Improvements in Apparatus for Automatically Regulating or Controlling the Working of Pumps.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 4th May, 1898-Accepted, 18th June, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Automatically Regulating or
Controlling the Working of Pumps.
I, EARL PORTER WETMORE, of 83, Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Electrical 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 apparatus for automatically regulating or controlling
the working of pumps which are used for supplying water or other fluid to
one or more steam-boilers or to other apparatus in which a varying supply is
required.
My said invention comprises the combination, with a stop-valve for regulating
or controlling the supply of working fluid under pressure to the actuating cylinder
or cylinders of the pump, of a piston working in a cylinder attached to the valve-
casing, which piston is suitably connected with the valve proper and is so arranged
that it will be moved up and down to open and close the said valve by differences
between the working pressure beneath the valve and the pressure existing in. the
delivery pipe or pipes of the said pump. By these means the supply of working
fluid to the pump will be automatically regulated or controlled as required
according to the variations of pressure in the delivery-pipe or pipes of the pump,
thus ensuring safety in the working of the pump. For example, in cases where
a feed-pump is used for supplying water to a boiler or to a battery of boilers or of
hydraulic accumulators or the like, each unit of which can be independently
operated, should the supply to the said boiler or to all of the said boilers or
accumulators be shut off, the continued action of the pump might cause considerable
damage by the bursting of the supply pipe or the breaking of parts of the pump,
the steam-cylinder of the pump being usually of larger area than the water-
cylinder. By my invention, however, this defect is obviated, as the regulator will
arrest the action of the pump when the pressure in the delivery pipe thereof
exceeds, by a predetermined value, that in the steam-supply pipe thereof.
In the preferred form of my apparatus, I form on or attach to the valve-casing, "
a suitable cylinder, in which works an approximately fluid-tight piston connected
at one end to the valve, and having at its other end an extension or rod of smaller"
diameter working approximately fluid-tight through a hole or passage in the end
of the cylinder so that the end of the said rod is subject to the pressure of the
atmosphere; the said cylinder is in communication on this side of the piston with
the delivery-pipe of the pump and on the other side with the valve-chamber.
Therefore should the pressure in the said delivery pipe at any time exceed by a
predetermined value, the pressure of the working fluid beneath the valve, the valve
will be closed or partially closed.
I sometimes provide a spring or equivalent device operating in conjunction with
the pressure in the delivery-pipe to close the said valve, and suitable means
for regulating the action of the said spring or its equivalent, so as to accurately.
adjust the ratio of difference between the working pressure and the pressure

page_text: in the delivery-pipe that shall be necessary to effect the closing of the
valve.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a vertical central section of one form of my improved apparatus, some
of the parts being shown in side elevation.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are similar views of a portion of the apparatus, illustrating
other forms or modifications of my invention.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
In Figure 1 I have shown my invention applied to one of the well-known Crosby
spring-seat valves. It can, however, be advantageously applied to many other
forms of valves.
a is the valve-casing, in which is fixed the valve seat a¹; b is the valve;
c is a cylinder secured in that part of the valve-casing which is usually occupied
by the cover. d is a piston which works approximately fluid-tight in the said
cylinder. The said cylinder, on the underside of the piston, is open to the valve-
chamber a2, and the said piston is connected to the valve b by a rod or spindle e,
so that downward motion of the piston will bring the valve down upon its
seat a', and the lifting of the valve will return the piston to the position shown.
The space above the piston in the cylinder c is in communication through a
passage with the delivery-pipe of the pump. The piston is provided on its upper
side with a rod or spindle e¹, extending through and fitting closely in a
guideway c¹ in the end of the cylinder c, which rod or spindle is exposed at its
upper end to the atmospheric pressure.
It will be seen that, by reason of this construction, the effective area of the piston
on the upper side is less than the effective area thereof on the side next the valve b,
and therefore, in order to close the valve the pressure in the delivery-pipe must
exceed that beneath the valve by a certain amount.
