proved Valve Cistern Apparatus, applicable for Feeding Boilers and for other purposes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 15th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 17th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Improved Valve Cistern Apparatus, applicable for Feeding Boilers
and for other purposes.
I, MICHAEL MARY BROPHY, of the firm of James Slater and Company, of
251, High Holborn, in the County of London, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows :—
My invention relates to an improved apparatus chiefly designed for use as a
boiler-feeder but also applicable for use as an automatic flushing apparatus, or as a
steam trap.
For this
In carrying out my invention I employ a closed chamber or box having an inlet
and an outlet for the water and an inlet for steam from the boiler. These inlets
and also the outlet are provided with valves, the water inlet valve being normally
open and the steam inlet and water outlet normally closed, except when water is
being discharged into the boiler in which case the two last mentioned valves are
opened and the first mentioned closed. These valves which are advantageously
dise valves are operated by a lever carrying a float or ball at its outer or free end,
and I provide for maintaining the valves in their respective positions during the
filling of the box to the desired level and the discharge of its contents.
purpose I advantageously employ an independent lever, one end of which carries a
ball or float which raises the said independent lever as the water rises, while the
other or pivotted end of the said lever is provided with a cam-shaped catch or
projection which normally is in engagement with an arm or extension projecting
from the valve-lever but which, when the independent lever has been raised to a
given extent, is moved out of engagement with the said arm or extension, whereby
the valve-lever is free to move under the action of its Hoat to open the steam
inlet and water outlet valves to their full extent and to close the water inlet
valve.
In conjunction with the free end of the valve-lever I arrange a bar provided
with a series of ratchet-teeth, the said bar being pivotted at its lower end in
such a manner that the toothed portion of the said bar will lie in the path
through which the end of the valve-lever passes when it is released by the
catch on the independent lever, the said end of the valve-lever being suitably
shaped to engage with the ratchet-teeth so that, when the valve-lever is at the
upper part of its movement its end is in engagement with the rack, thereby
maintaining the valves in position for the discharge of the contents of the box.
At or adjacent to the end of the independent lever is an arm which, when the
said independent lever has returned to its lowermost position, owing to the dis-
charge of the contents of the box, acts upon the said rack to move it away
from the valve-lever thus allowing the latter to fall to reverse the position of
the valves.
The water outlet is at such a level that a sufficient quantity of water always
remains in the bottom of the box to prevent the float on the valve-lever from
being damaged by falling.
When the apparatus is to be used in conjunction with boilers working under high
pressure I advantageously arrange the valves or their spindles in conjunction with
Hexible diaphragms to prevent the said valves from being pressed so tightly against
their seats as to prevent their being operated by the float.
When my apparatus is to be used as an automatic flushing apparatus or as a
team trap I dispense with the steam inlet and its valve, and also with the valve of
he water inlet, except when in the case of a steam trap several inlet pipes are

page_text: No text detected.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Valve Cistern Apparatus, applicable for Feeding Boilers
and for other purposes.
1, MICHAEL MARY BROPHY, of the firm of James Slater and Company, of
251, High Holborn, in the County of London, Engineers, 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 invention relates to an improved apparatus chiefly designed for use as a
boiler-feeder but also applicable for use as an automatic flushing apparatus, or as a
steam trap.
In carrying out my invention I employ a closed chamber or cistern having an
inlet and an outlet for the water and an inlet for steam from the boiler. These
inlets and also the outlet are provided with valves, the water inlet valve being
normally open and the steam inlet and water outlet normally closed, except when
water is being discharged into the boiler in which case the two last mentioned
valves are opened and the first mentioned closed. The steam inlet and water outlet
valves which are advantageously disc valves are operated by a lever carrying a
float or ball at its outer or free end, and I provide for maintaining the said valves
in their respective positions during the filling of the cistern to the desired level and
the discharge of its contents. For this purpose I advantageously employ an
independent lever, one end of which carries a ball or float which raises the said
independent lever as the water rises, while the other or pivotted end of the said
lever is arranged to operate bars provided with teeth, with which a projection on
the free end of the valve-lever is designed to engage to maintain the valves in the
required positions.
