US1672237A - Feed-water regulator - Google Patents

Description

June 5, 1928. 1,672,237

v. v. vEENscHoTEN FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Deo, 51, 192:5 3 sheets-sheet 1 FEED WATER REGULATOR l Filed D90. 31, 1923 5 sheets-sheet 2 June 5, 1928. 1,672,237

V. V. VEENSCHOTEN FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Dec. 3l, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 [mf/770m' ///'/7ce/7/ M Vae/Schafen lis Patented I une 5, 1928-.

UNITED' STATES PATENT orrlca.

VANIA.

VINCENT V. VEENSCHOTEN, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO NORTHERN;

EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- FEED-WATER REGULATOR.

application ined December s1, 192s. serial No. 683,656.

This inventionrelates to feed water regulators for regulating the supply of water to boilers. furnaces and the like, and it has for its object controlling the water level in the boiler well within the limits of safety, but also varying the level with reference to the varying intensity of the furnace fire and the manner in which the water in the boiler is being heated and the particular load upon the boiler. While the application of the invention is not to be considered as limited to any particular use yet forthe purposes of illustration herein I have described the regulator as applied to a boiler which is receiving heat intermittently, but .which has a more or less constant load on the boiler; and one of the objects of the invention is to control the How of water to the boiler by means of the regulator so as to supply the water in the most efficient manner when the intermittent heating means are used and when the load is continuous. Other objects of the invention will be apparent on Consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following description thereof.

Of the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation, more or less diagrammatic, of a boiler and its equipment, including a feed-water regulator which embodies the features of my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the equipment of the boiler; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a device for controlling the action of the regulator; Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of one of the cams which are used in connection with the boiler equipment; and Fig. 5 shows a modified use of my invention.

In the manufacture of lgas from coal the coal in the fire-place ofthe gas producer is often burned intermittently and while burning the hot gases of combustion 'are passed 0E and used in heating Water in a boiler so as to generate steam thein for such purposes as may' be desired. In carrying on this process it is common to have the combustion in the gas producer continue for a few minutes and then to shut off the is closedfwhich shuts off the hot gases fromthe lues of the boiler. At the same time it is usually desired to use steam from the boiler continuously. Hence. it becomes desirable to distribute as uniformly as possible the effects of the'heat in the boiler over the entire time, not only during the blow but also during what is called the run of the gas producer when the hot gases are shut off from the boiler.

As is Well understood by 'operators of boilers, in any case of non-uniform loads on the boiler, it isA desirable to pass the feed water into the boiler at a greaterrate in proportion to the load when the loadJ is light than when the load is heavy; so that when` the heavier load comes on there will be in the boiler a large amount of hot water which provides some of the energy for the extra load, and thus distributes more uniformly the effects of the fire, making a substantially constant fire more effective by storing energy in the water in the boiler when the load is light and using this extra energy when the heavier load comes on.

Similar effects are desirable when the fire is not uniform and the load is continuous, and particularly if the heat applied isintermittent and the load constant. It is then .desirable to pass more water in proportion to the load when the heat is applied so that this water may absorb excess heat energy and may deliver more energy when the heat being applied ceases. In case of the gas producer system which I have illustrated, the passage of the hot gases from the gas producer to the boiler is entirely shut off every few minutes for a few minutes ata time, hence, the boiler is receiving no outside heat during the period of run of the gas producer. In order to offset this intermittent action of the fire and the steam through the fire bed, it is desirable to feed much more waterl into the boiler during the period of blow when the boiler is receiving heat lfrom the gas producer than during the period of run, so'that the boiler can carry a substantially uniform load. The object of my invention is to produce this result.

In the drawings I have shown diagrammatically a gas producer 10 which, by

means of a conduit 11, is connected to the furnace portion of the boiler 12; and the flow of the hot gases from the producer to the boiler is controlled by meansof a valve 13; and also the flow of the hot gases from Der.

the boiler is controlled by valve 14 which is placed in the outlet 15 of the boiler. By this arrangement during the period of blow of the gas producer the hot gases are passing freely through the iues of the boiler and out of the outlet 15. But during the period of run the iow of gases is stopped by both valves 13 and 14, and the only heat received by the water of the boiler is from the hot gases enclosed in the flues of the boiler and the heat which has been absorbed by the Water pipes and the like and also by the water itself.

