US1738824A - Exhaust-steam injector - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 10, 1929.

EXHAUST GRlFFlN 13383534 STEAM INJECTOR Filed March 3, 1927 AAAAAAAAAAAA V VVV V VVY HNI w HHI 7 INVENTOR. Josep/ff. gse/VWM BY @lf ATTURNEY Patented Dec. 10, 1929 irse STATESV PATENT oerici;

.iosnrn r. Garmin, or rnnnnox, NEW JnnsnY, Assrenon To rnnsurnannnrnn cola- PANY, oF NEW YORK, n. Y.

EXHAUSTfSTEAM INJECTOR Application nled March 3,

My invention relates to eXhaust steam injec tors of the type capable of being operated by live steam when exhaust steam is not available, and has particular reference to the system for controlling the operation of the injector.

injectors of this type are normally operated by the exhaust steam from an engine, supplemented oy a small quantity of high pressure live steam to be hereinafter referred to as supplementary steam, and in the absence of exhaust steam, as When the engine is shut olfi the injector is operated by a supply of live steam throttled to a pressure near that of the normal exhaust steam supply,` and a small quantity of supplementary steam. The low pressure live steam used is generally known and Will hereinafter be referred to as cauxiliary steam.7

ll'or the control of injectors of this type as applied to locomotives, there have heretofore be i developed control systems by means of which the Water, exhaust steam, supplementary steam and auxiliary steam supplies have been brought, either directly or indirectly through the medium of fluid pressure operated valvesy under the control of a single `1nannelly operable control lever. In many of the A rl r systems however, the control of the auxiliary steam supply to the injector mhas not been directly under the control of the operator, in this sense that once the control lever thrown to ruiming position7 the use of either exhaust steam or auxiliary steam for operating the injector is governed by an automatic valve responsive to engine conditions p l not under the control of the operator.` ln the systems heretofore employing the automatic valve, the injector is normally run on exhaust steam Whenever it is available and if the engine is running, the injector Will be started on exhaust steam. .r-is the exhaust steam supply, particularly at loiv engine speeds, is distinctly pulsating in character, it is not as suitable for the establishment of a jet upon starting the injector as is the steady steam supply furnished by auxiliary steam. Under other operating conditions, it is sometimes necessary for the injector to be operated on live steam even though exhaust steam is possible With valves of this character.

1927. Serial N'O. 172,394.

available, and in order to take care of such contingencies the prior systems have had added to them a so-called emergency position, in which the injector is operated on live steam.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a simpliiied control system whereby the injector is started under all conditions by means of live steam. A further object of the invention is the provision of a control system by means of which the injec tor is started on live steam and is thereafter operated on either live or exhaust steam, in accordance with engine conditions, through the medium of an automatic valve. i still further object of the invention is the provision of a control system having a live steam starting position intermediate the closed and normal open running positions, said starting position taking the place of and eliniinating the usual emergencyposition, With which automat-ic-valvewequipped control systems have heretofore been supplied. More specilically, the invention contemplates the provision of a main control valve through which the en tire live steam supply to the injector is admitted, and Which indirectly controls the water supply and exhaust steam valves7 to which is directly coupled an intercepting valve mechanism controlling` the operation of the automatic valve and through the latter the supply of auxiliary steam to the injector. My invention also contemplates an improved form of exhaust steam control valve, which operates in conjunction with the control system contemplated by the present invention to produce a smoother and less violent opening of the exhaust valve than has heretofore been @ther and more detailed objects of the invention will appear more fully from the following description of a invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is a diagrammatic illustration, partly in sec tion, of a portion of an injector to which has been applied a control system embodying my invention and Fig. 2 is a sectional detail taken on the. line 2-`-2 of Fig. l.

