Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 10th May, 1887.
Complete Left, 10th June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 12th July, 1887.
We, CHARLES EDMESTON, and ALFRED EDMESTON of the firm of Archibald
Edmeston & Sons Cannon Street Works, Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, to be as follows:-
Firstly. "Steam traps" have been used formed by a closed vessel in which the steam
and condensed water is allowed to enter, and having an outlet formed by a hollow
stationary cone plug with the casing for the cone plug movable upon it-this casing
having a pipe or hollow lever with a float vessel open at its upper side attached to the
end of the pipe, the movements of this hollow float giving motion to open and close
the port in the stationary cone plug to allow the water to pass out but prevent steam
escaping therefrom but the extent of movement in the above described arrangement
open
and close the port in the plug was very little and its action was unsatisfactory.
The object of this part of our invention is to obtain greater movement in the float,
so as to open and close the port in the cock or stationary plug more effectively, and
with greater certainty.
to
This part of our invention consists in an improved combination and arrangement.
We employ as an outlet from the closed vessel a fixed hollow cone plug with the
casing ground upon it so as to be steam tight and easily moved, providing a shoulder
on the hollow cone plug or other arrangements to prevent the movable cone casing
of the plug from being forced too tightly upon the cone by the pressure of the steam.
The movable cone casing has one end of a pipe connected with it, the other end
being attached to a closed hollow float, having an outlet from its lower side up the
pipe to the cock, and an inlet by a pipe connected to the upper side of the float.
This inlet pipe has another smaller pipe within it, the end of which extends beyond
the orifice of the inlet pipe, the inner pipe being to allow air to pass out as the liquid
enters the hollow closed float.
When the hollow float is empty it rises and floats upon the surface of the liquid
and ascends as high as permitted in the closed vessel, and when the water level rises
therein to the orifice of the inlet pipe it enters and fills the hollow float which then
sinks to its lowest position and opens the port in the cock to allow the water to be
forced out by the pressure of the steam.

page_text: When the float first sinks to its lowest position the orifice of the inlet pipe is some
distance below the level of the liquid in the closed vessel and thus all the water abovo
the orifice of the inlet pipe is forced out through it and the hollow float and pipe to
the cock until the hollow float is empty when it regains its buoyancy and then rises
and closes the cock, trapping or preventing the escape of steam. There is a small
vacuum valve in the closed vessel to admit air when the pressure becomes less and
allow it to escape when the pressure becomes greater than the exterior atmosphere.
Secondly. Our invention relates to and consists in a combination and arrangement
of mechanism as follows-The outlet from the closed vessel is through a tap or cock
one pipe from which passes inside the closed vessel nearly to its bottom and another
pipe from the cock passes to the exterior of the closed vessel.
The cock or cone plug is ground to fit as hereinbefore described and is connected with
one end of a lever the other end having a solid float attached to it, this float being
formed by preference of wood coated with india rubber or other suitable material to
make it water proof.
When this float rises it opens the cock to allow the liquid to be forced out of the
closed vessel and when it falls it shuts the cock and prevents the escape of steam.
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1000
PETER J. LIVSEY,
Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Steam Traps.
We CHARLES EDMESTON, and ALFRED EDMESTON of the firm of Archibald
Edmeston & Sons, Cannon Street Works, Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineers, 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:―
"
Firstly. "Steam traps
have been used formed by a closed vessel in which the
steam and condensed water is allowed to enter, and having an outlet formed by a
hollow stationary cone plug with the casing for the cone plug movable upon it this
casing having a pipe or hollow lever with a float vessel open at its upper side
attached to the end of the pipe, the movements of this hollow Hoat giving motion to
open and close the port in the stationary cone plug to allow the water to pass out but
prevent steam escaping therefrom, but the extent of movement in the above described
arrangement to open and close the port in the plug was very little and its action was
unsatisfactory.
The object of this part of our invention is to obtain greater movement in the float,
'so as to open and close the port in the cock or stationary plug more effectively and
with greater certainty.

page_text: This part of our invention consists in an improved combination and arrangement
which will be most readily explained by reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is an elevation in section taken in the lengthway of the steam vessel and
fig. 2 is an elevation in section taken at a right angle to fig. 1, the tap or cock being
shown in section.
a is the casing or vessel into which the steam and water from condensed steam
enters through a pipe b.
The opening to the vessel a through which access is given to the interior is closed
by a lid a secured steam tight by screws.
In the lid a¹ there is a small valve c opening inwards which is open when the
pressure in the vessel is below that of the atmosphere, and allows air to escape and
closes when the pressure in the interior of the vessel a exceeds that of the exterior
atmosphere.
In the side of the vessel there is a pipe d to take away the condensed steam, and
inside the vessel a opposite the outlet pipe, a cone plug e is screwed as shown best in
fig. 2, and this cone plug fits the casing of a cock f, the two being ground accurately
together, so that the casing of the cock while being steam tight on the cone e ís
perfectly free and easily oscillated thereon.
There is a screw and washer e¹ at the inner end of the cone plug e to keep the casing
of the cock on the plug and there is a shoulder or collar on the cone plug against
which the casing fis ground to prevent it from being forced upon the cone plug e by
the pressure of the steam so as to get tight thereon.
There is a port in the cone pluge which when the port in the casing comes opposite
to it as shown in fig. 1, allows the condensed water to pass out, but when the
casing fis turned to its highest position the outlet through the cock is closed.
A pipe or tube g is screwed into the branch from the casing f of the cock, and the
other end of this tube has a coupling g' screwed upon it that is connected with and
is secured to a hollow metal ball the upper side of which has another hollow coupling
or casting h¹ connected and secured to it into which one end of a tube i is screwed the
other end being open to the interior of the vessel a.
In the inside of the tube i there is a smaller tube j the lower end of which is also
secured in the casting h¹ as shown and the upper end of this small pipe j extends
beyond the open end of the pipe i and is bent upwards as shown.
This small pipe is for the purpose of allowing air or steam to pass from the ball
as the water from the vessel a enters at the inlet to the tube i.
The hollow ball h is shown in figs. 1 and 2 in its lowest position with the tube g¹
resting against a projecting stop a* on the inside of the vessel a and in that position,
the level of the water in the vessel is just below the inlet of the tube i and thus all
the water in the ball h or nearly so and down to the level when the ball assumed
its lowest position as shown in fig. 1, has been expelled through the cock by the
pressure of the steam passing down the tube i and through the ball h.
When empty
or nearly so the ball rises to the position shown in dotted line in fig. 1, where a
projection on the casting h' comes against the side of the vessel a, and it remains in that
position until the water in the vessel a accumulates sufficiently to enter the pipe i at its
highest position then the ball loses its buoyancy and sinks to its lowest position shown in
full line in fig. 1, and all the water in the vessel a above the level of the water line is
driven out and the ball is emptied or nearly so and thus regains its buoyancy and rises
again. a is a screw plug to draw water off when the vessel a is to be entirely
emptied.
Secondly. Our invention relates to and consists in a combination and arrangement
of mechanism illustrated by fig. 3 a sectional elevation in the lengthway of the steam
vessel and fig. 4 a cross sectional elevation of the same, the cock being shown in
section.
a the steam and water vessel, a¹ the lid, 6 the inlet pipe for steam and water, c the
air valve, d the outlet pipe, e the cone plug, and the casing of the cock.
The casing has an arm & secured to it to which a clip or hoop k¹ is attached in
which a solid ball is retained.

page_text: The branch from the casing f forming the outlet from the vessel a oscillates to
the extent shown by dotted lines.
In the position in which the ball is shown in fig. 3 the cock is closed, but it is
open to allow the water to pass out when the ball is in its highest position as shown
by dotted lines in fig. 3.
It has been stated that the ball is solid, as closed hollow balls hitherto proposed
baving to be of thin metal to be sufficiently buoyant are not strong enough to resist
the pressure on their exteriors, are liable to collapse; by our invention the ball / is
made solid of wood, or of ground cork, mixed and formed into a solid ball, with india
rubber or other suitable material being sufficiently buoyant in water.
We coat such solid balls of wood or suitable composition with vulcanized india
rubber or other suitable waterproof composition that will resist hot water or we enclose
the solid ball in a thin shell of copper or other suitable metal.
Or we fill thin copper or metallic shells made in two halves with a composition say
of india rubber and ground cork and then solder or otherwise secure the two halves of
the shell together.
a² is a screw plug to draw off the water from the vessel when it is to be entirely
emptied.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is.
1. The combination of a hollow ball or float having a pipe outlet (g) and inlet (i)
with a cock substantially as herein before described and illustrated by figs. 1 and 2 of
the drawings.
2. The combination of a cock (e and f) tube (g) between the cock and hollow float,
the hollow float inlet pipe () and air pipe () substantially as herein before described
and illustrated by figs. I and 2 of the drawings.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts substantially as and for the purpose
herein before described and illustrated by figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.
4. The combination of the solid float (1) constructed as hereinbefore described
with the arm (k) and cock (e and f) as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
figs. 3 and 4.
5. The combination and arrangement of mechanism as and for the purpose herein-
before described and illustrated by figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing when the ball or float
is made solid and is formed of sufficiently buoyant material coated or incased with a
waterproof cover or casing.
Dated this Ninth day of June 1887.
PETER J. LIVSEY,
Agent.