IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Auld, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER,"
Sealed the 11th April 1860, and dated the 10th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION filed by the said David Auld, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th February 1860.
I, DAVID AULD, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER,"
to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to a certain extent to an Invention of "Improve-
ments in Machinery or Apparatus for Supplying Steam Boilers with Water,"
for which British Letters Patent, bearing date on or about the 21st day of
April 1859, No. 1005, were granted to me, and it consists of an automatic
mechanicalarrangement for the efficient supplying of steam boilerswithwater
so as to insure both a plentiful supply and certainty of action. A combined
steam and water chamber or vertical cylinder is fitted up in convenient con-
tiguity to the boiler to be supplied with feed water. Within this chamber is a
float, the spindle of which works up through a stuffing box in the cover, its
projecting end being connected to a chain or cord passed over an overhead
chain pulley. The outer end of the chain is connected to a short link piece in
which a lateral stud pin is fitted, and to which is hung a balance weight.

page_text: The lateral stud pin is inserted into a longitudinal slot in the free end of a
lever communicating with astop-cock or valve, which is fitted up quite inde-
pendent of the steam and water chamber. At the bottom of the chamber are
two opposite ports or thoroughfares. One of these ports is in communication
with the feed water reservoir, and it is fitted with a valve opening inwards;
the other port communicates with the boiler into which it opens below the
water level, and it is fitted with a valve opening outwards. In the cover of
the chamber is a third port opening into a pipe, which passes away to the
independent stop-cock or valve herein-before mentioned. This stop-cock or
valve has a pipe communicating with the steam boiler, the dip of the pipe
into the boiler being predetermined to suit the desired water level. The key
or spindle piece of the stop-cock or valve is formed or fitted with a differen-
tially shaped disc piece, and to this disc piece on one side the further end of
the slotted lever herein-before referred to as being worked by the float in the
steam and water chamber is jointed. The disc piece also carries an adjustable
set screw to act as a stop for the lever. A second adjustable set screw is fitted
upon the disc piece on the opposite side of the joint connection of the float
lever, this set screw being contrived so as to come down and bear upon the
lever when the stop-cock, key, or spindle is turned over in that direction. The
opposite side of the disc piece of the stop-cock or valve is formed with a double
segmental slot, each section of which slot is fitted with an adjustable lateral
stud; to this segmental piece is attached a weighted tumbling lever. The
disc piece is loose upon the key or spindle of the stop-cock, and it operates
upon it through the medium of a short lever arm carried by the key. As the
water enters the steam and water chamber it causes the float therein to rise,
and the chain connected thus necessarily depresses the free end of the slotted
lever, thus turning round the disc piece of the stop-cock until the weighted
lever passes the centre and one of the pins in the segmental slot strikes
against the lever arm attached to the key. The action opens the stop-cock,
and if the water in the boiler is below the proper level, that is, if it has left
the dip pipe of the stop-cock uncovered, steam at once rushes from the boiler
and passes into the steam and water chamber. The influx of the steam
closes the ingress valve of the water in the chamber, and the pressure in the
interior of the chamber being thus balanced or put in equilibrio with the
pressure in the boiler the feed water flows freely into the boiler. The floatin
the steam and water chamber then again descends, and the stop-cock is turned
round again to its original position in readiness for a repetition of the action.
The connection between the float action and the steam valve may be made in
various ways. To enable this apparatus to operate when the steam isdown in the

page_text: boilerall that is necessary is to fit up a separate float in the boiler and connect
it with the valve regulating the admission of the feed water from an overhead
reservoir, so that a proper supply of feed water will always be kept up quite
independent of the steam action. In this case the boiler float is itself the direct
regulator of the feed water level.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Auld in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
AULD, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty,in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself; Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
David Auld, Her special license that I, the said David Auld, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said David
Auld, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and 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 MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said David Auld, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Auld, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates, to a certain extent, to an Invention of improve-
ments in machinery or apparatus for supplying steam boilers with water, for
which British Letters Patent, bearing date on or about the Twenty-first day

