank wheel D¹ of the driving shaft of the hoisting or other mechanism.
Any other arrangement may however be employed, whereby the same engine
is made the means of operating both the driving and also the compressing
apparatus, the latter being used only in conjunction with the engine, whilst the
engine can, if desired, be used separately.
The compressing cylinder is provided with suitable air inlets Z and outlet Z¹, the
latter communicating with the air pipe or receiver N¹, and having at or communi-
cating with each end a casing I¹, in which fits nicely a piston E' forming the head
of a relief valve K¹ (Figure 2) smaller in diameter than the piston, and having
its seat in the head of the cylinder, or otherwise, as may be necessary, and arranged
to close and open communication between the cylinder and the casing which is
provided with an outlet H¹. Each casing I¹ communicates through a pipe D³, or
otherwise, with a chest L¹ containing a balanced valve P with two heads d', d².
The chest communicates with a port e leading to the air pipe or receiver N' into
which the compressed air is forced, and has two ports i, i¹, arranged as shown.
The balanced valve P is under the control of any suitable governor, deriving its
motion from the engine or moving part of the elevating apparatus. In the present
instance a ball governor J is shown so arranged than when the speed increases
the valve P is thrown downward.
The port is an outlet. The port ¹ affords communication with the pipe j
leading to the loaded valve m on the receiver or discharge pipe for a purpose
described hereinafter. When the engine is at its maximum speed the position of

page_text: the balanced valve P puts in communication the port e and pipes D³, D³, so that
the pressure of the air in the discharge pipe or receiver is transferred to the heads
of the relief valves, and the latter are maintained upon their seats whilst the
operation of the compressor is continued.
Whenever the speed of the engine is decreased the governor alters the position
of the balanced valve P, so as to put the pipes D³ in communication with the
outlet port when the relief valves K¹ will be relieved from outward pressure, and
will yield to the pressure within the compressing cylinder and permit the air to
escape through the outlets H¹, thus throwing the compressor more or less out of
action and rendering the whole power of the engine available for other purposes.
A slide or other valve which will control the communication of the respective
ports from the movement of the governor may be used if desired with like effect
as a valve P and a governor of any construction may operate the relief valves K¹
directly by rods and levers.
Any undue pressure that may accumulate in the discharge pipe or receiver will
lift the loaded valve m thereof and permit the air to flow through the port and
pipe j, raise the balanced valve P, and put the pipes D³ in communication with the
outlet, thereby effecting the instant relief of the pressure. By thus connecting a
governor with the relief valves the necessity for using an engine large enough to
operate simultaneously both the hoisting or other appliances and the compressing
mechanism is avoided, whilst the loss of time or efficiency in transferring the power
from the hoisting machinery to the compressor or vice versa is prevented.
It is often desirable to instantly arrest the hoisting or other mechanism, or to
throw it into operation without stopping the motion of the engine. One of the
means employed for effecting this, which constitutes the third feature of the
Invention, is shown in Figures 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6; Figure 3 being a section of
part of Figure 1 and illustrating the devices used where the loads to be lifted or
the work required is not very heavy; Figure 4 is a plan view of sufficient of an
apparatus to illustrate the devices used when more power is required; Figure 5, a
longitudinal plan section of Figure 4; Figure 6, a transverse section on the line 1-2,
Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrow.
In Figure 3 the driving shaft A carries a loose sleeve B, on which is a pinion C
gearing with a toothed wheel Cs on the shaft of the winding drum.
The sleeve B also carries a friction disc D corresponding to a similar disc D¹,
which slides on but may turn with the shaft A, and which may be brought firmly
against the opposing disc D by a lever or other device when the drum is to be
thrown into gear with the driving shaft, or may be quickly removed to stop the
drum without the movement of the shaft being in the least interfered with.
Where the work to be performed is not very heavy, a lever for operating the
sliding disc D¹ will suffice, but when large loads are to be lifted it is desirable to
use considerable power to bring together the discs, when the appliances shown in
Figures 4 to 6 may be used. In this case two independent shafts may be used or
the shaft B may be hollow and turn as a sleeve upon or round the other or driving
shaft A as shown, a collar a bolted or forged on the driving shaft A constituting
the end bearing of the hollow shaft or sleeve B.
The hollow shaft B carries a pinion C and friction disc D, coinciding with and
adapted to the face of the disc D' carried by a sleeve E mounted upon the driving
shaft A so as to slide freely without turning thereon.
This sleeve E is threaded externally to receive a nut F, which takes its end
bearing against a permanent collar b bolted to or forged on the driving shaft A,
and is provided with a flange e which is overlapped by a flange ring d bolted to
the collar band serving to connect the nut to the collar without interfering with
the free rotation of the nut.
By imparting to the nut a rotation at greater or less speed than that of the shaft
carrying it, the said nut is caused to turn upon the sleeve E, thereby carrying the
latter and its disc by a powerful pressure towards or from the opposite disc D
according to the direction of the thread and the movement of the nut.

