Improvements in Expansion Steam Traps.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Expansion Steam Traps.
I, JAMES CONLONG, of 25, Fernhurst Street, Ewood, Blackburn, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
This invention relates to an improved construction of expansion steam trap,
which takes up very little room, is cheap and more effective, reliable and durable
than those hitherto in use and which is adapted to return the condensed water
to the boiler.
According to one form of my invention I cast or bend two pieces of piping, of
equal length and preferably of flat section, in zig-zag or helical fashion. These
pipes I employ side by side in a frame which surrounds them in such a manner
that the adjacent pipe bends bear against each other and the outer ones against
the said frame.
Each two ends of the said pipes are coupled together by a tubular Y piece
the upper one serving as an inlet and the lower one as an outlet for the condensed
water. The said pipes are secured to the said frame by placing the bottom Y
piece in a bush screwed into a hole formed in the respective part of the frame
and locked thereto by a nut and the upper Y piece under a hole formed in the top
part of the frame and screwing a short tube through the said hole into the
respective Y piece, which latter is also locked to the frame by a nut. To hold
the said pipes sideways in position the said frame is formed with ledges against
which it rests.
The vertical limb of the lower tubular Y piece of the said pipes, is formed
conical and perforated on the periphery and the aforesaid bush with a conical
seating concentric with the said conical limb.
The pipes being laterally confined in the said frame, they can only expand in
a longitudinal direction, so that in the absence of condensed water the steam
expands the said pipes and brings the said cone upon its seating and thus closes
the respective outlet, whilst as the condensed water accumulates in the said
pipes they contract and raise the said cone off its seating, whilst the steam
behind will set up an injector like action and force the condensed water through
the discharge valve then open, back into the boiler.
The said frame is formed with lugs to permit of being secured to the wall or
other suitable part of a building and in lieu of connecting the said zig-zag or
helical pipes together by Y pieces they may be cast or formed in one piece.
According to another form of my invention instead of employing zig-zag or
helical pipes I use zig-zag or helically cast or bent bars which I employ in a
closed box having an inlet for the condensed water and steam and an outlet for
the condensed water only. The upper ends of the said bars are suitably secured
to the respective end of the said box and the lower ends formed with a conical
spindle adapted to operate upon a conical seating formed in the respective end of
the said box, the said cone and seating forming also a discharge valve which effects

page_text: the return of the condensed water to the boiler in the same way as in the form
of trap previously described.
001
1909
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.
Improvements in Expansion Steam Traps.
"
I, JAMES CONLONG, of 25, Fernhurst Street, Ewood, Blackburn, in the County
of Lancaster, 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:
My invention relates to an improved construction of expansion steam trap,
which takes up very little room, is cheap, more effective, and more reliable and
durable than those hitherto in use.
And in order that my invention may be more fully understood I have caused
to be appended hereunto one sheet of drawings marked with letters of reference
indicating like parts in the various figures.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section and Fig. 2 a plan of one form of my improved
expansion steam trap, and Fig. 3 a sectional side view and Fig. 4 a plan of another
form of steam trap constructed in accordance with my invention.
In carrying out my invention and referring to Figs. 1 & 2 I cast or bend in
zig-zag or helical fashion a pair of pipes a, a which are equal in length and
preferable of flat section.
These pipes are disposed side by side with their adjacent bends a¹ (or sides of
the coils) bearing against each other, whilst their ends are jointly cast or coupled
together in Y fashion to form an inlet and an outlet c and d respectively.
The said system of pipes is secured into a frame or box b, preferably by placing
the outlet d into a gland e fitted into a hole b¹ formed in the respective end of the
frame or box 6 and the inlet c under a hole 63 formed in the opposite end of the
frame or box b, screwing a short tube f through the said hole into the inlet c
and securing the said pipe to the frame or box 6 by two nuts g, g placed thereon
which permit of varying the position of the outlet d relative to the seating el
upon which it operates as may be required.
The said seating forms part of the gland e, is semi-spherical and has holes ²
around it and together with the outlet d forms a discharge valve.
The sides of the frame or open box b are formed with ledges 63 adapted to
support the pipe system on the side whilst the outer bends or sides a² of the
latter fit against the sides of the frame or box b.
The steam trap described operates as follows:-
As will be readily seen from the drawing the pipes a, a are laterally confined
in the frame or box 6 and the inlet c being secured to the same they can only
expand in a longitudinal direction so that in the absence of condensed water,
the steam expands the said pipes in the direction of the outlet and brings the
latter upon its seating thereby closing it, whilst as the condensed water accumu-
lates in the said pipes they contract and raise the outlet off its seating.
The dotted lines show how the expansion of each bend takes place successively,
i.e. an accumulative expansion of the pipes is produced from the inlet to the
outlet of the trap.
When the outlet of the system of pipes is at or nearly upon its seating the
pressure in the pipes begins to increase and causes them to further expand so

page_text: that a compound expansion of the pipe system is obtained which renders the
opening and closing of the outlet positive.
Referring to Figs. 3 & 4, in lieu of employing the pipe system a, a in a frame
or open box, it may be fitted into a closed box. 6 and its outlet end d adapted to
deliver the condensed water into the said box from whence it is allowed or caused
to overflow, through the passage h formed in the side of the box, into the discharge
pipe h, the water in the box 6 causing the contraction of the pipe system in
the absence of steam.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
In expansion steam traps, a frame surrounding a pair of zig-zag pipes arranged
side by side with ends coupled or cast together to form a joint inlet and a joint
outlet and the adjacent pipe bends bearing against each other, the said pipes being,
laterally confined in the said frame and subjected to the combined action of heat
and steam pressure, adapted to expand longitudinally which expansion takes place
accumulatively-all substantially as. set forth.
Duted thin 92nd day of Lanuone 1200
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
4, Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents to Applicant