US884913A - Feed-water regulator. - Google Patents

Description

No. 884,913. r YPATENTED 'APR.'14, 190s,

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- FEED WATER REGULATOR.

APPLICATION. FILED JARSO. 1907.

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WITNESSES I PATENTEDIAPR.14,1908.- G-i APDUNHAM. FEED. WATER RBGULA'TOR. APPLIQATION FILED, JAN. 30. 1907.

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J y I M J 3f 7 l Q 41 lNVENTORJ 40 v 'Zagza/zflflaizizam ATTORNEYS ms nonms qsrsns ca, WASHINGTON, 2. cf

' HAM, a citizen of the United States, and a CLAYTON AUBRA DUNHAM, OF MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA.

FEED-WATER REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 14, 1908.

Application filed January 30, 1907. Serial No. 354,824.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAYTON AUBRA DUN- resident of Marshalltown, in the county of Marshall and State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Feed-Water Regulator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in vacuum vapor or pressure heating systems, and more particularly to improvements in the system disclosed and claimed in my United States Patent No. 816,972, granted April 3, 1906.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved means for automatically regulating and controlling the pump which returns the water of condensation from the radiators to the boiler, whereby the pump will be automatically started in operation upon the accumulation of a predetermined quantity of water in the receiver and the operation of the pump interrupted when the water falls below said predetermined limit.

The invention conslsts in certain features of construction and combination of parts, all of which will be fully set forth-hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corres onding parts in both the figures, in whic Figure 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of my improved system; and Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the automatic air relief and pump governor.

In connection with my improved system I employ a boiler 10 of any suitable type adapted for the generation of steam, and connected to this boiler is the main steam delivery pipe 11.

In the form of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the delivery main 11 leads through the separator 12 to any suitable form of steam engine 13 controlled by a throttle valve 14, said separator serving to remove any water of condensation which may be present in the steam and prevent said water from entering the engine. This engine may be employed for any suitable purpose desired, and the exhaust steam from said engine employed for heating purposes. The said exhaust steam is conducted through a conduit 15 to a feed-water heater 16 of any suitable character, and delivered from said feed-water heater through a conduit 17. This conduit is connected to the heating main 18 and also tothe vent pipe 19v leading to the roof of the building. The heating main is provided with valves 20 of any suitable character and preferably the automatic thermostatic traps 26 to the return pipes 27. These latter deliver through a common return pipe 28 to the receiver 29, and from this receiver the liquid is pumped through the feed-water heater and back to the boiler. The vent ipe 19 is provided with a back ressure va ve 30, and the conduit 17 leading steam from the feed-water heater is connected to the steam main 11 by a branch conduit 31, including a pressure reducing valve 32, wherebyif the engine is stopped on if the pressure within the radiators becomes reduced below a predetermined limit, fresh steam may pass directly from the steam main 11 to the heating main 18 until the said pressure has been restored.

The specific form of automatic air relief and pum governor which I preferably employ, is ilustrated more in detail in Fig. 2, and preferably comprises a cylindrical body portlon having the inlet conduit 28 connected thereto at a point adjacent the upper end, and having a delivery conduit 33 leading from a point adjacent the lower end and delivering to the water cylinder of a steam pump 34. The receiver 29 is provided with a false bottom 35 which may, if desired, be inte ral with the walls of the receiver, and direct y below this false bottom 35 is a second or outer bottom 36. These two bottoms are spaced apart to form a chamber 37 therebetween w ich chamber communicates with the atmosphere by means of a centrally-disposed tube 38 passing through the false bottom 35 and through the top 39 of the receiver. The space between the two bottoms 35 and 36 is sub-divided by .an imperforate flexible diaphragm 40 having its edges ri 'dly secured between the two bottoms. T lie space beneath the diaphragm communicates with whereby the fluctuations in the level of the water in the receiver serve to force the air out of the system.

The steam pump 34 is of any suitable construction and adapted to be operated by steam delivered thereto through a conduit 44 leading from the steam main 11. l/Vithin thislconduit is interposed a valve e0nnect ed to and operated by the diaphragm 40 above referred to. The valve 45 is prefer- V ably located within a valve casing 46 supported upon the receiver 29, and the valve stem 47 leads through a packing box 48 to a point directly above the centrally-disposed tube 38. The valve stem is here connected to a rod 49 leading through said tube and connected directly to the diaphragm 40. At the point of connection between the valve stem 47 and the rod 49, there is interposed a yoke through which passes a lever arm 50 pivotally connected to a bracket 51 which supports the valve casing, and upon the outer end of this lever is provided a weight 52 of any suitable character.

Thetube 38 is open directly to the atmosphere, and as no liquid can reach the upper side of the diaphragm 40, the latter is at all times subjected to atmospheric pressure. The lower side of the diaphragm 40 is directly exposed to the pressure of the liquid within the receiver 29 except when valve 57 is closed,

and as liquid accumulates in said receiver, the ressure increases and tends to lift the diap ragm 40 in opposition to the action of the weight 52. As the diaphragm rises the motion is imparted directly to the valve 45, and as this valve opens, the small steam pump 34 is started in operation and withdraws the water of condensation from the receiver 29 and delivers it through a conduit 53 to the feed-water heater 16, from which it may pass to the boiler through a suitable conduit 54.

In the operation of my im roved heating system, steam is employed fbr heating the water of condensation before said water is returned to the boiler and the steam is then delivered under a constant but rather low pres sure to the heating main 18. This main connects directly with supply pipes leading to all of the radiators, the delivery of steam to said radiators being readily controlled by the valves 25.

within the radiators and the water of condensation reaches the thermostatic valves 26, it may readily flow from the radiators to the return pipes 27, but as soon as the air and the water of condensation have all left the radiators the thermostatic valves 26 automatically close and, prevent the escape of steam. The return pipes 27 all deliver to the pipe 28 leading to the receiver 29, from which receiver the water is pumped through the feedwater heater to the boiler and the air escapes through vent pipe 55 and check valve 56 to the atmosphere. In starting the system the weight 52 is raised, by hand, thus raising the diaphragm and drawing air through the passage 41 to the space beneath the dia )hragm. The valve is then closed and the escape ol the air prevented, whereby the diaphragm is held in its raised position and the valve -21 5, which is rigidly connected to the diaphragm, is held in its open position. Steam may thus pass the valve 45 and operate the pump which is allowed to run until the air is sucked out of the system, the pump being allowed to discharge to the atmosphere rather than int o the boiler as in the normal operation. The valve 57 is then opened and steam turned into the heating system, after which the operation continues automatically. Upon the accumulation of water within the receiver 29, the steam pump 34 immediately and automatically starts in operation again and the water is forced into the boiler until the level within said receiver has been reduced below the predetermined limit. The pump serves to maintain a partial vacuum in. the return conduit, and also serves to remove all water from the system. If the steam is condensing rapidly in the radiators, the pump 34 would operate continuously, but as the rate of condensation decreases and the supply of water to the receiver 29 is less than the capacity of the pump, the diaphragm 40 will fall and the pump cease its operations until the water has again accumulated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by .ljetters Patent:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a receiver having an inlet and an outlet, a diaphragm within said receiver and having onesurface thereof exposed to the fluid within the receiver and the other surface exposed to atmospheric pressure, means operatively connected. to said diaphragm for controlling the withdrawal of liquid from said outlet, and means for shutting ofl' com munication between said receiver and the surface of said diaphragm.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a receiver having an inlet and an outlet and. having an inner and an outer bottom forming a chamber therebetween, a diaphragm within said chamber, a conduit lead- As soon as the steam condenses 1 ing from said chamber at one side of the diaphragm to the outside atmosphere, a conduit eading from said chamber at the other side of the diaphragm and communicating with the interior of the receiver, and means operatively connected to said diaphragm for controlling the withdrawal of fluid from said receiver.

3. A device of the class described, comrising a receiver having aninlet and an outet and having an inner and an outer bottom forming a chamber therebetween, a diaphragm within said chamber, a conduit leading from said chamber at one side of the diaphragm to the outside atmosphere, a conduit eading from said chamber at the other side of the diaphragm and communicating with the interior of the receiver, means for controlling said last mentioned conduit, and means operatively connected to said diaphragm for controlling the withdrawal of .uid from said receiver.

4. A device of the class described, comprising a receiver having a partition wall subdividing the receiver into two chambers, an inlet and an outlet for one of said chambers, a diaphragm within the other chamber and having one surface exposed to atmospheric pressure, a conduit leading from the first mentioned chamber to the last mentioned chamber" at the other side of the diaphragm, a valve controlled by the movement of said diaphragm, and means for controlling said conduit.

5. A controller for feed pum s, comprising a receiver through which the iquid flows to the inlet of the pump a conduit for supplying a motive fluid for operating said pump, a valve insaid conduit, a diaphragm Within said receiver and having one surface thereof exposed to the fluid within thereceiver and the other surface exposed to atmospheric pressure, means connecting said diaphragm to said valve for operating the latter, and

means for shutting off communication be tween said receiver and the surface of said diaphragm.

6. A heating system, comprising a receiver for the water of condensation, a pump connected to said receiver and adapted to return the water of condensation to the boiler, said receiver having inner and outer bottoms forming a chamber therebetween, a diaphragm within said chamber, a conduit lead? ing from the chamber at a point above the diaphragm to the outside atmosphere, a conduit connecting the chamber below the diaphragm to the interior of .the receiver, and means connected to said diaphragm and ex: tending throughsaid first mentioned conduit for automatically controlling the operation of the pump.

7. A heating system, comprising a receiver for the water of condensation, a ump having its suction chamber connecte to said receiver and adapted vto return the water of condensation to the boiler, a motor for oper- 'ating said pump, a conduit adapted to de liver a motive fluid to said motor, a valve casing in said conduit and supported upon said receiver, a valve within said valve casing, said receiver being provided with an inner and an outer bottom forming a chamber therebetween, an imperforate' diaphragm Within said chamber, a conduit connecting the chamber below the diaphragm with the outside atmosphere, and a rod connecting said diaphragm and said valve, whereby the operation of the ump may be automatically controlled according to the quantity of water of condensation in the receiver.

8. A device of the class described, comprising a receiver having a transverse partition subdividing it into two compartments,

' an inlet and an outlet for the upper compartment, a tube extending through the upper compartment and communicating with the lower compartment, a diaphragm in the lower compartment, a conduit connecting the upper compartment with the lower compartment below the diaphragm, a conduit, a valve for controlling said last-mentioned conduit, and means extending through said tube and operatively connecting said diaphragm and said valve.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLAYTON AUBRA DUNHAM.

Witnesses:

' RoY N. COATS,

EDWARD T. FLANAGAN, Jr.

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