GB191129310A - Improvements in Fluid-pressure Apparatus for Operating Bulkhead and other Doors. - Google Patents

Abstract

29,310. Pike, F. J., and Neville, H. June 3. Operating doors hydraulically and controlling by floats.-In a reversible two-main hydraulic system for operating ships' bulkhead or other doors either individually by means of a local door valve, or simultaneously from a distant point such as the bridge, or automatically on the rise of water in a compartment, the local valve comprises a flat-faced balanced slide valve. Means may be provided for holding the valve against its seat. The ' opening ' main 1, Fig. 1, that is, the pressure main for simultaneously opening the doors, and the ' closing ' main 2 are alternately placed in communication with pressure pumps and an exhaust tank by the reversal of a bridge valve 5, shown as a slide valve 9 operated by an endless wire 35 but which may be of any suitable construction. The local valve 50 is connected to the mains 1, 2 bv the passages 51<a>, 52<a>, and to the opening and closing ends of the door cylinder by the passages 49<a>, 48<a>, and, in the form of valve shown in Fig. 2, comprises a flat-faced slide valve 143, the pressure on which is relieved by a flanged tube 146 which may be held against the valve by a spring (not shown), or by an elastic packing between a plug 150 and a flange on the tube. In a modification, the tube 146 is reduced in length and is held against the valve by an elastic packing arranged in a recess in the valve casing and bearing against a shoulder on the tube 146. The valve 143 is normally held in the position shown by a spring 145<a> so that free communication exists between the mains 1, 2 and passages 49<a>, 48<a> respectively, and the doors may be opened or closed from the bridge. The bridge control may be temporarily reversed locally by depressing a hand-lever 61. By omitting or detaching the spring 145<a>, the valve may be left in an intermediate position to hold the door partly closed as long as the main 1 is under presure, but on reversal of the mains the valve is moved by the fluid pressure to the position shown, and the door is completely closed. The valve may be permanently held in the intermediate position while the main 1 is under pressure, by causing the spring 145<a> to return the lever 61 against a stop which yields to local operation of the lever or to the fluid pressure acting upon the top of the valve. The stop may be constituted by the bilge-control plunger 66 described below. The opening of the door from the bridge may be temporarily eliminated by providing a non-return valve in either of the passages 51<a>, 52<a> to prevent the flow of pressure fluid to the door cylinder or the exhaust therefrom, the valve being operated by a cam-surface movable with the lever 61. In the form of valve shown in Fig. 4, the valve face 130 is formed on the spindle 131 and the valve seating 134 on a plunger 135 provided with a D-shaped slot 142 through which the spindle 131 moves. The plunger 135 is slidable in the valve casing under the action of a spring 138 to hold the seating up to the valve face. The bilge control comprises a plunger 66 exposed to the pressure in the passage 51<a> and normally held in the raised position by a cam or detent 68 on a spring-controlled lever 71 connected by a wire 56 to a float in the bilge. On an abnormal rise of water, the plunger 66 is released and pressed by the fluid pressure against the lever 61 to reverse the valve and close the door. By omitting the plunger 66 and parts relating thereto, either form of door valve may be used as a main reversing-valve 5.