Improvements in Steam Traps
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application 30th Apr, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 30th Jan, 1896-Accepted, 14th Mar, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Steam Traps
1 EDWARD YATES of New Mills near Stockport, in the County of Derby,
Biass Founder and Iinisher, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows
-
My said invention relates to certain improvements in steam traps for facilitating
the discharge of the water of condensation from steam pipes and for other purposes
One part of my invention refers to an improved and economical substitute for the
sciew or other known mechanical means now employed to open and close the
admission valve Instead of closing the valve by a screw or other mechanical
means as at present effected I allow the steam pressure to close the valve and hold
the valve open against the iniush of air by means of a cam, excentric or projection
carried on a prolongation of the elbow of the hollow ball float arm The said
hollow elbow with its prolongation and cam extends into and turns within a valve
box secured by a jamb nut or other means to a corner of the interior of the trap
cistern A seating for the valve is formed in the box and in line with the inlet
pipe, and the valve is placed therein The cam on the prolongation of the hollow
stem or elbow is arranged opposite to the inner end of the valve and is so set that
when the hollow ball float is at the bottom of the tiap cistern, the cam has been
turned into such a position as to open and hold open the inlet valve
The inflowing water thus finds unimpeded entrance to the valve box and thence
through perforations into the hollow stem and arm and so to the ball and trap
Citern
As soon how ever as the steam comes, the ball float rises, the cam is turned
our of the way and the valve is closed by the inflowing steam pressure
Under my improvement there is no such hammering of the valve as takes place
when the valve is positively connected by mechanical means with the rising and
falling ball, so that the valve and valve seating last longer and remain in better
order than heretofore
I here is also no necessity to provide adjustable means to take the wear of
the valve
To prevent the rattling and noise which usually accompanies the passage of the
an through the hollow arm stem and ball of the trap from the steam pipes and
also to prevent the possible premature lifting of the ball float I place an air relief
valve upon the aforesaid valve box Under one arrangement this valve is held
open by a spring, the spring being sufficiently strong to keep the valve open against
the passing air or water but not strong enough to resist the pressure of the steam
Consequently the air escapes through the valve directly into the trap cistern and
without the usual unpleasant noises or possible lifting of the float As soon as the
steam comes, the valve is closed by the superior pressure
Under a modified arrangement, I cause the air relief valve to be held down on
its scat by a spring so as to close the air exit from the valve box I also provide
for the positive opening of the valve at the times when the chief influx of air to
the valve box occurs This positive opening of the air valve is preferably effected
from the aforesaid hollow elbow and prolongation which as already said carries the
cam which operates the admission valve for the condensed watei The air relief
valve is formed with an extension which engages with or is engaged by a lever, or
finger or jaw or other suitable part extending from the movable hollow elbow or
prolongation

page_text: On
I arrange that there shall be so much play between the said engaging parts, that
a limited downward movement of the ball float shall not open the air relief valve,
although the said movement is sufficient to open the water admission valve
the other hand if the ball float falls to the bottom of the cistein the movement of
the elbow will open not only the water admission valve but also the air relief valve
so that the an preceding the water escapes through the relief valve directly into
the cistern By this arrangement the lesser up and down movements of the ball
float which take place during the normal working of the trap and which are
sufficient to get rid of the recurring small deposits of water in the pipes do not
unnecessarily actuate the air relief valve, the said valve being usually operated
only when the volume of air which collects in the pipes after a period of inaction,
equires to be got rid of I might modify the method of and means for positively
operating the au relief valve as herein described
To facilitate rapidity of action in the trap and to supplement the water admission
orifice at the foot of the ball flont, I fit a loose, inwardly opening valve in the lower
part of the ball flont This valve allows easy entrance of water to the ball but
closes as soon as the ball contains steam pressure
To obtain practically the same result I might make the opening at the foot of
the ball of a maximum area and apply to the ball suitable means for increasing oi
diminishing the area of the said opening according to the amount of pressure in
the boiler or steam pipe
Dated thus 29th dox of Amil 1895
LK DUTTON & Co,
ɔ John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents
ว
(OMPLEIE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Steam Traps
I EDWARD YATES of New Mills, near Stockport, in the County of Derby,
Brass Founder and Finisher, 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 ard accompanying diawings
My said invention relates to certain improvements in steam traps for facilitating
the discharge of the water of condensation from steam pipes and for other purposes
One part of my invention refers to an improved and economical substitute for the
SC tw or other known mechanical means now employed to open and clo e the
admission valve Instead of closing the valve by a sciew or other mechanical
means as at present effected I allow the steam pressure to close the valve and hold
the valve open against the iniush of air and water by means of a cam, excentric or
projection cared on a prolongation of the elbow of the hollow ball float arm
The said hollow elbow with its prolongation and cam extends into and turns within
a valve box secured by a jamb nut or other means to a corner of the interior of the
