US1742610A - Reversing auxiliary locomotive - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 7, 1930. J. A. McGREw REVEBSING AUXILIARY LocoMoTIvE mmm@ Filed July '14.; 1927 6 sheets-sheet 2 vvx e. i... m

Jam. 7, 1930. l J. l@n.ivlml-Ew 1,742,610

RENERSIM? UXILIARY LOCOMOTIVE Filed July.14. 1927 @Sheets-Sheet ,34

BYl

' INVENTOR .10h04 Marew.

ATTORNEY y Jan. 7, 1930.

.1.1 A. l'vlccavuw REVERSING AUXILIARY LOCOMOTlVE Filed July' 14. 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Jan. 7, 1930. J. A. -McGREw REVBRSING AUXILIAR? Loco'MoTIvg Filed' Juxyr14. '1921 'a' Shengsheet .5

INVENToR ATTORNEY Patented dan. 7, 193@ iran STATES PAT-ENT" OFFCEV JOHN A. MCGREW, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO IrJlI'ILllHElli:` STEEL COMPANY REVRSING AUXILIARY LOCOMOTIVE Application led July 14,

-My invention relates to power plants in general and particularly to auxiliary propulsion units which are adapted to railway vehicles for the purpose of assisting the main propulsion unit to propel the same.

Heretofore, auxiliary 4propulsion units have been suggested fr railway vehicles to supplement the tractive .power of themain propulsionnnit to start and. accelerate the movement of trains. In such' former -con,- structions, the auxiliary propulsion unit is mounted on the vehicle in juxtaposition to a normally idle axle and a mechanism is provided to operatively connect said unit to said axle when it isrequired to utilize the loads on the wheels, associated with -said axle,. to provide additional tractive power. Auxiliary propulsion units of the aforementioned type are disclosed in previous patents issued jointly to myself and James T. Loreegthese patents heilig Letters Patent No. 1,412,250, issued Apr. 11, 1922, which discloses an auxiliary propulsion unit, and Letters Patent No.-1,447,352, issued Mar. 6, 1923,`which discloses a device `for causing entraining of an auxiliarypropulsion unit with a normally idle axle of a railway vehicle or the like. The latter device is actuated by motive fluid for said propulsion unit and operateswhen the fluid is turned on to the latter, as fully explained insaid Letters Patent. In my copending application iiledjointly with Robert S. A. Dougherty, Serial No. 130,606, under date of Aug. 21, 1926, there is disclosedla mechanism which coacts with the action of the propulsion unit to automatically cause the establishment of a driving connection between said unit and the normally idle axle. However, said application and said Letters Patent provide only forthe transmission of4 rotation from the propulsion unit to the axle in one direction, whereas, in the present application, I provide means whereby the rotation of the propulsion unit may be reversed when desired.

In Letters Patent No. 1,447,853, issued to myself jointly with James T. Loree, under date of Mar. 6, 1923, I disclose a mechanism wherein means are provided whereby therotation of the driven axle may be reversed 1927. Serial No. 205,680.

requires additional lines and valve device for` controlling the supply of fluid to such mechanisms, and, furthermore, it is extremely difficult to synchronize their operationwith the operation of the propulsion unit.

It is, therefore, one of the objects of my invention to entirely obviate the use of such intermediary mechanisms and to provide means `adapted to operatively connect the propulsion unit to the driven axle solely by the initial turning over effort of said unit.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a novel and simple means adapted to coact with a railway vehicle propulsion unit to automatically cause the latter to be operatively connected to a driven axle of such vehicle, during the initial operation ofsaid unit.

vide a driving connection between an auxiliary propulsion unit which is ineffective when the propulsion unit is not in operation and is adaptedto be rendered edective by the. turningover of said unit in either a forward.- or reverse direction.

Anotherpobject of my invention is to provide an arrangement, wherein an auxiliary propulsion unit supplements a mainjpropulsion unit for moving a vehicle or train of vehicles and including means for establishing a driving connection between the auxiliary propulsion unit and a normally idle axle, and means adapted to automatically reverse the auxiliary propulsion unit when the valves of thelatter are set for operating the auxiliary propulsion unit in a direction opposite to the operation of the main propulsion unit.

