IMPROVEMENTS IN BLOWERS FOR FURNACES AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant, of. West Roxbury,
in the County of Norfolk, and State of Massachusetts, of the United
States of America. for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTO
TXT
FOR
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 13th August 1867, pursuant to the 9th Section of the
Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL PERSONS TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME,
BE IT KNOWN, that I, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STURTEVANT, of West Roxbury,
in the County of Norfolk, and State of Massachusetts, of the United States of
America, have invented a new and useful Invention "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BLOWERS FOR FURNACES AND OTHER PURPOSES," and I do hereby declare the
nature of the same, and the manner in which it is to be performed, to be
fully described in the following Specification, and represented in the accom-
panying Drawings, of which Figure I is a top view; Figure 2, a side
elevation Figure 3, a longitudinal and vertical section; and Figure 4, a
transHOCO

page_text: The difficulty heretofore experienced in fan blowers has been the great
friction generated between the wheel and the case by the rapid motion of the
wheel and air within the case, and the only way of obviating this is to make a
large air space between the wheel floats and surrounding case.
In making my Invention I have sought to construct the wheel and case
composing the blower in such manner as to enable the air to be received into
it and discharged from the wheel and its case to the best practical advantage,
and also enable the wheel to run in the case with as little friction from the air
between it and the case as possible.
.
Therefore in carrying out my Invention I not only make the wheel with
curved floats, and two conical or frusto-conical annuli or plates to support
such floats (they and the floats being formed and the plates being fixed to two
spoked wheels, substantially as represented in the accompanying Drawings),
but. I make the case containing the wheel with air spaces on the sides of the
wheel and around its periphery sufficient to enable the air to flow freely from
the wheel, and on its sides generate little or no friction to serve as an obstrué-
'tion to it while in revolution. The conical disks to the wheel are indispensable,
as they act as partitions between the air in the case and that in the wheel,
and serve to direct the air properly out of the periphery of the wheel. The
large air space about the periphery of the wheel is to afford room for the free
discharge of air from all parts of such periphery at the same time; this air space
also operates to prevent noise which is generally produced in fan blowers by
the wheel running in too close proximity with the case, and by the uneven
discharge of air resulting therefrom.
In the Drawings A denotes the wheel composed of a series of curved
deflectors or floats a, a, a, and two conical or frusto-conical annuli or pieces 6, 6,
such annuli being nearest together at their outer peripheries, and being fixed
to the rims of two spoked wheels. B, B, mounted on a shaft C going con-
centrically and horizontally through the wheel and its case. I prefer to make
the wheel with from twelve to eighteen curved floats rather than with four
straight ones, or about that number as float wheels have heretofore been made,
ás I find by experience that such ensures economy of power and increase of
blast; a, a, are radial stays running from the wheel shaft; each of these
stays is fastened to the base of one float and to the apex or upper part of that
immediately in the rear, such being to hold the floats in place and prevent
longitudinal expansion of them while the wheel may be in revolution; this
prevents undue expansion tending to throw the wheel out of balance when it
is in revolution: The case D instead of fitting closely or nearly so to the sides
17.
(

page_text: and, periphery of the wheel is formed as represented, so that there shall be
within it and about the periphery of the wheel and on its opposite sides a:
large air space or chamber c of sufficient capacity and provided with an educt d,.
large enough to allow the air while the wheel is in revolution to fully and
freely escape or be discharged from it, practically to or nearly to the extent of,
the ability of the wheel to receive and deliver air. The reason why I make-
the sides of the wheel conical and arrange them with respect to each other,
as represented is to enable the air to flow more freely into and through and;
be discharged from it than it could be were the sides of the wheel parallel..
The reason I make each of the floats curved instead of straight in its length
is that when the wheel is revolved in the direction of the convexity of the
floats, or as denoted. by the arrow e in Figure 3, such wheel will deliver
more air and to better advantage than it will when revolved in the opposite,
direction, or when each of its floats is straight instead of being curved; this:
I have found by experience to be the case. The large air reservoir about the
wheel will enable the wheel to revolve much more freely or with much less,
friction within the air discharged from the wheel than would be the case were
the sides and periphery of the case brought within or very close, or in closer,
proximity to the wheel. The friction will be so little on the air in the case:
that there will be little or no rise of temperature of the case and wheel, such
as is apt to take place; with fan blowers as ordinarily constructed. The wheel:
shaft C is supported in tubular bearings E, E, sustained in tripod brackets F, F,
by means of ball joints f, f, whereby the bearings are enabled to accomodate
or adjust themselves to the shaft while in revolution. Each of such bearings:
has a tubular bushing d'arranged on it; the outer end of which is closed
except in being provided with a hole in which a screw 9 is screwed, so as to:
rest against the adjacent end of the shaft, the said screw being to bring the:
wheel into its proper position in the case; there is a set nut h on each of such:
screws g. The bushings are to enable the bearing parts of the boxes when
too much worn to be removed and fresh ones substituted. There' are two
chambered driving pulleys G, G, fixed on the shaft C, they being arranged:
with respect to the wheel in manner as represented in the Drawings. The
outer end of each of such pulleys is open and enters an oil receiving case H
which, surrounds the said end and is fixed, to the tripod bracket. A tube k
leads out of the bottom of the oil case and into a cup 1 supported by an arm m
extending down from the shaft bearing. An oil cup y provided with a cover n
-is-arranged-on-each-shaft-bearing-and-furnished-with-a-conduit-or-wick tube o
to lead oil-into-the-bearing and upon the shaft. As the bearing extends into
+

