Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Aug., 1888
Specification Accepted, 12th Oct., 1888
We ENOCH RUTZLER, and GEORGE WASHINGTON BLAKE both of 176 & 178
Centre Street in the City of New York, United States of America, Engineers, 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:
This invention is applicable either to steam apparatus or hot water apparatus for
heating houses and other buildings.
The object of this invention is to obtain, by the amount of expansion and contraction
of metal due to a comparatively small variation of temperature, a sufficient movement
to produce the effective operation of a damper or other regulating valve.
The invention consists in the combinations hereafter described and claimed, of which
the principal element is a flexible bar or spring upon which the expansion and con-
traction of a steam pipe or hot water pipe is made to operate lengthwise, in such
manner as to produce changes in its flexure, whereby the movement necessary to
operate the dampor or valve is obtained.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side view of a thermostat embodying our
invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of one of the supports of the flexible bar or spring.
Fig. 3 is a face view of the lever which constitutes the other support for the said bar
or spring. Fig. 4 is a side view illustrating the application of the flexible bar or
spring in duplex form. Fig. 5 is a side view illustrating another example of the
application of the said bar or spring; and Fig. 6 is a side view exhibiting another
form of the said bar or spring.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the Figures.
A (Fig. 1) designates a portion of a steam or hot water pipe to which our invention
is applied. B designates a damper, and C the flexible bar, here represented as a
buckled spring, by the flexure of which the damper is operated.-D is a support con-
sisting of a metal arm secured firmly upon the pipe A, and serving to support one end
of the spring C.-To this arm or support D, there is secured, very near the pipo A, a
rigid rod or bar E, to the opposite end of which is connected a lever F, the fulcrum of
which is at the end of said bar. The upper arm of this lever constitutes the support
for the other end of the spring C; and the lower arm, at a short distance from the
fulcrum, has a bearing a against the pipe A, at a sufficient distance from where the

page_text: support D is connected with said pipe, to give a sufficient length for the expansion
and contraction necessary for the operation of the thermostat.
The lower arm of the said lever is also connected, by a rod or link G, with the
support D, the connection between the said link and support being close to the
spring C, and the connexion of the said rod or link with the lever F being made at a
distance farther from the fulcrum than the point a where the lever bears against the pipe.
As it is desired that the rigid bar E shall be kept as cool as possible, it is
represented as surrounded by a tubular jacket E', between which and the said bar
there is an air space.
I is a lever connected by a rod or chain c with the damper. This lever works on
a fulcrum b, which may be in any fixed support, but which is represented as secured
in a standard I secured upon the pipe A. The opposite end of this lever to that to
which the damper is connected, bears against the lower side of the spring C, the
buckling or flexure of which is in a downward direction. In order to provide for adjusting
the spring C, to give it more or less flexure, provision is made for adjusting the arm D
on the pipe A by means of a screw thread on the pipe, and nuts e fitted to said screw
thread on opposite sides of the arm, and there is a similar provision for the adjust-
ment of the bar E and arm D by means of a screw thread on the said bar and nuts
fitted to said screw thread on opposite sides of the arm.
The operation of this thermostat is as follows:-
-
The pipe A expands lengthwise by the increased temperature of steam or water
circulating within it, while the bar E remains of approximately fixed length; the
pressure produced on the lever F at the point a by the pipe A, causes the upper end
of said lever, where the spring C is supported, to move towards the support D, thereby
reducing the distance between the ends of the spring, and causing its further buckling
or downward flexure. This flexure causes the spring to depress the end of the lever H,
upon which it bears, and so throw up the other end of the said lever and close the
damper. This action of the pipe upon the lever F, by throwing out the lower end of
the said lever, will cause the rod or link G to deffect the upper end of the arm D,.
which is flexible enough, towards the upper end of the lever I', and thereby to produce
a still greater flexure of the spring, by which a great movement of the damper is
obtained by means of a very small expansion of the pipe A.
