IM- PROVEMENTS IN STEAM INJECTORS OR EJECTORS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bristow Hunt, of Scrle Street, Lincoln's Inn,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM INJECTORS OR EJECTORS." -A communication from
abroad by The National Tube Works Company, of Boston, Massa-.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bristow Hunt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th May 1874.
I, BRISTOW HUNT, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of,
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM INJECTORS OR EJECTORS," (a communi-.
cation to me from abroad by The National Tube Works Company,
of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States of America), to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to that class of steam injectors or ejectors which

page_text: employ a solid stem or spindle connected to a suitable steam valve, or
arranged to work independently thereof..
The object of the Invention is to effect certain new and useful im-
provements in the construction and operation of injectors so as to allow
an injector to be worked at a very low or at a very high range of steam
pressure without adjustment of its cones, and at an elevation of five
to six feet above the feed tank to allow the ready removal of the spindle
and steam valve from so as to give access to the interior of the injector
without uncoupling it from its connections with the engine, and to
destroy the action of lifting water, and make a feed heater of the
injector to prevent the freezing of water in the feed pipe; and to
effect these ends the present improvements consist in constructing,
arranging, and operating an injector or ejector as described in the fol-
lowing explanation, which at certain parts will be more clearly under-
stood on reference being had to the accompanying diagram.
1. The steam conc is formed at its lower extremity with a tapering
nozzle 1 which is inclined on the interior and exterior at the angles
and distances shewn. The upper portion or body of the cone is formed
with exterior screw threads separated by a projecting band or collar
against which bears a valve body and a combining cone, both of which
are formed with interior screw threads to screw on to the steam cone.
The valve body is formed on one side with a steam inlet which is
arranged to connect with a steam pipe to the boiler, and is formed
on its upper portion with interior screw threads to receive the lower
portion of a stand having an exterior flange or collar which bears against
the end of the valve body. The neck or outer portion of the stand is
formed with exterior screw threads to receive a screw cap or nut, and
in the interior is formed to receive a suitable stuffing box or packing.
The lower portion of the stand is formed with interior screw threads to
receive and allow the turning in and out of a screw stem which extends
through the stand and screw cap, and at the end is provided with a
crank or universal joint, or other suitable device for operating it. The
inner end of the screw stem is formed to receive a suitable screw slceve
or stuffing box or packing, and to connect with so as to hold and operate
a steam valve which when closed rests in an interior bevilled 'seat on
the outer end of the steam cone. The inner portion of this valve is
formed with a spindle which extends within the steam cone, and at its
extremity is formed with a concavely curved tapering termination 2,

page_text: the concavity being from the shoulder of the periphery at which the.
taper commences nearly to the end of the taper. The bottom of the
spindle above the concavity closely fits the mouth of the nozzle 1, as
shewn.
2. The combining cone is formed on one side with a water inlet
having exterior screw threads to receive one end of a water valve body
formed within with a bearing and scat to receive and form a seat for
a water valve formed with a tapering crifice, and connected with a
screw stem arranged to be operated so as to carry the said valve to
and from its seat within a stand arranged with an exterior flange and
screw threads to connect with a screw connection formed in one side
of the said valve body, and provided with a screw cup or nut arranged
to receive the said screw stem, and to screw on to the outer end of the
stand. The outer end of the stem is provided with a crank or universal
joint, or other suitable operating device that may be desired. The
interior of the combining cone is formed below the water inlet with a
tunnel-shaped mouth or passage 3 tapering downward at the angle and
distance shewn, and receiving the lower portion of the nozzle 1 so as
to leave a small passage between the exterior thereof and the interior
of the said mouth 3 from the bottom of the inclination of which the
combining cone is formed with a central tapering passage 4 which
extends inward at the angle shewn to the end of the said cone, and
is continued at the same inclination for the distance shown into the
delivery cone where it forms a straight passage 5, which subsequently
inclines outward at the angle shown to form a tapering passage 6 which
extends to the end of the said delivery conc. To render the injector
perfect in its operation, and available under circumstances not otherwise
possible, it is necessary that the lengths, diameters, and angles of the
steam cone, the nozzle 1, and the above-described passages 3, 4, 5, 6,
should be of the proper sizes, inclinations, and proportions shown.
3. The lower portion of the combining cone is flanged and formed
with exterior screw threads to receive the interior screwed end of the
delivery cone which has an interior vacuum chamber, and is formed
on one side with an overflow connection to which is screwed one end
of an overflow valve body, the other end of which is interiorly bevilled
or otherwise formed to receive an overflow valve having a stem which
is supported to allow of its having a to-and-fro motion in an annular
lug projecting from the interior periphery of or otherwise supported

