US1842410A

US1842410A - Steam trap

Info

Publication number: US1842410A
Application number: US387297A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wilfred H Kuhn
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1929-08-21
Filing date: 1929-08-21
Publication date: 1932-01-26
Anticipated expiration: 1949-01-26

Description

W. H. KUHN Jan. 26, 1932. 1

STEAM TRAP Filed Aug. 21, 1929 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 26, 1932 WILERED' H. KUHN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN STEAM TM? Application filed August 21, i929. Serial No. semen This invention relatesto devices for removing the water of condensation fromfsteam lines, and more particularly to such devices employing a float bucketoperative to control the discharge.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a device which is simple in construction, positive and eflicient in operation, and

whichwillprovideaquick action of the device to prevent theescape of steam past the discharge valve. A further object is to expel all air from the device after an inactive period during which such air has accumulated, and to provide certain other new and usefulfeaturesin the construction and operation of the device. p i i With-the above and other ends in view, the

invention consists in providing "an automatic trip device whereby agradual descent of the bucket and slow opening of the discharge valve is prevented, and quick opening ofsaid valve and full discharge is insured without loss of steam past the valve. The invention further consistsin providing an arrangement whereby, upon the coming on of steam pres sure afteran inactive'period, the device will at once operate to discharge water collected in the bucket and thereby expel all air which n i w has accumulated'during such period of inactivity. The invention also consists in cer-: tain other new and useful features, all as hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which- Figural is a vertical axialsection through a device illustrative of an embodiment of the invention; I Fig. 2 is a sectional detail substantially upon the line 2.-2 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3 is a similar cross sectional detail upon the line 3+8 of Fig.1; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail on the line 4+4 ofFigl.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a suitable casing which is preferably of cylindrical form and is provided with an opening 2 near its lower end through which sediment accumulating in the bottom of the casing may be drawn ofi, said casing being also formed with a horizontal outstanding flange 3 at its upper end for the attachment thereto of a head indicated as a whole by the numeral 4. This head isprovided with an inlet passage 5 at one side and an outlet passage 6 at its opposite side, the inlet being screw threaded to receive a steam pipe of the line from which it is desired to draw the water of condensation, and the outlet being also screw threaded 'te receive a pipe forcarrying away the water discharged by the operation of the device.

The outlet 6 is indirect communication with a chamber formed by a cap 7 which is secured in any suitable manner in proper position upon the head, said chamber in the cap being separated from the interior of the easing 1 which forms a water chamber 8, by

means ofa dividing wall 9, which wall provides a central cylindrical portion 10 forming 'a chamber 11 to the lower end of which is secured :1 depending tubular member 12, the upper end ofwhich 1s open into the lower encl of' the chamber 11. Formed integral with the flanged upper end of the member 12 is a depending flange or deflector 13 arranged opposite the inlet 5 and extending'dowin wardly within the chamber 8 to provide a battle for directing the incoming steam and water downwardly within said chamber 8. The iOW'BI' end of the tubular. member 12 is enlarged laterally asat 14 to provide a chamber 15 at the lower end of the tube within which suitable lever mechanism is pivotally supported, the lower side of the chamber being onen. A bucket or float'16 which is of the usual cup shape and open at its upper end, ispositioned within the chamber 8 and surroundsthe-tubular member 12 and its enlarged lower end 14. This bucket has a free vertical movement within the chamber 8 and is designed to float within water of condensation accumulating within the chamber, until such time as water rises to a point where it will overflow into the bucket and weight the bucket sufficiently to cause it to sink within the water in the chamber.

The cylindrical portion 10 which forms the chamber 11, extends upwardly to the line of the bottom of the cap 7 and is internally screw threaded to receive a valve cage 17. This valve cage is inclosed by the cap 7 and is externally screw threaded at its upper end to receive a ring nut 18 which is chambered to receive a disk 19 forming a valve seat, said disk having a central opening 20 forming the sole communication between the chamber of A the cap 7, which is in communication with the outlet 6, and the chamber 11 which is in communication with the interior of the water chamber 8 through the depending tubular member 12 which extends into the bucket 16 adapted to float in said chamber.

