Improvements in Direct Steam-pressure Pumping Apparatus.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th July, 1899-Accepted, 19th Aug,
1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Direct Steam-pressure Pumping Apparatus.
I, WILLIAM REGESTER EMERSON, of 102, East Franklin Street, in the City of
Baltimore and State of Maryland, United States of America, 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:-
This invention relates to a steam vacuum pump of that class in which the steam
is admitted to the chamber wherein the water enters and presses upon the water
to force it out. One object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of simple
construction so organized that the expansion and contraction, or oither, of the
metal walls of the steam water cliamber or other part shall operate supplemental
valves controlling the inlet of steam to a valve chest wherein are located a main
valve or valves which control the admission of steam to the said chamber.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:-
Figure 1, is a vertical section of one forin of tlie improved steam vacuum
pump, wherein the lever is connected so as to shift the supplemental valve one
way by the expansion of the chamber.
Figure 2, is a vertical section of the upper part of a pump showing a modifica-
tion in the mechanism for operating the supplemental valves; here the lever is
so arranged as to be shifted one way by the expansion of the chamber and the
other way by the contraction of the chamber.
Figure 3, is a horizontal cross-section showing the connections of the condensing
pipe between the chamber and discharge water pipe.
Figure 4, is a side elevation of the upper part of the apparatus and shows
a modification of the lever connections by which the supplemental valve is shifted
one way by the contraction of the chamber and the other way by a spring.
Figure 5, is a detail showing a section view of the air inlet valve.
Figure 6, is a vertical section of a two-cylinder apparatus.
Referring to the drawings the letter, A, designates the vertical steam water
chamber into which water is drawn from a supply pipe, B, by the condensation
of steam within said chamber and the action of atmospheric pressure, and then
the same water is forced out of said chamber and through the discharge pipe, C,
by the pressure of a fresh supply of steam entered into the chamber from pipe, d.
The chamber, A, is a cylinder with top head, a, and bottom head, a. A triple
branch pipe, F, has one connection attached to the supply pipe, B,
second attached to the bottom head of the chamber, and a
attached to the discharge pipe, C. A check valve, b, opens from the supply
pipe, B, into the triple branch, F, to allow water to enter the chamber, A, but
prevent its return to said supply pipe, and a check valve, e, opens from the triple
branch to the discharge pipe, C, to allow water to flow from the chaniber, A, to
said pipe but prevent its return.
а
third
The steam supply pipe, d, enters through the top head, a, of the chamber, and

page_text: within the latter is a baffle plate or spreader, d¹, secured adjoining the open end
of said pipe.
A valve chest, E, is attached to the steam pipe and a suitable main slide
valve, f, moves in the chest to open and close the passageway for steam. In
Figures 1 and 2, a piston slide valve is employed in this chest. Attached to the
chest is a supplemental valve chamber, g, whose ends are open to the atmosphere,
and near each end is a port, h, h', which communicate between the supplemental
chamber and the chest, E. This chamber, g, is at all times open to steam pressure
from the pipe, d. A valve rod, i, in the supplemental chamber has two piston
valves, attached; these supplemental valves are so disposed on the rod, i,
that when the latter is moved one way, for instance toward the right-hand side-
one valve, j, will first uncover the port, h, at one end and thereby open com-
munication from the valve chest at that end of the main valve, f, being at the
opposite end of the chest in its open position--and then uncover the other port, h¹,
at the said opposite end so as to open communication from the supplemental valve
chamber, g, to the valve chest, 1, and thereby apply steam which will shift the
main valve, f, to its closed position.
One of the features of my invention is the combination of the main valve to
control the passage of the steam, a supplemental valve to govern the application
of steam to the main valve, and means whereby the expansion or contraction of
metal due to the alternating changes of temperature in the operation of the
machine, will operate said supplemental valve or valves. Means to this end will
now be described.
In Figure 1, the arrangement is such that the expansion of the steam water
chamber, A, is utilized to shift the supplemental valves to the position that closes:
the main valve, f. A vertical rod, F, which is not affected by the changes of
temperature due to the operation of the pump, has position alongside of the
chamber, A, and the lower end of the rod is secured by a nut, k, to a rigid arm, ¹,
fastened at the bottom head, a', of the chamber. A lever, G, extends across; and
above the top head and is fulcrumed on a knife edge pivot bearing, 7, secured
on said top head. The short end of this lever, G,. is connected by a knife edge
hearing, with the upper end of the said rod, F, and the long end of the lever
is connected by a link, in, having knife edges, with the short arm of a bell crank
lever, H, whose long arm stands upright; this last lever is pivoted on a post, n.
upon the top head of the chamber. A rod, ¹, connects the long arm of the bell
crank lever with the supplemental valve rod, i. The rod, F, lever, G, and bell
crank lever, H, constitute the means shown in Figure 1, for shifting the sup-.
plemental valves one way. A suitable spring, o, is applied to the bell crank
lever and serves to force it and the supplemental valves the opposite way. The
rod, F, is vertically adjustable by means of the nut, k, and thereby the supple- 4
mental valves may be properly set with respect to the ports h, h. The end of
the cross lever, G, has notches and the short arm of the bell crank lever, H, also
has notches; the link; m, engages at these notches; by shifting the link one way
or the other the traverse of the supplemental valves may be increased or lessened
in order to cut off the steam or turn it on when the water level is at the proper
height in the chamber, A, both when discharging and filling the chamber.
