VALVE REGISTERS OR INDICATORS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alban Andrén, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and
State of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, Engineer, for the
Invention of "VALVE REGISTERS OR INDICATORS."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Alban Andrén at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd June 1878.
ALBAN ANDRÉN, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts,
one of the United States of America, Engineer. " VALVE REGISTERS
INDICATORS."
OR
My Invention relates to improvements on registers or indicators for valves, gates,
or sluices, employed in steam, gas, and hydraulic engineering, to gates for water
wheels, etc., in which the plug or gate, etc., is operated by means of a spindle or
shaft turning around its axis; and this my Invention consists of the following parts
arranged to work together, viz., a pair of differential gears located on the valve or
gate spindle, each of which gears has one or more teeth more or less than the other,
a pinion gearing in both of said differential gears, a dial plate, a hand wheel, or other
pointer, and a stationary support or rest.
My Invention is carried out as follows, although it my be modified as will be
herein-after be fully shown and described:-I secure to the valve spindle one of the
differential gears,
above which is located the second differential gear moving loosely
around the valve spindle, and to said upper differential gear is attached the dial
plate, that is also loosely revolving around the valve spindle. Above the dial plate
is located the hand wheel pointer or index finger that is secured to the valve spindle.
If a hand wheel pointer is used the hand wheel may be made solid with the exception
of a small opening directly over the figures or marks on the dial plate, so that the
proper position of the valve or gate can be read off by looking through the aforesaid
perforation in the hand wheel. If an index finger is used separate from the hand
wheel, the latter may be made with a number of openings through which the

page_text: location of the index finger can be seen relative to that of the index plate. The
stationary standard or support is attached to any stationary part of the valve chest,
or to any other suitable stationary part, according to the construction of the
apparatus for which the register or indicator is to be used, and on its upper end is
located a loosely running pinion that gears in both of the differential gears herein-
before mentioned. Of course the gears may all be located above the dial plate if so
desired, but they are more shielded and protected from dust, grit, and dirt, if located
below said dial plate.
The modification of my Invention is carried out as follows:-I use the same
elements as above described simply,with this change, that I transpose the stationary
support from the loosely running pinion to the dial plate, that in this case becomes
stationary (with the hand wheel or crank attached to the spindle as before) and the
pointer or index finger moving slowly over it, whereas in the first case both the
dial plate and pointer turned around their common axis in the same direction, one
of which slowly gains upon the other when the valve spindle is turned in either
direction so as to open or close the valve, gate, or plug, etc.
In the aforesaid modification the dial plate is kept stationary, and to it is secured
as before one of the differential gears; the other differential gear is also loose on
the valve spindle, and to it is attached the pointer or index finger, the pinion that
gears into both of the differential gears is loosely supported on a pin or stud attached
to an arm or support secured to the valve spindle, and in this case the said pinion
rotates around the differential gears as well as on its axis during the rotation of the
valve spindle, and in so doing imparts a slow differential motion to the pointer or
index finger over the dial plate. The same effect is produced when the screw-threaded
valve spindle is turned around its axis for the purpose of raising or lowering the
plug, valve, gate, etc., only that in one case the dial plate rotates and the pinion stud
is stationary, whereas in the modification the dial plate is stationary, and the stud
of the pinion rotates with the valve spindle. In this modification the gears are all
located below the dial plate, so as to be protected from dust, grit, and dirt, but if
so desired another slight modification of my Invention may be made in locating the
gears above the dial plate, and to suspend the pinion from a pin or stud attached to
the crank or hand wheel by which the valve or gate spindle is operated.
In the latter case the arrangement is precisely like the first-named modification
in that the dial plate is stationary, and has one of the differential gears attached to
it, the other differential gear is also loose on the valve or gate spindle, and to this
gear is attached the pointer or index finger; the only difference is that the loosely
running pinion is transposed from a stud attached to the valve spindle below the
dial plate to the valve spindle above the dial plate, or to the crank or hand wheel
itself by which the valve or other spindle is operated. But the same effect is produced
in the various modifications, it being a matter of choice whether to rotate both dial
plate and index, one slower or faster than the other in the same direction, or to hold
one stationary and to allow the other to rotate with a differential motion. As before
stated the same elements are used in combination, namely, a pair of differential gears
located on the valve or gate spindle, a dial plate, an index or pointer, a loosely
running pinion gearing into both of the differential gears, and a stationary support or
rest.
The whole of the indicator with its differential gears and pointer, dial plate and
pinion can be located above the hand wheel, or at the extreme end of the valve or
gate spindle if so desired, in which case the stationary support or rest is carried or
extended to any stationary part of the apparatus on which it is used, or to any other
stationary object close by. By this arrangement I am able to locate the dial plate
concentric with the valve or gate spindle, by which the position of the index or
pointer can easily be read off through one or more perforations in the band wheel,
or otherwise, from the upper end of the valve or gate spindle, so as to show exactly
the position of the valve, plug, gate, or sluice, etc., whether it is open or shut, or its
different positions between said positions.

