USRE6998E - Improvement in wind-wheels and gearings - Google Patents

Description

G. S.OBERDOR-FF. WIND-WHEELS AND G EARINGS.

Reissued March 1'4, 1876.

"UNITED STATES. PATENT ,QFFICE.

GEORGE OBERDOR-FF, OF LOWER WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ELI G. COE, OF SANDWICH, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT I'NQWI'ND-WHE-ELS AND GE'ARINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 127,704, dated'June 11, 1872; reissue No. 6,998, dated March 14, 1876; application filed March l, 1876. 1

Toall whom it may concern I Be it known that I, GEORGE S. OBnnnoRFF, 1 of Lower Windsor township, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, (assig-nor to ELI Gr. 00E, of Sandwich, in the "county of DeKalb and State of Illinois,) have invented l certain new and useful Improvements in Wind- Wheels and Gearings; and I "do hereby declare the following to he a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference beingj had to theaccompanying drawings, forming;

part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. front elevation.

Similar letters of reference in the accoln panyi-n-g drawings denote the same parts.

The first part of this invention relates to that class of. mills which have a revolving vertical wind-wheel and a hinged or flexiblei tail-vane, so constructed and operating that the, wheel is thrown outof action by swinging it around. laterally till its plane of rotation 1 comes parallel to the plane of the tail-vane and in line with the direction of the wind, while, as the wind abates, a weight tends to restore the wheel to its normal position for action.

,In this class of wind-wheels the usual mode of operation is to first move the tail-vane slightly out of line with the direction of the wind, whereupon the wind, if strong, will atonce swing the wholehead, so as to bring the tail-vane in line with the wind again and bring the face of the wheel slightly oblique to the wind, and then, having the proper leverage upon thewheel, will force it around laterally till its plane of rotation comes parallel to the at all, but would continue to work with its face presented to the full force of theair-currents; and when,on the other hand, the wind became strong enough to overcome the resistance of the weight, the wheel, if it began to veer at all, would at once veer through the whole range of its lateral movement, and, if permitted "to do so, go o'utof action altogether by "assuming a position parallel to the tailvane.

The principle of my invention, so far as rej lates to this part of it, may be stated as fol- 2 a f mills that the force with which the wheel relows, viz: soconstructing this class of windsists the deflecting action of the wind upon it i shall varyin'direct proportion to the distance ofsaid wheel from its normal position atri'ght angles to the line of theqtail-vane.

The advantage of so constructing the mill is that when a' slight deflection of the wheel will sufliciently relieve it, this deflection will of itself increase the resisting force till it balances the deflecting force, and the two equal forces, acting in 'opposite'directions upon the wheel, will hold it steadily in the exact position required. If, then, the wind decreases,

' the resisting force will overcome the deflecting force, and the wheel will swing into the wind till the two forces balance each other again; and, in like manner, if the wind increases, the deflecting force will overcome the resisting force, and will swing the wheel out of the wind 'till th'e two forces balance each other. The wheel thus automatically adjusts itself to the varying force of the wind, so as to run regularly with substantially uniform speed and power, using the full effective force of the wind, but preserving itself from accident and injury in caseof gales or sudden squalls. The means by which I prefer to apply this principlein practice consist in combining with the wind-wheel and hinged or flexible tailvane a weight of varying resistance to counteract the deflection of the wheel; and this part of my invention consists, first, in the application of the principle to said class of windmills; and, secondly, in the mechanical devices by which said principle is so applied.

safety or its proper action.

Thesecond part of my invention is not confined to any particular-class of vertical windwheels, but consists in new and improved mode of supporting the wheel, shaft, and vane, for the purposeof greater simplicity,-strength, and economy of construction.

