US926513A - Endurance-testing machine. - Google Patents

Description

H. SOUTHERQ ENDURANCE TESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9, 1907.

926,5 1 3., Patented June 29, 1909.

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H. SOUTHER.

ENDURANCE TESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9, 1907.

HENRY SOUTHER, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

ENDURANCE-TESTING MACHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. August 9, 1907.

Patented June 29, 1909.

Serial No. 387,826.

To all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY SOUTIIER, of Hartford, Hartford county, Connecticut, have invented a new and useful lllndurance- Testing Machine, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompai'iying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved machine, and F 2 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation of one end of the .machine, showing more in detail the means for automatically disconnecting the counter. Fig. l is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 5 is a detail view of another means for automatically disconnecting the counter. Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the weights.

The purpose of my invention is to provide ellicient means for subjecting test pieces of metal to endurance tests.

The machine which I have devised is ellicient and reliable in its operation: and it gives the tests in duplicate.

In view of the fact, an endurance test, to be absolutely accurate should be kept going without cessation from start to finish, that is to say from start to rupture of the specimen, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a machine which will offectually answer this requirement, and, therefore, I provide for automatically registering the number of rotations of the specimen up to the time of rupture, whereby the machine may be run continuously both day and night without requiring the presence of an attendant to note the time of rupture of the specimen.

lle'ferring to the drawing, 2 represents a rotary socket preferably forming part of a pulley-wheel 3 and adapted to receive and clamp the specimen 4 to be tested, which is preferably of greater diameter at its middle than at its end portions. The socket 2 has an opening extending from end to end, so that the test specimen can be applied thereto with its middle portion held within the socket and both ends projecting therefrom. The test piece l not only has its middle portion of greater diameter than the portions which project outside the socket, but there are intermediate fillets shown in Fig. 2 between these portions which enable standard results to be obtained.

The specimen is inserted in the socket and is held therein by a suitable device, for

example, by taper sleeves 5 which enter the socket and are compressed therein by nuts 6. Other sleeves or clamping means may be employed. The socket 2 is rotatablyanounted, preferably on ball bearings 7, within a ring 8 on base 9. The ends of the specimen are inserted within rings 10 which are preferably provided with ball bearings 11 and the rings are attached to rods or supporting devices 12, to which weights may be applied for the purpose of applying the desired stress. At the ends of the machine are counters 13 to register the number of revolutions of the specimens, and these counters are connected to the specimens by suitable speed-reducing connections 14 adapted to be automatically disconnected when the end of the specimen adjacent to the particular connection is broken. it will here be explained that each counter 13 is provided at each side with a bearing or bracket (.1 adjustably mounted upon the adjacent horizontal bar I) of the frame of the machine, there being a setscrew c piercing the hearing or bracket and engaging the bar to hold the counter when set at any desired adjustment upon the bar. Each weight rod 12 is provided at its lower end with a suitable cross head (Z, and any number of weights c are placed thereon, each weight preferably being in the form of a disk having a radial slot f to receive the weight bar 12, from which it will be understood that the weight is substantially the same as the weights used in ordinary beam scales.

As shown in Fig. 8, the means for automatically disconnecting the counter from the specimen when the latter breaks consists of a pin 15 suitably associated with the driving worm 16 of the counter and having one end held against the adjacent end of the test specimen by means of a spring 17. The pin 15 carries a yoke or a pair of spaced projections 18 projecting beyond the free end of the pin and adapted to engage opposite sides of studs 19 carried by the specimen and disposed diametrically opposite one another. By this arrangement, the pin 15 rotates with the specimen 4, but when the latter breaks, the pin 15 will drop, thereby automatically breaking the connection between the test specimen and the counter. In Fig. 5 the means for automatically disconnecting the specimen and the counter consists of a helical spring 20 suitably connected at opposite ends with the test specimen and the driving member of the counter.

In the use of the device weights of suitable degree are applied to the rods 12 and bearing thereon through the rings 10, exert a downward stress upon the ends of the specimen, which tend to distort it to any desired amount. The wheel 3 is rotated by a belt or other suitable power-connection and, as it is clamped to the specimen 4, it rotates the specimen on its longitudinal axis and within the rings 10. This subjects the specimen to repeated alternate stresses of the same kind as those to which a car axle is subjected when in use, and the Weight of the load applied to the rods, together with the speed of rotation by which the frequency of the alternations of the stress is determined, will subject the specimen to a test of any desired degree that may be met with in practice. The rotation may be continued until the specimen breaks at one or both sides of the central socket, and when it breaks at either side, the revolution-counter at that side will immediately stop, and will indicate the number of revolutions to which it has been subjected prior to the rupture. The number of revolutions, the speed of the revolution, and the amount of the applied weight are the factors which determine the severity of the test.

Those skilled in the art will be able to modify the construction of my machine in various ways, for I consider myself to be the first to provide a testing machine in which the specimen to be tested is held and rotated at a middle point with weights applied thereto at the projecting ends. As a test of both ends of the specimen is obtained at one operation, a valuable check is afforded, for if the breaking at one side is due to a flaw or other local defect, while the other end of the specimen is sound, this fact will be accurately indicated by the machine. If the test were made only at one end of the specimen, and if the specimen should break owin to the existence of an abnormal or accidenta defect, no opportunity for checking the test on that specimen is afforded. Moreover, my machine makes it possible to obtain from the central and unstrained portion of the specimen, a standard tensile specimen which can be separately tested after the dynamic test afforded by my machine is completed.