When the apparatus is to be used in conjunction with boilers working under
high pressure I advantageously arrange the valves or their spindles in conjunction
with flexible diaphragms to prevent the said valves from being pressed so tightly
against their seats as to prevent their being operated by the float.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my improved valve cistern apparatus, the
same being arranged for use as a boiler feeder; and,
Figure 2 is a view of the mechanism for maintaining the valve lever in its upper
and lower positions :
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the said mechanism on the line yy, Figure 2:
Figure 4 is a section of my valve cistern apparatus on the line 'y', Figure 1;
and,
Figure 5 is a section on the line 2, Figure 1:
Figure 6 is a section on the line 2' z', Figure 4, through the water inlet, the said
view also shewing an air escape valve which I use:
Figure 7 is a view shewing the arrangement of my apparatus when it is to be
used for drawing up the feed-water:
Figure 8 is a section view of part of the apparatus shewn in Figure 7 drawn to
an enlarged scale; and,
Figure 9 is a section of the same on the line 2, 22:
Figure 10 is a view shewing the arrangement of my apparatus for use as
a Dump:

page_text: Figure 11 is a sectional elevation of my valve cistern apparatus designed to
work as a pump and to use the steam expansively.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several
figures.
a indicates the cistern of the apparatus, the bottom of the said cistern and the
cover thereof being recessed to correspond with the shape of the floats of the levers
for instance, as shewn, in order to afford as little space as possible for the reception
of steam, and thus to prevent the waste of the same. The recesses at the bottom
of the cistern also serve to contain water when the cistern is empty in order to
prevent the floats being damaged when falling. indicates the water inlet which
is provided with a flap valve e adapted to open automatically under the action of
the incoming water, but normally to remain closed to prevent the steam from
forcing back the water in the supply pipe is the steam inlet valve, and e is
the water outlet valve communicating with the boiler supply pipe. These valves,
as shewn, are of the kind known as "hit-and-miss" valves, each of them com-
prising a fixed disc d' and a movable dise 2, the said valves being operated, the
one directly by a lever having a float y and the other by an extension of the
said lever through the medium of a link f² and an arm f³.
To provide against the pressure of steam from forcing the movable parts d² of
the valves d, e so tightly against their seats that the lifting power of the float
would be insufficient to operate them or from forcing the valves away from their
scats equilibrate the said valves, and for this purpose the stem of each valve
is provided with an extension i connected to a flexible diaphragm ; supported in
a ringj* carried by two arms, projecting from the valve seat, each of the said
diaphragms having formed between it and a plug 3³ in the ring *, a chamber or
space communicating respectively with the steam supply d³ and water dis-
charge opening e' by a passage in the arm, the areas of the diaphragms j
being proportionate to the part of the discs d'exposed to the steam pressure.
will be noticed that the extension i of each stem comprises a sleeve carrying
at one end a bearing in which the end of the stem can freely turn and at the other
end connected to a screw-stud attached to the diaphragm j by means of a nut i
is a lock-nut for retaining the sleeve rigidly in position upon the screw-stud.
k, kare perforated diaphragms arranged to prevent any solid matter which may
enter the cistern with the feed water from coming into contact with the valves,
the said diaphragms being held in position by means of disc-shaped gridsk³, k
shewn most clearly in Figure 1. In the said figure the diaphragms k, k are not
indicated.
It
1, are the toothed-bars which I arrange for retaining the valve lever in its
uppermost and lowermost positions respectively, the bar having the teeth at its
upper end and the bar the teeth at its lower end; and m is the projection on
the free end of the lever designed to engage with the said teeth, so that, when
the said projection is in engagement with the teeth of the bar the said leverf will
be held in its uppermost position to retain the valves d and e open, and when in
engagement with the teeth on the bar it will be held in its lowermost position to
retain the said valves closed. The said bars 1, l' are supported by lugs 12, 12 free
to slide in guides l³,
13.
n is the independent lever which is pivotted at n' aud carries a float n², the said
float being free to rise with the incoming water. At the pivotted end of the said
lever n are two arms o, o designed to operate levers p, prespectively as herein-
after described. These levers p, p' are respectively pivotted at p², p³, and have
arranged in their bosses in a well known manner, or otherwise arranged in con-
junction with them, springs which tend to move the free ends of the said levers
towards the interior of the cistern, and as the free ends of the said levers p, pl
are inserted into holes in the bars 1, respectively, it follows that the normai
tendency of the spring levers p, pl will be to move the toothed bars towards the
float g of the valve operating lever f.

