IMPROVEMENTS IN INJECTORS CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR FEEDING WATER TO STEAM-BOILERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & C° Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN INJECTORS CHIEFLY DESIGNED
FOR FEEDING WATER TO STEAM-BOILERS" and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to injectors.
It is well known that in starting an injector a certain amount of skill is necessary
to first cause the water to be drawn into the water chamber and then propelled
through the combining and the discharge tubes (or only propelled through the said
tubes, if the feed-water be at a certain pressure) and forced into the boiler by fully
opening the steam-inlet nozzle or receiving tube.
This invention has for its object to so construct an injector that it may be
gradually started in whatever manner it may be operated.
This end is attained by constructing the steam inlet of two tubes arranged con-
centrically one within the other. The outer of the said tubes, whose passage, in
consequence of the described arrangement is of annular section is acted upon by a
starting lever the first angular displacement of which allows sufficient steam to
enter to cause the suction or setting in motion of the water; on the further dis-
placement of the said starting lever steam is admitted to the inner or main nozzle,
whereby the pressure and the velocity of the water are increased sufficiently to force
down the cheek valve of the boiler. At the second of the said two movements of
the starting lever, a stopcock, through which during the time the said lever is in
its first position the waste water escapes from the overflow-chamber of the outer
shell or casing of the apparatus, is closed, by a system of cranks and links con-
nected to the starting lever.
To allow the two concentric tubes to be gradually operated as described, one of
them may be movable, and in this case, ground surfaces on the inside of the outer
nozzle and on the outside of the inner nozzle form a tight joint, when the injector

page_text: +
is inoperative. Both nozzles may be made to move, independently of each other,
or they may be rigidly connected together, so as to move at once; in the latter case
the annular steam-way of the outer tube, obviously, is always open, and a special
valve must be provided for admitting the steam to the injector, and cutting it off
from the same.
When the injector is adapted to be worked by exhaust-steam, it is started by
steam under pressure, and as soon as the feeding of the boiler commences, dead
steam automatically replaces the live steam. In injectors worked by boiler-steam
only, the admission of steam through the outer tube may cease when the admission
through the inner or main tube begins, or it may continue.
The said invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which→
Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of an injector having a movable
central or main inlet-tube and adapted to discharge steam through its outer tube
during its whole operation.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the said injector in the position which it
occupies when inoperative.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the same, on line xx, Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of an injector of similar construction to that
illustrated in figures 1 to 3, but showing the positions of the various parts when
the apparatus is in operation and when adapted to cut off the steam from the outer
inlet-tube, as soon as the discharge through the inner or main tube. begins.
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of an injector having an endwise movable inner
tube, kept closed when inoperative by other means than the aforesaid, and needing
a special valve for admitting the steam to the outer or secondary inlet-tube..
Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of an injector having a fixed central inlet-tube
and a movable outer inlet-tube.
Figure 7 shows in sectional elevation an injector adapted to be operated by
exhaust steam, the movable inner tube or nozzle being the boiler-steam nozzle.
Figure 8 is likewise a sectional elevation of an injector adapted to be operated by
exhaust steam, with the difference that the movable inner inlet nozzle conducts the
exhaust steam.
"
"
In Figures 1 to 4, the cast iron outer shell or casing a of the injector communi-
cates at its upper end a¹ with the pipe conveying steam from the boiler, and its
lower end communicating with the boiler contains a check valve a² kept closed by
the pressure of the steam in the boiler. The diaphragm between the steam
chamber a³ and the water chamber a', carries the tube a. The fixed inlet nozzle
or tube b is rigidly inserted in a corresponding opening in the top of the chamber a¹,
and in the axis of the said nozzle b, the main nozzle c is endwise movable. The
said main nozzle c is guided by means of its collar c¹, having steam-passages c² and
working in the enlarged upper portion of the nozzle b. Moreover, the tube or
nozzle c is guided by its upper extension c³ sliding in the steam inlet a¹, said
extension c³ carrying a shoulder c, by which the upward stroke of the receiving-
tube c is limited. To prevent the tube or nozzle c from turning upon its axis, it is
provided with a radial wing c³, extending between two projections aº of the
casing a.
When the injector is not in operation, the main inlet nozzle c in its lowermost
position tightly closes the nozzle b by means of its conical face c, ground into
a seat on the nozzle b, and the main-receiving-tube c itself is closed by a conical
valve d. The rod d¹ of the valve d is provided at its upper end with radial
wings d, which guide said rod in the upper extension c³ of the tube or nozzle c.
Into a slot d³ in the said valve-rod extends one end of a two-armed lever e, mov-
able in a vertical plane and having its pivot formed in the side of the tube c; the
other arm of said lever e is adapted to engage with a tappet e¹ projecting from the
inside of the casing a. Consequently, as soon as the main inlet-tube or nozzle c is
raised a certain distance, the outer end of the lever e will be arrested, and on the
further raising of the tube c the said lever will be turned upon its pivot and open
the valve d. The lowermost portion of the valve-rod d' may have an enlargement d4,

page_text: provided with a conical end, which forms a valve on a corresponding seat in the
tube c; however this arrangement may be dispensed with.