The cylinder c is provided with an extension g in which is enclosed a rod h. This
rod is pressed down upon the spindle e¹ by a spring j, one end whereof bears against
a shoulder on the rod h and the other end against a cap g' which is preferably
screwed into the extension g of the cylinder c, so as to permit the adjustment of
the load-equivalent of the spring. The rod or spindle e¹ is furnished with a
shoulder e² which serves as a stop for the piston and also for preventing leakage
through the guide-way c¹ when the piston d is raised.
If desired a stuffing-box may be provided around the rod or spindle e¹; I prefer,
however, to make these parts to fit as accurately as possible and to provide in the
part g an opening g² which serves for admission of air and for the escape of any water
that may leak through the guideway c¹ when the piston is depressed.
From the foregoing description it is evident that, disregarding, for the time being,
the effect of the spring j, when the pressure in the passage f exceeds the working
pressure acting upon the valve by an amount sufficient to compensate for the
difference in effective area of the piston due to 'the rod or spindle el passing through
the guideway c¹, the piston will be moved down and the valve wholly or partially
closed, so that the pump will be slowed down or its motion arrested. On the
pressure in the passage f diminishing to a sufficient extent, the working fluid acting
upon the valve will force the valve up and return the piston to its former position
shown in Figure 1.
By adjusting the cap g¹ to increase or diminish the load-equivalent of the spring j,
the pressure that will be required in the passage f to close the valve b can be
increased or diminished as desired.
In some instances I provide suitable means for manually operating the apparatus
to close or permit the opening of the valve.
For this purpose I can, if desired, provide a screw-cap k, Figure 2, which is
screwed upon the extension g of the cylinder c so that it will bear against the upper
end of the rod h, and which is provided with a hand-wheel k¹ for closing or releasing
the valve by hand when necessary. Or I can extend the cap g¹ upward and form

page_text: a screw-thread therein as in Figure 3, and fit into the said cap a screw-spindle k²
provided with a hand-wheel
I sometimes dispense with the spring ; and employ a screw-spindle k² (Figure 4)
provided with a hand-wheel by means of which the valve can be closed or
released by hand.
I have found it convenient to describe my invention chiefly as applied to
regulating the supply of water at a required pressure to the feed-pipe of a boiler or
boilers. My said invention is, however, equally adapted for use in other systems
wherein a varying quantity of liquid or of air or other gases has to be supplied at
a predetermined pressure by a pumping apparatus to a receiver or through a pipe or
pipes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
41. An apparatus for automatically regulating or controlling the working of a
pump, comprising a valve for controlling the supply of the working fluid to the
pump, a piston connected at one end to the said valve and working in a cylinder
which is in communication at one end with the valve-chamber and at the other end
with the delivery-pipe or pipes of the pump, substantially as, and for the purposes,
herein before described.
2. The combination, with a valve for controlling the supply of the working fluid
to a pump, of a piston connected with the said valve and working in a cylinder
attached to the valve-casing and having its effective area on one side reduced by.a
rod passing out through a guide-way or stuffing-box, the said cylinder being in
communication at one end with the valve-chamber and at the other with the
delivery-pipe or pipes of the pump, substantially as, and for the purposes, above
specified.
3. The combination, with a valve for controlling the supply of the working fluid
to a pump, of a piston connected therewith and working in a cylinder attached to
the valve-casing and having the effective area of one side of the piston less than
that of the other side, a spring acting upon the side of the piston of less effective
area, and suitable means for adjusting the load-equivalent of the said spring, the
said cylinder being in communication at one end with the valve-chamber and at
its other end with the delivery-pipe of the said pump, substantially as, and for the
purposes, herein before described.
4. The combination, with my improved regulator (with or without the spring),
of suitable means for manually closing and releasing the valve, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
5. The improved automatic regulator constructed substantially as described with
reference to Figure 1 of the drawing and operating as, and for the purposes, above
specified.
Dated the 4th day of May 1898.
D. YOUNG & Co,,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.