Improvements in Cut-off Valves.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Dec., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 1st Aug.. 1894-Accepted, 8th Sept.,. 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cut-off Valves.
I, CHARLES ARTHUR ALLISON, of 52 Chancery Lane, London, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which
has been communicated to me from abroad by John Ely Stannard, of Springfield,
Massachusetts, United States of America, Engineer) to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide a device by the employment of which
the steam, air, gas or water, may be immediately shut off and especially to shut off
steam from an engine when in operation, so that when, in the event of an accident
or for other, cause, the same may be stopped without the delay occasioned by
communicating with the engineer, and for that purpose I arrange a system of levers
provided with weights or springs so that upon their being released, they will operate
to close the valve, and thus stop the movement of the engine. Although the device
may be operated by compressed air, a pull or other devices, I prefer to operate the
device by the employment of an electro-magnet, and to place an ordinary push
button in each room at some convenient place, so that all that requires to be done
when it becomes desirable to stop the engine, is simply to press the button.
"four-
In the construction of my device, I prefer to employ what might be termed a
way-branch construction," and for a shut-off to close the steam passage, I may
employ a valve body or plug, having an opening through it, or I may employ
another form of plug. different from the ordinary plug with an opening for the
passage of the steam, principally in that all the material excepting three or four
connecting rods is cut away.
By the employment of this construction, I am enabled to leave the steam-way
practically open, while at the same time maintain the smaller end or disc rigidly in
its position, and the opening for the passage of the steam is practically a straight
way opening.
Attached to the end of the shut-off plug I provide a rod or stem, its office being
to release the valve plug in the desired open position after it has been closed by the
operation of the stem as hereinafter described. The opposite end of the shell is
provided with an opening into which I secure a plug-cock, the interior of the part
into which the plug-cock is secured being preferably provided with a cone-seat, and
the face of the said disc towards said seat being provided with a tapering plug to fit
within the cone-seat.
Mounted upon the end of the plug of the plug-cock I arrange a lever, and adjacent.
thereto I mount a second lever, the latter being provided with a weight and.so
arranged that upon this second lever turning upon its pivot, it will be practically
unobstructed during the first portion of its downward movement, after which it
engages the first lever with sufficient force to turn it and with it the plug, so as to
open the outlet passage through the plug-cock.
"
When the plug-cock for any case is turned to open the passage-way through it,
the steam will rush through the opening or channel in the shell into the chamber
formed between the head of the plug and the inner face of the cap, thus forcing the
valve or plug towards the plug-cock end, and as the plug-cock is opened, there will
be no resistance against such movement and the plug will be carried in the direction
of the plug-cock until the body portion entirely closes the steam passage and escape
of steam through the plug-cock is prevented by the cone shaped valve entering its
seat and closing the opening into the plug-cock, the pressure of steam operating to

page_text: maintain the same tightly upon its seat. It will be readily seen that the same
result obtains whether the plug-cock be opened by one mechanical device or
another.
It will, of course, readily be seen that various other forms of valves may be
but I
utilized and operated for the same purpose as the plug-cock is utilized by me,
deem it the simplest form of contrivance, and as the plugs are usually ground tightly
to their seats and do not turn with freedom, I deem it advisable to employ the stored
energy occasioned by the fall of the weighted lever for the purpose of insuring the
positive action of the plug.
For a let-off motion or device, I prefer to employ an electro-magnet or magnetic
coil, and arrange above it an armature arm, upon which is mounted a soft iron plate,
which upon a current of electricity being sent through the coil, will be drawn
towards the core of the coil, and thereby turn the armature arm upon its pivot,
and move its latch-provided end away from a dog, which dog is pivoted upon the
second mentioned or weighted lever, and has a lower projecting part, which, when in
its closed position, bears against an abutment.
I employ the dog for the purpose of reducing friction, and to lessen the strain
upon the latch, as the strain or pressure would be greater if the latch upon the
armature arm engaged the weighted lever without the employment of intermediate
mechanism.
