Safety valve

Feb. 12, 1935.

1,990,601

F. E. GODSEY

SAFETY VALVE

Original Filed July 11, 1931

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Patented Feb. 12, 1935

1,990,6®!

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

1,990,601 /: . SAFETY VALVE

French E. Godsey, Bluefield, W. Va.

Application July 11, 1931, Serial No. 550,256 Renewed June 28, 1934

Claims; (Cl. 277—28)

This invention relates to safety valves and more : particularly to safety valves of the kind that are to be used in boiler connections and the like to prevent the escape of steam or hot water from 5 the boiler in case the connections are broken.

Locomotive boilers, for example·, are; provided ' / With a number of connections to gauges, indicators, blow-offs, and the like and in case breaking of these connections occurs, through wrecking of 10 the locomotive or otherwise, the escaping steam or hot water from the boiler- may escape and scald the trainmen. Hence it is desirable to place.-safety valves in these, connections' which are automatically closed by boiler pressure in the 15 event of breaking hi any connection. : Valves of this kind, as well as the boiler outlets to which the valves -are connected, must be capable of being inspected and cleaned at frequent intervals- according to rigid regulations; The boiler 20 outlets are tested and cleaned by passing a rod or the like through the opening into the boiler and it is preferable that this test be made without breaking the boiler· line, that ‘Is,.: without breaking-the? connection between the-valve cas25 ing.: or bushing and: the boiler' so that: this connection is' substantially permanent;. Moreover, the valve seats often require grinding and it is desirable to be able to grind thevalve:and: its seat under pressure without having- tb'shut down 30 the boiler; In the; prior United States: patent: of French E. Godsey, No. 1;692,29®, dated November 20, 1928, there is disclosed a valve which is closed by fluid pressure in the event of'breaking of a boiler connection, which is capable: of beihg 35 cleaned ' and - tested' Without breaking the 'boiler line, and which is capable of being: ground under pressure without shutting' down the boiler. The present invention provides a'safety valve' embodying these features but of improved design '40 and construction which is stronger'and safer, of simpler -design having fewer parts' and': hence cheaper to manufacture, and so constructed that it may be assembled or dissembled for purposes of inspection Or grinding with a minimum amount 4=5 of work. ’ . One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the¹ acconipahying drawing, bUt it is to be expressly understood that said drawing is for purposes Of illustration only. and is not to be ⁵⁰ Construed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for thi%-purpose. .

In the drawing,

Fig; 1 is a view of a’ valve embodying the in55 vention which-is shown, installed on; a boiler;

Fig. ,2 is a-longitudinal : sectional view of 'the valve: shown in Fig. 1;

Fig; 3 is a sectional view of the boiler connection showing, the safety valve in closed position; and .-5

Fig.,4 illustrates the grinding of the valve.

Referring, now to the¹ drawing, the . valve is shown in position on a boiler 1 of any suitable type, as for example, a locomotive boiler. In order¹ that'the valve may be removed and the 10 boiler opening tested without breaking the boiler line, that is; without breaking the joint between the valve assembly and the boiler casing, a bushing 2 is threaded in the opening in the casing and the valve casing: 3 is in turn threaded at 4 15 into the bushing 2. The bushing 2 is permanently installed and need not be removed for purposes of inspection or testing, the valve casing being merely unscrewed from the bushing.

Preferably and as shown, the casing 3 of the ²⁰valve is made in one piece having its inner end threaded at 4 for insertion in the bushing 2 and provided at 5 with a fracture groove or line adjacent the boiler so: that: in case of accident the casing will tend to break at the groove 5 exter- 25 nally of: the connection to the boiler and externally of the safety valve described hereinafter. Tire casing 3 has a central bore extending from one end to the other: and at the inner end of the casing the bore is formed in any suitable way to ³⁰provide a valve seat 6. inserted in the inner end of-the valve casing is a valve member 7 having a valve surface 8 and a flat head 9 on which are transverse grooves 10. The stem of the valve member' is provided with a plurality of spiral 35 grooves 11 so that whenever the valve member 7 is moved into the: valve casing 3 by boiler pressure: to close the valve 6, 8 (Fig; 3), the steam passing through the grooves 11 will rotate the valve member 7 as it moves to closed position -^uand hence grind the~ valve seat 6 and valve surface 8 automatically. Preferably the valve member is: provided with three grooves, each having one-third: turn. A safety valve of this type will operate over long periods without attention, the ⁴⁵valve surfaces' being automatically, kept free of scale or dirt so that a tight closure is always obtained; Preferably the valve member 7 is made of Monel metal or other suitable non-corroding material, while the valve casing 3 may be of ⁵⁰bronze or other suitable material;

The' valve member 7 is normally maintained in the open position shown in Fig. 2 by means of a valve stem 12 which also operates a manually controlled valve to be described, said stem extend- ⁵⁵

1,990,601 ing from the outer end of the casing 3 into contact with the end of the valve member 7 and being preferably provided with a rounded end 13 engaging in a similarly rounded depression 6 formed in the end of the valve member 7. As will be seen from the drawing, the stem 12 adjacent valve member 7 is smaller than the bore in the valve casing to provide a passage for steam and water passing through the valve 6, 8, and to 10 control the flow the bore of the valve casing is enlarged in diameter at 14 to form a valve seat and the valve stem 12 is enlarged in diameter at 15 to form a cooperating valve surface the valve stem 12 having threaded engagement at 15 16 with the casing whereby the valve 14, 15 may be opened or closed. In order to provide for the escape of steam or water from the boiler when the valves 6, 8 and 14,15 are open, the valve stem 12 is reduced in diameter at 17 immediately ad20 jacent the valve surface 15 and a lateral opening is formed in the valve casing in registry with the reduced portion 17. An outlet pipe 19 may be threaded in the opening 18 of the valve casing, the threaded portion of the opening preferably 25 terminating short of the inner surface of the bore in the casing so that the pipe 19 cannot be screwed in until it contacts with the valve stem 12.

Suitable means are provided for preventing the 30 escape of steam and the like past the opening and out of the end of the valve casing 3. To this end the portion of the valve stem 12 on the outer side of the reduced portion 17 preferably has a journal fit in the casing 3 and is also pro35 vided with one or more annular sealing grooves which catch any moisture tending to pass between the valve stem and casing. The valve stem may likewise be provided with an additional groove in which suitable packing 21 is placed to 40 pack the joint between the valve stem and casing.

The valve stem 12 may be rotated to open and close the valve 14, 15 by means of a suitable handle 22 which is removably secured to the outer end of the valve stem in any suitable way 45 as by a cotter pin 23, the valve stem being provided with flat sides 24 on which the handle 22 engages.

Means are also provided for grinding the valve surfaces 14 and 15. In the form shown, the valve 50 stem 12 is provided at 25 adjacent its outer end with a grinding surface, and when it is desired to grind the valve seat surface 14, the valve stem 12 is removed from the valve casing, reversed, and again inserted in the valve casing until the grind55 ing surface 25 engages with the surface 14. For grinding the valve surface 15, the handle 22 is provided with a grinding surface 26. The valve stem is removed from the casing and held in any suitable way, as by a vise engaging the flat 60 surfaces 24 while the handle 22 is slipped over the inner end of the valve stem until the surface 26 engages the surface 15 as shown in Fig. 4.

In use, when it is desired to open the valve 14, 15, the valve stem is rotated by means of a 65 handle 22 to withdraw the surface 15 from contact with the surface 14 but not sufficiently to permit the valve 6, 8 to close. Preferably the valve is arranged so that one-quarter turn of the handle 22 will withdraw the shoulder at the ⁷⁰ outer side of the reduced portion 17 of the valve stem until it is flush with the edge of the outlet opening 18. Steam and water now pass from the boiler past the valve member 7, valve stem 12 and valve 14,15 and into the outlet pipe 19. Thus ⁷⁵ the valve may be used as an indicator valve, gauge cock, or the like. At the same time, in case any of these connections is broken, the boiler pressure is always effective to close the safety valve 6, 8 which as above described is rotated and ground into its seat at every closing operation. It 5 will be noted that in case of accident, the valve casing tends to break at the groove 5, thus leaving the bushing 2 and the inner end of the valve casing intact. Moreover, the provision of the safety valve makes it possible to grind the valve 10 surfaces 14 and 15 under boiler pressure as described above. For purposes of inspection, the valve may be removed from the boiler as a unit by unscrewing the casing 3 from the bushing 2. Any desired test can now be made of the boiler 15 opening without breaking the joint between the bushing 2 and the boiler casing. The transverse grooves 10 on the head of the valve member 7 provide a passage for the escape of steam and water in case the valve member should become 20 jammed or stuck in the inner end of the bushing 2.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the form illustrated in the drawing, but is capable of a variety of mechanical expres- 25 sions, and that various changes may be made in the form, details of construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit of the invention. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition 30 of the limits of the invention.