trap cistern A seating for the valve is formed in the box and in line with the
inlet pipe, and the valve is placed therein The cam ou the prolongation of
the hollow stem or elbow is arranged opposite to the inner end of the valve and is
so set that when the hollow ball float is at the bottom of the trap cistern, the cam
has been turned into such a position as to open and hold open the inlet valve
The inflowing water thus finds unimpeded entrance to the valve box and thence
into the hollow stem and arm and so to the ball and trap cistern As soon however
as the steam come,
the ball float rises, the cam is turned out of the way and the
valve is closed by the inflowing steam pressure
Under my improvement there is no such hammering of the valve as takes place
when the valve is positively connected by mechanical means with the rising and
falling ball, so that the valve and valve seating last longer and remain in better
order than heretofore

page_text: LU
There is also no necessity to provide adjustable means Lake up the weat
the valve
UL
To prevent the rattling and noise which usually accompanies the passage of the
air through the hollow arm and ball of the trap from the steam pipes and also to
prevent the possible premature lifting of the ball float, I place an air relief valve
upon the aforesaid valve box
I cause the air r lief valve to be held on its sent by a spring so as to close the
air exit from the valve box I also provide for the positive opening of the valve at the
times when the chief influx of air to the valve box occur- This positive opening of
the valve is preferably effected from the aforesaid hollow elbow and prolongation
which already said carries the cam which operates the admission valve for the
condersed water The relief valve is formed with an extension wluch engages
with or is engaged by a lever, or finger or jaw cam or other suitable part extending
from the movable hollow elbow or prolongation I arrange that there shall be so much
play between the said engaging parts, that a limited downward movement of the
ball float shall not open the air relief valve, althougn the said movement is
sufficient to open the water admis-ion valve On the other hand if the ball float
falls to the bottom of the cistern, the movement of the elbow will open not only
the witer admission valve but also the air relief valve so that the preceding
the water, escapes through the relief valve directly into the cistern By this
arrangement the lesser up and down movement of the ball float which take place
during the normal working of the trap and which are sufficient to get ind of the
ecurring small deposits of water in the pipes, do not unnecessarily actuate the an
relief valve, the said valve being usually operated only when the volume of an
which collects in the pipes after a period of inaction requires to be got rid of
I might modify the method of and means for positively operating the air ielief
valve as herein described
To render my invention fully understood I will now proceed to describe the same
more particulaily, reference being had to the annexed two sheets of illustrative
drawings containing the following figures
On Sheet 1
Fig 1 is a vertical section of my improved steam trap with an exterior view of
the inlet and air valve box
Fig 2 is a sectional plan view
On Sheet 2
Fig 3 is a vertical section of the trap the inlet and air valve box being shown
in section
Fig 4 is detached view of the valve box in section with the ball float partly
lowered the steam valve opened and the air valve clo ed
Fig 5 is a similar view with the ball at the bottom of the cistein and both steam
and air valves open
The cistern is marked a and the cover a¹ The ball float is marked band the
hollow float arm c The elbow of the hollow aim c is pivotted as shown at Figs 1
and 2 to the valve box d by a glaud cover e which is secured to the valve box b
screws ff The valve box d is secured to the inner side of one of the ends of the
Cistern a by bolts g g the portion of the valve box which extends through the side
of the cistern being fitted with a screwed union nipple h which connects with the
Steam pipe
This is the water and steam inlet to the valve box and the outlet is
through the gland cover and hollow float arm c A valve seating is formed in
the inlet passage to the valve box and on this seating is a valve the stem 2 of
which slides in supports 2³ The elbow of the hollow aim e caries a prolongation,
stump or pivot c¹ which stump or pivot is fixed to the elbow or may be formed in
one therewith The stump carries a cam c² (see Figs 3, 4 and 5) which lies in
line with the stem 2 of the inlet valve In addition to the came the stump also
carr es a jaw-cam c³ to operate the air valve k as will be hercinafter de cribed
Confining myself in the meantime to the means for operating the inlet valve it
will be seen that the fluid pressure entering the valve box from the steam pipe tends

page_text: to shut down the valve on its seat
arm
2
2
When the water has been all blown out of
the stem pipe and there is nothing but steam in front of the valve 2, the ball
float and its hollow arm care in the horizontal position shown in Figs 1 2 and 3
In this position the cam has been turned round sufficiently far forward by the
rotation of the elbow to allow the valve to be closed down on it seat by the
steam pressure the cistein a being thun full of water up to the overflow outlet a²
as shown in Figs 1 and 3 But on the other hin considering the parts in the
position which they would assume when the ball floit is at the bottom of the
cistern (for instance as in Fig 5) when for example the water is bein, cleared out
of the steam piping before starting the engine in the morning, it will be seen that
by the altered position of the hollow arm and elbow the cam has been moved
round so as to puh back the stem of the valve thereby moving the valve from its
seat and allowing the water to enter the valve box and flow through the hollow
and float into the cistern So long as the flow of water continues and the
float remains at the bottom of the cistern the valve 1 cannot close and the through-
way is uninterrupted As soon however as the water is succeeded by the steam,
the ball flot and um fly into the horizontal position, the cam is turned forward
and the valve is allowed to be closed by the steam pressure In this position the
parts remain until the next accumulation of water in the piping fills to be
removed
