US2639886A - Shrouded wheel - Google Patents

Description

May 26, 1953 A. TowNl-nLL l-:TAL 2,639,886

SHROUDED WHEEL Filed Nov. 17, 1950 fnl/'Enfrs Patented May 26, 1953 signorseto'llhompscn Products; Inc., Eleveland,

Ohioaafcorporationiof Ohio Application december 17, 195o, serial no. .1916@231;

iclaim. (crass-ess) lfhisiinventon relates; ie rim' ,Shredded Wheels such as vaned wheels.

Speeileelly :the inventidmdeals AWl'fh the nredneiien of a rimbend eneireled veiled Wheel, 5.1.1911

este terqueeonvertererduid y@dealer Whereingthe encircling-band is cast around theyanesand permanently efxed therewithhrdush reieetions Qnthe vaneswhiehare embeddedin'. the :bend nesting.

lnaeeerdenee withthe preferred.. embediment Qtthisirwenticn, ezhublaridvane unitisde @est linden pressure; tn. preduee, a -memberjhaving .e central huh portent/.ith ereumferenteilly ASie aeed .venes radiating outwardly therefrom mrIldeee 'vanesheve projettent 9.11 .theirveedter ends Tbe :die .eastinaean .be made. exceptionally Yemeetll; py lowing., themetalsintd the. 'permanent .de-meld under. relatively high ,pressures z'ilhei hub" and rane unit. is; then surrounded alunni-Settled ,colleir'hayine recesses for reeeyllethe p eeticns, en tlle varies rhe.. enehsedspaee eentainnerthe hub ...d vane. .isithenilled with 4matenal, :thetvill iena a; ...exigible orezsueh ,amend onether. ldinematerielvhe cere ,materiel cemnletelxfsuirelndsthe entirehub and vaneunit ,withlithe exception ,of ,the projections. ee'lle-ris,..th.en iemevedfrempthe.resulting :cofre and; thenroieetiorls will; be exposed around .thererinhery .o-fthaccre. lhe c9-1e s.,therr ',11- vested in amold, preferably akperniapentgngld, having a cavity coacting with the core to provide an annular rrim)cliamber containing the DIOjeC- tions. :Metaleisthenroastyintonthis chamber to produce a rim shroud around the outer ends of the-vanes, andy having! the,proj ectionstembedded therein. The resulting-rim'ehreudedyaned wheel is strong, efficient, and rigid. Since the vanes and hub formed bydieatine, nihue 9p- ,leiations to pro duce smoothvane surfaces,areA re- :ducedto aminmum. 'Iljlecast on rimer shroud ,shrinks across its diametermwhden cooledl` and ,tightly embraces the vanestoprovide.,a1-hopp stretching: effect on vthe assembly.

it isa-them an object oftthisinventieatetpreduce a rim shrouded vaned Wheel having the rim shroud thereof cast around the vanes and permanently afxed therewith by projections on the vanes which are embedded therein.

Another obj ect of this invention is to provide a vaned Wheel with a shroud therearound that is cast separately from the vanes and shrinks to produce a hoop stretching effect which rigidies and strengthens the assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide vaned Wheels for torque converters and fluid couplers'whereinjhub vaneunitsare diecast by vordinary `die casting technique and are equipped with shrouds surrounding thevanes by casting technique Vwhich jdoes not require Athe* use yGijinvestment molds, plaster, or heretofore-required egg-pensive casting operations.

A still further vcbjectrcithegvinventicnis Ytoeprovide a torque l`converter :wheel -vof `Yinelproved strength having a central unitcomposed of-ea hub with crcumferentially spacedvanesradiatdie., outwardly 'ihererdm ende eeeenddnit eamprie ev e.` rim bar-.1d asteetedndfiheevanee1and permanently `aitied thereto by proj ectionson the vanes which' are embedded therein.

@ther andifurther obj ectsofetheI inventionwill .be,..epperent tei these. edtled inetheertefrem the .following 'detailed ideserntion :df --the .annexed Sheetef drawings iwhidll: by wey Aef e preferred ,eaample 991m "illustrates erle-embddimgenteffthe invention Qn4 the drawms; ,Figure-1 is asian viewiwih apartbfokend-Wdy and shown 3 in :.hdltizentel; Section, "ef a ri-'m .Shredded Wheeleeedlfdidgzidthis" invention.

s Eigure isa 'side elevational v iew withapart .breken aualyeendshe-.Wn invertieal ,Sectienie yi1- lustrate an underlying part, l.ofA the Wheelpf Eigure 1.

,l lfiginte,Sv is; a vertical cross-sectional -l view of egliubiand var lepilnitiiwurited en lafeeresuin- ,pertinapleteendeildirdledby. amulti-Sestieled drsal ,eelergin.,pieperatien "i012 `the eere Eieuiedis-`a1plen view Qf. @meld-harmed .-ecre produced eeeerdins i 'Figure' 3mm-med ,inline .meld veal/ity' theredfpour plate mounted"'on"top of-the nfiold.

liiginte` is. .e ,iragmentdry-seetienalYiew taken V:es Shown @the es: frlriyigulvee. Lead, er'reiereneetluineral 1w designates generally a rim shrouded vaned Wheel composed of a hub and vane unit I I and an encircling cylindrical rim shroud I2. The unit II has a cylindrical hub I3 with an inwardly extending annular flange I4 intermediate the top and bottom thereof. A plurality of vanes I5 project outwardly from the hub I3 in circumferentially spaced relation about the periphery of the hub. These vanes may have a complicated foil contour and may be pitched along their length so as to produce configurations Which 3 could not be cast inside of an encircling shroud such as I2 without requiring the use of expensive plaster molding technique.

