Certain Improvements in Reducing Valves for Water.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 13th July, 1896
2007
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Certain Improvements in Reducing Valves for Water.
We, HENRY ASHTON HILL, of St. Augustine's Road, Edgbaston, in the City
of Birmingham, Civil Engineer, and THOMAS EVANS MITTON, trading as Hunt
and Mitton, of Oozells Street North, in the City of Birmingham, aforesaid,
Engineers' Brassfounder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has reference to reducing valves for use in reducing the pressure
in water mains and service pipes and this invention consists in constructing and
arranging the parts as hereinafter described.
In one arrangement of carrying out this invention we provide a suitable body or
casing made with inlet and outlet passages and provided with a valve seating in
which fits a metal or other valve which the high pressure water entering the valve
casing tends to force off its seating. The low pressure water is on the other side
of the valve. The said valve is provided with a spindle fixed to a piston or
plunger working in a cylinder above the valve of an area rather larger than the valve
seating so that the pressure of the inflowing high pressure water acting upon the
said piston tends to move the same along the cylinder and close the valve. The
said piston or plunger is acted upon by a coiled spring contained in a chamber fixed
to the said casing this spring tends to overcome the pressure of the water on the
other side of the piston and to open the valve. In order to ensure the said spring
acting in a straight line upon the said piston and valve the spring may be arranged
to act upon the flange of a spindle which bears upon a centre formed on the
valve spindle, the said spring spindle being guided by being carried through the
spring and through an adjustable nut arranged in the covering of the casing by
which nut the compression of the spring can be regulated to give the exact
reduction of pressure required. The said spring spindle is or may be carried up
through the nut and may be there connected to the arm of a two armed lever which is
fulcrumed on the valve casing and by moving which the piston and valve can be
raised or lowered so as to ascertain whether the same are working properly.
The high pressure water entering the valve casing acts upon the piston and closes
or partly closes the valve if the water pressure beyond the valve rises higher than
the reduced pressure at which the valve is set, as the low pressure water below the
valve and the high pressure acting on the piston are sufficient to overcome the
resistance of the spring and to close the valve. When the low pressure water falls
below the pressure at which the valve is set then the spring overcomes the water
pressure and forces the piston and valve down so as to open the valve and allow the
high pressure water to flow more quickly through the valve seating so as to maintain
a constant low pressure on the outlet side of the valve.
The said piston or plunger may be packed by any convenint means as by hydraulic
leather or by other packing.
In order that the valve may be readily removed and renewed when required the
valve is made in the form of a ring provided with an ebonite or like facing and
fitted on the valve spindle and is there secured by a screwed collar which can
readily be removed through an opening in the valve casing which is closed
by a suitable cover. It will be seen that this may be done without cutting out
the valve.

page_text: In a modification of our invention the valve is made in the form of a cylinder
which passes watertight through the seating, the top of the cylinder is closed and
forms or is connected to the piston or plunger working in the chamber above described
for the spring to act upon. The lower edge of the cylinder seats itself upon a coned
or inclined seating formed at the bottom of the valve casing. There are side openings
in the cylinder through which when the valve is raised the water passes and then
through the bottom of the cylinder.
Dated this 10th of Ll. 1900
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicants.
Certain Improvements in Reducing Valves for Water.
We, HENRY ASHTON HILL, of St. Augustine's Road, Edgbaston, in the City
of Birmingham, Civil Engineer, and THOMAS EVANS MITTON, trading as Hant
and Mitton, of Oozells Street North, in the City of Birmingham, aforesaid
Engineers' Brassfounder, 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:-
This invention has reference to reducing valves for use in reducing the pressure
in water mains and service pipes and this invention consists in constructing and
arranging the parts as hereinafter described, whereby we render the said valves
more efficient in action as we effectually prevent an accumulation of hydraulic
pressure on the low pressure or outlet side of the valve no matter how the pressure
on the "high pressure" or inlet side of the valve may increase.
We will describe this invention by referring to the accompanying drawing on
which
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a water pressure reducing valve constructed
according to this invention; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevation of the lower part of
the same; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of a slightly modified form of the same;
and Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of a further modification.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
In one arrangement of carrying out this invention (illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2)
we provide a suitable valve body or casing A made with an inlet passage B and an
outlet passage C and provided with a valve seating D in which fits a metal or
other valve E which the high pressure water entering the valve casing at B tends
to force down off its seating. The low pressure water is underneath the valve and
flows through the outlet C. The valve E is provided with a spindle el fixed to a
piston or plunger F working in a cylinder G above the valve E of about the same
arca or slightly larger than the valve seating D. The piston or plunger F is acted
upon by a coiled spring H in the casing G which tends to force the piston or plunger F
down and open the valve E. In order to insure the spring H acting in a straight
line upon the piston F and valve E the spring H may be and is by preference
arranged as shewn in Fig. 1 to act upon the flange I of a spindle i which bears
upon a centre e formed on the valve spindle e¹ the spring spindle i being guided
by being carried through the spring and through an adjustable nút J screwed
in the upper part of the casing and acting upon a washer which bears upon
the spring h. By means of the nut J the tension of the spring H can be regulated
to give the exact reduction of water pressure required.