page_text: within the said valve body, which is also formed to receive and allow
the turning of a shaft provided with a cam or eccentric placed so as to
-be able to be brought to bear against or released from the said stem to
hold or release the said valve to or from its seat by the action of a crank
or lever attached to the outer end of the said shaft. The overflow valve
body is curved or otherwise contracted at its outer end to concentrate
the waste water and prevent its spreading to the detriment of the
machinery to which the said valve body is connected by a waste pipe
attached by a coupling or otherwise screwed on the outer end of the said
valve body.
4
1*. The operation of the improved injector is as follows:-The stem
connected to the steam valve is operated so as to raise the said valve
from its seat and admit the steam from the steam inlet into the nozzle 1,
and to withdraw its spindle sufficiently far to allow the steam to pass
between the shoulder or junction of its termination 2 and the mouth of
the said nozzle into the passage 3. The steam in its passage is guided
by the nozzle 1 so as to converge toward the tapering point of the
spindle, and is deflected slightly by its concavely curved tapering
termination 2 until it leaves the point thereof in the form of a hollow
cylinder of steam exactly in the centre of the passage 4, and rushing
along. the same produces a vacuum in the annular space surrounding it,
exhausts the air from the space 3 and causes the water to rush in from the
water inlet and fill the same, and pass downward into the said passage
and surround the ring or cylinder of steam, which is thereby condensed.
The said stem is now further operated so as to admit an increased
volume of steam through the nozzle 1, the steam being still guided by
the termination 2 as before, and forming a hollow cylinder or steam
space in the water down the said passage 4 until it reaches the part
where it becomes condensed, at which point it bears directly on the
water and impels its toward the boiler, together with the water of con-
densation. It is necessary that the shape of the termination 2 should
be such as to guide the steam in connection with the nozzle 1 as above
described, and that the steam should be kept in the centre of the
passage 4 and not allowed to strike the sides of the same, no impediment
being offered to its passage, in order to produce a vacuum sufficient to
draw the water from the supply tube; for if the steam were allowed to
impinge on the sides of the said passage it would rebound and its force
be greatly weakened, and the possibility of forming a perfect vacuum

page_text: precluded. Hence injectors employing stems with simply conical or
straight tapering ends are liable to this objection, and it has been found
by actual experience that it is impossible to produce satisfactory results
with a stem the termination of which is formed otherwise than of the
form herein described and shown on the accompanying diagram, as the
said termination will exhaust the air from the tank pipes more rapidly
than any
other form, and will therefore cause an instantaneous rising of
the water to the injector from five to ten feet or more. Moreover by the
peculiar formation of the said termination 2, together with the con-
struction and operation of the injector as above described, the flow of
the water and steam is so regulated as to impel or force the water into
the boiler without adjusting any of the cones, although the steam
pressure may vary from ten to one hundred and seventy pounds or more
inch.
to the square
2*. By forming the water valve with the above-mentioned tapering
orifice of the same proportion as the taper of the said passage 4, a suf-
ficient flow of water is allowed to pass through the said valve, when the
latter is closed on its seat and the spindle termination 2 is in the position
shown to give a uniform action to the injector, or ranges from fifteen to
sixty pounds of steam pressure. Whereas as ordinarily constructed a
valve without such an orifice would require the greatest care and precision
of adjustment to obtain anything like a satisfactory result, and would not
be at all times reliable. When the steam valve is open the water valve
is withdrawn from its seat to produce the best results or the highest
pressures of steam, the pressure being regulated as desired by the adjust-
ment of the valves. Thus by these improvements the water valve when
opened will allow the injector to work from sixty to two hundred and
fifty pounds steam pressure, and as above described is readily adjusted
to allow the working of the injector at as low a range of steam pressure
as fifteen pounds or less to the square inch with reliability..
:
3*. By operating the above-mentioned crank or lever so as to cause
the said eccentric or cam to bear against the said stem and hold the
overflow valve against its seat the action of the lifting water is pre-
vented, and the steam is forced to pass backward and naturally seck the
first outlet, which is the feed water pipe leading to the tender or tank,
thereby forming a water heater and preventing the freezing of the water
in the feed pipe, and thereby obviating the use of any auxiliary pipe to
be attached to the feed pipe to blow steam into the latter to prevent

