IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY VALVES AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH, WHICH VALVES MAY ALSO BE USED AS STEAM VALVES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Elliott, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY
VALVES AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH, WHICH VALVES MAY ALSO BE
USED AS STEAM VALVES."
Sealed the 19th December 1854, and dated the 4th July 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Elliott at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th
July 1854.
I, THOMAS ELLIOTT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SAFETY VALVES AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH, WHICH VALVES MAY ALSO
BE USED AS STEAM VALVES," to be as follows:-
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a section, partly in elevation, of a safety
valve and apparatus connected therewith, constructed according to my Inven-
tion; Figures 2 and 3 shew the valve detached. a is the upper part, and b
the lower part of the valve, which are made to fit each other at the two faces
c, d; e is the seat of the valve; and f, the valve spindle and weights; g is a
pulley, supported inside the boiler, over which passes the cord h, one end of
which is connected to the float i, and the other to the counterweight k; m is
a crank on the axis of the pulley 9; and n, a connecting rod between the
crank and the lifting arms o, by which the valve is raised. When the water
in the boiler becomes too low, and the float, in consequence, descends, the

page_text: pulley is turned and the valve lifted, so as to allow the steam to escape and
relieve the boiler. This valve may be used without the float and apparatus
inside the boiler. Figure 4 is a section, partly in elevation, of a safety valve,
which opens downwards instead of upwards, as in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a
section of the valve when used as a throttle and governor valve. These
improved valves may be used either in locomotive, marine, or stationary
engines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Elliott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th
January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, THOMAS
ELLIOTT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting
WHEREAS Ifer most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself; Her heirs and successors, give and grant-unto me, the said
Thomas Elliott, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Elliott, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Elliott,
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 lawfully 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 SAFETY VALVES
AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH, WHICH VALVES MAY ALSO BE USED AS
STEAM VALVES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
Elliott, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Elliott, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto aunexed,
that is to say:

page_text: My Invention consists in an improved construction of annular valve, to be
employed as a safety valve, eitlier alone or in connection with other apparatus,
and also as a throttle governor or other steam valve. This improved valve is
formed with two separate seats and two separate faces, one above the
other, and may be of any dimensions suitable to the purpose for which it is
employed.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a vertical section, and Figure 1", a
plan, of the valve. A is the upper part, and B the lower part of the valve,
which are made to fit cach other at the two faces C, D. The faces of the two
parts of the valve may be made horizontal or flat, or one of them may be made
at an angle, and the other horizontal or flat.
Figure 2 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of a safety valve, and appa-
ratus connected therewith. A is' the upper, and B the lower part of the valve,
fitting each other at the two faces C; D, as before. E, E, are the weights by
which the pressure on the valve is regulated. F is the valve spindle; and 'G,
a bar, through which the upper end of the spindle passes, and which forms a
guide for the spindle. H is the valve case, and I, the cover thereto, which is
secured by the bar J, which passes through the staples L, L, screwed through
the cover I and upper flange M, M; of the valve casing, and is furnished
with a lock at K. N is a crank shaft, suspended from the top of the boiler by
suitable bearings fixed to the interior thereof; and O is a wheel or pulley
mounted on the crank shaft N. R is a float, and S is a counterweight, attached
to opposite ends of a cord or chain T, which passes over the wheel O. U is a
connecting rod, one end of which works on the crank pin of the crank shaft N,
and the other end of which is jointed to the forked piece V; the extremities of
which bear against the under side of the valve lid or cover, close to the upper
face D. The effect of these arrangements is, that when the water in the boiler
falls below the proper level, the float R will descend, and, through the wlicel O
and crank shaft N, will give motion to the connecting rod U, and thereby
raise the upper part of the valve, so as to allow the steam to escape into the
valve casing H and through the outlet Z'; or the upper part of the valve will
be raised by the steam pressure only, should that pressure exceed the amount
which the valve is weighted to resist. The float and apparatus inside the
boiler may be dispensed with, if preferred.
7
Figure 3 is a vertical section of a safety valve which opens downwards
instead of upwards, as in the arrangement shewn in Figure 2. A, B, are the
two parts composing the valve; and C, D, are the valve faces. H is the valve
casing; and I, the cover thereto. N is the crank shaft inside the boiler; and
O,'the pulley mounted thereon. R is the float; S, the counterweight; and T,

