US1592350A - Gauge cock - Google Patents

Description

' July 13,1926.

' F.'A.FEELDS GAUGE COCK Filed March 27, 1925 XNVENTCR WITNESSES BY M ATTORNEYS Patented July I3, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT o FIC FRED A. FIELDS, OF THREE spins, OKLAHOMA, assrenon 0E ONE-THIRD To JAMES o.

LAW, OF ronKAwA, OKLAHOMA.

I GAUGE coon.

Application filed March 27, 1925. Serial No. 18,880.

herein deof a gauge cock-of the character described.

which will be actuated by gravity to close tightly even though wear has taken place on the relatively movable cooperative parts of the cock.

A further object of the invention is the provision in a gauge cock of the character described of an adjustable valve member and .awvalve seat member which is softer than the valve and is adapted to have a fluid tight contact with the valve at all times when the valve is closed. i i

-A still further object of the invention is the provisionin a gauge cock of a valve seat member that can be replaced or renewed quickly when required at but slight expense and which will last a long time in the servicefor which it. is intended. I ,Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying. drawings in which 1-- Figure 1 isa view, mainly in sideelevation and partly in vertical section, showing the improved gauge ,cock' applied;

' Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the gauge cock; and

Figure 3 is an end view of the body of the gauge cock.

The improved gauge cock comprises a tubular body 1 made ot'brass or any other suitable metal and formed with a reduced externally threaded attaching portion 2 adapted for engagement with a threaded opening 3 in a plate 1, which in actual practice is a portion of a verti al wall of the water chamber of a boiler or the like. The body 1 preferably is non-circular in cross sectional contour so that it can be engaged firmly by a wrench or like tool for convenience in attaching the body 1 to the plate 4 or detaching it therefrom.

The bore of the tubular body 1 is desig nated 5 and is best seen in Figure 2.

indicated at 6' and the inner end portion of the bore also preferably is enlarged'as indicated at 7, the enlarged portion 7 c0mpris- The. outer end portion of the bore is enlarged as ingithe greater part of the length of the bore.

. A valve seat member 8 is shown as being a disk which fits in the enlarged portion 6 of the bore andprotrudes'slightly therefrom, the outer face of the valve seat mem her 8 preferably being flat and lying in a vertical plane. The bore of the valve seat member Sis indicated at 9 and is axially alined with the bore 5, being of the same diameter asthe bore 5. The valve seat member 8 is made of a relatively soft metal, such as Babbitt metal, lead or the like.

- A gravity handle 10 is provided with a central bore which extends the entire length of the gravity handle. and which comprises a screw threaded outer end portion 11, an enlarged intermediate portion 12 of relatively great length andan inner end portion 13 which is of less diameter than the inter mediate portion12. The handle member 10 is formed with a pair of spaced lugs 14; at its inner end on the .upper side thereof, these lugs extending beyond the plane of the in- .ner end of. the handle member and straddling a lug 15 that is formedon the body portion 1 at the outer end of the upper side of the outer face of the valve seatmember 8.

valve 17 oi the needle valve type extends througlrthe bore of the handle member 12 and has a threaded outer end portion 18 in engagement with the threaded portion 11 or the bore of the handle 12, the inner end portion o't'the valve rod being tapering as shown at 19 and being adapted when the handle 10 has been actuated by gravity to swing to the position illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 to enter. the outer end of the bore 9 of the valve seat member and to engage with the wall of the bore9 of the valve seat member to prevent escape offiuid from the bore substantially alined with the bore of the valve seat member 8 when the tapering valve 17 is. engaged with the wall of the bore of the valve seat member as illustrated in Figuresl and 2, the bore 01 the valve seat mem- -of the valve her constituting a valve seat. The valve 17 is made of any suitable metal that is conside ably harder than the .iaterial of which the valve seat member 8 is formed and the tapering valve 17 also is of greater diameter for the greater part of i s length than the diameter of the bore of the valve seat member, but of course tapers to a point at its inner end so that it will enter and closely contact with its seat when the handle is in th position exhibited in Figures 1 and 2. Since the axis of the horizontal pivot pin it) substantially in the plane ot the outer fa-e of the valve seat member 8, the tapering e 17' will be swung to position to enter th outer end of the bore 9 of the valve seat member and to seat against the latter when the handle 10 swings downward from raised position t the position shown in Figures l and 2 without contact of the extremity of the tapering valve with the outer face seat 'ieinber and therefore without causing scoring or injury to the valve seat member.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. The handle 10 has the external surface thereof formed so that it can be gripped conveniently in the and of an operator, the outer end portion of the handle preferably being enlarged somewhat as shown. The handle is of relatively great weight and will be actuated by gravity to hold the valve tightly against its seat. Since the valve seat member is formed of relatively soft material and the valve is formed of a much harder material, such as a hard graderof steel, wear on the valve seat member will not result in leakage since the pressure on the valve seat will be sutlicient to cause the valve seat to conform to the contour of the port-ion of the valve that is in contact therewith. The valve rod may be provided with a hand wheel 20 or like handle whereby the valve rod can be turned to adjust the length of the portion of the tapering valve that extends beyond the inner end of the handle 10 to compensate for wear on the valve seat member so that the valve and its rod will be axially alined with the valve seat. member 8 when the valve is in contact with its seat. When required the valve seat member 8 can be replaced quickly as a unit at but slight expense since the material of which the valve seat member is formed is malleable and can be hammered to place in the enlarged portion 6 of the bore of the body 1 or can be placed therein and shaped when heated so as to be plastic or molten. If desired, the valve seat member can be renewed as wear takes place thereon by placing a nail or like member of the same diameter as the bore of the valve seat member in the latter and then pouring molten lead about the nail and shaping the lead until the valve seat member has been builtup to the desired and shape, the nail then being withdrawn to provide the bore of the valve seat member against which the valve of the device will seat when the handle 10 hasbeen n'ioved'by gravity to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2.