page_text: freezing, as ordinarily. By turning the said crank or lever so as to
release the said cam from the said stem the overflow valve is permitted
to operate as usual.
By merely unscrewing the said stand described under the heading 1,
the said stem valve and spindle also described thereunder may be readily
removed from the injector for the purpose of cleaning or removing
obstructions from its interior without disconnecting or disarranging any
other portions of the injector; and by unscrewing the delivery cone
from the combining cone, the remaining portion may be used as an
ejector.
By forming the bottom of the delivery cone with the said tapering
passage 6 expanding outward toward its mouth, at the angle shown, the
flow of the water is considerably facilitated during high and low pressures
.of steam.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Bristow Hunt in the Great Scal Patent Office on
the 7th November 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BRISTOW
HUNT, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Bristow Hunt, Her special licence that I,
the said Bristow Hunt, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Bristow Hunt, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM INJECTORS OR EJECTORS,"
(a communication to me from abroad by The National Tube Works
Company, of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States of America),
upon the condition (amongst others) that I,.the said Bristow Hunt, my

page_text: executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Bristow Hunt, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement in writing, and on reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to that class of steam injectors or ejectors which
employ a solid stem or spindle connected to a suitable steam valve, or
arranged to work independently thereof.
The object of the Invention is to effect certain new and useful im-
provements in the construction and operation of injectors, so as to
allow an injector to be worked at a very low or at a very high range of
steam pressure without adjustment of its cones, and at an elevation of
five to six feet above the feed tank. To allow the ready removal of the
spindle and steam valve from so as to give access to the interior of the
injector without uncoupling it from its connections with the engine,
and to destroy the action of lifting water and make a feed heater of the
injector to prevent the freezing of the water in the feed pipe. And to
effect these ends the present improvements consist in constructing,
arranging, and operating an injector or ejector, as described in the
following explanation, which will be more clearly understood on
reference being had to the accompanying Drawing which represents a
central longitudinal section of an injector or ejector constructed accord-
ing to this Invention.
The steam cone A is formed at its lower extremity with a tapering
nozzle which is inclined on its interior and exterior at the angles
and distances shown. The upper portion of body of the said cone is
formed with exterior screw threads separated by a projecting band or
collar a, which forms a seat for a valve body B and a combining cone C,
both of which are formed with interior screw threads to screw on to the
steam cone. The valve body B is formed on one side with a steam inlet
Q, which is arranged to connect with a steam pipe to the boiler, and is

page_text: formed on its upper portion with interior screw threads to receive the
lower portion of a stand F, having an exterior flange or collar F
which bears against the end of the valve body. The neck or outer
portion of the said stand is formed with exterior screw threads to receive
a screw cap or nut P, and in the interior is formed to receive a suitable
stuffing box or packing c. The lower portion of the said stand is formed
with interior screw threads to receive and allow the turning in and out
of a screw stem D", which extends through the stand F and screw cap
P, and at the end is provided with a crank or universal joint or other
suitable device for operating it. The inner end of the said screw stem
is formed to receive a suitable screw sleeve or stuffing box or packing d,
and to connect with so as to hold and operate a steam valve D¹, which
when closed rests in an interior bevilled seat on the outer end of the
steam cone. The inner portion of the valve D' is formed with a spindle
D which extends within the steam cone, and at its extremity is formed
with a concavely curved tapering termination e; the concavity being
from the shoulder of the periphery at which the taper commences nearly
to the end of the taper. The bottom of the spindle D above the con-
cavity closely fits the mouth of the nozzle b, as shown. The combining
cone C is formed ön one side with a water inlet O, having exterior screw
threads to receive one end of a water valve body G formed within, with
a bearing and seat g to receive and form a seat for a water valve H
formed with a tapering orifice / and connected with a screw stem I,
arranged to be operated so to carry the valve H to and from its seat
within a stand J, arranged with an exterior flange and screw threads
'to connect with a screw connection formed in one side of the valve body
Ġ and provided with a screw cap or nut J¹ arranged to receive the stem I
and to screw on to the outer end of the stand J. The outer end of
the stem I is provided with a crank, universal joint, or other suitable
operating device.
The interior of the combining cone is formed below the water inlet o
with a tunnel-shaped mouth or passage k, tapering downward at the
angle and distance shown, and receiving the lower portion of the nozzle b
so as to leave a small passage between the exterior thereof and the
interior of the mouth k, from the bottom of the inclination of which the
combined conc is formed with a central tapering passage k¹, which
extends inwards at the angle shown to the end of the said cone, and is
continued at the same inclination for the distance shown into the

