IMPROVED APPARATUS DRO A MYSTA A DVIGALAXY ON men Dan 117 CD " FOR REGULATING THE ADMISSION OF THE FEED WATER TO STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robinson, of Guide Bridge, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS
DRO A MYSTA
A DVIGALAXY ON men Dan 117
CD "
FOR REGULATING THE ADMISSION OF THE FEED WATER TO STEAM BOILERS."
Scaled the 15th September 1871, and dated the 16th March 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robinson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th March 1871.
I, WILLIAM ROBINSON, of Guide Bridge, in the County of Lan-
caster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE ADMISSION OF THE FEED WATER TO STEAM
BOILERS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to cause the rising or falling of the
level of the water in the boiler to close or open (more or less) a tap
situated on the feed water supply pipe, so as to decrease or increase the
supply of water in the proportion required. This I propose to do by
placing a hollow copper ball or other hollow vessel outside the boiler at

page_text: or near the water level, and so connecting the same to the steam space
above and the water space below that the rising or falling of the water
shall fill or empty the ball or vessel more or less, and consequently
diminish or increase its weight. This ball or vessel is counterbalanced
by a weight and chain passing over a grooved pulley, and is so mounted
that it can rise or fall as its weight varies, and being connected to the
tap on the feed-water supply pipe it regulates the feed water accordingly.
The ball or other hollow vessel may be arranged so as to rise and fall
either by attaching the connecting tubes to it and to the boiler by means
of socket joints, or the connecting tubes may be rigid, and their ends
provided with long glands or stuffing boxes, in which two tubes fixed
one to the top and the other to the bottom of the ball or vessel work.
The shaft on which the grooved pulley is keyed has at one end a crank
connected by a link to the feed-water cock, so that as the hollow ball or
vessel rises or falls the partial revolution of the said pulley caused by the
movement of the weighted chain attached to the ball closes or opens
the said cock more or less. On this shaft which passes over the top of
the boiler is also mounted a cam placed immediately beneath the lever
of the safety valve, so that any undue change in the level of the water,
(whether upwards or downwards,) will cause the cam to raise the safety
valve and blow off steam, thus calling the attention of the engineer at
the same time that it acts upon the feed-water cock.
When a series of boilers are placed side by side on the same level this
cam shaft may extend along the whole range, and have a cam under
cach safety valve lever. The hollow ball or vessel is also provided with
a discharge tap, by opening which at any time the engineer can empty
the ball, causing it to ascend and lift the safety valve levers, and show
that the valves are in proper working order.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robinson in the Great Scal Patent 3
Office on the 16th September 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBINSON, of Guide Bridge, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of March, in the year a

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robinson, Her special licence that
I, the said William Robinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Robinson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
REGULATING THE ADMISSION OF THE FEED WATER TO STEAM BOILERS,” upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robinson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robinson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
The object of this Invention is to cause the rising or falling of the
level of the water in the boiler to close or open (more or less) a tap
situated on the feed-water supply pipe so as to decrease or increase the
supply of water in the proportion required. This I propose to do by
placing a hollow copper ball or other hollow vessel outside the boiler at
or near the water level and so connecting the same to the steam space
above and the water space below that the rising or falling of the water
shall fill or empty the ball or vessel more or less, and consequently
diminish or increase its weight. This ball or vessel is counterbalanced
by a weight and chain passing over a grooved pulley, and is so mounted
that it can rise or fall as its weight varies, and being connected to the
tap on the feed-water supply pipe it regulates the feed water accordingly.
The ball or other hollow vessel may be arranged so as to rise. and fall
either by attaching the connecting tubes to it and to the boiler by means
of socket joints, or the connecting tubes may be of sufficient length to be
flexible, and thus dispense with the socket joints. The shaft on which