page_text: of April, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, were granted to me; and
it consists of an automatic mechanical arrangement for the efficient supplying
of steam boilers with water, so as to ensure both a plentiful supply and cer-
tainty of action. A combined steam and water chamber or vertical cylinder
is fitted up in convenient contiguity to the boiler, to be supplied with feed
water. Within this chamber is a float, the spindle of which works up through
a stuffing box in the cover, its projecting end being connected to a chain or
cord passed over an overhead chain pulley. The other end of the chain is con-
nected to a short link piece, in which a lateral stud pin is fitted, and to which
is hung a balance weight. The lateral stud pin is inserted into a longitudinal
slot in the free end of a lever communicating with a stop-cock or valve, which
is fitted up quite independent of the steam and water chamber. At the bottom
of the chamber are two opposite ports or thoroughfares. One of these ports is
in communication with the feed water reservoir, and it is fitted with a valve
opening inwards. The other port communicates with the boiler, into which it
opens below the water level, and it is fitted with a valve opening outwards.
In the cover of the chamber is a third port opening into a pipe which passes
away to the independent stop-cock or valve herein-before mentioned. This
stop-cock or valve has a pipe communicating with the steam boiler, the dip of
the pipe into the boiler being predetermined to suit the desired water level.
The key or spindle piece of the stop-cock or valve is formed or fitted with a
differentially shaped disc piece, and to this disc piece on one side the further
end of the slotted lever herein-before referred to as being worked by the float
in the steam and water chamber is jointed. The disc piece also carries an
adjustable set screw, to act as a stop for the lever. A second adjustable set
screw is fitted upou the disc piece on the opposite side of the point of con-
nection of the float lever; this set screw being contrived so as to come down
and bear upon the lever when the stop-cock key or spindle is turned over in
that direction. The opposite side of the disc piece of the stop-cock or valve is
formed with a double segmental slot, each section of which slot is fitted with
an adjustable lateral stud. To this segmental piece is attached a weighted
tumbling lever. The disc piece is loose upon the key or spindle of the stop-
cock, and it operates upon it through the medium of a short lever arin carried
by the key. As the water enters the steam and water chamber, it causes the
float therein to rise, and the chain connection thus necessarily depresses the
free end of the slotted lever, thus turning round the disc piece of the stop-cock
until the weighted lever passes the centre and one of the pins in the segmental
slot strikes against the lever arm attached to the key. This action opens the
stop-cock, and if the water in the boiler is below the proper level, that is, if it

page_text: has left the dip pipe of the stop-cock uncovered, steam at once rushes from the
boiler and passes into the steam and water chamber. The influx of the steam
closes the ingress valve of the water in the chamber, and the pressure in the
interior of the chamber being thus balanced or put in equilibrio with the pres-
sure in the boiler, the feed water flows freely into the boiler. The float in the
steam and water chamber then again descends and the stop-cock is turned
round again to its original position in readiness for a repetition of the action.
The connection between the float action and the steam valve may be made in
various ways. To enable this apparatus to operate when the steam is down in
the boiler, all that is necessary is to fit up a separate float in the boiler and
connect it with the valve, regulating the admission of the feed water from an
overhead reservoir, so that a proper supply of feed water will always be kept
up quite independent of the steam action. In this case the boiler float is itself
the direct regulator of the feed water level.
And in order that my said Invention of "Improvements in Machinery or
Apparatus for Supplying Steam Boilers with Water" may be properly under-
stood, I shall now proceed to describe the several Figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended, for the purpose of show-
ing certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously
carried out in practice, that is to say :-
Figure on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is a partially sectional
elevation of one modification of my improvements; Figure 2 is an end view of
the same, taken at right angles to Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a plan of the
apparatus corresponding to Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a vertical section of
one of the valvular arrangements; Figure 5 is a front view, and Figure 6, a
vertical section of an arrangement for admitting steam to the feed water
chamber or reservoir by self-acting means.
According to the arrangement delineated in the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, the water as it flows from the supply tank or reservoir passes
through the inlet pipe A into the valve box B. In this box B is fitted a valve
similar to that shown at Figure 4, which is a vertical section of the arrange-
ment, the convex surface of the dished valve rests upon the valve scating, which
is fitted in a tubular opening under the vertical portion of the box, as shown
in the sectional Figure. The spindle C of valve in the box B passes out
through a stuffing box on the upper part of the box, and is jointed to the chain
D, which passes over the pulley E. The bearings of this pulley are carried in
a pair of standards which are bolted to a pillar F, or other convenient support
arranged near the boiler G, the upper portion only of which is shown in the
Drawing. The other extremity of the chain E is attached to the rod of the

page_text: float H, the rod passing through a stuffing box arranged on the upper part of
the boiler. In this way the valve in the box B is controlled by the position of
the float Hin the boiler, and when the valve is raised, the water flows into the
contiguous check valve box I, which is connected with and arranged parallel
to the inlet valve box B. The box I is similar in its arrangement internally
to that delineated in Figure 4, but in lieu of the valve there shown, a spherical
valve is used, which is guided in its rise and fall by means of feathers con-
verging towards the valve seating. The valve in the box I is hollow and is
made sufficiently light to be raised by the ingress of the water through the
valve box, but upon its descent on the valve seating, the return of the water is
prevented, the valve thus serving to check or control the backward flow. From
the valve box I the water flows through a T-shaped union pipe J into the
chamber K, which is, by preference, a cast-iron vessel of a cylindrical figure,
with a moveable cover bolted to the upper part. A float L rests on the water
contained in the chamber K, the rod of which passes out through a stuffing
box in the cover, and is connected to a chain M. This chain is carried over
the pulley N, the spindle of which is supported in standards on the pillar O;
the latter being bolted down to the cover of the chamber K. The other ex-
tremity of the chain M is connected to a link P, to which is pendent the
counterweight Q; the position of the float L in the chamber K consequently
affects in a corresponding degree that of the link and counterweight. Steamis
admitted to the chamber K from the boiler, so as to maintain an equal pres-
sure of steam on the surface of the water in the chamber K as in the boiler.
The steam passes from the boiler G by the pipe R, which enters the chainber
K through the cover, and midway in the vertical portion of the pipe is fitted a
self-acting arrangement for controlling the admission of steam to the vessel K.
In Figures 1 and 2 the front and end views of the steam cock are shown;
and Figures 5 and 6 are detached front and sectional views of the same. The
casing of the steam cock S is bered out internally of a conical or trumpet-
shaped figure; the cock T extends out beyond the casing, and has fitted to it
a tubular boss U, which is secured to and moves with the cock by means of
the screwed arm V. Upon the cylindrical portion of the boss U, between the
lever arm V and the casing S, is fitted the forked casting W, in the diverging
arms X and X', of which are two adjustable screws. This casting is carried
loosely on the tubular part of the boss U, below the arm X'; on one side the
metal extends in a lateral direction, forming a segmental plate. This part of
the apparatus is formed with a laterally projecting rod, on which is carried
the counterweight Y, and there are two curved slots formed in the segmental
plate, in which are fitted the adjustabie pins Z. The part W is connected to

page_text: the link P by means of the lever a, which is centred on a stud between the
diverging arms, the upper portion of this lever is slotted, as shown in Figure 2;
it passes between the sides of the link P, to which it is connected by a pin.
When the float H in the boiler sinks by reason of the evaporation of the water
the valve in the box B is opened, and the water flows into the chamber K
and raises the float L, the upward motion of which causes the descent of the
counterweight Q. In the downward movement of the link P the lever a
presses against the screw in the arm X, the descent of which raises the
weight Y until it reaches the vertical position, on passing which it suddenly
falls over and opens the steam cock T, which produces an equilibrium of
pressare in the boiler G and the vessel K. In this position of the several
parts the water flows through the union pipe J into the valve box b, which is
similar to the check valve box I, excepting that it is arranged in the opposite
way. The water enters the inlet pipe, raises the spherical valve, and flows
down the feed pipe c, which is carried down to the lower part of the boiler.
The arrangement of the check valves in the valve boxes I and b prevents the
return of any water or steam in the direction of the vessel K or the inlet
pipe A.
As the water in the vessel K flows out into the boiler, the weight Q
ascends, the pressure of the lever a against the arm X' causing the weight Y
to fall over on the opposite side when it passes the vertical position, and so
shuts the steam cock. The steam pressure being now removed, the vessel K
is ready to receive a further supply of water, which is introduced when the
float H raises the valve in the box B. In this way the vessel K is continually
replenished, and the boiler supplied with a uniform feed of water proportioned
to its evaporative power. In this modification I have described my improve-
ments as applied for the supply of a single boiler, but the arrangement is
equally applicable for the uniform supply of a range of boilers. All the boilers
are connected by means of water pipes, so that the water level is the same in
all, and from the end boiler, or any convenient one of the series, a water pipe
is carried into a chamber or vessel similar to the vessel K in the accompanying
Drawings. The upper part of this vessel is connected with the upper part of
the boiler by means of a steam pipe, so that the vessel is in the same condition
as regards the height of the water and the pressure of the steam as the boilers.
A float is arranged in the vessel, the spindle of which is connected to a chain
passing over a chain pulley, the other end of which chain is attached to the
spindle of a valve in the inlet valve box, which corresponds to the valve
chamber B in the modification herein-before described. The other portion of
the apparatus is in all respects a repetition of the arrangement delineated in
the accompanying Drawings; it is therefore unnecessary to further describe

page_text: the same. With this arrangement it follows that as the float in the vessel
adjacent to the range of boilers sinks with the evaporation of the water, the
valve in the first valve chamber is raised, and the water from the source of
supply flows through the inlet pipe into the vessel, which corresponds to the
vessel K in the accompanying Drawings. The influx of water into the
chamber causes the float to rise, and the operations of opening and shutting
the steam cock take place alternately, as before described. In this manner
the water throughout the range of the boilers is maintained at a uniform
height, and the feed water flows into the boilers in the same proportion as the
evaporation takes place. This machinery or apparatus may also be used with
advantage in many cases for raising water to elevated tanks, or from mines, so
as to dispense with the usual pumping machinery employed for the purpose..
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for supplying or feeding steam boilers with water, as herein-before described,
and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the system or mode of supplying or feeding steam boilers with
water by means of the machinery or apparatus herein-before described, and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Third, the system or mode of regulating and controlling the admission of
steam to the chamber or vessel K by means of the valvular apparatus or
steam cock arranged in connection therewith, as herein-before described, and
delineated in the accompanying Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
Fourth, the system or mode of supplying feed water to a range or series of
steam boilers, and of maintaining a uniform water level throughout the range
by means of the mechanical arrangement herein before described, and partially
delineated, in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Auld, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty.
DAVID AULD. (L.S.)