The contraction of the pipe A, by reason of a diminished temperature of the water
or steam passing through it, allows the free end of the arm D and lever F to move
apart, and permits the the spring to automatically reduce its flexure, which permits the
opening of the damper. The opening of the damper may be effected by a weight or
spring, as is common, or by the weight of the lever H and its connection with the damper.
The spring h, represented in the damper connectious G, is to prevent any straining
of the parts if the expansion of the pipe A. should continue after the damper had been
closed.
The screw in the standard I, is to limit the unbending of the spring C, to a point
sufficient for the full opening of the damper or valve.
In the example of the invention illustrated by Fig. 4, the parts not represented are
supposed to be the same as in the first described example. The two buckled springs 00¹,
represented in that Figure, are both supported at the same point in the lever F and
arm D, and the flexure of the upper spring being in an upward direction, and that
of the lower spring being in a downward direction, the approach of the points of
support in the lever F and arm D, causes the springs to further separate at the middle
of their length, so that twice the amount of movement of the damper lever H may be
obtained, that could be obtained by a single spring. The damper lever H is pivotted
on a fulcrum pin b secured upon the upper spring C³, and one end of said lever is
connected at z by a rod J with an arm K, which is rigidly connected with the lower
spring (.
In the example shown in Fig. 5, a single spring is shown, which is supposed to be
supported and operated precisely like that shown in Fig. 1, but instead of its operating
on the damper through a lever, it operates it through a chain L, which passes over
a pulley M suitably supported.

page_text: In the example shown in Fig. 6, the flexible bar, by the flexibility of which the
damper or regulating valve is operated, instead of being a spring, or flexible, through-
out its whole length, as illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, is composed of two inflexible
members C, C, having a pivotted or flexible joint j.-The flexure of this bar will be
produced, and will operate on the damper in the same way as the buckled spring C, but
such flexible bar will require some provision for straightening it or reducing the flexure,
as its supports D, E are separated by means of the expansion of the pipe A. This is
represented as provided for by pivotting it at k k in the said support.
The regulating valve that is herein referred to as alternative to a damper, may be
the valve of a cold air box, a valve or cock for turning on gas to be used as fuel,
or any valve that will in any way regulate or control a heating apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
==
1. The combination with a steam or hot water pipe and a damper or valve, of a
support connected with said pipe, a rigid bar having one end connected with said
support, a lever having its fulcrum at the other end of said bar and bearing
against said pipe, a flexible bar applied lengthwise between said support and lever,
and a connection between said flexible bar and the damper or valve, substantially as
herein described.
2. The combination with a steam or hot water pipe and a damper or valve, of a
flexible bar connected with the latter, two supports for the ends of said flexible bar
connected with the pipe at distant points, one of said supports being a lever against
which said pipe expands lengthwise, and a rod or link forming a direct connection
between said lever and the other support for the flexible bar, the connection of said rod
or link with the lever being on the opposite side of its fulcrum to that on which it
supports the flexible bar: substantially as herein described.
3. The combination with a steam or hot water pipe and a damper or valve, of a flexible
arm connected with said pipe, a rigid bar having one end connected with said arm, a
lever having its fulcrum at the other end of said bar and bearing against said pipo, a
flexible bar applied lengthwise between one arm of the said lever and the said
flexible arm, a connection between the opposite arin of said lever and the said
flexible arm, and a connection between said flexible bar and the damper or valve,
substantially as herein described.
4. The combination with a steam or hot water pipe and a damper or valve, a support
connected with said pipe, a rigid bar having one end connected with said support, a
lever having its fulcrum at the other end of said bar and bearing against said pipe,
and two flexible bars, the flexure of which is in opposite directions, applied length-
wise between said lever and support, of a lever fulcrummed on one of said flexible bars,
a connection between said lover and the other of said flexible bars, and a connection
between said lever and the damper or valve; substantially as and for the purpose
berein described.