Referring noW to llig. l7 l have shown preferred embodiment of the therein a portion of a known type of injector, in which, within the main housing v1, a lon1 pressure steam chamber, or cavity, 2 is formed, from which steam is supplied to the 5 main steam nozzle ,3. `Water is supplied to the injector vthrough Va valve controlled conduit leading to the water chamber 4, which in turnv delivers the water through nozzle 5, in which it combines with the steam delivered through nozzle 3 and passes through the secondary steam nozzle 6 to the combining and delivery tubes housed in another portion of the injector not shown. Supplementary high pressure steam is delivered through a suitable conduit to the chamber 7, from which it passes lthro'u'gh the lsupplementary steam nozzle 8 to the nozzle'3. The low pressure steam chamber 2 is supplied with low pressureauxi'liary live steam through chamber 9 and ports 10, or with exhaust steam through the inlet 11 and passage 1 2, the latter being controlled by valves 1'3an'd 14. p y The main control valve 4comprises a casing 15, forming an inletc'li'ambe'r 16 connected to a suitable vsourceof live steam not shown for Aoperating the injector, and an outlet chamber 17 delivering steam to the supply conduit 18 leading to the injector. Chambers 16 and 17 are Ain communication by way of port 19, the latter being controlled by valve 20, the stem 21 of which extends through a 'suitable stuffing boX in the control valve housing and connectswith thev main control 'lever 22. An operating rod 23, which may be integral with valve 19, extends through the port 19 Y and a suitable guide 24 in the opposite wall of chamber 17, and controls Vthe operation of the intercepting valve mechanism, which will bezdescribed in detail later. Y The conduit18, through which steam is deliver-ed vfrom the control valve, is provided with two branches 24 and 25, the former leading to the water valve of the injector andthe latter to the automatic valve. The water fr-5 valve controlling the water supply'to the injector comprises a housing 26 having aninlet passage 27 and outlet passage 28'connected by the port 29. The port 29 is controlled by a water `valve. 30 having an annular rib 31 on its upper face forming a recess in which is located a spring 32 held in position by the retaining cap 33 and normally urging valve 30 to its seat around port v29. p The valve 30 is providedwith a stem 34, which extends downwardly through av suitable guide in the housing into a cylindrical chamber 35 formed in the housing in alignment with port 29. At its lower end the valve stem 34 formsra piston 60 ton 36 is preferably not packed and is pro- 36 slidably mounted in cylinder 35. .The pis-l stem guide is also preferably, but not necessarily, recessed as at 38 and an atmospheric vent 39 provided leading from this recess through the valve housing. This vent prevents the passage of steam from below the piston 36 into the water passage 2S in case the valve `seat 37 should fail to seat tightly. The chamber is provided below the piston 36 with an inlet to which the conduit 24- is connected and an outlet from which the conduit 40 leads to the high pressure steam chamber 7 in the injector. The water outlet passage 28 is connected with the water chamber 4 of the injector by `a conduit 28.

The flow of exhaust steam to the injector is controlled by the disc valve 14, which seats aga-inst one end of the sleeve 41 forming the passage 12, and which is pivotally mounted on the pin 42 by means of the bell crank member '43, one arm of which is recessed to receive one end of the spring` 44 held in the Vretaining cap 45 'and normally urging the valve 14 to closed position. A circular extension 46 of the main injector housing 1 has secured thereon 4a cylindrical cap 47, which clam-ps between itself and the housing Athe annular dise '43, the central opening 49 of which is in alignment with a port 50 formed in the housing 1. The disc 48 is provided with a circular valve seat on its lower falce surrounding the opening 49, and a similarscat is formed around the upper end of port 50. A combined piston and valve member 51 is located in the chamber formed bythe housing extension 46 and dise 43 and is provided with opposite valve faces, one of which seats against the corresponding face around p'ort`49 to close the latter when the piston is in upper position, and the other of which seats 'against the corersponding face ,aroundport 50 to close this port when the piston is in the lower position. The member '51 is formed with a cylindrical extension slidably mounted in the port 50 and engaging one end of the bell crank 43, while the upwardly extending stem 52 of member 5l extends through a guide cap 53 secured in the upper end of cap 47. The spring 54 bears at one end against the cap 53 and is retained ,hat its other end bv a collar and adjusting Inut 55 threaded on the upper end of the stem 552. A cover 56 is screwed over the guide cap 53 in order to eliminate the necessity for 'packing the lstem 52. The spring 54 normally urges the va'lve member 51 to its upper seat, closing port 49, thereby preventing the leakage of exhaust steam into the injector by 'way of conduits 40 and 40 and nozzle 8 when 4the injector is shut off, and the tension of this spring may be suitably adjusted by means of the nut 55.