page_text: the grooved pulley is keyed has at one end a crank connected by a link
to the feed-water cock, so that as the hollow ball or vessel rises or falls,
the partial revolution of the said pulley caused by the movement of the
weighted chain attached to the ball closes or opens the said cock more
or less. On this shaft which passes over the top of the boiler is also
mounted a cam placed immediately beneath the lever of the safety valve,
so that any undue lowering of the levil of the water will cause the cam
to raise the safety valve and blow off steam or to sound a whistle, thus
calling the attention of the engineer at the same time that it acts upon
the feed-water cock.
When a series of boilers are placed side by side on the same level,
this cam shaft may extend along the whole range and have a cam under
each safety valve lever. The hollow ball or vessel is also provided with
a discharge tap by opening which at any time the engineer can empty
the ball or other vessel causing it to ascend and lift the safety-valve
levers and show that the valves are in proper working order.
In order that this my said Invention may be the more readily seen
and understood I have hereunto annexed a Drawing shewing the con-
struction and application of my improved apparatus for regulating the
admission of the feed water to steam boilers, similar letters marked
thereon being used to denote similar parts in all the views.
Fig. 1 is an end view and Fig. 2 a side view of part of a steam boiler
(drawn to a scale of about half an inch to the foot), shewing one modi-
fication of my improved feed-water regulating apparatus applied thereto;
Fig. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of part of Figs. 1 and 2 (drawn
upon a scale of about quarter full size), in order to shew its construction
more perfectly; and Fig. 4 is an end sectional view of Fig. 3 through
the line a-b.
Fig. 5 is a front view of another modification of my improved apparatus
(drawn to a scale of about one inch to the foot), shewing also its appli-
cation to the purpose of sounding a whistle in case of undue lowering of
the water in a steam boiler.
A represents the steam boiler and B the side wall of the boiler house,
to which is affixed by bolts, or in any other convenient manner, a
frame C, constructed by preference of cast iron. This frame is designed
to receive the hollow elongated vessel or cylinder D, (constructed of
copper or other suitable material,) which is mounted therein at or near

page_text: the water level of the boiler A, and is in internal communication with
the steam and water space of the boiler, as herein-after described.
The method of connecting the vessel D with the boiler is seen more
clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, in which E is a socket having ground ball or
conical joints at each extremity, one swivelling in the end of the pipe F,
which is held steadily in position by the bolt and nut G, and is in
internal communication with the steam space of the boiler A; and the
other swivelling in the end of the pipe EI, which passes through the
front of the frame C, and is in internal communication with the water
space of the boiler. Through this socket E two passages are formed, one
marked I opening into the pipe J, which connects such socket with
the upper part of the vessel D, and is continued inside therein to the
far extremity, as illustrated, so admitting the steam pressure of the
boiler to such vessel; and the other passage marked K, opening into
the pipe L, which connects such socket with the lower part of the near
extremity of the vessel D, as illustrated, thus admitting the water from
the boiler. Any undue expansion or contraction in the socket and
pipe H is provided against by the flat spring M affixed to the inside of
the frame C by the bolt N, the nut O screwed upon the pipe H pressing
against the spring, and thus rendering the socket joints perfectly tight.
The vessel D is thus practically an extension of the boiler, and the water
within it is of the same level as that in the boiler, as seen in Fig. 2.
The weight of the vessel D is counterbalanced by a weight P attached
to a cord or chain Q, which passes over a grooved pulley R, and has its
other extremity affixed to a rod S linked to the vessel D. This rod may
be mounted and adjusted for actuating the handle or lever arm T of the
whistle U, and thus as such rod rises the whistle may be sounded, thereby
giving an indication that the the water is too low. The rod V, linked
to the bottom of the vessel D (as seen in Figs. 1 and 2), is connected to
the lever or handle W of the three-way cock X on the feed-water pipe Y,
so that as the vessel D rises the rod V lifts the lever or handle W, and
so opens the communication between the feed-water pipe Y and the
boiler, and thus allows the feed water to enter. When the vessel D is
in an horizontal position, and the lever arm W depressed (as illustrated),
the feed water from the pump may be arranged to flow into a cistern
through the pipe Z. If it be desired to raise the safety valve in case of
undue lowering of the water in the boiler the cord Q may be lengthened,
as shewn dotted in Fig. 2, and be passed over a second pulley a mounted
upon a shaft b, working in bearings depending from the ceiling of the

