Ir. PROVEMENTS IN STEAM VALVES AND THEIR ADJUNCTS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough
Park, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "Ir.
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM VALVES AND THEIR ADJUNCTS."-A Communication
from abroad by Edward Halliday Ashcroft, residing at Lynn, in the
County of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, United States of
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Tomlinson
Bousfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition and Declaration, on the 24th December 1868, pursuant
to the 9th Section of the latent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, BE IT KNOWN
that I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton,
in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM VALVES AND THEIR ADJUNCTS,"
(communicated to me from abroad by Edward Halliday Ashcroft, a person
resident at Lynn, in the County of Essex, and State of Massachusetts,
Price Sd.1

page_text: United States of America,) and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The first portion of the Invention is designed to obviate the tendency
of the water to prime or be drawn over with the escaping steam, and it is
accomplished by the use of an auxiliary valve secured to the lower end
of the primary valve or its stem, the said auxiliary valve also serving
the purpose upon failure of the spring by fracture or otherwise to close
the lower end of the steam passage of the valve and entirely cut off
flow of steam.
In carrying out this part of the Invention I screw or otherwise secure
to the lower end of the valve stem d of the primary valve g an
auxiliary valve e, and 1 also form in the base of the steam chamber or
passage a of the valve an auxiliary valve seat f disposed below the
primary valve and valve seat g' or h, as represented, the two valves
being so arranged with respect to each other and their seats that when
the primary valve g is controlled and operated as designed by the valve
spring the auxiliary valve e shall be and remain open so as not to
obstruct the action of the steam upon the primary and acting valve g.
The said auxiliary valve e is designed to perform two offices, as before
remarked, viz., first to break a current of water being drawn by and with
the escaping steam into the open air upon the sudden action of the
steam upon the primary valve g, second to act as a stop safety valve in
the event of the fracture or breaking of the spring i of the valve g;
should the spring which serves to depress the primary valve become
broken or disabled the upward pressure of the steam upon the lower
and auxiliary valve e will force such valve tightly up to its seat, and
by this means prevent the escape and loss of steain which would other-
wise find free vent into the open air, and perhaps lead to fatal results.
By referring to the accompanying Drawing it will be seen that the
primary valve g is formed with a surrounding lip or ledge, the valve
thus provided being enclosed by a second lip or ledge formed upon
or around its valve seat as shown in the Drawing. The ledge k has
the effect upon the raising of the valve of causing an accumulation
of steam within the enclosure m formed by it, until such accumulation
has acquired the power of lifting the valve, which it does with a sudden
concussion or snap as the area of the valve and consequently its lifting
power is greatly increased by the adoption of the ledge . The lip or

page_text: ledge serves the purpose of preventing too great lateral spreading of
the steam as it escapes in blowing off. In place of the rounding lips
or ledge as before explained, such parts may be constructed as shown
at a in the same Figure which will readily be understood.
The object of the second portion of the Invention is to provide such
metals or compositions of metals, as are to be used in the manu-
facture of safety valves, or other valves for steam boilers, as will not
become corroded by the action of water, steam, air, or by any other
action to which such valves are exposed.
It is well known to engineers and others that many if not all the
safety valves now in common use frequently become corroded to such
an extent that the valve itself adheres to or is cemented to the "seat"
so strongly that the object of such valves is to a great extent defeated,
and great danger to life and property ensues.
This Invention consists in making these valves from the following
non-corrosive alloys or metals, any and all of which answer the purpose
more or less perfectly; first, an alloy of nickel and copper free from
zinc; second, aluminium alone or alloyed; third, an alloy of gold or
silver; fourth, combinations of the above.
I prefer sometimes to make the valve itself of one composition or
metal and the seat of another, and in choice of metals to be used are
governed somewhat by the exposure to which the valve will probably
be subjected.
I do not confine myself to any exact proportions in casting these
alloys, but to enable others skilled in the art to make and use the first
one mentioned will state that I have found an alloy containing from fifty
to sixty-five per cent. of nickel, with from thirty to forty-five per cent.
of copper as being non-corrosive and admirably adapted to this purpose..
The nature of the second portion of the present Invention shown in
Figure 2 of the Drawings consist in the construction of that part of
the valve and its seat more immediately exposed to the action of steam
of a metal less liable to be corroded by it. To enable others skilled in
the art to make and use the Invention 1 will proceed to describe its
construction.
The Drawing represents a section through a steam safety valve of
ordinary shape or structure, showing the several inlets and outlets for
steam. a, a, is the usual valve seat or partition; b, b, the valve and its

page_text: stem and lower guides. The action of steam on valves of ordinary
manufacture is well known, corroding the same to such an extent as to
cement them to their seats and enable them to resist many pounds more
of steam than they are designed to blow off at without being raised, thus
endangering perhaps the safety of a boiler and the lives of those
employed about it. To avoid this I make the seat proper of an
anti- or non- corrosive metal or alloy to be fitted to the seat below.
These parts being more immediately subjected to the action of steam,
moisture, &c., are thus proposed to resist any deleterious action of the
same, lessen or avoid wear, and insure safety so far as adhesion is
concerned. The metal I propose using principally for the purpose
named is an alloy of pure copper, nickel, or perhaps aluminium in such
proportions as will give the desired hardness for wear, but I may use
aluminium alone or alloys of gold or silver.
The nature of the third portion of the Invention as shown in Figures
3 and 4 of the accompanying Drawings, relates to improvements in
globe angle check and other valves for steam and other enginery, and
consists in providing the ends of their castings or bodies with a bushing
made of the ordinary composition of tin and copper, or their equivalents
as herein-after described.
In the Drawings, Figure 3 is a view of an ordinary globe valve with
a portion of one end broken away. Figure 4 is an end view showing a
modification in the construction and manner of inserting the bushing.
To the use of valves made entirely of iron as is known there is an
objection, owing to their liability to split when the connecting pipes are
screwed in hard enough to make a close steam-tight joint, for the reason
that between iron and iron the yielding quality is very limited.
To
brass bodies of valves the steam fitter is obliged to be very careful in
attaching the pipes lest the ends of the body be fractured or enlarged,
in which event they are rendered worthless. The tendency of the
manufacturers toward light weight renders this loss much greater, as
the requisite amount of stock is not put into the ends of the valves.
The object of this last-mentioned feature of the Invention is to
produce a cheap and economical valve casing or chest, with ends not
liable to be split, enlarged, or fractured by the fitter in connecting the
pipes to them, and obviate the objections to the valves now in use. This
is accomplished, as before alluded to, by bushing the ends of iron valve
casings with the ordinary composition of tin and copper as shown in

page_text: Figures 3 and 4. It may be done by inserting the bushing C with a
screw thread into the ends B of the valve A, as shown in Figure 3, or by
providing the ends of a valve with recesses a and bushing C with
corresponding ears 6 of the proper size to fit these recesses, and then
driving the bushing C to its place as shown in Figure 4. As the
bushing is of softer material than the iron and at the same time
possesses considerable elasticity, it is obvious that the pipes can be
fitted into the ends of the valves thus bushed without danger of
splitting, fracturing, or enlarging them while they are at the same time
perfectly steam-tight. In this way I am enabled to produce an iron
casting for the valve that is not only cheaper but at the same time
superior to the brass or other valves now in use.
I claim the several Inventions or improvements before described, or
any alterations or modifications of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.s.)