US2414629A - Feed-water control and alarm for steam boilers - Google Patents

Description

A. G. BLOSS Jan. 21, 194 7.

FEED WATER CONTROL AND ALARM FOR STEAMBOILERS Filed July 8, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

M A 7' 70/? NE) Jan 21, 194:7. 2,414,629

FEED WATER CCNTROL AND ALARM FOR STEAM BOILERS A. G. BLOSS Filed July 8, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Arron/var Patented 'Jan. 21, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE FEED-WATER CONTROL FOR s'rnAM BOILERS Albert G. 31055, Kenova, W. Va.

Application July'8, 1943, Serial'No; 4913;884

3 Glaims.

This invention relatesto the automatic controller feed water pumps of steam boilers, for keeping such boilers adequately supplied with Water at all times, together with automatic means for actuating suitable alarm signals incase the water falls to dangerous low levels. In addition to the automatic-'controlofthe feedwater pump and operation of alarm signals, this apparatus ofi'ers the advantage of being adjustable within fixed" limits' for varying the water level in the boiler to meet the various requirements of different territories or jurisdictions.

One principal object of the invention is to provide; incombination with the steam boiler and the feed water pump thereof, automatic means for controlling the pump, and alarm signal devices for indicating low or dangerous water' levels in the boiler. I

Another object is toprovid e in combination with a steam boiler and the feed water pump thereof, a- Water' bottle mounted thereon and connected therewith; for indicating the water level the'boiler; the said bottle being verticallyadjustable relative to the boiler in order to adapt the apparatusto conform to the laws of diiferent jurisdictions relative to the required water levels of steam boilers, and especially as relating to the" operation of'locomc'tives in dii ferent territories or on different roads, and means operable through the lowering and raising of the water level in the boiler and water bottle for respectively operating the feed water pump or stopping same, together with similarly operated means for actuating visual and audible alarm signals'upon the dangerous lowering of water in the boiler;

Another object of the invention is to provide in combination with a steam boiler, the feed water pump connected therewith, the steam line runnin'gfrom the boilertothe pump for operati ng'thesame, and steam operable alarm signals for'indi'cating' dangerous lowwater levels in the boiler, steam operable means-for controlling the flow of steam through the steam line running to thewaterpump, a water bottle connected with the'boiler for indicating the water level therein, the bottle being adjustable vertically between twofixed or adjustable stops, for adapting the apparatus to the jurisdictional requirements of difierentlocalities or territories, steam pipes leading from the boiler into the upper end of the water. bottle; separatesteam pipes leading from the upperend of the water bottle to the steam 2. water pump, valves in. the upper: end of: the waterbottle for admitting steam tothe pipes running to the alarm. signals and to: the means for controlling: the flow of steam to the water pump,

and means dependent on the water levels: in

thellwateinbottle for operating the said valves therein, whereby the; feed water pump will be automatically operated to pump water. into the boiler" to replenish. same, or; will be: automatically stopped when the boiler issoi replenished, and,

whereby the: said alarm signals :will. be automatically operated when the water becomes dangerou'siy low. in the boiler;

With; the. ioregoing. objects: and advantages in View; together with such further objects and ad.-

vantages as may? appear the following; specification, attention is directed to the accompanying. drawings as embodying; preferred embodiments'of my invention;v and wherein:

Figure: 1* is alongitudinal. vertical. section on a relatively large: scale, of. one: of the essential. elements of the invention, same, being a steam housing and: valve mechanism, tor incorporation- ,in the: steam:- line' running from the boiler to the portion of a locomotive; boiler and. forward portioniof the; attached? engine cab,.. andshowing the complete apparatus constituting: this invention,

as mountedthereondn coi-operative relations Figure 31s: a vertical sectional view on a scale relatively" larger than that of: Figure 2,. of the waterrboiitle or water level control; constituting anotherr very essential element of: the: invention, as'the same appears-mounted on the cab end of a; locomotive boiler, the system" of steam pipesas' lconn'ec'ted with: thebottlea and portions thereof immediately adjacent thereto, and certain other elements,.. being. shown. in full lines.

4 is? a, rear" elevation on: the scale of Figured; of. thewat'er bottle or water level control',.por tions.,b'eing broken out to show the arrangement of the interior elements.

Figure. 5? is-a' vertical section on the line5-5 of Figure lr showing theencl'osed mechanism for operating the signa-l ,deviceslandieed water pump.

Figure 6 is a detail? on an enlarged scale of;

the. upper end ofzthewaterfbottle or water level control, including'tliei steam chest and therotary valve and connections for: controlling the flow of steam through the s'i'gn'al operating pipes and through the pipes supplying: steam to the feed water P111111 9 from the turret 6a, and whereby water is pumped through the feed; water pipe Ill into the boiler. Manually operated valves ll, 12 are incorporated in the steam line or pipes 9, with their stems and hand wheels Ha, l2a, extended into the cab 1, within easy reach of the engineer or fireman.

The structures as so far described are substantially conventional.

In practising my invention, and by means of the pipe couplings 53, I incorporate in the conventional steam line 9, a by-pass steam line l4, and which includes a steam valve housing referred to generally at 15, enclosing certain essential elements of the invention, as fully shown in Figure 1, and which will now be described. The housing :5 comprises the relatively large lower pipe joint 65a, formed interiorly with the horizontally disposed circular valve seat I511. The upper portion of this housing comprises a cylindrical valve chamber l5c, closed at its lower end except for the central valve stem aperture l5d, reinforced around its margins by the upwardly extended and integrally formed sleeve l5e. The lower end of this cylindrical chamber l5c is exteriorly threaded to engage, as shown at [5 the interiorly threaded margin of the circular opening I59 formed in the upper side of the joint l5a concentrically with the valve: seat i573. Thus, the valve seat I51) and sleeve l5e are positioned concentrically in vertical alignment.

The cylindrical chamber [50 is closed at its upper end by a circular cap l5h,iwhich'is threadedly seated onto the chamber 150 as shown at l5k. The cap l5his centrally bored and tapped as at i5l for engaging the complementally threaded plug i5m, which in turn. is centrally bored through and tapped, as at I5n,-to receive a small steam pipe later to'be described. The cap l5h is formed laterally with a small duct l5p which widens into an interiorly threaded socket l5q adapted to threadedly receive a valve plug I51 formed with a duct I58 adapted to align with the duct I51) of the cap l5h when the plug I51 is screwed into'the socket l5q. The duct His is taperingly expanded at its outer end, as at l5t, and is threaded interiorly at its mouth for engaging a ccmple'mentally threaded needle valve I50, for regulating the flow of steam fromthe chamber. l5c, for a purpose later to be explained. A blow pipe l5w is extended laterally from the tapered outer portion I51 of the needle valve duct for blowing off steam condensations. A disk valve i5 is fitted to the seat I52; and is mounted upon the lower end of a valve stem 16a, dimensioned to nicely fit and freely slide through the sleeve [5e within the chamber I50. A piston I1 is similarly nicely and freely fitted into the cylindrical chamber 15c, and is centrally apertured to pass the reduced upper'end of the valve stem lBa, these elements being then locked together by means of lock nuts is turned upon the upper threaded extremity of the stem l6a, threaded at lBb for that purpose. A coil spring I9 embraces the sleeve E5e and valve stem 16a, and being braced at its i 4 joint |5a for the passage of steam. However it is obvious that steam pressure may be employed at the upper side of the piston IT, in the manner and for the purpose later to be described, for forcing this piston and the valve downward upon the valve seat, thus cutting off the flow of steam through the pipe joint I5a, as required in the operation of the invention.

Within the cab l and upon the rear end of the boiler 6' is vertically mounted an elongated supporting bracket 25, which is clamped and bolted to the boiler by means of lugs 2 I, 22, secured to the boiler end in vertically spaced relation, with bolts 23 passed through these lugs and through the ends of the bracket 20, the upper lug 22 being slotted as at 22a to permit of the vertical adjustment of thebracket. The ends of the bracket 20 are turned perpendicularly outward, as at 20a,

25b, and slip- joint socket members 24, 25, are

bolted as at 26 to these out-turned ends in exact vented by means of packing (not shown) placed in the expanded mouths of the sockets, after which the nuts 3| are screwedinto the interiorly threaded mouths of the sockets, as shown in Figure 3. The outer ends of the socket members 24, 25, are bored and tapped to receive the, threaded ends of the water and steam pipes 32, 33, pro?- vided with the valves 34, 35, for controlling the flow of water and steam therethroug h. Thewater pipe 32 extends to and is connected with the boiler 5, at the low water line or danger point.

thereof, this connection being madein conven tional manner and not shown in the drawings.

Thus'the water level in the boiler 6 at any time is faithfully reproduced and shown in the water bottle 21, the bottle being properly located for that purpose. The steam pipe 33 is extendedto and;

operatively connected with the steam turretta of the boiler. in conventional manner. .To facilitate comparison of levels as between the boiler and Water bottle, water glasses 36, 31 are mounted on,

the bottle 2'! and on the boiler 5 respectively, conventional manner. s V For the purpose of adjustab-ly raising or lowering the bottle 21 to meet varying conditions and requirements, a worm shaft 38 is journalled at its lower end vertically through the out-turned lower end Zea of the bracket 20, where it is held by means of a stop ring 38a anchored to this shaft immediately above the end 211a of the' brack'et,

and the upper endof this shaft is then journalled in a lug 3i; anchored upwardly on the bracketfm'r The worm shaft is passed through ascrewlug 40 anchored medially to the bottle 21 and adaptedto;

mesh with the worm of the shaft. A wheel handle 38b is anchored to the lower extended en d of ,the

shaft38. Thus the shaft may be rotated toright or left for raising or lowering the bottle 2-1. .Stop lugs HJEZ, are mounted on the bracket 20 invertically spaced alignment for limiting the upward or downward movement of the water bottle 21, between these stops. Avalved drain and blow-out;

pipe 28a is screwed into the lower bottle cap 28, for the, purpose of blowing same out and for test,- ing the operation of the apparatus.

The bottle 21 is formed with a steam providedQthe 21a at its upper end, or which maybe incorporated with the cap .723 at that end, and wherein is mounted a. rotary valve is on a shaft 43a journalled in the chest. The valve is is formed with oppositely disposed and spaced steam ports 43?), 43c, adapted to closely and alternately align or register with the ports El -b, 210 respectively of the steam chest am. A crank arm M is rigidly connected at one end with the shaft 43a and is extended horizontally, medially into the upper end of the bottle 21. A float 45 is mounted medially on a'guide rod fiila which is slidably passed through vertically spaced cross-ribs 66 anchored at their ends transversely in the bottle 2'1. A connecting rod or stem set is adjustably joined by means of the adjustment nut 450 to the upper end of the guide rod 511. The stem 45b is passed slidably through a narrow slot-Ma formed in the crank arm at, and stops std, 45c, mounted on the stem serve to limit the upward and downward movement of the stem as they strike the arm at either side under the movement of the float '15. Additional adjustment stops Ill, d3, may be mounted on the inner walls of the steam chest 21a, in vertical alignment above and below the crank arm M, for limiting the vertical movement of this arm. A lubricating pipe 21d may be screwed into the top side of the steam chest 21a for lubricating the mechanism of the steam chest, the rotary valve, etc.

A steam pipe 56 is connected at one end with one of the ports, as 2% of the steam chest 21a, and is extended to and connected at the other end with the plug I 5m of the steam valve housing it, the pipe being for this connection threaded into the tapped bore 511 of the plug. A separate steam pipe 5! is connected at one end with the opposite port 27c of the steam chest, and is extended to and operatively connected at the other end with any conventional forms of alarm signals, such as the whistle 52 and the electric light 53, the latter being energized by means of a steam operable switch as set in a suitable electrical circuit.

Constructed as described, and with the several elements of the invention operatively arranged and adjusted, the operation is as follows: The coi1 spring is within the steam valve chamber 15 will normally raise and hold the valve HS in open position as shown in Figure 1. ihe valve I I being normally closed and the valve l2 open, steam will then flow from the steam turret Ea through the unobstructed steam lines 9 and M, and through the valve chamber or housing IE, to the conventional water pump 6, and will operate same for pumping water into the boiler, the water then flowing by gravity into the water bottle 21 connected as aforesaid with the boiler. This flow of water into the boiler and bottle will continue until the lower stop Add at the upper end of the guide rod of the float t5 strikes the crank arm 44 and pushes same upward. This action rotates the rotary valve d3 until the steam port lt b aligns with the port Zlb of the steam chest Tia. At this time the opposite port 2T0 will remain closed. Steam will then flow through the steam line 53 into the valve housing or chamber it from the upper end of the water bottle "and the steam chest Fa which is kept supplied from the steam turret 5a through the pipe 33. Entering the housing l5, the steam will force the piston ll and the valve l6 downward until the latter seats upon the valve seat i511, thus stopping the flow of steam to the water pump and stopping the pump. In the process of generating steam in the boiler, the water levels in the boiler and water bottle may fall until the upper stop 45c. strikes the upper side of the crank arm 45, which action rotates the valve 43 reversely until the steam port 43c aligns with the port 21c of the steam chest 21a, and which rotation simultaneously closes the port 21b and stops the flow of steam through the line 50 to the housing l5. As the ports 43c, 27c register, steam then flows through the line 5! and energizes the alarm signals 52, 53, but of course this will not occur until the water reaches a dangerous low point in the boiler, all adjustments being made to that purpose. The alarm signals described are primarily intended to warn train operators in case they should leave the engine for too long a period. In any event, as the water lowers in the boiler and water bottle, steam trickles out from the housing l5, through the needle valve I51), and asthe steam line 50 remains closed at this time, steam pressure is gradually removed from the piston I1. When this pressure has been sufliciently reduced; the spring 19 will raise the valve I B and permit steam again to flow through the lines 9 and I4, and through the housing l5 to the pump 3 for operating the same again for replenishing the boiler. Mil) between the stops "45d, 45c, may be regulated as desired by adjusting the stops as desired, thus increasing or decreasing the time periods between the operations of the pump.

