ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC VACUUM APPARATUS
Year: 1885

page_text: I BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS of the firm of Harris and Mills of
23 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of said Invention for ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC VACUUM APPARATUS
a communication to me from abroad by Carl Diener, Manufacturer, and Carl
Albert Mayrhofer, Engineer both of Vienna in the Empire of Austria, to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object to provide means for working, by the aid of
vacuum produced in a system of pipes, any number of apparatus, arranged at the
ends of the branches of said system and being either clocks to be wound up and
controlled or railway signalling or other apparatus.
According to the invention this object is attained by means of an apparatus,
which by electric or other impulsions establishes communication between a conduit
containing steam or a liquid under pressure and an ejector, which, when acted
upon by the steam or liquid under pressure, exhausts the air from the pneumatic
pipes, whereupon the vacuum made exerts a second impulsion upon the apparatus,
having for its consequence that the aforesaid communication is cut off again and
atmospheric air is admitted into the pneumatic pipes.
The mechanism immediately operating the stop-cocks in the pneumatic conduit
and the conduit conveying the steam or water under pressure, is a two-armed lever
moveable in a vertical plane and having either arm connected to the key of one of
the cocks. A weight suspended on one arm of said lever normally maintains it in
the position answering to the steam or water cock being closed and the air cock
being open while a cylinder, containing a piston and having its piston rod
articulated to the weighted lever arm, is adapted to reverse the positions of the
cocks, as soon as the piston is raised by steam or a liquid under pressure.
The admission and exhaustion of the steam or liquid under pressure into and
from said cylinder is controlled by a distributer to be acted upon by electric or
other impulsions. Said distributer essentially consists of a clock movement, which
every time it is allowed to start, runs a given time only and then automatically
stops again; one shaft of said clock movement turns exactly 90° while the clock
.

page_text: movement is running and this shaft carries the plug of a stop-cock. When the
distributer is at rest, the bore of said plug connects the aforesaid piston-cylinder
with an exit, but when the shaft carrying the plug has turned 90°, said bore
establishes communication between the piston-cylinder and the conduit of water
under pressure or steam and consequently thereon, the air is exhausted from the
pneumatic pipes. The clock movement is started by the fact of a weighted lever
being deprived of support and carrying along while falling down, one end of a
pawl, the other end of which takes in a recess of a disc in gear with the clock-
movement; said depriving of support being preferably effected by means of an
electro-magnet attracting its armature. When the clock movement has run a
given time, the laterally projecting pins of a cross, mounted upon a shaft of the
whole train of wheels, raise the lever again upon its spring controlled support and
the pawl thus freed takes again in a recess of the aforesaid disc.
When the partial vacuum has attained the desired degree a slack membrane
dividing a casing into two chambers, is sucked down, as the lower chamber
communicates with the vacuum conduit and the upper chamber with the outer air.
By means of a rod, extending outward from the upper chamber, said membrane is
connected to one arm of a two armed lever, the other arm of which is weighted,
and when moved by the descending membrane, said lever forces the armature onto
its electro magnet, thus starting again the clock movement. In this way the cock
of the distributer is turned again 90° and the steam or water under pressure is
allowed to escape from the piston cylinder.
A mechanism similar to that, described as producing the second impulsion upon
the clock movement, winds up the latter as soon as the vacuum made by the ejector
has attained a certain degree.
The whole system of apparatus moreover comprises two safety devices, both
consisting of floating bodies, by which stop cocks are operated as soon as they are
raised by water; one of these devices is inserted into the vacuum main conduit
and cuts off communication between the same and the ejector, when, for any reason
water has entered said conduit, while the other similar safety device is arranged
beneath the whole system of apparatus and shuts a cock in the conduit for steam
or water under pressure in the case of a pipe leaking.
When the system of apparatus is worked by water under pressure, a sand trap is
arranged in the tube conveying said water.
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page_text: Electro-hydraulic Vacuum-apparatus.
I BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS of the firm of Harris and Mills of
23 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent do hereby
declare the nature of this invention a communication to me from abroad by Carl
Diener, Manufacturer, and Carl Albert Mayrhofer engineer both of Vienna in
the Empire of Austria, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention consists in an electro-hydraulic vacuum apparatus, intended for
working signalling and controlling devices of railways, for transmitting the hour,
for regulating clocks, for working central ventilating systems and for other
purposes; and acted upon by a primary transmitter arranged in the central station.
From said primary transmitter, ranges of pipes run to the signalling and
controlling apparatus or clocks to be controlled or regulated, at chosen intervals,
vacuum is made in said pipes by means of the primary apparatus or transmitter of
the central station, whereupon one and the same central apparatus or transmitter
re-establishes communication between the conduit pipes and the outer atmosphere.
In this way all the secondary apparatus of the system are controlled or worked, as
the case may be, by mechanical means.
In the annexed sheets of drawings, in which like letters of reference designate
like parts in all figures.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the whole system of apparatus of a central
station, by which alternately vacuum is made and ordinary pressure re-established
in the conduit pipes communicating with the secondary apparatus to be controlled
or worked.
Figure 2 is an elevation of the main apparatus or the electro mechanical
distributer of the aforesaid system.
Figure 3 is a plan of Figure 2 showing the admission cock, which is acted upon
by the distributor and gives passage to the steam or water under pressure, working
the ejector, by which the air is exhausted from the conduit pipes.
Figure 4 is a safety apparatus inserted into the main vacuum conduit and
shutting off said conduit in the case of water or steam having entered the same in
consequence of irregularities.
Figure 5 shows another safety-apparatus, by which a cock in the pipe conveying
the steam or water under pressure, is closed, as soon as a breakage has occurred in
the system of pipes of a central station.
The electro-mechanical distributor I essentially consists of a cock which either
allows the steam or water under pressure to act upon the mechanism for opening
the admission cock or prevents said action, the plug of said cock being fixed to one
of the shafts of a clock-movement, which is started by the attracted armature of
an electro-magnet and which automatically stops again, as soon as the necessary
partial vacuum is reached.
Referring to Figure 2 A is the electro-magnet, B the clock-movement and C the
stop-cock. The armature a of the electro-magnet A is rigidly connected to a small

page_text: shaft a', Journailed in the cheeks a³ which are supported by a standard a³. The
end of the shaft a¹ facing the clock-movement B, carries an upright fork a having
inwardly projecting catches as a on both its prongs, one or the other of said
catches supporting the side-wise projecting steel prism 61 of a tripping lever b
according to the armature's being attracted or not. Said tripping lever bis
pivotted to the front plate of the clock-movement B, and when it falls down in
consequence of its having been deprived of support by the moving fork at, it starts
the clock-movement which is driven by a weight 6, the other weight shown in
the drawing, is a mere counter-weight for stretching a transmission chain in the
clock movement B of known construction. The clock movement B is started by
the fact that one arm of a two armed lever 6' likewise pivotted to the front plate
of the clock movement, and having the curved end of its other arm held by a
spring 6 in a recess of a disc 66, is forced down by the falling lever b; said disc b
being mounted on the outward extending end of one shaft of the clock movement.
To secure a steady start of the clock movement, a stop pin acting upon the fly of
the same, is withdrawn by the falling lever, immediately before the disc b° being
freed, all teeth of the wheels of the clock movement being thus brought in close
contact. The shaft of disc be carries moreover a cross b' having projecting pins be
fastened to the ends of its four arms and as soon as disc be has turned 90° one of
said pins 68 will lift the lever 6 and in consequence thereof, the curved end of
lever b, forced down by spring 6%, will take into the next recess of disc b°; four
equidistant recesses being provided.
