US1486281A - Steam-line control - Google Patents

Description

E. cHADwxcK STEAM LINE CONTROL Filed July 19. 1923 lll..

Patented lidar. ll, i924.

EMIIIANUEL CHADWICK, OF DETROT, MICHIGAN.

sTEAMiLNE. CONTROL.

Application filed July 19, 1923.

f1.' 'o all fio/tom t may concern:

Be it lrnown that EMuANUEL CHADWICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county oit TWayne and State or llichigan, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Steam-Line Controls, ot' which the following is a specitication.

This invention relates to an automatic control for steam lines. It is the object of the invention to atlord a control which may cause the liuid to waste until the live steam passes the point of control thereupon the wastage is stopped and the live steam is allowed to pass through the control. Tn dry cleaning establishments, it is customary to use a tumbler in which are contained clothes soalred in gasoline or other inflammable fluids. Very often a spark develops in the tumbling drum and ignites the vapor of the combustible or explosive fluids; an explosion results, and the clothes are very often damaged by i'ire. At the present time it is customary in some shops to provide an automatically controlled steam valve. lVhen the explosion occurs, one of the doors or caps on the tumbler is blown open, automatically turning on the steam which is let into the tumbler to snuitn out the lire. The trouble with this way of extinguishing the lire, is, that usually the steam line contains a slug of water, that is, steam` which has condensed in the cold walls of the steam line pipe. This water turned in on the clothes very often ruins them. It is the object of the present invention to use only live or dry steam to snu out the lire.l This is accomplished by an automatic control which lirst causes the liuid issuing from the steam line to waste; when the hot live steam enters the control it automatically closes the waste and opens the valve leading into the drum.

Tt will be obvious that my invention is applicable to broader usages than those connected with a dry cleaning establishment. In its broad conception, the invention relates to a control for steam lines by which the water slug is automatically eliminated. This will more fully appear in the description following.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevation ora a dry cleaning tumbler equipped with my automatic control.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Serial N0. 652,656.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of F ig. 2.

The dry cleaning tumbler a is only shown in part as the specic construction ofthis is no part of the invention. In the casing is usually provided a lid or cap l) connected with a steam valve o. The steam valve c is on the steam line CZ. This is provided with a branch line c which leads into the heating coils contained within the tumbler which are not shown as they are no part of the present'invention. Y

When an explosion occurs in the tumbler, the cap is blown open. This, through the linkage, operates the steam valve c and turns on the steam which leads through suitable pipe connections directly into the interior of the tumbler. This is the usual way of extinguishing a fire. However, it will be evident that this being. an unused steam line, except at considerable intervals of time, the steam line will collect a water slug due to the condensation of the steam. After the steam valve c is opened and the fluid is allowed to escape directly into the interior of the tumbler, as has heretofore been done, obviously thev clothes will be douche-d with water very often ruining line garments that might otherwise be saved if only live steam were turned into the tumbler.

Ivprevent this waterl slug from entering the tumbler by interposing an automatic control for eliminating this water slug. This control is shown more in detail in Figs. 2 and 3. The steam pipe designated d, serves as a conduit for the flow of the steam. The waste valve is normally open, hence when the steam valve o is turned on, the contents of the pipe are forced out through the thermally responsive pipe j, through the valve chamber surrounding the valve f, and out the waste pipe L. The pipe j is here in the form of a thermostatic brass tube There are two of these tubes 7' that rit into the coupling or 'l' 7c. On the ends of these two brass pipes are bolted the rods m. These rods m are connected with the blocks a. These blocks are connected with the vertical rods o. These rods 0 are connected through the yoke p and coil springs r, with the valve stem g. Similarly the rods o below the blocks are connected by the springs r and yolre p with the valve stem g.

Now supposing that an explosion occurs in the tumbler, the cap b is blown off, the valve c is automatically opened, the water slug passes into the thermostatic-control through the pipes j, and the va-lve f being open, wastes out the waste pipe. Within a few seconds when the live steam reaches the thermostatic control, the -pipes j straighten out the rods n which are at a slight angle to a straight line position in Fig. l. This raises the blocks m, the rods o and o a-nd the connecting members, pulling up on the valve stem g and the valve stem g. This serves to seat the valve f and open the valve s. The steam now passes through the conduit t leading directly into the tumbler. The slug is entirely eliminated by the automatic action of this control.

Ihe hand operated valve u is a cut-olf from the main steam line around the automatically controlled steam valve c. It will be obvious that if this hand valve is turned on by the operator for any purpose, such as filling the tumbler with live steam for cleaning, or deodorization, that the automatic control operates in precisely the same way to eliminate the water slug from the condensing line.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for the purpose specilied, the combination of a steam line, a waste line, a service line, means for controlling the flow of fluid by automatically closing the Waste line and opening the service line when the live steam flows into the control device.

2. In apparatus for the purpose speciied, the combination of a steam line, a steam valve, an automatically and thermally controlled means for eliminating the water slug in the line and wasting the same and nfl-sensi for delivering the livey steam to a place for use.

3. In apparatus for the purpose specified, the combination of a steam line, a waste line connected therewith, a service line connected with the steam line, a steam valve in the steam line, and an automatically con-V trolled set of valves for controlling the waste line to permit the water slug to waste and for controlling the service line to per mit the live steam to low through such service line when the water slug has been Wasted.

4. In apparatus for the purpose specified, the Ycombination of a steam line, a steam valve, a pair of thermally responsive pipes connected with the steam line, conduits leading from the said thermally responsive pipes leading to a place of .use of the live steam and a place for wasting the fluid, and valves connected and controlled by said thermally responsive pipes, the valve guarding -the waste opening closed when said thermally responsive pipes are subjected to the action of heat, and the valve leading into the place of use opening when the pipes are subjected to heat.

5. In apparatus tor the purpose specilied, the combination of a steam line, a steam valve for controlling the same, a vessel, pipes leading to the vessel and connected with said steam line on the side of the steam valve remote from the steam supply7 and Vmeans controlled by the heat of the liquid for first wasting the fluid and then switching the steam into the conduit leading into the vessel.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EMMANUEL CHADVVICK.

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