IMPROVEMENts in Safety and other VaLVES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Charles Church, of Lombard Street, in
the City of London, Consulting and Mechanical Engineer, for the.
Invention of “IMPROVEMENts in Safety and other VaLVES.”
Invention of “IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY AND OTHER
ALVES.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Charles Church
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 26th November 1872.
I, WALTER CHARLES CHURCH, of Lombard Street, in the City of
London, Consulting and Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY AND
VALVES," to be as follows:-
OTHER
This Invention relates to a peculiar arrangement for loading safety
and other valves, such, for example, as safety valves for steam generators
or boilers, and stop or regulating valves for steam, air, gas, water or
other fluids, wheroby. the spring or springs employed (of whatever
description they may be) for keeping the valve to its seating, is or are
entirely protected from contact with the external atmosphere, or with

page_text: the steam, air, gases, or fluid issuing from the valve, and hence corrosion
of the spring or springs is prevented..
According to this Invention the spring or springs which hold the
valve to its seating is or are contained within a perfectly air and fluid
tight spring box or chamber, which is bolted to a casting fitted over the
valve and seating. The spring or springs serve to force downwards a
spindle which passes through the bottom of the spring box and bears
centrally upon the bottom of a socket formed centrally in the enlarged
head of a second spindle which bears centrally upon the top of the valve.
A conical hollow boss projects downwards from the bottom of the spring
box, and is concentric with the first-mentioned spindle. This boss dips
into quicksilver or other suitable fluid contained in a concentric annular
well or reservoir formed in the enlarged head before mentioned, so as to
prevent any access of steam, air, or other fluid to the interior of the
spring box round the spindle therein, whilst at the same time it prevents
all chance of the parts sticking by dispensing with the use of a gland
and packing. The enlarged head above referred to works centrally
through an opening in the bottom of an annular chamber formed
beneath the spring box, which annular chamber has openings therein to
allow of the free escape of any fluid that may gain access to the interior
thereof when the valve is open past the sides or surface of the enlarged
head. The said holes in the annular chamber serve also to prevent any
pressure acccumulating in the said chamber, and tend to keep the quick-
silver and the bottom of the spring box moderately cool when steam or
other heated fluid is escaping through the valve. The bottom of the
last-mentioned annular chamber through which the enlarged head of the
spindle works forms the top of a chamber bolted to the valve casting,
which chamber is provided with a lateral outlet, and constitutes the
· escape passage for the steam or other fluid from the valve into the
atmosphere.
In order to admit of the valve being opened or cased by hand when
required I employ a lever, which passes through the side or sides of the
valve chamber, and when drawn down by hand or otherwise on the
outside bears against the under side of the enlarged head on the spindle
which presses directly upon the valve, and by elevating the same slightly
allows the valve to open more or less as required. The fulcrum of this
lever is by preference contained in a bolt which passes through the junction
flanges of the spring box and annular chamber before referred to. This

page_text: bolt is prolonged so as to pass through the junction flanges of the cap or
cover of the spring box, a padlock or other suitable fastening secured by
a seal or stamp being attached to the protruding end of the said bolt,
hence no tampering of the springs can be effected, the arrangement thus
constituting a "lock up" valve. A check is employed to prevent the
lever being so elevated as to put any additional pressure upon the valve.
Or a rocking spindle with a cam or cams, or a tappet arm or arms may
be employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Walter Charles Church in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 26th May 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
CHARLES CHURCH, of Lombard Street, in the City of London, Consulting
and Mechanical Engineer, send grecting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
36th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Walter Charles Church, Her special license
that I, the said Walter Charles Church, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Walter Charles Church, my
executors, administrators, or 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, exercisc, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SAFETY AND OTHER VALVES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Walter Charles Church, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and scal, 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 Walter Charles Church, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the sanie