page_text: By making the
the chamber p-of the pulley-the oil discharged from the bearing. will flow into.
such chamber, from whence it will be discharged.into and be. caught by the
case H, and from thence it will be discharged into the cup l.
pulley with a chamber p, and providing such with the oil case H, we are
enabled to catch the waste oil which otherwise is liable to be thrown from
the shaft into the current of air rushing into the wheel, and which by such
current would be forced into the wheel and its case, and from thence through
the educt of the case and be lost. By thus preventing the oil from being
carried into the wheel case we prevent all collections of dirt and oil in the case
and on the wheel, such as would be injurious to the correct operation-of the
wheel or tend to throw it out of balance. Each of the screws gl is constructed
with an oil passage a¹ made axially in it from end to end, and also with one
or more passages 6' leading out of the end of such passage and laterally
through the screw, so as to open into an annular groove or passage.c¹ made
around the inner surface of the bushing d. The conduit o from the oil
cup y leads directly into the
passage
c¹.
Figure 5 exhibits in section the oil grooves and their screw, and the bearing
and shaft on a larger scale than they are shown in Figure 3. The purpose of
the oil passage a!, the lateral passages, and the annular passage cis to
discharge oil directly against the center of the end of the shaft, otherwise
the beari surfaces of the shaft and the screw g¹ would be liable not to be
lubricate for any-oil-which-might--find-its-way between them-from-the-
'bearing would be discharged therefrom by centrifugal force while the shaft
might be in. revolution. Each tripod bracket, made as represented in the
Drawings, is connected with the case by screw bolts q and nuts r, the heads of
'such bolts being placed within a circular groove a, dovetailed in cross section,
and made in the adjacent side of the case. By means of such groove and
fixtures the brackets can be so adjusted on the case as to carry either of its
legs s, s, s, out of the way of the belt to run on and give motion to the driving
pulley. The case. D rests on a stand or base I, and is provided with clamp
screws.t, whose heads are arranged in dovetailed grooves u, u, made in the
said stand, such screws being provided with nuts v, v, by which the case
may be clamped down upon the stand. The said stand and case are also
provided with an adjusting screw L, so applied to them as to enable a person
by revolving such screw to move the 'case in either direction on the stand, the
object of such a movement is to effect the tightening of the driving belt or
belts. The eduction pipe of the case extends into a stationary flanged annulus
or pipe collar supported by a standard.g erected on the base, I. The pipe

page_text: for the conveyance of the blast of air from the said eduction pipe to a furnace'
or elsewhere is to be fitted upon the collar fand to project therefrom, the
éduction pipe being free to slide endwise within the said collar.
Having thus described my improved air blast apparatus or blower,. what I
claim therein as of my Invention is as follows:-
I claim my improved blower or combination as constructed of a wheel made
with conical annular disks or sides and curved floats arranged together and
applied to a shaft, substantially as described, and of a case made so that there
may be within it and on the sides of the wheel, and around its periphery large
air expansion and receiving chambers or spaces as set forth, furnished with an
outlet, and so formed as to enable the wheel while being revolved to freely
discharge air all around it and operate in other respects substantially as
described.
I also claim the arrangement and combination of the radial stays a³, a³,
with the curved floats and the side plates of the wheel applied together,
substantially as specified.
I also claim the wheel as made with the two spoke wheels, and the frusto-
conical plates and floats arranged as described.
I also claim the combination as well as the arrangement of the waste oil
receiving case H with the wheel journal and its bearing, or with the same
and the driving pulley chambered, as described.
I also claim the combination of the oil receiving vessel 1, the receiver H,
and its eduction pipe or their mechanical equivalents, the whole being
arranged and combined with the shaft and bearing, substantially as specified.
I also claim the application of each of the tripod brackets to the wheel
case, substantially in the manner described so as to be adjustable relatively
thereto, as set forth.
I also claim the application of the wheel case to its stand so as to be
adjustable thereon, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
I also claim the combination and arrangement of the bushings d' with the
shaft boxes.
I also claim the arrangement and combination of the ball joints f, f, with
the wheel shaft, its tubular bearings E, E, and sustaining brackets F, F, made
adjustable on and relatively to the case, substantially as set forth.
I also claim the arrangement and combination of the pipe collar or holder f¹
with the base. I, and with the air blower applied to such base so as to be
Finovable thereon, as described.
I also claim the screw gas made, so that the oil from the cup -may he

page_text: discharged from the inner end of the screw and directly against the center of
the adjacent end of the shaft C, as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this 5th day of July 1867.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STURTEVANT. (L.s.)