The shaft o with which the plug C of the distributing cock is rigidly connected,
revolves with exactly the same speed as the shaft of disc 66 and consequently said
plug also will have turned 90° at the moment when disc 6e is stopped again in the
described manner. The plug C has one transverse bore only, perpendicular to its
axis while the box c¹ of the cock has four equidistant passages. Of the four
necks c² c³ c c answering to these passages, the necks c c unite and communicate
by means of a pipe 1 with the piston cylinder D of the mechanism II which
operates the admission cock e, while neck is in communication; by means of a
pipe 2, with the main conduit E for steam or water under pressure and neck co by
means of a pipe 3 with the main exit F.
'
In consequence of the described arrangement; the bore of the plug C, brought
into vertical position by the started clock movement, establishes communication
between necks c² and c', that is to say, between the steam or water conduit E and
the cylinder D, operating by means of its piston, the admission valve e in the
manner hereinafter fully described. When the steam or water under pressure,
passing through cock e into the ejector G has produced a sufficient vacuum to
operate the secondary apparatus, disc 66 is caused to turn again 90° in the
following way.
Behind the armature a of the electro magnet A, is arranged a
two-armed lever H carrying by its front end namely the end facing said armature,
a plate springh adapted to force the armature a onto the electro-magnet as soon
as this end of the lever H, is lowered; the other or rear end of lever H carries a
counter weight h¹. To the arm of lever H, which has the spring h screwed on it,
is jointed a rod 2, the lower end of which is connected to a slack membrane,
having its border nipped between the flanges of the two-part box h. The lower
chamber of said box communicates by means of the pipes 6 and 5 with the vacuum
main conduit 4 and consequently, as soon as the partial vacuum in said conduit 4
will have attained the desired degree, necessary for working or controlling the
divers line apparatus, the slack membrane in the box 8 will be sucked down, and
the descending rod h³ will lower the front end of lever H and force the spring h
onto the armature a; this latter then moves as if it had been attracted by the
electro-magnet A, whereby the described operation of the clock movement B and
cock C is caused to take place anew. The plug C of the cock is turned 90° that is
to say, its bore assumes a horizontal position and connects the passages in the
necks and c with each other; the steam or water under pressure in the
cylinder D is thus allowed to flow back through the pipe 1 and the necks c³

page_text: and into the pipe 3, which conveys it to the outlet F. In order to keep the
clock-movement B in a wound up condition, a box J of similar construction to
box h³ is arranged near the clock-movement. The upper chamber of said box J
communicates with the vacuum main conduit 4 and the slack membrane contained
in the box is connected with a rack j, meshing with a toothed wheel ¹ in gear with
the clock-work B.
The described electro-mechanical distributer operates the mechanism II by which
the admission cock e in the main conduit E for steam or water under pressure is
opened and closed. As already stated, the part of said mechanism, immediately
acted upon by the distributer is a piston-cylinder D; now the piston-rod d of the
piston working in said cylinder is jointed to one arm of a two armed lever d³, this
lever arin being weighted by a weight d* and connected to the plug of the admission
cock e by means of a pin d³ projecting through a slot in the key e¹ of the cock e.
The other arm of the lever d¹ which has its fulcrum at d on a standard d³ carries
a pin de projecting into the slot of the key k of another cock K, at the end of a
pipe 7, by means of which the vacuum main conduit communicates with the outer
atmosphere. When the steam or water cock e is opened, the air cock K is closed
and vice-versa.
The steam or water under pressure flowing through cock e actuates an ejector G,
by which the air is exhausted from the pipe 4 and the other pipes running to the
several secondary apparatus, which are worked or controlled by means of devices
similar to those h³ and J, that is to say, consisting of a casing, divided into two
chambers by a slack membrane carrying a rack or a connecting-rod or the like;
one chamber communicating with the vacuum conduit and the other with the outer
atmosphere.
In the vacuum main conduit 4 between the ejector G and the line apparatus,
is inserted a safety apparatus III by which said conduit is closed as soon as,
consequent on irregularities, water enters the same.
