US1869428A - Boiler water level indicating device - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 2, 1932. H. J. KERR 8 BOILER WATER LEVEL INDICATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1932- H. J. KERR 1,869,428

BOILER WATER LEVEL INDICATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 B Y Y him! A TTORNE V3 1932- H. J. KERR 1,869,428

BOILER WATER LEVEL INDICATING DEVICE Fi led Dec. 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet s Q 1 I )zv VENTOR BY z V I ATTORNEY! Aug. 2, 1932. H. J. KERR BOILER WATER LEVEL INDiCATING' DEVICE Filed Dec. 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 2, 1932 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- HOWARD J. KERR, OF EL MORA, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGN'OR TO THE BAIBGOCK & WILCOX COMPANY, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW BOILER WATER LEVEL INDICATING DEVICE Application filed December My present invention relates to devices for showing the water level in steam boilers, and is particularly applicable to such boilers operating at high pressures.

My invention will be understood from the following description and the annexed drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of my invention shown in connection with a portion of a horizontal 1o steam and water drum, such as are commonly used in certain types of boilers; Fig. 2 is afront elevation and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fi 3 is a vertical section along p the line 33 Fig. 2"; Figs. 4and 5 are 15 edge and side views, respectively, of one of the details; Fig. 6 is an enlarged section along the line 66 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a side view'of one of the details; Fig. 8 is a section along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 :0 is a section of one of the details taken along the line 99 of Fig. 10, in which a side view of the detail is shown; Fig. 11 is an edge view and Fig. 12 is a side view of another detail; Fig. 13 is a section along the line :5 13-13 of Fig. 14, which shows a side view of one of the other details; Figs. 15 and 17 are edge and side views, respectively, partly broken away, showing a side frame piece, and Figs. 16 and 18 are corresponding views, showing another side frame piece.

In the illustrative arrangement, I have shown one embodiment of my invention as it may be applied to' boilers having horizontal steam and water drums, but it will be understoodthat it may be'applied to boilers having drums extending in any other direction than horizontal, or, indeed, to any steam and water space of'a steam boiler and that, therefore, the portion ofv the particular boilerwith' which my illustrative embodiment is shown is merely for purposes 'of illustration.

In the drawings, reference character 1 indicates the end of a boiler drum thatis protached to the boiler by means of the flange 3. A flange 4 is provided at the other end of the extension 2, and a sleeve 5 (Fig, 6) is mounted in this extension. A shaft 6 is mounted in ball-bearings 7 and 8 in the vided with a hollow extension 2 that is at- 5,'1925. Serial No. 73,320.

to the flange-4, and is attached thereto by means of the bolts 13. When the nuts are tightened on the bolts 13, the flanges 4 and 11 are drawn together with the ring 9 of the sleeve 5 compressed in seats provided therefor on the flanges, gaskets being interosed to'make the joint water andsteam tight. The sleeve 5 is provided with a conical valveseat 14, and the shaft 6 is provided with a correspondingly shaped valve portion to be seated against the valve seat for a purpose to be described below, A lever 16 (Figs. 1, 2 and6) is attached to the inner end of the shaft 6, and carries at one end a float 17, and at the other end a balancing counterweight 18. The shaft 6 is provided near its otherend with an enlarged ead 20 that is flattened on opposite sides to accommodate a forked member 21. The shaft 6 terminates in a threaded extension 22, and aninternallv threaded cap 23 screws thereon, this cap I flange which retains the metal wear disc 24 against the end of the extension 22. A screw threaded opening 26 is provided through the housing 12 in alignment with the shaft 6, and a shaft 27 with a screw threaded portion islocated in the opening 26. A lever 29 is attached to the shaft 27, and may be operated by the chain 30 to turn the shaft 27. A gland 31 is screwed upon I the threaded extension 32, and a packing ring 33 is provided for making a water-tight joint, in which the. shaft 27 can turn.

The end 35 of the forkedmember 21 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) is fastened by means of the screws 36 to a sector gear 37 (Figs. 3 and 6), and the end bf a sector hub '38 is alsg fastened beeing provided with a The indicator housing 50 is attached to the housing 12 by means of the bolts 51, an elongated block 52 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8) being placed in recesses along the adjacent surfaces of the two housings, with packing strips 53 interposed to make a tight joint.

