IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC FEED APPARATUS FOR STEAM-BOILERS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hayes, of 27, Leadenhall Street, in the City of
London, Consulting Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AUTOMATIC FEED APPARATUS FOR STEAM-BOILERS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR
OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by Edouard Fromentin, of
Paris, in the Republic of France.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said John Hayes at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 31st January 1882.
JOHN HAYES, of Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, Consulting Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC FEED APPARATUS FOR STEAM BOILERS, ALSO
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES." [A communication from abroad by Edouard
Fromentin, of Paris, in the Republic of France.]
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in apparatus for automatic
boiler feeding, and relates especially to further improvements on the apparatus
invented by Edouard Fromentin, of Paris, and which is set forth and described in
the Specification of a former Patent granted to him, and dated 31st of May 1879
(No. 2179).
My improvements refer to that class of steam boiler feeding apparatus which
operate by means of a vessel placed above the level of the water in the boiler, and
fed with water coming from a reservoir situated at a still higher level, which vessel
after having been supplied with this water, is put in communication with the
boiler (after the communication with the said reservoir is closed), and under theso
conditions this supply of water flows into the boiler in consequence of its gravity.
This class of apparatus has been made automatic by coupling two of those vessels
under a given angle on one common axis, and arranging them so that they inter-
mittently receive the supply of water and deliver this water into the boiler. This
is effected by the oscillation of this double vessel. Taken in itself this principle is
good, but it has never been successfully carried out in practice, because all tho
arrangements and mechanisms proposed have been too complicated.
The object of this Invention is to produce a practically useful apparatus based on
this principle, but differing from all those heretofore known in the important fact
that it is constructed without any intermediate elements, such as gates, cocks, floats,
valves, &c., which in practice are always considered serious disadvantages; and in
order to carry out the same still more effectually than with the exact arrangement
described in the former Patent, No. 2179 of the year 1879, I now effect tho

page_text: distribution of the steam and the water on its passage through the apparatus by
means of two circular plates or discs instead of by the horizontal hollow shaft with
its distributing boxes, these latter being now entirely dispensed with.
The idea of obtaining a self acting apparatus for feeding steam boilers by means
of placing two hollow vessels opposite one to the other and allowing the weight of
the water which enters them alternately to upset the equilibrium, they being
pivotted on one and the same axis, is by no means novel, nor is the feature of
actuating the movements of such an apparatus by means of a jet of steam passing
up a pipe which is placed on the inside of a steam boiler, and the bottom end of
which is kept sealed so long as the water is at its proper level; as evaporation goes
on the water lowers, and the end of the pipe being then unsealed steam finds its
way up the same and into the apparatus. This feature, as I have already pointed
out, is also not novel, but notwithstanding this it has been hitherto a most difficult
problem to get these simple principles successfully applied in practice, owing to the
fact that the mechanism and the details of the apparatus have been far too clumsy
and unmechanical to attain that end; the object therefore is to overcome by this
Invention all such difficulties, and to produce a successful automatic apparatus
which shall maintain a constant level of water in a steam boiler by the application
of well known devices in mechanical detail, but which same have not hitherto been
adopted as a whole in an apparatus whose specific function is to feed steam boilers
with water, that is, as a self acting boiler feeder.
