IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA- RATUS FOR. ASCERTAINING AND INDICATING THE SUPPLY OF WATER IN STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
HOWLAND, of New York, State of New York, United States of America,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Nineteenth day of December, in the fifteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Howland, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said Charles Howland, my exors, adññors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Charles Howland, my exors, adññors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
RATUS FOR. ASCERTAINING AND INDICATING THE SUPPLY OF WATER IN STEAM
BOILERS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso requiring
me, the said Charles Howland, by an instrument in writing under my hand &
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calender months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and
at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles Howland, do hereby declare that the following is the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed
is particularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention of ascertaining and indicating the water in steam boilers
consists in combining with a metal cylinder, of suitable length and diameter, a
glass indicator tube, which is secured in the top of the cylinder, and a float
working in the cylinder, and having a stem attached to its upper side for pene-
trating the hollow of the glass tube for indicating the "water line" in the
steam boiler when the cylinder is attached to the head or other suitable part
thereof for that purpose; also in combining with the same, by means of a
recess in the side of the cylinder, an escape pipe leading to an alarm or steam
whistle, and a stop valve and lever arrangement to be operated upon by the
descent of the float. in the cylinder whenever the water in the boiler gets
below a certain point. In order, however, that the Invention may be
more clearly understood, I have, in the accompanying Drawings, shown several
views of this instrument or apparatus.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, showing the ends of two pipes
from the side of the cylinder for attaching it to the boiler.
Figure 2 is a cut sectional view of the same through the dotted lines X, X,
in Figure 3, showing the float escape pipe, valve and lever arrangement, and-
alarm or steam whistle.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the apparatus. Letters A, A, is the cylinder.
This cylinder is made of brass or other suitable metal and size. In the cap
plate B is inserted a glass pipe C, sealed at the top, and open at the bottom
for communicating through an opening in the cap plate to the interior of the
cylinder. This glass tube is held in its place by a screw cap D, screwing into
a female screw E on the cap plate B, which, binding round the end of the
glass tube, which has a thread or bead raised on it, prevents it from getting
out of place or leaking steam. Letter F is a float, made of any suitable
material, and fitting the interior of the cylinder. To the top of this float a
stem G is attached. This stem is made to enter the interior of the glass tube,
and, as the float rises and falls with the varying heights of water in the
boiler, indicates, through the sides of the glass tube, the "water line" in the
boiler. Letter II is a chamber or recess formed in the side of the cylinder,
for the purpose of allowing room for the arrangement of an escape pipe, &c.
Letter I is an escape pipe for the steam, having a valve seat cut in its upper

page_text: end for a valve J to fit in, to cut off the escape of steam when the water is
not "down" in the boiler. This escape pipe at its lower end is screwed into
a female screw cut in the bed plate K of the cylinder, which has a channel
way I cut or bored in it for communicating with the alarm or steam whistle.
Letter M is a rod attached by a pin at its upper end to valve J, and passing
down through the collars N, N, attached to the side of the escape pipe, rests
on the toe of the lever P, supported by a pin and prop R from the bed plate K,
and extending into and nearly across the interior of the cylinder, so that as the
float settles down, in consequence of the exhaustion of the water from the boiler,
it rests on the front end of the lever P, and lifting the opposite end, and with
it the rod M and valve J attached thereto in the escape pipe, lets off the steam
to the steam whistle to sound the alarm. Letter S is the steam whistle,
having a stem T for attaching it to the cylinder, so as to make a communica-
tion with the escape pipe. This steam whistle is made in the usual way of
making steam whistles, and therefore laying no special claims to it, do not
deem it material to more minutely describe it. The operation of the apparatus
is, that when attached to the head of a boiler, or other suitable part thereof,
by means of the pipes v, v, extending from the side of the cylinder, the water
enters the cylinder, and supporting the float, causes it, by means of the stem
attached thereto, to indicate the water line in the boiler through the glass
tube, and, on the water falling so low in the boiler as to allow the float to rest
on the end of the lever P, causes the valve in the upper end of the escape
pipe to be raised off its seat for the escape of steam, which, flowing through
orifice or channel way of the escape pipe to the alarm or steam whistle, causes
a loud and instantaneous alarm, to call the attention of the attendant of the
engine to the approaching danger. I would observe, that the precise arrange-
ments herein described may be varied in many ways, and yet be the same in
principle; and therefore, so long as the substantial merits and usefulness of
my Invention is preserved, I consider it my Invention, and claim the right to
make these changes or modifications in the apparatus, so long as the essential
features for the making of an alarm safety water gauge for steam boilers is
retained.
Having now described this Invention, I will proceed to state what I specially
claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent. What I claim is, the use of a
cylinder having an indicator tube in combination with a float, having an indi-
cator stem attached thereto, for working in the glass indicator tube for
indicating the "water line" in steam boilers, in principle substantially as set
forth. I also claim the use of the escape pipe, valve, and lever arrangment

page_text: as a combination, and their combination with the cylinder and float, and alarm
or steam whistle, in principle substantially as set forth.
In witness whercof, I, the said Charles Howland, have hereunto set my
hand and affixed my seal, this Sixteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Taken and acknowledged by Charles
Howland (party hereto), at the
British Counselate Office for the
Port of New York, United States
of America, the Sixteenth day of
February, One thousand eight hun-
CHARLES (L.S.) HOWLAND.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the oath of Samuel Carpmael, the
Specification aforesaid was enrolled word for word as above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One