The side frame pieces 55 and 56 (Fi s. 6

and 15 to 18) are fastened by means of the screws 57 to the block 52, internally screwthreaded bosses 58 and 59 being provided on the frame pieces for this purpose. Cross pieces 60 and 61 are attached to the outer ends of the frame pieces 55 and 56, and are provided with ribs 60 and 61' along which the grooves in the rod 47 slide. The frame pieces 55' and 56-are provided, respectively, with cut-out portions 62 and 63, within which the ends of the forked member 21, sector gear 37 and sector hub 38 may move to and fro. The frame pieces 55 and 56 are provided with bifurcated ends 64 which straddle the extension 22 of the shaft 6. a

A bearing 68 (Figs. 6, 9 and 10) for the sector hub 38 is attached by means of the screws 69 to the frame pieces 55 and 56 in such a position that the opening 70 of this bearin also straddles the extension 22. Two sector earing caps 71 (Figs. 6, 11 and 12) "are mounted on each side of the bearing 68, and are held in place by the screws 69. These caps are provided with openings 72 to straddle the extension 22, and sufficient space is left between the bearing 68 and the flanges 73 of the. caps to-accommodate the body portion 38 of the sector hub 38. The inner circular portionof the body 38' fits aroundthe bearing 68, and its sides and outer edges bear against the inner sides and flanges of the caps '71. The flanges of the bearing caps 71 are spaced a short distance apart to give room for the neck portion of the sector hub 38 to pass between the flanges and turn in this space. v

An alarm 7 5 in the form of a whistle is mounted by means of a screw plug 76 on the housing 50. Operating arms 77 for this alarm extend into proximity with the inis provided with a pointer 79. A glass front dicator rod 47, and their ends are in the path of the lugs 78 on this rod. The rod 47 80 is provided for the housing 50, a'frame 81 which is held in place by means of the bolts 82 retaining the glass in position. The open? ing through the frame 81 may be graduated along the sides thereof to indicate normal water level and also units of distance above and below normal. The housing 50 may be provided at its lower end with a drain pipe 83 (Figs. 1 and 2), and at its upper end with a removable portion 84 (Fig. 3).

The operation is as follows: The float 17 rises and falls with changes in the water level in the drum, thus turning the shaft 6, whose flattened head 20 causes the forked member 21 to move circu'mferentially, carrying with it the sector hub 38 which is free to turn in the space between the bearing 68 and the caps 71. At the same time, the gear 37 is turned,

.thus causing the pinion 40 and gear wheel 44 to revolve arid move the indicator rod 47 longitudinally within its housing, so that its inwardly to force the valve 15 on the shaft 6 to seat against the valve .seat 14, thus cutting off communication between the boiler and the housing 12., The nuts on thebolts 51 can then be removed and the housing, together with the mechanism that extend to the shaft 6 can be removed, as the bifurcated ends of the sides of the frame pieces 55 and 56, as well as the forked member 21 and the side openings in the sector hub 38, bearing 68 and caps 71 permit the mechanism to be drawn away from the shaft 6. p

It will be noted that the extension 2 is located toward the upper part of the steam and water drum, and therefore, connects only with the steam space of the drum. Consequently, while the interior of the housings 12 and 50 is at the pressure of the steam in the steam and water space, the water from the drum does not enter these housings. The

glass 80 is, therefore, not exposed to hot water or steam, the steam which enters the housing 50 being condensed, and relatively cool water collecting in it. This condensate is distilled water and, therefore, clean, so that the glass 80 does not become coated. The glass can be ordinary flat glass of sufiicient thickness to withstand-the boiler pressure, as it is not subjected to variations in temperature, as it would be if the water or steam from the drum 1 contacted with it.

It will be understood that one or more gauges may be applied to the drum, so that when one of the gauges is shut off for re-' pair, as above described, another one would space of the boiler, a housing outside said space and communicating .with the steam space only of such steam and water space, a

portion of said housing being located below the water level in said boiler, a movable indicator in said housing, and connections between said indicator and said float.

