US1181316A - Low-water alarm. - Google Patents

Description

B. .KADEL, J. A. PILCHER & H. W. CODDINGTON.

LOW WATER ALARM. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8,1915.

Patented May 2,1916-.

BYERS W. KADEL, JOHN A. PILCHER, AND HARRY W. CODDINGTON, OF ROANOKE', VIRGINIA.

Low-WATER ALARM.

Application filed June 8, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BYERS V. KADEL, JOHN A. PILGHER, and HARRY W. Co DiNG- TON, citizens of the United States, residing at Roanoke, in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lo-w-WVater Alarms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to low water alarms for steam boilers and among the objects thereof are to provide improvements in the mechanism of such devices.

Another object is to provide improved means for testing the operative condition of such devices.

Other specific objects will appear as the description is set forth.

The invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of the various parts as will be described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional. view of a portion of a steam boiler showing our device applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical-sectional view of a portion of the device itself, taken through the cross-T and portions of the connecting parts. Fig. 3 is an endelevationa1 view of the bracket as used with the device, the view being seen in the direction. of the arrow A. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section taken through the alarm valve.

Referring now to these drawings wherein like parts are similarly designated, 1 represents a boiler having a shell 2 and crown sheet 3. Those familiar with this art will understand that the crown sheet 3 must be protected at all times by a. layer of water in order to prevent burning and blowing down. And this invention relates principally to thermostatic means for sounding an alarm or for controlling the feed water supply in cases where the water level falls to the danger point.

The general operation of such devices has been explained in detail in our preceding Patent No. 1,127,010 of February 2, 1915, and as the present invention works in the identical manner and pertains largely to improvements over the preceding device, the description of the operation will not be as extensively given herein.

The essential elements of the mechanism .are the drop pipe 4, the cross-T 5, the expan- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Serial No. 32,866.

the alarm valve 9 and the alarm or whistle 10.

The cross-T 5 in the present device is made with four outlets, disposed diametrically op-- posite each other, and as in the preceding patent. Two adjacent of these outlets, 11 and 12, serve as attachment points for the drop pipe 4 and the expansion element 6 re spectively. The other two outlets 13 and 14 are disposed in axial lines with the drop pipe and the expansion element respectively and form means for cleaning these passageways, said outlets being normally closed by means of screwed plugs.

The cross-T in the present instance is secured to the shell of the boiler by means of the ball oint or other clamp joint 15 and the clamp studs 16, such a joint being necessary for the purpose of allowing leeway in the alinement of the various cooperating parts of the device and for the purpose of providing such a joint as will not be subject to extensive variations in elevation when neces sary to regrind or take up leaks. In a screwed attachment such as shown in the previous patent, the peculiar shape of the cross-T makes an entire revolution of the cross-T imperative when taking up a leak in this joint, and this may make variation enough in the height of the expansion element as to throw it out of line with the guides and other parts. A still further purpose of this joint when secured by means of the spaced clamp studs or bolts 16 is to hold the cross-T against rotation when the plug is removed from or screwed into the outlet 13.

The expansion element 6 is secured to the cross-T by means of the ball joint connection 17 or other clamp joint, and the guide 18 for the tube head 7 is made with an open side so that the expansion element as a whole may be loosed and lifted out for repairs. The expansion element is screwed and brazed into the tube head 7 so as to avoid possible leakage at this end, as leakage here will defeat the operation of the device.

The tube head 7 and the outer end of the expansion element are supported and guided in the guide 18, and in the outer end of the tube head, in an axial line with the outlet 14, is P1O"1Cl6d an outlet 19 with a suitable plug, this being provided so that the entire expansion element and the tube head may be thoroughly cleaned. In removing or inserting th plug in this outlet there is a possibility of twisting and deforming parts of the tube head or the expansion element, hence the guide 18 is made square or of any other jaw shape, and the tube head is made with a co-engaging portion, by which means the tube head is secured against such axial rotation. The action of these parts when operating has been explained in the preceding patent and it will be simply stated herein that as long as the open lower end of the drop pipe remains sealed the expansion element is filled with water and this water will chill to a temperature below that of the water in the boiler. And when the drop pipe is unsealed, steam will fill the expansion element and communicating parts, the higher temperature expanding the same and giving longitudinal movement to the free outer end of the expansion element and to the tube head. It now remains to utilize this movement to sound an alarm and this is accomplished in the present instance by means of the lever 8. This lever is fulcrumed at 21 to a bracket 22, the bracket being secured against movement on the boiler by means of the studs 23. The lever is pivotally connected at 24 to ears extending outward from the tube head, the short end of the lever being disposed between these ears. By this means is formed an improved and substantial pivot. The plane of the center line of the lever coincides with the axis of the expansion element and tube head so that there are no twisting forces set up in the lever or other parts.

The lever 8 is a bent lever of the first order, fulcrumed between its extremities, with the long arm of the lever lying approximately parallel with the expansion element and with the short arm approximately at right angles to the same, the lever being so proportioned as to transfer and magnify the travel of the tube head to the outer end of the long arm. By so forming and dis posing the lever 8 considerable head room is saved and the alarm valve is located in a manner as to make it more accessible and sure in its operation.

The upper portion of th bracket 22 is made with side walls 25, and the central space 26 therebetween forms a space to admit and accommodate the lever 8 and the extensions of the side walls form a sturdy fulcrum point 21. The rib 27 on the bracket forms a stiffener for the guide 18 when it serves as a jaw to prevent the rotation of the tube head, and serves also to stiffen the entire bracket laterally.

Adjacent the outer end of the lever 8 is the alarm valve 9. This valve is designed to control the flow of the actuating medium to the alarm or whistle, which in the present instance is steam taken directly from the steam cavity of the boiler. The valve is arranged to be closed by a spring 29 and is adapted to be opened by the movement of the end of the lever 8 against the protruding portion of the stem 30. The lever contacts the valve stem through the medium of the adjustable contact stud 31 which is threaded through the end of the lever and secured by means of the check nut 32. The contact stud is arranged to screw' into the lever from the side adjacent the alarm valve stem so that any backing off of this stud will cause a premature sounding of the alarm and not a delayed sounding as would be the case were the stud inserted from above.

The alarm valve is secured to the same bracket 22 by means of the bolts 33, the bracket thus forming a rigid and integral connection for all of the outer end elements of the device, and all being self-contained.

The construction of the valve 9 is as follows: 34 is the body of the valve, this body being hollow and having at one end an integral end wall or head 35. This head is pierced to slidably accommodate the stem 30 of the valve as it is actuated by the lever. Transversely of the body is an integral wall 36 which divides the hollow of the valve into two cavities 39 and 40, the cavity 39 being at the end adjacent the head 35 or exhaust end of the valve and the cavity 40 being adjacent the pressure end of the valve, the valve itself seating with the pressure. This wall is pierced to form a passageway for the stem 30 and is arranged on the one face thereof to form a seat 37 for the valve cone 38, this seat being on the face of the wall opposite or removed from the cavity 39, or in other words, on the pressure side of the wall.

The pressure cavity 40 of the valve body is made with an open end, the same being threaded and being normally closed by means of the valve head a1. This valve head a1 is pierced to serve as a guide for the lower end 42 of the valve stem and has a counterbored portion 43 forming a cavity for the valve spring 29, which encircles the valve stem, the head itself forming an abutment for the reaction of this spring. The spring reacts at its other end against the cone 38 of the valve. The stem of the valve is milled to provide a plu 'ality of sides with consequent steam passages, where it passes through the hole in the wall 36, and also where it extends into the head 41, and in the external portion of the stem 30 a hole let is provided to allow, by means of the use of a wire or nail as a lever, a slight turning or grinding of the valve cone to work out foreign matter from between the cone and the seat without dismantling the valve. The lower end of the head 41 is constructed to form a balljoint connection 4:5 with the steam pipe 46.

This steam pipe drops directly from the valve to the boiler so that the entire pressure cavity of the valve, as well as the pipe 46 is drained, and no water can collect in either the valve or the pipe. And it is connected to the boiler at a high point of the same by means of the ball-joint connection 47 on the boiler plug 48. By this manner of connection no scale or other foreign matter will be drawn up with the steam and the steam itself will be dry.

From the cavity 39 a copper pipe 49 leads to the whistle 10, this pipe being attached to the body of the valve by means of the ball joint 50. Thus we have provided a simple form of alarm valve to meet the peculiar and local needs of our device and it is a valve that is easily removed for repairs and provides drainage of the pressure side back to the boiler in order to lessen the chance of scale collecting in and on the several parts.

