US647969A - Locomotive. - Google Patents

Description

No. 647,969.- y Patented Apr. 24, |900.

H. 0. HUPKINS.

Locomolvsv.

(Application tiled may 23, 189B.)

TH: mums Frrms co. womuuo. WASHINGTON, n, a.,

- Patented Apr. 24, |900. H. C. HOPKINS.

L 0 C 0 M 0 T l V E. (Appucion med may 23, 1898.)

3 Sheets- Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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Cf mw Nn. 647,969. Patented Apr. 24, |900.

\ H. C. HPKINS.

LOCOMOTIVE.

(Applieatiom led May 23, 189B.)

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3l ms nouns nen ca, Fumo-nwo., wnsnmawm u. c.A

` NITED STATES PATENT PPICE.-

IENRY o. HOPKINS, OE LITHONIA, GEoRGrA, ASSI'GNOR To THE HOPKINS PNEUMATIO AUXILIARY ENGINE COMPANY, or SAME PLAOE.

LocoMoTlvE.

SPECIFICATO forming part of Letters Patent No. 647,269, dated April 24, 19O.

i Application filed May 23, 1898. Serial No. 681,508. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY CALVIN HOP- KINS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Lithonia, in the county of De Kalb and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotives; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use vthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters and figures of'reference marked thereon, which form partof this speciiication.

This invention relates to locomotives, having particular reference to providing means whereby the momentum or propulsion of the locomotive may be caused to store air for use in furnishing motive power to assist in the propulsion of the train upgrades and Whereever else necessary and for use in the airbrake system and any other purpose to which air might be applied on the engine or train; To-these ends the invention consists in the device hereinafter fully specified, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device in running position. Fig. 2 is asectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 4. Fig. S'isa detail view showing the relief and throttle valves. Fig.4 is a sectional View on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

In' the figures like reference characters are uniformly employed in the designation ofcorresponding elements of construction.

a represents the driving-wheels; l), the steam-cylinder and valve-chest; c, the valvestem, and d the piston-rod. e is the main reservoir of the air-brake system, and f the tender. All of these elements may obviously be constructed in any desired manner.

On the upper side of the cylinders b, and preferably on each side of the engine, are cylinders 10, which may, however, be secured to any portion of the locomotive adaptable to the purpose, said cylinder containing a piston suitable for Operation, as the piston of a pump or an air-motor of the reciprocating class, 11 being the piston rod or stem thereof, and l2 being an arm by means of which said pistonrod 11 is connected operatively with the crosshead cl', as shown, or some other portion of the piston-rod d, so that the reciprocation of the rod 1l may be in synchronism and coextensive with the reciprocating movement of the piston d. On the upper side of the. cylinder 10is a valve-chest 13, which has thereon two chambers 14 and 15, Fig. 2, the former of which is arranged as a pump valve-chest-that is, having suitable ports 16, valves 17 of any desired construction, ports 18, controlled by valves 58, and the other common and well-known construction necessary to form the valves of a pump-'while the chamber lrhas the usual ports 19, connecting it with the cylinder 10, and isprovided with a slide-valve suitable to control the admission and eXh-aust of compressed air to and from said cylinderlO. 20 isthe valve-stern of said air-motor valve and is'connected to the piston c of the steam-engine slide-valve by means of an arm 20', which connects the two valve-rods together operatively, so that the reversal of one will reverse the other. Now it is obvious that with these valves, which will be called the air-pump valves and motor-valve, respectively, the cylinder 10 may be used as an air-pump or as an air-motor. Now in order-to make these chests functionally interchangeable I conneet the pipe 21 with the chamber 15, conmeeting them to the pipe 22 through the medium of a three-way cock`23, which is operbetween the pipe 22 andthe air-motor casing v l5. The pipe 22 extends from the valve 23 backwardly along the side of the locomotive to a suitable tank 27, which tank in the construction shown is placed upon the tender, although it may be of any desired shape and placed in any desired position. In order to connect the cylinder lOon the opposite side of the locomotive with pipe 22, the pipe -28 is employed, extending from the valve 23 of that side to a point intermediately between the relief and by-pass and the valve 23. y

In the pipe 22 is a relief-valve 29, and 301s a pipe forming a by-pass around said reliefva ve. f

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3l is a three\vay cock, the lever of which is connected to a lever 33 within reach of the engineer by means of a rod 32, said three-way cock operating to open and close communication through the by-pass from end to end thereof or from either end of said by-pass to the open air through the nozzle 34, the reliefvalve 29 acting to keep and limit the back pressure in the pipe 22 when the cylinder 10 is being used as a pump and the valve 31 is closed against the passage of air backwardly through the pipe 22 of the tank 27, all fora purpose hereinafter specified. This reliefvalve 29 may be set toV any desired tension, so that the back pressure maybe constant at a predetermined necessary tension when the valve 31 is in the position just described.

35 is a triple valve such as are used in ordinary air-brake systems, although of a relatively-simple form, and is interposed in the connection between the pipe 22 and the auxiliary reservoir e, whereby when the pressure in the said auxiliary reservoir shall have bethe pipe 2l to said pipe 22.

come decreased below the working tension said triple valvel will automatically restore said pressure from the pipe 22 in case the pressure in the pipe 22, and hence in the reservoir 27, shall be below the working pressure of the air-brake system the engineer by opening the three-way cock 36, so that air `passes from the pipe 22 ahead of said cock to the pipe 37, leading from said cock 36 to the reservoir e, and the air-pump will cause it to pass directly to theV reservoir, which may 'becontinued until the pressure in said reservoir reaches the proper working pressure for the air-brake system, as indicated upon the dial of the pressure-gage 3S.

The operation of this device is as follows: Air may be pu mped at an y time through pipe 22 to the reservoir 27 and there stored for use by opening the valve 23, so that a passage is opened from the chamber 14, Fig. 2, through This may be done by-the surplus energy of the locomotive in moving upon levels or by its momentum and gravity in descending grades. The force required in pumping acts as a braking power due to the back pressure from the reservoir 27 and willassistin controlling the train on downgrades. If this is not suflicient back pressure for the purpose, the valve 31 will be closed and the air will be compelled to pass through the relief or pressure-retainin g valve 29, which may be made by adjustment to hold back upon the pump with any desired pressure, all air above what is required to sustain that pressure passing through said retaining or relief Valve to the reservoir 27. Should the air-pressure in the reservoir 27 become too high at any time, it may be reduced by opening the valve 3l, so that the surplus air willescape through the outlet 311 to said valve. without forcing more air into said reservoir 27, the valve 31 will be so set as to open communication between the forward end ofY the When it is desired to run the pump pipe 22 and the open air by means of the out let 3a. Now when it is desired to assist the steam-engine in propelling the locomotive the valve 23 is set so that air may pass'frorn the pipe 22 to the chamber 15 and may not pass through the pipe 21, when the air in the rcservoir 27 will be utilized in actuating the cylinder 10.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the vUnited States, is-

l. In a locomotive, an air-reservoir, a supplementary pair of cylinders and pistons, a set of pump-valves and ports and an enginevalve connected to each cylinder, and all con nected and arranged to operate interchangeably.

2. In a locomotive, an engine consisting of duplicate cylinders on each side, one cylinder on each side connected for using steam and the other cylinder on each side being provided with air-pump and air-motor valves and an air-reservoir, all connected to act conjunctively.

3. In a locomotive, a steam-engine compris ing steam-cylinders, valves, pistons, their valves, valves and their rods and operating connections,an auxiliary air-cylinder for each steam-cylinder, a piston and rod therefor, means for connecting 'said piston-rod with the piston-,rodof the steam-cylinder, a valve controlling the admission and exhaust of air from said air-cylinder and means for connecting said valve operatively with the steam-engine valve, and a source of air-pressure.

4. In a locomotive, steam-cylinders, piston and piston-rods, 'valves and valve-rods, an auxiliary cylinder near each steam-cylinder a piston therein provided with a rod and means for connecting said rod with the steam# piston rod, a valve-chamber connected with said auxiliary cylinder a slide-valve therein, a stem for said slide-valve, Van arm connecting said stem with the correlative valve-rod, a second chamber connected by ports to said cylinder, a set of pump-valves in said ports, a reservoir, a pipe leading from both valvechambers thereto, and means forinterchangeably connecting said valve-chambers thereto.

5. In a locomotive, steam-cylinders, piston and piston-rods, valves and valve-rods, an auxiliary cylinder near each steam-cylinder, a piston therein provided with a rod and means for connecting said rod with the steampiston rod, consisting of an arm connected to each of said rods rigidly a valve-chamber connected with said auxiliary cylinder a slidevalve therein, a stem for said slide-valve, means for connecting said stem operatively with the correlative valve-rod,a second chamber connected by ports to said cylinder, a set of pump-valves in said ports, a reservoir, a pipe leading from both valve-chambers thereto, and means for interchangeably connect-V IOO IZO

pipe connecting said pump and reservoir, a relief-valve in said pipe a by-pass around said relief-valve, and a valve governing said bypass, for the purpose specified.

7. The combination with a steam=motor of an air-pump actuated thereby, a reservoir, a relief-Valve in said pipe a by-pass around said relief-valve and a three-Way valve governing said bypass, and having an opening to the outer air for the purpose specified.

8. In a locomotive, an engine consisting of duplicate cylinders on each side, one cylinder on each side connected for using steam and the other cylinder on each side being provided A. P. Woon, S. M. WOOD.

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