page_text: delivery cone E, where it forms a straight passage ", which subse-
quently inclines outward at the angle shown, and forms a tapering
passage which extends to the end of the said delivery cone. Το
render the injector perfect in its operation and available under circum-
stances not otherwise possible, it is necessary that the lengths, diameters,
and angles of the steam conc A, the nozzle b, and the passages k, k³,
,, should be of the proper sizes, inclinations, and proportions
quently inclines outward at the angle shown, and forms a tapering
passage which extends to the end of the said delivery cone. Το
render the injector perfect in its operation and available under circum-
stances not otherwise possible, it is necessary that the lengths, diameters,
and angles of the steam cone A, the nozzle b, and the passages k, k',
,, should be of the proper sizes, inclinations, and proportions
shown.
The lower portion of the combining cone is flanged and formed with
exterior screw threads to receive the interior screwed end of the delivery
cone, which has an interior vacuum chamber p and is formed on one
side with an overflow connection E¹ to which is screwed one end of an
overflow valve body K¹, the other end of which is interiorly bevilled or
otherwise formed to receive an overflow valve K. having a stem K" which
is supported to allow of its having a to-and-fro motion in an annular
lug projecting from the interior periphery of, or otherwise supported
within the valve body K², which is also formed to receive and allow the
turning of a shaft L' provided with a cam or eccentric L placed so
as to be able to be brought to bear against or released from the stem Ku
to hold or release the valve K to or from its seat, by the action of a
crank or a lever L" attached to the outer end of the shaft L'. The valve
body K, is curved or otherwise contracted at its outer end to concentrate
the waste water and prevent its spreading to the detriment of the
machinery, to which the said valve body is connected by a waste pipe
attached by a coupling M or otherwise screwed on its outer end.
The operation of the improved injector is as follows:-The stem D" is.
operated so as to raise the valve D₁ from its seat and admit the steam
from the steam inlet Q into the nozzle and to withdraw its spindle D
sufficiently far to allow the steam to pass between the shoulder or
junction of the termination e and the mouth of the nozzle b into the
passage . The steam in its passage is guided by the said nozzle so as
to converge toward the tapering point of the spindle, and is deflected
slightly by the concavely curved portion of the tapering termination
until it leaves the point thereof in the form of a hollow cylinder of steam
exactly in the centre of the passage k¹, and rushing along the same
produces a vacuum in the annular space surrounding it, exhausts the air
from the space k, and causes the water to rush in from the water inlet o

page_text: and fill the same, and pass downward into the passage and surround
the ring or cylinder of steam which is thereby condensed. The stem Du
is then further operated so as to admit an increased volume of steam
through the nozzle b, the steam still being guided by the termination e
as before, and forming a hollow cylinder or steam space in the water
down the passage until it reaches the part where it becomes condensed,
at which point it bears directly on the water and impels it toward the
boiler together with the water of condensation. It is necessary that the
shape of the termination e should be such as to guide the steam in con-
nection with the nozzle b, as above described, and that the steam should
be kept in the centre of the passage ¹ and not allowed to strike the
sides of the same, no impediment being offered to its passage, in order to
produce a vacuum sufficient to draw the water from the supply tube; for
if the steam were allowed to impinge on the sides of the said passage it
would rebound and its force be greatly weakened, and the possibility of
forming a perfect vacuum precluded. Hence injectors employing.stems
with simply conical or straight tapering ends are liable to this objection,
and it has been found by actual experience that it is impossible to
produce satisfactory results with a stem, the termination of which is
formed otherwise than of the form herein described and shown on the
accompanying Drawing, as the said termination will exhaust the air
from the tank pipes more rapidly than any other form, and will thereforo
cause an instantaneous rising of the water to the injector from five to
ten feet or more. Moreover by the peculiar formation of the said
termination e, together with the construction and operation of the
injector as above described, the flow of the water and steam is so
regulated as to impel or force the water into the boiler without adjusting
any of the cones, although the steam pressure may vary from ten to one
hundred and seventy pounds or more to the square inch.
By forming the water valve H with a tapering orifice ½ of the same
proportion as the taper of the passage ¹ a sufficient flow of water is
allowed to pass through the said valve, when the latter is closed on its
scat and the spindle termination e is in the position shown, to give a
uniform action to the injector on ranges from fifteen to sixty pounds of
steam pressure; whereas, as ordinarily constructed, a valve without such
an orifice would require the greatest care and precision of adjustment
to obtain anything like a satisfactory result, and would not be at all
times reliable. When the steam valve is opened the water valve is

page_text: or ejectors for the purposes herein set forth, substantially as herein-
before described, and as illustrated on the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Bristow Hunt, have hercunto set
my
hand and scal, this Seventh day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
BRISTOW HUNT. (L.S.)