CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR INDICATING AND REGISTERING THE HEIGHT OF WATER, AND ALSO THE PRESSURE OF STEAM IN STEAM BOILERS OR GENERATORS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Travis, of Oldham, in the County of Lan-
caster, Cotton Spinner and Manufacturer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR INDICATING AND REGISTERING
THE HEIGHT OF WATER, AND ALSO THE PRESSURE OF STEAM IN STEAM BOILERS
OR GENERATORS."
Sealed the 9th January 1855, and dated the 13th July 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Travis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
July 1854:
I, EDWIN TRAVIS, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner
and Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR INDICATING AND
REGISTERING THE HEIGHT OF WATER, AND ALSO THE PRESSURE OF STEAM IN STRAM
BOILERS OR GENERATORS" to be as follows:-
For indicating and registering the height of water in steam boilers I employ
a vertical tube or pipe, having cast at its lower end a chamber sufficiently
large to allow a small wheel to revolve vertically in its interior, the small wheel
being placed or secured so that its rim may project into and just occupy the
centre of the before-named tube or pipe. The tube or pipe is made steam
and water tight at both ends; at the lower end it is connected, by not less than
an inch pipe, with the boiler at a low level for the passage of the water, and at
the upper end a connecting steam pipe unites the tube and the boiler; the
steam and water in the boiler having free ingress into the tube, the water line
in the tube or pipe is precisely the same level' as the water line in the boiler.

page_text: The indicating motion is attained by means of a float in the interior of the
tube, this float is secured by a chain or otherwise to and on the rim of the
wheel working in the chamber at the bottom of the tube on the axis of
the wheel, and outside the tube is a smaller wheel or drum, quarter the size
of the wheel within the tube; to this small drum a vertical rod carrying a pencil
at its upper end is secured by a band of any appropriate material. The vertical
rod passes through back and front guide rollers and terminates in an index
box, the pencil is kept always in contact with the face of the index paper by a
spring guide at the top of the vertical rod. The index paper is placed round
and secured to a cylinder, which, by means of a clock and suitable gearing in
connection therewith, is caused to revolve once in every 24 hours. The index
paper is vertically divided into 24 compartments or spaces, each space revolv-
ing and passing under the traverse of the pencil in one hour, and every space
being subdivided into minutes. The index paper is likewise horizontally
divided into quarter inches, for indicating the rise and fall of the water in the
boiler or generator. It will now be seen that as the ball or float in the interior
of the tube rises the band will become tightened, and will consequently act
upon the wheel, causing it to revolve partially; the small drum on the outside
of the tube must also revolve, and will take on or give off so much of band as
the respective proportion of the circumference of the inner wheel and outer
small drum bear to one another, and thus elevate or allow the depression of
the vertical rod bearing the pencil so registering on the revolving index tho
height of water in the boiler throughout the 24 hours at any particular moment.
Attached to the axis of the small drum is also a finger, which should act upon
a safety valve or whistle some time previous to any dangerous, diminution of the
water in the boiler; such safety valve being acted upon as usual when excessive
pressure of steam takes place. In indicating or registering the pressure of
steam, I employ a bent tube, of any suitable material, partly charged with
. mercury; the steam to be, registered is admitted from the boiler or generator
to the upper end of the larger arm of the bent tube; at the shorter end of the
bent tube is attached a tube of larger bore, having a proportion of 7 to 1, and
as it is a well-established fact that a pound pressure of steam will displace two
inches of mercury in a guage, it will be evident that the displacement of a
column of mercury in the longer arm of 12 inches will but occupy in bulk
inch in height in the large bore of the shorter arm; the float on the surface
of the mercury in the larger bore supporting a second vertical rod and pencil
similarly furnished, as before described, will register within of an inch on the
index vertically for every pound of varying pressure in the boiler or generator,
simultaneously with the pencil for indicating the height of water, and on the

