US1551212A - Thermostat - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 25, 1925.

.INVENTOR.

ATToRNEv.

Patented Aug. 25, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATEN'I OFFICE.

HOWARD IPARTILOW, 0F UTICA, NEW YORK.

\ THERMOSTAT. y Drginai application `filed. January 25, 1924, Serial No; 688,555. Divided and this application filed October To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD lll. PnRTLow, a citizen of the United States, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have ,invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thermostats, of which the following is a specification. d A

This invention relates to improvements in thermostats, designed for use inconneetion with various heaters and mediums to vbe heated, as melting-pots and the like, and has for its object to provide a temperature regulator of the class, which is more sensitive and positive and more reliable than any other thermostat known to me. A. further object is to provide a thermostatic element comprising two parts, one of said parts being hollow and inclosing the other part, the said hollow part preferably being constructed from ferrous metal having relatively low expansibility, as compared with non-ferrous metals commonly used for the purpose; the other part comprising a non-enpansible member, and serving as a mechanical medium for transmitting the thermal actions of the hollow member to a train of compounding levers and parts, by which fuel governing and dispensing valves, or other mechanisms may be operated or controlled. And a further object is to generally improve, simplify and render more accurate and reliable thermostatic devices of the class, especially applicable for controlling' burners that are supplied with gas at higher than commercial pressures. Y

I attain these objectsby the means set forth in the detailed description which follows, and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which-d Figure 1 is a central vertical section; showing a gas-governor'to which my thermostat is operatively applied; also showing the thermostat submerged in the contents of a `melting-pot. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section, taken on line- 2-2 of Fig. t.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the perforated member and certain of the compound- Y ing levers operated thereby. Fig. .4 is a top- `end view of the thermostatic part and Fig.

5 is a horizontalsection, taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 1. y

In the drawing, 2 represents the hollow body of a gas-governor, such for example, as is employedin connection with melting-pots, as A, water-heaters, and the like, and which is adapted `to be charged with combustible Serial No. 741,922.

gas, or other fluid pressure, by which the supply of gas to the burner, A', may be controlled. The' gas or fluid pressure enters the body through a pipe 2, and discharges through a pipe2a. The outflow of the fluid pressure from the governor is controlled by The screw 5 is manipulated by means of a disc 6, by which the` adjustment ofthe valve seat is regulated. ]The disc supports a dial 7, by which the temperature of somemedium, as ae, may beA predetermined. The valve 3 is suspended from one end of a relativelyv long lever 8, the opposite end of said lever being supported by a pair kof dogs 9 and 10,

which .respectively engage-fulcrum pins 8 and 8a, as shown 1n Fig. 1; The dogs 9 and 10 are pivoted to a block ,12, by screwsla, and are provided `with similar `depending ball-portions Sic-10% which normally engage the top face of anr arm 13 of a verti- Acally disposed oscillate lever 13, the said lever being formed with a perforated lug 13a, which is pivoted tothe block 12, by a screw 13b. The lateral swinging of the lever 18, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1,

effects the spreading of the top-endsof the dogs 9--10, and tilts the forward end of lever 8 in the directionforlifting the valve 3 away from its seat (see dotted lines in Fig. 1). This allows the fluid pressure contained in the body 2 to escape through the pipe 2a, for supplying fuel to the burner A,

or for performing other work;

141 represents an elongated hollow metal leg or part, whichdepends from the body 2, to which it is detachably secured by means of a flange 14:', .and screws 14a. The loottom of the body has an opening 2, which registers with the chamber of the leg 14. The lever 13 extends downwardly inthe leg, and. is oscillated by a similar but inverted lever 15, which is pivoted eccentrically near the lower end of the leg by a screw 15.. The levers 13-15 are preferably disposed in the same plane vertically, and their free Yends overlap `and are held in frictional engagement, also in alinement by a fork 15a. The ylever 15 is provided with ahorizontal arm 15b, by which said lever and lever 13 are rock-ed laterally, as shown in F ig. 1. A spring 8c tends to normally depress the lever 8 to the full line position shown in Fig. 1, for allowing` the closing of the valve 3 by gravity, K

The valve 3 and the several dogs and levers are operated, as a train, by a therm'ostatic element, or device, which consists of a tube 16, the latter depending axially from the leg 14, and the top endl being threaded to the lower end of the leg". The lower end 16 of the tube is internally and externally threaded andis closed and sealed by'a screw-cap 1.7. rThe tube 16 is preferably made of steel, and has a relatively low expansibility, as compared with brass and other metals commonly employed Jfor thermostats of the class. lVithin the tube 16 is disposed a rod 18, which may be made of steel or other material preferably having less expansibility than said tube. The object Vof this particular construction is to restrict the thermal actions of the governing device entirely to the tube16, instead of to a combination of parts, as heretofore. By

providing a single thermostatic' element, as

16, of relatively low expansibility, I am able topositivel'y and accurately control the gas' valve 3, or other mechanism, without the usual interferences and uncertain and uncontrollable,actions ot any'of the related parts, and by rigidly connecting vthe neutral rod 18 toy the remote end of the tube, ensures adequate linear movement, as well as power, for positively operating the tra-in of Vcompounding levers and parts'tha't effec-ti the seating and unseating'ofthe valve 3. The lower' end ot the rod 18' is threaded and is maderigidin the.` co'rr'espondingend of the tube 16, bya nut 19,'whichis firstscrewed onto the rod until it engages'an adjacent shoulder ot the tube,afte`r which a locking nut 2O is screwedl into the tube and against the nut'19, The top end of rod 18 is forked, and straddles and isr pivoted tothe arni15b of lever 15, by a screw 15C. By this arrangement, the slightest contraction or'eXp'ansion of the tube 16, rocks the levers 13-15, dogs v9, 10, and lever 8, in a positive manner, as

shown bythe full and dotted lines in Fig. 1.

