Improved Apparatus for Stopping Engines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 26th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 4th Apr., 1895-Accepted, 4th May, 1895
Improved Apparatus for Stopping Engines.
1, LUCIEN CHARLES ERNEST MEYER of 13 Rue Fontaine au Roi, Paris,
France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object to enable steam or other engines to be
instantly stopped from any part of a workshop in case of emergency, as for
example when a workman happens to be caught in a machine.
The apparatus consists essentially of a peculiar kind of brake, operating by
the compression of a ball of indiarubber or equivalent material, in combination
with a stop valve which when operated by an electric current brings the brake
into action and shuts off the supply of motive fluid to the engine.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing
forming part of this Specification, wherein,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 an end view of
the stop valve.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the friction brake which forms part of the stopping
mechanism.
Figure 5 shows the general arrangement of the combined stop valve and brake.
The stop valve is mounted on a shaft c within a chamber a provided with a
safety valve v. The shaft c passes out through one side of the valve chamber and
upon its outer end is fixed a lever arm d carrying a counter weight e which is held
normally in the raised position shown by the engagement of a detent h with a
notch g in the periphery of the disc-shaped boss f, of the weighted lever, the notch
being so situated with regard to the valve that when engaged by the detent the
valve 6 is wide open and the weight is raised and ready to fall in order to close
the valve.
The detent his pivoted at j and is thrown into engagement with the notch by a
weighted arm i and this detent forms the armature of an electro magnet k so that
if the circuit be closed by a push piece or switch at any point in the workshop the
attraction of the armature h will disengage the detent from the notch and allow the
weighted arm de to fall and close the valve thus shutting off the steam or other
motive fluid from the engine which, however, would not be instantly stopped, by
reason of the energy stored up in its moving parts. To ensure the. immediate
stoppage, the valve closing device is combined with and caused to act upon a
special form of brake in such manner that the brake is brought into action
immediately after the valve has been closed. This brake which acts upon the fly
wheel or on the main shaft consists of a roller path m partially encircling the
periphery of the fly wheel or another wheel keyed on the main shaft n, the roller
path being held at a short distance from and eccentric to the periphery of the
wheel. The rods o pass round the hub p of the wheel without gripping it so that
there is no friction at this point during normal working. At the upper part of the
roller path which is most distant from the periphery of the wheel is a hopper g
containing a number of cylinders or rollers of caoutchouc or other material and
the sides of the hopper is hinged so that it may open to let the rollers pass
from the hopper into the space between the wheel and the eccentric roller path
where the rollers carried down in the gradually narrowing space by the motion
of the wheel become more and more compressed or jammed.

page_text: The opening of the hopper flap's is effected by a latch lever t connected by a
cord or chain u to the boss f of the valve operating lever d so that when the latter
falls to close the valve the latch lever t is disengaged from the hopper flap which
opens and allows the brake rollers to come into action to stop the engine.
The tie rods o serve to prevent any undue strain on the shaft bearings when the
brako comes into action however sudden may be its operation.
It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the use of electrical means
of actuating the detent has this may be effected pneumatically by a piston
actuated from a distance by the compression of a bulb upon an air pipe connected
therewith.
The flap valve 6 may also be replaced by another form of valve which also
admits of the passage of the fluid being regulated by it, and the forms, details
materials and dimensions of the other parts may be variously modified without;
departing from the principle of the invention.
Dated this Ofth Anx of Inly 1804
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
I, LUCIEN CHARLES ERNEST MEYER, of 13, Rue Fontaine au Roi, Paris,
France, Engineer, 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 has for its object to enable steam or other engines to be instantly
stopped from any part of a workshop in case of emergency, as for example when a
workman happens to be caught in a machine. The apparatus consists, essentially,
of a peculiar kind of brake, operating by the compression of a ball of indiarubber
or equivalent material, in combination with a stop valve which, when operated by
an electric current, brings the brake into action and shuts off the supply of motive
fluid to the engine.
The invention will be described with reference to the drawing accompanying my
Provisional Specification wherein
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 an end view of
the stop valve.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the friction brake which forms part of the stopping
mechanism.
Figure 5 shews the general arrangement of the combined stop valve and brake.
The stop valve b is mounted on a shaft c within a chamber a provided with a
safety valve v.
The shaft c passes out through one side of the valve chamber and
upon its outer end is fixed a lever arm d carrying a counter weight e which is held,
normally, in the raised position shewn, by the engagement of a detent h' with a
notch 9 in the periphery of the disc-shaped boss f of the weighted lever, the notch
being so situated with regard to the valve that, when engaged by the detent, the
valve bis wide open and the weight is raised and ready to fall in order to close the
valve. The detent h is pivoted at j and is thrown into engagement with the notch
by a weighted arm i and this detent forms the armature of an electro magnet k, bo
that if the circuit be closed by a push piece or switch at any point in the workshop
the attraction of the armature h will disengage the detent from the notch and allow
the weighted arm d, e, to fall and close the valve, thus shutting off the steam or
other motive fluid from the engine which, however, would not be instantly stopped,
by reason of the energy stored up in its moving parts.

page_text: To ensure the immediate stoppage, the valve-closing device is combined with, and
caused to act upon, a special form of brake in such manner that the brake is
brought into action immediately after the valve has been closed. This brake,
which acts upon the fly-wheel / or on the main shaft, consists of a roller path m
partially encircling the periphery of the fly-wheel or another wheel keyed on the
main shaft n, the roller path being held, at a short distance from, and eccentric to,
the periphery of the wheel, by the rods o which pass round the hub p of the wheel
without gripping it, so that there is no friction at this point during normal
working. At the upper part of the roller path which is most distant from the
periphery of the wheel, is a hopper q containing a number of cylinders or rollers r,
of caoutchouc or other material, and the sides of the hopper is hinged so that
it may open to let the rollers pass from the hopper into the space between the
wheel and the eccentric roller path where the rollers carried down in the gradually
narrowing space by the motion of the wheel become more and more compressed
or jammed. The opening of the hopper-flaps is effected by a latch levert con-
nected by a cord or chain u to the boss f of the valve-operating lever d, so that,
when the latter falls to close the valve the latch levert is disengaged from the
hopper flap which opens and allows the brake rollers to come into action to stop
the engine. The tie-rods o serve to prevent any undue strain on the shaft
bearings when the brake comes into action, however sudden may be its operation.
It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the use of electrical means of
actuating the detent h, as this may be effected pneumatically by a piston actuated
from a distance by the compression of a bulb upon an air pipe connected therewith.
The flap valve b may also be replaced by another form of valve, which also admits
of the passage of the fluid being regulated by it, and the forms, details, materials,
and dimensions, of the other parts may be variously modified without departing
from the principle of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A mechanism for stopping engines, consisting of the combination of a stop
valve shutting off the supply of motive fluid and of a brake actuated by the stop
valve, substantially as specified and illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawing.
2. In an engine stop-motion, such as herein described, the combination, with
the stop valve b contained in a casing a traversed by the motive fluid, of the
weighted lever d, e, for closing the valve as soon as released, and detent mechanism
for retaining it in the raised position, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 1, 2, 3.
3. In an engine stop-motion, as herein specified, the brake consisting in the
combination, with the fly-wheel, of the roller path m eccentric thereto and of
rollers of caoutchouc acting by compression in the gradually contracting space
between the roller path and the fly-wheel, substantially as specified.
Dated April 4th 1905.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.