US28011A - Feed-water apparatus for steam-boilers - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

GEO. W. RAINS, OF NEVVBURGH, NEW YORK.

FEED-WATER APPARATUS FOR STEAM-BOILERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 28,011, dated April 24, 1860; Ressued July 24,

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. BAINS, of Newburgh, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Feed-Regulator and Low-VVater Alarm for Steam-Boilers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, 1n which- Figure 1, is an elevation partly in section, of the apparatus. Fig. 2, is a horizontal section of part of the saine in the line w, a2, of Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

My invention consists in a novel, simple, and effective contrivance for regulating the quantity of water forced into a steam boiler by a force pump or other feed apparatus, So as to maintain about the same level of water in the boiler under all circumstances while the supply does not fail at its source, and in case of such failure to give an alarm in time to prevent injurious consequences.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, represents a hollow, upright cylinder of brass or other metal, about ten inches in height arranged near the boiler X with the middle of' its length at or near the height of the proper water level, connected at its lower end by a pipe B, with the water space of the boiler, and near its upper end by a pipe C, with the steam space thereof, so that it is always supplied with water from the boiler to the height of the level in the boiler itself.

D, is a solid piston fitted so loosely to the interior of the cylinder A, that steam may pass freely around it. This piston is furnished with a hollow rod E, which passes through a stuffing box a, in the closed upper end of the said cylinder and through a fixed guide E.

F, is a puppet valve fitted to a seat at the bottom of the cylinder, for the purpose of closing the mouth of the pipe B, and having attached to it a long rod b, which passes right through the piston D, and its hollow rod E, which is fitted with a stuffing box, at the top to prevent the escape of steam around the rod b. The said valve has attached below it a stop e, to prevent it being raised @Eisen En beyond a certain distance from its Seat. The piston rod E, is fitted with a loose sleeve G, which is fitted with a dog I-I, so applied that pressure underneath it will make it bite the said rod so that the said rod may be lifted by it, but that the said dog when not supported, will by its own weight free itself from the said rod and permit the Sleeve G, to slide down the said rod.

I, is a disk attached to a horizontal shaft J, and arranged near the piston rod with its face parallel with the said rod, and having projecting from its face a pin f, so arranged that by the revolution of the shaft and disk it (the pin 7e) may catch under projection o, (see Fig. 2) on one side of the dog I-I, and so force it upward, and make it lift the said rod and the piston. The Said disk has also a projecting rim g, extending about or more than half way round the projection of the said rim, being sufficiently prominent to serve as a rest-ing place either for a projection m, on the sleeve G, or the proj ection o, on the dog I-I, as will be presently more fully described. The shaft J, and disk I, rotate very slowly; one or two revolutions every minute will be sufficient.

K, is an arm attached rigidly to the piston rod, and having suspended from it a rod L, in the lower part of which there is a slot L, whose length may be equal or nearly equal to the distance which the piston rod E, and piston D, are raised by the action of the pin f, upon the dog H, the said slot receiving a pin i, which projects from a lever M, attached to a cock N, or its equivalent in the suction pipe O, of the feed pump P. The said rod has also, projecting from one side of it two pins j, j', between which are situated a lever Q, attached to a cock V, in a steam pipe R, the lower end of which communicates with the steam Space of the boiler and to whose upper end is attached a steam whistle. The distance between the pins y' j should be about equal to the distance the piston is lifted. Y

T, is a crank for operating the feed pump, working in a slot lc, in the plunger rod U. Y is the force pipe leading from the feed pump to the boiler.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The piston D, is raised once during every revolution of the said disk I, by the action of the pin f, upon the dog II, and permitted to drop by the said pin escaping from the dog at a certain point in its revolution. The valve F is raised with the piston, as far as permitted by the stop e, by the friction of the stuffing boX, at the upper end of the piston rod upon the rod b, and is closed again by the saure means, early in the descent of the piston, thus cutting olf the water in the cylinder from the boiler to prevent its beino' forced back into the boiler by the fall of the pistonupon it. The piston in its fall strikes the water, and its descent is thereby almost stopped, but as it sinks slowly a little further the projection m, on the sleeve G, is caught by the projecting rim g, of the disk I, and the further descent of the sleeve prevented, and the rim g, immediately afterward coming in contact with the dog I-I, makes the said dog gripe the piston rod, and arrest its further descent, and lift it up till it raises the piston just above the surface of the water in the cylinder, where it holds it till the pin f, arrives at the catch and lifts the piston again as before described.

In the above operation it will be evident that the piston is arrested at or just below the water level of the boiler, whether this be high or low, and its upward movement is always to the same distance above such level, and hence any variation in such level causes the rod L, which rises or falls with the piston, to act by means of its slot 7L, on the lever M, of the cock N, in the suction pipe to give a greater or less opening to the said cock or to close the same entirely (the said cock closing by the upward movement of the said lever and vice versa) and hence the supply of water to the boiler is always in proportion to the level, while the source of supply does not fail, or is suspended entirely when a certain level is reached. Whenv the level in the boiler sinks to a certain point, the pin j, in the rod L, striking the lever Q, of the alarm cock V, opens the said cock, and causes the alarm to be sounded, and continued till the level rises in the boiler, but as the said level rises, the pin j, when the piston is lifted raises the said lever Q, and closes the said cock, and the pin j', in its descent fails to open it.

I do not claim broadly, controlling the opening of a cock in the Suction pipe of thev feed pump by the level of the water in the boiler, as I am aware that this has been attempted by means of a float which is admitted to be very unreliable in its action and also by other means; but

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of the cylinder'A, connected with the boiler as described, the piston D, having a hollow rod, the valve F, having an attached rod, passing through the piston and its hollow rod, the rotating disk I, furnished with a pin f, and projecting rim g, the gripper G, IFI or its equivalent and the rod L, suspended from the piston rod, the whole applied in connection with the cock N, in the suction pipe or its equivalent, to operate substantially as herein described.

2. In combination with the above specified apparatus I claim the alarm cock V, applied in connection with the rod L, to operate substantially as set forth.

GEO. W. BAINS.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL STANTON, GEO. M. CLAPP.

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