Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Jan., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 19th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 15:h Jan., 1889
THOMAS DALE Engineer 200 High street Kirkcaldy, N.B. do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved combination of valves, rods, & floats for
regulating the admission of feed Water into Steam Boilers automatically. A double
seated valve is placed in the branch or pipe conducting the feed water into the Boiler,
this Valve is connected by means of a rod, having a screw upon it, to a Float inside
Boiler, by which the Valve is regulated. The valve is also connected to a spindle &
hand wheel by which the position of the Valve in relation to the Float is altered so that
the height of water in Boiler may be varied at pleasure.
the
Or the Screw may be upon the Spindle which has the hand wheel upon it, or,
Valve may be of the cylindrical type or of the piston type, and the float may be
connected to rod or valve by means of levers or direct. A combination of the above
described Automatic Feed regulating Valve is. made with a safety Valve or alarm
whistle so arranged that the height of water is regulated outside Boiler and the
Steam released or alarm sounded should the water exceed the working limits of the
Float.

page_text: THOMAS DALE 200 High Street Kirkcaldy Consulting Engineer 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 :-
My said invention relate to improvements in valves for admitting feed water to
Steam Boilers under pressure automatically, that is to say, by my improvements
hereinafter described, valves may be so constructed & combined with an arrangement
of levers & floats as to dispense with the usual regulation by hand so far as maintaining
the water at a normal level in the Boiler is concerned & so far as to keep the water at
a constant level automatically or by their own action as long as a continuous supply
of water is maintained by means of a force pump or otherwise.
In order that these improvements may be properly understood I append hereto
4 sheets of explanatory drawings to be hereinafter referred to in particularly describing
the said improvements. Sheet 1, Figure 1, of the accompanying drawings is a hori-
zontal section of a feed valve in which A is an ordinary check valve which may or
may not be combined with the apparatus at pleasure, B is the automatic valve, this is
provided round its circumference with diagonal slots or openings, C is a casing for
this valve having diagonal slots to correspond with those on the valve B, the centres
of the valve B at each end are attached to the body of the valve by arms having room
between them for the water to pass freely, the eye of the outer centre is screwed with
a quick thread, the inner centre has a square eye, D is a spindle passing through a
stuffing box & having on one end a screw corresponding with & passing into the outer
centre of valve B, the other end of spindle outside stuffing box is provided with a
handwheel E which may be fixed in any position by the thumbscrew F, G is a
perforated pipe for distributing the feed water in the Boiler & H is a rod revolving
freely in the socket I, the rod H is actuated by a float J which is attached to a lever L
& on the opposite side of this lever there is a counterbalance weight K.
Now the action of this valve is as follows-The water being at the normal level in
the Boiler & the float J being at the surface of the water while a full supply of water
is being pumped into Boiler, if the water were to rise too high the rising of the ball
would turn the rod H which would turn the valve B & the slotted openings would pass
from being opposite the corresponding openings in the casing C to a part of the casing
having no openings, in other words the valve would close & prevent a further supply of
water passing. The celerity of this action is increased by the slots being diagonal
& by the action of the screw on the end of the stationary spindle D which causes the
valve B to move endways when it revolves. Upon the water in the Boiler falling, the
float falls & reopens the valve B & readmits the flow of feed water. The action of the
valve B is not in the least affected by any degree of pressure. There is moreover an
additional use in the spindle D with its handwheel E, that is to say the level of the
water in the Boiler may be regulated by their means at pleasure & the apparatus set so

page_text: as to maintain the water in the Boiler at any level desired. No automatic feed arrange-
ment is perfect without this provision as it frequently happens that an attendant before
leaving his Boiler at night finds it necessary to fill the Boiler above the normal level
so as to allow for evaporation & loss during the night & that the water may not be too
low in the Boiler in the morning. The screw D & handwheel E also provide for the
adjustment of the apparatus after it is fixed in the Boiler & for its adjustment also after
the working parts become worn.
The action of the valve as controlled by the stationary spindle will be as follows
namely.
