IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RAISING, FORCING, AND MEASURING LIQUIDS
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Henry Bailey and John
Grindrod at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 16th December 1872.
WC, WILLIAM HENRY BAILEY, trading under the Style or Firm of
John Bailey & Co., of the Albion Works, Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, Brass Founders and Turret Clock Makers, and JOHN
GRINDROD, of the same Place, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RAISING,
FORCING, AND MEASURING LIQUIDS," to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is the construction of an apparatus for
raising and forcing and, when necessary, measuring liquids, which
apparatus shall be automatic in its action and be useful as a boiler
feeder, and for raising and forcing liquids generally.
Our Invention consists of a cylindrical or other suitably shaped
vessel herein-after called the float chamber, containing a float guided
by and working upon a vertical rod suspended from a compound valve
herein-after described. This rod is provided with two stops one at the
bottom and the other near the top of such rod, so that as the float rises .

page_text: or falls in the float chamber by coming in contact with such stops
such float causes the rod upon which it is guided to rise or fall
accordingly, and so works the valves herein-after described in an
automatic manner. This float chamber communicates at the bottom
with an inlet and outlet valve for controlling the direction of the flow
of the liquid, the discharge pipe being carried vertically upwards to a
point above the top of the vessel so as to act as a high level reservoir
for injection purposes, as will be herein-after described. To the top
of this float chamber we attach a valve chamber divided into upper
and lower compartments; the lower one communicating with a steam
supply and the interior of the float chamber, and the upper com-
partment communicating with the vertical liquid discharge pipe herein-
before mentioned beyond the back pressure valve. Each of these
compartments is provided with a valve and valve seating, the valve in
the upper compartment opening downwards, and that in the lower
compartment opening upwards. In order that these two valves may
be operated simultaneously and never be closed at one and the same
time we connect them together by a hollow spindle working through
the partition between the two compartments, and such hollow valve
spindle is extended beyond the valves, both upwards and downwards.
The lower extremity of such hollow spindle being connected to the
vertical rod herein-before mentioned for guiding the float, and having
a number of small holes in it, thereby forming a communication
between the interior of such hollow valve spindle and the float chamber
before mentioned. The upper extremity of this hollow spindle works
through a stuffing box into the atmosphere, where it is jointed to
one arm of a double armed lever which oscillates upon a fixed centre,
whilst the other arm of such lever is weighted, and so counterbalances.
the entire weight of the valves, valve spindle, and guide rod, of the
float. This upper extremity of the valve spindle is also perforated at
a point above the upper valve, so that when such valve is open a
communication is also opened between the upper compartment of the
valve chamber (through the hollow valve spindle) and the interior of
.

page_text: time closing the valve in the upper compartment of the valve chamber.
The steam being thus admitted on to the surface of the liquid in the
float chamber forces the same through the outlet back pressure valve
up the vertical discharge pipe into the boiler or other receptacle, the
float meanwhile falling along with the liquid until the float chamber
is nearly empty, when such float coming against the lower stop on the
vertical guide rod by the action of its weight thereupon closes the steam
valve and opens the valve in the upper compartment of the valve
chamber, so allowing a small quantity of the water passing to the
boiler or other receptacle to return down the hollow valve spindle
through the small perforations into the upper part of the float chamber,
condensing the steam therein and so forming a vacuum for drawing
the liquid from the source of supply through the inlet back pressure
valve for refilling the float chamber until the float again comes in
contact with the upper stop on the vertical rod and so reverses the
position of the valves, when the same action is repeated. It will be
apparent that the valves in this apparatus may be actuated from the
outside of the float chamber, in which case the float is dispensed
with.
By connecting counting mechanism to one arm of the oscillating
counterbalance lever and knowing the capacity of the float chamber
the quantity of liquid passing through can be measured and recorded,
and when the apparatus is used for draining and is required to act
automatically we provide the steam supply valve with a tumbler action
consisting of a pulley carrying a chain or cord, one end of which is
attached to a float in the receptacle to be drained and the other after
passing over the pulley to a counterbalance weight. This pulley carries
two studs projecting from its side which operate alternately upon a
tumbler lever so connected to the steam valve that the stud in action
is allowed to bring such lever to a vertical position by the rising of the
float without moving the valve, but immediately upon its falling over
the centre such valve is thrust open and there maintained until the
liquid is sufficiently reduced, when the steam supply is closed by a
similar reverse action.