IMPROVE- Low-WATER ALARM WHISTLES OR DETECTORS FOR STEAM MENTS IN GENERATORS.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John William Kenyon, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
Low-WATER ALARM WHISTLES OR DETECTORS FOR STEAM
MENTS IN
GENERATORS.
"
Sealed the 2nd July 1875, and dated the 27th April 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Kenyon
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 27th April 1875.
I, JOHN WILLIAM KENYON, of Manchester, in the County of Lan-
caster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOW-WATER ALARM WHISTLES OR DETECTORS FOR STEAM
GENERATORS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to apparatus for attachment to a boiler or steam
generator for sounding an alarm in the event of the level of water
within the boiler falling to a dangerous extent.
A chamber provided with a steam whistle communicates with the
interior of the boiler by means of a pipe which extends to the low-water

page_text: linc. A passage leading to the steam whistle is fitted with a valvc,
which is kept closed by means of a spring or of springs, or of a weight,
and a basin or vessel to hold water is suspended from the said valve.
During the ordinary working of the boiler the said chamber remains
filled with water and the said valve remains closed. On the water level 5
reaching the low-water line the water runs out of the said chamber into
the boiler, and the weight of the water left in the said basin or vessel
opens the valve and the whistle sounds an alarm.
In some or in all cases I provide a by-way passage fitted with a cock
or valve, by opening which steam is admitted to the interior of the said 1
chamber when it is desired to ascertain whether the apparatus is in
working order or not. I prefer to so form the said cock or valvo as that
it can only be opened by means of a special key, and when using a cock
I prefer to employ such descriptions as have steam passages formed
around the plugs.
1
When a spring or springs is or are employed to act upon the valve of
the steam whistle such spring or springs may be made of brass or
"Muntz metal." The arrangement may be varied by substituting a
float or a body which will when submerged tend to close the valve of the
steam whistle, and when not submerged will open the said valve, in 2
which case the said spring or springs may be dispensed with.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said John William Kenyon in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN 25
WILLIAM KENYON, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the 30
fortieth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John William Kenyon,
Her special licence that I, the said John William Kenyon, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: John William Kenyon, 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 law-
fully 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 LOW-WATER ALARM WHISTLES OR DETECTORS
FOR STEAM GENERATORS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John William Kenyon, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 John William Kenyon, 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 (and accompanying Drawings), that is to
say:-
-
My Invention relates to apparatus for attachment to a boiler or steam
generator for sounding an alarm in the event of the level of water
within the boiler falling to a dangerous extent.
A chamber provided with a steam whistle communicates with the
interior of the boiler by means of a pipe which extends to the low-water
line. A passage leading to the steam whistle is fitted with a valve,
which is kept closed by means of a spring or of springs, or of a weight
or of weights, and a basin or vessel to hold water, or a body of earthen-
ware or other suitable material is suspended from the said valve.
During the ordinary working of the boiler the said chamber remains
filled with water, and the said valve remains closed. On the water level
reaching the low-water line the water runs out of the said chamber into
the boiler, and the weight of the water left in the said basin or vessel
opens the valve and the whistle sounds an alarm.
In some or in all cases I provide a by-way passage fitted with a cock
or valve, by opening which steam is admitted to the interior of the said
chamber when it is desired to ascertain whether the apparatus is in
working order or not.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be well understood I have
appended hereunto a Sheet of Drawings made to a scale of about one
half of the full size and marked with letters of reference.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a
vertical section of the apparatus. In the said Figure a is a vase-shaped 5
chamber made of cast iron or other suitable metal of a strength sufficient
to withstand the pressure to which it will be subjected when in use. The
said chamber is fitted with a cover b, the joint between the cover and
chamber being made steam-tight, and being secured with bolts c. The
said chamber is supported by means of a short length of tubing &, which 1
is screwed into the foot of the chamber and also into the shell e of any
boiler to which it may be applied. A tube f screwed into the tube d
descends into the boiler and extends downwards to the low-water level
represented by g.
In one side of the chamber a steam passage his formed, and the said 1
passage is connected by means of the pipes i and stop-cock j with the
steam space in the boiler.
On the top of the cover b is fixed a steam whistle k. A spindle / is
turned down at one end, so as to form a conical shoulder, and the end
turned down enters the steam passage m in the whistle, the said passago 2
acting as a guide for the upper end of the said spindle. The part of the
said spindle which enters the passage m may have flats or hollows filed
or formed on its sides to permit steam to flow with greater freedom
through the said passage to sound the whistle. The lower end of the
spindle is kept in position by means of a guide n, which is formed with a
passages to permit the flow of water and steam. To the said spindle is
fixed a basin o, which is formed of copper or of other suitable metal,
and which may be made comparatively thin and light, as it has only to
bear the weight of contained water when quite full. A spiral spring p
on the lower part of the spindle rests on the guide n, and has sufficient
resistance to sustain the weight of the basin and spindle when the basin
is empty, and to press the aforesaid conical shoulder on the spindle
upwards so as to close the steam passage m, but yields when the basin is
full of water, excepting when the chamber a is also filled with water.
"
The said spring may be made of brass or of "Muntz metal," or of a
other suitable metal, or be made of steel and electroplated with a pro-
tecting metal, such, for example, as nickel.

