Improvements in Steam Engine and like Indicators.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Jan., 1999- Accepted, 15th July, 1899
COMPLETE DITCIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by AMOS PALMETER KINNEY, of No. 1, Eliot Place,
and EARL VAUGHAN, of No. 2, Chestnut Square, both in Jamaica Plain
District, Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Mechanical Engineers.]
Improvements in Steam Engine and like Indicators.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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: —
My invention relates to steam engine indicators designed to be used in the
taking of indicator diagrams from engines, pumps, and the like.
It has for its object, an improved construction and a novel arrangement of the
drum carriage and the drum which permits (when taking diagrams, at the pleasure
of the operator) the stopping and starting, or the detaching or disconnecting of
the drum without interfering with, or affecting in any manner or degree, the
operative movement of the drum carriage.
An indicator fitted with my invention possesses many valuable qualities,
especially when applied to high speed stationary engines, to locomotives, and to
marine engines. In taking indicator diagrams from high speed engines, it is
very difficult to take off a card and put on another, using any style of indicator
now in use, for the reason that the movement of the drum carriage must be stopped
while changing the cards or, while the drum is removed and put on again. This
stopping and starting of the drum carriage of the ordinary indicator, whenever
it becomes necessary to put on a new card, however accomplished, is usually
attended by many vexatious hinderances and unsatisfactory results, which are
wholly obviated in using my invention, as the drum carriage, after it is once
connected with the reducing motion, need not be disconnected until desired. In
taking cards from locomotives and marine engines it is usually much more
difficult to connect and disconnect the drum carriage with the reducing motion
than it is with stationary engines. In taking cards from marine engines it is
often very desirable or necessary, on account of close quarters, to take the drum
off the indicator in order to put on a new card, and this results in the spoiling of
the fit of the drum, of the ordinary indicator, and thereby causing it to run out
of truth, a very objectionable feature, which my invention entirely obviates,
as the drum fit on the spindle is a long lubricated bearing well adapted for wear.
The drum carriage and the drum represented in the drawings in Figures 1
and 2 are views of the well known Thompson indicator as now made, with the
exception only of the drum detaching lever, the handle of which is shown in
its position against the pencil stop.
As my invention relates only to improvements in the construction and arrange-
ment of the drum carriage and drum we have not shown, in the drawings, the
steam cylinder and pencil mechanism of the indicator.
Figure 1 is a side elevation or view of the drum carriage and drum and
a portion of the frame of a standard Thompson indicator.

page_text: ene urum removed.
Figure 4 is a plan of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is an inverted plan of the drum carriage.
Figure 6 is a sectional view of Figure 5 on line A B.
Figure 7 is an inverted plan of the drum.
Figure 8 is a sectional view of Figure 7 on line C D.
Figure 9 is a central vertical sectional view of the drum and spindle sleeve.
Figure 10 is a full cross sectional view of the drum on line E F of Figure
looking towards the top of the drum.
Figure 11 is a full cross sectional view of the drum on line G H of Figure 9.
Figure 12 is a central vertical sectional view of the drum.
Figure 13 is a full cross sectional view of the drum on line I J of Figure 12
looking towards the base of the drum, and
Figure 14 represents the spindle sleeve in elevation.
The following are standard parts, as usually constructed, of the well known
Thompson indicator: Frame 20, provided with the spindle 21 and pencil stop 22;
carrier 23, provided with the ordinary adjusting devices; and drum safety nut 24.
The drum carriage 25 is of the usual construction and arrangement, except
that it is provided with the drum detaching and connecting device, as hereinafter
described, and it is provided with the usual drum carriage spring
tension adjusting collar 26, for adjusting the regular drum carriage spring
located inside the drum carriage in the ordinary manner.
The spring tension adjusting collar clamping nut 27 is of the usual or common
construction except that it is provided with the set screw 28 which is used for
the purpose of preventing the unscrewing of the nut when it is set up in its
clamping position against the collar 26.
The drum 29 so far as its outer exposed surface is concerned is the same as the
regular standard drum and it is provided with the ordinary indicator card
fastening spring clips 30.
As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the drum carriage 25, having the usual drum
carriage stop 31, is provided with the drum engaging pin' spring 32, one end of
which is securely fastened to the under side of the drum carriage by means of the
spring fastening screw 33, while the other end is slightly bent or raised to
form the lip 34. The spring is also provided with the drum engaging pin 35,
which is free to play or move longitudinally within the engaging pin hole 44
of the drum and which extends through the rim of the drum carriage, one end
of the pin is rivetted to the spring near the lip end thereof. This pin plays in a
hole 351 in the rim of the drum carriage and its upper end projects slightly
above the upper surface of said rim as shown in Figures 3 and 6.
