IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING PRIMING,' AND FOR THE DISCHARGE OF CONDENSED STEAM FROM STEAM PIPES, AND POR REGULATING THE PRESSURE OF STEAM IN STEAM PIPES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Seward at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
June 1866.
I, JAMES SEWARD, of Enfield, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING PRIMING,' AND FOR THE DISCHARGE OF CONDENSED
STEAM FROM STEAM PIPES, AND POR REGULATING THE PRESSURE OF STEAM IN STEAM
PIPES," to be as follows:-
Firstly, this Invention relates to an apparatus for preventing priming of
steam boilers, and consists in the use of a box connected to the steam pipe
communicating with the boiler and the engine. The said box being divided
by two or more midfeathers or partitions. As the steam enters the said box
it impinges against the nearest midfeather or partition, then passes under the
bottom of the said midfeather or partition, and over a second partition or
midfeather; the particles of water are thus separated from the steam, and
pass through a perforated plate placed under the partitions or midfeathers to
the bottom of the box, and are discharged by a pipe, valve, and tap placed at
the bottom of the box for that purpose; the said valve and tap for the
discharge of condensed steam or water consists of a hollow valve spindle and
taper plug; an aperture in the upper end of the hollow spindle admits the
flow of condensed steam or water (by the pressure of steam in the box above
mentioned) to a hollow fulcrum supporting and communicating with a hollow
lever, which lever is divided by an internal longitudinal midfeather, forming

page_text: in such lever two passages, the lower one being a "waterway," the upper one
a steam passage; steam is admitted to the upper passage from the steam
pipe of the boiler. At one end of the lever is a hollow sphere or globe com-
municating with the waterway and steam passage of the lever; at the other
end of the said lever is a counterbalance weight. When the condensed steam
or water ascends the hollow spindle of the valve along the interior of the
lever to the hollow sphere or globe in quantity sufficient to overcome the
counterbalance weight on the other end of the lever the said lever is depressed
by the weight of condensed steam or water in such hollow sphere or globe,
raising the hollow valve spindle, and the condensed steam or water is
discharged at an outlet pipe.
Secondly, my Invention relates to an apparatus for regulating the pressure
of steam in steam pipes connected with drying machinery, cylinders of sizing
machines, and to steam pipes generally, and consists in the use of a hollow
lever, the fulcrum on which such lever works is also hollow, and serves to
admit steam to the interior of one end of such lever; attached to the end of
the said lever is a pipe communicating with the steam passage and with a
vessel containing mercury, from the bottom of which vessel is a second pipe
and valve communicating with the passage in the lever (the point of com-
munication being beyond the hollow fulcrum) and with a hollow sphere or
globe placed on the end of such lever for the reception of mercury.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When the pressure of steam
becomes too great the mercury in the vessel is forced along the pipe and
passage in the lever to the hollow sphere or globe (fixed at the other end of
the said lever) until a sufficient quantity is removed from the mercury vessel
to the hollow sphere or globe to depress the lever on its fulcrum, thus
partially closing the valve, the spindle of which valve is attached to the said
lever between the fulcrum and the counterbalancing hollow sphere or globe.
When the pressure from the boiler is reduced the mercury will by its own
gravity return along the lever and pipe to the vessel ready to act as above
described should the pressure be again increased. The pressure of steam at
which the mercury will flow from the mercury vessel to the hollow sphere or
globe is determined by the length of the pipes communicating with the
mercury vessel and the hollow lever.