page_text: The reducing valve above described acts as follows:-The high pressure water
entering the valve casing at B as indicated by the arrow acts upon the piston
or plunger F in one direction and with somewhere about the same pressure on
the valve E in the opposite direction. When the low pressure water beyond the
valve, that is at the outlet side C, rises to a higher pressure than the reduced
pressure at which the valve is set to close, the low pressure water acting upon
the underside of the valve E overcomes the resistance of the spring H and closes
the valve E. When the low pressure water at the outlet C falls below the
pressure at which the valve is set to close then the spring H overcomes the upward
pressure of the low pressure water on the valve E and forces the piston F and the
valve E down so as to open the valve E and allow the high pressure water to flow
more quickly through the valve seating and maintain a constant low pressure at
the outlet side C of the valve. It will thus be seen that by our arrangement above
described an accumulation of pressure of the low pressure water is prevented as
any excess of pressure on the low pressure side C of the valve, above the pressure
at which the valve is set to close, only tends to close the valve E more
tightly upon its seating and effectually prevent the high pressure water from
leaking through.
The piston or plunger F may be packed by any convenient means as by the
hydraulic leather as in Fig. 1, or by the spring rings ƒ as in Fig. 3 or by other
well known means.
In order that the valve E may be readily renewed when required, the valve is
provided with an ebonite or like facing e which is fitted on the valve spindle e' and
secured between the disc e, which is formed with the spindle, el and the circular
plate which is threaded on to the spindle e' and is recessed to receive the ebonite
or like disc e³ and secured by the nut e screwed on to the spindle e¹. By means of
the side opening a' in the valve casing A (which is closed by the cover a) the
ebonite disc and the valve plate e can readily be removed and the ebonite or like
facing be renewed without cutting out the valve.
The arrangement of our invention illustrated by Fig. 3 has the valve proper E
made without the ebonite facing and the opening a for the removal of the
valve made immediately below the same. In this arrangement the coiled spring H
is shewn as acting directly upon the piston or plunger F.
The spring H for acting upon the plunger F and valve E may if desired be
dispensed with, and a counter-weight substituted therefor, for instance as shewn
by Fig. 4 where the valve spindle e is carried up through a guide or bearing g' in
the top g of the cylinder G and is jointed at k to a lever K on which is fixed the
counter-weight L, this lever K turning on a fulcrum pin k which by the link k³ is
jointed at to the cover g of the cylinder G. The counter-weight L is adjustable
along the lever K so as to set the valve to close at the particular reduced pressure
required. In order to keep the valve spindle el vertical the lower part of the same
works in the guide M in the cover a² of the valve.
It will be evident that our improved reducing valves above described are
applicable for use with other fluids in the same way as above described when applied
to water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. Water pressure reducing valves constructed arranged and operating
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
2. In a water pressure reducing valve the employment of a valve adapted to
open with the high pressure and to be closed by the low pressure water, a piston or
plunger arranged in a cylinder and on the spindle of said valve to counteract the
high pressure water on said valve and a counter-balance weight or spring acting
on said piston or plunger and valve against the water pressure and arranged to

page_text: allow the valve to be closed by any excess of low pressure water all substantially
as herein set forth and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 12th day of April 1897.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicants.