IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR COMPRESSORS, AND IN MECHANISM FOR ACTUATING THE PISTONS OR PLUNGERS OF APPARATUS FOR PUMPING OR FORCING FLUIDS OR LIQUIDS."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Thompson Owen, of Chesterfield, in the County.
of Derby, Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR COMPRESSORS,
AND IN MECHANISM FOR ACTUATING THE PISTONS OR PLUNGERS OF APPARATUS
FOR PUMPING OR FORCING FLUIDS OR LIQUIDS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Thompson, Owen.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th February 1881.
CHARLES THOMPSON OWEN, of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR COMPRESSORS, AND IN MECHANISM FOR ACTUATING THE
PISTONS OR PLUNGERS OF APPARATUS FOR PUMPING OR FORCING FLUIDS OR
LIQUIDS."
This Invention relates to improvements in air compressors, and to mechanism
for actuating the pistons or plungers of apparatus for pumping or forcing liquids
or fluids.
In the ordinary construction of air compressors the full power of the prime
mover is not utilized during the early part of the stroke of the air compressing
piston, and during the latter part thereof the prime mover is to a certain extent
overpowered, necessitating the use of a heavy fly wheel.
My Invention consists of an arrangement of compensating beams or levers by
which the equal or varying power exerted by the prime mover is given off to the
air compressing piston (to overcome the varying resistance) in such a manner as
to fully utilize the power and obtain the greatest results therefrom, the said
compensating beams or levers obviating the necessity of a heavy fly wheel as
ordinarily used.
In carrying into effect my Invention in a double cylinder air compressor actuated
by a single steam cylinder, the steam cylinder can be placed horizontally on a
frame, and the air compressing cylinders be placed vertically; the end of the piston
rod of the steam cylinder is connected to a crosshead, the said crosshead reciprocating
in slide bars or being guided by a parallel motion. To the crosshead can be fitted
two projecting pins (or one such pin common to both beams), and to these pins are
Pine C71

page_text: attached the ends of two beams suspended centrally (or otherwise) on the ends of
two links or pairs of links, the other ends of the said links working on fixed
centres (or in fixed bearings) at each end of the slide bars, the said fixed centres
being by preference in the same planes as the centre lines of the horizontal steam
cylinder and the vertical air compressing cylinders.
The pistons or piston rods of the vertical air compressing cylinders are attached
to the upper ends of the two equal ended beams or levers, and are thus reciprocated
indirectly by the horizontal steam piston.
The links are by preference one half of the length of the beams to which they
are attached.
By the above described arrangement the upper end of the beam to which the air
compressing piston is attached moves in a true vertical plane and at right angles
to that of the horizontal steam piston.
During the early part of the stroke of the air piston, and when the resistance to
the advance thereof is comparatively small, the travel of the said air piston is
greater than at the latter part of its stroke when the resistance to its advance is
comparatively great.
The air piston is single acting, and the valves and other parts of the air compressor
may be of ordinary construction.
Instead of the steam cylinder being horizontal, and the air compressing cylinder
vertical, any other arrangement may be adopted, but the pistons of the air
compressing cylinders will be actuated indirectly by the compensating beams and
links herein before described..
Instead of one steam piston and cylinder actuating two air compressing pistons,
any other arrangement may be adopted in which the improved compensating beams
and links can be employed, or the end of the equal ended lever before described (as
actuating the air piston) may be actuated by the steam piston so as further to
compensate for high grades of expansion in the steam cylinder.
The arrangement of compensating beams and links can be employed with
compound air compressors in which the air is passed from one air cylinder and
further compressed to a higher pressure in a second cylinder, the high pressure air
cylinder being placed in any convenient position with regard to the low pressure
air cylinder.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Thompson Owen in the Great Seal Patent Office on.
4th August 1881.
the
CHARLES THOMPSON OWEN, of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, Engineer.
IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR COMPRESSORS, AND IN MECHANISM FOR ACTUATING THE
PISTONS OR PLUNGERS OF APPARATUS FOR PUMPING OR FORCING FLUIDS OR
LIQUIDS."
