An Improved Compound Valve, applicable to Safety Valves Discharging at High Steam Pressure and Low Water Level, and also to other allied purposes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Feb., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Nov., 1892-Accepted, 17th Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Compound Valve, applicable to Safety Valves
Discharging at High Steam Pressure and Low Water Level, and
also to other allied purposes.
I, WILLIAM HENRY FOWLER, of Poplar Villa, New Moston, Failsworth, in
the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:
--
My invention relates to a compound valve which is applicable as a compound
safety valve for high steam and low water, and may also be used as a balanced
valve for other purposes in connection with steam plant.
My new valve has two seats and it consists of a hollow shell or casting, and one
seat is formed on its exterior surface and is spherical or ball shaped. The external
ball or sphere shaped surface rests upon any convenient fixed seating closing the
discharge or inlet orifice to be controlled. In the interior of the hollow shell or
casting I form another seating, which seating bears upon a valve seat formed on or
attached to a fixed projecting part projecting within the hollow shell.
One important feature in this valve consists in the relative positions of the two
seats, that is, the external and the internal seat. These seats I so arrange that
they both fall on the surface of a common sphere or a concentric sphere struck from
a centre within the hollow shell.
By striking one valve face and one valve seat from a common centre several
important consequences follow, the main consequence being that the hollow shell or
valve may be oscillated through considerable angles while bearing firmly on the
seats.
The valve or hollow shell is made preferably in two parts, which parts are united
by bolting or screwing, but the shell may be cast in a piece when there is sufficient
difference between the diameters of the double seats to allow the piece carrying the
inner rigid seat to be slipped through.
In applying my invention to a compound safety valve for high steam and low
water, I preferably construct the hollow shell or valve in two parts which screw and
shoulder together, and I place it within a casing attached to the steam discharge
branch on a steam boiler. I mount the spherical valve upon a suitable valve seat
closing the end of the safety valve discharge branch, and I suspend weights within
the boiler from a bridge piece within the hollow valve. Within the valve I
arrange a second rigid seat in the form of a valve plate with upward projecting
stem. This stem I screw and fit within a gun metal sleeve in a bridge piece so
constructed as to be truly central to the lower valve seat. I fit an adjusting nut on
the upper end of the projecting stem and I am thus enabled to screw up the inner
rigid seat so as to cause it to bear truly upon the seat within the hollow shell valve.
Both internal and external valve seats are arranged as struck from the same centre
and form part of the same spherical or concentric spherical surfaces.
The difference in area between the internal and external valve surfaces
determines the load to be put on the spherical valve by the weights within the
boiler to hold it on its seat.
When the hollow valve rises, discharge takes place outside the valve and also
through it.
In loading the valve from within the boiler, and providing for blowing off either
with high steam or low water, I adopt a new arrangement of weights and levers
within the boiler which arrangement has important advantages.
I suspend the dead load on the valve directly under it by a rod and upon this rod
I arrange an adjustable plate or collar.

page_text: The directly suspended load determines the pressure at which the valve will
begin to blow off with high steam:
On each side of the central position of the valve within the boiler I arrange two
levers pivoting from pins attached to the boiler shell. From the inner ends of
these levers I suspend by suitable links, a counterpoise to a float and I construct
this counterpoise as a ring shaped weight surrounding the rod from the valve and
being suspended preferably above the valve load. The outer ends of the two
levers I connect by links or a yoke, to a float immersed in the boiler water within
the limits of ordinary working.
The counterpoise weight and the float are so proportioned that the float just rises
and falls with the change of level. moving the counterpoise weight up and down.
When the water falls below the low water level, then the falling float causes the
counterpoise to rise further and knife edges or other projections strike the plate
hereinbefore described as attached to the rod suspending the safety valve load.
The safety valve is thus raised from its seat and the discharge of steam indicates
low water.
Instead of providing separate counterpoise and safety valve load weights I
sometimes arrange the counterpoise to perform the double function, and in this case
1 suspend the counterpoise from the safety valve rod by levers swivelling from the
end of that rod, one end of each lever being linked to the weight and the other end
of each to the float. In this case provide a second fulcrum or bearing edge for
the levers so that if the floats fall beyond a certain point the excess weight caused
by the water leaving it presses open the safety valve.
My new valve may be applied to other purposes where a double seated valve is
required such as to the discharge valve of a steam trap, and it has an important
advantage in being able to move about on its two seats like a ball valve.
Dated this 1st day of February 1892.
CLERK & MARKS,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Compound Valve, applicable to Safety Valves
Discharging at High Steam Pressure and Low Water Level, and
also to other allied purposes.
I, WILLIAM HENRY FOWLER, of Poplar Villa, New Moston, Failsworth, in
the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to a compound valve which is applicable as a compound
safety valve for high steam and low water and may also be used as a balanced
valve for other purposes in connection with steam plant.
Referring to the accompanying drawings on two sheets-
Figure 1 is a vertical section of my valve.
Figure 2 is a similar section showing its application to a dead weight safety
valve; and Figure 2A is an enlarged section of my valve so applied.
Figure 3 is a section through part of a steam boiler showing my valve applied to
an improved form of linkage and float within the boiler.
My new valve (see Figure 1) has two seats respectively a and b, and it consists
of a hollow shell or casting A, B, and one seat d is formed on its exterior surface
and is spherical or ball shaped. The external ball or sphere shaped surface d rests
upon any convenient fixed seating b formed on the ring F closing the discharge or
inlet orifice G to be controlled. In the exterior of the hollow shell or casting
I form another seating a, which seating bears upon a valve seat c formed on or
attached to a fixed projecting part within the hollow shell A, B. In Figure 1 the

page_text: projecting part consists of the bolt or stud E adjustably connected to the bridge
piece D, which bridge piece is carried by the pillars C. The pillars C are preferably
perforated with holes C connected by holes G¹ to the discharge steam branch G.
This arrangement secures the uniform expansion of the pillars or arms C by the
steam heat. The valve in Figure 1 is arranged to be loaded internally by the
rod e.
One important feature in this valve consists in the relative positions of
the two seats and a, that is the external and the internal seat. These seats I so
arrange that they both fall on the surface of a common sphere or a concentric
sphere struck from a centre within the hollow shell. This centre is indicated by
lines terminating in arrows at Figure 1.
By striking one valve face and one valve seat from a common centre several
important consequences follow, the main consequence being that the hollow shell or
valve may be oscillated through considerable angles while bearing firmly on the
seats. The face and the seat c it will be observed are struck from the same centre
but the two radii may vary in length.
The valve or hollow shell is made preferably in two parts A, B, which parts are
united by bolting or screwing, but the shell may be cast in a piece when there is
sufficient difference between the diameters of the double seats to allow the piece
carrying the inner rigid seat to be slipped through. This is the case in Figure 2,
where the inner valve seat c is carried from the ring F having the lower seat. The
valve is loaded by the weight H'suitably carried in a well known manner. G is
also the discharge orifice from the boiler.
In applying my invention to a compound safety valve for high steam and low
water as shown at Figure 3, I preferably construct the hollow shell or valve in two
parts which screw and shoulder together, and I place it within a casing L attached
to the steam discharge branch G on a steam boiler. I mount the spherical valve
upon a suitable valve seat closing the end of the safety valve discharge branch G,
and I suspend, by means of the rod e, weights within the boiler from a bridge
piece s within the hollow valve. Within the valve I arrange a second rigid seat c
in the form of a valve plate with upward projecting stem as shown at Figure 1.
This stem I screw and fit within a gunmetal sleeve in a bridge piece so constructed
as to be truly central to the lower valve seat. I fit an adjusting nut on the upper
end of the projecting stem and I am thus enabled to screw up the inner rigid seat
so as to cause it to bear truly upon the seat within the hollow shell valve.
internal and external valve seats are arranged as struck from the same centre and
form part of the same spherical or concentric spherical surfaces.
Both
The difference in area between the internal and external valve surfaces determines
the load to be put on the spherical valve by the weights f within the boiler to hold
it on its seat.
When the hollow valve rises, discharge takes place outside the valve and also
through it.
In loading the valve from within the boiler, and providing for blowing off either
with high steam or low water, I adopt a new arrangement of weights and levers
within the boiler, which arrangement has important advantages.
I suspend the dead load on the valve directly under it by a rod e and upon this
rod e I arrange an adjustable plate or collar o (Figure 3).
The directly suspended load determines the pressure at which the valve will begin
to blow with high steam.
The
On each side of the central position of the valve within the boiler, I arrange two
levers m, m pivoting from pins n, n attached to the boiler shell. From the inner
ends of these levers I suspend by suitable links, a counterpoise g to a float h, h, h, h,
and I sometimes construct this counterpoise as a ring shaped weight surrounding
the rod from the valve and being suspended preferably above the valve load.
outer ends of the two levers m, m I connect by links 1, 1 or a yoke, to a float h, h, h, h
immersed in the boiler water within the limits of ordinary working. The counter-
poise weight and the float h, h, h, h are so proportioned that the float just rises
and falls with the change of water level, moving the counterpoise weight up and
g

page_text: down. When the water falls below the low water level then the falling float causes
the counterpoise g to rise further, and knife edges p or other projections strike the
plate o hereinbefore described as attached to the rod e suspending the safety valve
load f. The safety valve is thus raised from its seat and the discharge of steam
indicates low water.
In Figure 3 the float h, h, h, h is constructed of separate hollow cylinders h
preferably of somewhat thin metal each nearly filled with water leaving a small air
space, and the whole carried in a frame having sides k. The difficulty of tile floats
is thus avoided and the separate hollow cylinders are easily introduced into the
boiler through the manhole. The links I, I and the lever K are provided to allow
the safety valve to be raised from its seat by hand.
My new valve may be applied to other purposes when a double seated valve is
required, such as to the discharge valve of a steam trap, and it has an important
advantage in being able to move about on its two seats like a ball valve.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is―
1. A double seated or compound valve in which the seat surfaces are portions of
spheres struck from a common centre, so that the valve may oscillate without
leaking, substantially as and for the purposes herein before described and illustrated
in the drawings.
2. The general arrangement and construction of double beat spherical seat valve
applicable as a safety or other valve as hereinbefore described and illustrated at
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
3. The arrangement of weights, float and levers, comprising central weight/loading
the safety valve, weights as 9 balancing the float, levers as m, m connecting the
float and the balance weight, all constructed and operating substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated at Figure 3 of the drawings.
4. The compound safety valve with operating connections as hereinbefore
described and as illustrated at Figure 3 of the drawings.
Dated this 1st day of November 1892.
CLERK & MARKS,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicant.