Improvements in Non-return Valves.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 20th May, 1892-Accepted, 23rd July, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Non-return Valves.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of
Middlesex Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention which has
been communicated to me from abroad by Lucien Genty of Tours in the Republic
of France Mining Engineer to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to provide a simple and efficient non-return valve
which is more durable and less liable to leak than valves of this kind hitherto in
use and is applicable to all kinds of apparatus employed for exhausting and forcing
fluids (whether liquid or gaseous) in which clack or flap valves are now employed
or capable of being employed.
According to this invention the valve is made in two parts connected together
by any suitable means and with a number of balls or spheres intervening. One of
the parts has ports or passages therein for the passage of the fluid and is provided
with seats for the balls or spheres the ports being arranged in a circle or otherwise
according to the shape of the valve.
The balls are forced from their seats by the pressure of the fluid and the distance
to which they are permitted to rise from their seats is governed by the other part
of the valve or back plate which is also perforated to admit of the free passage of
the fluid which passes the balls when raised from their seats. The perforations in
the back plate may be arranged opposite the spaces between two series of ports
in the other part of the valve.
Ribs or projections are provided on the inner face of the back plate opposite the
perforations therein which ribs form angular recesses in the inner side of the said
back plate into which the balls enter when forced from their seats by the fluid as
however the recesses are of angular form in cross section the balls do not prevent
the fluid from passing through the perforations in the plate. These projections
ensure the return of the balls to their seats when the pressure of the fluid thereon
ceases. In some cases the part of the valve containing the ports or passages for
the fluid is made hollow and with a screwed neck to screw into a corresponding
screwed opening in the back plate the ports or passages for the fluid, and the balls
being arranged on the rim or edge of the hollow part outside the neck thereof.
The back plate is made to overlap this rim and is provided with an angular recess
into which the balls enter when raised from their seats by the fluid which fluid
enters the hollow part of the valve through the screwed neck and acts on the
underside of the balls and in order that the Huid may act on all the balls uniformly
or nearly so the bottom of the interior of the hollow part may be curved from the
centre towards the rim or be otherwise shaped so as to conduct or distribute the
fluid which enters by the neck equally or nearly so to all the ports or passages in
the rim. In whatever position the valve is required to be placed the fluid is caused
to act on the underside of the balls to raise them from their seats, so that when
the fluid ceases to act thereon they will return to their seats by their own gravity
for which purpose when the valve is arranged in a vertical plane or at an angle
thereto angular guiding projections are provided in the valve to conduct the balls
to their seats.
The back plate should be arranged at such a distance from the ports in the other
part of the valve that the balls are permitted to rise from their seats to only such
a distance as is sufficient to allow of a free passage for the fluid so that they will
return to their seats with very little noise and concussion and without occasioning
wear of the seats.

page_text: The two parts of the valve may be connected by one screw so that they may be
readily taken apart for inspection, repairs, or renewal.
Dated this 22nd day of August 1891.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Non-return Valves.
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of
. Middlesex Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which has
been communicated to me from abroad by Lucien Genty of Tours in the Republic
of France, Mining Engineer) and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to an improved construction of non-return valves capable
of being substituted with advantage for the lift or other valves heretofore employed
in machines or engines used for drawing or forcing fluids (liquid or gaseous) or in
all cases where it is required to afford free passage for a fluid in one direction
through a partition and to prevent it from returning or flowing backwards in the
opposite direction. The invention consists in the improved arrangement and con-
struction of the parts whereby important advantages are obtained as will be readily
understood from the following description.
And in order that the said invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters and numerals of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in à section taken through the
centres of the valves the upper end of the cylinder of a single acting air compresser
or pump having the suction and delivery valves arranged in the cover of the
vertical cylinder.
Figure 2 similarly represents the lower extremity of a similar apparatus in which
the valves are arranged at the lower of the vertical cylinder.
Figure represents in section the upper and lower parts of a double acting
pump having the suction and delivery valves arranged in lateral boxes or
chambers.
