US711272A - Steam-trap. - Google Patents

Description

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c. H. ATKms. STEAM TRAP.

(Application .filed Sept. 8, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. ATKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, RY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE AMERICAN STEAM HEATING SPECIALTY COMPANY, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

STEAM-TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming* part f Letters Patent N0. 711,272, dated October 14, 1902.

Application tiled September 8, 1900. Serial No. 29,389. (No model.)

To all whom it ,may concern: connected to any suitable pipe or passage o Be it known that I, CHARLES HENRY A'l- (not shown) leading to the sewer or to any KINS,a citizen of the United States, residing other convenient place or, if desired, to a at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State a pump or other suitable apparatus for draw- 5 of Illinois, have invented certain new and ing off thesurplus water or liquid accumuuseful Improvements in Steam Traps, of lated in the shell or chamber l. The shell lis 55 which the following is a full, clear, and exact provided with an inner wall 4, which is prefspecification. erably formed therewith, and is in the form of My invention relates more particularly to a cylinder arranged concentrically with the lo means for permitting` the escape of water shell l, and the space between this cylinder from steam-passages while preventing the 4 and the outer wall of the shell is divided 6o escape of the steam; and it has for its privertically from top to bottom into a plurality mary object to seal the vent or outlet of the or series of passages by means of vertical passage against the escape of the gaseous partitions 5. Placed upon the upper end ot' substance by means of a portion of the liquid the shell and having its bearing as well 'upon and automatically discharge any liquid in the upper ends of the partitions and the 65 excess of such portion. cylinder 4 is a plate 6, whose upper face is A further object of my invention is to seal formed with a series of channels 7, at the ends the vent or outlet of a steam-passage against of which are formed holes or apertures 8 9,

zo the escape of steam by means of a portion of respectively, which extend through the plate the water accumulating therein'and to auto- 6 and communicate with the passages be- 7o matically discharge any water in excess of tween the partitions 5, so as to place one of such portion, while at the same time allowsaid passages in communication with the ing free discharge of any air that might have next, and so on throughout the entire se- @5 accumulated in the steam-passage. y ries, and depending from the apertures 9 With these ends in view my invention conof each of these channels 7 is a tube or pas- 75 sists in certain features of novelty in the consage 10 of smaller cross-section than the passtruction, combination, and arrangement of sage between partitions 5 and which compels parts by which the said objects and certainy the liquid or other substance rising in the 3o other objects hereinafter appearing are atpassage between the partitions 5 and crosstained, all as fully described with reference ing over along the channels? to descend to 8e to the accompanying drawings and more parthe bottom of the next passage between the ticularly pointed out in the claims. partitions 5 before it can escape thereinto,

In the said drawings, Figure l is a vertical the lower ends of the tubes 10 being arranged sectional view ofV my improved apparatus, in close propinquity to the lowerend of the taken on the line l l, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a shell 1, as clearly illustrated in Figs. l and 85 similar section taken on the line 2 2, Fig. 4. 2. The inlet 2, which is arranged at the up- Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the per end of the shell, as shown in Fig. l, line 3 3, Fig. l;V and Fig. 4 is a plan view with discharges wholly between two of the par-` the cap or cover removed. titions 5, and this passage opposite theinlet 1 represents a shell or casing which is prois not provided with one of the tubes 10, but 9o vided with a nipple 2, whereby it may be the partition 5 on one side thereof is cut connected to the Vent of the passage to be away at the bottom, as shown at 11, `to form relieved of the surplus liquid, as before decommunication directly with the next passcribed, or of the liquid and air without persage, so that the liquid may rise in the latter,

mitting the escape of thesteam or other gaseescape upwardly through the aperture S ous substance which it is desired to retain and along the channel 7, and thence descend therein. The bottom of this shell l is prointo the next vertical passage through the ,vided with an outlet-nipple 3, which may be first one of the tubes 10, whence it again rises in the vertical passage containing said first tube 10 and crosses over to the next one of the tubes lO and descends, as already de-v scribed, and soA on until the vertical passage adjacent to that into which the inlet 2 discharges is reached. The liquid enters this latter passage through the crossover-channel 7 and the last one of the depending tubes 10, and after discharging from the latter it rises and discharges from the vertical passage containing said tube through a top opening 12, formed in the plate 6, and thence into a central cavity 13, via a channel 14, connecting the top opening 12 therewith, the cavity 13 being constituted by a depression at about the center of the plate 6, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 4. After entering the cavity 13 the liquid discharges through onev or more pcrforations 15, formed in the upper end of a central pipe 16, whose lower end is in direct communication with the youtlet 3. The upper end of the pipe 16 is threaded and has secured thereon a nut 17, which bears upon a cap 18, arranged over the plate 6 and constituting the upper sides of the `channels 7and 14 and of the cavity 13. The lower end of the pipe 1G is threaded in a bottom plate 1a oi' the shell 1, which closes thelower ends of the passages formed by the Vertical partitions 5. If the passage-ways formed by the partitions 5 and the tubes 10 be partially filledv with liquid and pressure be applied at the inlet 2, whether induced by suction at the outlet 3 or by an increase of pressure at the inlet, the liquid will rise in each of the passages formed by the partitions 5 until the combined weight of the columns counterbalances the pressure at the inlet, and consequently if such pressure be due to steam or gas at the inlet the liquid in the passages will effectually seal the passage-way to the escape of such steam or gas. If a -surplus of water enters through the inlet, it will pass into the first passages formed by the partitions 5 and discharge the surplus through the tube 10 into the next passage between the partitions 5, and so on until the surplus water is discharged through the .tube 16 and outlet 3 and the counterbalancing-levels are restored. By this means it will be seen that the pressure at the inlet 2 may be effectually resisted and prevented from escaping by a hydrostatic column of compact and convenient form.

