US239001A - Steam-trap - Google Patents

Description

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No. 239,00L

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UNITED STATES 9 PATENT OFFICE.

` GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, JR., OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM-T RAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,001, dated March 15, 1881.

Application filed January S22, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, GEORGE WEsTING- HOUSE, Jr., of Pittsburg, county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered a new and useful Improvement in Steam-Traps and I do hereby declare the fol- A lowing to be a full, clear, concise, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making a part of this specification, in which-like letters indicating like parts- Figure 1 is a view, in elevation, of my improved steam-trap, and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same.

In both ligures the middle parts of the outside case and inner lloat-tube are broken away to reduce the length. The lengths ot' these parts may vary according to the work to be done, in accordance with principles well understood in thearts. Assuming the drawings to show' full size, I would make the outer case about two feet long, more or less; but. the dimensions as to both length and breadth may be varied at pleasure, provided only the essential features of construction and operation be substantially preserved. l,

My present invention relates to an improved construction ot'steam-trap chiefly designed for use in automatically drawing otl or discharging the water of condensation from steampipes, steam-radiators, &c., either by a continuous discharge or intermittently, as often as it accumulates in excessive quantity, but without danger or liability of the escape of steam o 1 admission of air.

Myimproved device consists of a tubular shell, A, which may be made of pipe closed at its upperand lower ends by caps or plugs A' A2. In the chamber AS thus made I arrange an inner oat-tube, B, tightly closed at its lower end by a plug, b, and for convenience of a steam attachment a plug, b, may be inserted in its upper end also; but a spider-frame or crossbar may take the place of the plug; but for the present I will assume it to be atight plug. This iioat-tube has an outside length and diameter a little less than the chamber A3, so as to leave a little water space beneath and around it, and alsoallow for a short range of' vertical or endwise motion.

To the upper end ofthe ioat-tube B, I affix a stem, a, which extends up into a spring- (No model.)

chamber, a, wherein is a spring, a2, arranged on the stem a., and acting by its resilience or elasticity on the under side ot an adjustable screw-nut, a3, so that-'the tendency ofthe spring will be to lift the lioat-tube. A port, c, through the upper plug or cap, A', provides means for the attachment of a drainage-pipe, c', and for the drainage of waterot" condensation into the chamber A3. j

ln the lower plug, A?, I make two drainports, c e', of which the one, e, is in or near the axial line of the tube, and opens at its lower end into a chamber, c2, from which a pipe, c3, may lead to a return or waste. The other port, e', made a little tolone side, passes down beneath the chamber c2, and then rises and opens into c2, with its axial line coincident with the axial line ot' the port c. A valve-seat, s, is made at the upper end of the port c, and another, s', but ot' a slightly less area-,at the4 discharging end ofthe port e; then on awinged stein, d, which is secured to the lower end of the floattube, I arrange two puppet-valves, o c', in such manner that when the oat-tube is down such valves will rest on the seats s s' and close the escape; but as the float-tube is raised both valves will be unseated, and Water of condensation will pass out at both ports c e. These valves c 'v' are so nearly ot' the same area and are so arran ged relative to the steampressure that practically they are balanced valves. The downwardly-acting steampress ure, which tends to hold the upper one to its seat, is practically balanced bythe upwardlyacting steam-pressure on the lower side of the lower one.

The spring a2 is to beso set by adjusting the screw-nut a3 that it will come a little short of supporting the weight of the float-tube, or,

in other words, so that the lioat-tube will, by its gravity, keep the valves c o to their seats, both as against the lifting-power of the spring a? and as against the lifting-power of at least enough water to keep the valve-seats s s cov- IOO ing action of the water and spring combined shall overcome the weight or gravity of the oat-tube, and so raise it, and by lifting the valves o t open the ports e e. Water of condensation will then escape freely, but as soon as by such escape the amount of water around and under the Heat-tube has become so far lessened that the residue is insufiicient to float or carry that part of the weight of the floattube which the spring is not adjusted to carry, then the float-tube will sink or go down, and by seating the valves n o will cut off the escape. With another accumulation of water the Hoat-tube will again be raised and thc operation repeated.

While I have thus, for clearness of illustration, explained the action ofthe devices as intermittent, it is also true that, if careful] y constructed and adjusted, a'uniforrn water-level will be maintained in the chamber A3, such that the valves o t will stand much or all of the time at such open position that the escape of water will just equal the addition by condensation, and the discharge will then be continuous. Also, for clearness of description, I have described the device B as a iloat-tube; but, mechanically speaking, it is simply a float. Instead of being made hollow, it may be made solid; or, if hollow, it'may be filled or be allowed to lill with water.

I am aware that floats which are carried Wholly by the water on orin which they rest, and which, as they rise and fall, operate to move a valve, are not, broadly considered, new; but I am not aware of any prior use of aoa-t of any kind which was carried partly by the buoyancy ofthe water on or in which it rested and partly by a spring 5 nor am I aware of any iioat which was arranged in any manner to operatea balanced valve, and hence I believe these features of invention to be new with myself. And itwill now be understood that the efiiciency of myimproved apparatus, taken as a whole, depends chieiiy, in the first place, on the use of a oat of such gravity that at the waterdepth at which its action as avalve opener is desired it will be too heavy to be raised by the lifting-power of the water alone, and, in the second place, on the partial balancing ofthe weight of the float by a spring and the carrying of the residue of such weight by the buoyancy or lifting-power ofthe Water. The effective gravity or valve-closing power of the oat increases rapidly as the level of the water is lowered by its escape; and thev partial balancing ot its gravity'by a spring renders it an exceedingly sensitive device, as the water-level comes to or rises above the point Where the lifting-power of therwater andof the spring combined equal the weight of the float.

Ot' course, it will be understood that as the oat employed is increased in weight provision must be made for the action of a higher watercolumn as a means of lifting it, or else the spring must be made stiffer.

I claim herein as my inventionl. A valve-actuating float carried at and during its valve-opening action partly by the water on or in which it rests and partly by a spring, arranged for operation substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with exterior case, interior oat, Water-chamber, and supply and escape ports, a stem, a, spring a2, and nut a3, for partially carrying the weight of the iioat, and balanced valves n fv, for opening and closing the escape or waste ports, all arranged substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, JR.

Witnesses:

R. H. WHITTLEsEY, GEORGE H. CHRISTY.

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