Another object of my invention is to prol Another object of my invention isto prol 'l vide a mechanism for automatically reversing an auxiliary propulsion unit, which is moved by a main propulsion unit in the direction opposite to-'that in which the initial effort of the auxiliary propulsion unit tends to move it, so that, upon reversal of the latter unit its power will supplement the motive power of main unit to increase its tractive effort. A Other novel features willv be more fully understood from the following description and claims taken with the drawings in which;

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an auxiliary propulsion unit mounted on a railway vehicle truck and embodies one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a line II-.II in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a. longitudinal section taken on line III-III in Fig. 1;

lIv-iv in Figi;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken on line Fig. 5 is aY transverse section taken on line V-V in Fig. 4; y

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken on line Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken on line VII-VII in Fig. 1; A

Fi 8 is a transverse section taken on line VII VIII in Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a sideelevation` illustrating the position of the eccentric crank relative to the crank shaft when the valve is set to operate the engine in the forward direction.

Fi 9 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 9, but s lowing the eccentriccrank -n reversed position relatively to the crank; Fig. 10 is a cross section taken :on line X-X in Fig. 1;. i

Fig. 11 is a ,partial cross section taken on line 'IV-IV in Fig. 1;

Fig. 11a is a fragmentary View showing the kev in its forward driving position;

Fig 11b is a fragmentary view showing the key in the reverse driving position; o

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of locomotive and tender having mounted thereon an auxiliary propulsion unit embodying one form of my invention.

Referring to the drawing: In Fig. 12, the locomotive is designated by the numeral 10, and the tender by numeral 11. In the pre'- ferred embodiment of my invention the locomotive engine constitutes the primary propulsion unit and the auxiliary propulsion unit 12 is mounted in juxtaposition with a.

normally disconnected load bearing axle 13. In the particular embodiment shown `in the drawing, the unit 12 is mounted in juxtaposition with an axle of a tender truck, but;l however, it should be understood that any load bearing axle of the train may be operatively connected to said unit in order tosupplement the tractive power of the prime longitudinalsection taken on mover, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the frame 14 of the propulsion unit 12, is provided with spaced bearings 15 fitting the axle 13. The other end of the frame is preferably supported by a link 16 connected to the frame 14 and extending upwardly to a supporting member, as illustrated and describedin a copending application of Richard J. McCarty, Jr.; Serial No. 102,915, filed- Apr. 19, 1926. It will be understood that the foregoing description relates to a conventional mounting of a frame 14 and does, not constitute an essential part of the present invention,.as various other ways of vmounting the frame may be adopted.

The auxiliary propulsion unit is 4preferably of a twin cylinder engine of thedouble acting type and upon the frame 14 there is .mounted a pair of steam receiving. cylinders 16', each of the cylinders being supplied with steam from the locomotive boiler through the conduit 17 and is'controlled by the engineer through the medium'of the throttle valve 18. As the operating mechanism associated with each cylinder of the twin cylinder engine is identical, I have confined the following description to the operation of single set of,

mechanism in order to clarify the description. The cylinder 16 is provided withv a reciprocating piston 19 connected to acrosshead 2O slidably mounted on suitable bearings on the frame 14. Rodsv21. connect the crosshead 20 to the crank pins ofthe crank shaft 23 which is suitably mounted in bearings attached to the frame 14. Intermediate the cylinders 16 Ais a steam chest 24 which is connected to the conduit 17 and is provided with a steam port 25,and.`steam p'assages`26 and 27 respectively. Steam is delivered to and exhausted from the cylinderthrough the latter passages. There is also associated with each of the steam passages 26 and 27, a pair of exhaust passages 28 and 29 respectively.

A piston valve 30 operates over the aforementioned port and passages and Whenthe valve is at its position shownin Fig. 2, steam is passing from the port 25 through the passage 26 to the cylinder. at the left-hand side of the piston in Fig. 3 and steam is being exhausted from the cylinder at the righthand side of the piston through the passage 27 to the exhaust passage 29. By referring lto Fig. 5. it will be lnoted that the bottom `walls of the exhaust passages 28 and 29 are at a. level below the cylinders so that the liquid of the condensed steam does'liot collect in the cylinders, but flows from the latter. by gravity. This latter construction eliminates the use of drain cocks which are usually provided to drain the cylinder before the engine is operated under power.

Thepiston valve 30 is operated from an eccentric crank 31 mounted on the main crank amaai@ pin of the crank shaft 23 and is disposed at the outside of the connecting rod 21 (see Figs. 1 and 9). An eccentric rod 32 transmits the motion of the crank 31 to the arm 33 of the rocker shaft 34 which is journaled in suitable bearings on the frame 14 (see Figs. V1 and 10), At the other end of the rocker shaft 34, is keyed another arm 35 which is connected to the piston valve 30 through the medium of a valve stem 36.