The machine will afford a test at any desired load or speed and it gives an especial advantage in that there is no local heat or friction generated at the point of greatest stress as is the case in the operation of many testing machines. I have operated the machine successfully at a speed of 1500 revolutions per minute. It runs smoothly and without vibration and therefore gives controllable stresses.

I claim:

1. A testing machine having a rotary support open from end to end so as to permit the insertion and holding of a specimen, with both ends free and projecting therefrom, and load-supporting bearings adapted to be applied at the ends of the specimen.

2. A testing machine having a rotary support open from end to end so as to permit the insertion and holding of a specimen, with both ends free and projecting therefrom, and load-supporting bearings adapted to be applied at the ends of the specimen, said loadsupporting bearings having anti-friction bearings interposed between them and the specimen.

3. A testing machine having a rotary support adapted to hold the middle portion of a specimen with its ends projecting therefrom, load-supporting bearings adapted to be applied at the ends of the specimen, revolution counters for the ends of the specimen and speed-reducing gearing interposed between the revolution counters and the specimen.

4. An endurance testing machine having means for holding a specimen intermediate of its ends and rotating the same with the ends free, means for applying stress to the ends of the specimen, and means for association with each end of the specimen for registering the number of revolutions up to the breaking point, substantially as described.

5. An endurance testing machine having means for holding a specimen at its middle with its ends free and rotating the same, means for applying stress to the ends of the specimen, and means for association with each end of the specimen for registering the number of revolutions up to the breaking point, substantially as described. 7

6. An endurance testing machine having means for holding a specimen intermediate of its ends with said ends free and rotating the same, means for applying stress to the free end portions of the specimen at points inwardly from its extremities, and means for association with each extremity of the speci men to register the number of revolutions up to the breaking point, substantially as described.

7. An endurance testing machine having a hollow open-ended rotatable support constructed to receive a specimen with its ends projecting therefrom, means to rigidly associate the specimen with the rotatable support, means for applying stress to the end portions of the specimen, and means for association with the ends of the specimen for registering the number of revolutions up to the breaking point, substantially as described.

8. An endurance testing machine comprising a support having a bearing, a rotary member having an axial through-passage mounted in the bearing, anti-friction devices between the rotary member and the bearing at opposite sides of the middle of the bearing, means for rigidly securing a specimen in the rotary member with the ends of the specimen projecting therefrom, means for applying stress to the end portions of the specimen, and means for association with the ends of the specimen for registering the number of revolutions up to the breaking point, substantially as described.

9. An endurance testing machine comprising a support having spaced open-ended bearings, a pulley Wheel working between the bearings and having a hollow open-ended hub rotatably mounted in the bearings, means carried by the hub for rigidly securing an intermediate portion of a specimen in the hub with its ends projecting therel'rom,

means for applying stress to the ends of the specimen, and means for association with the ends of the specimen for registering the number of revolutions up to the breaking point, substantially as described.

10. An endurance testing machine having rotatable means for supporting a specimen intermediate of its ends,with said ends free for the application of stress, and means for connecting the specimen and the supporting means for simultaneous rotation substantially as described.

11. An endurance testing machine comprising a support, a bearing thereon, a rotatable member mounted in said support and having an aXial through-passage formed to receive an intermediate portion of a specimen with its ends projecting, means carried by the rotatable member, and connecting a specimen thereto, counters carried by the support at opposite sides of the rotary member and disposed for association with the respective free ends of a specimen for registering the number of revolutions thereof up to the breaking point, and means located between the rotary member and each counter for applying lateral stress to the adjacent free end portion of the specimen, substantially as described.

12. The herein described endurance testing method which consists in supporting a specimen intermediate of its ends and rotating it with its ends free, applying stress to each end of the specimen, and registering the number of revolutions ol each end of the specimen up to its breaking point, substantially as described.

13. An endurance testing machine having means for supporting and rotating a specimen with a portion of it free, means for placing stress upon. said tree portion of the specimen, a rotary counter, and a connection between said free portion of the specimen and. the counter which is adapted to become automatically disconnected when the speeimen breaks, substantially as described.

14. An endurance testing machine having means for supporting and rotating a specimen with one end i'ree, means for placing stress upon said free end of the specimen, a rotary counter, and a connection between the free end of the specimen and the counter which .is adapted to become automatimlly disconnected hen said free end ol the speci men breaks, substantially as described.

15. An endurance testing machine having means for supporting and rotating a specimen with one end free, means for applying stress to the free end portion of the specimen at a point inward from its free extremity, a rotary counter, and a connection between said free end of the specimen and the counter which is adapted to become automatically disconnected when the specimen breaks, substantially as described.

16. An endurance testing machine having means for supporting and rotating a specimen with its ends tree, means for placing stress upon each end of the specimen, a retary counter for each end of the specimen, and connections betueen the ends of the specimen and the respective counters which are adapted to become autonmtically disconnected when the respective ends of the specimen break, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY SOUilllllt.

Witnesses:

lion'r. S. KEARNEY, A. E. \v'ALLAoe.

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