A stop in the valve box d limits the forward movement of the cam
The provision of the cam to open the valve by a direct and positive thrust and
the principle of allowing the valve to be closed by the steam piessure cables_mo
to dispense with the screw links and other mechanical means now commonly used to
open and close the valve, and there is also no need to provide adjusting means
to sike up the weir of the valve The valve being closed down by positive fluid
pressure and ept on its seat, there is no such hammering of the valve as takes
place in cases where the valve is positively connected by mechanical means with
the sing and filling float, so that the valve and valve seating last longer and
remain in better order than heretofore
off
I may also make provision for the escape from the valve box of any air which
may preced or accompany the water or fluid For this purpo e I arrange 1
valve k, in the valve box a corresponding seating 1 being formed in the thimble
which is screwed into the top of the valve box, ind which constitutes the air blow-
The valve is carried on a stem k¹ the said stem sliding in a central beating
in the thimble l The upper end of the stem carries a guard plate m and between
this guard plate and the bearing uying the stem I place a coiled spring n in
ompression, the tendency of the spring being to draw the valve k up against its
seating, and so close the air blow-off orifice
I he downward extension of the valve stem terminates in a collu k
The Jaw
cam which I have already mentioned flanks the stem on each side and operate
at times against the collar k so as to depress the valve and stem igainst the
upholding pressure of the spring Thus when the ball float b and hollow arm care
aised to the position shown in Figs 1 and 3, the Jaw cam 3 is quite clear of the
collar and the an valve is closed by the spring Even when the ball flont
and arm have only putly dropped as in Fig 4 the jaw cam does not at once
open the air valve k although such partial movement is sufficient to open the inlet
valve 2 But when the ball float drops to the bottom of the cistern as in ki, 5
both the ur valve and the inlet valve › are open
The
I will now describe the behaviour of the trap under working conditions
position of the parts in Figs 1 and 3 is such as they a sume under ordinary
working circumstances when the connected piping contains steam only, and in such
a case the ball float is full of steam and raised and the cam c³ has been turned round
sufficiently far to let the steam pie sure close the valve down upon its seating
so as to prevent any pas age of te im
The an valve A is al o closed
Let it however be supposed that the steam has
been cut off from the piping and that water of condensation has collected tnerein
In such a case the ball float b hills with water and sinks to the bottom of the

page_text: Cistern a, as indicated for example in Figɔ
2
The result of this alteration of
position is that the cam pushes the valve stem 12 forward and displaces the
valve from its seat leaving a free inlet way to the valve box The jaw cam c³
also draws down the air valve k and keeps it open When the steam is again
admitted to the piping what takes place is as follows The air which usually
precedes the water in the piping blows through the inlet valve and escapes through
the air valve k The water which follows when the air has been got rid of, flows
through the valve box d and hollow arm c into the ball b whence it escapes through
tne discharge 61 into the cistern When the water is in turn succeeded by the steam
the steam pressure at once fills the ball b diving out the water and causing the ball
to rise to the top thus allowing the inlet valve to be closed by the pressure, the
an valve k having been already closed by the spring n At the hist puff of steam
through the inlet a very slight escape may take place through the open an valve k,
but as soon as the ball float begins to lift, the au valve is the first to close as seen
for example in Fig 4 directin the whole of the steam into the ball
But in any
case the area of the steam inlet valve, being greater than that of the air valve k,
the latter could not pass the steam admitted by the for ner so that apart from any
special arrangement for closing the air valve in advance, the mere admission of the
steam to the trap box would result in the almost instantaneous raising of the ball
float and cutting off of the steam Under the arrangement shown and described
the lesser up and down movements of the ball float which take place during the
normal working of the trap and which are sufficient to get rid of the recurring
small accumulations of water in the pipes do not unnecessarily actuate the air
relief valve k, the said valve being usually operated only when the volume of air
collecting in the pipes after a period of inaction requires to be got 11d of
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and u what manner the ame is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1 In apparatus of the indicated nature positively and directly opening the inlet
valve by a cam, pusher or part, worked from the ordinary rising and falling ball
float and hollow arm, the closing of the said valve being effected by the fluid
pressure substantially as herein before described
2 In apparatus of the indicated nature the provision of an air valve mounted
in the valve box and held upon its seat by a sping, the said valve being held open
by a cam o part worked from the ordinary rising and falling ball float and hollow
aim, at the times when air is to be allowed to escape, and allowed to be closed by
the spring when steam begins to pass to the ball substantially as hereinbefore
described
3 In apparatus of the indicated nature the inlet valve arranged to be closed by
the team pressure and opened by a rocking cam or part on the stump or pivot of
the ball float and hollow arm, in combination with the air escape valve held closed
by a spring and opened by another cam or part also on the aforesaid stump or pivot,
the un valve preferably arranged to be closed before the steam inlet valve is shut
down, substantially as herein before described and as shown
4 The general arrangement, construction and combination of parts comprising
my improved steam tiap substantially as described and as illustrated
Dated the 29th day of January 1896
For the Applicant,
E K DUTTON & Co,
5 John Dalton Street, Manchester, Chartered Patent Agents.