The abutment and pivotal support for the armature arm are mounted upon a base
or supporting plate, the end of which is formed in a hook, so that all danger of the
engaging pin on the dog escaping by the dog being accidentally turned in the opposite
direction is avoided, and the incline upon the latch portion is such that upon the
weighted lever being raised to its first or normal position, the pin or projection
thereon rides the incline upon the latch portion until it engages the abutment which
causes the dog to turn upon its pivot and its nose to be thrown against the latch
upon the armature arm, and thereby engaged and held.
A rod which engages the armature arm is extended downwardly through the
supporting plate and a spiral spring mounted thereon is held in position by a nut
which may be adjusted to regulate the downward strain of the armature arm as
desired.
This device maintains the lever in its normal position in engagement with or
· preparatory for engagement with the dog. The tension exerted, however, by
the spring is so regulated that it will not overcome the force exerted through the
magnet to turn the armature arm upon its pivot and release the arm when the
current is sent through the coil..
The form of the latch or dog may be modified, the remainder of the apparatus
being substantially the same as first described. In this modified form of construction
the latch or dog is provided with an over-hanging lip, and the dog is pivoted to the
supporting plate or base, instead of being mounted upon the weighted lever as first
described. This construction I find allows more back-lash without danger of the
dog being disengaged from the latch, and any jar which might affect the parts would
operate upon the supporting plate or base part and the latch alike, and the tendency
of disengagement be thereby avoided, and with the dog in a fixed pivotal position,
the certainty of its return to its normal or elevated position when the weighted
lever is raised is greater than if it were compelled to travel with the lever and be
carried to its normal position by engaging the inclined face of the latch portion of
the supporting plate or base and engaging the abutment.
This 11th day of December 1893.

page_text: Improvements in Cut-on valves.
I, CHARLES ARTHUR ALLISON, of 52 Chancery Lane, London, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
(which has been communicated to me from abroad by John Ely Stannard, of
Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America, Engineer), and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters indicate like parts:-
Fig. 1 is a side view with the shell in section, illustrating my invention with the
valve open, and
Fig. 2 is a side view with a part of the shell in section showing the valve.
closed, and
Fig. 3 is a detached view of a modification of a part of the mechanism.
In detail a indicates the valve shell; b a shut-off plug fitting therein; c a portion.
of said plug; d rods connecting the portion of the valve plug with the portion b ;
e a stem; fa plug cock; g an arm mounted upon the plug; ha lever; i a dog;
ja supporting arm; k a catch; and a magnetic coil or electro-magnet.
The object of my invention is to provide a device by the employment of which
the steam, air, gas or water may be immediately shut off and especially to shut off
steam from an engine when in operation, so that when, in the event of an accident
or for other cause, the same may be stopped without the delay occasioned by
communicating with the engineer, and for that purpose I arrange a system of levers
provided with weights or springs so that upon their being released, they will.
operate to close the valve, and thus stop the movement of the engine. Although
the device may be operated by compressed air, a pull, or other devices, I prefer to
operate the device by the employment of an electro-magnet, and to place an
ordinary push button in each room at some convenient place, so that all that
requires to be done when it becomes desirable to stop the engine, is simply to press
the button.
66
In the construction of my device, I prefer to employ what might be termed a
four-way-branch construction." The steam inlet and outlet are indicated by
arrows, and for a shut-off to close the steam passage, I may employ a valve body or
plug, having an opening through it, or I may employ the construction illustrated in
the drawings, the difference between which and the ordinary plug with an opening
for the passage of the steam consisting principally in that all the material excepting
three or four connecting rods d is cut away.
By the employment of this construction, I am enabled to leave the steam-way
practically open, while I at the same time maintain the smaller end or disc c rigidly
in its position, and the opening for the passage of the steam is practically a straight
way opening.