page_text: same index paper as before described; the pencils being of different colors and
placed side by side. Amongst the advantages attendant on the adaptation of
my improvements is, first, the possession of an index which at a glance will
furnsh correct information as to the condition of the water and steam in the
boiler at any particular moment, as well as the fact of giving accurate infor-
mation of the actual quantity of water and pressure of steam within a boiler
at the precise moment of an explosion or any such accident taking place,
besides possessing in the various indices employed from the first working of
the boiler or generator an entire record of the same, as far as regards the
quantity of water evaporated or consumed, and the various pressures which
the boiler has undergone at particular times.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edwin Travis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
January 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
TRAVIS, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner and Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Edwin Travis, Her especial license that I, the said Edwin Travis, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin Travis,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle.
of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR INDICATING AND REGISTERING THE HEIGHT OF WATER, AND ALSO THE PRESSURE
OF STEAM IN STEAM BOILERS OR GENERATOES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Edwin Travis, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and scal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edwin Travis, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
==
For indicating and registering the height of water in steam boilers I employ
a vertical tube, cylinder or pipe, having cast at its lower end a chamber suffi-
ciently large to allow a wheel to revolve vertically in its interior, the small
wheel being placed or secured so that its rim may project into and just
occupy the centre of the before-mentioned' tube or pipe. The tube or pipe is
made steam and water tight at both ends; at the lower end it is connected by
a pipe with the boiler at a low level for the passage of the water, and at the
upper end a connecting steam pipe unites the tube and the boiler; the steam
and water in the boiler having free ingress into the tube, the water line in the
tube or pipe (in consequence of the same pressure of steam existing in the tube
as in the boiler) is always at precisely the same level as the water line in the
boiler. The indicating motion is attained' by means of a float in the interior
of the tube; this float is secured by a chain or otherwise to and on the rim of
the wheel working in the chamber at the bottom of the tube on the axis of the
wheel, and outside the tube is a smaller wheel or drum, one fourth the size of
the wheel within the tube; to this small wheel or drum á vertical rod, carrying
a pencil at its upper end, is secured by a band of any suitable material, which
passes round the small wheel or drum; the vertical rod passes through back
and front guide rollers, or any other suitable arrangement of apparatus for
effecting the same object, and terminates above an index. box. The pencil is
kept always in contact with the face of the index paper by a spring secured
beneath it or otherwise on the vertical rod. The index paper is placed round
and secured to a cylinder, which by means of a clock and suitable gearing in
connection therewith, is caused to revolvè once and in every twenty-four hours.
The index paper is twelve inches in circumference, and is vertically divided
into twenty-four compartments or spaces, each space revolving and passing
under the pencil in one hour, each space may be subdivided in quarters of the
hours or into minutes. The index paper is likewise horizontally divided into
quarter inches for indicating the rise and fall of the water in the boiler and
generator. It will now be seen that as the ball or float in; the interior of the
tube rises, the band becomes tightened, and will consequently act upon the
wheel, causing it to revolve partially. The small drum on the outside of
the tube must also revolve, and will take on or give off so much band (attached
to the vertical registering rod for the height of water) as the respective pro-
portion of the circumference of the inner wheel and outer small wheel or drum
bear to one another, and thus elevate (or allow the depression of) the vertical
rod bearing the pencil; so registering on the revolving index the height of

page_text: water in the boiler throughout the twenty-four hours at any particular moment.
Attached to the axis of the small drum may also be placed a finger, which
should act upon a safety valve or whistle, connected by any appropriate
arrangement of leverage, some time previous to any dangerous diminution of
the water in the boiler; such safety valve being acted upon as usual when
excessive pressure of steam takes place. For indicating or registering the
pressure of steam, I employ a bent tube of any suitable material charged with
mercury. The steam to be registered is admitted from the boiler or generator
to the upper end of the longer arm of the bent tube. At the shorter end of
the bent tube is attached a tube of larger bore, having a proportion of seven
to one, and as it is a well-established fact that a pound pressure of steam
will displace two inches of mercury in a guage, it will be evident that the
displacement of a column of mercury in the longer arm. of one and three
quarters inches will but occupy in bulk one quarter inch in height in the larger
bore of the shorter arm; the float on the surface of the mercury in the larger
bore supporting. a second vertical rod and pencil, similarly furnished as before
described, will register a quarter of an inch on the index vertically for every
pound of varying pressure in the boiler or generator simultaneously with the
pencil for indicating the height of water; and on the same index paper (as
before described) the pencils are placed side by side, and their action may be
rendered more distinct by being of different colours. Amongst the advantages
attendant. on the adaptation of these improvements is, first, the possession of
an index, which at a glance will furnish correct information as to the condition
of the water and steam in the boiler at any particular moment, as well as the
fact of giving accurate information of the actual quantity of water and pressure
of steam within a boiler at the precise moment of an explosion, or any similar
or other accident taking place, besides possessing in the various..indices
employed daily from the first working of the. boiler or generator an entire
record of the same, as far as regards the quantity of water evaporated or con-
sumed, and the various pressures which the boiler has undergone at particular
times. A third registering pencil, mounted as before described, may be.
employed for registering the speed of the engine, and by the addition of a
light leverage carrying a pencil, so placed as: to register a mark upon the
index, a watchman may be compelled to register the exact times correctly
that he visits the particular spot.
But in order that my improvements-may be the better understood and ex-
plained in detail, I have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawing, made upon a
scale of about one-third füll size, having on the several Figures the same
letters of reference marked on similar parts of the apparatus or machinery.

page_text: Fig. 1 represents a vertical front elevation of the improvements; and Fig. 2
exhibits a vertical front elevation of the lower part, tube, or cylinder; Fig. 3
exhibits a side elevation of the lower portion of Fig. 2, and shows the larger
wheel which bears the proportion of four to one to the outer or smaller wheel.
In Fig. 1, a represents the clock, which governs the revolution of the indices;
this clock I prefer being an eight-day clock, and that it should be considered
the mill clock; the revolution of the index cylinder is made once in every
twenty-four hours, and the index paper then renewed; this method I prefer
for its convenience, but if necessary the index cylinder may be made of such a
size as to represent any number of days desired. 6 is the index cylinder, on
which is shown (in the Drawing) three registering pencils placed side by side,
that to the left serves for the pressure of steam, that in the middle registers
the height of water in the boiler, always providing that the vertical tube c is so
placed that the water line of the boiler, may occupy about the centre of the
tube c, as shown in the Drawing at the float d; that on the right hand
registers the speed of the engine, and is acted upon by the rack c, to which
motion is imparted through a small pinion on the same shaft as the worm
wheel f, which bears a proportion of ten to one to the pinion; the corner
wheel is opérated upon by the worm g, which is driven from any convenient
part of the engine, whose speed it is desired to register. h is the pipe which
conducts the steam to the upper part of the vertical tube c from the boiler;
and j is the pipe which allows the free passage of the water from the boiler to
the lower part of the vertical tube c; the float d, connected by the chain k to
the wheel, causes by its rise and fall the partial revolution of the wheel 7, and
consequently of the smaller exterior wheel or drum m, to which is attached by
the band n, the vertical registering rod o; but as it will be remembered that
the index paper is vertically divided into quarter inches, it will now be seen
that as the wheel bears an imperative proportion of four to one to the drum
m, the drum m will but cause the elevation or allow of the depression quarter
of an inch of the rod o for every inch of rise or fall of the float d in the vertical
tube c. p is a wheel with counterbalance weight for the due regulation of the
apparatus. q is a stuffing box of peculiar construction, the water-tight joint
being perfected by the shoulder of the short shaft r being made to press upon
or against the washer s.. t is a spring which assists in causing the shaft 7 to
retain its position. u represents the longer arm of a syphon tube, at the upper
part of which the steam is brought from the boiler; at the upper part of the
other arm a tube of larger bore v is attached, bearing an imperative proportion
of seven to one to the arm u, as before described. w is a vertical rod (for
registering the pressure of steam) attached to the float in the tube of larger

page_text: borc v.
It must now be recollected that for every pound pressure of steam in
the boiler the mercury in the longer arm u is depressed one and three quarter
inches, thereby causing a rise of mercury in the tube of larger bore v of quarter
of an inch, which rise, acting upon the float x, causes the vertical registering
rod w, through its pencil, to limit the registration of each pound pressure of
steam to within each respective quarter inch vertically divided on the index
paper. It will be observed that the float a is of peculiar formation, the upper
part being cone-shaped; the upper part of the tube v is so formed as to present
a seat for the cone shape of the float a, so that at the highest elevation or rise
of the float, the upper part of the tube v may be effectually closed as a valve,
thus preventing loss of mercury; should such an amount of pressure take
place, I purpose, by the employment of an extreme pressure guage, ranging.
as high as two hundred to three hundred pounds pressure per inch, and always
open to the action of the steam in the boiler, to register any sudden extreme
rise of steam in the boiler, beyond and above the range of the index paper;
-such I effect by attaching the float in the extreme pressure guage to a small
rack and click, or any other convenient arrangement of mechanism) so that
whatever height the registering point of the extreme pressure guage may
ascend to, it shall be retained by the click and rack (or other means employed).
a', a', a', are the registering pencils, and b', 6', 6', springs to keep them against
the surface of the index paper.
Having now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be put into practical effect, I wish it to be dis-
tinctly understood that I claim, first, the novel application, employment, and
use of apparatus or machinery for registering the height of water and the
pressure of steam in boilers or generators simultaneously upon one and the
same index paper.
And, secondly, I claim the application, employment, and use of the novel
and peculiar construction and arrangement of apparatus or machinery, as
herein particularly described and set forth, and fully illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawing, in the manner and for the purposes as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Travis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twelfth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
EDUZIM TO AVIS