provements in or applicable to Self-acting Reducing Valves.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left. 23rd Nov., 1894-Accepted, 19th Jan., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Improvements in or applicable to Self-acting Reducing Valves.
I, RUDOLPH WINNIKES of 214 Friedrichstrasse, Berlin in the German Empire,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to self-acting reducing valves for carbonic acid and other
gases under high pressure and consists in the combination therewith of mechanism
or parts by means of which when desired the reduced pressure of the gas can be
increased without altering the adjustment of the spring operating the valve, or
the automatic action arrested and the valve converted into a stop valve operated by
hand, and ready access can be obtained to the valve and valve seating; the object
of my improvements being more particularly to enable a person attending to a
beer tap to regulate the flow of carbonic acid to the tap according to the
requirements and independently of the pressure to which the reducing valve has
been set, and to facilitate repairs.
The reducing valve to which my improvements are applied may be of any
ordinary construction consisting of a lower casing containing an inlet and outlet
for the carbonic acid or other gas to be reduced in pressure, the inlet being fitted
with a conical plug valve held against its seating by a lever under spring pressure,
and provided with a safety valve and pressure gauge This casing is closed at the
top by a flexible diaphragm or membrane held between stiffening plates, upon which
a spring presses, which by means of a nut or its equivalent is adjusted to the
required pressure and opens the inlet valve as soon as the pressure in the casing
falls below the standard pressure. The arrangement for transmitting the movement
of the diaphragm to the valve and of the reducing valve generally may be of any
ordinarily used kind and does not form part of my invention.
In order to convert the self-acting valve into a valve operated by hand I
preferably place a rod having a disc at the end inside the spring and tubular spring
case, the disc resting upon the diaphragm and the rod passing out of the top of
the case where it is connected to a lever fulcrumed on the same. By depressing
the lever and diaphragm the inlet valve is opened and a greater pressure of the
outflowing gas obtained, while when the lever is released the automatic action of
the valve is resumed. To stop the latter the lower end of the spring is pressed
slightly upwards to compress the spring and locked in this position. This be
done by arranging a collar resting on the aforesaid disc on which the spring presses
and raising this collar by lifting the disc by means of a handlever and locking the
collar by set screws, or by any other suitable means. When the spring is locked
the diaphragm is released from its pressure. By depressing the said handlever,
rod and diaphragm the inlet valve is opened and closes again at once when the
lever is released.
may
Instead of a handlever any other ordinarily used means for depressing, and
releasing a rod or valve spindle such as a screwspindle and handwheel, a camshaft
with lever fixed thereon or other arrangement may be employed, or other .com-
binations of levers and rods arranged outside of the spring case may be used for
depressing the diaphragm.
My further improvement consists in arranging a screw plug arranged to form a
tight joint immediately under the inlet valve and seating and forming the valve
casing suitably for this purpose, so that on removal of the plug the valve and

page_text: seating can be taken out for repairs or renewal without breaking joints or
connections.
5
Dated this 22nd day of February 1894.
:
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent..
Improvements in or applicable to Self-acting Reducing Valves.
I, RUDOLPH WINNIKES of 214 Friedrichstrasse, Berlin in the German Empire,
Merchant, 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 self-acting reducing valves for carbonic acid and other
gases under high pressure and consists in the combination therewith of mechanisin
or parts by means of which when desired the reduced pressure of the gas can be
increased without altering the adjustment of the spring controlling the valve, or
the automatic action can be arrested and the valve converted into a stop valve
operated by hand, and ready access can be obtained to the valve and valve seating,
the objects of improvements being more particularly to enable a person attending
to a beer tap to regulate the flow of carbonic acid to the tap according to the
requirements and independently of the pressure to which the reducing valve has
been adjusted, and to facilitate repairs.
In order that my invention may be readily ascertained I have hereunto appended
a sheet of drawings on which
Fig. 1 shows a self-acting pressure reducing valve in sectional elevation with my
improvements applied thereto.
Fig. 2 a plan of the reducing valve with cover removed.
The reducing valve represented on the drawings is shown to illustrate the
manner of applying my improvements to the same but any other sort of reducing
valve consisting of a casing with inlet and outlet pipe and valve controlling the
inlet and held against its seating by a lever under the pressure of a spring or its
equivalent may be fitted with my improvements.
The valve casing A is provided as usual with an inlet a and outlet for the
carbonic acid or other gas and contains a valve c which is attached to a lever d
and pressed against the inlet a by the pressure of the spring e acting on the
other end of the lever d. B is a safety valve and C the pressure gauge.
The open side of the valve casing A is closed tight by a flexible diaphragm
or membrane held between stiffening plates g and hand attached to the casing by
means of the cover D. The plate has a tubular extension n which can slide in
the tubular extension of the cover D of the valve casing and has inserted into it
a regulating spring i which can be adjusted by means of the plug k to the desired
pressure and depresses the diaphragm against the pressure of spring e and the
pressure of the gas in A when the latter falls below the standard pressure, and
thus opens the valve c to a greater extent. As the construction and mode of
action of pressure reducing valves are well known, further explanation thereof in
this place is unnecessary, the special arrangement of the reducing valve not
forming part of my invention and my improvements being applicable to various
constructions of reducing valves.
In order to convert the self-acting reducing valve into a stop valve operated by
hand, the tubular extension of the valve cover D is provided with a set-screw m
or equivalent device for locking the tube n and placing the spring i out of action.
In the centre of the tube a spindle p is arranged formed with a head or press
plate q bearing upon the top of the diaphragm ƒ as shewn and a lever o is hinged

page_text: to the tube or cover, by depressing which the membrane is depressed and the
valve c opened, the valve being closed again by the pressure of the gas and
spring e as soon as the lever o is released.
Instead of the lever o a button on the end of the rod p may be arranged, or
the rod may be screwed and operated by means of a nut provided with hand wheel,
or it may be operated by means of a cam on a shaft fitted with a handle, or any
other combination of rods and levers or their equivalents arranged outside of the
cover may be used for depressing the diaphragm or valve actuating lever. Instead
of locking the regulating spring it may be removed.
It is evident that when the set screw m is screwed back so as to liberate the
spring tube n and spring i, the valve will be regulating self-actingly while at the
same time by depressing the lever o or its equivalent an increase in the pressure
and quantity of the gas passing through the valve can be obtained at any moment,
the valve resuming its automatic action as soon as the lever o, or its equivalent is
released.
My further improvement consists in arranging the valve seating and valve in
such a manner that on removal of the seating the valve is accessible from the
outside of the casing and readily removable for the purpose of repairing or renewing
the same without removing the cover.
This may be conveniently done as shewn by forming the valve seating at the end
of the screwed bolt r connecting the carbonic acid bottle to the valve and screwing
the valve c to the lever d, so that after the bolt r is taken out, the valve can be
unscrewed by means of a screw driver.
As herein before stated, the reducing valve may be of any ordinarily used kind
for reducing high pressures, provided it permits the locking of the adjusting spring
or its equivalent so as to put it out of action, and the attachment of mechanism
for actuating the valve lever d or its equivalent from the outside of the casing by
hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The use and construction of a self-acting reducing valve convertible into a
stop valve actuated by hand for carbonic acid and other gases under high pressure
substantially as herebefore described.
2. The combination with a self-acting reducing valve for carbonic acid and other.
gases under high pressure of means for locking the pressure regulating spring or
its equivalent and of mechanism for operating the valve controlling lever by hand,
substantially as and for the purpose herein before set forth.
3. The combination with a pressure reducing valve for carbonic acid and other
gases under high pressure of mechanism operated by hand for opening the valve
wider without putting the pressure controlling spring or its equivalent out of
action, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.
4. The construction or combination of parts of a combined or convertible
pressure reducing and stop valve, substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated by the drawings.
5. In a combined or convertible pressure reducing and stop valve constructed as
herein before described, the arrangement of the valve seating and valve so that
they can be removed without taking off the cover, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the drawings.
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.