US82357A - Edwin sheppard - Google Patents

Description

YEDWIN SHEPPARD," or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Lettere Patent No. 82,357, dated September 22, -1868.

AUTOMATIC BOILER-IBEDER.

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TO ALL WIIOM I'l MAY CONCERN: d

Bc it known that I, EDWIN SHEPPARD, of Philadelphia., Pennsylvania, have invented an improved Automatic Boiler-Feeder; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same.

.My invention consists otiafcer'tain arrangement of cylinders or casings applied to a steam-boiler, and communicating with each other, and with the interior ot' the said boiler, as fully described hereafter, the said cylinders being provided with suitable pistons, floats, and piston-rods, so connected with the 'valve-lever of a water-pipe as toV regulate the supply of water to the boiler, and maintain an even and proper water-level within the same. I A

In order to enable others familiar with apparatus ot' this class to make and use my invention, -I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in which Y I Figure 1 is a vertical section. of my improved automatic boiler-feeder.

Figure 2, the same, with the parts in a different position.

Figure 3, -a vertical section on the line 1-2, fig. 1, showing thc parts of the apparatus in a third position.

Figure 4, a detached view drawn to an enlarged scale; and

Figures 5, 6, and 7, views representing modiiications of my invention.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents a portion of the head of a steam-boiler, to the front of which is secured, iu'any suitable manner, a cylinder or casing, B, which communicates with the interior of the boiler at two points, above and below the average water-line x, by means of pipes a a', fig. 3. The water within the'boiler has at all times free access to the interior of the cylinder through the pipe a, and the steam through the pipe a', so that the same waterlevel is necessarily maintained in both boiler and cylinder, and in thefront of the latter are the usual gaugecocks b Z) Z1, vby 'which the height of the water may at any time be determined. A

The lower end of the cylinder B' is closed, und to its upper flanged end is bolted a head, c, having a stuffingbox, c', through which is arranged to slide vertically a tubular rod, C, the latter ibeing secured vnear its lower end to a. float, D ,within the cylinder by means of arms e. I o

The iloat D consists ofa vessel of thin metal, open at the top, and arranged to risc and fall with the water in the cylinder, being guided and maintained in a proper vertical position hy the tube C, and by a rod,f, which passes through an opening ima crossba1',f, and the lower. open end of the tubular rod C extends into a'well l or reservoir, fj, formed in the bottom of the Hout, for a purpose described hereafter.

Directly over the cylinder B', and secured to thesame by supports or legs t, is a smaller cylinder, F, open at each end, as shown in lig. 4, and arranged for the reception of two pistons, z' and i", one above t-he other, and secured to thc tubular rod C, the latter being closed at the top, and having, between its pistons t' and i', openings j, frein which, under the circumstances described hereafter, steam may pass through the' cylinder F into a pipe, k, and thence to a third cylinder, G, which may be secured directly to the head of the boiler, or to one of the other cylinders, and is provided at'its lower end with a detachable head and stuffing-box Z.

Within this cylinder is a piston, m', the rod, m, of which passes thro-ugh the stuliing-box Z, and through an opening', r1., in the upper end of tho cylinder, the said opening being of somewhat greater diameter than the rod, for a-pur'posc describedhereafter.

, 'lhe piston-rod m is connected byu) rod,p, to a weighted lever, H, which iscennected to a valve of suitable construction in the feed-water pipe J.

Whatever may bc the water-level, andthe position of the iloat in the cylinder B, the steam contained in` the upper portion of' the latter will pass to the bottom of the float, enter the lower open end of the tubular rod C, and will rise through thc rod, and pass out at its opcningsj into the cylinder F, between the pistons t' and i.

l when thcwatcr, therefore, is at the proper level in thcboilcr, (indicated by the red line a; x,) the float, its

tubular rod C, and the pistons i and t", will assume the position -shown in iig. l. The steam, entering the cylinder F between 'its pistons` will pass through the pipe c, and elevate the piston m' to the upper end of the cylinder G, and the air confined in the latter, above the piston, will b e forced in small quantities through the opening n, and will serve as a cushion to prevent the piston from being too suddenly elevated by the action of the steam beneath it.

When the piston m is thus elevated in its cylinder, the weighted levenH is, through the medium of the :od p, raised to the position shown in fig. I, when the valve within the feed-water pipe J is so operated as'to allow a proper supply of water to pass thrnhgh the said pipe to the boiler.

If the water within the boiler should rise to a point above its 'proper level :v x, for instance, ito theheight `represented by the line y, fig. 2, there will be a corresponding elevation of the float and its tubular rod, the

pistons z' and z being moved to a position above the pipe k, so that the steam within the cylinder G can le'turn through the pipe into the cylinder F, and escape from the lower end ofthe same.

As soon as the pressure of steam is removed from beneath the piston m', the latter will, together with the weighted lever H, fall to the position shown in fig. 2, \\'henthe valve within the pipe J will be closed, andthe supply of water eut oil` from the boiler,

'lhe valve will remain thus closed until the water within the boiler falls suiiicientlyl to permit the piston i to assume its first position beneath thepipe 7:, steam then passing nto'the cylinder Gr, elevating its piston m', and operating the valve-lever H, as before described, so as to again turn on the supply of water to the boiler.

If, by any accident, the water lshould fall in the boiler to a point considerably below the line :1; x, the float D will also descend until it rests upon the cross-barf, which, as shown in iig. 3, prevents the piston from descending below the pipe l2, and serves to hold the piston c" at a point so close to the bottom of the cylinder F that the steam, escaping between the latter and the said piston, will cause suiiicient of an alarm to call the attendant to his duty, if he be within hearing-distance. Y Y I The recess g, at the bottom of the oat, into which the lower end ofk the tubular rod C enters, serves as aA reservoir for any steam that may become condensed within the said float, the water in the reservoir being forced upwards through the rod C by the pressure of steam, and discharged from -the openings j. l

In the modiiication of my invention, shown in tig. 5, the piston or Boat-rod C is solid, steam being admitted i-nto the cylinder F through a pipe, s, from the cylinder B; and another modification, by which the apparatus may be simplified and made more compact, is shown in figs. 6 and 7;

In the latter case the cylinders F and G are cast together in one piece, as shown best in fig. 7, and are secured at some convenient point above the boiler, the cylinder B being dispensed with, while the rod passes through the top of the boiler, and its oat, D, rests directly upon the surface ofthe water within the same.

In this case also steam may be admitted'into the cylinder G at one of the two points t and t', either above or below its piston, accordingr to the positions of the pistons and z", the port t serving as an exhaust-port when steam is admitted through the port t, and vice versa. By this means the piston m is both raised and lowered by the action of the steam, and the weight at the outer end of the valve-lever H may be dispensed with. i

The above 'apparatus is entirely automatic in its action, and will maintain the water within the boiler at a uniform or nearly uniform level.

Without contning myself to the precise arrangement and construction of parts herein described, I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- An automatic boiler-feeder, consisting of a cylinder, D, with its float D, cylinder F with its pistons z'z" operated by the float D, and cylinder G with its piston 7n', the cylinder F communicating with the cylinder Gr, and the cylinder B with the cylinder F, and the whole being arranged and applied 'to a steam-boiler, to regulate the flow of water to the same, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof', I have signed my name to this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN SHEPPARD.

Witnesses:

JOHN WHITE, C. B. PRICE.

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