US1799736A - Gauge cock - Google Patents

Description

April 7, 1931- H.-E. CULBERTSON 1,799,736

GAUGE 000K Filled Sept. 25, 1929 1n venior fleizrylzdbe r5507,

A iiomeu 330' wherein Patented Apr. 7, 1931 UNITED STATES HENRY ELMER CULBERTSON, OF MCCOOK, NEBRASKA GAUGE COCK Application filed. September 25,1929.

This invention relates to valves, and has more particular reference to the provision of an improved gauge, cock or valve, which is especially adapted for use in conjunction with a steam boiler water level indicating device. I v

Another very important object of the invention is to provide an improved steam boiler water level safety gauge cock or valve of simple. or inexpensive construction, the construction being further such as to render the cock automatically self-grinding, thus rendering the cock. or valve of this nature fully capable of giving extraordinary long service without repairs or grinding of the valve or cook.

' Another salient feature of this invention is the provision of an improved gauge cook or valve of the class above mentioned, which will require no such valve stem packlng as is generally or commonly used, which will be compact, simple in construction, reliable and efiicient in operation, strong, durable, and otherwise well adapted for the purpose intended.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during a study of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through a valve or coclr'constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is an elevational plan view, showing the under side of the handle.

Figure 3 is an end view of the valve stem at the handle end of the stem, the handle being removed. I

With reference more in detail to the drawings, it will be seen that my improved valve or safety gauge cock comprises a casing designated generally by the reference character 5, said casing being provided at its 7 outer end with an externally threaded neck 6, r and this casing is closed throughout its length with the exception of the laterally extending projection 7 which defines'an exhaust passage 8 communicating with the in- ,;teriorchamber 9. 7 1

At its inner end" the valve casing 5 is re- Serial No. 395,125.

duced and is externally threaded on this reduced portion as indicated generally as at 10. Formed at the inner end of the casing is a restricted inlet opening 11. The wall of the inlet opening 11 is bevelled inwardly to provide the valve seat 12. It is of course to be understood that the inlet opening 11 com municates with the chamber 9. Theneck 6 of the casing is provided with an axial bore 13, said bore 13 communicating at its inner end with the chamber 9.

A valve stem l l'has its outer end portion slidable in said bore, this valve stem adapted to extend through the casing and at its inner end merges intoan. enlarged head or valve 15 adapted to seat in the valve seat 12. This stem is to be actuated in a manner herein presently set forth, so as to permit an opening of the valve outwardly of the casing. A suitable valve handle 16 is adapted to threadedly engage the threaded neck 6 as at 17. The threads on the neck 6 are preferably left hand threads. l

At its outer end the valve stem 14 terminates in a squared reduced portion 14 and the handle 16 is provided with a squared opening 16 through which the said squared portion 1 1' of the stem 14 extends. At the outer end of this squared portion the valve stem has a threaded portion 17 and a pair of adjusting nuts 18 and 18 respectively are threadedly engaged on this threaded portion of the valve stem and maintain the stem in relation to the handle 16. In providing this reduced squared portionat the outer end of the stem M- the stem is correspondingly shouldered at the juncture of the squared portion and the upper surface of'the shoulder is cut at 19 to provide the sharpened edge circumjacent the squared portion and this edge may be termed the stop-edge of the stem.

. The handle 16 is provided with a suitable stop-edge seat 20. This seat 20 constitutes or is formed from a suitable piece of metal of the consistency of medium hard babbit which is set or inlaid in the handle 16 about its opening 16 so as to cooperate with the sharpened stop-edge of the valve stem thus 1 providing a tight steam or water joint with the said stop edge seat.

In practice, the reduced inner end of the casing which, as I have herein shown as threaded, provides means whereby the valve may be connected with the boiler, with the result that the valve 15 extending beyond the reduced end of the valve casing rests upon its seat as illustrated, the said valve being acted upon by the internal pressure of the boiler and thus is maintained in seated position by the pressure.

Hence, from this novel arrangement, a certain grinding in action between the valve and its seat takes place. Obviously, this grinding in action can be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the valve grinder clearance through the medium of the adjustment nuts 18 and 18'.

Obviously, by turning the valve handle 16 in one direction, or to be precise, in a left hand direction, the handle will slide inwardly on the valve stems squared portion 14 until the stop-edge seat 20 is forced firmly against the stop edge formed on the shoulder portion of the valve stem. Of course, during this action the valve 15 has been caused to rotate upon its seat.

