Improvements in Regulators for Air Compressors.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 30th Mar..
1895
COMPLETE DIUITIATION.
Improvements in Regulators for Air Compressors.
I JAMES CLAYTON of No. 45 York Street in the City of Brooklyn in the
County of Kings and State of New York, United States of America, Engineer
and Machinist 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 improvement relates to that class of regulators for compressors which
consists principally of an automatic relief valve employed between the compressor
and a receiver into which the compressed air or fluid is delivered and stored for
motive power or other purpose, the said valve opening to the atmosphere to relieve
the compressor of the resistance of the compressed air or fluid in the receiver
whenever the pressure of said air or fluid exceeds the maximum desired, and closing
automatically when such pressure is reduced to said maximam, and remaining
closed while such pressure remains at or below the said maximum.
Fig. 1 represents a central vertical section of a regulator embodying my
improvement;
Fig. 2 a section taken transversely to Fig. 1, in the line 2, 2.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both the figures.
A designates a delivery pipe for delivering compressed air from the discharge
chest of the air compressor to the receiver, the said pipe, as represented, com-
municating at its lower end with the compressor, and at its upper end with the
receiver. This pipe A has projecting from it an outlet pipe B, which is open to
the atmosphere, and immediately above the entrance to the pipe B, the said pipe A
bas in it a check valve C, which will open to permit air to pass from the compressor
to the receiver, but will close automatically, and prevent the return of any air from
the receiver.
In the outlet pipe B is a valve casing B', containing the relief valve b,
represented as a puppet valve, which opens upward and is held to its seat, when
closed, by the pressure of air above it, as hereinafter more fully described. The
stem of this valve is prolonged upward, and is, as shown, connected with the
lever D, which works on a fixed fulcrum d, and which is provided with an
adjustable weight D', by which the valve b is loaded. As here represented, the
fulcrum & is supported in a clamp D affixed to the pipe A, and it is guided in
slots a a in the fixed cylinder E E of a motor E E, F F'. The piston F F¹ of
this motor is connected with the said lever, and is acted upon by compressed air
introduced to its cylinder through a pipe G, either from a point in the pipe A,
beyond the check valve C, or from the compressed air receiver to which said pipe
leads. The said motor serves to exert a force on the lever D in the opposite
direction to that exerted by the weight D', and thus to open the valve b.
is
The valve stem is connected with the lever D by a spring box c c', which
consists of a cylindrical box c, slotted for the lever D to pass through it, and a
coiled spring placed within the said box, above the lever. The valve stem
connected with the bottom of the box c below the lever, and projects upward a
little way into the box. The said box has passing through it, and firmly secured
within it, a pin e, which passes through a slot e' in the lever D. Through the top
of the box there is screwed a screw f, between the lower end of which and the
upper end of the valve stem 1, there is a space for play corresponding substantially
The valve b is
with that provided in the slot e in the lever for the pin e.

page_text: represented as having a solid cylindrical head, which is grooved for the passage
of the compressed air from the pipes A and B to the space provided above the said
valve within its casing 6, the said groove serving to admit the compressed air from
the pipe B on to the top of the valve, to hold it down firmly, until lifted by the
operation of the lever D, as hereinafter described.
The motor cylinder E E' has a differential bore, that is to say, its lower part E
has a larger bore than its upper part E'. The lower and upper parts F F of the
piston are fitted to the respective portions E and E' of the cylinder in which they
work. The connection of the lever D with the motor piston is represented as made
by two antifriction rollers gg, which are pivotted by pivots g within the slot h
provided in the said piston for the passage of the lever D through it, the said
rollers being one above and the other below the lever. Between the upper part of
the piston and the head of the cylinder E E', is arranged a spiral spring i, the
pressure of which on the top of the piston is adjusted by a screw, which screws
through the closed head of the said cylinder, and acts upon a cap k, which bears
upon the top of the said spring. The upper part of the piston is made hollow,
to receive the greater portion of the spring i, and serve as a guide thereto.
The pipe G has two branches, one, G¹, leading to the bottom of the motor
cylinder, and the other, G, leading to the upper part of said cylinder, so that
both the top and bottom of the piston are exposed to the pressure of the air in the
receiver or pipe A, the pressure on the bottom of the piston preponderating by
reason of its greater area. The pressure of the spring on the piston is so
adjusted by means of the screw, that the downward pressure produced by the
combined action of the weight. D', the air above the piston, the spring i, and the
air above the valve , when the latter is closed, will be balanced by the upward
pressure of the air upon the bottom of the motor piston, when the air in the
delivery pipe A and the receiver is of the maximum pressure desired.
The spring e, as herein represented, consists of two coil springs, arranged one
within the other, and coiled in opposite directions. The tension of the said spring,
and its pressure on the lever D, is adjusted by a screw cap on the top of the
box c.
The springs c and i are represented as each composed of two coils. An
adjustable stop screw 7 is represented in Fig. 1 applied on the outside of the motor
cylinder, to prevent the lever from being raised higher than is necessary.
While the pressure in the pipe A and the receiver is not above the maximum
desired, the parts remain at rest, with the valve closed.
When the pressure
exceeds this inaximum, the piston F F is caused to rise, and with it the lever D,
but the valve is not immediately opened by the movement of the lever, as the
spring through which the lever acts to raise the valve, is not, in its normal
condition, strong enough to overcome the pressure of the air upon the upper side
of the valve, and consequently there is some lost motion between the lever and the
valve. This lost motion, or upward movement of the lever, without operating
upon the valve, is permitted by the slot el in the lever, until the lever strikes the
lower end of the screw f'in the spring box c, and the continued upward movement
of the lever starts the valve from its seat. As soon as this starting takes place,
the pressure above and below the valve is equalized, and the spring instantly
throws the valve wide open, and makes a free communication through the pipe B
to the atmosphere, from that portion of the pipe A below the check-valve, which
latter is held closed by the pressure in the upper part of the pipe A and the
receiver. The compressor then works without resistance from the air in the
receiver, until the pressure in the latter gets below the maximum desired, when
the combined action of the weight D', the air above the motor piston, and the
spring, overcome the pressure on the bottom of the piston, and allow the lever to
descend, but this descent of the lever D does not at once close the valve, as the
latter is held open by the spring until the lever strikes the top of the stem b',
after which the continued descent of the lever closes the valve.
By the above described connection between the lever and the valve by means of
a spring, the wide opening of the valve, and the free relief of the compressor, is

