US556396A - Daniel w - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

D. W. AULD.

. y WINDMILL. No. 556,896. Patented Mar. 17, 1896.

ANDREW B GRAHAM*FNDTD-LITMDvwAsHINGroN C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEv DANIEL WV. AULD, OF SIBLEY, MISSOURI.

WINDMILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 556,396, dated March 17, 1896.

Serial No. 565,097. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, DANIEL IV. AULD, of Sibley, Jackson county, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vindmills, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to windmills, and my object is to produce an apparatus of this character which will develop a power considerably in excess of that developed by the machines of this class in common use, and which shall combine in a high degree simplicity, strength, durability and inexpensiveness of construction.

A further object of the invention is to produce a windmill which is of such construction that its sails or wind-arms may be entirely folded when it is not desired to use the ma* chine.

lVith these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which* Figure 1 is a top plan View of a windmill constructed in accordance with my invention, the radial inclined brace-bars being omitted to more clearly disclose the construction. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section, enlarged, taken through the hollow shaft or rod just above the sliding weight. Fig. 4 represents in perspective a part of the wheel-framework to show clearly my improved arrangement of the brace-rods.

In the said drawings, 1 designates the vertical shaft or rod of the device. This shaft is hollow and extends from the top nearly to the bottom of the tower, in which it is journaled near its lower and upper ends, as shown at 2 3, respectively. The-form of the tower and of the bearings for said shaft are immaterial. The frame of the wind-wheel comprises the circular portion 4, which is mounted rigidly upon the upper end of the shaft, and the rotating arms 5, of which there may be any desired or required number. Said arms at their outer ends are bent to form vertical and upwardly-projecting rods 6, or said rods may be secured to the arms 5 in any suitable manner. Said rods 6 are circular in crosssection. The arms 5 at their outer ends are connected by rigid braces 7, and the upper ends of said rods 6 are connected by rigid inclined braces S with the lower ends of the said rods 6 to the rear. It will be understood by this that the higher ends of thel inclined braces S represent the direction in which the wind-wheel is to be rotated. The upper ends of the rods 6 and of the rods 8 are also braced from inward or outward movement by means of the radial braces 9. Said braces are secured rigidly at their inner ends to an annular flange, to be hereinafter described, and are superposed relative to the arms 5 and inclined downwardly and inwardly.

10 designates sleeves which are rotatably mounted upon the rod 6, and 11 designates drums or pulleys which are mounted rigidly upon the lower ends of the said sleeves.

12 designates a series of guide pulleys, which are rotatably mounted in a slightly higher plane than the pulleys or drums 11 upon the pins 13, which project vertically upward from the arms 5 near their outer ends.

14 designates the annular flange hereinbefore referred to, which is arranged concentrically with respect to the hollow shaft and projects vertically upward from the collar or hub 4 of the wheel-frame, and 15 designates guide passages or holes which are formed in the vertical planes of the arms 5 through said flange. Projecting also upwardly from said collar or hub and concentrically within the flange 14 is the circular series of lugs 16, and j ournaled to rotate in vertical planes between said lugs and with their peripheries in the plane of the passages or holes 15 of the iiange 14 are the guide-pulleys 17 ,over which extend, and through said passages or holes, the cords or cables 1S, having their outer ends secured in any suitable manner to the win ding drums or pulleys 11. The opposite ends of said cords or cables converge downwardly fora suitable distance within the hollow shaft and are preferably united as shown at 19, and continue downwardly .in the form of va single strand 2O beyond the lower end of the shaft. Superposed relative to the guide-pulleys 17 is a similar series of guide-pulleys 21, and

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extending over said guide-pulleys 2l are the cords or cables 22. The outer ends of said cords or cables are connected, as at 23, to the outer ends of the triangular and fiexible sails `or arms 2i, of canvas, duck, or any other suitable material, which are secured rigidly attheir opposite ends to or upon the sleeves l0 in any suitable or preferred manner. The opposite ends of the cords or cables 22 con verge downwardly within the shaft l and within the converging ends of the cords or cables previously described for a distance slightly exceeding at least the length of the flexible sails. They are mounted at their points of contact, as at 25, and continue downward for a suitable distance in the form of a single strand 2G, which is connected permanently to the cross-rod or bail 27 of the cylindrical sliding weight 28. This sliding weight is sufficiently heavy to open or unwind the sails when unresisted, and it is also adapted to yield slightly to the pressure of the wind upon said sails in order that they may dip to assume their most effective position to receive the action of the wind. This weight also is provided with longitudinal grooves 30, engaging ribs 3l, formed externally upon the shaft, that it may rotate with said shaftand at the same time perform the function of a iiy or balance wheel. rlhe bail 27 extends through vertical slots 29 of said shaft. Any of the ordinary methods of belting or gearing may be employed to transmit motion from the shaft l to the other machinery. In the present instance I have shown a pair of intermeshing bevel- gears 32 and 33, the former secured upon said shaft and the latter upon the shaft 34.