Inorder to control the flow of water to the boiler a feed pipe 16 is provided to which is supplied in any ordinary manner a continuous supply of water under suflicient pressure; and the iow into the boiler is controlled by the feed-water valve 17, and this valve 17 is controlled by a feed-water regulator 18. The feed-water regulator may be of any ordinary type of regulator such as a float, asteam generator, or a thermostatic regulator. I prefer the latter in illustrating my invention, and this regulator comprises the ordinary expansion tube 19, having one end pivoted to a support- 2O and the other end fixed to a bracket 21 which in turn is fixed to the base 22 of the regulator; the base being supported in any suitable man- Pivoted to the upper end of the support 20, and substantially parallel with the tube, is a rod 23, the lower end of which is pivoted to a lever 24.r The short arm of the lever is pivoted at 25 to the bracket 21, and the long arm is operatively connected by means of a link 26 to the arm 27 of the feedv water valve. The expansion tube 19 is connected in an ordinary manner, by means of pipes 28 and 29 to the boiler, below and above the desired water level, so that the water in the tube 19 stands at all times sub* stantially on alevel with the water in the boiler. l

As is well understood, with a feed-'water regulator arranged as herein described, in case the water in the boiler )sinks the water in the tube will sink also and expose a greater length of the tube to the increased temperatureof the steam with reference to the water, and the tube will expand slightly; and when connected as indicated the upper end of the support 20` will be forced slightly to the right and by virtue of the action of the rod 23 and the lever 24, the link 26 will be moved upwardly and the cylinder 3() of the valve 17 will be forced upwardly, thus opening the valve more and allowing more water to pass into the boiler through the feed water pipe 16. On the other hand, lwhen the water in the boiler rises, the process Willbe reversed, the tube 1.9 will contract and by virtue of the weight 31 acting on the arni 27, the valve will be closed more and less water will pass into the boiler.

Then the heat received bythe watei` in the boiler is substantially uniform the feedwater regulator arranged as described will maintain within certain limits the water level of the boiler, and if properly adjusted, it. will allow the water to sink'somewhat below the average during times of heavy such a regulator will maintain the waterl level at a constant elevation in the boiler.

nd, if the load is constant and the heat supplied is intermittent, there is a tendency yfor the water in the boiler to rise when the heat is applied owing to the entrained steam being generated in the water, and, hence, for the regulator to shut down the feedwater valve somewhat. The .reverse occurs when the heat to the boiler is shut olf, the entrained steam rapidly passes out of the water, the water sinks and the valve is opened wider and more water is passed into the boiler. As a consequence, when the boiler is receiving heat there is a tendency for less water to be supplied than when it is not receiving heat, while it is desirable to have more water supplied when receiving heat than when not receiving heat. At the same time, irrespective of this effect of the entrained steam, as there is vordinarily no direct. relation between the heat applied and feed of water to the boiler, it often happens that water is being fed rapidly to the boiler when no heat is being received or that substantially no water is being fed at times of blow. p