The diagonal slots in the valve B are made so that when the float J rises they are
closed more rapidly by being moved end ways on the screwed end of spindle D; now
it will be seen that if the spindle D is moved in the same direction as the valve, this
motion will be counteracted & the float will have to continue rising until the spindle
is fixed & the valve allowed to close. In this manner therefore, by turning the
hand wheel E fixing it the normal or working level of the water in the Boiler may be
altered. An index is formed on the face of hand wheel indicating the level of the water
in the boiler & a stop S is made upon the handwheel to prevent its being moved far
enough in either direction to affect the free & proper working of the valve Sheet 2
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a horizontal section of a valve for the same
purpose in all respects as that already described A is an ordinary check feed valve,
B is the automatic valve of double beat equilibrium type the other letters correspond
with the same letters on the same parts of the apparatus described on Sheet No. 1.
Now the manner in which this arrangement will work will be as follows-When
the water is at its normal level in the Boiler the valve B being adjusted to admit a
proper supply of water to the Boiler, should the water fall in the Boiler the float will
fall & cause the valve B to revolve, it will then travel up the quick multiple thread
upon the stationary spindle D & open further to admit a larger supply of water. When
the water rises in the Boiler the reverse action will take place & the valve will close
& so the water will be maintained at an equal level. As the normal level of the water
in the Boiler depends upon the position of the stationary spindle D it may be altered
so as to be higher or lower as desired by adjusting the position of the handwheel E
which is provided with index all as for the the purposes already described. Sheet 3,
Figures 1 & 2 represent an automatic feed valve with float, all for the purposes already
described but of different construction.
A is an ordinary check feed valve, B is a double beat equilibrium valve having a
hollow spindle screwed internally at one end & square inside at the other end or made
with fixed feather or otherwise, so as to slide upon the end of spindle D without
turning. His a rod screwing into end of valve B, G is a perforated pipe for
distributing water inside Boiler, J is a float, K is a balance weight & L & L 1 are
levers.
The action of this valve is as follows When the float J rises the rod H is moved
endways by the levers L & L 1 & carries with it the double beat valve B so closing it
& preventing more than the required quantity of water entering the Boiler after the
float J has risen to its normal level. By turning the handwheel E the valve may be
opened so as to cause the float J to rise higher before the valve B is closed or it
turned in the opposite direction the position of the valve may be altered so that the
float on rising will close the valve earlier. By this means the normal level of the
water may be adjusted by the handwheel E to suit the requirements of the attendant
or to take up any wear in the working parts.
Sheet 3, Figure 3 represents a modification of this arrangement in which a separate
automatic valve may be dispensed with & the ordinary check valve made adjustable
by means of levers & floats. A represents a check valve, H is a rod connected by
levers & floats as above described in connection with Fig. 1 or by any other suitable
arrangement G is a perforated pipe for distributing water inside boiler. There is
formed upon, or fixed to, the end of rod H a tapered piece B, this slides upon &
may be dove tailed into the corresponding piece B1 which may be fixed to or formed
upon the end of a spindle which works in a stuffing box & is drawn in or out by the

page_text: hand wheel E which is fitted with internal screw & revolves in the bracket N. The
tapered piece B1 slides in a dove tailed groove formed upon the cover of check
valve Q. This dove tailed piece in the cover may be made loose & fixed by means of
a bolt. In another arrangement the tapered piece B may slide in a dove tailed groove
in the piece connected with the cover without the intervention of the tapered piece B1
& the piece connected with the cover may be loose & connected with a spindle &
handwheel for fixing the required adjustment. In this way the taper being on the
upper side a flat surface will be presented to the top of check valve.
The action of the arrangement shown in figure 3 is as follows.
The rod H is made to move in the direction of the arrow upon the rising of the
float & when it does so the tapered piece B will slide upon the tapered piece B 1 &
the lower side of it will descend & close the valve A so preventing a further inflow
of water.
When the float descends the rod H will be moved in a direction opposite to that of
the arrow, the tapered piece will be drawn back & the lower surface of it will rise
enabling the check valve A to open. By this means the level of water in the Boiler
will be kept level by means of the float.
The vertical position of the tapered piece B can be adjusted by moving the tapered
piece B 1 on end of spindle D either in or out, so as to allow the check valve A to
rise more or less & so regulate the normal level of water in the Boiler making it
either higher or lower as required. The check valve A may also be closed at any
time by means of handwheel E which upon being turned in the proper direction will
move in the spindle D & cause the tapered piece B 1 to push down the tapered piece B
upon the top of check valve, thus closing it. The advantages of this arrangement
are obvious because in consequence of the tapered pieces being connected together by
dove tailed grooves & the upper tapered piece connected in the same manner to the
cover of valve, they present a solid block to receive the blow of the check valve A
on rising at each stroke of the Pump, which blow is very considerable & because an
even & horizontal surface is always presented to the top of check valve A upon
rising & also by means of the double tapered piece the valve A is always capable of
easy adjustment for the purpose of regulating the level of the water in the Boiler &
of taking up the wear of the working parts from time to time. This arrangement
also admits of the removal of the cover of valve so that the perforated pipe can be
cleaned out without going inside Boiler.