page_text: •
It will be noticed by reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 that the bars 1, 1, the
lever n, and the levers p, p² are carried by a plate adapted to be secured within
the cistern by means of bolts q, q, this arrangement being employed in order that
the parts may be fitted before being fixed in position.
:
As hereinbefore stated, the apparatus shewn in Figure 1 is arranged for use as
a boiler feeder, I will therefore describe its operation for such purpose. Assume
the different parts of the apparatus to be in the position shewn in Figure 1 with
the cistern empty (except for the small quantity of water which is left beneath the
floats to prevent them from being damaged by contact with the bottom of the
apparatus as hercinbefore described) and with the arm o¹ of the lever away from
the lever p so that the spring in connection with the said lever pl is free to move
the said bar into engagement with the said projection, and the arm o of the
lever n pressing upon the lever p to hold the bar 7 out of the path of the said pro-
jection if now the water is admitted through the inlet b, the float n will rise with
the water and operate the lever n until, by the time that the said lever has reached
the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1, the arm o¹ of the lever n has
operated upon the lever p¹ to move back the bar l'out of engagement with the
projection m, thereby permitting the float g to rise to the position indicated in
Figure 1 and open to their full extent the valves d, e, thus admitting steam from
the boiler and allowing the water to flow by gravity into the boiler through the
valve e.
As during the time that the bar is being moved away from the float
the bar is being moved toward the float it follows that the float g after reaching
its highest position in the cistern will be retained in this position by the engage-
ment of the projection m with the teeth of the said bar l, this position being
maintained until the water in the cistern has flowed into the boiler. By the time
that the cistern is empty the lever n has moved down sufficiently to cause its arm o
to move back the lever p and the bar l, and to allow the bar l'to be moved forward
under the action of the spring of the lever p', so that the said float will be
released from its uppermost position and will fall to close the valves, being
retained in its lowermost position as shewn in Figure 1 by engagement with
the bar l.
Owing to the fact that, as the water from the cistern flows into the boiler, steam
from the boiler enters the cistern, it follows that after the valves have been closed
the cistern remains full of steam. The presence of this steam, however, forms no
bar to the efficient working of the apparatus as the steam quickly condenses and
immediately its pressure is below that of the water supply, the water enters the
cistern and completely condenses the steam.
""
In order to provide for the escape of air in the cistern when starting the apparatus
I advantageously provide an arrangement of valves, such for instance as shewn in
Figure 6, wherein indicates a valve adapted to open outwardly under the pressure
of the air compressed by the incoming water and sa valve opening inwardly and
designed to be closed when the cistern is full and before the admission of the steam
by the impingement of the float n² against a levert pivotted at and having a
projection 2 designed to bear against the valve. 3 is an extension upon the lever
serving to prevent the same from falling below a certain limit.
arrange
If, instead of allowing the water to flow into the cistern under pressure of a
head of water, it is desired to lift the water from a lower level than my apparatus,
I provide for creating a vacuum within the cistern, and for this purpose
in conjunction with the cistern a steam condensing apparatus. Such an arrange-
ment is shewn in Figure 7 where u indicates the condensing chamber having
within it a series of tubes u¹, u' communicating with the pipe u leading from the
water discharge valve e. v, Figures 8 and 9, is a valve sliding in a cylinder ¹ and
located in a casing 2, to the interior of which, steam entering the cistern has free
access through a grating 3. A chamber v around the said cylinder also com-
municates through the junction and the pipe with the interior of the condensing
chamber. With this arrangement when the valve is moved so that a slot or

page_text: v
opening formed therein coincides with an opening or openings in the
cylinder v', the steam is free to flow from the valve cistern into the condenser.