The drum detaching lever 36 is provided with the thin light ring 37, designed
to fit into a recess, not shown, in the indicator frame which is made to receive
the drum carriage, all in the ordinary and common manner, and in this recess,
the ring is free to turn. The radial lever 36 which is a part of or is fastened to the
ring, consists of the handle 38 and the wedge shaped portion 39 which when
pushed by the handle under the lip 34 of the drum engaging pin spring (or by
so holding the handle 36 that the drum carriage in its movement will cause
the depression of the drum engaging pin spring) will, by depressing the spring
or forcing it away from the underside of the drum carriage, withdraw the drum
engaging pin, from the hole 44 in the drum, thereby ensuring the ready dis-
engagement of the drum from the drum carriage.
The drum 29, at its lower end or bottom, is provided with the grooved ring 40
having the circular groove 41. This circular groove is provided with the two
inclines 42 and 43 and the hole 44 adapted to cause the engagement of the
drum with the drum carriage when and only when the drum engaging pin
hole 44 is brought opposite the drum engaging pin 35 of the drum carriage.
The drum 29, at its central and upper portion, is provided with the combined

page_text: spindle sleeve and spiral spring receiving case 45. That part of the case designed
to receive the spindle sleeve 46 is constructed as follows: The cylindrical bore
or bearing 47 is made to receive the spindle sleeve 46. This bearing is provided
with the circular groove 48, in which is placed the drum stop 49, and from
which to its lower end extends the slot 50. The lower enlarged portion of the
case is designed to receive the spiral spring 51.
The drum 29, at its top is provided with the cover 52.
The grooved ring 40, the case 45, and the cover 52 are preferably soldered to
the drum.
The spindle sleeve 46 is provided with the following:-Bearing surface 53,
upon which the drum is free to turn, stop 54 which limits the extent of the
rotative movement of the drum upon the spindle sleeve, spring catch 55 for
holding one end of the spiral spring while the other end is held by the spring
catch 56 of the case 45, and pin or stud 57, which fits into the stud hole 58 in
the top of the nut 27. This stud hole 58 in the fixed nut 27 on the stationary
spindle 21 as shown in Figure 4, is preferably made in the same radial line as
the pin hole 35 through which the spring locking pin 35 projects.
The length of the spindle sleeve is such, that it is firmly held or clamped in
its fixed non-rotative position upon the spindle 21 between nut 27 and the
nut 24 which also serves as a safety nut in preventing the lifting of the drum.
The parts comprising the drum mechanism are assembled as follows: The
spindle sleeve 46 is placed in its position within the case 45. In entering the
sleeve, care must be taken to have the stop 54 enter the groove 48 through
the vertical slot 50. When the sleeve is in its longitudinal position it is designed
that the stop 54 will be within the groove 48 and that the collar 46' on the
spindle sleeve will abut against the lower end of the bearing 47 of the case 45.
The spiral spring is then put in place within the case 45 and its tension is in
such a direction as will tend to keep the spindle drum stop 54, of the spindle
sleeve 46 always in contact, when the drum is disconnected from the drum
carriage, with drum stop 49. When these drum stops 54 and 49 are in contact,
as shown in Figures 9 and 13, it is designed that the stud 57 which projects
from the spindle sleeve 53 and enters the pin hole 58 on the fixed nut of the
stationary spindle, and the pin hole 44 of the drum shall not be in the same
radial line, as shown in Figure 9; but hole 44 shall be a little to the right of a
radial line drawn through stud 57 when looking down upon the top of the drum:
In this construction and arrangement it follows, that when the drum is placed
upon the drum carriage, the holes 35 and 58 are in the same radial line and
the hole 44 in the drum will be a little to the right of drum engaging pin 35
which projects through said hole 35. Therefore it will be impossible to make
the engagement between the drum and drum carriage until the pin hole 44
of the drum is brought into the same radial line as the stud 57, and this radial
alignment, which ensures the drum and drum carriage engagement, can be
readily accomplished by turning the drum (by hand) a little to the left. This
engagement can at all times be readily accomplished regardless of the movement
of the drum carriage, and the force necessary to turn the drum is very slight as
the operator will have to overcome only the slight tension of the spiral spring 51.
The detaching or disconnecting of the drum from the drum carriage is at all
times readily accomplished by moving the detaching lever to the right until the
drum carriage in its movement causes the lip 34 of the drum engaging pin
spring 32 to come in contact with the wedge shaped portion 39 of the lever which
contact results in the depressing of the spring and its attached drum engaging
pin 35 thereby disconnecting the drum from the drum carriage and the drum
at once is forced into its non-engagement position, by the action of the spring 51,
the pins 54 and 49 being in contact.
In the ordinary use of an indicator, in taking diagrams it is well known,
that the reducing motion is always of such a length that the regular drum carriage
stops do not come in contact, therefore the length of any diagram is considerably

page_text: less than it is possible to have it. It therefore follows, that, in practice, it is
only essential that the drum detaching and connecting devices should be so
relatively arranged, that when diagrams are being taken the drum when dis-
connected from the drum carriage, shall be instantly forced into its non-engage-
ment position by the action of the spiral spring in the receiving case of the
drum.