Instead of the floats of the form shown on sheets 1. 2 & 3 stone floats with levers.
& balance weights may be substituted..
Sheet 4 shows another modification of the arrangement of automatic feed valve &
shows it also combined with a high & low water alarm or safety valve.
In this arrangement A is an ordinary check feed valve B is an equilibrium double
beat valve, H is a rod actuating the double beat valve; G is a perforated pipe for
distributing the water, L 1 is a lever giving motion to the rod H, J1 is a float for
regulating the level of the water in the Boiler, S is a screwed spindle supporting
the float J1 which is connected to lever L1 by passing through the eye in the end of
it with two jamb nuts. The spindle S is supported upon the lever L2, the fulcrum
of which is at F & upon the other end is the balance Hoat J 2; J3 is a low water
float; The spindle S is provided at top with a square socket in which works the
square end of the spindle D which passes through the stuffing box & can be made to
revolve outside of Boiler by means of handwheel E; when it revolves it actuates the
index & this shows to the attendant the position of float J 1 in the Boiler, that is to
say indicates the level of water in the Boiler.
A piston valve may be substituted for a double beat valve in all the hereinbefore
mentioned arrangements.
To explain the action of this apparatus we will suppose that the stone float J 1 is at
the normal level of the water in the Boiler with the valve B open sufficiently to admit
Should the
as much water as is being evaporated under normal conditions.
evaporation be increased & the water in the Boiler fall below the normal level the
float J will descend & by means of the lever L1 & the rod H open the valve B to

page_text: admit more water. Should the evaporation in the Boiler cease & and the water rise
above its normal level the float will rise & close the valve B.
Should it be desired to alter the normal level of the water in the Boiler, it can be
done by turning the spindle S which is free to revolve in the socket M by means of
the hand wheel E thus moving the float J 1 up or down, X is a rod communicating at
the top with either a safety valve or alarm whistle with which this automatic feed
apparatus may be combined, the bottom of spindle X is provided with a slot through
which the lever L 2 works & to the bottom of which is attached a counterpoise weight
partially balancing the stone J 3.
The 3 floats J 1J 2 &J 3 are in these circumstances supposed to be properly balanced.
Now should the water by any contingency fall below the level of stone J 3 the increased
weight of this stone will cause the lever L2 to descend at that end & it will rise upon
the rod X & lift Safety Valve or blow Alarm.
The same action will take place should the water by any contingency rise to the
level of float J 2.
Having thus fully described my said improvements & shown how the same may be
advantageously carried into practico I claim
First The particular form of cylindrical valve on Sheet No. 1.
Second-The arranging & combining together of this valve with lever & float in
the manner & for the purpose lierein before described.
Third The combining of a stationary spindle, having a quick thread on end, with
the valves described on sheets Nos. 1. 2. & 3 for the purpose of adjusting them &
combining this screwed spindle with handwheel and index, all in the manner & for
the purposes hereinbefore described.
Fourth-The arranging & combining a double boat valve, lever, float & screw as
described on sheet No. 2 for the purposes indicated.
Fifth The arranging & combining together of levers, floats & double beat valve
& adjusting spindle & handwheel as hereinbefore described & shown on sheet
No. 3 Figures 1 & 2.
Sixth The employment of two or more tapered pieces in connection with
float for regulating a check feed valve automatically & adjusting same outside
Boilers.
Seventh Connecting the tapered pieces regulated by float, where only one is
used, to an attachment to a spindle & hand-wheel in such a way as to remain in
contact with it & making the tapered side uppermost so that the surface presented to
the top of check valve is level.
Eighth The arranging & combining together of levers & floats with double beat
valve as shown on sheet No. 4.
Ninth The combining of this arrangement with one for indicating high & low
water level & for actuating a Safety Valve or Alarm Whistle.
Tenth The fitting of an external apparatus with wheel & index for adjusting
position of floats in connection with automatic feed valves as in the manner & for the
purposes hereinbefore described.
In witness whereof I the said Thomas Dale, have hereunto set my hand and scal
this Eighteenth day of October in the year of our Lord, One thousand eight