The rotation of the valve. first in one direction for opening the valve, and then in an opposite direction for closing the valve. permits of the grinding of the valve as is apparent. lVhen the stop-edge and stop-edge seat come together so as to form the steam tight joint as before mentioned, continued rotation of the handle will of course force the valve to an unseated position against the pressure in the steam boiler thus permitting exhaust of the steam into the chamber 9 and outwardly of the casing through the exhaust channel 8. The stop-edge and stopedge seat will during the time the valve remains open also remain in contact with one another thus maintaining at all times a. water and steam tight joint and thus render ing the use of a valve stem packing unnecessary.

A distinct safety feature of this invention attained through this particular arrangement and construction of parts is that should this device as a whole sustain from an exterior cause, as a wreck, or locomotive overturning and derailment, breakage damage not sufficiently severe to force the entire valve body from its boiler fastening, which however would be and is of rare occurrence, there would be retained in its normal position, together with the internal boiler pres sure upon the valve, the valve and valve seat portion of the valve body with the valve in firm closed position.

Thus is provided an automatic scalding steam and scalding water escape prevention, even though the balance of the device shall have been torn away by any accident.

Attention is called to the fact that the valve stem 14 is reduced adjacent the head 15, so that the diameter of the stem rearwardly of the head will be comparatively smaller than the diameter of the opening 11, with the result that there will be permitted an uninterrupted flow through the valve casing of the matter discharging from the boiler. In having the stem 14 at this point of smaller diameter than the opening 11, it will also be "apparent that when the head is moved to an unseated position, a suitable test rod may be inserted into the opening and continued on through the opening into the boiler, and this use of the test rod can be accomplished without in any wise altering the structure of the valve or in necessitating the removal of any part of the valve structure.

A still further important feature and advantage of an invention of this nature rcsides in the provision of a self-cleaning action, which action is provided for as follows:

The line of outlet, through its entire course, is made extraordinarily large and free from any outlet flow hindrance. This line is also caused to follow in its entire course, from valve seat opening to point of exhaust to the atmosphere, a constantly increasing descending pitch reaching the perpendicular, at the point of exhaust. Moreover, the presence of boiler contents are entirely eliminated from the outlet channel when the Valve 15 is seated, or in other words with valve 15 closed, the outlet channel is kept entirely free. All of which, as will be appreciated, results in a dependable, self-cleaning action.

A further salient feature of the invention is that by moving the valve handle openward until its face 20 abuts against the neck 6,1110 narrowedportion of the valve stem l-l is brought in vertical line with the valve opening 11. This produces a comparatively very large opening rearwardly of the valve 15 through which a test rod may be passed into a boiler.

Of course, any suitable type of test rod may be utilized. These devices being well known in the art, and in using the same, it will be seen that one end of the test rod will be passed into the casing through the exhaust passage and continued through the casing to pass through the inlet opening into the boiler in a manner well known in the art.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that l have provided a boiler gauge stop cock or valve characterized by simplicity and compactness of structure, embodying an extensive range of functioning abilityJis positive in operation, thoroughly efiicient and reliable in use, and otherwise fully capable of attaining the objects and advantages as above enumerated.

Even though I have herein shown and clescribecl the proposed embodiment of my in vention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible to changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In a valve structure of the class described, a valve casing provided at its outer end with a reduced externally threaded neck, said valve casing at its inner end being provided with an inlet opening constituting a valve seat, said valve casing being further provided on its intermediate portion wit-h a laterally extending discharge port, a handle threadedly engaged with said neck, said handle being provided with a centrally disposed squared opening, a valve stem slidable and rotatable in the casing, said valve stem having its outer portion extending through said neck, and having a reduced square portion projecting through the opening in said handle, adjusting nuts threadedly engaged with the outer extremity of said stem, the opposite end portion of said valve stem extending through the inlet opening, said last mentioned end of the valve stem being provided with an enlarged head constituting a valve adapted to seat in said inlet opening, said valve stem being provided adjacent its outer reduced portion with a shoulder, said shoulder being cut to provide a sharpened stop shoulder, and a stop seat formed on the inner side of said handle adapted to co-act with said stop shoulder for providing a steam-tight joint between said stem and handle.

2. A. valve comprising in combination a casing having a relatively large chamber, said casing at one end thereof provided with an inlet opening for said chamber and constituting a valve seat, said casing being further provided with a lateral discharge port for said chamber, a valve stem operable within said chamber and having its opposite ends projecting outwardly of the casing at the corresponding ends of the casing, said stem at one end provided with an enlarged head constituting a valve adapted to seat in said inlet opening, said stem at its other end adapted to accommodate an actuating handle therefor, an actuating handle, means for mounting said handle on the last referred to end of said stem for movement longitudinally of said stem, said stem adjacent said last referred to end provided with a shoulder cut to provide a sharpened edge, and a stop piece formed on the inner side of said handle adapted to co-act with said stop edge for providing a steam tight joint between said stem and handle when the valve is being moved by the handle to open position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HENRY ELMER CULBERTSON.

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