4
A condensing water pipe, I, leads from the discharge stand pipe, C, into the
chamber, A, and within said chamber has a spray or rose discharge nozzle, I',
pointing upward: This pipe has an ordinary check valve at, p, which opens to
permit cold water to pass from the pipe, C, into the steam water chamber, A, 5
to hasten the condensation of steam but said check valve closes to prevent steam
passing from chamber, A. A cut-off valve at, q, is also in the pipe, I, to entirely
cut-off the passage or regulate the amount of water admitted. In operation,
when the main valve, f, is open to steam the pressure within the chamber, A,
Fill keep the check valve at, p, closed; but in a very short interval after the 5
inain valve, f, has closed and cut off steam from the chamber, A, the reduction of
pressure in the chamber, A, caused by condensation of steam will be so great

page_text: that the water pressure in the stand pipe, C, will preponderate, and thereupon
this check valve at, p, will open and cold water will be sprayed into the cham-
lier, A, to still further condense the steam and produce vacuum therein.
An air inlet valve, r, is attached to the upper part of the steam water chamlier, A,
for allowing a small volume of air to enter said chamber the moment the steam
pressure therein has been reduced to a point below the atmospheric pressure
outside, but this valve closes to prevent escape of steam.
The discharge pipe, C, has attached to it by a pipe, s, an air chamber, L, which
serves the usual function of such chambers when applied to pumps.
The apparatus thus far described is more particularly that shown in Figure 1,
and from what has been stated the operation will be understood from the follow-
ing resume the position of the valves in this figure is that which they have just
previous to the main valve cutting off the supply of steam and when the cham-
ber, A, has been nearly emptied it will have expanded sufficiently by the heat to
cause the levers to complete the traverse of the supplemental valves, j, j¹, and
thereby open the port, h¹, to admit steam to the chest and shift the main valve, f,
to its closed position. The reduction of steam pressure in the chamber rapidly
follows and the check valve at, p, then opens and admits a spray of water and
produces a vacuum instantly, and thereupon the valve, b, in the supply pipe
opens and water flows into the chamber. The admission, at this juncture, of a
small volume of air by the inlet valve, r, serves to break the vacuum and prevents
the water from rising above the baffle plates, d. The filling of the chamber, A,
with water cools it and causes its contraction and allows the long end of lever, G,
to lower whereupon the upright arm of the bell crank lever, H, is forced to the
opposite direction-toward the left hand side-by the spring, o, (or 'equivalent
device, such as a weight) and this movement of said lever shifts the supple-
mental valves so as to open the port, h, to the atmosphere which allows the steam
in the chest, E, to exhaust; and the other port, h, is then opened which admits
steam to the chest to move the main valve, f, to its open position, as shown:
steam pressure then enters the chamber, A, and forces the water therein out and
through valve, c, to the discharge pipe, C. It will be seen that the supple-
mental valve motion is positive and not induced by vacuum, and that the force
with which the water is driven out of the chamber is limited only by the pressure
of steam in the boiler. The operations here described are then repeated.
Figure 2, shows a construction of levers slightly modified from that shown in
Figure 1. and which enables the expansion of the chamber, A, to be utilized for
shifting the supplemental valves one way, and the contraction of the chamber to
shift said valves the other way. Here the cross lever, G¹, is fulcrumed on a
pivot pin, f, supported by a bearing on the top head, and is jointed at, ¹. to the
upper end of the vertical rod, F. The long end of the cross lever is joined to the
short arm of the hell crank lever, H¹, by a pivot bolt, m', which is adjustable
in a slot, u, in both of said levers--the pivot bolt being retained wherever set by
a nut. By shifting the pivot bolt the traverse of the supplemental valves
may be increased or lessened. In this case no spring or equivalent is employed
as in Figure 1. The rod, F, in this modification has at its lower end two
nuts. 13, 3, one of which is to take below a rigid arm (like that designated, k¹,
in Figure 1) and the other above such arm. In all essential respects the opera-
tion of this form is the same as that of the form shown in Figure 1.
Figure 4, shows a construction of levers like that seen in Figure 1. except the
fulcrum and knife edge bearings are in reversed positions as will be seen by
comparison of the two figures. The effect of this is that the contraction of the
chamber, A, instead of the expansion is utilized to shift the supplemental valves
one way:
Figure 6, shows a construction of apparatus employing two chambers, A, A,
which fill and empty alternately. The form and arrangement of levers is like
that shown in Figure 1. The main valve, f, is slightly different from the one
seen in Figure 1, and alternately opens and closes two ports, v, vl, with which

page_text: connect pipes, w, w, leading to the chambers, A, A. The arrangement of check
valves, b, 63, in the supply pipe, and check valves, c¹, 3, opening to the discharge
pipe, C, is substantially the same as in Figure 1, only these parts are duplicated.