The eccentric crank 31- is of novel construction. j Usually, the eccentric crank is fixedly mounted relatively to the main crank pin and is disposed angularly with respect thereto so that the crank pin at the extending end of the eccentriccrank moves in the path of a circle concentric with the axis of the jour-- nal of the main crank shaft, this type is exempliied by the well-known IValschaerts 'valve gear. Instead of this latter type of construction, I provided an eccentric-crank comprising a web portion 37 fixedly mounted on the main crank pin and disposed in alignment therewith, so that, the journal member 38, projecting laterally at its extending end,

is disposed in axial alignment with the journal portion of the main crank shaft 23.` The journal member 38 isy apertured, as at 39. Rotatably mountedon the journal member 38, isa'crank arm 40 having a laterally projecting lcrank pin 41 andto the latter is pivotally mounted the eccentric rod 32. The crank arm is retained 'on the journal member 38 by any suitable means, such asa bolt fastening means which passes throughthe aperture 39. The relative rotation between -the member 38 and the crank larm 40 is limited by the key 4 2, fixed to the crank arm 40, and projecting into a key slot 43 formed in the journal member 38. The. key 42 is narrower than the slot 43 to allow a limited angular movement between the'crank arm 40 and the crank shaft 23. It will be seen that the arm 40 is free to swing from the position, shown in Fig. 9,-to the position shown in Fig. 9, while the main-crank shaft is maintained stationary. Conversely, when the parts are positioned as in Fig. 9, the main crank shaft may rotate clockwise, through a limited angle without movement Vto the arm 40. The amount of relative angular movement between the main crank and the eccentric crank is limited by the engagement of the sides of the key 42 withv the 0pposed side faces of the key slot 43.` The key and the key slot are so dimensioned that the 4crankshaft has a limited free angular movement with respect to the eccentric crank arm which y corresponds substantially to the amount of. relative movement between the valve 30 and the piston 19, required t0 Ifeverse the engine. With valve gearing employed with engines of this type, it is usual, when it is required to reverse the engine to move-the valve relatively to the position of the piston at the point of reversal,vbut.so far as I am aware, it has never been suggested to move the piston relatively to the position of the valve at the timeof reversal.

Furthermore, it has heretofore been found mediary mechanism to change the relative position of the piston and valve when the valve is moved to cause the reversal, whereas, I accomplish this reversal automatically, eliminatingv such intermediary mechanism, in the manner hereinafter described. In order to counterbalance the inertia effects on the moving parts of the valve mechanism, I provide a counterbalancing device by extending the crank arm40 beyond the axis in the direction opposite to the end having the crank pin 41 and increase the cross section thereof to secure the necessary weight. Fixed lto the central portion of the crankshaft 23, is a toothed gear 44 disposed in alignment with and in nieshed relation with a toothed gear 45 rotatably mounted on the axle 13 and which is constrained by suitable means against axial movement on said axle. It will be noted in the preferred form shown in the drawings that the gears 44 and 45 are provided with herringbone gear teeth in'meshed relation so that the resultant working forces between the teeth act in a medial plane which is transverse with respect to the axes of said gears and thus secures the constrainment of the gear 45 axially solely by virtue of the engagement between the teeth of said gears, and provides a structure wherein the gear 45 is more or less self centering with respect to thel gear 44, and, furthermore, by such construction the necessity of providing side beartatably mounted a friction plate 46 which is f preferably formed from a plurality of segmental pieces bolted together, .as shown in Fig. 1 and rotatably mountedV on exterior bearing surfaces formed on the bearings 15. While the plates 46 are adapted to rotate relatively to said bearings, they preferably `are adapted to grip the latter frictionally, so that, they are not a free running fit thereon, but, require a comparatively large amount of power to cause relative rotation, compared with the power which would be required to rotate them, if, the contiguous bearing surfaces were the ordinary running fits established in this class of work. The normal pressure between said bearing surfaces may be conveniently adjusted on account of the plate 46 being built up segmentalljgfor instance, shims or the necessary to provide fairly complicated interm in saidv plates. Diametrically opposite the key member 48 and rotatably suspended on said friction plates is a counterbalance.51 which functions to balance extraneous forces acting on keymember. 48 and the gear wheel structure duringr its rotation.