While a rotary form of valve is here shown at 43 in the drawings, other forms of valves might be substituted, and while this valve is here shown as float controlled, other methods of control might be substituted therefor. In case of emergency, such as might arise if the described mechanisms became inoperative for any reason, then resort would be had to the emergency valves l I, I2, for directing steam to the water pump, the steam then passing through the valve l I opened for the purpose and through the lower pipe 9. the other valve l2 being left constantly open. Thus I have provided a relatively simple and practical apparatus for controlling the supply of water in a steam boiler, with provision made for the automatic operation of the water pump in case the water reaches a dangerously low level, and for sounding or energizing alarm signals in such event, with automatic means for stopping the pump after the boiler is replenished with water, and with provision for emergency operation of the pump when necessary.

While I have herein shown and described certain preferred embodiments of the elements of my invention, and a preferred method of assembling and associating these elements, variations may be made both in the formation of the elements and the mode of assembling same, within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the kind described, for mounting upon a steam boiler having a feed Water pump operable through asteam line from the boiler and having alarm signals for indicating low water in the boiler, an elongated Water bottle for vertically and adjustably mounting on the boiler for adjusting vertically to meet varying conditions of the boiler in motion, as on a locomotive, the said mountings including slip-joint connections at top and bottom ends of the bottle for connecting with a steam pipe at its top end and a Water pipe at its bottom end, a float guide rod vertically and slidably mounted through the water bottle, a float fixedly seated on the lower end of the guide rod, a steam chest at the upper The length of the stem I end of the bottle and communicating therewith through its lower side, a rotary valve on a shaft journaled transversely through the steam chest, said valve being formed with a pair of angularly spaced steam ports communicating with the steam chest and leading outward through the periphery of the valve, a crank arm rigidly connected at one end with an outer end of the shaft of the rotary valve, the free end of the crank arm being extended horizontally into the upper end of the water bottle over the upper end of the said guide rod, said free end of the crank arm being slotted to slidably engage the upper end of the float guide rod, spaced stops on the guide rod above and below the engaged end of the crank arm for partially rotating the rotary valve on the rising or falling of the Water in the water bottle and consequent movement of the said float, a pair of steam pipes extended from the rotary valve with their inner ends arranged to closely and alternately align with the ports of the valve as the latter is rotated, for operating by one of the pipes and the steam flowing therethrough from the steam chest the said feed water pump and by the other pipe the said low water alarm signals.

2. In a steam boiler having a feed water pump and line for replenishing the boiler, said pump being controlled by a valved steam line from the gradually releasing such steam pressure for allowing the pump valve to gradually reopen, a water bottle mounted upon the boiler and arranged for vertical adjustment thereon to meet varying requirements, said bottle communicating through its lower end with the boiler for indicating water levels therein and there being a steam line leading from the boiler into the upper end of the bottle, a separate steam line leading from the upper end of the water bottle to the said pump valve for closing same as described, and means operable through the raising of the water level in the bottle for opening the valved steam line leading from the upper end of the bottle to the pump valve as the water in the boiler and bottle rises, for the purpose of stopping the pump.

3. In a structure according to claim 2, a low water alarm signal operable through the lowering of the water in the boiler and bottle by means of a separate steam line leading from the upper end of the bottle to the signal.

ALBERT G. BLOSS.

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