As already stated, the novel and principal parts of the combination of mechanism
which form the subject matter of this Invention, are the two circular plates or
discs which contain the apertures or orifices for the distribution of steam and
water, and the success which attends the application of these two circular plates
consists in the fact that each time the apparatus works or moves, particles of
condensed steam in a kind of layer or film are forced and held between the two
surfaces, and here it might be as well to state that in reference to the faced surfaces
of these two discs; I prefer to make the same slightly conical or perfectly flat, as
necessary in any particular case, as well as to recess the face of the fixed plate,
excepting at the surface in and around the steam & water orifices of same, or
both plates may be left perfectly straight or flat across; the particles of water
which are held in between the two plates, as just described, prevent any escape of
steam, and at the same time serve as an excellent lubricant; the small amount of
friction set up does not form in any way an impediment to the continual and
automatic action of the apparatus in consequence; and in order that the said
Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed. The apparatus is composed
of two circular plates or discs marked a, a, a, in Figs. 1, 2, & 3, which are put into
contact with one another by two screws h, h, Fig. 1, and are set up or adjusted by
the central scrow i, Fig. I; one of the discs fastened to the foundation is by
preference recessed on the face, as shewn in Fig. 2, although I do not say this is
absolutely essential, and accordingly I reserve the right to have them made
perfectly flat and straight under certain circumstances; these faces can also be inade
either convex and concave to match each other, or they can be faced up perfectly
straight across, although in most cases I prefer to have the fixed plate or disc slightly
conical, and the moveable one convexed to fit; but under any case I think it
preferable to recess the face of the fixed plate, as above explained and as shewn in
the Drawing, Fig. 2.
The fixed or stationary plate, Fig. 2, receives all the pipes connected with the
distribution of the steam and water, thus in Fig. 2 the steam inlet pipe is at 6, the
steam outlet being represented by the dotted circles centering on line 7, the water
inlet at 8, and the delivery to the boiler at 9.
The other plate or disc which is moveable (Fig. 3) has attached to it, by means
of four pipes, two vessels marked 1, 1a, Fig. 1., of a special form, being as near as
possible pear shaped by preference, and variable in size according to the necessities
of the boiler to be fed, they being made of sheet copper or other suitable material;

page_text: two of these pipes 2, 2 a, join the vessels or bottles, as they are technically
designated, at the top of the same, the other two 3, 3 a, underneath; each in its turn
receives and supplies steam and water into the apparatus.
In the foundation or baso plato are fixed two cylinders 18, 18, in which loose
fitting pistons work, the said cylinders being filled or supplied with water through
the small chamber 10 and the pipes 10a, 10a, which are supplied with the
condensed steam coming from the faces of the two discs above mentioned, the
resistance offered to the descending pistons within the cylinders 18, 18, Fig. L., by
the water therein contained prevents the bottles descending with a jerk when
charged with water, and therefore allow the apparatus to work.silently; the stroke
or amount of travel given to the bottles, and therefore to the moveable disc, is also
regulated by the stop or ledge i, i, formed on the bottom and in the interior of the
cataracts or cylinders 18, 18; this, it will be readilly understood, is an important
feature, inasmuch as it governs the amount of opening and closing given to the
ports in the circular plates or discs, as shewn on Figs. 2 & 3. With a view of
facilitating the adjustment of this travel or stroke or of checking the same at any
time whilst the apparatus is at work, small raised filletts j, j, Fig. I., are formed on
the periphery of the two discs, and a line or mark is drawn across the same, so that
when the stroke is properly adjusted the mark on the moveable disc corresponds
at each end of the stroke with the mark across the edge or periphery of the
stationary disc. The mode of working the apparatus is as follows:-
The apparatus is placed above the boiler mounted on the brickwork of same, and
being ready for action the two bottles 1, 1 a, Fig. I., aro charged with water from
the small tank from which the apparatus is supplied, and which is placed just
above the level of the apparatus and in any convenient corner of the boiler houso
or stoke hole, the steam supply pipe from the boiler which is carried down inside
the boiler to the water level enters the apparatus at the pipe 6, Fig. 2, through
which the steam passes, also through the port 16, Fig. 3, up pipe 2, Fig. I, and
forces the water out of bottle 1 through the pipe 3 at the bottom of the bottle,
through opening 17, Fig. 3, and down the aperture or port 12, Fig. 2, and away
into the boiler; the bottle 1 becoming lighter as it ompties itself is carried up by
bottle 1 a, which is full of water, bottle 1 a being then in a corresponding position
to that previously held by bottle 1, and as soon as the level, of the water again gets
lower than the end of the steam pipe inside the boiler, the operation already
explained goes on through the second bottle, viz., the steam rushes up the steam
pipe into the apparatus at pipe 6 a, Figs. 1 and 3, through the port 16 a, Fig. 3,
tube 2 a, Fig. 1, forces the water contained in bottle 1a through the opening 17 a,
Fig. 3, and pipe 12, Fig. 2, and away into the boiler.