Figure 4 illustrates in section an arrangement of the improved valves which
it is preferred to employ when they are arranged at the end of a horizontal
cylinder.
Figure 5 represents in vertical section a suction valve constructed with balls or
spheres according to this invention and employed to facilitate the running forward
of locomotives when the steam is shut off' and enabling air to be drawn into the
cylinder and exhausted into the smoke box.
This construction is represented in Figure 6 partly in horizontal section in order
to show the arrangement of the inlet orifices in plan.
Figure 7. represents in section a portion of a pump cylinder with a valvular
arrangement occupying the whole of the piston and one end of the cylinder.
Figure 8 drawn to a larger scale illustrates in detail the construction of a valve
according to this invention.
The back or retaining plate employed to retain the balls or spheres in position in
Figure 8 is represented in Figure 9 viewed from the under side and
Figure 10 illustrates the valve in plan the retaining plate being removed.
Figure 11 drawn to a considerably larger scale illustrates one of the balls or
spheres in the recess provided for its reception and
Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram hereinafter referred to.
The principal feature of the invention consists in constructing the partition
through which the fluid has to pass, with a plate of metal perforated with a number

page_text: of holes or passages, combined with a corresponding number of balls or spheres
ruly turned and fitted to rest upon or cover the orifices of these holes and close
hem except when the said balls are lifted from their seats or bearings by the action
of the fluid. The movement of the balls in a vertical direction is limited by a
recessed back plate or arranged in such a position as to allow the balls to move
away from their seats sufficiently to uncover the holes and allow the fluid to pass
and compel them to immediately fall back into their seats when the pressure is
removed.
One of these balls or spheres drawn to an enlarged scale is represented in
Figure 11 of the drawings. The seat on which the ball rests when the orifice
is closed is of spherical shape corresponding to the shape of the ball. The amount
of play or "lift" of the balls may be reduced considerably as well as their diameter
(which governs that of the orifices) provided that their number is proportionately
increased. A valve is thus obtained the moving part of which is composed of a
large number of small masses or bodies which taken collectively are smaller than
a single valve of the same area and which being required to move through a
relatively small distance do not acquire any considerable velocity or momentum
in opening and closing.
The momentum acquired by each ball is of no practical importance and their
impact or concussion on their respective seats is incapable of damaging the latter
whilst noise is almost completely obviated. The rapid wearing away of the parts
which takes place when heavy valves are employed is also obviated the lift or
movement of heavy valves being necessarily greater than in the case of valves
constructed according to this invention so that they strike their seats with greater
force at each stroke of the pump or compresser. These are what may be termed
the purely mechanical advantages of the improved valves. In working in practice
it will be readily understood from the following description that the improved
valves with balls can be easily and economically constructed and admit of being
readily taken apart and examined and that all the parts can be easily kept in order
or renewed when required.
The balls when lifted by the fluid are returned to their seats by the action of
gravity alone so that they have to be arranged in such a manner as to receive on
their under side the pressure of the fluid which moves them in order to pass through
the partition in which they are placed. The form of the valve may be modified
according to the purposes for which it is employed as represented in the examples
illustrated in the accompanying drawings but these forms belong in a general way
to one of the three leading types hereinafter referred to as types A. B and C and
distinguished by these letters in the drawing.
The types A and B apply to horizontal valves arranged on vertical cylinders for
example. The type C represents valves arranged in a vertical plane or in a plane
inclined to a vertical plane and is employed on the ends of horizontal cylinders
for example.
The valves of the A type are distinguished by the following arrangement
namely a number of balls 1 are arranged upon one or more concentric rings of.
inlet orifices 2 (Figures 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 11) perforated in a brass or gun metal
plate 3. This plate illustrated on a larger scale in Figures 8 and 10 forms the
bottom of a cylindrical box or casing fitted into the cover of the pump or
compresser cylinder and secured in position by bolts passed through the flanges 4
or by any other suitable means. These flanges are arranged on the outer side of
the cylinder cover in order to facilitate the removal of the valves and reduce the
waste or injurious space in the cylinder. The necessity for complying with this
condition accounts for the slight differences in the valves illustrated and marked A.