page_text: the cord or chain to which they are attached. U is the connecting rod by
which the valve is opened when the water in the boiler gets below the proper
level. Z is the steam outlet from the valve casing.
Figure 4 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of another arrangement of
safety valve. A, B, are the two parts of the valve; and C, D, are the valve
faces. E is the valve seat casing in which the lower part B of the valve is
fixed. F is the valve lever, which has its fulcrum in the standard G, bolted to
the flange of the valve seat casing; and H, is the bolt by which the valve lever
bears on the upper part of the valve. S is the weight by which the pressure
on the valve is regulated. This valve may be enclosed in a casing, with a pipe
to carry off the exit steam, if preferred.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the improved valve when employed as a
steam stop valve for a steam boiler. A, B, are the two parts of the valve, and
C, D, the valve faces, as before. E is the valve casing. F is the steam way
from the boiler, and G, G, are the passages for the steam to the cylinders.
His a weighted lever, having its fulcrum in the standard I, bolted to the lid
of the valve casing; and J is a rod, jointed to the lever H, and passing through
the stuffing box K down to the valve, by which the pressure on the lever H
is transmitted to the valve. L is the weight to the lever H. When the
weight L is in the position shewn in the Figure the valve is closed, and the
steam confined within the boiler; when, the steam is required to be supplied
to the engine, the weight is removed to the position M, at the opposite end of
the lever H, and the steam is then at liberty to pass freely through the valve.
The valve may also be used as a stop valve in the steam pipe between the
boiler and the engine, for the purpose of stopping the engine, the valve being
connected with the governor apparatus in such manner as to be acted on by it
when the engine gets beyond the proper speed, so as to close the steam pipe
and shut off the steam.
Figure 6 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of the improved valve,
applied as a safety valve, with spring balance instead of weights. A, B, are
the two parts of the valve; and C, D, the valve faces. E is the spring balance,
the lower end of which is connected by a bolt F to the fixed part of the valve
B, while the screw G at the upper end of the spring balance passes through a
cross bar H, attached to the upper ends of the three pillars I, I, I, the lower
ends of which are fixed to the upper surface, of the moveable part of the valve
A. The pressure of the spring balance is regulated by the nut K on the
screw G. The whole apparatus is enclosed in the casing L, which may be
open at the top or not, as desired.., Two or more spring balances may be
employed, or a common spiral or other spring may be used instead of the

page_text: spring balance, being enclosed in a tube or casing to keep off the steam, if
thought desirable.
Figure 7 is a vertical section of a modification of the safety valve shewn in
Figure 2, in which a secondary valve is combined with the improved valve
herein-before described. A, B, are the two parts of the valve; and C, D, are
the valve faces. E, E, are the weights; F is the weight spindle; and G, the
guide for the weight spindle. H is the valve casing; I, the cover thereto; and
J, K, the bar and lock by which the cover is secured. Lis the secondary valve,
of the form shewn at Figure 7", which is made to fit the seats or openings M,
in the two parts of the valve A, B, as shewn in the detached views, Figures 7,
7, and 7. L' is a rod attached to the valve L, which passes down the centre
of the lower part of the valve B, and is connected at its lower end to the crank
N by the crank shaft or crank pin working in the slot L². The extremity of
the rod L' passes through the guide L³ in the stay L, which is suspended
inside the boiler. O is a pulley fixed on the same axis as the crank N; and
R, S, are the float and counterweight, which are connected together by the
cord or chain T, passing round the pulley O. The action of this arrangement
is as follows: When the water in the boiler is reduced below the proper level
the float R descends, and, by means of the pulley O, crank shaft N, and con-
necting rod L, raises the valve L and allows a portion of the steam to escape,
so as to give notice that the water is lowering; if a fresh supply of water is
not introduced, the valve L continues to rise until it closes the opening M, in
the upper part of the valve A, when the steam acts on the entire area of the
upper part of the valve A, which it raises, so as to open the valve at the faces
C, D, and thus allows the steam to blow off from the boiler. A small whistle
may be fitted to the upper part of the valve A, opposite the opening M, so that
the steam when beginning to escape may sound the whistle, and thereby give
signal that the water in the boiler is being reduced too low. In the arrange-
ment shewn, the float only acts directly on the secondary valve L, but it may
also, if thought desirable, be made to raise the upper part of the valve A, as in
Figure 2.
a
Figure 8 is a vertical section of the improved valve when employed as a
throttle and governor valve. A, B, are the two parts of the valve; and C, D,
are the valve faces. E is the valve casing; and F, the cover thereto. G is the
valve spindle, which passes through the stuffing box H, in the valve casing
cover F. I, I, are the inlet and outlet passages for the steam.
Figure 9 is a vertical section of a modification of the arrangement just
described, adapted for high pressure steam. A, B, are the two parts of the
valve, and C, D, are the valve faces. The upper part of the valve A, and
1

page_text: lower part B, are made in two pieces cach, and put together with bolts or
studs, as shown in the detached views, Figures 93 and 9. By this means I
am:enabled to make the upper face D any proportionate size larger than the
lower face, and thereby take off the pressure of steam. E is the valve casing:
and F, the cover thereto... G is the valve spindle, which is secured to the upper
part of the valve A by the bolt G', which passes through the fork at the end
of the spindle, and through the flange on the upper part of the valve A. H
is the stuffing box in the valve casing cover F, through which the spindle G
passes; and I, I, are the inlet and outlet passages for the steam. The form
of the valve and casing may be varied to suit the steam pipe to which it is
fitted.
.
The several arrangements of valves before described may be employed in
locomotive, marine, and stationary engines and boilers, as they may be found
suitable.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my
Invention is,
First, the construction of an improved annular valve having one or both
of the two faces thereof horizontal or flat, that is, at right angles to the axis of
the valve, as represented in Figures 1 and 1 of the Drawings annexed; and
herein-before.described.
.:.
Second, the adaptation of the improved valve, first herein-before claimed, to
safety valves, in the manner represented in Figures 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 of the
Drawings annexed, and herein-before described.
:
Third, the adaptation of the improved valve, first herein-before claimed, to
stop valves for steam boilers, in the manner represented in Figure 5 of the
Drawings annexed and herein-before described.
And, fourth, the adaptation of the improved valve, first herein-before claimed,
to throttle and governor valves, in the manner represented in Figures 8 and 9
of the Drawings annexed, and herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Elliott, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
THOMAS ELLIOTT. (L.S.)