Improvements in or relating to Check-valves for Marine and other Boilers.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 27th June, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 4th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 26th Jan., 1895
[Communicated from abroad by JAMES HORACE CROSBY, of No. 10, New Cross
Street, in the City of Somerville, in the County of Middlesex and State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer.]
Improvements in or relating to Check-valves for Marine and
other Boilers.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows
I combine with a valve casing formed with an inlet and outlet, one or more
covered orifices, preferably one, a rotatable plug formed with a plurality of
passages and a check valve for each passage, all so arranged that when one passage
and its check valve are in line with the inlet and outlet, another passage and its
check valve are out of line with the inlet and outlet, and in line with the covered
orifice in the casing, and another feature of my invention lies in so constructing the
plug with reference to the casing that the plug may be turned to shut off all flow
through the casing.
The purpose of this invention is to enable the check valves to be replaced or
repaired without interruption of the boiler feed; and a second use of my invention
is to shut off all flow through the device if desired without the use of an ordinary
plug cock now generally interposed between the feed device and the plug check.
That is to say, my new device is not only a plug cock for interposition between any
boiler feed apparatus, such as a pump or injector, and the boiler, but is also a plug
check of such a character that a worn-out or otherwise disabled check valve may
be, by a turn of the plug, brought into position for convenient access, while by the
same movement of the plug another check valve is brought into line between the
inlet and outlet passage and connecting conduits of the device, without any
substantial interruption of the boiler and feed. This is important not only in
stationary boilers, but also and especially so in marine boilers which have been so
arranged heretofore that when the check valve was pounded out or impaired by
deposit of sediment from the water, the boiler-feed has been necessarily shut off
while a new valve was being put in place; and this shutting off of the boiler-feed
has been frequently attended both in land and marine use with great dangers, as, is
well known.
Dated this 27th day of June 1891

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Check-valves for Marine and
other Boilers.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent.
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
Heretofore a check valve and plug-cock have been interposed, universally in
marine use and very generally in other use, between the feed-water device, pump,
injector or the like and the boiler. These check-valves are short-lived, ordinarily,
and liable to frequent disarrangement. To replace or repair them necessitates
stopping the feed and closing the plug-cock between the boiler and check valve, and
this results in frequent slowing down or stopping of the engine.
When, in marine use, the check valves become disarranged, they must be
repaired or replaced immediately, and this work is frequently done with great
difficulty, especially in rough seas, and is frequently attended with great peril to
the ship.
The object of my invention is to produce a device which takes the place of the
check-valves referred to and which, if disarranged, is readily repaired without in
anywise interrupting the feed.
My invention consists broadly in the combination of a casing or shell having
suitable inlet and outlet ports with a plug formed with a plurality of passages, each
communicating, when in operative position, with an inlet and outlet port, and each
provided with a check-valve of any desired construction, said passages being so
arranged that when one check-valve becomes disarranged or disabled, another ove
of its passages and its check valve may be brought into operative position and the
disarranged or disabled check-valve moved out of its operative position, and made
accessible, so as to be repaired or replaced without interrupting the boiler feed and
without the consequent slowing down or stopping of the engine.
A device adapted for this purpose is wholly and broadly new with me; and
while my new plug-check is most generally useful in marine service, yet it may be
used to advantage in connection with other boilers.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a plug check embodying my invention, a part
being broken away for greater clearness.
Figures 2 and 3 are end views of the same.
Figure 4 is a vertical central section at line 4-4 of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a similar view with the plug in a different position.
Figure 5 is a vertical central section at line 5-5 of Figure 2.
Figure 6 is a view showing the connection of my new valve with a boiler feed
and boiler; the boiler feed and boiler being represented diagrammatically, and
. Figures 7 to 11 show a modification of the device.
Figures 1 to 6 illustrating the best embodiment of my invention now known to
me, A is the shell or casing; a the inlet port and a' the outlet port whence the
feed water flows on its way to the boiler. B is a plug mounted in shell A in any
proper manner, being conveniently secured therein by means of the stem band
nut 6. Plug B is formed with a plurality of passages B', in this instance with two
such passages at right angles one to the other.

page_text: Each passage B¹ is provided with a check-valve B² constructed and mounted in
any proper manner, so as to permit the flow of feed water from inlet a through a
passage B and with the outlet a', when the passage B' is in its operative position,
that is, in such relation to the inlet and outlet of the shell or casing as to permit
the flow of the feed-water through the device. When one passage B' is in
operative position, the other passage B' is out of operative position. Check
valves B should be so constructed, as will be plain to all skilled in the art, in such
wise as to permit the passage of the feed water under pressure and to prevent the
back-flow of the water. In this particular construction now illustrated, each
passage B is formed with bushing 63 to which the check valve B2 is connected and
on which the valve seat b³ is formed.
To illustrate the utility and mode of operation of my new device, I will suppose
the lower passage and check valve are in service, as shown in Figure 4, and that
the check-valve therein becomes disarranged or disabled. By turning plug B, this
lower passage is moved out of operative position and the upper passage with its
check valve moved into operative position and the feed continued without
interruption substantially. It will be plain to all mechanics that my new device
may be constructed practically in many different forms, which will enable the
disabled check valve to be made accessible for repairs or replacement when it is out
of operative position. In this preferred form, however, shell A is formed with
openings A each of which is provided with a cap A2. Each opening A' is opposite
a passage B' and its valve B² when that passage is out of use, and consequently by
removing either cap A, either passage B₁ and its valve B2 may be reached. The
foregoing will be more readily understood by reference to Figure 6 in which D
represents a boiler and D' a boiler feed. A conduit D' connects the boiler and valve
casing A and a conduit D³ connects the casing with the feed D', the flow being
through conduit D³, the lower passage in plug B and conduit D' from the boiler
feed to the boiler. The upper check valve B2 and the passage to which it belongs
are now out of line with the inlet and outlet of the casing and in line with one of
the caps A2 so that the check valve is readily reached when desired. By changing
the relative positions of the plug and casing, the lower passage and its check-valve
are brought into line with a cap A' the upper passage and check-valve being then
in line with the conduits. By my invention a check valve may be repaired or
replaced without interruption of the boiler feed, and I am the first to produce a
mechanism whereby this important end may be accomplished.
I will now describe a modification of the above described device illustrated in
Figures 7-11, inclusive, in which X is the valve-casing which is formed with an
inlet, outlet and covered orifice ², the cover of which is removable. Y is a
plug mounted rotatably in casing X and formed with passages y, y separated by a
twisted partition 2, which are preferably made intertwining spiral-wise as shown.
Each passage y, y' is provided with a check-valve Y', the passages y, yl being so
arranged that when one of the passages (for example y as in Figure 9) is in line
with the inlet and outlet a', the other passage yl is out of line with the inlet
and outlet and in line with the covered orifice . By removing cover a³,
access may be obtained to either of the check valves Y₁ for repairs or replace-
ment, the casing and plug being so formed and arranged that the check-valves
are brought alternately into line with the single covered orifice ² with which the
casing is provided.
The main body of the valve-casing X is inclined to the inlet a and outlet ¹ of the
casing, this being a convenient arrangement in order that the check-valves Y',
which are best diametrically opposite each other in the plug, may be brought into
proper relation within the inlet of the casing and its covered orifice, which is
preferably located opposite the inlet and above the outlet, in order that the flow
may not be interrupted while repairing or replacing a valve; but the essential
point as to location of the check-valves, inlet and outlet and covered orifice, in
respect one of the other; is that they be so located that a check-valve may be

page_text: •
reached through the orifice without interruption of the boiler-feed. The plug, on
the opposite sides of which the spiral passages y, y¹ open to the inlet and outlet of
the casing, is made of sufficient extent between the passages y, y' to completely
cover the inlet and outlet, either or both, in this case both, so that by giving the
plug a quarter-turn from the position in which it is shown in the casing, all flow
through the device is stopped, and the use of the ordinary auxiliary plug-cock is
rendered unnecessary. The marked advantages of this modification are that the
device is not only a plug-check of the character described but is also a plug-cock;
and moreover is compact, simple and durable, and constitutes a single device
possessed of the two functions of plug-check and plug-cock adapted for use as a
plug-check while repairing or replacing a check-valve.
Having now particularly described and ascertained, the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
-
First. The combination of a casing formed with an inlet and an outlet and a
capped orifice; a plug mounted rotatably in the casing and formed with a plurality
of passages; and a check valve for each of said passages, all so arranged and
operating that when one of said passages and its check valve are in line with the
inlet and outlet of the casing, another of said passages and its check-valve are out
of line with said inlet and outlet, and in line with a capped orifice, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
Second. The combination of a casing having an inlet and outlet and formed with
a plurality of other openings with a plug formed with a plurality of passages, a
plurality of check valves, and a plurality of removable caps for said openings, all
so arranged and operating that when one of said passages and its check-valve are in
line with the inlet and outlet of the casing, another of said passages and its check
valve are out of line with said inlet and outlet and in line with a capped orifice,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Third. As an improvement in safety devices for use with marine and other
valves, the combination of a boiler; a boiler feed; a valve casing formed with an
inlet, and outlet and a capped orifice; conduits connecting the valve casing, boiler
and boiler feed; a plug formed with a plurality of passages and mounted movably
in said casing; and a check valve for each of said passages, all so arranged and
operating that when one of said passages and its check valve are in line with the
inlet, outlet and conduit, another of said passages and its check valve are out of
line therewith and in line with a capped orifice, the cap whereof is removable,
whereby a check valve may be repaired, removed and replaced without interruption
of the boiler feed substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth. The combination with a valve casing formed with an inlet; an outlet
and a covered orifice of a plug mounted rotatably in said casing and formed with a
plurality of passages; and a check valve for each passage, all arranged and
operating so that when one passage and its check-valve are in line with the outlet,
another passage and its check-valve are in line with the covered orifice, the plug
stopping flow through the valve-casing when turned to carry both check-valves
out of line with the inlet and outlet, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Fifth. The combination with a valve-casing having an inlet, an outlet and a
covered orifice, of a plug formed with spiral passages, each passage opening at
points on the surface of the plug; and a check-valve for each passage, the plug
being mounted rotatably in the casing, all substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
Sixth. The combination of a valve-casing formed with an inlet; an outlet and a
single covered orifice, with a plug having a plurality of passages and a check-
valve for each passage, said plug being mounted rotatably in said casing, and the
passages and their check-valves being so arranged that the check-valves are

page_text: brought successively to one and the same covered opening by rotation of the
check-valve, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 4th day of December 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.