Supposing the wind to be traveling in the direction indicated by the arrows, Fig. l, it is apparent that the flexible sails, if open, assume approximately the positions illustrated in Fig. l, and it will be noticed by particular reference to said figure that the propelling power of the wind is applied upon said wheel for about two-thirds of its entire surface, and that after tw0-thirds of a revolution by each sail has been made it practically offers but little resistance to the wind for the remaining one-third of its travel, as illustrated by the position of the sail at the upper left-hand corner of Fig. l. Fach sail travels for half a revolution within the brace-bars '7 and 8 and for the remainder of its revolution outside of said brace-bars, it swinging from one position to the other in an instant when it reaches a longitudinal position parallel with the wind, as will be readily understood.

Should a storm or heavy wind arise which might injure the wheel, the strand 20, which dangles within convenient reach of a person upon the ground, is grasped and lpulled downwardly, and this, as is obvious, causes the rotation of the winding-drums 1l and the consequent winding of the flexible sails tightly upon the sleeves l0. The sails are wound tightly, owing to the resistance of t-he Weight 28, which is caused to slide upwardly upon the shaft l. To secure said sails in their inoperative position,the strand 2O may be wound upon the hook 35, secured to the shaft, as shown, or in any other suitable manner, or may be secured to the tower-framework, as most convenient.

I'Vhen it is desired again to put the machine in operation, the strand 2O is released or unfastened, and the weight by gravity moves downward to its original position and spreads the sails.

fhile I do not wish to confine myself to the triangular form of sail illustrated, I deem such form to be best adapted to the work in hand, owing to the fact that it can be properly tensioned by a single rope or cable, and also, and principally, because most of the pressure or force exerted by the wind is upon thc outer ends of the sails, where they are deepest or widest. By this form, therefore, greater leverage is probably obtained and one sail does not blanket another, owing to the fact that the wind can pass over the pointed or free ends of one sail and impinge forcibly upon the one next in advance, as will be readily understood.

lFrom the above description it will be apparent thatIhave produced awind mill which is positive and reliable in operation and which will need but little attention and repair by reason of its extremely simple and substantial construction.

It is to be understood, of course, that I do not limit myself to the precise construction of the wheel or to the arrangement of the braces shown. It is also to be understood that changes in the form or arrangement of the cords or cables may be resorted to without departing from the essential spirit and scope of my invention, and that the substitution of mechanical equivalents, such as a spring for the weight or the placing of the weight in order to wind the sails insteadof open them, will not be a departure from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A windmill, comprising a vertical rotatable shaft, a wheel-frame mounted rigidly thereon, rotatable sleeves carried by said frame, flexible sails secured to said sleeves, an adjustable weight, fiexible connections Y suitably guided between said weights and said sails, and means for rotating said sleeves, in opposition to said weight.

2. A windmill, comprising a vertical rotatable shaft, a wheel-frame mounted rigidly thereon, -vertical rotatable sleeves carried thereby and provided with winding-drums, flexible sails secured to said winding-drums, a sliding weight, flexible connections suitably guided between said weight and said sails, and flexible connections suitably guided attached at their upper ends to said winding-drums, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

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3. A windmill, comprising a vertical rotatable shaft, a weight upon said shaft which has sliding but not independent rotatable movement upon said shaft, a wheel-frame mounted rigidly upon said shaft, vertical rotatable,

sleeves carried thereby and provided with winding-drums, flexible sails attached to said sleeves, iieXible connections suitably guided between said weight and said sails, and cords or cables suitably guided and attached to said winding-drums, and a suitable fastening device to which the lower end of said cords or cables may be secured.

4L. A windmill, comprising a suitable framework, a vertical hollow shaft journaled therein and provided with longitudinal slots and external ribs, a wheel-frame mounted rigidly upon the upper end of said shaft and provided with the hub portion having series of superposed guide-pulleys and an apertured flange surrounding the same, vertical cylindrical rods erected vertically at the outer ends of the arms of said frames and suitably braced, sleeves mounted rotatably upon said rods and provided with winding-drums, a series of guide-rollers located inward of the vertical rods, iiexible sails secured to said sleeves, a weight embracing the hollow shaft and provided With longitudinal grooves embracing the ribs of said shaft, and with a transverse rod or bail which extends through the slots of the shaft, a series of cords or cables suitably guided around the last-mentioned series of rollers and over the upper series of guide-rollers first mentioned, and connecting the free ends of the sails with the bail of the sliding weight, a second series of cords or cables which are attached at their outer ends to said drums and are guided throughand over the apertured flange and the lower series of guide-rollers first named, and a fastening device, to which the lower ends of said series of cords or cables may be attached, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL XV. AULD. Witnesses M. R. REMLEY, G. Y. THORPE.

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