By employing ferrous metal ot compara--`r` tively low expansibility, the temperature changes ot the melting-pot A rarely effect-s the expansion or contractionof the thermostat 16 more than a few thousandthsof 'an inch. vBut owing to the fact that the 'rodf 18 is made fast to the extreme lower end of the tube 16, whatever thermal' action'talfes place is communicated by the rod to the trainof 'compounding parte, and eitects the positive raising and lowering of the valve 3, and' by reason of the peculiar construction and arrangement Aof the thermostat andirod 18,

the' same positive operation' of the valve takes place whether or not the tube 16 is fully or only partially submerged in the medium :c:k The lower end ot the thermostat being free from contact with the bot- .tom or sides of the melting pot, the lengthening and shortening'of 'the said tube, although "itis rigid to the leg 14, cannot affect the slightest shifting of the levers that control the valve, except through the medium'i of the' neutral rod 18, as explained.

In order to obviate any tendency of ythe leg 11i to contract or lexpand when the th-ermostalt is deeply submerged and Itherefore disturbthe valve 3,l the levers 15 and 13 are overlapped and are free to movel endwise relatively to each other withoutA exerting any operative veii'ect upon the dogs 9-10. In the present showingthe expansion linearly of the tube 16, etfects the movement of the several levers, as from the fullI line Ato the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, for opening the valve 3', while the vcontraction of the tube ei'ects the reversal oi the llever 15, and allows the other parts of the train to become reversed by the gravitation :of the valve 3.

This case is tiled as a division of my pending application, Serialv No; 688,555, iiled Jan. 25, 1924, for thermostat.

VHaving thus described my invention, what i claim, is-

1. The combination'with *a gas governor including a valve for dispensing the gas, a lever and apair of dogs for controlling said dispensing valve, of aI metal tube of low eX- `pansibility supportedbyr the"governor, a

rod disposed axially ink Vthetube, the lower end of said rod' being'anchored near the lower end of the'tube, its top end. being free from the-tube, and l"a pair of levers interposed between said rodj andv said dogs yadapted to be rocked laterallyv by 'the endwise movement of said rod' 'for effecting' the jopexpansion andr contraction of said tube, aA

pair" ot'levers interposed between the @rod andsaid dogs, one of said levers being frictionally engaged with said dogs, the other lever being connected to said rod, said lever adapted to be rocked! laterally bythe endwise movementof said rod for effecting the operationoi1 said valve, and meansfor preventing the operation of said pair of levers by any Athermal actioneXcept that which is 'transmitted by said rod.

3. The combination' withv a hollow body adapted to be iilled with gas, including a valve for dispensing the gas, of a thermostatic elementtcomprising a tube of relatively low expansibility adapted to be submerged in a medium that is being heated,

a burner for heating the medium supplied with fuel by the valve, a rod substantially neutral to expansion and contraction inclosed by said tube and rigidly connected to the free end of the tube, and a pair ofy 4f. The combination with a melting-pot,V

and a burner for heating the pot, of a governor comprising a hollow body adapted to be charged With fuel gas, a valve in said body, a lever for operating the body valve, a pair of dogs supporting and operating the said lever, a thermostat adapted to be submerged in the medium heated in said pot comprising a tube of low expansibility, a rod disposed in said tube, the lower end of said rod being anchored in the bottom of the tube, a hollow leg depending from said body and supporting said tube, eccentrically pivoted levers disposed vertically in said leg, one of said levers connected to and rocked by said rod, the corresponding ends of said levers being overlapped and the uppermost lever adapted to be moved laterally by the lowermost lever, and the remote end of the uppermost lever engaging and rocking said dogs.

5. A tliermostatic control for heaters comprising a gravitative valve, a lever for raising said valve, a pair of dogs for supporting and tilting said lever in the direction for opening said valve, av pair of levers for actuating said dogs, said levers being disposed in the same plane and the adjacent ends thereof being overlapped, the remote ends of said levers being pivoted, a tube adapted to be submerged in a medium to be heated, and a rod disposed in said tube, the lower end'of said rod being anchored in the bottom of the tube, the upper end thereof being pivoted to the lowermost lever of said pair adapted to rock the overlapped ends of said levers laterallyby theeXpansion of said tube for lifting the said valve, said valve adapt-ed to close by gravity and to reverse the movements of all of said operating parts except the lowermost lever of said pair by the contraction of said tube. y

In testimony whereof I aiiix mysignature.

HOWARD W. PARTLOW.

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