One discharge pipe, C, only is employed for both chambers. The operation of this
two chamber apparatus is the same as that heretofore described for Figure 1,
except that the operations are alternated first with one chamber and then the
other, causing a continuous flow of water from the discharge pipe by reason of
one chamber filling while the other is discharging.
The construction of knife edge bearings for the levers as in Figures 1, 4 and 6, is
preferred for the reason that there is never any lost motion by reason of wear
as the stress is always in one direction, there is a minimum of friction, and
greater case of adjustment.
It is obvious from what has been shown that my invention admits of many
modifications in the construction and arrangement of parts of the apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination of a chamber having suitable inlets and outlets for steam
and water; a rod parallel with said chamber; a main valve which controls the
passage of steam to said chamber; a supplemental valve or valves to govern the
application of steam for controlling the movement of said main valve and operated
by the expansion or contraction of one of said elements; and a connection between
said chamber, the rod and the supplemental valve or valves, substantially as
set forth.
2. The combination of an expansible chamber having suitable inlets and outlets
for steam and water; a main valve which controls the passage of ateam to said
chamber; a supplemental valve or valves to govern the application of steam to
said main valve; and a mechanical connection between the shell of the said
chamber and said supplemental valves whereby expansion or contraction of the
chamber will operate the said supplemental valves.
3. The combination of an expansible chamber having suitable inlets and outlets
for steam and water and whose expansion or contraction is utilized as the motive
force for operating a valve; a steain supply pipe connecting with said chamber;
valves governing the steam through said pipe; mmeans connecting between the
chamber and said valves whereby the expansion or contraction of the chamber
operates the valves; a pipe for the discharge of water from the chamber; and a
condensing water pipe from the chamber; and a condensing water pipe leading
into said chamber.
4. The combination of an expansible chamber having suitable inlets and outlets
for steam and water and whose expansion or contraction is utilized as the motive
force for operating a valve; a steam supply pipe connecting with said chamber;
valves governing the steam through said pipe; means connecting between the
chamber and said valves whereby the expansion or contraction of the chamber
operates the valves; a condensing water pipe leading into said chamber and
within said chamber provided with a spray nozzle; and a check valve in said
condensing water pipe.
6. The combination of an expansible chamber having suitable inlets and outlets
for steam and water and whose expansion or contraction is utilized as the motive
force for operating a valve; a steam supply pipe connecting with said chamber;
valves governing the steam through said pipe; a rod parallel with the chamber
and having its lower end secured to the bottom of said chamber; a bell crank
lever one arm of which is connected with one of the valves; and a lever ful-
ciumed on the said chamber and having its short end connected with the upper
end of said rod and its long end connected with the other arm of said bell crank
lever.
6. The combination of an expansible-chamber having suitable inlets and outlets

page_text: for steam and water and whose expansion or contraction is utilized as the motive
force for operating a valve; a steam supply pipe connecting with said chamber;
valves governing the steam through said pipe; a rod parallel with the chamber
and having its lower end secured to the bottom of said chamber; a bell crank
lever one arm of which is connected with one of the valves; a lever fulcrumed
on the said chamber and having knife edge bearings connecting it with the said
rod and said bell crank lever, and a spring or equivalent device which acts on
the bell crank lever to force it one way.
7. The combination of an expansible chamber having suitable inlets and
outlets for steam and water and whose expansion or contraction is utilized as
the motive force for operating a valve; a steam supply pipe connecting with
said chamber, valves governing the steam through said pipe; means connecting
between the chamber and said valves whereby the expansion or contraction of
the chamber operates the valves; and an air inlet valve attached to the upper
part of said chamber and which closes to prevent escape of steam.
8. In a steam vacuum pump the combination of a steam supply pipo; a main
valve governing the steam through said pipe; a supplemental steam valve con-
trolling the movement of the main valve; and an expansible chamber having
suitable inlets and outlets for steam and water and whose expansion or con-
traction due to the alternating changes of temperature in the operation of the
machine is utilized as the motive force for operating said supplemental valve.
9. The combination of an expansible chamber having suitable inlets and outlets
for steam and water; a main valve which controls the passage of steam to said
chamber; a supplemental valve or valves to govern the application of steam to
said main valve; a rod parallel with the chamber and practically unaffected by
the alternating changes of temperature due to the operation of the apparatus;
and a mechanical connection between the shell of said chamber, the supplemental
valves and said rod, whereby the expansion or contraction of said chamber will
operate the supplemental valves.
10. The combination of an expansible chamber having suitable inlets and
outlets for steam and water and whose expansion or contraction due to the alter-
nating changes of temperature in the operation of the machine, is utilized as tho
motive force for operating a valve; valves governing the passage of steam to said
chamber; a rod parallel with the chamber and having its lower end secured by a
vertical adjustment at the bottom of said chamber; levers connecting the said
valves and tlie rod and provided with notches; and a movable link engaging the
notches on the levers whereby the parts may be adjusted for timing the movement
of the valves.
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