AUTOMATIC BALANCE ATTACHMENT FOR DELIVERY VALVES OF AIR COMPRESSORS AND WATER PUMPS.
A drum having an open end is connected with the cylinder head by inclined standards, and contains a piston connected with the valve by means of a rod that extends centrally through the cylinder head. On the outer end of this rod is screwed an adjusting nut, by means of which the piston may be adjusted. This rod is bored longitudinally, establishing communication between the compressor cylinder and the drum containing the piston.
It will be seen that the upper face of the piston is exposed so as to be subjected to atmospheric pressure only, and when the compressor is in operation a portion of the air in the compressor cylinder passes through the hollow rod into the space beneath the piston, and there exerts sufficient pressure, in combination with the pressure on the inner face of the valve, to open the valve against an equal pressure in the receiver or conducting pipes, so that when the pressure in the cylinder equals the pressure in the receivers the valve is opened and held in place until the piston in the cylinder starts on the return stroke, when the pressure under the piston is immediately relieved through the hollow rod and the main valve closes.
The space between the valve and its seat is made as shallow as possible, so that the space may be quickly filled and exhausted. The piston may be adjusted to regulate this space. This invention was recently patented by Messrs. Samuel B. Connor and Henry Dods, of Virginia City, Nevada.
IMPROVED SAFETY VALVE.
In the annexed cut we have represented a steam safety valve, which is the invention of M. Schmidt, M. E., of Zurich, Switzerland. It consists of a lever terminating in two prongs, one of which extends downward and rests upon the cap, closing the top of the tube through which the steam escapes. The other prong extends upward and catches under a projection of the steam tube, and forms the fulcrum for the lever. The opposite end of this lever is provided with an adjustable screw pressing upon a plate that rests on the top of a spiral spring, which keeps the valve closed by pressing the outer end of the lever upward. As soon as the pressure of the steam overcomes the pressure of the spiral spring the valve will be raised, permitting the steam to escape. The apparatus is contained in a case having a central aperture for the escape of steam.