page_text: Under ordinary circumstances the said chamber, together with the
basin o, the tube f, and the other parts of the passage, are filled with
water, which is sustained by the pressure of steam within the boiler, as
represented in Fig. 2, which also illustrates modifications which may be
made in the apparatus. The basin o being thus entirely immersed in
water exerts only a downward pressure upon the spring p equal to the
weight of the said basin and of the spindle 1, less the sustaining power
of the steam, which will be proportionate to the pressure and the area of
the steam passage m. The said spring is thus capable of pressing
upwards the spindle 1, and the passage m is thereby kept closed.
In the event of the water level within the boiler sinking to a dangerous
extent the lower end of the tubef becomes uncovered, so that steam is
permitted to enter the chamber a and to take the place of the water. The
entire weight of the water retained by the basin in the manner seen in
Fig. 1 now bears upon the spring, which yields and permits the basin to
sink to some extent, whereby the passage m is opened and the steam has
access to the whistle to sound an alarm.
When desired the apparatus may be tested by opening the cock j so as
to admit steam directly into the upper part of the chamber a, the result
being that the water in the said chamber is displaced by the steam and
the whistle is sounded. To lessen the tendency of the plug of the said
cock to stick or set fast a cock having a steam passage formed in the
outer shell or casing and extending around the plug may be employed,
but this description of cock, being well known, forms no part of my
Invention. The plug of the cock may be turned by means of a key
instead of the handle shown in the Drawings, or if preferred a screw
valve of suitable construction may be substituted for the cock.
As the passage h, the pipes i, and the cock j are only used to ascertain
the condition of the apparatus they may be dispensed with if it is desired
to simplify the arrangement, and if preferred a solid or nearly solid body
of earthenware or other material may be substituted for the basin o.
In the arrangement illustrated by Fig. 2 counterbalance weights aro
substituted for the spring p. In this example ", r, are two levers, which
are formed with enlarged ends, or are provided with weights, as may be
preferred. The said levers are jointed at a to the spindle, and rest upon
pins t, which act as fulcra. The enlarged ends of the said levers are
made of such a size as that they may by their weight sustain the weight
8

page_text: of the empty basin and of the spindle, as in the case of the aforesaid
spring.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said Inven-
tion and the manner in which I carry the same into practical effect, I
would in conclusion have it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details of the arrangements illustrated in the
Drawings, nor to the form of the chamber or casing, or of the basin o,
but that I claim,―
First. The basin or water retainer, substantially as and for the purpose
herein-before set forth and indicated.
And, lastly. The combinations and arrangements of parts substan-
tially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated herein-before and in
the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John William Kenyon, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-sixth day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Signed and sealed by the said
John William Kenyon in the
presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
J. W. KENYON. (L.S.)