The key member 48 comprises a body portion 52 having a convex top surface 53 and a pair of laterally, downwardly and oppositely projecting abutment portions 54 and 55 respectively. The key 48 is provided with a concave bottom surface 56 which is concentric withand sufficiently clear of the surface of for the abutmentportions 54 and 55 respectively, when the key is rocked from its normal position, as hereinafter described.A

In operation, assuming that the relative position of the crank arm 40 and the main crank is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 9, then the relative positions of the piston 19 to the valve 30 is such, that, when steam is admitted to the steam chest, the main crank shaft'will rotate in the direction indicatedA by the arrow in Fig. 9. .This rotates the gears 44 and 45 in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 11, which is the direction tomove the vehicle forward. When the parts are relatedy asaforesaid, and assuming that the` valve' gear of the locomotive is set for the forward movement of the latter, the engineer opening the main throttle valve of the locomotive admitssteam to the main` propulsion unit to operate the locomotive in the forward direction; the axle 13 turning freely within the gear 45. In the event that the engineer wishes to increase the tractive effort of the locomotive, he opens the throttle valve 18, preferably gradually, and admits `steam to the auxiliary propulsion unit, thereupon the crankshaft is rotated and causes the rotation of the gear 45, by virtue of its meshed engagement with the gear 44 which is fixed tosaid shaft. During the initial angular movement of the gear 45, the friction plates 46 tend to remain at rest, by virtue of their inertia and the aforementioned frictional grip on their respective bearings, and

this results in a relative angular movement 53 ofthe key.' Zhen the key is thus tilted,

.the end dface of leg 54 engages one of the abutments 58 formed on the axle 13, as shown in Fig. 11. The engagement of the key with the axle 13 constitutes a driving connection between the gear 45 and the axle when the auxiliary propulsionunit is operated to supplement the tractive effort of the main propulsion unit in the forward direction.

The relative arrangement of the key'to the abutments of the axle 13, is such, that while power is being transmitted from the auxiliary unit to the axle, the key is maintained in contact solely by the resultant of the working forces set up between the contiguous surfaces of the axle, key and gear 45 respectively.

It will be noted, that due to the loose fit be tween the trunnion member 49 and the apertures 50, said member is not subject to the driving forces, but such forces are transmitted directly through the body of the key which functions as a column structure between `gear 45 and theaxle 13. When the about the radial line passing' thru the axis of the gear 45, and the axle revolves freely in the gear 45. y

Assuming that the relative position of the piston 19 andthe valve 30 remains as set in the aforementioned operation, and that'the valve gearing of the locomotive. is set to cause the reversal of the latter at starting. When steam is admitted to the auxiliary unit, the latter operates to move the vehicle in the opposite direction, that is, rotate the gear 45 in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the axle 13. The initial rotation of the gear 4 5 causes the key to tilt and engage the axle, as described above. The power of the main propulsion unit being very much greater than that of the auxiliary unit, causes l gear 45 to rotate in opposition to the effort.

ofthe crank shaft. By virtue of its meshed relation with the gear 45, the crank shaft is forced to reverse its direction of rotation.

vOwing to the lost motion connection between the crank arm 40 and the crank shaft 23, the piston is' caused to change its position with same direction as the main ropulsion unit, and the gear 45 is immediate y accelerated by the power of the auxiliary unit to rotate at a speed greater than the speed of rotation of the axle'. During the initial acceleration of said gear, the k'ey rocks, by virtue of tbe lost motion between the friction plates 46 andthe gear 45, as formerly explained, from its last mentioned position to its position shown in Fig. 11b and thus effects'a driving connection between the gear 45 and the axle whereby the auxiliary propulsion unit supplements the power of the main propulsion unit. So it is evident that regardless of the setting of the valve Vof the auxiliary propulsion `unit, the latter may be operatively secured to a normally idle axle by simpl admitting steam to said unit to obtain, a most immediately, synchronous operation with the main propulsion unit.

4It will be noted that gear 45 is materially larger than the gear 44, so that when the aux` iliary unit is operatively connected to the axle 13, the latter rotates at a comparatively slow speed, compared to the speed of the crank shaft 23 and it will be further noted that relative angular movement between the crank arm 40 and the crank shaft 23, when changing the relative position of the piston and to the valve, as above described, is limited to less than half the angle of a complete revolution of the crank shaft. It will, thus appear, t at the automatic reversal of the auxiliary unit by the opposing effort oflthe main unit is effected during a fraction 0f a revolution of `the wheels mounted on the axle 13.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that I have 'devised a. simple and novel arrangement for automatically entraining an auxiliary propulsion unit with an axle normaly disconnected therefrom and effect -such entraimnent regardless of the direction of operation of said unit and eliminates the employment of any intermediary mechanism. Furthermore, I provide a novel combination with a main propulsion unit of an auxiliary propulsion unit, wherein the latter unit 1s automatically reversed by the effort of the main unit without the employment of intermediary reversing mechanism.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forthiin the appended claims.

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

l. In a power plant, the combination with a main power unit of an auxiliary power unit, a source of motive fluid supply, means to reverse the operation of the main power unit, and means depending upon the operation of the latter unit to cause the reversal of the auxiliary power unit and secure the synchronous operation of said units.

` said units, and means whereby said auxiliary power unit may be reversed in operation by the rotationzof said shaft.

3. In a power plant for propelling a vehi-l cle, the combination with a main propulsion .the axle.

4. In a power plant for propelling a vee hicle, the combination with amain propulsion unit, of an auxiliary propulsion unit, a normally idle axle adapted to be rotated by the effort of the main propulsion'unit, and means coacting with the action of the axle to cause the reversal of said auxiliary unit.

5. In an auxiliary locomotive 'propulsion unit, the combination of a cylinder having ports, a piston within said cylinder, a valve for controlling said ports, a crank shaft, means operatively connecting the latter to said piston, an eccentric member mounted on said crank shaft, a lost motion device connecting said member to said crank shaft, means operatively connecting said eccentric member to said valve, a driving gear fixed to the latter, an axle, a driven gear rotatably mounted on said axle and in meshed relation to said driving gear, a carrier member adapted to rotate about the axis of said axle, a key member adapted to oscillate on said carrier member, an abutment formed on said driven gear adapted to engage said key member, and an abutment formed on said axle adapted to be engaged by said key member during the rotation of said crank shaft.

6. In an auxiliary locomotive propulsion unit, the'combination of a cylinder having ports, a piston -within said cylinder, a valve for controlling said ports, a crank shaft, means operatively connecting the latter to said piston, an eccentric .member mounted on said crank shaft, a lost motion device connecting said member to said crank shaft, means operatively connecting said eccentric member to said valve, a driving gear fixed to the latter, an axle, a driven gear rotatably mounted on said axle and in meshed relation to said driving vgear, a carrier member adapted to rotate about the axis of said axle, a key member adapted to oscillate on said carrier member, an abutment formed on said driven gear adapted to engage said key member, and a pair of opposed abutments formed., on said axle, one of which is adapted to be engaged by said key member during the rotation of the crank shaft in one direction, and the other of said pair of abutments being adapted to be engaged by said key during the rotation of the crank shaft in the opposite direction.

7. In an auxiliary locomotive propulsion unit, the combination of a cylinder having ports, a piston within said cylinder, a valve for controlling said ports, a crank shaft,

` meansvoperatively connecting the latter to said piston, an eccentric member mounted on said crank shaft, a lost motion device connecting said' member to said crank shaft, means operatively connecting said eccentric member to said valve, a driving gear fixed to the latter, an axle, a driven geai` rotatably mounted on said axle and in ineshed relation to said driving gear, a carrier ,member adapted to rotate about the axis of said axle, a key memberadapted to oscillate on said carrier member, an abutment formed on said driven gear adapted to engage said key member, a series of abutnieiits formed on said axle adapted to be engaged by said key member during the rotation of said crank shaft in one direction, and a second series of abutments formed on said axle oppositely directed with respect to the first mentioned series and adapted to be engaged by said key member during the rotation of said crank shaft in a reverse direction.

8. Ina power plant for propelling a 'vehicle, the combination with a main propulsion unit of an auxiliary propulsion unit, an axle normally disconnected from the latter unit, said auxiliary propulsion unit comprising a cylinder having ports, a piston within said cylinder, a valve controlling said ports, acrank. shaft, a rod connecting said crank shaft to said piston, an eccentric device mounted onvsaid crankshaft and having a limited angular movement With respect thereto, instruinentalities connecting said eccentric device to said valve, a driving gear fixed to said crank shaft, a key member, adriven gear rotatably mounted on said axle and having a recess formed therein receptive of said key member, a carrier member'disposed at each side of said driven'gear and rotatably mounted on bearings-coaxial with said axle, and an abutment formed onisaid driven gear adapted tobe engaged by said key member during the' rotation of said crank shaft, a`

beaiing-vengaging each of said carrier members and rotatably supporting said key niemberj-ii`ifdependently of said driven gear and said axle, and a pair of opposed abutments formed on said axle adapted to ,be engaged by said key member.