This safety apparatus essentially consists of a closed cylindrical vessel L, com-
municating by its top and bottom with the parts of the vacuum main conduit,
arriving from the ejecter G and running to the secondary apparatus respectively;
said vessel L containing a floating body which has a rod rigidly connected to
its upper surface. The rod projects outward through a stuffing-box and is
adapted to overthrow when rising, a weighted angular lever which is this case,
falls upon and turns the key m of a stop-cock M in the passage 4. This cock,
being a three way cock, then cuts off communication between the vessel L and
the secondary apparatus to be worked or controlled by means of vacuum, and
establishes communication between said vessel and the pipe 8 through which the
water or steam is allowed to escape. * is a vacuum indicator. A second safety
apparatus N, placed beneath the whole system of apparatus of the central station,
has for its purpose to cut off the supply of water under pressure or steam, as soon
as any steam or water pipe begins to leak. By means of a flat dish-shaped
trough N extending beneath the whole system of pipes and apparatus, the water
eventually leaking is collected into a vessel n, containing a floating box n¹ provided
with an upright rod n². The laterally projecting catch n of said rod n' forces
aside, as soon as the floating body n¹ has risen to a certain height, the steel prism n*
holding down one end of the weighted lever no, and kept in position by a coiled
spring n. By means of a pin n projecting into a slot in the key of the cock e¹
lever no shuts said cock in the steam or water pipe E, as soon as the described
action of the catch n³ upon the spring-controlled prism n has taken place.
O is a sand trap, used when the apparatus is worked by water under pressure;
as shown, said sand trap consists of a vessel, having a larger diameter than the
supply pipe E and being divided into two chambers by means of a longitudinal
partition o, which does not extend throughout the vessel. The water entering one
chamber, partly loses its velocity on account of the increase of the section of its
way or passage, and thus deposits its impurities whereupon it rises through the
other chamber of the trap into the conduit E and there resumes its former velocity.

page_text: o¹ o¹ are screwed openings for cleaning purposes. e' is a manometer. V is a lift-
counter of obvious construction, acted upon by vacuum in an obvious way.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The combination with an ejecter, destined to exhaust the air from a range of
pipes, of a stop-cock, which, when acted upon by an electrical or mechanical
impulsion, establishes communication between said ejector and a liquid under
pressure, whereupon the vacuum produced so turns the said cock that this com-
munication is intercepted again and air of ordinary pressure admitted into. the
exhausted conduit pipes.
··2. The described mechanism for simultaneously opening the cock c of the
conduit E for steam or liquid under pressure and closing the cock K of the air
conduit 7 said mechanism consisting of a two armed lever d¹ either arm of which
is connected to one of the keys of the two cocks, of a weight d' or its equivalent
acting upon one lever arm and thus maintaining the lever in a determinate position,
and of a piston, moveable in a cylinder D, and having its piston rod d connected
to the weighted lever arm in order to lift the same when steam or a liquid under
pressure enters said cylinder.
3. The described distributing device, by means of which the steam or liquid
under pressure is admitted into and exhausted from the cylinder D, said device
consisting of a stop cock, the plug C of which connects, in two positions distant
from each other 90°, either said cylinder and the steam or liquid conduit E, or
said cylinder and the exhaust pipe F, and further of a clock movement B adapted
to be started by a gravitating lever b every time the armature a either attracted
by its electro-maguet A or displaced by a device worked by the vacuum produced
withdraws from underneath said lever, and to automatically stop again as soon as
the shaft of this clock-movement, which carries the plug C has turned 90°.
4. The described devices h³ and J, worked by vacuum and destined to displace
the armature a and wind up the clock-movement, said devices consisting of hollow
bodies, divided into two chambers by a slack membrane; one chamber communi-
cating with the conduit in which vacuum is produced and the other chamber with
the outer atmosphere, and a draw-rod or rack connected to said membrane extending
outward through the latter chamber.