The cylindrical cap 47 between the disc l43 and the guide cap 53 forms a chamber which 1s placed 1n communication with the steainconduit 40 by means of the branch "Vio la through movement of the bell crank.

ln order to prevent reverse ilow from the steam chamber 2 towards the exhaust steam inlet, the valve 13 is provided, yseating against the inner end ot the sleeve ll and pivotally mounted trom pin 57 by a suitable arm 58.

Valves 13 and la may be secured to their respective arms in any suitable manner, but in this `connection it is to be particularly noted that the valves themselves or the pins by which they are secured should entend inwardly beyond the respective valve seats so that the seating of either of the valves will positively displace the other valve from its seat. In the preferred lorm l have shown the valves 13 and lll fastened respectively by rivets 59 and 60, the heads of which extend inwardly toward each other and contact to prevent the simultaneous seating of the valves.

'lhe branch 25 of the main` steam supply conduit leads to the automatic valve, which is shown as comprising` a housing 6l which `lorins three aligned chambers 62, 68 and 6a, between which are the aligned ports 65 and 66. The conduit is connected tothe chamber 62 through a restricted inlet port, or choke 67, the size ot which is controlled by means of the adjustable stud 68 threaded thro-ugh a suitable bushing in the housing 61. The housing 6l is also provided with an outlet 69 leading from chamber62 and in line with the port 65, and a conduit 70 connects this outlet with the auxiliary steam chamber through the passage 9 of the injector. A port in the side of chamber 64 is connected by means ot the conduit 7l with a chamber in the housing` of the intercepting valve, which will be considered in Vdetail lat-er.

The main automatic valve member 72 consists of a lower head 7 3 located in chamber 62 and an upper piston 74 connected with head 73 by means ot a stem extending through the port and considerably smaller in diameter than the latter. The valve head 73 is formed with oppositely disposed valve faces 7 3a and 7 6b, the :former seating when the valve is in itslower position against a similar valve seat surroundingthe outlet 69 in the bottom of chamber 62, and the latter seating when the valve is in its upper position against a siinilar seat formed around the port 65. The piston 74. is a sliding lit in the port 66 and is sufficiently loose so that an appreciable quantit-y ot steam may pass between the piston and the wall of the port. A check valve 75 guided in the housing cap 76 is provided with an annular seat on its lower face, which co-operates with a similar seat formed in the bottom of chamber 64 around the port 66. The upper iace of piston 7 fl is extended so that when the automatic valve member is in its lower position, piston 7e will just clear the lower tace of the check valve 75 and allow the lat ter to seat. The clearance between piston 7 land valve 75, when the former is in its lower position and the latter seated, is so slight, however, that upon release of pressure in chamber 6ft allowing valve 75 to rise, the subsequent upward movement of the automatic valve member 72 causes the piston 7e to hold valve 75 in its upper position.