9. In a power plant for propelling a vehicle, the combination with a main propulsion unit of an auxiliary propulsion unit, an axle normally disconnected from the latter unit, said auxiliary propulsion unit comprising a cylinder having ports, a piston within y said cylinder, a valve controlling said ports,

a crank shaft, a rod connecting said crank shaft to said piston, an eccentric device mounted -on said crank shaft and having a limited angular movement with respect thereto, instruinentalitics connecting said eccentric device to said valve, a driving gear fixed to said crank shaft, a key member, a driven gear rotatably mounted on said axle and hav- .10. In an engine construction, the combination with a driving shaft, of a normally disconnected driven sliaft, a driving gear fixedto saidqdriving sli-aft, a driven gear rotatably mounted on said driven shaft in nieshedrelation to the first mentioned gear, a key 'member normally disengaged from saidv driven shaft, means to support said key member independentlyof said driven gear, an abutment formed on4 said drivenshaft, an abutment formed on said driven gear and means adapted to rotate said driving shaft so that the driven gear moves angularly with respect t0 said supporting means and causes said key member to be interposed between said abutinents to establish a driving connection between said shafts.

11.. `In an engine construction, in combina-l tion, a power cylinder having ports, a piston .Within the cylinder, a valve controlling said ports, a main crank, a rod connecting said piston to said main crank, an eccentric mem- Aber, means to connect said member to said valve, anda lost motion connection between said eccentric member and said maincrank, wheieby the rotation of the latter in one direction secures the synchronous operation'f the piston and the valve and whereby rotation; of the main crank in the oppositeidirect-ion causes a change in the relative position ,of the piston with respect to the va'lve.- v y A 12. In a power plant, the combination with a main propulsion unit of -an auxiliary vpropulsion unit, a source of motive fluid supply,

v osition fof the a driven shaft adapted to be rotated by either or both of said units, and means coacting with said shaft to reverse said auxiliary propulsion unit when said shaft is rotated througlrthe effort of the main propulsion in a direction to oppose the operation of the auxiliary propulsion unit.

13. In a railroad vehicle, in combination, a.

llO

unit, operating in opposition -to said main unit, a normally idle shaft, means to connectv said auxiliary unit to said shaft, and means a main power unit o f an auxiliary power j unit, operating in oppositionl to said main unit, a shaft normally disconnected from said auxiliary unit, means to connect said auxilf iaiy unit to said shaft, and means coacting with the section of said shaft to cause said units to operate in unison.

16. Iii a power plant, the combination with a main power unit of an auxiliary power unit, operating in opposition to said main unit, a shaft, means to connect said auxiliary unit to said shaft, and means coacting with the action of said 4mainunit to cause said units to operatein unison.

17. In combination with an engine of a shaft normally disconnected from said engine and having an abutment formed thereon, and an entrainment mechanism for connecting said shaft to said engine actuated bythe action of the engine, including a driven gear rotatably mounted on said shaft, a bearing, a carrier member rotatably mounted on said bearing, means to adjust the running it ofn the carrier member with respect to its bearing, and a key member rotatably mountedon said carrier member intermediate said gear and said shaftv and adapted to engage said abutment. y

.18. In an auxiliary locomotive, the combination of an axle, an en `ne havinga crank shaft and a frame, said rame having bearings freely mounted on said axle, a driving gear xed to said crank shaft, a driven gear rotatably mounted on said axle between said bearings and constantly in' mesh with said driving gear and having a longitudinal re cess formed therein, a carrier member disposed at each side of said driven gear and rotatably mounted on a bearing portion formed on the exterior portion of said bearings, means to adjust the running vit of one of said carrier members with respect to its bearing, a key member extending through said recess and rotatably mounted on said carrier members, and an abutment formed on said axle adapted to be engaged by said key member.