In many uses to which my invention may be put it is feasible to maintain the pressure in the inlet 2 at a substantially uniform degree, and consequently the escape of the steam or other gaseous substance which it is desired to retain in the passage to which the apparatus is applied may be prevented at all times by a portion of the liquid contained in the up and down passages of the apparatus.

When the apparatus is used in connection with steam-passages, it is often desirable to not only relieve the steam-passage of the surplus water of condensation accumulating therein, but to'permit the escape of air and gases therefrom withoutpermittiug the escape of the steam.` I will now describe the means whereby this may be automatically accomplished. As shown in Fig. 1, the upper end of the cylinder et is provided with a small air-vent 18, arranged opposite or in direct communication with the inlet 2 and at such an elevation that it will normally be above the level of that portion of the liquid which can remain in the up and down passages without being forced out by the pressure at the inlet 2, and formed in the pipe 16, at a point between the portion inclosed by the cylinder It, is an outlet 19, which permits any air or water that may find their way between the pipe 16 and cylinder 4 to escape into the outlet 3. Now in order that the air entering the inlet 2 may take this direct passage via the vent 18 and` aperture 19 to the outlet 3 without also permitting the steam to escape I interpose in this direct passage a porous steam-barrier composed of some suitable material which will be pervious to air but impervious to steam or which, in other words, will cause the steam to condense be- A suitable of a cylinder 20, which is placed around the l pipe 16 and is closed at both ends by gaskets 2l 22, which are compressed against the plates la, 6, respectively, the said plates being preferably provided with annular lianges 23, which center the cylinder 20. Thus it is seen that the volume of air entering through the vent 1S is spread out over a large porous area and as a consequence permitted to escape rapidly through the aperture 19. It is also evident that any Water which might find its wayinto the cylinder Ltwill iinally escape through the outlet 3.

Having thus` described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device for the purpose speciiied, embracing a liquid passage-way communicating at its ends with an inlet and an outlet, and formed of a series of short communicating up and down passages, the down passages being of a different cross-sectional area from the up passages.

2. A device for the purpose specified embracing a liquid passage-way communicating at its ends with an inlet and an outlet, and

formed of a series of short communicating up and down passages, the down passages being of a different cross-sectional area from the up passages, and means to produce a'lower pressure at the outlet than at the inlet.

3. In a device for the purpose described the combination of a series of up and down connected passages having communication at v IOO IIO

one end with an inletand provided at the other end with an outlet, a direct passage between said inlet and outlet and a porous substance closing said direct passage, substantially as set forth.

4 In a device for the purpose described the combination, of a series of up and down connected passages having communication at one end with an inlet and provided with an outlet at the other end, a direct passage lead ing from a point at the upper end of said series of up and down passages to said outlet and a porous substance closing said direct passage, substantially as set forth.

5. In a device for the purpose described the combination, of a series of up and down passages communicating at one end with an inlet and having an outlet at the other end, a chamber having direct communication with said inlet and outlet and a porous substance intersecting said direct communication, substantially as set forth.

6. In a device for the purpose described the combination of the shell l having the partitions 5 forming vertical passages one of which is provided with an inlet at the top and an outlet into the next passage at the bottom, smaller passages depending into said vertical passages and each having communication at its upper end with the next adjacent larger passage, the one of said vertical passages most remote from said inlet being provided with an outlet, substantially as set forth.

7 In a device for the purpose described the combination of the shell 1 having the internal cylinder 4 provided with an air-vent at its u pper end and the space between said shell and cylinder divided into vertical passages one of which has an inlet at its upper end and an outlet at its lower end into the next adjacent passage, the plate 6 secured over the upper ends of said passages and having the apertures 8 and depending tubes 10 communicating with said apertures and dipping into said vertical passages, the aperture 12, the channel 14, the cavity 13 communicating with said channel 14, the cap 18 arranged over said plate 6 and closing said cavity 13, the pipe 16 communicating with cavity 13 and passing downwardly through said cylinder and having an aperture in the side thereof, said cylinder being provided with an outlet communicating with the lower end of said pipe 16 anda porous cylinder surrounding said pipe 16 around said side opening therein and being closed at opposite ends, substantially as set forth.

CHARLES II. ATKINS.

Witnesses:

EDNA B. JOHNSON, F. A. HOPKINS.

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