page_text: The differential gears as well as the loosely running pinion are shown as ordinary
spur gears, and this is more simple, cheap, and practical, but bevel gears may be used
if so desired.
•
On the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 represents a central longitudinal section
of a valve with my improved register or indicator; Fig. 2 represents a plan view of
the dial plate and pointer or index; Fig. 3 represents a bottom view of the dial
plate, the differential gears, and the loosely running pinion; Fig. 4 represents a
sectional view of the modification in which the dial plate is stationary, and the
differential gears located below the same, and Fig. 5 represents a sectional view of
the modification where the dial plate is stationary and the differential gears located
above it.
Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on the different parts of
the Drawings.
In Fig. 1, a is the valve chest of an ordinary plug valve, on which bis the up and
down movable plug or gate provided with an internal screw thread c in the usual
manner; d is the ordinary valve spindle having its lower end d¹ screw-threaded as
shown, and working within the screw-threaded part of the valve or plug b in the
usual manner; d is the collar on the valve spindle, and e is a screw-threaded cap
or gland in the usual manner, so as to prevent the valve spindle from moving in the
direction of its axis during the operation of the plug or valve as usual; F is the
ordinary stuffing box, and g is the hand wheel by which the valve or gate is operated
in the ordinary manner; h is the stationary support or rest that is secured to any
stationary part of the valve chest, or other stationary part or object by means of
set screws or equivalent devices. Iu Fig. 1 the pinion is supported on a stud h¹
on the upper end of the support or rest h, on which stud it is allowed to run loosely.;
k is one of the differential gears, shown in Fig. 1, 2, & 3 as being secured to the
valve spindle d by means of a set screw or equivalent device; is the second
differential gear, shown in Fig. 1 as being attached to the dial plate m by means of
rivets or equivalent devices, and both the gear and dial plate m are in Fig. 1, 2,
& 3 allowed to turn loosely around the valve spindle d; both of the gears k & l
are geared into the loose pinion i, and as one of said gears has more or less teeth
than the other, as shown in Fig. 3, it will be seen that both differential gears in this
instance move in the same direction when the valve spindle is rotated, but one gains
slowly and differentially upon the other; n is the pointer or index shown in Fig. 1
& 2 as being secured to the valve spindle d.
*
In Fig. 4 the dial plate m is held stationary by means of the stationary rest or
support; the said dial plate is attached to the differential gear l; k is the other
differential gear running loosely around the valve spindle d, and having attached
to its hub the pointer n as shown. In said Fig. 4 the pinion i is loosely supported
on a pin or stud o¹ extending upwards from an arm or projection o secured to the
valve spindle d by means of a set screw or equivalent device.
In Fig. 5 the dial plate m is also stationary and held so by means of the stationary
rest or support h. The dial plate is attached to the hub of the stationary
differential gear as shown. The other differential gear k is loose around the hub
of the stationary gear 1, and to said movable gear k is attached the index or pointer n.
The loose pinion i is supported on a pin or stud g' extending downward from the
crank or handle g, or it may be attached to a separate arm or support secured to the
valve spindle, similar to what is shown in Fig. 4.
In Fig. 4 & 5 the gears are merely reversed from above to below the dial plate,
and vice versa.
.
The dial plate may be marked with numbers 1, 2, & 3, as shown in Fig. 2, or with
"> <
open," shut," etc., or in any other desired manner according to the size or con-
struction of the gate, valve, plug, sluice, etc., for which the register or indicator is
to be used.
Having thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation of my
Invention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim the herein described register
or indicator consisting of a rest or support h, pinion i, differential gears k & 1, with

page_text: a dial plate m and pointer n concentric with the spindle d, as and for the purpose
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alban Andrén, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twentienth day of April, A.D. 1878.
Witnesses,
HENRY CHADBOURN,
MARTHA LAURIE PRATT.
ALBAN ANDREN. (L.8.)