'Io eliminate this disadvantage, and to provide for feeding more water when the boiler is receiving heat, any suitable means may be provided for controlling the eiect of the regulator on the feed valve. I Vprefer for the purpose to provide means for shifting the lower end lof the support 20. For the purpose any suitable means may be used, but I prefecto provide the control device 32 which comprises a cylinder 33 containing a pistou 34. The piston stem k35 is pivoted to the lower end of the support 20, and the lower end of the support 20, by means of a slot 36. is otherwise free to move longitudinally on the base 22, so that the support acts as a lever pivoted at 72. I then connect the ends of the cylinder 33. by means ofpipes 70 and 71, with the hydraulic means for operating the valves 13 and 14 of the boiler so that when these valves are lclosed so as to shut 0H the heat from the boiler, the lower end of the support 20 will be forced to the right, thus allowing the rod 23 to move to the left and theweight 31 to close more or less or perhaps entirely the valve 17, so as to reduce very materially, if not to eliminate altogether, the flow of water to the boiler during the period of run. Un the other hand, when the lvalves 13 or 14 are open during the period of blow the piston 34 is forced to the left, thus forcing the lower end of the support to the left and forcing the rod 23 to the right and opening more the valve 17` allowing more Waterto flow into thel boiler. The amount of the effect of the control device 32 on the regu- \lator will depend upon the distance the lower end of the support 20 is moved by the piston 34. This may be regulated in any suitableI manner. I prefer for the purpose to use a link 37 which is pivoted to the support 20 and which passes through a proj ection 38 liXed to the cylinder 33. Stop nuts 39 limit the movement of the link 37 with reference to the cylinder 33, and, hence, limit the distance the lower end of the support 2() can be moved by the piston.

Any suitable means may be used for oper- ,ating the piston 34 in conjunction with the operation of the valves 13 and 14. I prefer to operate the piston by the same hydraulic power used ordinarily for operatin the valves. The hydraulic system comprises a tank 40 supplied with j water which, by means of a pump 41, is pumped into a casing `42. The pipes 43 and 44 convey this water pnder its pressure to the cylinders 45 and 46 which control the valves 13 and 14 by means of pistons 47. When it is desired to open the valves 13 and 14 the valve 48 in the casing 42 is opened by any suitable means and the valve 49 vis closed. This allows the water under pressure to pass through the pipe 43 to the lower end of the cylinder 45 and force the piston 47 upwardly and open the valve 13,'and similarly operate th^e valve 14 by means'of the cylinder 46.

the same time the exhaust water in the upper end of the cylinder 45 passes out through the pipes 67 into a casing 68.y This casing is connected by means of a pipe 69 with the tank 40, andthe exhaust water, therefore, passes up into the casing 68 and downwardly into the tank 40. When it is desired to close the valves 13 and 14 the valve 48 is closed,the valve 49 is opened and the water passes to the upper end of the cylinders 45 and 46 and forces downwardly the pistons 47, the exhaust water in the lower end of the piston passing upwardly through the pipes 50 and 51 to the asing 68. The valve 55 being open and thj valve 56 closed at the same time that the valves 48 and 49 are reversed in position.

Any suitable mechanism may be used for operating the valves in the casings 42 and 68.- I prefer forv the purpose a motor 60 which, by means of a reduction gearing, op-

greater port-ion of the time.

pumping the water directly into the casing erates a shaft 61 upon which are mounted cams 62 which operate the valves in a well-A known manner, the cams being so. arranged -that the opening and closing is carried out quickly, and the valves thus remain in elther the opened or the closed position durmg the n Instead of 42, I prefer a tank 64 into which the water is pumped fromthe tank 40, through a 'pipe 65, and from the tank '64 the water passes through a pipe 66 into the casing 42.

It should 13e/understood that the device` 32 does not deprive the feed-water regulator of its ordinary function of controlling-the flow of water to the boiler in accordance with the elevation of the water in the boiler. This function is performed at all times. The functionof the device 32 is simply to decrease the water fed during4 eriods of run or stop it all together, entire y irrespective of the normal action of the regulator, and to'open the feed-water valve wider during the blow than the valve would be opened normally by the regulator. If it should happen lthat the regulator and the controller 32 acted cumulatively the valve wouldbe often closed alto ether or would be open to the maximum. n the other hand, if they tended to neutralize each other, the valve might not be materially aiected. But, be 'that as it may, the effect of the controller 32 in general is to maintain aliigher level in the boiler during the periods of blow than during the periods of run, than would be the case with the regulator alone. The controller changes theV regulator adjustment so that a higher water level will give the same 'confined to gas, producer systems, or any system which merely supplies waste heat to the boiler. The controller may be actuated 'by any means whether or not the means are also used to control the heatl supplied io` the boiler or the intensity of the lire in the furnace of the boiler. For instance, as the damper'of a boiler is adjusted ,in any ordinary manner .the adjusting means may be caused`to adjust correspondingly the controller 32. Furthermore, the particular device 32 may be replaced by any equivalent device, or may be inserted in some other portion of the valve regulating mechanism such as the rod 23 or link 26. Various other modifications can be made in the apparatus herein disclosed, without departing from the spirit of my invention,.as set forth in the following claims.