Freely movable within the valve cage 17 is a valve carrier 21 of tubular form having laterally extending guide wings 22 to guide the carrier in its up and down movement within the valve cage. The valve proper, consists or" a cylindrical body 23 tapered at each end to form a valve adapted to engage within and close the opening 20. This valve body 23 fits snugly within the tubular body 21 and is detachably secured therein by means of a pin 24. c

A valve rod 25 has a head 26 at its upper end engaged within the lower end of the tubular carrier 21 below the valve body 23, the opening into the lower end of the tubular carrier being of less diameter than that of the head, so that said head is confined within the carrier when the valve body 23 is secured in the carrier by the pin 2a. This head 26 has a semi-spherical lower side toseatupon a suitable seat therefor in the lower end of the carrier, so that said stem 25 may have a free universal movement relative to the carrier.

Within the chamber 15 at the lower end of the tubular member 12 is located a pair of parallel links 27 which links are pivotally attached at one end to the wall of the enlargement 14 near the lower end thereof, by pivot screws 28 which extend through the wall into engagement with the links 27, adjacent the lower end of the rod 25, which rod is provided with a ball 29 seated between the links 27 in openings 30 in the links. These links are secured together in spaced apart relation by means of a spacer 31, and therefore the lower end of the rod 25 is attached to the links 27 adjacent their pivotal support by means which affords a free universal move ment between said links and rod, said ball seating within the openings 30 in the links, forming a universal joint connection. Between the ends of the links at their ends opposite their pivotal support, is pivotally connected a link member 32 which is free to swing between the links upon a transverse pivot, and a stud 33 is secured in any suitable manner to the bottom wall of the bucket 16 and is provided with an ear 34 extending into the link 32 and pivotally connected to the lower end of the link by a pivot pin 35 which extends at right angles to the pivotal connection of the link 32 to the parallel links or levers 27. The bucket is, therefore, connected to and supported by the free ends of the links 27 and has a limited free movement relative to these links by reason of the link connection between the free ends of the links and the bottom of the bucket.

As the water of condensation accumulates in the chamber 8, the bucket 16 will be floated upwardly by its buoyancy, thus turning the links 27 upon their pivotal connection to the fixed tubular member 12 and exerting an upward thrust upon the rod 25. This upward movement of the rod will slide the valve carrier 21 in its cage 17 and seat the valve 23 on its seat disk 19, closing the opening 20. When the water rises within the chamber 8 sufliciently to overflow the upper edge of the bucket 16, the bucket will become weighted by this water and caused to sink within the body of water within the chamber 8. This downward movement of the bucket will, through the action of the links 27, exert a downward, pull upon the rod 25 which will move the valve carrier 21 downwardly, .and unseat the valve 23. When the'valve 23 is thus opened, the steam pressure within the chamber 8 upon the upper surface of the body of water contained within the bucket, will force this water out of the bucket, up through the tubular member 12, into the chamber 11, and thence out through the outlet 20 into the cap 7 and thence out through the outlet 6 where it is carried away. Immediaely upon this discharge of water from the bucket, said bucket will again rise, due to its buoyancy, and will, through the movement of the links 27, press upwardly on the rod 25 and move the valve 23 to its seat, closing the outlet.

As the water of condensation rises in the chamber 8 and reaches the top of the bucket so that it overflows into the bucket, the bucket will be gradually weighted by this water, the weight increasing gradually, and thus the bucket will be gradually lowered and will operate with a slow movement to open the discharge valve. This slow opening movement of the discharge valve is detrimental to the operation of the device for the reason that steam, due to the gradual opening of the valve, will force its way past the valve and escape in advance of the discharge of the water from the bucket, but this will not happen if the bucket be retarded or held against sinking until it is nearly full of water, and to so hold or latch the bucket in rip-position,

a stud 36 is rigidly secured in any suitable manner to a flange on the upperend of the tubularmember 12, or any other convenient thecenter of the bucket, is a pair of ears 38 between which the stud extends and between which is secured a roller 39, which rolleris adapted to engage one side of the stud and roll thereon as the bucket rises and falls, and this roller is also adapted to engage within a notch 40 in the side of the stud, said notch forming shoulders to be engaged by the roller and ofier' a resistance to the downward movement of the bucket.

It will be noted that the bucket isa-ttached to the parallel links or levers 27 pivotally and is therefore'free to tilt laterally. It will also be noted that the stud 33 to which the links are connected, is secured to the bottom of the bucket some distance laterally of the vertical axis of the bucket, so that when the bucket is empty or nearly so and floating within the water in the chamber 8, this buoyant force will act on the bucket in a manner to cause it to be tilted laterally in the direction of the side, nearest to which the stud 33 is secured, and as the stud or rod 36 projects into the bucket adjacent this same side, the tendency of the bucket is to move at its upper end, away from the rod 36, thus bringing the rollor 39 into contact with the rod and holding it engaged in the notch 40 thereof as long as the bucket is suiiiciently buoyant, the weight 37 assisting in this tilting of-the bucket.