lIhe intercepting valve mechanism is housed in an extension of the main control valve housing l5 which forms a chamber 77, into which the control rod 23 extends. The conduit 7l leading from the automatic valve is in communicationwith chamber 77, the lat ter being provided with an outlet 78 leading to an `atmospheric vent pipe 7J, and with a cover plate 80 in which there is a steam inlei passage 8l communicating with the chamber 77 by way oi the port 82. An annular valve seat is i'ormed around the upper edge of portJ 82 and steam flow through the latter is controlled by means of a check valve 63 seating downwardly against said seat. The inlet passage 81 is connected by means of a conduit 84 to some point in the main steam supply line leading to the engine cylinders or to the valve chest thereof, so that when the engine is running, steam at the pressure to which it is supplied to the engine will be admitted to the passage 8l. A valve 85 controls the out let 78 from chamber 77 and is provided with an upwardly extending stem 86 suitably guided at its upper end in a recess in the cover plate 8O and provided at a point within the chamber 77 with an elongated slot 87. The valve stem 86 is slightly offset from rod 23, as will appear trom Fig. 2, and is placed substantially at right angles thereto.

Intermediate the valve 83, which extends below the seat thereof into chamber 77 and the stem 86 of valve 85, there is transversely mounted a rock shaft 88 carrying a bell crank 89. lI "he bell crank is actuatedA through the medium of one arm, which extends between a pair o'l' spaced washers 90 suitably secured on the inner end ot the operating rod A second arm ot the bell crank extends under the valve 63 and a third arm extends oppositely from the second arm to a point ad jacent the valve stem 86, the latter being `linked to the last mentioned arm by a lost motion connection 'formed by a pin passing through the bell crank arm and the slot 67 in the valve stein. The relative location of the several parts of the intercept-ing valve mechanism is such that when in the position shown in the ligure, with the main control valve closed, the valve 8 5 will be lifted from its seat and the valve 83'will be free to rest upon its seat. Asthe main control valve is opened, the arrangementof the parts is such that the valve V85 is allowed .to seat before the bell crank comes in contact with valve 83, so that in one position both valves are closed. Then as the main valve is pulled to its fully open position, the bell crank fraises valve 83 from its seat, the further motion of the bell fera-nk after valve 85 is seated being made possible by the slot-ted lost `motion connection.

In the position shown in the drawings, .the injector is shut olf with the main control valve 20, the water valve 3() and the exhaust valve 14 in closed position. Assuming that the engine lis running and exhaust steam is .available, the operation of .the control .system in starting the injector is as follows: When 'the main control lever is irstopened the partial opening of valve admitssteam to the conduit 1'8, from which it flows through branches 24 and 25.v In this connection it is to be noted that the lirst movement of the control rod 23 incident to the opening'of the i*main valve 2O does notbring the bell crank into contact with valve 83 to open the latter, nor does it permit the valve 85 to- Vseat until the main control lever has been brought past the mid, 'or live steam operating position. Steam flowing through conduit 24 acts on the piston ,t

raise the -latter and 'with it the water .valve 30, thereby admitting water'to the -injector through .conduit 28 and passage 4. Steam supplied through conduit 24 and passing through the water valveoperating cylinder flows through the conduit 40 into the supplementary steam passage 7 and through the high pressure nozzle 8. High pressure steam also flows through conduit 40 into the cylinder formedby cap 47 and acts upon the upper face of the piston valve member 51 vto rforce the latter toits lower seatagainst thelaction j of spring 54, and thereby'opens the exhaust steam valve14. At the same time that steam is flowing through the conduit 24 it also passes through conduit 25 and the restricted :port,or choke, 67 into the lowerautomatic valve Y chamber 62,v from whence it flows through port and chamber'63 to the lower Aface ofthe piston 74 to fraise the automatic valve member, so that the valve seat 7 3b closes port 65 and the seat 7 3 islifted to openport 69, permittingthe flow of steam through conduit .70, passage l9 and `ports 10 to the low pressure steam .chamber 2 of' the injector. The auxiliary hve steam, the pressure of rwhich has been reduced byv llow throughthe choke port 67, provides a non-pulsating supplyoflow pressure steam for the purpose of starting the injector, and the normal tendency of this vsteam will'be to close the `valve 13, thereby preventing flow of live steam into the exhaust steam conduit. As ialready rnoted, however, the exhaust steam valve 14 is in open position and if the engine is running under conditions which produce a steady flow of exhaust steam at a pressure greater than that of the auxiliary steam supply, the valve 13 will be forced open by the exhaust steam and the injector will be started by a mixture of auxiliary and exhaust steam. This action is unobjectionable, as it occurs only in case the exhaust steam available is as suitable for use in starting the injector as is the ,auxiliary steam.