This Invention relates to improvements in air compressors, and to mechanism
for actuating the pistons or plungers of apparatus for pumping or forcing liquids or
fluids.
In the ordinary construction of air compressors the full power of the prime
mover is not utilized during the early part of the stroke of the air compressing.
piston, and during the latter part thereof the prime mover is to a certain extent
overpowered, necessitating the use of a heavy fly wheel.
My Invention consists of an arrangement of compensating levers by which the
varying power exerted by the prime mover is given off to the air compressing
piston in such a manner as to fully utilize the power and obtain the greatest results
therefrom, the said compensating levers obviating the necessity of a heavy fly-wheel
as ordinarily used:
In carrying into effect my Invention in an air compressor actuated by steam, the .
steam cylinder can be placed horizontally on a frame and the air compressing
cylinders or cylinder be placed vertical; the end of the piston rod (of the steam
cylinder) is connected to a crosshead, the said crosshead reciprocating in slide bars.
To the crosshead are fitted two projecting pins, and to these pins are attached the
ends of two beams suspended centrally on the ends of two links, the other ends of
the said links working on fixed centres or in fixed bearings at each end of the slide
bars, the said fixed centres being in the same planes as the centre lines of the
horizontal steam cylinder and the vertical air compressing cylinder. The piston
rods of the vertical air compressing cylinders are attached to the upper ends of the
two equal ended beams or levers, and are thus reciprocated by the horizontal steain
piston. The links are by preference one half of the length of the beams or levers
to which they are attached.
By the above described arrangement the upper end of the beam to which the
air compressing piston is attached moves in a true vertical plane and at right angles
to that of the horizontal steam piston, and at the early part of the stroke of the air
piston, and when the resistance to the advance thereof is comparatively small, the
travel of the said air piston is greater than at the latter part of its stroke, when the
resistance to its advance is comparatively great.
The air piston is single acting and the valves and other parts of the air.
compressor are of ordinary construction.
Instead of the steam cylinder being horizontal and the air compressing cylinder
vertical, any other arrangement may be adopted, but the pistons of the air
compressing cylinders will be actuated indirectly by the compensating beams or
levers and links hereinbefore described.
Instead of one steam piston and cylinder actuating two air compressing pistons,
any other arrangement may be adopted in which the improved compensating
beams or levers and links can be employed, or the end of the equal ended lever
before described (as actuating the air piston) may be actuated by the steam piston
so as further to compensate for high grades of expansion in the steam cylinder.
The arrangement of compensating beams or levers and links can be employed
with compound air compressors in which the air is passed from one air cylinder

page_text: and further compressed to a higher pressure in a second cylinder, the high pressure
air cylinder being placed in any convenient position with regard to the low
pressure air cylinder.
The accompanying Drawings illustrate methods of carrying into effect my
Invention Figure 1 is a side view (partly in section) of an air compressor having
one horizontal steam cylinder and two vertical air compressing cylinders; A is the
steam cylinder; B, B', are air compressing cylinders; J is the piston rod; C the
slide block or crosshead; D, D¹, are two links of equal length turning freely on
fixed centres E, E'; F, F', are the two double arm levers or beams of equal length,
the lower ends of which are connected to the slide block C and the upper ends of
which are connected (by links) to the air compressing pistons K, K'; the links D, D',
are connected to the centres of the levers F, F¹.
Figure 2 is an enlarged side view, and Figure 3 is an enlarged plan of the
links D, D', levers F, F, as connected to the slide block C.
As the steam piston rod J and cross head C advance, the lever F causes the air
piston K¹ to make its upward stroke in the air cylinder B¹, and at the same time
the lever F causes the piston in the air cylinder B to make its downward stroke,
and as the steam piston rod J and cross head C retire the lever F1 causes the air
piston K¹, to make its downward stroke, and at the same time the lever F causes
the piston in the air cylinder B to make its upward stroke, and as the angles that
the links D, D¹, make with the lower halves of the levers F, F¹, increase, so in
proportion do the angles of the upper halves of the said levers F, F, with the said
links D, D¹, decrease, and the travel of the air pistons connected to the upper ends
of the said levers F, F', decrease accordingly.
