IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George William Ede at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th January 1877..
GEORGE WILLIAM EDE, of Little Gray's Inn Lane, in the County of Middlesex.
" IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES."
This Invention has reference to what are commonly known as "ball valves," that
is to say, valves which are made to open and shut off a supply of water or other
liquid through the agency of a floating ball. As these valves are ordinarily made
they have, when shut, to contend with and resist the pressure of the incoming
water, but the object of this Invention is to construct valves in such a manner that
when the valve is shut any continuous pressure from the source of supply will tend
to keep it tight.
The Invention consists of several modifications, of which the following is a
description :-
Firstly. In respect to valves which are applied to a service entering at or near
the top of the cistern. In this case the shell of the valve is made with a chainber
having an inlet and outlet on the same side, placed one above the other, but
separated by a flange or diaphragm having in the centre an orifice, on the top edge
of which is the valve scat. In the bottom of the shell is a hole, through which
works a spindle; to the upper part of this spindle is attached the valve, made
hollow on its under side, so as to receive a packing of india-rubber. The upper
part of the valve has a guide pin which slides up and down a recess cast in the
cover of the shell, the said cover being either screwed into the shell or attached to
it by flanges and independent screws. To the opposite side of the inlet and outlet
a jawed fulcrum is cast on the shell, and the ball lever is pivotted thereto; the long
end of the lever being fixed to the ball, while the short end presses against the
projecting bottom end of the valve spindle. When the cistern is empty the ball
will hang downwards and keep the valve open, but as the incoming water raises
the ball so does the valve descend until it reaches its seat, when whatever pressure
the supply of water may afford is exerted on the back of the valve so as to force it
to its seat, and thus keep the valve tight. By a proper adjustment of the length
of lever or weight of ball the valve may be made so that it will not open again
until the pressure from the main is removed, or it may be so arranged that on the
lowering of the water in the cistern a fresh supply will be admitted.
Secondly. In regard to valves suitable for use where the service is at or near the
bottom of the cistern a modification of the foregoing is requisite, and one of the
ID 17

page_text: two following forms is necessary:-In the first of these modifications an inlet
chamber is screwed. to the service; the shell of this chamber has its inlet at the.
bottom and its outlet at the side; and between the two there is an internal flange
or diaphragm, in the centre, of which there is an orifice, the upper inner edge
whereof forms a valve seat. The valve is made to fit the shell loosely, but has both
its upper and under side packed with india-rubber. The top of this chamber is fitted
with a cover having an orifice also in its centre, the lower and inner edge of which
To the outlet
forms a valve seat; the valve therefore is placed between two seats.
of the chamber is connected another chamber with an inlet near the bottom and
an outlet near the top, but on opposite sides; between these, too, there is an
internal flange or diaphragm having a valve seat on its lower and inner edge, and
furnished with a valve and spindle of the same kind as that first described but
turned upside down. That part of the spindle pressed upon by the ball lever in
the first case is now upwards, and is attached by a rod or chain either to a simple
floating ball or to a lever pivotted at one of its ends to the side of the cistern and
having a ball float at the other. In this case when the cistern is empty the ball
will have descended and with it the valve, as soon as the water "comes on" it will
force the valve in the first chamber against the upper valve seat and flow through
the second chamber until by the rising of the ball the valve in the second chamber
is closed, when the pressure exerted by the incoming water will press upon the
under side of the valve and keep it tight. As soon as the pressure is removed by
the supply being shut off at the main the valve first mentioned as belonging to. the
first chamber will fall upon the lower seat and prevent the water in the cistern from
returning to the main.
The third arrangement consists of a combination of the two previous arrange-
ments in one shell or general chamber, and is adapted to where the service enters
at or near the bottom of the cistern. The shell has an inlet and outlet on opposite
sides, the one being placed above the other; internally the shell is divided by a
flange or partition with an orifice in its centre, both the upper and lower edges of
which form valve seats. Through this orifice passes a spindle, which works in a
guide at the bottom of the shell and through a hole in the cover. To the lower
part of the spindle is fixed a valve packed with india-rubber, as before described;
and to the upper part of the spindle is fixed a disc having an edge to form a seat.
Between the valve first mentioned and the seat just alluded to is a valve having
both its top and bottom sides packed with india-rubber, but made to slip freely up
and down the spindle. To the upper outside part of the spindle a leaden or other
weight may be fixed, and to the top of the spindle a rod or chain for attachment to
the ball float. When the cistern is empty the lower valve will fall and open a
communication with the inlet, and as soon as the water "comes on
its pressure
will drive the upper valve against its top seat, thereby allowing free ingress for the
water to the cistern. As the water rises in the cistern so will the ball float, which
being attached to the valve spindle will raise the lower valve until it touches its
seat, when a further flow of water to the cistern will cease; the pressure however
from the water in the main will be exerted on the under side of the valve, and thus
keep it tight. At the same time the upper valve will have fallen upon its seat,
and so prevent a return of water to the main and the possibility of the lower valve
having to resist the pressure caused by the head of water in the cistern.
"