Improved Equilibrium Valve.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 29th June, 1889-Accepted, 3rd Aug., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Equilibrium Valve.
I, ALFRED BALL Junior of Heath Terrace Crow Lane, Newton-le-Willows in
the County of Lancaster Fitter, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
1
My invention relates to equilibrium valves to be used as throttle valves, for valve.
gears controlling the admission of steam to steam engines and similar purposes and
consists in an improved construction or arrangement of said valves; the object of my
invention being an equilibrium valve having only one seating, whereby the difficulty
of keeping the usual valves having two seatings tight is obviated.
My improved valve consists of a mushroom or disc valve with conical or plane
facings resting upon a seating arranged in the valve casing so that the steam presses
on the top of the valve. The valve has a central stem at the bottom of which a piston
is formed on or attached to the same. This piston works in a short cylinder open at
the top and closed at the bottom and arranged inside the valve casing below the valve,
so that the steam passing through the valve can pass round said cylinder to the outlet
orifice. The stem of the valve is tubular, bored out for the reception of the valve
spindle which is thinned down at this part so as to have a shoulder above the valve, with
which it bears upon a suitable seating formed on the top of the valve.
The thin part
of the spindle has grooves cut into the side of it or is drilled up to the shoulder with
lateral perforations below the same or the tubular stem is formed with internal
grooves. The spindle has at the bottom a nut or its equivalent fixed upon it, so that
there is some play between the top side of the nut or its equivalent and the underside
of the piston or valve stem. The space in the cylinder underneath the piston is pro-
vided with suitable arrangements for drawing off water or steam from the same.
When the valve is closed and the spindle screwed down, the space underneath the
piston is free from steam and the latter presses upon the top of the valve with its full
pressure and keeps it shut. When the spindle is slightly screwed up or raised, steam
enters below the piston through the grooves or bore of the spindle or stem and takes
off the entire or part of the pressure on the top of the valve according to the diameter
of the piston being made equal or less than that of the valve. The underside of the
valve and top of the piston being under the same pressure of the steam admitted
through the valve a perfectly equilibrated valve can be obtained by this arrangement,
while the difficulty of keeping the valves tight which occurs with double beat valves
is completely obviated.
Dated this 24th day of September 1888.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Equilibrium Valve.
I, ALFRED BALL junior of Heath Terrace, Crow Lane, Newton-le-Willows, in
the County of Lancaster, potter 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 equilibrium valves to be used as throttle valves, for. valve
gears controlling the admission of steam to steam engines and similar purposes and
consists in an improved construction or arrangement of said valves, the object of my
TD R21

page_text: invention being an equilibrium valve having only one seating, whereby the difficulty
of keeping the usual valves having two seatings tight is obviated.
On the sheet of drawings appended hereunto fig. 1 shows a vertical section through
a stop valve of my improved construction and fig: 2 a horizontal section of the same
along line A B of fig. 1.
On the drawings, a is the valve casing with inlet at and outlet at c, and fitted
with a brass seating d in the usual manner. My improved valve consists of a mush-
room or disc valve e with conical facings as shewn or with plane facings resting upon
the seating d and arranged in the manner shewn so that the stoam or other fluid presses
upon the top of the valve 1. The valve has a central stem fat the bottom of which a
piston g is formed on or attached to the same. This piston works in a short cylinder h
that is open at the top and closed at the bottom as shewn and arranged in the valve
casing a below the valve so that the steam or other fluid passing through the valve
can pass round the cylinder to the outlet orifice c, the cylinder being connected to
the casing a by means of cocks i i. The piston may be made to fit the cylinder by
being ground in, or provided with packing rings. The stem of the valve is bored
out for the reception of the valve spindle which is formed with an enlarged part or
shoulder m above the valve, with which it bears upon a suitable seating formed on the
top of the valve as shewn and forms an auxiliary valve. The part of the spindle
passing through the valve is by preference formed tubular as shewn up to the
shoulder m and has one or more lateral perforations o drilled into it just below the
auxiliary valve m. At the bottom of the spindle a nut p or its equivalent is screwed
upon or otherwise fixed to the same and so adjusted that there is some play between
the top side of the nut and the underside of the piston. The space underneath the
piston communicates with the outlet orifice e through small holes drilled through
the piston above the nut p and may be further provided with an outlet s closed by
means of a screw tap t or its equivalent, for allowing the steam or other fluid to escape
from and draining the space below the piston g. The other parts of the valve are of
ordinary construction and form no part of my invention.
"'
When the valve e is closed and the spindle screwed down as shewn, the space
underneath the piston is free from steam or other fluid and the latter presses
upon the top of the valve with its full pressure and keeps it shut. When the
spindle is slightly screwed up or raised, the auxiliary valve m is lifted off its
seating and steam or other fluid enters through the hole or holes o and the
tubular part n of the spindle into the space below the piston and by pressing
against the underside of the piston takes off the entire pressure on the top of the
valve if the diameter of the piston is made equal to that of the valve, or part
of said pressure if the diameter of the piston is made less than that of the valve.
By raising the spindle the nut p is brought against the underside of the piston
and closes the hole or holes r, and the valve can be further raised with facility.
When the spindle is screwed down again, the steam or other fluid in the cylinder
below the piston can escape through this hole or these holes r.
Instead of making the part n of the spindle tubular, it may be made solid and
grooves extending from the auxiliary valve m to the nut p formed on the outside
of the same, through which the steam or other fluid passes into the cylinder when
the spindle is screwed up.
The valve hereinbefore described can be equally used for controlling the admis-
sion and exhaust of steam or other fluid from engine cylinders. The hole or
holes are in that case by preference made very small so as to obstruct the escape
of the steam or other fluid from the underside of the piston, so that the cylinder
and piston act as a dash pot to effect a gentle closing of the valve. The holes r
may also be omitted and the outlet s closed by a valve under spring pressure
regulated so that this valve is opened when the total pressure on the underside of
the piston is nearly equal to that on the top of the valve, this arrangement being
more particularly applicable when the piston g is made of smaller diameter than
the valve e.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
Firstly. The general arrangement of equilibrium valves substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated by the drawings.
Secondly. In valves for steam or other fluids in combination with a disc or
mushroom valve, a piston attached to or formed on the stem of said valve and
working in a cylinder open at the top and closed at the bottom, to the underside
of which piston the steam or other fluid is admitted through the valve stem by
the lifting of a valve spindle having a limited movement in the stem of said valve,
substantially as herein before described and illustrated and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 26th day of June 1889.
EMMOTT & CO.,
Agents for the Applicant.