19. In an auxiliary locomotive, the combination of an axle, an engine having a crank shaft and a frame, said frame having bearings freely mounted on said axle, a driving gear fixed to said crank shaft, a driven gear, rotatably mounted on said axle between said bearings and constantly in mesh with said driving lgear and having a longitudinal recess formed therein, a carrier member disposed at each side of said driven gear and rotatably mounted on a bearing portion formedv on the exterior portion of said bearings, a key member extending through said recess androtatably mounted on said darrier members, and an abutment formed on said xle adapted to be engaged by said key mem- 20.' In an auxiliary locomotive, the combination of an axle, an engine having a crank shaft and a frame, said frame having bearings freely mounted on said axle, a driving gear fixed to said crank shaft, a driven gear rotatablymounted on said axle between said bearings andiconstantly in mesh with said driving gear, and having a longitudinal recess formed therein, a carrier member disposed'at each side ofsaid driven gear andi rotatably mounted on a bearing portion formed on the exterior portion of said bearings, a key member extending through said recess and rotatably mounted on said carrier members, and a. pair of oppositely directed abutments formed on said axle adapt'- .ed -to be engaged by said key member.

. In an engine, the combination of a frame, anaxle, bearings engaging said axle for supportingsaid frame,- a cylinder on said frame and provided with ports, a piston within said cylinder, a crankshaft supported in bearings attached to said frame, a iod connecting said piston to said crank shaft, a valve controlling said ports, a journal member fixed to said crank shaft and having a slot formed therein, an eccentric member mounted on said journal member, a key connected to said eccentric member projecting into said slot, said key being narrower than said slot so as to per-A mit a limited relative angular movement between the eccentric member and the journal member, a driven gear having a longitudinal recess formed therein rotatably mounted about said axle and disposed between said bearings, a driving gear fixed to said crank shaft and in meshed relation to said driven gear, a carrier member rotatably mounted on said bearings, a key extending thru said recess rotatably supported on said carrier member, and an abutment formed on said axle' adapted to be engaged by said key memben.

22. In an engine, the combination of a frame, an axle, bearings engaging said axle for supporting said frame, a cylinder on said frame and provided with ports, a piston within said cylinder, a crank shaft supported in bearings attached .to said frame, a rod connecting said piston to said crank shaft, a

valve controlling Isaid ports, a journal member fixed to said crank shaft and having a slot formed therein, an eccentric member vmounted on said journal member, a key. connected to said eccentric member projecting into said slot, said key being narrower than said slot so as to permit a limited relative t angular movement between the eccentric member and the, journal member, a drivenv A. 1an

gear having a longitudinal recess formed connected to said axle adapted to be engaged by said key.

23. In an engine, the combination of a frame, an axle, bearings engaging said axle for supporting said frame, a cylinder on said frame and provided'with ports, a piston withf in said cylinder, a crank shaft supported in bearings attached to said frame, a rod connecting said piston to said crank shaft, a

valve controlling said ports, a journal meinber fixed to said crank shaft and having a slot formed therein, an eccentric member mount- .ed on said journal member, a key connected to said eccentric member projecting intosaid y slot, said key. being narrower than said slotso as to permit a limited relative angular movement between the eccentric member and the journal member, a driven gear having alongitudinal recess formed therein andA rotatably mounted about said axle and disposed between said bearings, a driving gear fixed to said crank shaft andin mesh with said driven gear',` a carrier member rotatably mounted on said bearings, means to adjust the running fit of said carrier member with respectto Said bearings, a-key extending through said recess rotatably supported on said carrier member,-

yand a pair of oppositely disposed abutments connected to said axle adapted to be engaged by said key.

24. The method of assisting thetractive effort of a main propulsion unit of a railroad vehicle which consists, in admitting steam to an auxiliary propulsion unit to effect, by the action of said auxiliary unit, an operative driving connection between the auxiliary unit and an axle` of said vehicle, and reversing the operation of the main propulsion unit to effect, by the action of the latter unit, a reversal of the operation of the auxiliary propulsion unit.

25. In combination, a driving element, a driven element, a device establishing a driving connection between said elements, said device including a key member engaging said driven element, a carrier member for supporting said key member, means to ac-tfuate said driving element, and friction means to retard the movement of said carrier member when said driving element is moved, whereby said key member is moved to disengage said driven element.

26. In combination, a driving'element, a driven element, a relatively fixed member, and means to establish a driving Aconnection between said elements; said means including a member movable with said drivingelement,

a drive member intermediate said elements normally disengaged fi'oin one of the elements and mounted on said movable member,

and friction means engageable with said fixed member to retard said movable member and cause a lag between the latter member and the driving element, whereby said connection is effected.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

JOHN A. MCGREIV.

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