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:
My said Invention relates to a peculiar arrangement for loading safety
and other valves, such for example, as safety valves for steam generators
or boilers, and stop or regulating valves for steam, air, gas, water, or
other fluids, whereby the spring or springs employed (of whatever
description they may be) for keeping the valve to its seating is or are
entirely protected from contact with the external atmosphere and with
the steam, air, gases, or fluid issuing from the valve, and hence corrosion
of the spring or springs is prevented.
And in order that my 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 two Sheets of Drawings, 1
which are drawn to a scale of half the full size, the same letters of
reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) of my Drawings represents a vertical section of
a lock-up safety or relief valve, having its springs protected from
contact with the atmosphere as well as from contact with the steam or 2
other fluid escaping through the valve in accordance with my present
Invention.
In this Figure I have shown a compound safety or relief valve con-
structed as set forth in the Specification of my Patent dated November
Fourteenth, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, No. 3395, but 2
any other form of safety or relief valve may be employed.
Figure is a horizontal section of the same taken along the line 1-2
in Figure 1, showing the spindle and forked lever for actuating the
valve by hand in elevation.
7
Figure 3 is a plan of the top surface of the plate or disc to which the 3
upper ends of the springs are connected, showing also the tension
regulating nuts; Figure 4 is an under side plan of the same plate or
disc with its central spindle in position.
Figure 5 is a vertical sectional detail of the enlarged head with the
spindle which presses directly upon the main valve in clevation, shewing 3

page_text: the enlarged head and annular chamber for containing quicksilver, as,
herein-after described, and Figure 6 is a plan of the enlarged head of
the same.
Figure 7 (Sheet 2) is a side elevation of my improved "lock-up"
safety or relief valve with protected spring or springs.
Figure 8 is a corresponding plan of the same with the entire spring
box, springs, and central spindle, which presses directly upon the safety
valve removed.
Figure 9 is a plan looking down into the interior of the spring box
and showing the springs in position, the cap or cover of the said spring
box being removed.
Figure 10 is a view of the under side or bottom of the spring box
detached from the valve casing, a portion of the flanges being broken.
away as shewn.
.
And Figures 11 and 12 represent respectively a detailed side elevation
and plan of the easing lever of the safety valve.
The spring or springs A, A, which hold the main valve B to its
seating (shewn in Fig. 1) is or are contained within a perfectly air and
fluid tight spring box or chamber C, C¹, which is bolted at a, a, to a
chamber or casing D enclosing the valve B and its annular seating E.
The spring or springs A are attached at their lower ends to eye bolts b, b,
passing through the bottom of the spring box or chamber C, and
secured by nuts on the under side, as shewn clearly in Figure 1. The
upper ends of the springs A are attached to other cyc bolts c, c, which
pass freely through corresponding holes, made in the plate or disc F, and.
arc raised or lowered therein so as to increase or diminish the tension of
cach spring individually by the regulating nuts d, d, resting on the
surface of the plate or disc F. This plate or disc bears upon a shoulder
or collar e formed on the central spindle G, and is secured in its place
by a nut f. The said springs A serve to force downwards the spindle G,
the conical pointed end of which bears centrally upon the bottom of a
socket 9 formed centrally in the enlarged head H of a second conical
pointed spindle I, which in its turn bears centrally upon the top of the
main valve B or upon the bottom of a conical central sunk chamber or
recess made therein, as shewn clearly in Figure 1. A conical hollow
boss (shown in Figure 1) projects downwards from the top of a

page_text: chamber K cast inside the spring box, and is concentric with the first
mentioned spindle G. This boss i dips into quicksilver or any suitable
fluid substance contained in a concentric annular well or reservoir /
formed in the enlarged head H before mentioned, and is thus scaled so
as to prevent any access of steam, air, or other gases, vapours, or fluids to
the interior of the spring box C, C', round the spindle G therein, whilst
at the same time it prevents all chance of the parts sticking by dis-
pensing with the use of a gland and packing. The atmospheric pressure
upon the surface of the quicksilver when the valve is lifted acts as a
barometer by maintaining the pressure within the spring box €, C¹,
always equal to the external pressure of the atmosphere. The enlarged
head H above referred to works centrally through an opening at 7 in a
boss formed on the bottom of an annular chamber L situate on the top of
the chamber or casing D, which annular chamber L has openings m, m,
(see Figures 1, 7, and 8,) therein to allow of the free escape of any fluid
that may gain access to the interior thereof when the valve B is open
past the sides or surface of the enlarged head H. The said holes m in
the annular chamber L serve also to prevent any pressure accumulating
in the said chamber L, which might act upon the surface of the quick-
silver and tend also to keep the quicksilver and the bottom of the spring
box moderately cool when steam or other heated fluid is escaping
through the valve or valves employed. The bottom of the last mentioned
annular chamber L, through which the enlarged head H of the spindle
works, forms the top of the chamber D bolted at M to the casting N
(see Figures 1 and 7) containing the valve seating E, which chamber D
is provided with a lateral outlet O (Figures 1, 2, 7, and 8) constituting
the escape passage for the steam or other fluid from the main valve B
into the atmosphere. P is the passage communicating with the boiler.
or generator shown in section in Figure 1, and in elevation at Figure 7.
In order to admit of the valve B being opened or eased by hand
when required, I employ a forked lever Q (Figures 1, 2, and S,) which
is fitted by a pin n passing through its boss into a rocking spindle R
working through a stuffing box S in the side of the valve casing D.
The exterior end of the said rocking spindle has mounted thereon the
bent lever T (shewn in Figures 2, 7, and 8, also in detail at Figures 11
and 12,) for the purpose of actuating or easing the interior lever arm Q,
which is forked to embrace the enlarged head U of the central guiding
socket o (Figure 1) of the open annular regulating valve V, resting

page_text: upon an annular steam outlet t in the top of the main valve B, as
described in my said former Specification, No. 33957. The forked
end of the lever Q when elevated also bears against the under side of
the enlarged head H of the spindle I and lifts the same from off the main
valve B, thus elevating both the valves V and B. In order to prevent
any extra pressure being applied to the valves by the outside bent lever
Ta stop or check W (Figures 2, 7, and 8) cast on the side of the
valve casing is caused to project underneath the said lever. Or in lieu of
the above-described arrangement of hand lever a lever may be employed
passing through a slot in the side or sides of the valve chamber, so that
when drawn down by hand or otherwise on the outside, it bears against
the under side of the enlarged head H on the spindle I which presses
directly upon the valve, and by clevating the same slightly allows the
valve to open more or less as required. p is a bolt which passes through
the junction flanges at a, a, of the lower part C of the spring box and
annular chamber L before referred to, which bolt is prolonged upwards
as shewn in Figure 1 so as to pass through the junction flanges q of the
cap or cover C¹ of the spring box, a padlock or other suitable fastening »
secured by a seal or stamp being attached to the protruding end of the
said bolt p, hence no tampering of the springs can be effected, the
arrangement thus constituting a "lock-up" valve. s is a screw plug
in the bottom of the chamber L for facilitating when removed the
insertion of the pin or cottar n.
.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not
claim any of the improvements previously described in my said Spe-
cification of the Letters Patent granted to me and dated. November
Fourteenth, One thousand cight hundred and seventy-two, No. 3395,
but what I consider novel and original, and therefore claim as the
Invention secured to me by the hercin-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,-
First. The peculiar construction and arrangement of air-tight spring
box or chamber for containing and protecting the loading spring or
springs of safety and other valves as hercin-before described and
illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
Second. The application and use of a quicksilver or other suitable

page_text: or other gases, vapours, or fluids into the interior of the spring box or
chamber of a safety or other valve arranged and operating substantially
as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I; the said Walter Charles Church, have to
this my Specification set my hand and scal, this Twenty-third
day of May One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.