US1527554A - Automatic water injector for steam-engine boilers - Google Patents

Description

" Feb. 24, 1925.

R. E. JAMES AUTOMATIC WATER INJECTOR FOR STEAM ENGINE BOILERS Filed May 27, 1924 gin/vento@ Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

ROBERT' E. JAMES, or DURANT, OKLAHOMA.

.AUTOMATIC WATER INJECTOR FOR STEAM-ENGINE BOILERS.

Application filed May 27, 1924. Serial No. 716,242.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. JAMES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Durant, in the county of Bryan and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Water Injectors for Steam-Engine Boilers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to injectors lfor steam engine boilers, and the object of the invention is to provide automatically acting means for keeping the boiler filled with water to a predetermined point above the lower gauge cocks thereof or at any desired height below the uppermost gauge cock, the mechanism comprising means whereby steam may be taken from the boiler just above the water line of the uppermost gauge cock and sent through an injector to thereby draw water upward from the water supply and force the water into the boiler, the construction being such that when the water rises above its predetermined water line it will cut olf passage of steam through the injector and thus the flow of water will stop, and when the water falls below this r predetermined water line the injector will immediately commence to act to force water into the boiler.

A further object is to provide a construction of this character which is very simple, which may be easily put in place without altering the character of the boiler at all, and which permits the boiler to be readily altered to conform to the invention.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a boiler of any ordinary type having my automatic water feeding mechanism applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation of the feeding device and a portion of the boiler.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates a boiler, such as a stationary boiler, though the invention is adaptedv to be applied to any boiler, and 11 the steam dome. 12 designates the fire box and 13 the front boiler sheet. Entering the front boiler sheet are a vertical series of gauge cocks of any usual and suitable construction and designated 14, 15 and 16. These are ordinarily found on engines of this character to determine the level of the water in the boiler and these gauge cocks enable the operator to keep either one, two or three gauges7 of water as desired, but the operator must keep a close watch on the gauges in order to do so.

Disposed in connection with the boiler is an injector 17 of any ordinary or usual type having the supply pipe 18 and the pipe 19 which extends into the boiler and through which the water is forced. This injector ordinarily is connected to the steam dome by a pipe extending upward from the injec tor and entering the top of the steam dome. This pipe is designated 2O and is provided with a valve 21.

Se far I have described the ordinary construction of steam boiler with the injector therefor, but in order to reconstruct the boiler in accordance with my invention and place my automatic gauge in position it is necessary to remove the ordinary gauge as, for instance, the gauge 16 and place thereon a nipple and a T 22. The gauge 16 'is then placed back into the T and a pipe 24 is connected to the T and leads back to the injector through a T 25. The T 22 is provided with a valve 26, and in order to use the injector as now arranged` it is necessary to close the valve 21 in the steam line 2O and open valve 26.

In order to fill the boiler for over night in case the boiler is not being operated at night and in which case the boiler is to be filled almost full of water and before firing up, then the valve 26 is closed and the valve 21 opened and the steam from the steam dome will act through the injector in the ordinary manner to draw water from the pipe 18 and force the water through the pipe 19 into the boiler, but in case it is desired merely to fill the boiler to a height equal to the uppermost gauge, then the valve 21 is closed and the valve 26 is opened. So long as the water line is below a predetermined point, that is below the gauge 16, the steam from the boiler will pass through the gauge and out through the pipe 24.- into the injector and thus cause the water from the pipe 18 to be discharged into the boiler, but when the water has risen to such a point that it prevents the passage of steam from the interior of the boiler into the gauge 16, then the feeding of steam to the injector is cut olf because the water is above the steam intake and the injector stops in its operation. When the water has lowered, however, belowr the gauge cock 16, the steam intake will be automatically opened and steam will pass into the injector and start it working again and thus the water in the boiler will be kept at a constant height.

Where this device is used it is not necessary to keep a man at the boiler when tiring in oil. The re is regulated to a certain height and the injector is turned on. After that it is perfectly sate to leave the boiler alone, as there will never be any lack ot water in the boiler because of the automatic operation of this construction.

It will be seen that with this device the boiler does not have to be filled entirely full and kept entirely full, but that it may be kept at a predetermined height equal to that particular gauge cock to which the pipe 24: is connected. Thus it' the connection is made at the topmost gauge, the boiler will carry three gauges oi water, if at the second gauge it will carry two gauges of water, and, of course, if the member 24- communi- Cates with the lowermost gauge cock the water will remain at this level at all times and be automatically controlled. rIliis device is made to tit on any style of boiler but is particularly adapted for boilers used in the oil ields and which are tired by means ot' oil. It will be obvious, however, that the device may work on any form ot boiler as, 'for instance, on a railroad locomotive boiler.y though it is particularly intended for use on all kinds of stationary boilers. By retaining the pipe 2O and its connection to the top of the steam dome, it is obvious that the boiler may be entirely filled with water whenever desired by the use of the inj ecting valves but that, on the other hand, the boiler may be kept tilled to the uppermost gauge automatically and without requiring any attention.

I do not wish to be limited to the details ot construction, as it is obvious that these might be varied in many ways without departing Jfrom the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a steam boiler of the character described, the combination with an injector for supplying the boiler with feed water, of a series or gauge cocks extending through the front of the boiler and disposed in vertical series, and a. steam supply pipe for said injector having its inlet end engaged with one ot said gauge cocks.

2. In a steam boiler having a steam dome, the combination with an injector for supplying the boiler with feed water, ot' a. steam supply pipefor said injector having its inlet opening into the steam dome, a manuals ly operable valve in the supply pipe, a second steam supply pipe, a manually operable valve in said supply pipe, and a gauge cock extending through the liront of the boiler and to which the steam supply pipe is connected whereby to cause the admission or steam through said gauge cock to the injector when the level of the water has lowered below the gauge cock and the stop page ot' the steam 'tlow to the injector when the level of the water has risen above the gauge cock.

3. In a boiler having a steam dome and having a vertical series of gauge cocks extending to the front of the boiler, an injector7 means tor supplying water to the injector' including a pipe extending upward 'from the injector and into the steam dome, said pipe being provided with a manually operable valve, a T connected to one oiI the gauge cocks, and a pipe connection extending Jfrom said 'i' to the injector and provided with a valve whereby to permit the lirst named supply pipe to be cut ott' and the second named pipe opened to thereby automatically hold the water pipe level with the gauge coc-k and automatically operate the injector when the water falls below the level oi" the gauge cock.

In testimony whereot I hereunto aiiix my signature.

ROBERT E. JAMES.

Images