page_text: While the pressure thus applied is considerable, there is no end thrust whatever
upon the shaft bearings and no loss of power by increased friction at such
bearings, the thrust from the contact of the discs being all brought upon the
collars a, b, upon which there is no movement.
Other means may obviously be employed for forcing the discs together and
bringing the end thrust against the collars on the shaft A, as, for instance, toggle
joints placed between the collar band disc D'.
In the
The movement of the sliding disc D towards the disc D may be effected by
turning the nut F faster than the driving shaft A, or by applying friction to and
retarding the nut, the thread of the sleeve E in such case being reversed.
Drawing the construction shown is such that by imparting any increased speed to
the nut the discs will be forced together, and the rotation of the nut is effected
from the shaft A through a secondary shaft H carrying suitable differential friction
discs or other gears communicating the requisite motion.
Friction gears are preferable, a friction disc I carried by the shaft H fitting a
groove in the periphery of the collar b, and a disc J carried by said shaft fitting a
groove in the nut F, the gears being so proportioned that the rotation of the
shaft A will impart a slightly increased rotation to the nut, thereby securing au
increase of power, adding greatly to the efficiency of the apparatus.
Differential toothed gear may be substituted for the differential friction gear,
with a clutch between the wheels I, J.
The gear described may in some cases be thrown into and out of action by
mounting the secondary shaft H upon a rock shaft K having eccentric journals, so
so that the turning of this shaft K will carry the shaft H and its friction discs to
and from the driving shaft A.
To withdraw the disc D when the shafts A, B, are to be uncoupled, a break or
friction should be applied to retard the rotation of the nut, this being effected by
a friction brake lever L carrying a shoe f and geared to the shaft K, so that the
shoe will be applied to the nut by a continued rotation of the shaft K after the
gear wheels have been withdrawn.
Other friction appliances may, however, be substituted for that above described.
For, instance, a strap may be passed round the nut and its ends connected to
eccentric pins, so as to contract the strap round the nut when the gear wheels are
withdrawn, and any other suitable device may be used for this purpose.
One of the greatest difficulties arising in this class of engines, and in others
where a sleeve turns upon a shaft, results from the heating of the sleeve and shaft,
and the expansion or warping of the latter, so as to jam the sleeve upon the shaft.
Another objection is the wearing of the shaft and sleeve from their frictional
contact. These objections I overcome by making the opening in the sleeve larger than
the shaft, and mounting the sleeve in the pillow blocks, so that there is no contact
of the sleeve and shaft, no friction, heating, or wear whilst the two are maintained
concentric with each other. Thus there is a space x between the sleeve B and
shaft A, and the sleeve is mounted in independent bearings of the pillow
blocks N, M.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The combination with the relief valves of an air compressor of a governor
arranged to operate said valves, substantially as set forth.
Second. The combination in a combined engine and compressor of relief valves
arranged to permit the air to escape from the compressor, a governor arranged to
be operated from the engine and operating appliances, whereby the valves are
controlled by the governor, as set forth.
Third. The combination with the compressor cylinder of relief valves, arranged
to open under pressure from within the cylinder, and to be closed by the pressure

page_text: from the discharge pipe or receiver and appliances, substantially as described for
automatically relieving the latter pressure as the load increases as specified.
Fourth. The combination of the compressor cylinder, its valves K', outlet and
pipes D³, and the chest L', its ports and passages, and the valve P and governor
connected to and controlling said valve, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The combination with the compressor cylinder, its valves K', K¹, P,
pipes D, and ports i, e, of the pipe j leading from below the valve P to the loaded
valve m of the air receiver, substantially as set forth.
Sixth. The combination with a driving shaft of a gear or hand wheel, a friction
disc attached thereto, a friction disc turning with the driving shaft, and appliances,
whereby the two discs may be brought together or separated, substantially as set
forth.
Seventh. The combination in a friction clutch of a driving shaft, a friction disc
mounted on and turning therewith, a second disc turning round said shaft
appliances, substantially as set forth, for bringing said discs together and separating
them, and bearings arranged upon the driving shaft to resist the thrust from both
the discs, substantially as specified.
Eighth. The combination with shafts carrying clutch discs of a nut for moving
one of the discs, and a supplemental shaft and differential gear, whereby the nut is
revolved from the driving shaft, substantially as set forth.
Niuth. The combination with the central shaft and its disc of a surrounding
sleeve carrying a disc, and having an opening larger than the shaft, and mounted
in independent bearings, substantially as set forth.
Tenth. The combination of the shaft and disc D, the driving shaft A, threaded
sleeve carrying the disc D', and turning with the driving shaft, nut F carried by
the driving shaft and turning on the said sleeve and appliances, whereby the
rotation of the nut may be accelerated and retarded, substantially as set forth.
Eleventh. The combination with the shafts, discs, and nut of the supplementary
adjustable gears I, J, a brake and devices, whereby the brake may be applied after
the gears are thrown out of action, substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
גד בו ז -
EDWIN P. ALEXANDER.