The foregoing description of my invention shows it applied to a boiler which is nary type of boiler pperated in the usual manner for steam power purposes, receivlng its Water supply through the pipe controlled by the feed-Water valve 77, the

operation of which is regulated by the regulator 78,y Coal-is fed to the fire 79 of the furnace by means of the stoker 80 which is operated by the steam engine 81; the draft of the fire is regulated by the damper 82,

. and the control 32 of Fig. 2 is replaced by the following described controlling means. The regulator which may be substantially in all respects s-imilar to the regulator 18 comprises4 the thermostatic tube 83 and base 84 and the lever 85 associated with the feedwater valve. The upper end of the thermostatic tube is supported by a lever 86 and a second lever 87, the lever 86 being pivoted to the en d of the tube and the lever 87 being pivoted to the base of the regulator. To the upper end of the lever 86 is pivoted the rod 88 which is also pivoted to the lever 854 `By this arrangement, if thefarm 89 of the lever 87 is held in placeywhen the tube 83 expands the valve 77 will be opened more, and the amount of opening of this valve Will-de pend upon the position of the arm 89. If this arm 89 is raised, the upper end of the lever 86 will be thrown to the right and the feed-water valve Will'be opened. wider than otherwise.

Any suitable means may be used for controlling the lever 87 with reference to the particular conditions of the fire or the boiler. I prefer to control this lever in conjunction with the damper so that as the steam pressure of the boiler increases and the damper is closed more, more Water will be fed to the boiler, and a, the pressure decreases less Water will be fed to the boiler, thereby tending to hold the pressure constant.. The feed to the boiler may be thus changed lnuch more quickly than the intensity of the fire can be changed by changing the damper; hence, the lag in the effect on the steam pressure is materially reduced; and this is true whether the pressure rises or falls.

To produce these results any suitable means may be provided to control the posi- Vtion of the lever arm 89 as the position of the damper is controlled. I prefer for the purpose a controller 90 comprising a steam chamber 91 which is closed by means of the diaphragm 92. As the chamber 91 is connected to the steam space of the boiler the steam pressure will be transmitted to the diaphragm and as the'pressure increases the lever arm 93 will be forced upwardly against* the spring 94. The upward movement of this arm, by means offthe link 95, lever 96, link 97 and arm 98, closes more or less the damper 82 so as to reduce the 'intensity of the fire, and hence to reduce the steam pressure which has presumably become too great. As the arm 93 rises, by means of a link 99 `and the arm 100 the valve 101, supplying 'steam to the engine 81 of the Stoker, will be closed somewhat, thus reducing 4the feed of the Stoker.

To assist in reducing the steam pressur in the boiler to the normal amount I provide the link 102 which, as the arm 93 is forced upwardly, will carry with it the arm 89, and, hence, will open wider the feed- Water valve 77 and allow more water to enter the boiler. In this manner it will be seen l that as the steam pressure rises above the normal amount more water will be fed into the boiler, and the tendency will be to reduce the pressure of the steam therein. On the ,other hand, when the pressure of the steam decreases the arm 93 will be lowered by the spring 94, acting in conjunction with the Weights 105 and 106, andthe arm 89 will be lowered causing the regulator to close somewhat more the feed-water valve 77 and reduce the flow of water to the boiler. rIn

this manner the controlling. lever 87 will at all times quickly tend to prevent material variations in the steam pressure in the boiler. When the steam pressure increases, with this system the regulator will act rst in effectively decreasin the pressure; the damper will act next an the stoker last. Conversely when the pressure be ins to decrease the relative lags of the di erent controllers will be Similar. So that each controller acts independently of the others both in manner and 4in time, and the regulator controller 87 Will act in conjunction with or will act independently of the regulator tube A83, depending on whether or not the Water level changes with the pressure.