page_text: made certain, which is not always the case when the connection between the lever
and the valve is made positive and unyielding. With such positive and unyielding
connection, the valve is apt to open but a little way without giving a free relief to
the compressor, its action being more like that of a safety valve.
By properly proportioning the diameters of the upper and lower parts of the
motor cylinder and its piston, and giving a proper strength to the spring i, the
weight D might be dispensed with, the spring being, in such case, the equivalent
of the weight D'. I prefer, however, to use the weight D', as it insures greater
steadiness of operation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination with a pipe provided with a check valve for the delivery of
fluid under pressure from a compressor, of an outlet situated below or inward of
the check valve, and provided with a puppet valve capable of being held to its
seat by the pressure of the delivered fluid, a motor cylinder having two unequal
diameters, and fitted with a piston of corresponding unequal diameters, a spring in
said cylinder acting upon the smaller end of the piston, a pipe with branches for
the introduction to both ends of the said cylinder of the delivered fluid, and a
connection between said motor and said puppet valve, whereby the said piston is
made to operate the said valve for opening said outlet, and the said piston and the
said spring together are made to operate the said valve, for closing said outlet,
substantially as herein set forth.
2. The combination with a pipe for the delivery of fluid under pressure from a
compressor, and an outlet from said pipe provided with a valve capable of being
held to its seat by pressure of the delivered fluid, the said pipe being provided
with a check valve beyond said outlet, of a weight for holding the first named
valve to its seat, a motor to be operated on by the delivered fluid, and acting upon
the weight in a direction-to raise it and open said first named valve, and a spring
forming a connection between said motor and first named valve, for opening the
latter, substantially as herein set forth.
3. The combination with a pipe for the delivery of fluid under pressure from a
compressor, and an outlet from said pipe provided with an outlet valve capable of
being held to its seat by pressure of the delivered fluid, the said pipe being
provided with a check valve beyond said outlet, of a weight for holding said
outlet valve to its seat, a motor to be operated on by the delivered fluid, and
acting upon the weight in a direction to raise it and open said outlet valve, a
spring, and a containing box therefor, through which spring and box the motor
acts upon said outlet valve, and a screw in said box for regulating a lost motion
allowed between said lever and outlet valve, substantially as herein set forth.
4. The combination with a pipe for the delivery of fluid under pressure from
a compressor, and an outlet from said pipe provided with an outlet valve capable
of being held to its seat by pressure of the delivered fluid, the said pipe being
provided with a check valve beyond said outlet, of a weight for holding said
outlet valve to its seat, a motor to be operated on by the delivered fluid, and acting
upon the weight in a direction to raise it and open said outlet valve, a spring
and a containing box therefor, through which spring and box the motor acts
upon said outlet valve, the said box having a screw cap for the adjustment of
said spring, substantially as herein set forth.
5. The combination with the delivery pipe A, provided with a check valve C
for delivering fluid under pressure from a compressor, of the cutlet B opening to
the atmosphere from the pipe A below the said check valve, and provided with
the downwardly closing valve b, the lever D for pressing on said outlet valve, the
motor cylinder EE and its contained piston FF', each having two unequal
diameters, the said piston being connected with said lever, the spring in said
cylinder for pressing on said piston, the pipe G with branches to both ends of the

page_text: cylinder, and the box e with its contained spring c¹, forming a connection between
said lever and said valve b, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set
forth.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.