These valves enable the fluid to be alternately drawn into and expelled from the
cylinder and their mode of action being similar to that of an ordinary valve is
5 indicated by arrows in the drawing. In all the valves of the A type, the balls are
retained in their recessed chambers and their stroke is limited by a thick mushroom

page_text: shaped gun metal or other disc or cover 5 supported by and attached to the disc 3
by a screwed pin or bolt 6 and a nut 7.
In this disc 5 there are formed as many
circular grooves 8 (Figs. 8 and 9) as there are annular lines or rings of balls.
The sides of each groove prevent the balls from escaping laterally from their
places or from the ring or series to which they belong and the bottom of the groove
is at such a distance from the disc 3 as to enable the balls to rise to the extent
required for the passage of the fluid but not to allow them to move far enough to
enable them to fall back on any place except their proper seats. In order to
facilitate the escape of the fluid the disc 5 is perforated with a number of outlet
holes 9. These holes are formed as shewn between two consecutive grooves and
cause a small portion of the ridges separating the grooves, to be cut away so that
.they open on to the angles of the grooves and cannot be obstructed by the balls
when the latter are lifted which obstruction would be liable to occur if the outlet
holes were bored immediately over the balls.
The valves of the B type are distinguished by a peculiar arrangement provided
for the purpose of changing the direction of the fluid in order to spread it and give
it an ascending direction in all cases where it enters the valve with a vertical and
downward movement. In this case the balls are arranged in a ring on a
perforated shoulder or annular rim formed on a hollow plug 12 screwed into the
disc 3, as represented in Figures 1, 2 and 3. As in the preceding instance (type A)
this disc forms the end of a cylindrical casing similarly fitted into the cylinder cover
and secured in position. The stroke of the balls is in this case limited by an
angular groove 8 hollowed out in the disc 3 so as to cause the balls to fall back on
to their seats when the pressure is removed.
The fluid follows the path indicated by the arrows. A locking screw 10 inserted
between the hollow plug 12 and the disc 3 prevents the said plug from working
loose or unscrewing under the influence of the vibrations. In the examples
illustrated the B valves are constructed with one ring of balls but it is evident that
two or more of such rings may be employed if desired.
Examples of the practical application of these two types of valves (A and B) are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In Figures 1, 2 and 3 they are represented
as being employed in the construction of an ordinary air pump or compressers made
with a vertical cylinder and solid single or double acting piston the construction
and action of which does not require to be described here. It is obvious that in
place of one suction or delivery valve a greater number may be employed in case it
is necessary to provide a passage of greater sectional area for the passage of the
fluid. According to another arrangement the entire area of the cylinder cover and
of the piston may be utilised for the valves as represented in Figure 7.
The suction valve illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 may be employed whenever it is
necessary to provide for an extremely rapid closing of the valve owing to the rapid
succession of the strokes or pulsations of the pumping apparatus. This arrange-
ment may be employed with advantage in connection with certain locomotive
engines for example. The improved construction of valve may be employed with
great advantage in order to enable the steam valve to be simply closed in place of
putting the slide valve into backward gear and pumping gases from the smoke box
into the boiler when the locomotive is running down a gradient on the line. The
exhausting action of the piston in the steam cylinder then simply draws air into the
cylinder through the improved multiple ball valve and this air is discharged into
the exhaust pipe in the same way as the steam.
Similar results are obtained in supplying air to gas engines in which it is
necessary for the closing of the valve to take place at the dead point. With the
improved arrangement the valve closes much more quickly than an ordinary valve
with a relatively long stroke. For example in an engine in which the travel or
stroke of the piston occupies 0-21 seconds or in other words the crank pin travels
through 180 degrees in 0-21 seconds an ordinary valve with a lift or stroke of
25 millimeters (one inch) commencing to descend when the dead point is reached,

page_text: returns to its seat when the crank pin having traversed bu
3
nas advanced
to the point marked a, in Figure 12 or not until the piston has travelled one quarter
of is stroke or from c to b.
0.21 seconds
3
=0.07
The valve in falling has consequently occupied a time equal to
A valve constructed with multiple balls according to my invention on the other
hand falls or closes in 0.22 of a second with a stroke or lift of 2.5 millimeters (1 inch)
so that the valve is closed when the crank reaches the point d arc
arc
cd
=
0.02
0.07
During this 0.02 of a second the piston moves through the distance . e which is .
very small compared to the distance c. b which it has to travel over when an
ordinary valve with a lift of 25 millimetres (1 inch) is employed. The diagram of
the actual working is thus caused to correspond very nearly with that theoretically
obtained with an instantaneously closing valve.
The valves of the C type are intended for use in vertical partitions, such as the
end or cover of a pump cylinder arranged with its axis in a horizontal position and
are distinguished from the other types herein before described by having each inlet
orifice for the passage of the fluid arranged in an inclined or oblique direction, and
terminating at its upper extremity in a ball seat placed horizontally combined with
a peculiar arrangement for retaining the balls in their recesses. Two valves of this
type are illustrated in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings, one of the said
valves being represented as being arranged to work as a suction valve, and the
other as a delivery valve.
These valves are constructed with a thick gun metal plate 3, which is perforated
with inclined or oblique inlet holes 2, and is of square or rectangular shape. This
plate forms the side of a flat box or casing of corresponding form, provided
with flanges 4, by which it is attached to the end or cover of the cylinder by any
suitable means. In this valve the balls 1 are arranged in straight horizontal lines
in place of in rings, and each ball fits into a concave spherical seat formed at the
upper end of the hole or inlet orifice 2.
The balls work in recesses formed in the plate 3 and are retained in position by
a cover plate 5, provided with outlet holes 9 and inclined stops or abutments 8,
which project into the said recesses and limit the lift of the balls 1. The fluid
enters the valve through the inlet holes 2 and after lifting the balls from their seats
escapes through the outlet holes 9, which open into the angles formed by the
oblique stops 8, so that they cannot be closed by the balls. The cover 5 is
arranged on the inner side of the plate 3 in the delivery valve, and on the outer side
in the suction valve. The arrows show the directions of the flow of the fluid through
the valves in the arrangement illustrated in Figure 4.
Small steel balls (about 3 of an inch in diameter) such as are commonly used by
manufacturers are preferably employed in the construction of these improved valves
combined with bronze or gun metal seats, but balls composed of other materials,
such as aluminium or alloys, may evidently be employed if required, and the details
of the arrangements hereinbefore described by way of example and illustrated in
the accompanying drawing may evidently be modified in various ways according to
the conditions under which the improved multiple ball valves constructed according
to this invention are employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed. I declare that what I
claim is
1. A valve constructed with a number of orifices which are opened and closed by
a corresponding number of balls or spheres working in one casing made in two parts,
the seats for the balls being formed in one of such parts and the guides for the balls

page_text: being formed in the other part, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
2. In the construction of the multiple ball valves hereinbefore described and
claimed, the guide by which a series of balls arranged in a ring or circle or other-
wise, is guided by one groove made of angular profile in transverse section or so
arranged that the balis cannot stick or close the outlet orifices situated above the
series of balls, substantially as herein before described with reference to the accom-
panying drawings.
3. In the construction of the multiple ball valves herein before described, the
arrangement of the outlet orifices or perforations in the angles at the bottom of an
angular groove in the guide, whereby the balls when lifted are enabled to bear
against a solid part of the casing and are prevented from closing the said outlet
orifices substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
4. The arrangements and combinations of parts constituting the improvements in
non return valves, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Dated hol 1
M
1000
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.