When detaching or disconnecting the drum from the drum carriage, the handle
of the detaching lever is held very lightly, and the instant disengagement is
accomplished, the handle is left free, and the movement of the drum carriage
will push the detaching lever back until the handle comes in contact with the
pencil stop, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, where it will remain until the
operator again wishes to detach the drum from the drum carriage.
In operation, when the drum is disconnected from the drum carriage its move-
ment ceases. It is intended that, when taking diagrams from an engine with
our improved indicator, the drum carriage shall be connected by means of the
usual indicator cord 60, with the reducing motion and that the indicator cord
may not be disconnected or unhitched from the reducing motion while the engine
indicator tests are being conducted. Therefore the movement of the drum carriage
during an indicator test will not in any manner be interfered with or affected.
It will be observed that the wear of the drum bearing 47 upon the bearing sur-
face 53 of the spindle sleeve will be very slight, as there is no drum movement,
except during the time consumed in the taking of each separate diagram. The
bearing 53 of the spindle sleeve is a very long one of ample diameter thereby
ensuring the perfect truth of the motion of the drum.
My invention can be readily and cheaply applied to any and all of the Thompson
indicators now in use, and it can also be easily adapted and applied to any of the
standard indicators, such as the well known Crosby Tabor indicators, by making
such slight changes in the device as may be necessary.
The indicator shown in the drawing is provided with a large drum; but it is
so constructed that it will take a small drum, the lower end of which will be
preferably the same diameter as the large drum while the upper part or that
portion of the drum on which the card is placed is reduced to the diameter
required for the small drum.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be perforined, as communicated to me
by my correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. In a steam engine indicator, the combination of a drum carriage, means
for imparting a rotary reciprocatory motion to said carriage in unison with the
piston movement of the engine, a detachable card carrying drum mounted on said
carriage, and means for locking and releasing said drum during the movement of
the carriage without interfering with the operation thereof.
2. In a steam engine indicator, the combination of a drum carriage, a spring
thereon provided with a pin, a drum mounted on said carriage and provided with
a socket adapted to receive said pin, and a lever adapted to engage said spring
to withdraw said pin for releasing the drum.
3. In a steam engine indicator the combination of a drum carriage, a card-
carrying drum supported thereon, one of said elements being provided with a
spring locking pin, and the other with a socket for said pin, and with a groove
for the traverse thereof, whereby one of said elements may be adjusted on the
other during the movement thereof without interfering with said movements.
4. In a steam engine indicator the combination of a drum carriage, a card-
carrying drum supported thereon, one of said elements being provided with a
spring locking pin, and the other with a socket for said pin, and with a groove
for the traverse thereof, said groove having inclines adjacent to said socket,
whereby one of said elements may be adjusted on the other during the movement
thereof without interfering with said movements.

page_text: 5. In a steam engine indicator, the combination of a drum carriage, a spring
locking pin disposed thereon, means for reciprocating said carriage, a detachable
card-carrying drum mounted on said carriage and provided with a groove in
which said pin is adapted to travel during the removal and adjustment of the
drum, and a socket for said locking pin disposed in the circuit of said groove.
6. In a steam engine indicator the combination of a drum carriage, a detachable
drum mounted thereon, comprising two members, namely a drum proper and a
spindle sleeve, the former adapted to turn upon and independently of the latter,
and two catch devices operated successively for locking the separate members of
the drum to the carriage.
7. In a steam engine indicator, the combination of a frame, a spindle supported
thereon, a drum carriage adapted to turn on said spindle, a spindle sleeve also
adapted to turn on said spindle, a drum proper having a swivelling case adapted
to turn on said spindle sleeve, a spring for turning said drum proper on said
spindle sleeve, a stop device for said drum proper, and means for locking said
spindle sleeve to said spindle, and means for locking said drum proper to said drum
carriage.
8. In a steam engine indicator, the combination of a frame, a spindle sup-
ported thereon, a drum carriage adapted to turn on said spindle, means for
reciprocating said drum carriage, an adjusting nut on said spindle over said
carriage, a lock nut on said spindle over said adjusting nut, means for locking
said lock nut to said spindle, said lock nut being provided with a pin hole, a
spindle sleeve mounted on said spindle over said lock nut and provided with a
projection adapted to enter said hole, a drum proper having a tubular case
adapted to fit said spindle sleeve, a spring for turning said drum proper on said
spindle sleeve, a stop device for said drum proper, and means for locking said
drum proper to said drum carriage.
9. In a detachable drum for a steam engine indicator, the combination of a
spindle sleeve, a drum proper provided with a tubular casing having a circum-
ferential groove, said casing being enlarged at its lower end, a spring disposed
in said casing and connected at one end therewith and at the other end with said
spindle sleeve, and a stop device for arresting the rotation of the drum proper
on the spindle sleeve.
Dated ibis 31st day of January 1899
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.