I claim as my invention:

1.v The combination of a boiler feed-Water regulator, comprising means adapted to be actuated by the Water-level elevation of the boiler for feeding Wat-er to the boiler, and means for modifying simultaneously the action of said rst mentioned means and the intensity of the heat applied to the boiler.

2. A'boiler feed-Water regulator comprising means for feeding water to a boiler so as to vary the elevation of the water in the boiler inversely as the load and means for modifying simultaneously said first meni tioiied mea-ns andthe intensity -applied to the boiler.

l ation of the second mentioned means.

lof the hea-tI 3. The combination ofl a steam boiler,"

nieansfor regulating the loiv of water tothe boiler. means for regulating the intensity of the heat applied to the boiler, and means for modifying the first mentioned' meansin accordance .with but independentlyfof the oper- 4. In a steam boiler svstem .means for means independent of the boiler for regulatring the intensityl of the heat applied tothe boilenand means actuatedby said lastfmen-y tioned-means for modifying vthe operation of said firstl mentioned means.

5. "In a steanf boiler' system means independent.v of the boiler -or controllingtlie intensity-of heat applied to the' boilei. and means modified by said iirstmentioned means for regulating the How of Water to the boiler, said Water regulating means being operable independently ofsaid heat regulating means. v

o. In a. steam boiler'svstem. means for regulating the 'intensity of the heat applied to the boiler', means depending on the water level in the. boiler for regulating the flow' of water t0 the boiler. andmeans for control- 7? A boilerfeed-water regulator Aand a feed-Water valve. means operatively connecting said regulator and' valveg and common means arranged to vary the intensity of the heat applied 'to the boiler and to modify the action of said feed-'Water lFegulatfor on said valve. v

' 8. A feed-water regulator 'c omprising; a' thermostatic tube and a feed-Water valve, one end of said tube being fixed, and 'means operatively connecting lthe otlieiiend vwith said feed-water valve,f said means comprising a'lever, and means for varyingthe position of the fulcrum of said lever. f

9. A feed-water regulator comprising end slidably 'mounted on said base, the other 'end withreference to said base. ling simultaneously both of said regulating' .varying'the intensity o the heatapplied to 'means being simultaneously operated by a 4thermostatietube 4and a feed-water valve, "one end o'f'said tube being fixed, and means intensity .of the heat applied to the boiler is varied. i .15

l0.,'Af'feed-vvate r regulator comprising a" theimostatictube and a feed-Water valve, one end of saidl tube being fixed, and means operatively connecting the other end .with

said feed-water valve. said means comprising a lever, and means for varying the positionof thefulcrum of'said lever, said latter means comprising a cylinder.` a piston in .said cylinder and means for varying the po'- sition of said -piston insaid cylinder in ac- .Cordance with the heat applied to the boiler.i l1. vA'feed-Water regulator comprising a base, a thermostat'ic tube with one end -lixed with reference to saidbase. a lever with one end of said tube being pivoted between t-he ends of said lever, means connected with said leverv for operating a vfeed-Water valve,a.nd means for shifting said slidably mounted 12. A feed-water regulator comprising a base, a tlieriiiostatic tube withone end fixed yvitli reference tosaid-base. a leverivith one 'end slidably mounted on said base, the other.

end of said 'tube being `pivoted adjacent the 80 1 other end of said lever. means connected with the said other end of said lever for operating I a feed-Water valve, and means for shifting said slidably mounted end with reference to i said base. ini-combination with means for a boiler.' saidd latter means and said shifting eommon means. In testimony whereof, I liand.-`

VIN CjEN T V. VEEN SCHOTEN.'

'hereunto set. my

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