Figure 4 is a side view in elevation of an air compressor (partly in section);
Fig. 5 is an end view, and Figure 6 is a part plan thereof in which the two steam
cylinders A, A, are placed vertically under the air cylinders B, B¹; C is the slide
block to which the lower ends of the levers or beams F, F¹, are attached ;
D, D', are the links which are connected to the centres of the levers F, F¹, and
which work freely on pins E, E¹, on the horizontal slide bars; G is a fly wheel
crank shaft, and H a connecting rod actuating the same; J, J¹, are piston rods of
the air compressing cylinders which are continuous with the steam piston rods of
the cylinders A, A', and which are connected to the pistons K, K', in the air
cylinders B, B'.
In this arrangement the steam and air cylinders are single acting, only steam
being admitted through the top of each cylinder A, A¹, the piston in the steam
cylinder A actuating the piston in the air cylinder B' and the piston in the
steam cylinder A' actuating the piston K in the air cylinder B, the said air pistons
being actuated by the levers F, F¹, through the slide block C and controlled by
the links D, D', as in the arrangement shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and as above
described.
Figure 7 is an enlarged side view in elevation (partly in section) of the
cylinders A and A¹, piston rods J and J', and valves M and N, each of the said
valves being actuated by an independent eccentric fixed on the fly wheel shaft G.
Figure 8 is a diagram showing the action of the compensating levers F, F', and
links D, D', in an air compressor, as illustrated by Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, and as
above described.
The full vertical line L, LA, represents the downward stroke of the cross head L
(and the piston in the steam cylinder A¹), the horizontal line C, C+, represents the
travel of the slide block C, and the vertical line K, K, represents the upward
stroke of the air compressing piston K in the cylinder B. The line L, L, is divided
into four equal parts at the points L', L2, L³, to represent the travel of the steam
piston in fourth parts of its stroke, and on the full vertical line K, K, the
points K¹, K, K³, show the travel of the air piston K during the fourth parts of
the stroke of the cross head L (and the steam piston in the cylinder A¹), and
as actuated by the levers F, F, and slide block C, that is to say, as the cross
head L moves from the point L to L', the slide block C travels from C to C¹, and the

page_text: air piston K from the point K to the point K¹; as the crosshead L moves from the
point L¹ to the point L2, the slide block C travels from 0 to 02, and the piston K
from K¹ to K2; and as the cross head L moves from L² to L³, the slide block C travels
from C² to C, and the piston K from K² to K³, and as the crosshead L moves from
L³ to L the slide block C travels from C³ to C, and the piston K from Ks to K¹;
from this diagram it will be seen that by transmitting the power from the steam
piston to the air piston K through the levers F, F, the said air piston K travels a
great portion of its stroke when the resistance to its advance is comparatively
small, and as the resistance to its advance increases its travel decreases, thus
admitting of a high grade of expansion of the steam in the steam cylinder.
Figure 9 is a sectional elevation of a pair of combined compound air compressing
cylinders which can be employed with my improvements; B is the low pressure
cylinder; B' is the high pressure cylinder; J is the piston rod of the low pressure
cylinder; and J' the piston rod of the high pressure cylinder which is continuous
with the rod J of the low pressure cylinder, admitting of the two pistons K, K',
being actuated by the same crosshead, as shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my 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,-
Improvements in air compressors, and in mechanism for actuating the pistons or
plungers of apparatus for pumping or forcing liquids or fluids in which the
compressing pistons are actuated indirectly by double arm levers connected to and
controlled by swinging or radius links, substantially as herein before described and
as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the accompanying Drawings and
acting substantially as indicated by the diagram, Fig. 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Thompson Owen, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
CHARLES THOMPSON UWEN.. (L.S.)