For testing the operative condition of such devices it is desirable that such means be supplied as will give either an. actual condition of low water or the equivalent, so that every part of the mechanism Will act in its usual manner and the test will then be a complete and reliable one. In the preceding device this condition was obtained by means of a test line so located that the chilled water in the expansion element could be blown out to the atmosphere and its space filled up with hot water forced up from the body of water within the boiler. Ihe chilled water was then forcibly expelled outwardly through the expansion element and the change in temperature effected by the parts being filled up with higher temperature water from within the'boiler. In the present invention we make use of a similar test pipe 51, leading from the outer endof the expansion element or the tube head, but we now connect this test pipe back to the steam space of the boiler at 52, the test valve 53 being supplied in the line. By opening the test valve 53 the seal of the drop pipe is broken by the equalization of pressure at the outer end of the expansion element and the water therein drops back into the boiler, the expansion element being filled up with steam through the test pipe 51. Thus an actual. demonstration of the operative condition of all parts is obtained. When the test valve 53 is closed the steam in the expansion element and communicating parts condenses and water is drawn up from the boiler and chills as before. In order that the test pipe may not be unintentionally left open, this valve 53 is made spring acting so that the valve at all times stands normally closed. The button 54 on the valve stem allows the valve to be manually held open for making the test, but on release it immediately closes. Such a valve is simply indicated in, 'the drawings as the details thereof may be of various forms.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim is: j

1. In a low water alarm, a boiler, a fitting attached to said boiler externally thereof, an expansion element connected to said fitting adjacent the point of attachment of the said fitting to the boiler and extending radially therefrom, means for clamping said fitting to the boiler, said means comprising a clamp joint with clamp bolts in spaced relationship with each other about the said joint, together and in combination with an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, and means actuated by the expansion of the said expansion element for admitting the actuating medium to the alarm.

2. In a low water alarm, a boiler, a fitting attached to said boiler externally thereof an expansion element connected to said fitting adjacent the point of attachment of the said fitting to the boiler and extending radially therefrom, an outlet in the said fitting in an axial line with the point of attachment thereof to the boiler, a screwed plug in said outlet, and means for clamping said fitting ,to the boiler, said means comprising a clamp joint with clamp bolts in spaced relationship with each other about the said joint, together and in combination with an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, and means actuated by the expansion of the said expansion element for admitting the actuating medium to the alarm.

3. In a low water alarm, a boiler, an expansion element in fluid communication with the said boiler, a tube head attached to the end of said expansion element and in fluid communication therewith, an outlet in the end of the said tube head, a screwed plug in said outlet, a bracket having a jaw-shaped guide thereon adapted to support and guide the said tube head, the said tube head hav ing a portion formed to be engaged by the jaw portion of the said guide, the said coengaging parts being adapted and disposed to prevent the axial rotation of the said tube head in. the said guide, together and in combination with an alarm, an alarm actuating lIlQCllllIl'l, and means actuated by the expansion of the sand expansion element for admitting the actuating medium to the alarm.

at. In a low water alarm, a boiler, an expansion element, in fluid communication with the said boiler, a tube head affixed to one end of the said expansion element, a pair of spaced ears extending laterally from the said tube head between the extremities thereof, a fixed bracket adjacent the said tube head, a lever fulcrumed to the said fixed bracket, a portion of the said lever being disposed between the said spaced ears and having pivoted connection therewith, the

said lever being adapted to be actuated about its fulcrum point by the expansion and contraction of the said expansion element, an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, and means actuated by the movement of the said lever for controlling the flow of the actuating medium to the said alarm.

5. In a low water alarm, a boiler, an alarm, an alarm-actuating medium, an ex pansion elementin fluid communication with the said boiler, a tube head afiixed to the outer end of the said expansion element, said tube head being supplied with a pair of spaced ears extending laterally therefrom and between the extremities thereof, means actuated by the expansion and contraction of the said expansion element for controlling the flow of the actuating medium to the said alarm, the said means including a bracket, a lever fulcrumed to the said bracket, and an actuating-medium control valve, the said lever being disposed between and having pivotal connection with the said spaced ears on the tube head and being adapted to be actuated thereby, the said lever being adapted to actuate the said control valve, the plane of the said lever coinciding with the plane of the axis of the expansion element and the tube head.