For raising the main-tube or nozzle c a crank-pin f¹ is provided, projecting from
a short shaft f, which extends into the casing a through a stuffing-box. The
crank-pin feither engages directly with a guide c' formed on the receiving-tube c,
or is connected to a sliding block c movable in said guide. On its outer end the
shaft carries a hand-lever f2, and by means of a crank f³ and a connecting
rod f, said shaft is connected to a crank g', rigidly fitted to the plug of a cock g
which allows the exit of the water during the stage of drawing the water or
setting it in motion. When the hand-lever f is turned through an angle of
about 30°, the main receiving-tube c is raised as high as to open the annular steam
passage at c closed until now; in consequence thereof the drawing or the setting
in motion of the water begins. The water and the steam then enter the combining
tube i, formed integral with the delivery-tube j, and thence pass into the collecting-
chamber a', formed in the bottom portion of the casing a. From said chamber,
.the water and condensed steam escape through the cock g which is partly open.
On further turning the hand-lever f2 through an angle of about 30° the valve dis
opened and the cock g is closed, whereby the pressure or velocity of the jet of
steam and water is raised sufficiently high to overcome the pressure in the boiler,
so that the valve a² is forced down and the water fed into the boiler.
remaining 30° of play of the hand-lever f' allows for regulating the area of the
ring-shaped water-way in the combining-tube i, which is obviously done by more
or less raising the receiving-tube c in the conical combining-tube i. The combining-
tube i and the delivery-tube j are enclosed in an air-chamber a³.
The
In the slightly modified injector shown in figure 4, the bottom end of the
main receiving-tube c is larger than the other portions and adapted to tightly close
the inlet-tube or nozzle b, as soon as the main tube or nozzle c is raised.high enough
to open the valve d.
In the modified form of injector, shewn in Figure 5, the valve d and the parts
by which it is operated are dispensed with. In this case, when the injector is
inoperative, the main tube or nozzle c is kept closed owing to the fact that the
starting-leverf is weighted, whereby the top end of said tube or nozzle c, ground
out like a valve-seat, is tightly forced onto a conical face k arranged above said
tube c.
This conical face is formed on a screw-plug, which may be unscrewed for
cleaning purposes. As, with this arrangement of the parts of the injector, the
secondary inlet tube or nozzle b cannot be opened by moving the main tube or
nozzle c (which as soon as lowered would be entered by steam,) the steam-way of
ring-shaped section in the tube .or nozzle b is always open, and the steam-pipe
conveying the boiler-steam, which is connected in this case to a lateral extension a¹,
is provided with a special valve. This valve should be opened when the injector
is to be started.
The injector represented in Figure 6 contains a fixed main inlet tube or nozzle c
and a movable secondary tube or nozzle b, packing b¹ being inserted into a groove
in the portion sliding in the aperture of the diaphragm between the steam-
chamber as and the water-chamber a5. The movement of said tube or nozzle b,
necessary for starting the injector, is imparted by means of a pinion 7, in gear with
a rack b³ formed on the outer surface of the said tube. The shoulder b limits the
downward stroke of the tube or nozzle. The lever e by which the valve d of the
main tube or nozzle c is opened, has its outer end located in a slot b' in one of
the radial projections 62, by which the tube or nozzle b is guided on the sides of the
steam-chamber as so that the edges of said slot act upon the end of the lever. e.
The injector shown in Figure 7 is adapted to be operated by exhaust-steam.
This injector is started by boiler-steam, and as soon as the feeding of the boiler is
in operation, the live steam is replaced by exhaust steam. To this end, the casing a
of the injector is provided with an extension a¹ for admitting the boiler-steam and
with an extension a³ for admitting the exhaust-steam. To each of these extensions
corresponds a special steam-chamber, viz a chamber a³ for boiler-steam and a

page_text: chamber a10 for exhaust-steam. The movable inlet-tube or nozzle c for the boiler-
steam is tightly inserted into an aperture in the diaphragm between the two
steam-chambers and contains the valve d operated as above described by the lever o
and the tappet e¹, but in this case, the valve-rod d¹ carries a conical valve d³ the
face of which is upward and fits upon a seat formed in the upper portion of the
tube or nozzle c. The bottom end of the valve-rod d² carries a cylindrical
extension do, which extends down into the narrowest portion of the steam-way
and has for its purpose to make the steam-passage of ring-shaped section when the
injector is started. As soon as the movable boiler-steam tube or nozzle c has been
lifted far enough to withdraw its enlarged portion from the cylindrical lower
portion of the fixed exhaust-steam tube nozzle b, which until this moment had
been tightly closed by said thickened portion, the valve do cuts off the boiler-steam
and the injector is operated by exhaust-steam.
.
In this injector, the combining tube i and the discharge-tube j are separated
from each other by a transverse passage and are enclosed in an over-flow-
.chamber al
Figure 8 shows an injector in which the movable inner tube or nozzle c is adapted
for the passage of exhaust-steam, while the fixed outer tube or nozzle b serves for
the passage of the live steam. When the movable tube or nozzle is raised by the
means described, the contact between the two tubes or nozzles at co; is first broken,
and, somewhat later, the valve d is opened, and by the lower-end of the movable-
tube or nozzle c coming into close contact with the lower-end of the fixed tube or
nozzle b, the boiler-steam is cut off. The lowermost portion of the valve-rod d¹
is provided with a conical extension d' by withdrawing which the cross-section of
the steam-way for the exhaust-steam is gradually increased, moreover the said
extension carries around its point radial wings d³, which throttle the steam and
thus promote its condensation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated
to me by my foreign Correspondent I declare that what I claim is
First. An injector having two steam inlet-tubes or nozzles arranged concentrically
one within the other, either or both of the said tubes or nozzles being movable end-
wise, the movement of the said tube or tubes first having the effect of allowing the
quantity of steam, necessary for drawing the water or setting the same in motion,
to pass through a passage of ring-shaped section between the said tubes or nozzles,
while the further movement allows the steam to enter the inner tube or nozzle and
fully start the injector.
Second. An injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles arranged
one within the other, the outer of which has, in consequence of this arrangement,
a steam-way of ring-shaped or annular section, and is first operated upon to cause
the suction or setting in motion of the water, while the inner tube or nozzle is
operated later and to cause the water to be fed into the boiler.
Third. In an injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles for the
purpose of successively admitting the steam to both tubes or nozzles, the combination
with the fixed outer tube or nozzle of an endwise movable inner tube or nozzle
which in its lowest position forms a tight joint by a portion of its outer surface
fitting upon a corresponding portion of the inner surface of the outer tube, of
a conical valve closing the upper end of the inner tube or nozzle, of a two-armed
lever pivotted to the said tube or nozzle and having its inner end located in a slot
in the valve-rod, and of a tappet against which the outer end of the said lever is
adapted to strike.
Fourth. In an injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles for the
purpose of successively admitting the steam to both the tubes or nozles, the com-
bination with a fixed outer steam inlet tube or nozzle of an endwise movable inner
tube or nozzle and of a conical surface formed above the said movable tube, which
latter is tightly held against the said conical surface, while the injector is inoperative,

page_text: and, when starting the injector is lowered after the steam has been discharged
through the ring-shaped or annular steam-way of the outer tube or nozzle.
Fifth. In an injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles for the
purpose of successively admitting steam to both tubes or nozzles, the combination
with a fixed inner tube or nozzle of an endwise movable outer tube or nozzle,
a portion of the inner surface of which fits tightly upon a corresponding portion of
the outer surface of the fixed inner tube or nozzle, of a conical valve closing said
inner tube or nozzle, and of a two-armed lever pivotted to the inner tube and
having one of its ends located in a slot in the valve-rod and the other in a slot in
a projection in the outer tube or nozzle.
Sixth. In an injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles and
intended to be started by boiler-steam and worked by exhaust steam, the com-
bination with a movable inner tube or nozzle sliding in a perforation in the
diaphragm between the upper boiler-steam chamber and the lower exhaust-steam
chamber, of a fixed outer tube or nozzle communicating with the exhaust-steam
chamber, and of a conical valve closing the inner tube or nozzle when the injector
is inoperative and carrying upon its rod a second valve by which the boiler-steam
is cut off as soon as the movable inner tube or nozzle has been lifted to a certain
height; the lower end of the said valve rod. extending into the narrowest portion
of the inner tube or nozzle which, during the first part of its upward stroke, tightly
closes the passage through the outer tube or nozzle,
Seventh. In an injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles, and
intended to be started by boiler-steam and worked by exhaust-steam, the com-
bination with a movable inner tube or nozzle adapted to slide in an aperture in the
diaphragm between the upper exhaust-steam chamber and the lower boiler-steam
chamber, of a fixed outer tube or nozzle communicating with the boiler-steam
chamber, and kept closed by the inner tube in its lowermost position, and of
a valve closing the inner tube and having the lower end of its valve-rod extended
into the combining-tube and provided with radial ribs.
Eighth. In an injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles, the
employment of tubes or nozzles which are rigidly connected to each other and
endwise movable:
Ninth. In an injector having two concentric steam inlet tubes or nozzles, the
combination, with an endwise movable inner tube, of an endwise movable outer
tube and of means for causing one tube to move the other.