Attached to the end of the shut-off plug 6 I provide the rod or stem e, its office
being to release the valve plug in the desired open position after it has been closed
by the operation of the stem as hereinafter described. The opposite end of the
shell is provided with an opening into which I secure a plug-cock, the interior of
the part into which the plug-cock is secured being preferably provided with a
cone-seat, and the face of the disc c towards said seat being provided with a tapering
plug n to fit within the cone-seat.
9, and
Mounted upon the end of the plug of the plug-cock I arrange the lever
ajacent thereto I mount the lever h, the latter being provided with a weight o and
so arranged that upon the lever h turning upon its pivot, it will be practically

page_text: unobstructed during the first portion of its downward movement, after which it
engages the lever g with sufficient force to turn it and with it the plug, so as to open
the outlet passage through the plug-cock.
The valve is set normally in the position indicated in Fig. 1, and when the plug-
cock for any case is turned to open the passage-way through it, the steam will rush
through the opening or channel in the shell into the chamber formed between the
head of the plug 6 and the inner face of the cap r, thus forcing the valve or plug
towards the plug-cock end, and as the plug-cock is opened, there will be no
resistance against such movement and the plug will be carried in the direction of
the plug-cock until the body portion' b entirely closes the steam passage and escape
of steam through the plug-cock is prevented by the cone shaped valve n entering its
seat and closing the opening into the plug-cock, the pressure of steam operating
to maintain the same tightly upon its seat. It will be readily seen that the
same result obtains whether the plug-cock be opened by one mechanical device
or another.
The appliance illustrated by me for the operation of the plug-cock consists of
a weighted arm h arranged to have free movement after being released for a
part of its downward traverse, and it then engages a pin upon the arm g, so
that the impetus acquired during a portion of the movement of the weight and arm
is utilized for the purpose of moving the lever or arm g, and thereby turning the
plug in the plug-cock.
It will, of course, readily be seen that various other forms of valves may be
utilized and operated for the same purpose as the plug-cock is utilized by me, but I
deem it the simplest form of contrivance, and as the plugs are usually ground tightly
to their seats and do not turn with freedom, I deem it advisable to employ the stored
energy occasioned by the fall of the weighted lever for the purpose of insuring the
positive action of the plug.
For a let-off motion or device, I prefer to employ an electro-magnet or magnetic
coil 7, and arrange above it an armature arm k, upon which is mounted a soft iron
plates, which upon a current of electricity being sent through the coil, will be
drawn towards the core of the coil, and thereby turn the lever k upon its pivot, and
moving the latch-provided end away from the dog i, which dog is pivoted upon
the lever, and has a lower projecting part t, which, when in its closed position,
bears against an abutment u.
I employ the dog i for the purpose of reducing friction, and to lessen the strain
upon the latch, as the strain or pressure would be greater if the latch upon the
arm k engaged the lever without the employment of intermediate mechanism.
The abutment u and pivotal support for the lever k are mounted upon a base or
supporting plate j, the end of which is formed in a hook as shown at j¹, so that all
danger of the engaging pin t on the dog escaping by the dog being accidentally
turned in the opposite direction is avoided, and the incline upon the latch portion j¹
is such that upon the lever being raised to its first or normal position, the pin t
rides the incline upon the latch portion j until it engages the abutment u which
causes the dog to turn upon its pivot and its nose to be thrown against the latch
upon the lever k, and thereby engaged and held.
A rod v, which engages the lever k, is extended downwardly through the plate j
and a spiral spring wo mounted thereon is held in position by a nut which may be
adjusted to regulate the downward strain of the lever k as desired.
This device maintains the lever in its normal position in engagement with or
preparatory for engagement with the dog i. The tension exerted, however, by the
spring wo is so regulated that it will not overcome the force exerted through the
magnet to turn the lever k upon its pivot and release the arm when the current is
sent through the coil.
