Improvements in or relating to Water Gauges.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Water Gauges.
I, ROBERT GRUNDY BROOKE, of Upton Grange, Macclesfield, in the County of
Chester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:--
This invention consists of improvements in apparatus suitable for indicating the
level of water in steam-generators and provided with balls for automatically
preventing escape of steam and water on the breakage of the gauge glass.
According to this invention the horizontal or approximately horizontal passage
of an arm of such a water gauge is provided with an enlargement which is
sufficiently deep to contain the ball without obstructing the said passage and
to the bottom of which is inclined the bottom of the portion of the said passage
that leads from the steam generator, the arrangement being such that the ball
will be forced against its seat, towards which the bottom of the chamber con-
taining the ball is upwardly inclined, by the steam or water on a full-bore
discharge such as that produced by the breakage of the gauge glass, but will
not be so affected by blowing-through in the ordinary way by opening a dis-
charge outlet of sufficiently less cross sectional area than the bore of the gauge
glass. The ball seat is or may be formed by a wall separating the ball chamber
from the chamber communicating with the glass tube and the blow off cock.
The invention, which may be applied to one or both of the arms of a water
gauge, allows the horizontal passage thereof to remain straight and unobstructed
so that it can be cleaned by means of a wire, like those of other water gauges.
According to this invention provision is also made for testing the action of the
balls of water gauges adapted to act automatically as hereinbefore described on
the breakage of the gauge glass but not on ordinary blowing-through. For
this purpose such water-gauges are provided with two discharge apertures and
means for opening and closing the same, one of such apertures, intended for
testing, being of the same or a slightly less cross sectional area than the bore
of the gauge glass, and the other being of a cross section large enough for
ordinary blowing-through purposes but too small to bring about the action of
the ball or balls. Two cocks may be provided for opening and closing the two
apertures, but it is preferred to employ a single cock the plug of which has two
holes made through it of the desired cross sectional areas; in the latter case
suitable means may be provided for indicating the position of the plug, as for
example a pointer, carried by the plug and suitable marks on its casing or vice
versa.

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Water Gauges.
I, ROBERT GRUNDY BROOKE, of Upton Grange, Macclesfield, in the County of
Chester, 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 consists of improvements in apparatus suitable for indicating the
level of water in steam-generators and provided with balls for automatically
preventing escape of steam and water on the breakage of the gauge glass.
According to this invention the horizontal or approximately horizontal passage
of an arm of such a water gauge is provided with an enlargement which is
sufficiently. deep to contain the ball without obstructing the said passage and
to the bottom of which is inclined the bottom of the portion of the said passage
that leads from the steam generator, the arrangement being such that the ball
will be forced against its seat, towards which the bottom of the chamber con-
taining the ball is upwardly inclined, by the steam or water on a full-bore
discharge such as that produced by the breakage of the gauge glass, but will
not be so affected by blowing-through in the ordinary way by opening a dis-
charge outlet of sufficiently less cross sectional area than the bore of the gauge
glass. The ball seat is or may be formed by a wall separating the ball chamber
from the chamber communicating with the glass tube and the blow off cock.
The invention, which may be applied to one or both of the arms of a water
gauge, allows the horizontal passage thereof to remain straight and unobstructed
so that it can be cleaned by means of a wire, like those of other water gauges.
According to this invention provision is also made for testing the action of the
balls of water gauges adapted to act automatically as herein before described on
the breakage of the gauge glass but not on ordinary blowing-through. For
this purpose such water-gauges are provided with two discharge apertures and
means for opening and closing the same, one of such apertures, intended for
testing, being of the same or a slightly less cross sectional area than the bore
of the gauge glass, and the other being of a cross section large enough for
ordinary blowing-through purposes but too small to bring about the action of
the ball or balls. Two cocks may be provided for opening and closing the two
apertures, but it is preferred to employ a single cock the plug of which has two
holes made through it of the desired cross sectional areas; in the latter case
suitable means may be provided for indicating the position of the plug, as for
example a pointer carried by the plug and suitable marks on its casing or vice
versa.
In describing the manner of carrying my invention into practical effect I will
illustrate it as applied in a water gauge provided with both an upper and a lower
ball, and as in order to guard against any liability of the lower or water-con-
trolling ball being seated when blowing through I have found it desirable to use
a further invention of mine according to which blowing through takes place
through the chamber which contains the lower ball in such a manner that then
the direction of the current through the said chamber is reversed and has a
tendency to keep the said ball away from its seat, I shall in now describing
the best way known to me of carrying out my present invention illustrate a
water gauge according thereto with my said improvement employed thereon but

page_text: it is to be noted that the said reversing arrangement forms the subject matter
of another application by me for Letters Patent No. 5208 of the year 1900.
Fig. 1 shows in vertical section a water gauge such as above referred to.
Fig. 2 is a section on the line A A Fig. 1.
Figure 3 shows in side elevation the lower arm of such water gauge.
1 is the gauge glass, which is fitted in the usual manner into arms 2 and 3
which connect it with the steam and water spaces respectively of the boiler.
The horizontal or approximately horizontal passage 4 in each of the arms 2 and 3
is formed with an enlargement or chamber 5 which is sufficiently deep to contain
the ball 6 without obstructing the passage; the bottom 4ª of that portion of the
said passage which leads from the steam generator is downwardly inclined as
shown, towards the bottom of the chamber 5, and the bottom portion 5ª of the
said chamber is upwardly inclined, as shown, towards the seat 7 against which
the ball 6 will, owing to the peculiar formation of the passage and chamber, be
forced by the steam or water when a full bore discharge, such as that produced
by the breakage of the gauge glass, occurs, but the ball will not be so affected
by the opening of a discharge outlet of sufficiently less cross sectional area than
the bore of the gauge glass for the purpose of blowing through as hereinafter
referred to. The ball seat is or may be formed by a wall 8 separating the ball
chamber 5 from the chamber 9 communicating with the gauge glass. The hori-
zontal passages 4 are thus straight and unobstructed so that they can be cleaned
by means of a wire inserted through apertures closed by screw plugs, as in other
water gauges.
In the case of the lower arm the chamber 9 also communicates with a cock,
the plug 10 of which is formed with a T-shaped way or passage 11, 11", the
portion 11 of which is of considerably less cross sectional area than the bore of the
gauge glass and serves as the discharge passage to enable blowing through to
be effected by opening the said passage without causing seating of the balls 6,
whilst the portion 11ª is of practically the same cross sectional area as the bore
of said gauge glass and serves as a discharge passage for enabling the action
of the balls to be tested. The plug can be turned at will so as to put the gauge
glass in direct communication with the drain pipe 12 through the straight
passage 11 when it is desired to give a full bore discharge and thus test the
action of the ball; or the plug can be turned so as to connect the chamber 9
with the drain pipe 12 through the chamber 5; passage 5b and the passage 11ª, 11
and thus to allow steam to blow through the gauge glass. With this arrange-
ment, the passage 11 can be made large enough to cause an effective blow through
without seating the balls 6, because the lower ball, which under ordinary con-
ditions is more easily lifted by the water than is the upper ball by the steam, is
held away from its seat 7 by the water flowing downwardly past it during the
blowing through.
Suitable means may be provided for indicating the position of the plug, as for
example, pointer 13 carried by the plug, and suitable marks or stops on its
casing, or vice versa. 14, 14 are a pair of stops between which the pointer works.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. A water gauge provided with a ball valve so arranged as to be forced by
the flow of steam or water against its seat on a full-bore discharge occurring, as
on the breaking of a gauge glass, but to be unaffected by a sufficiently less dis-
charge, as in blowing through, wherein there are two discharge apertures and
means for opening and closing the same, one of such apertures, intended for
testing, being of the same or a slightly less cross sectional area than the bore
of the gauge glass, and the other being of a cross section large enough for
5 ordinary blowing-through purposes but too small to bring about the action of
the ball or balls, substantially as described.

page_text: 2. A water gauge of the kind specified in the preceding claim in which the
blowing through and testing apertures are controlled substantially as described
by a single cock.
For the Applicant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.
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