The seating of the automatic valve against its upper seat under the influence of steam -pressure in chamber 162 and the consequent vadmission of steam to the conduit is made possible by the fact that .no pressure exists in chamber 64 above the check valve 75, as this chamber is vented to the atmosphere `by way of conduit 71, the chamber 77 in the inter- `cepting valve and the atmospheric vent pipe 79.

Vhen the inj eotor control handle is vmoved from the live steam, or mid position, to the fullopen,.or running, position it will be evi- -dent from the ligure that no change ywill occur in fthe steam supply passing by way of the water valve to the hig 1 pressure nozzle of the ,injector and to the exhaust valve operatiu mechanism, so that with the control valve in full open position, high pressure steam will continue "to flow through nozzle 8 and the exhaust valve 14 will remain in open position. vMovement of the control lever to full open position, however, lirst closes valve 85 and immediately thereafter opens valve 8?.

matic valve member to its upper position.

The highpressure steam acting on the upper face of the piston 74 will force the automatic valve to its lower seat against the pressure of steam flowing through chamber 62, `bercause ofthe fact .that the pressure of this latter steam has been reduced by flow through the .choke port 67. Movement of the automatic valve to its lower position closes the `steam conduit 70 leading to the injector and thereby shuts olf the supply of auxiliary steam thereto, so that the injector is operated wholly upon exhaust and supplementary steam. The movement of the automatic valve member to its lower position also allows the check valve 75 to drop to its seat, to

which it isheld by steam pressure within the .chamber 64, and the automatic valve is held lirmly'to its lower seat by the steam leaking past piston 74 from the chamber 63 and trapped in the. space between the upper face of the piston and the lovver face of check valve 75.

It will be apparent that it the injector control is in mid, or live steam operating position, the opening ot the control valve to 'full running position will have no e'l'llect upon the operation oi the injector' if the engine is not running and exhaust steam is'not available. Under this condition, with the automatic valve in its upper position, the opening oitl the valve 83 by movement oi the control lever to full open position will have no eil'ect on the automatic valve, as there vvill be .no steam supplied through conduit 84 to torce the automatic valve to its lovver position. The latter valve Will therefore remain in its upper position and continue to admit auxiliary steam to the injector in the absence of a supply of exhaust steam. Iii, aiter the control lever has been pulled to iull open position, the engine is started and exhaust steam becomes available, steam from the supply pipe to the engine Will lovv through conduit 811 and the open valve 83 into chamber Z7 and thence by Way of conduit 71 to the automatic valve, acting on the latter to shiit it to its lower position and shut oil the supply oiC auxiliary steam It vvill thus be seen that With the control lever in mid position, the injector Will be supplied with auxiliary live steam under all engine conditions and that when the control lever is brought to full open position, the injector Will automatically be supplied with auxiliary or exhaust steam in accordance with exhaust steam or engine conditions.

It will be further apparent that the mid position of the control lever in the present system renders unnecessary the usual emergency position by `fulfilling the function of the latter. The emergency position is required in order that the injector may be positively operated with live steam under any engine condition at the Will of the operator, and it will be evident that with the present system, live steam operation of the injector is positively assured with the control lever in mid position.

