A CONTINUOUS SELF- ACTING CONDENSER, BEING AN IMPROVED BOILER FEEDING APPARATUS
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Julian Briere at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th July
1867.
I, JULIAN BRIERE, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Mechanician,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A CONTINUOUS SELF-
ACTING CONDENSER, BEING AN IMPROVED BOILER FEEDING APPARATUS," to be as
follows:-
The law which governs my system is the equilibrium of liquids, the apparatus
filled with water placed above the level of the water of the boilers allows its
contents to flow through the equilibrium of pressure established by steam
coming from the boiler that has to be fed, the level of the water being regu-
lated by the level of the steam pipe.
.The apparatus consists of two reservoirs in the form of bottles with long
necks; one of these bottles filled with water feeds the boiler, while the other
receives water from an upper reservoir at the end of a time equal to that
necessary for emptying the first-named bottle into the boiler, the steam which
exercises its pressure on the water will have shifted from the compartment,
and the second bottle will feed in its turn, whilst the first which will have
allowed the steam to escape will be filled with water, and so on alternately from
one bottle to the other.
On reference to the accompanying Drawings, beneath the two bottle-shaped
reservoirs will be seen a cylinder in which is a piston, the rod of which works
the slide of a second cylinder; the rod of this latter works the lever which
acts upon the slides at the upper parts of the bottles, as also upon the valves

page_text: which put the apparatus in communication with the boiler. The horizontal
cylinder is in communication at one end with one of the bottles, and at the
other end with the second bottle; it will follow that the piston will move from
the bottle that has the pressure of water, and in its course admit steam to the
vertical cylinder, which will act immediately upon the slides at the upper part
of the bottles, and as when the slide of one bottle is in position for admitting
steam that of the other bottle permits of the escape of steam, it follows that
the pressure will change from one bottle to the other, and that the piston of
the horizontal cylinder will move in the reverse direction, and this indefinitely.
It should be remarked that when steam is admitted to the upper part of the
bottles the valve which puts the bottle in communication with the boiler is
raised and closed, when the slide gives escape to the steam. When the pressure
has ceased the second valve which is in communication with the water pipe
of the upper reservoir will rise with the pressure of water, so that the
bottle may be again filled; each bottle has its steam slide, its feed valve, and
its valve for the admission of water. The apparatus to work must have two
bottles, and if it has to feed several boilers there must be as many supple-
mentary bottles as there are boilers, and a separate steam pipe to each bottle
from the boiler to be fed. The form of the reservoir is of great importance,
the object being to admit the steam on a small surface of water to avoid
condensation and obtain the immediate flow of the water towards the generator.
This arrangement has the further advantage of suppressing the noise made by
the steam on coming in contact with the cold water. The distinguishing
features of this apparatus are the mechanism which works the various parts
above described, and the form of the reservoirs also described, as also the
means of feeding several boilers which may have different pressures, and
preserving a constant level therein.