On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The wind mill shown in the accompanying illustration is designed to utilize t he force of the wind to the greatest ad vantage, and to automatically sh ut off the wind from the wh eels should its velocity become too great. The improvement has be en patented by Hubert Schon, of Allegheny, Pa, On a vertical ??haft set on a ball bearing is a bevel gear connection with the driving shaft , and on the upper end of the vertical shaft is the bal l bearing of a frame supported by the shaft, there being journaled in the frame a horizontal wheel sh aft carrying front and rear wind wheels. Each wheel has an inner and an outer rim, between which are the wings or blades, and each in ner rim is closed at its fron t end by a conf', while a hood is at- taehed to the front of the outer rim, to gather the wind and direct it to th e blades. The verti cal shaft is connected by beveled gears with the horizontal shaft, and from the rear end of t h e latter extends a van e to h old the wheels to the wind. To regulate the s peed of th e w h eels. a c u rtain or apron is mounted as a roll belo w the bottom of t h e hood of the fro n t w heel, the pu lli n g u p of t h e apron cu tti r..g off t h e w i ud f !'O m t h e w h eel s. Attached to the n p per edge o f the apron is a rope w h ieh extends u p ward over a p ulley and is eon n ected w i t h a governo r t hat sli des longitudinally on g u i d e rod s on a skeleton frame, the governor being in the form of a box adapted to be d riven rearward by the force of t h e wind, t h u s lifting t h e curtain or apron. Weighted rack s acting on toothed trunnions on t h e c u rtain shaft cou n terbalance the governor and draw exthe curt'tin down when the wind decreases. To shut off the wind from the wheels at any time, a secon d rope is connected with the curtain, enabling the operator to raise it w hen desired.