. Therefore, as the water of condensation overflows the upper edge of the'bucket, gradually decreasing its buoyancy, the roller 39 will engage the shoulder at the lower end of the notch 40 and resist the downward movement of the bucket. But when the water rises in the bucket to the desiredheight, the bucket loses its buoyancy and the weight of this water will overcome the weight 37 and tilt the bucket in a direction opposite that to which it was tilted by buoyancy and weight 37 due to the OE center support of the bucket by the lever mechanism. Therefore when the bucket has filledto the desired point, it will tilt sufliciently to disengage the roller 39 from the notch 40 and the bucket will then immediately and quickly sink toward the bottom of the chamber 8, operating to open the discharge valve and cause the water c0ntainedin the bucket to be discharged as previously described. A sudden opening of the discharge valve is thus secured by this automatic release of the latch mechanism comprising the notchedstud 36 and roller 39. This quick opening of the valve will cause a quick discharge of the water which will prevent the escape of live steam through the discollected is not sufficient to overflow into the bucket and cause 1t to descend far enough to open the valve. Air will, therefore, be

trapped in the upper part of the water chamber and in the steam supply line.

Inorder to eliminatesuch entrapped air, means is provided in the present construction for insuring the fall of the bucket and the opening otthe valve after a period of inactivity andthe arrangement is also such as to insure the forcing out of the entrapped air ahead of the first discharge of Water which will take place immediately upon the rise in steam pressure in the supply line.

To insure the downward movement of the bucket after an extendedperiod of inactivity or lack of pressure in the steam line, a very restricted opening 41 is provided in the bottom of the bucket so that the water of condensation collecting within the chamber 8 after steam pressure has been turned 0d from the steam line, is permitted to slowly seep through this restricted opening into the bucket and cause the bucket to gradually lose its buoyancy and sink downward inthe water to the limit of its movement, thereby opening the outlet valve 23. The bucket is thus placed in position to discharge the Water contained therein as soon as the steam pressure again COHIES 011.

After a period of inactivity, more or less air will accumulate in the steam line and in the upper part of the chamber 8 above the water. In order to discharge this air when steam pressure is again turned 011, a very restricted opening 42 is provided in the wall of the tube 12 adjacent the chamber 11. Theair trapped in the upper p art of the chamber 8 may therefore find'its way gradually through this small opening and pass into the tubel2 and charm ber 11. When steam pressure is again turned on, this pressure will force the air out of the steam line into the upper part of the chamber 8 and through the opening 42 into the chamber 11, and as this steam pressure increases, and a sufiicient pressure is built up on top of the water within the water. chamber and within the bucket 16, this pressure, because the bucket is in lowered position and the valve 23 is open, will force the water out of the bucket, up through the tube 12 and out through the discharge, forcing the trapped air ahead of this flow of water and thus eliminating air from the system.

1 By reason of the bucket being in lowered position with the discharge valve open due to the seepage of water through the opening 41, immediately upon building up of steam pressure, the device operates to discharge the water from the bucket together with the entrapped air and as soon as such discharge occurs, the bucket byits buoyancy, will rise and be locked up by the latch mechanism including the stud and roller, until such time as water of condensation again accumulates sufficiently to overflow into thebucket and rise therein to a point where its weight will overcome the weight 37 and tilt the bucket laterally, thus releasing the latch mechanism and allow the bucket to immediately descend and open the discharge valve for the next discharge operation.

Obviously changes may be made in the form, combination, and arrangement of the latching up device for the float and also in the construction and arrangement of the trap itself, within the scope of the appended claims, Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not therefore limit myself to the particular means, combination, and arrangement shown.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim is 1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a casing forming a chamber to receive Water of condensation, a buoyant member in said chamber, said member being adapted to receive water of condensation to weight the member for downward movement and a discharge valve operated by said buoyant member; of means for releasably holding said buoyant member in raised position and against downward movement during a predetermined period in the. accumulation of the water in the member, said means being operated by a movement of said member to effect quick release of said member and permit the downward movement thereof to be rapidly completed and quickly open said valve.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a casing providing a chamber to receive Water of condensation, a buoyant member in said chamber having an open top for the overflow of water thereinto, and a discharge valve operated by the rise and fall of said buoyant member; of latching means automatically operated to hold said buoyant member in up position and to automatically release the same by movement of said member and effect quick opening of said valve.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a casing forming a water chamber, a buoyant member in said chamber, said member being adapted to receive water to weight the member for downward movement and a discharge valve operated by said buoyant member; of holding means for said buoyant member adapted to temporarily prevent such downward movement of the member and means controlled by the amount of water in said member, for releasing said holding means to permit quick downward movement of said member.