The third part of my invention consists in 'the employment of 'arhorizontal cross-header .yard, attached to the revolving mill-he'ad'or' topmast, in combination withthe flexible or hinged tail-vane and the 'weightof :varying resistance hereinabove referred' to, for the purpose of affording suitable purchase or vertical plane of the wind-wheel, but in the' other direction cannotpass the line of the wheel-shaft. s is a cross-bar or yard rigidly fixed to the mast or turn-post D, in a line practically transverseto the line of the wheelshaft 4 is a cord or chain, passing over a pulley, g, atone end of the cross-bar, and thence down through suitable guides to a convenient position for persons beneath to operate it, for the purpose of enabling the tail-vane to be shifted by hand so as to throw the wheel moreor less out of the wind; and ris another cord or chain, extending in a practically horizontal direction from the opposite end of the cross-bar to a suitable point on the I opposite side of the tail-vane, and provided with a weight, It, arranged, preferably, mid way between the ends of the cord. When the tail-vane is in line with the wheel-shaft, as it will always be when the wheel is in action with a moderate breeze,.the cord' r will be most flexed, and the weight will offer comparativcly but little resistance to the turning of the tail-vane on its hinge 0; and, in consequence thereof, the wheel,-when thus pre senteddirectly toward the wind, will be very sensitive to any deflecting force applied to it, and will readily and quickly move out of the wind as the latter becomes too strong for its But as the wheel thus moves out of the wind, it raises the weight and brings the cord r nearer to a straight line; and, in direct proportion as it does this, the leverage of the weight R, and its resistance to the lateral movement of the wheel, are thereby increased, until the draft of the cord upon the wheel in one direction exactly balancesthe deflecting power of the Wind in the opposite direction, when the millhead comes to rest and the wheel continues to revolve as before at the proper and uniform upon the wheel when the latter first starts from its normal position, but such leverage rapidly increases as the line of the shaftbecomes more oblique to the line of the tail-vane. Such increased deflecting leverage of the wind comes at a time when it is least needed, for the fartherthe Wheel is from its normal position, the less distance is it obliged to move to escape from any given amount or increase of wind force. The resisting force should, therefore, slowly increase as the wheel first moves away from its normal position, and thenmore and morerapidly, in something like geometrical progression, audit will be seen that the above-described arrangement of the weight and cord exactly meets this requirement, allowing the Wheel to move less and less to escape a given increment of windforce the farther it already is from its normal position.

The revolving poster mast D is supported by the standard A, by means of eccentric bearings, 01 Y, attached to the post and Working 'in plates ct (J, fixed to the standard.' As the post revolves with its bearings dY, its position is always eccentric to its axis of rotation. ing-shaft F, or working-rod M, or both, outside of. the mast, and saves the trouble and. expense of providing a hollow mast or head for the purpose of accommodating them, it being only necessary to extend such shaft .or rod down through suitable holes in the bearingplates d Y, which latter in that case serve as guides and supports for them. I The workingshaft may be operated by means of bevel- Wheels H G, and the working-rod may at the same time be operated by means of a wristpin on a spur-wheel, L, supported bya bracket, N, and gearing with a wheel, I, on the shaft of the wind-wheel. The whole arrangement is very simple and compact, inexpensive in construction, durable, and convenient of operation. The power of the vertical shaft may be applied by any ordinary means, as at T U V WZ. The cross-bar or yard .9, aflixed to I the upper end of the mast D and revolving therewith, serves to support the cords r r, and affords them eflicient leverage for their action upon the tail-vane P.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my improved Windmill, I claim as new- 1. A deflecting wind-wheel which resists the deflecting force in direct proportion to the amount of deflection.

- 2. The combination of a deflecting windwheel, a hinged or flexible tail-vane, and'a weight of varying resistance, for the purposes herein set forth.

3. A windmill having its wheel, tail-vane, and working shaft or red attached to a turn post which stands eccentric to its vertical axis of rotation, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. I

This enables me to arrange the worke,99s V a 4. In a windmill, the combination of the I and a Weight of varying resistance, the transsolid vertical turn-post D with its fixed support, and with a working shaft or rod, the cords that operate the tail-vane, substanor both, arranged outside of it and in line tially as described.

with its axis of rotation, substantially as de- GEORGE S. OBERDORFF. scribed. Witnesses 5. In a windmill having a revolving head i FRANK J. MAGEE,

or turn-post, a flexible or hinged tail-vane, M. H..MA.GEE.

verse yard or cross-bar s in combination with

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