The vanes I5 have outer edges I6 of segmental circular contour substantially concentric with the hub I3. Lug-like projections I1 extend outwardly from the central portions of these edges I6. These projections I1 are embedded in the rim band or shroud I2 and the band tightly ernbraces the edges I6 of each of the vanes.

The wheel I0 has spaces I8 between the vanes I5, the inner hub I3, and the outer rim I2. Because of the complicated contour of the vanes I6, these spaces I8 cannot be filled with sand in ordinary casting technique and it has therefore been heretofore necessary to use plaster molds to form the Wheels I0. These plaster molds are only adapted for single usage.

As shown in Figure 3, the vane and hub unit II of the wheel I0 is mounted on a flat plate I9 having an upstanding post with a handle 26a on the upper end thereof projecting through the space inside of the flange I4.

A multi-sectioned cylindrical collar 2I surrounds the unit II. The sections of the collar are held together by an encircling clamping band 22, so that the sections will be firmly pressed against the edges I5 of the vanes I5. The sections have recesses 23 shaped for snugly receiving the projections I1.I These recesses 23 can be open through the outer face of the collar 2I.

vThe assembly of Figure 3 provides a fixture containing the unit II which, as explained above, has been produced by a die casting operation using metal under relatively high pressure to provide smooth surfaces eliminating the necessity for appreciable finishing operations. This fixture is then placed in a core blowing machine and the spaces I8 between the vanes I5 are completely lled with core forming material such as sand. A pneumatic sand feed in the core blowing machine will insure complete filling of the spaces I8. The sand is packed sufficiently so as to provide a self-sustaining core 24 completely embedding the unit II between the hub I 4 and the collar 2I. The band 22 is then removed from the collar 2I and the sections of the collar are carefully pulled oi of the core 24 and off of the projections I1.

The resulting core 24, as shown in Figure 4, is lowered into a mold 25 having a cylindrical mold cavity 26. The plate I9 is used to support the frangible core material and to center the core 24 in the cavity 26 with the projections I1 extending outwardly from the core across the mold cavity 26. This final mold cavity is annular, being bounded by the mold 25 around its outer periphery, the core 24 around its inner periphery, and the support plate I9 around its bottom. The projections I1 extend across this annular space.

As shown in Figure 5, a pouring cover 21 is mounted on top of the mold 25 to provide a top wall for the annular mold cavity. This cover 21 has a gate hole 28 communicating with the CFI cavity 26 so that molten metal can be readily poured into the cavity to completely ll the same and embed the projections I1 therein. After the pouring step, the molten metal is chilled to form the rim I2 of the Wheel ID and the resulting casting is readily removed from the mold 25 by removing the-cover plate 2-1 and by lifting the support plate to carry the unit out ofthe mold 25. The core material being frangible, is readily broken out of the spaces I8 of the casting.

The rim I2 shrinks on cooling to tightly embrace the edges of the vanes and to tightly embed the projections I1 therein. As shown in Figure 6, each projection I1 is completely embraced by the cast metal of the rim I2 and is rmly embedded therein.

From the above descriptions it will therefore be understood that this invention provides an inexpensive rim shrouded varied Wheel especially suitable in production of torque converter and fluid coupling parts. The invention also provides a vaned wheel of improved rigidity and strength. v

`It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected Without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

We claim as our invention:

A rim shrouded vaned fluid propelling wheel comprising a one-piece integrally constructed unit, said unit havingI an upstanding annular hub portion, a plurality of circumferentially spaced vanes radiating outwardly from the outer periphery 'of said hub portion, each of said vaneshaving opposed faces dening an air foil section for propelling a fluid between said blades, each of said blades having an arcuate outer peripheral edge between said opposed faces of the blade concentric with said upstanding hub portion, a lug-like projection extending outwardly from each of said outer peripheral edges and having the general contour of the air foil section and an inwardly directed annular flange on the inner periphery of said upstanding hub, and a one-piece rim surrounding said vanes in tight embracing contact with said arcuate outer yperipheral edges of the vanes and receiving all of said projections in snug embedded relation therein, said rim being in tension around said unit to exert an inwardly directed force rigidifying the assembly.

ARTHUR TOWNHILL. WALLACE PHILP HOLCOMBE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 5,364 yMontgomery Apr. 22, 1873 1,470,505 Steenstrup Oct. 9, 1923 2,136,447 Le Jeune Nov. 15, 1938 2,143,464 Allard Jan. 10, 1939 2,304,721 Werther Dec. 8, 1942 2,432,315 vHoward Dec. 9, 1947 '2,479,039 Cronstedt Aug. 16, 1949

Images