It will be manifest from the foregoing that my invention provides a gauge cock which will last a long time in service and that the valve seat member, which is the only part of the device on which wear will take place, can be renewed or replaced quicklyand cheaply when required. It also will be obvious that considerable wear can take place on the valve seat member without there being any necessity of repairing or replacing the valve seat member to prevent leakage.

In actual practice, a plurality of the gauge cocks are attached to openings at different levels in a vertical wall of the water chamber of a steam boiler, the lowest of the gauge cocks being located near the level of the bottom of the water chamber. The gauge cocks are opened in turn, beginning with the gauge cock at the highest level and of course only steam will escape from the gauge cock until the gauge cock which is in communication with the water chamber below the level of water within the water chamber of the boiler has been opened. The depth of water within the water cham ber thus can be quickly ascertained with a view to supplying water to the water chamber of the boiler when required.

Obviously my invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that herein described and I therefore claim as my own all such modifications and adaptations of the form of the device herein described that fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. A gauge cock comprising a tubular body adapted for attachment to the shell of a steam boiler or the like, the outer end portion of the bore of the tubular body being enlarged, said enlarged portion of the bore decreasing in area in cross section from its inner end to its outer end, a valve seat member completely filling the enlarged outer end portion of the bore of the tubular body, said valve seat member being; made of a relatively soft metal and having a central bore, a gravity handle pivotally attached to said tubular body, and a valve made of a harder metal than that of which said valve seat member is composed, said valve being carried by said handle in position to engage the bore of said valve seat member when said handle is substantially alined with said tubular body.

2. A gauge cock of the character de scribed comprising a tubular body having an externally reduced threaded inner end portion, the outer end portlongof the bore of saidtubular body being enlarged, said enlarged outer end portlon of the bore decreasing in area from its inner to its outer end, the inner wall of said enlarged end portion of the bore being substantially frusto-conieal, a valve seat member filling in the enlarged outer end portion of said bore,

andextending beyond the outer end ofthe here, said valve seat member having an axial bore in alinement with the bore of the tubular body, a tubular gravity handle swingingly attached at its upper side to said tubular body, and a needle valve having a rod like stem adjustably engaged with the bore.

bular body being enlarged, a valve seat member secured in said enlarged outer end portion or the'bore of said tubular body and protruding from said bore, the outer face: of vsaid valve, seat member being substantially flat and lying at a plane extend ing at right angles to the longitudinal axisof saidtubuiar body, said valve seat member having an axial bore, a needle valve,

anelongated gravity handle having an axial borethrough which said needle valve extends, lapped eooperative attaching lugs on theupper portions of the adjacent ends of said tubular body and said gravity handle, said lugshaving alined transverse openings, anda horizontal pivot pin received in said alined transverse openings, the axis of said pivot pin lying in the plane of the outer face of said valve seat member and said pivot pin and said lugs cooperating-to attaeh said handle to said tubular body so that said needle valve will swing to position to enter the outer end of the bore of said valve seat member Without eontaoting the' outer face of said valve seat member when said handle is swung by gravity about the axis ofsaid 'pivot'pin towardthe outer end of said tubular body. 7 FRED A. FIELDS. e

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