In Fig. 31 have illustrated a modification in the form of the latch or dog.i, the
remainder of the apparatus being substantially the same as first.described. In the
latter form of construction the latch or dog i is provided with an over-hanging lip,
and the dog is pivoted to the base j, instead of being mounted upon the lever h as

page_text: irst described. This construction I find allows more back-lash without danger
he dog being disengaged from the latch k, and any jar which might affect the parts
would operate upon the base part j and the latch k alike, and the tendency of dis-
engagement be thereby avoided, and with the dog in a fixed pivotal position, the
certainty of its return to its normal or elevated position when the lever his raise...
is greater than if it were compelled to travel with the lever and be carried to its
normal position by engaging the inclined face of the latch portion of the base j and
engaging the abutment u.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination of a suitable shell or valve body, provided with an opening
for the passage of steam, a shut-off plug b, having a portion c arranged therein, a.
passage-way p in the shell to allow the steam to enter the opening between the
screw cap and the plug b, means arranged to open and close the outlet from the
chamber formed between the portion c and the screw capy, whereby the steam upon
the opening of said outlet is allowed to operate to carry the body of the plug across.
the steam-way and close the valve, substantially as and for the purposes stated.
2. The combination of the shell'a, a plug 6 having a disc c arranged therein and
having an opening for the passage of steam between the parts and c, a plug-cock f
mounted in one end of the valve body, a steam-way p formed in the wall of the
valve body at the opposite end portion, a lever g mounted upon the plug, a lever h
pivotally mounted adjacent thereto, a weight arranged upon the lever h, a latch
arranged to hold the lever h in its raised position, and means to move said latch and
release the lever and allow it to fall by gravity and engage the lever g, thereby
turning the plug, substantially as and for the purposes stated.
3. The combination of a valve body a, provided with an inlet and outlet opening,
a plug b having a disc c connected therewith by intermediate rods d and formed with
a part n upon its face, a valve as f opening into the space between the part c and
the screw cap y, a lever g arranged to open the valve when turned, a lever h
mounted adjacent thereto, provided with a weight and arranged to engage the
lever g after having moved downwardly upon its pivot for a part of its traverse, &
latch arranged to maintain the lever in its elevated position, and an electric
appliance arranged to disengage the latch from and allow the lever to fall,
substantially as and for the purposes stated.
4. The combination of the shell a, provided with a steam-way o, a valve plug b,
having the disc c connected thereto by intermediate rods d, a stem e attached at its
g mounted upon
inner end to the plug b, a plug-cock mounted in the shell, a lever
the plug, a lever mounted adjacent thereto, a support j, an electric coil mounted
thereon, a latch k pivotally mounted and arranged with one end to engage the lever h
and its opposite end provided with an armature arranged adjacent to the core of
the coil, a source of electrical energy and conducting wires, substantially as and for
the purposes stated.
5. The combination of the shell a, a valve arranged therein to open and close the
steam-passage, and provided at one end with a cone shaped plug n, a screw-cap y
mounted upon the valve shell, and provided with a cone-seat to receive the
cone-plug p and close the opening, a valve arranged in the screw-cap y, and means
to open said valve, whereby the pressure of the steam operates to move the valve
plug towards the screw-cap y and carry the coue-plug n to its seat, substantially as
and for the purposes stated.
6. The combination of the shell a, provided with a steam-way p, a plug b having
a disc c mounted thereon by means of intermediate rods d, a screw-cap y mounted.
upon said shell, a valve mounted in said cap, a supporting plate having an
abutment u arranged thereon, and the coil / mounted upon the plate j, a lever h
5 arranged to open the valve f, and having a dog i mounted thereon, a latch k pivotally
mounted and arranged to engage the dog and having an armatures mounted

page_text: thereon and situated adjacent to the end of the core in the coil 1, substantially as
and for the purposes stated.
°
7. The combination with a shut-off valve of a lever / automatically operative
when free, a pivotally mounted dog i, a latch k to engage the nose of the dog, and
a projection upon the lever h to engage the recess in the forward edge of the dog,
means to release the lever h, and means to cause it to move when free; said lever h
being arranged to cause the outlet valve f to be opened by its movement substantially
as and for the purposes stated.
Dated this 31st day of July 1801
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.