Improvements in Feed Regulators and Water Gauges for Steam Boilers.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Sept., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 13th June, 1890-Accepted, 19th July, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Feed Regulators and Water Gauges for Steam
Boilers.
I, LEON HUGUES, of 23 Boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris, France, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for regulating the feed to steam boilers and
also indicating the water level when desired.
From a float in the boiler a vertical rod is guided up a tube attached to the top
of the boiler and is connected either to a pair of balanced valves or to a slide valve
governing a lateral passage leading to the feed engine, injector or other apparatus
employed for feeding the boiler, so that when the float rises the supply of steam for
working the feed apparatus is lessened or cut off, and when the float descends the
supply of steam for feeding is increased. The slide valve may consist merely of
the rod itself passing through a sleeve and having vertical grooves which when the
rod descends give more or less passage for the steam along them to the lateral
outlet. Or part of the rod may be tubular with slits along it operating in the
same way.
When it is desired to indicate as well as to regulate the water level, the vertical
rod has on its upper part rack teeth working a pinion on the axis of an index which
shows the water level on a graduated dial.
Dated this 16th day of September 1889
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Feed Regulators and Water Gauges for Steam
Boilers.
I, LEON HUGUES of 23 Boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris, France Civil Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to apparatus for regulating the feed to steam boilers and
also indicating the water level when desired."
From a float in the boiler a vertical rod is guided up a tube attached to the top of
the boiler and is connected either to a pair of balanced valves or to a slide valve
governing a lateral passage leading to the feed engine injector or other apparatus
employed for feeding the boiler, so that when the float rises the supply of steam for
working the feed apparatus is lessened or cut off, and when the float descends the
supply of steain for feeding is increased. The slide valve may consist merely of
the rod itself passing through a sleeve and having vertical grooves which when the
rod descends give more or less passage for the steam along them to the lateral
outlet. Or part of the rod may be tubular with slits along it operating in the
same way.
When it is desired to indicate as well as to regulate the water level, the vertical
rod has on its upper part rack teeth working a pinion on the axis of an index
which shews the water level on a graduated dial.
I will proceed to describe my invention with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which
Fig. 1 shews a vertical section of the apparatus,
Fig. 2 a part vertical section at right angles to Fig. 1,

page_text: Fig. 4 a horizontal section on line A A Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 a modified construction of the stem T.
Fig. 6 a complete front elevation of the apparatus to a smaller scale, shewing its
connection to the boiler.
Fig. 7 shews a corresponding side elevation.
To a float is fixed a rod T the upper end of which has a fork F, one of the
limbs of which is smooth and acts as a guide while the other limb is formed with
rack teeth on its inner face, and gears with a pinion P which in its turn gears with
a wheel whose axis a passes steam-tight through the side q of the casing C, and
is provided at its outer end with the pointer i of a dial c. This dial may either be
directly on the casing C as at Fig. 2, or it may be at some distance therefrom as
at Fig. 7 where the axis is extended through a tubular extension M of the casing,
which carries the dial c. Thus, the rod T in rising and falling with the float,
imparts a corresponding motion to the pointer through the rack and toothed gear.
The rod T is held in a vertical position by the sleeves m m in which it slides freely.
The essential function of the rod T is that it serves to regulate the supply of steam
to the feed pump engine. It works with slight friction in the box A, the cavity of
which has a lateral discharge passage B; the rod is provided with groover // which
give access to the steam to the interior of the box A, until by the rising of the water
level, and consequently of the float the rod T is raised to such an extent that the
grooves are raised above the chamber of the box, when the access of steam to B
will be almost entirely cut off. When the water level sinks in the boiler the rod T
descends again and the grooves I again admit steam to the box A. The passage B
is connected by a pipe with the feed pump engine, which consequently works faster
or slower according as the rod T allows more or less steam to pass to it, the engine
working at full speed when the grooves communicate with the space below the box A,
and running slower as the water level and float rise.
At the mean water level the apparatus is so adjusted that the feed pump engine
does not receive sufficient steam to work the pump, so that the feed is then cut off
until the water level sinks somewhat. The solid rod T with grooves may be replaced
by a tubular rod Fig. 5 having holes vv at its lower end for the admission of steam,
and slots at the point where it passes through the box A. The steam enters the
casing freely from the boiler through holes vv formed in the lower part H, and
through passages o o formed through the box A and the upper sleeve m.
The rod T might also be made of conical form at the part that works in the
box A, so as to vary the section of the passage for the steam as the float and rod rise
or fall.
The above described construction which can be employed in connection with various
kinds of feed apparatus, such as steam pumps, injectors, &c. effects in a perfectly
reliable and practical manner, the automatic feeding of the boiler so as to maintain a
practically constant water level.
The
Alarm whistles may be combined with this apparatus in any known manner.
conplete apparatus acts both as feed regulator and as water level indicator; it may
however be made to serve only for the one or the other purpose, that is to say, it may
serve only as water level indicator by doing away with the box A and grooves 11,
or only as feed regulator by doing away with the fork F and the upper part C of the
casing, the apparatus being then made to terininate as indicated in dotted lines
at Fig. 6.
Fig. 8 shews a vertical section of a modified construction in which the indication
of the water level is dispensed with. In this case the rod T is connected to an
arrangement of equilibrium valves E E, which close more or less the passage to the
supply branch B, according as the float f. rises or falls, and thus regulate the supply
of steam to the steam supply pump.
Above the valves E E is arranged a screw spindle I working through a stuffing
box and adjusted by a wheel V, which spindle serves as guide and stop to the valves
to which it is connected by a slotted connection; it enables the valves to be turned
round, and moved up and down so as to prevent sticking.

page_text: The float in rising or falling according to the variation of the water level in the
boiler, effects the opening or closing more or less of the apertures leading to the
discharge B, thus admitting more or less steam to the pump engine, and practically
maintaining a constant mean water level, as the variations of level do not exceed a
few millimetres.
The screw spindle L above referred to might also be applied to the above described
construction with grooved rod at Fig. 6, in which case it would screw through the
closed top of the casing shewn in dotted lines, and would have its end connected by
a slotted connection to the rod T.
As above stated, the described arrangements are adapted for regulating all kinds of
feed apparatus that are actuated by steam.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The construction of apparatus for regulating the water level of steam boilers
wherein the vertical movements of a float consequent on fluctuations of the water
level are made to vary the supply of steam to the pump or other apparatus for
supplying the feed water to the boiler, and thereby to vary the amount of feed
according to the variation of the water level, substantially as herein described.
2. In feed regulating apparatus such as is referred to in the preceding claim, the
combination with the float of a rod with grooves, or of a hollow rod with slots
working through a box communicating with a steam discharge passage leading to
the feed apparatus, so that according to the position of the grooves relatively to
the interior of the box, the steam supply is varied or cut off, substantially as
described.
3. In feed regulating apparatus such as is referred to in the preceding claims,
connecting the float-rod by suitable gear to the pointer or index of a dial or scale for
simultaneously indicating the water level, substantially as described.
4. In feed apparatus such as is referred to in the preceding claims, the combina-
tion with the float rod T of a fork with toothed rack F actuating the pointer i of
the indicating dial C through toothed gearing P. p. substantially as described with
reference to the drawings.
5. The combined apparatus for regulating the feed water supply and indicating the
water level constructed and operating substantially as described with reference to
Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings.
6. The modified construction of feed water regulator herein described with
reference to Fig. 8 of the drawings, wherein the float rod T is made to actuate
equilibrium valves E E for regulating the supply of steam to the pump or other feed
apparatus.
Dthin th JT 1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.