4-. In a device of the character described, the combination with a receptacle to receive water of condensation, a buoyant member, and a discharge valve operated by said buoyant member; of means for suspending said buoyant member and permitting free lateral tilting movement thereof, and means made active by the tilting of said member in one direction to hold said member in up position and to release said member upon the tilting thereof in an opposite direction.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination With a receptacle forming a chamber to receive water of condensation, a buoyant member in said chamber, and a discharge valve operated by the movement of said buoyant member; of means connected to said buoyant member laterally of the center of gravity thereof for suspending said buoyant member within said chamber and permitting free lateral tilting movement thereof, and means for locking said buoyant member in up position made active by tilting move ment in one direction of said buoyant member, said buoyant member being tilted in an opposite direction by accumulation of water therein to release said member and permit quick downward movement thereof to effect a quick opening of said valve.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with a casing providing a water chamber, a discharge valve, and an open float bucket in said chamber to operate said valve; of means extending into said bucket for operating said valve by the up and down movement of the bucket, said means beiu connected to said bucket laterally of the center of gravity of said bucket to cause a tilting movement thereof in one direction when the bucket is buoyant, and means made active by said tilting movement of the bucket in said direction, for releasably locking said bucket in up position, said bucket being tilted in an opposite direction to release the same, by accumulation of water in the bucket.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with a casing providing a chamber to receive water of condensation, a discharge valve, a float bucket in said chamber to operate said valve; of means extending into the bucket and connected to the lower end thereof laterally of its center of gravity for operating said valve by an up and down movement of said bucket, a fixed guide member for guiding the bucket in its up and down movement, means on said bucket for engaging said guide to detachably hold said bucket in up position, said bucket being tilted by accumulation of water therein for releasing said means from said guide and permitting a quick downward movement of the bucket.

8. In steam trap structures, wherein the float bucket and outlet valve are connected to move in synchronism in a substantially vertical direction to open and close the valve with the closing movement produced by the float bucket buoyancy andthe opening movement of the valve produced by the gravity action of water of condensation accumulations within the bucket, the combination with the connected valve and float bucket, of a pivotal formation within the connection of valve and bucket to permit tilting of the bucket, and

in that the bucket is provided with an ooze port operative to provide accumulation of bucket contents from the trap seal to release the bucket from its held position and open the valve during periods of extended inacmeans for controlling the time and extent of V tilting movements of the bucket, said means being operative to limit the tilting activities to periods when the bucket is in its upper position and to retain the bucket in such upper position pending accumulation of bucket contents sufiicient to tilt the bucket to release the latter from its held position and to cause gravity action. of the bucket to rapidly shift the valve to its open position.

9. A structure as in claim 8 characterized in that the bucket in its. heldposition is located in one of the extremes of its tilting movement, and the tilting action to release the bucket from its held position shifts the bucket to approximately the opposite extreme of such tilting movement, with the bucket retained in the latter position during its vertical movements.

10. A structure as in claim 8 characterized in that the tilting movement of the bucket between itsextremes is limited substantially to periods when the bucket is inits upper position.

11. A structure as in claim 8 characterized in that the means includes a member carried by and movable with the bucket, and a stationary member, one of said members having a recess with the other member having an element adapted to enter the recess to permit the tilting action and to produce the holding action, the gravity-producing accumulation of bucket contents serving to tilt the bucket to release the element from the recess.

12. A structure as in claim 8 characterized in that the means includes a member carried by and movable with the bucket, and a stationarv member having a recess, the bucketcarried member being movable into and out of the recess during the tilting movements of the bucket.

13. A structure as in claim 8 characterized in that the bucket is provided with an ooze port to permit passage of water of the trap seal to the bucket interior to provide accumulation of bucket contents sufficient to tilt the bucket and release it from its held position, whereby the holding means will be automatically rendered inactive during extended periods of inactivityof the trap.

14:. A structure as in claim 8, characterized