While bottle 1 a is emptying itself into the boiler the steam contained in bottle 1
condenses, forins a vacuum, and aspirates water from the small tank fixed above
the apparatus already referred to, the water finding its way into the bottle 1
through the aperture 17, Fig. 3; the water in its turn forces the remaining non-
condensed vapour through the opening 16 a, Fig. 3, opening 14, Fig. 2, and by
means of a pipe it is returned to the small supply tank above the apparatus
where it mixes with and heats the water before the same passes into the
apparatus.
The bottles can in no case get into equilibrium, one is continually emptying
while the other is filling itself; whilst the movement of the two bottles is going on
a small portion of the water forces itself in between the two plates or discs
represented by Figs. 2 & 3, and part of which is held between them, the remainder
falling or draining into a small open chamber 10, and by means of the pipes
10a, 10a, feeds the cataract cylinder 18, 18, Fig. I; pipe 15 carries away the
surplus water to the drains. The return non condensed steam which finds its way
back into the apparatus does extra duty in heating the water before use can, if
necessary, be supplemented by a coil conveying the exhaust steam from any steam
engines in a works, and in which case it would be advisable to have the small
water tank wholly enclosed, as it would then become a water heater of the first

page_text: order, and the water thereby raised to a high degree of temperature before entering
the apparatus, which is so constructed and designed that the hotter the water the
better it will work, which can scarcely be said to be the case with pumps, injectors,
and other appliances of that class.
Besides the use for which it is more particularly destined, that is, as a boiler
feeder, this apparatus can be employed for lifting water to considerable heights by
means of the direct pressure of the steam, and to aspirate or suck water by means
of a vacuum produced by the condensation of this steam.
Again, by means of the small air cocks or vent pegs at k, k, on Fig. I., the
apparatus will work by merely the atmospheric pressure, thus it may be utilized
to fill up a boiler when empty or to raise the level of the water before lighting the
fire under the same.
As a means of ensuring the regularity of the working of the apparatus, or of at
once ascertaining should it by any means cease to work, I fit a small pipe or
miniature whistle on to the edge of the discs, and which at the moment the bottles
reverse the two orifices meet and permit a small jet of steam to issue into the air
each time the apparatus moves, which generally takes place about once every two
minutes (but this depends on the size of the boiler and the amount of the evaporation
going on), should this jet of steam cease, the notice of the boiler attendant or stoker
would be at once drawn to the same; or if a bell or gong be preferred fitted with a
suitable spring and attached to the apparatus that can be employed in place of the
jet of steam, but I prefer the latter, c., the jet of steam.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I would have it understood that I claim,―
Firstly. An automatic boiler feeding apparatus consisting of two vessels arranged
on one axis, and the mechanical details of which taken as a combination are novel
and which apparatus automatically oscillating by the passage of the water effects
itself its distribution.
Secondly. The application of the circular plates or discs with the accompanying
arrangement of orifices for the distribution of steam and water, as illustrated in-the
annexed Drawing, this feature being the most important detail of the apparatus
and quite novel in its application on an instrument designed and constructed as an
automatic boiler feeder.
Thirdly. The arrangement of cataracts or water compressing cylinders placed
under and connected to each bottle as described, which serves the double purpose
of regulating the stroke of the apparatus and at the same time acting as a buffer
or cushion to each bottle as it descends.
Fourthly. The construction of an apparatus which will and does not only keep
the water in a steam boiler at one constant level but is also adapted to deal with
and pass into the said boiler water of the highest temperature or equal to boiling
point.
Fifthly. The arrangement of that part of the apparatus by the non condensed
steam finds its way into the water supply reservoir or tank and assists in heating
the same.
Sixthly. The admission of steam upon the water contained in the vessels or
bottles by means of the pipes arranged externally.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hayes, have hereto set my hand and
seal, this Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty two.