2. In a boiler having a steam and water drum, a float in said drum, a housing outside the drum, a portion of said housing being located below the water level in said boiler, a pipe connection between said housing and the steam space of said drum, a movable indicator in said housing, and a' connection between said float and saidindicator, said connection extending through said pipe connection.

3. In a boiler having a steam and water drum, a, float in said drum, a counterbalanced lever for said float, a shaft for said lever, a housing outside the drum, a pipe connection between said housing and the steam space of said drum, a vertically disposed and vertically movable indicator in said housing, said shaft extending through said Pipe connection, and mechanical connections between .said shaft and said indicator.

4. In a boiler water level indicating device, a float in the water of a steam and water space of the boiler, a housing outside said space and communicating with the steam space only of such steam and water space, a portion of said housing extendingibelow the water level in said boiler, a vertically disposed and vertically movable indicator in said housing, and connections between'said indicator and said float, said housing being provided with a drain.

5. In a boiler having a steam and water drum,'a float in said drum, a counterbalanced lever to support said float, a housing outside said drum, a portion of said housing extending below the water level in said boiler, a

. vertically disposed and vertically movable indicator in said housing, tween said float and said indicator.

6. In a boiler water level indicating device, a float in the water of a steam and water space of the boiler, a housing outside said space and communicating with the steam space only of such steam and water space, a movable indi cator in said housing, connections between said indicator and said float, and means to cut off the communication between said housing,

F and steam space.

7. In a boilerwater level indicating device, a float in the water of a steam and water space of the boiler,- a housing OlltSldB saidspace and communicating with the steam l space only of such steam and water space, a movable indicator in said housing, connections between said indicator and said float, and means comprising a valve associated with said connections to cut off the communi- F cation between said housing and steam space.-

dicating device,

and connections be-.

. shaft longitudinallyfland seat said valve 8. In a boiler water level indicating device, a float in the water of a steam and water space of the boiler, a housing outside said space communicating with the steam space only ofsuch steam and water space, a portion of said housing being located below the water level in said boiler, a movable indicator in said housing, connections between said indicator and said float, and means to cause an alarm to be sounded under extreme conditions of water. level.

9. In a boiler water level indicating device,

a float in the water of a steam and water space ofthe' boiler, a housing outside said space and communicating with the steam space only of such steam and water space; and adapted to be filed with water condensed in said housing from the steam of the boiler, glass along a portion of said housing that is filled with water, a movable indicator in said housing,

and connections between said indicator and said float.

10. In a boiler having 'a steam and water drum,

a float in said drum, a counterbalanced lever for said float, a shaft for said lever, a

housing outside the drum, a'pipe connection between said housing and the steam space of said-drum, means to close said pipe connection, a movable indicator'in said housing, said shaft extending through said pipe connection, and mechanical connections between said shaft and said indicator, said housing and mechanical connections being readily removable.

, 11, In combination, a float, an indicating device, means including a revoluble shaft constant length connecting said float and inand avalve on saidshaft to close fluid communication between said float and said indicator.

12. In a water level indicator for a boiler, a float in said boiler, a shaft connected to said float and extending from said float to the outside of said boiler, said shaft being movable longitudinally and being revoluble, and level indlcating means operated by said shaft. 13. In a water level indicator for a boiler, a float in said boiler, a shaft connected to said float and extending from said float to the outside of said boiler, said shaft being movable longitudinally and being revoluble, a valve on said shaft, means to' move saig an level indicating means operated by said shaft. 14. In a water level indicator for a boiler, a float in said boiler, a shaft connected to said float and extending to the outside of said boiler, said shaft being movable longitudinal ly and being revoluble, level indicatin means operated by said shaft, a housin or said level indicating means, and a ho low member connecting said housing and said boiler, said shaft extendingthrough said hollow member.

a float in said boiler, a shaft connected to said float and extending .to the outside of said boiler, said shaft being movable longitudinal ly and being revoluble, level indicatin means operated by said shaft, 9, housing or said level indicatin means, a hollow member connecting said ousing and said boiler, said shaft extending through said hollow member, and an alarm associated with said hous' adapted to be operated when the water leve departs a predetermined amount from'normal; I

HOWARD J. KERR.

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