The valve is operated to open it by means of a lever v, the free end of which has
pivotted to it a foot 10 against which the extension of the valve lever f is free
to impinge as the said lever f drops. As shewn in Figure 8 the valve lever is
represented in a position between its highest and lowest positions just as the
to operate the valve v to open
extension is coming into contact with the foot
で
it immediately the valves d and e of the valve cistern apparatus are closed. The
valve is lifted to close it by means of a spring " acting upon a lever pivotted
at and at its free end connected to the stem of the valve. is a nut by
means of which the pressure of the spring " is regulated, and is a cap for the
nut serving as a lock-nut.
w is a valve placed at the lower part of the condensing chamber and serving to
allow sufficient of the steam entering the condenser to escape to lower its pressure
to that of the atmosphere and also allows of the escape of the water of
condensation.
With this arrangement it will be obvious that immediately a charge of water has
been forced from the valve cistern by the steam entering through the valve d, such
steam flows into the condenser u where it is condensed by coming into contact
with the cold pipes u' and thus produces a vacuum sufficient to raise water through
the water inlet pipe b¹.
It is to be understood that the apparatus as described with reference to
Figures 7, 8 and 9 is applicable for use as a pump and that such pump would be
extremely economical in its action as the steam would raise water practically
volume for volume; in this case, however, in order to prevent the water of con-
densation from being wasted, I place the condensing vessel u above the level of the
valve cistern, as shewn in Figure 10, and I provide a pipe w' separate from the
valve for conveying the water of condensation back to the valve cistern.
A valve prevents the entrance of steam into the condensing chamber through
the pipe w'.
In some cases where the point to which the water has to be raised is not at any
great elevation, I may use the steam expansively and I therefore provide for
shutting off the steam supply at any time during the discharge of the water from
the cistern, so that the expansion of the steam may complete the discharge. An
arrangement for this purpose is shewn in Figure 11, where a steam-cock .r is placed
in the steam supply pipe and designed to be operated by a piston working in a
cylinder and connected by a rod a³ to the lever of the said cock æ.
is a
cock placed below the cylinder 2 and adapted to control communication between
the interior of the cistern and the space beneath the piston a¹, and is a fork
depending from the lever of the cock and embracing the lever n, the said fork
having in it a series of holes 7 through either of which a pin may be placed
according to the extent to which it is required to allow the steam to expand.
With this arrangement it will be understood that when, during the discharge of the
water, the lever n comes into contact with the pin 8, it will draw down the fork aª
and thereby operate the cock to open the same and admit steam beneath the
piston, whereby the same will be lifted and close the cock c. 2, 10 are counter-
weights for returning the cocks x, to their open and closed positions respectively
during the refilling of the cistern.
When my apparatus is to be used as an automatic flushing apparatus or as a
steam-trap, I dispense with the steam inlet valve d and with the valve c over the
water inlet b, except in the case where several condensed water inlets are arranged
in connection with a single trap, in which case I provide each condensed water
inlet with a valve opening automatically under the pressure behind it.
It is to be understood that when the apparatus is working under ordinary
pressures, that is to say, in cases where the pressure against the discharge valve is
not sufficient to interfere with the operation of such valve by the float it is
unnecessary to employ an equilibrated valve such as that hereinbefore described.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. A valve cistern apparatus adapted to receive water and to discharge the same
at intervals, having a valve or valves operated by means of a float lever designed
to be held in its position to retain the valve or valves closed until the cistern is
filled to the desired level and then to rise to fully open the valve or valves and to
be retained in this position until the contents of the cistern are discharged, sub-
stantially in the manner described.
2. In valve cistern apparatus the valve or valves of which are adapted to be
fully opened and fully closed by means of a float lever, adapted to be held in
position to retain the said valve or valves fully open and fully closed, the arrange-
ment of an independent float lever for releasing the catches which retain the valve
operating float lever in its extreme positions, substantially as described.
3. In a valve cistern apparatus the combination with the valve operating float
lever of toothed bars for retaining the said lever in its highest and lowest positions
and an independent float lever for operating the said toothed-bars, substantially as
described.
4. The combination with valve cistern apparatus constructed substantially in
the manner described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings,
of means, such for instance as those described with reference to Figures 7, 8
and 9 and Figure 10, for creating a vacuum in the valve cistern for the purpose
specified.
5. The combination with my valve cistern apparatus of means, such as those
described with reference to Figure 11, for enabling the steam to be used expansively
as set forth.
6. The improvements in valve cistern apparatus herein before described with
reference to Figures 1 to 6, Figures 7 to 10 and Figure 11 of the accompanying
drawings.
1
2001
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.