6. In a low water alarm, a boiler, an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, an expansion element in fluid communication with the said boiler, a tube head ailixed to the outer end of the said expansion element and having a pair of spaced ears extending laterally therefrom, means actuated by the expansion and contraction of the said expansion element for controlling the flow of the actuating medium to the said alarm, the said means including a bracket, a lever fulcrumed to the said bracket, the said lever being disposed between the ears of the said tube head and having pivotal connection therewith and being adapted to be actuated thereby, the said lever being of the first order and having the arms thereof of unequal length and disposed at substantially ninety degrees from each other and having the fulcrum point near the intersection of the center lines of the arms, the long arm of the said lever being disposed approximately parallel with and below the said expansion element and the short arm at right angles with the same, the short arm having pivotal connection with the said tube head, a control valve for the alarm actuating medium, the outer end of the long arm being provided with means for actuating the said control valve.

7. In a low water alarm, a boiler, an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, an expansion element in fluid communication with the said boiler, a tube head affixed to the outer end of the said expansion element, a guide for the said tube head, means actuated by the expansion and contraction of the said expansion element for controlling the flow of the actuating medium to the said alarm, the said means including a bracket, a lever fulcrumed to the said bracket, a control valve for the alarm-actuating medium, the said lever having pivotal connection with the said tube head and being adapted to be actuated thereby, the said lever being adapted to actuate the said control valve, the said bracket being formed with two spaced side walls and the said lever being disposed and fulcrumed between the said walls, the said side walls terminating in and forming the said guide for the said tube head.

8. In a low water alarm, a boiler, an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, an expansion element in fluid communication with the said boiler, a tube head aflixed to the outer end of the said expansion element, means actuated by the expansion and contraction of the said expansion element for controlling the flow of the actuatingmedium to the said alarm, the said means including a bracket, a lever fulcrumed to the said bracket, the said lever having pivotal connection with the said tube head and being adapted to be actuated thereby, a control valve for the alarm actuating medium, an adjustable contact stud in the end of the said lever adapted to contact the said control valve, the said stud being threaded into the said lever from the side thereof adjacent the said control valve.

9. In a low water alarm, a boiler, a fluid pressure actuated alarm, an alarm valve adapted to control the flow of fluid to the said alarm, an expansion element in fluid communication with the said boiler, said alarm valve having a hollow body with a wall transversely thereof whereby the said body is divided into a pressure cavity and an exhaust cavity, a valve stem and a valve cone on the said stem, a seat on the pressure side of the said transverse wall for the said valve cone, the said transverse wall being pierced to admit the passage of the said valve stem, heads adapted to close the end of the pressure cavity and the end of the exhaust cavity, and said pressure cavity head being provided with fluid pressure connecting means and forming a guide for the said valve stem, the said valve stem extending through the said exhaust cavity and through the hole in the head thereof to the outside of the said body, a spring inserted between the said pressure head and the said valve cone, a fluid pressure connection between the said exhaust cavity of the valve body and the said alarm, and means actuated by the expansion of the said expansion element for actuating the stem of the said valve.

10. In a low water alarm, a steam boiler, an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, a thermostatically-actuated expansion element in open fluid communication at one end with the said boiler below the normal water line therein, means actuated by the expansion and contraction of the said expansion element for controlling the flow of the actuating medium to the said alarm, a test pipe connected between the outer end of the said expansion element and the steam space of the said boiler, a normally-closed valve in the said test pipe, and means for manually opening the valve in the said test pipe.

11. In a low Water alarm, a boiler, an alarm, an alarm actuating medium, a thermostatically-actuated expansion element in openfiuid communication at one end with the said boiler below the normal water line therein, means actuated by the expansion and contraction of the said expansion element from controlling the flow of the actuating medium to the said alarm, a test pipe connected between the outer end of the said expansion element and the steam space of the said boiler, a spring-actuated valve in said test pipe, the said valve being held normally closed by a spring and being provided with means for manually holding open the said valve.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

BYERS W. KADEL. JOHN A. PILCHER. HARRY W. CODDINGTON. Witnesses:

BERNARD 0001;, JAMES EADES.

topics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of X'atenta,

Washington, D. 0."

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