page_text: boiler house, or arranged in any other convenient manner, which shaft
passes beneath the weighted lever c of the safety valve d, and by having
an eccentric or cam e formed upon such shaft, immediately beneath
such safety valve lever c, the partial relovution of such shaft (in con-
sequence of the lowering of the water and rising of the vessel D), would
cause such safety valve lever to be slightly raised, thus blowing off
steam, and affording another method of raising an alarm in case of low
water. When a series of boilers are placed side by side on the same level
and connected together, the shaft b may extend along the whole range,
and have eccrentric or cam beneath each safety valve lever, and thus
one regulating appartus may serve for regulating the admission of feed
water to several boilers. Upon the pipe H, which supplies the water
from the boiler A to the vessel D, a three-way cock f may be mounted
for closing the communication between the boiler A. and the vessel D,
and opening a communication between the vessel D and the atmosphere
through the nozzle g, and thus such cock would serve tlie purpose of a.
test cock by allowing the water to be discharged at pleasure out of the
vessel D through the nozzle g, and thus testing whether the apparatus
is in proper working order or not.
The action of this improved regulating apparatus may be thus
described The water in the boiler A and vessel D being always of
the same level it will readily apparent that if the water in the boiler
lowers that the vessel D will become lighter, and being then over-
balanced by the weight P will consequently rise to the position indicated
by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, so opening the feed-water cock X,
sounding the whistle U, or raising the safety valve lever c, as herein-
before described.
This improved form of regulator may be used in conjunction with a
steam pump injector, or other apparatus for feeding steam boilers, by
being applied to open and close the cock or valve for the admission of
steam to work such apparatus according as the level of the water in the
boiler rises or falls; or in situations where the pump is worked by a
strap or gearing the strap may be moved on and off the fast and loose
pulleys by the strap fork being connected to the vessel D, or in the case
of gearing by the clutch box being actuated by the vessel D.
It will be readily apparent that there are my methods of applying
this regulator to the opening of cocks or valves, according to their
situation above or below the vessel D, without departing from the

page_text: principle of the Invention, and that this regulator may be fixed in any
position with regard to the steam boiler, provided that the vessel D is
arranged to work at or about the working level of the water in the
boiler, the steam pipe F and water pipe H being extended and bent
accordingly. Instead of counterbalancing the weight of the vessel D
by means of a weight passing over a pulley it may be accomplished by
means of a lever, as seen in Fig. 5, working upon a fulcrum / insido
the frame C, the shorter arm of such lever being connected to the
vessel D by the link j, and the longer arm k of such lever being pro-
vided with a counterbalance weight 7. This arrangement also enables
the whistle m to be fixed inside the frame C, and to be actuated by the
extremity of the longer arm of such lever, which is forked so as to clip
the handle of the whistle for the purpose, a further advantage being
that the apparatus is thus rendered more compact, and is capable of
being inserted bodily in a cavity formed in the wall of the boiler house
or other apartment in which it is desirable to fix the apparatus. In
some positions where space is no object the vessel D, instead of being
connected to the socket E by the pipes J and L, may be connected
direct to the steam pipe F and water pipe H, provided that such pipes
are extended in length sufficientely to be flexible, and so to allow the
vessel D to rise and fall as before.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
my said Invention, together. with the best methods with which I am
acquainted for carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details, relative
proportions or dimensions of the varieous parts of my improved regulating
apparatus, as the same may be considerabely varied without departing
from the Invention; but what I claim is,-
First. The use and application of a counterbalanced hollow vessel of
any convenient form, mounted outside a steam boiler at or about the
working level of the water contained therein, communicating with the
water and steam space thereof, and operating substantialy as and for
the purposes described and illustrated on the accompanying Drawings.
2nd. The peculiar construction and adaptation of socket joint and
method of adjusting the same to provide against expansion and con-
traction, and rendering the same perfectly steam and water tight, as
and for the purposes described and illustrated on the accompanying
Drawing.

page_text: 3rd. The general arrangement and combination of apparatus for
regulating the admission of the feed water to steam boilers, and for
giving a warning in case of low water, as and for the purposes described
and illustrated on the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robinson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifthteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Agent,
71, Market Street,
Manchester.
WILLIAM (L.S.) ROBINSON.