It is to be further noted that when the injector is started by throwing the control lever to its mid position, steam is admitted substantially simultaneously to the steam chamber' 2 through conduit 70 and to the ex- `haust valve actuating mechanism through the conduit 40. "With this arrangement the construction of valves 141 and 13 so that they cannot seat simultaneously is of importance, as it minimizes the shock incident to opening the valve 14 against exhaust steam pressure, and also permits the opening of this valve by means of a comparatively small piston member 51. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the seating of valve 11i under the influence of spring 441-, When the injector is shut oii, lifts the valve 13 from its seat so that upon the starting of the injector, whatever steam pressure built up in the chamber 2 by the auxiliary live steam acts against the inner face o1" valve 11i. This serves to partially or Wholly balance the pressure of exhaust steam which may be acting on the outer face oil valve la at the time the injector is started, and permits the opening ot this valve against the exhaust steam pressure by the application of al smaller torce on piston 51 than would otherwise be required. Furthermore, it the valve 13 Were allovved to close With the valve laseated, the latter, bei-ore opening, Would be in an unbalanced condition With exhaust steam pressure on one side and no pressure on the other side-that is, Within the passage 12. This Would not only require a comparatively large Yforce for the opening of the valve against the exhaust steam pressure, but as soon as the valve lll was moved from its seat suiliciently to allow steam to enter the passage 12, it Woud immediately be put into a balanced condition with the result that the valve would be thrown to its fully open position by the action oi the piston 51 with sufficient violence to damage the valve and its operating mechanism. By partially balancing the valve 14T with auxiliary steam pressure, the shock incident to its becoming entirely balanced as soon as it leaves its seat is greatly reduced andthe tendency oi' the valve to open With great violence is further reduced by the fact that the piston 51 is of comparatively small area.

In the foregoing description, I have made use of a somewhat diagrammatic illustration in order to clarity the disclosure. Thus the Water valve and automatic valve mechanisms have been shown as units separate from the injector and the control valve, but it will be obvious that many variations trom the diagrammatic representationmay be made Without departing from the invention, as, for example, the incorporation of the water and automatic valve mechanisms in housings integral With or directly attached to the injector, with the steam passing to the latter `through suitable ports `rather than by way ot conduits such as I have shown.

j I claim:

l. An exhaust steam injector control system of the type vvherein there are provided means for admitting supplementary live steam, auxiliary live steam, Water and exhaust steam to said injector, an automatic valve connected with a main steam line oi an engine controls the admission ot auxiliary live steam and exhaust steam in alternation to the injector, an intercepting valve is provided in valve vfor venting said connectiony to the atmosphere when-said main control valve is closed, andi means having a lost motion connection with said main'control valve for closing said relief valve and opening said interceptin'g valve after'the main controlvalve is partially opened.

2:`An exhaust steam injector control system of -the type wherein there are provided means fo`r admitting supplementary live steam, auxiliary live steam, water and exhaust steam to' said injector, an automatic valve connected with a main steam line of an engine controls theadmission of auxiliary live steam and exhaust steam -in alternation to the injector, an interceptingvalve is' interposed between the automatic valve and said main streamline, and a inan controlv valve in cornmu'nication with a source' of live steam governs theadm'ission of live steamto said injectorand to said automatic valve, characteriz'ed by the' provision of means operatively associated with saidmain control valve for venting thevf automatic valve to th'e atmosphere during the initial opening ofs'aid control valve, said means `comprising a relief valvel and a leverV connected therewith, said lever-being also operatively associated with said interoepting valve to operate the latter only after the main Control valve is opened to substantially its full extent.

. 3. An exhaust steam injector control system of the type wherein amain control valve governs directlythe admission of supplementary live steam to said injector, and indirectly the admission ofauxiliary lijve `steam and exhaust steam to said ector, and an automatic valvefi's providedbetween saidy injector and said main control valve for controlling vthe admission in alternation of auxiliary live steam `and exhaustV steam to said injector, characterized by the provision of adjustable throttling means independent of said main control v'alve to reduce the pressure of the Vlive auxiliary steam before said steam passes to said automatic valve. j

4. A control system as `set forth in claim 8 in which the adjustable throttling means comprises an orifice located in the's'team-line between said Vautomatic valve and said main control valve, a valve for 'controlling said oririce, said lvalve being provided with a stem extending through said 'steam lineto the exterior thereof, anda oa'p for sealing th'e'ex'terior end 'ofjsaid stem.

5; In an 'exhaust v'steam injector, a nuid v'pressure operated exhaust steam valve opening against the pressure of exhaust steam f lowmgfto the injector, ajch'eck valve opening under the pressure ofsai'd exhauststeanrowing .to the ector and closing under the influence of steam ressure within the injector,

fand nieans associated'vvith said valves to 4canse the opening of o'n'e rof 'tliem before 'theo'the'r 'isseated Y mangent (i.v In an exhaust steam injector, a pair of cooperating valves for controlling the exhaust steam inlet of said injector, and means associated with said valves to cause one oi them to be opened While the other is closed.

7. In an exhaust steam injector having :in exhaust steam inlet, a pair of hinged valves associated with and adapted to close said inlet, said valves being provided with projections thereon adapted to abut to prevent both of said valves from being siniultaneously in closed position.

8f. In an exhaust steam injector, an exhaust steam valve, luid pressure actuated means for operating said valve, a main control valve in communication with a source of live steam, a' conduit connecting said main control valve with said injector and a permanently open conduit connecting said fluid pressure actuated means with said first-named conduit.

9. In' an exhaust steam injector, an exhaust steam valve, means for opening said valve against exhaust steam pressure upon the admission of fluid under pressure to said means, a main control valve in communication with a source of high pressure live steam, a conduit connecting said main control valve with the injector and a permanently open connection `between said conduit and said means whereby said exhaust valve is maintained in open position at all times when high pressure live steam is admitted to the injector. 10. An exhaust steam injector control system wherein a main control valve governs directly the admission of supplementary live steam to said injector and indirectly the ad- 'mission of auxiliary live steam and exhaust steam to` said injector, and a fluid pressure actuated exhaust valve is provided for directly controlling the admission of exhaust steam to theinjector, characterized bv the provision of a connection forming a permanently open direct communication between 'said 'main control valve and the fluid pressure actuated means for said exhaust valve.

'11. control system as set forth in `claim 1 in which said means comprises a lever associated with the main control valve to open said -interceptin'g valve, and operating means connecting said lever with said relief valve to 'close the latter before said interccpting Vvalve is opened.

12. In an exhaust I'steam injector, un exhaust steam valve, fluid pressure actuated means for 'operating said valve, a main contr'l valve communication with a source of live steam, an automatic valve for admitting auxiliary live "steam and exhaust steam to the injector in alternation, a conduit connecting said 'main control valve with said automatic valve, and 'a 'conduit connecting said fluid fessure actuated means with said :first Enamed conduit at a point between sai d V-"main control valve and said "automatic valve.

r3. An exhaust steam injector control Vsysico 'lic

tem of the type wherein there are provided nieans i'or admitting` Water, live steam and en:- haust steam to said injector, a iiuid pressure actuated valve controls the admission et' ei:- haust steam to said injector, and a main con trol valve governs the admission oi' fluid une der pressure to luid pressure actuated means tor said exhaust valve and also the adinission of the entire live steam supply te the injector, characterized by the provision of means associated With said main control 7alve for positively insuring the admission ot the entire live steam supply to said injector when the main control valve is in a position intermediate closed and fully opened positions, whereby the injector is caused to he operated as a live steam injector to deliver Water under pressure When the control valve is moved to said intermediate position.

14. An exhaust steam injector control system of the type wherein there are provided means for admitting supplementary live steam, auxiliary live steam, Water and exhaust steam to said injector and an auto matic valve controls the admission of auxiliary live steam and exhaust steam in alternation to the injector, characterized by the provision et a main control valve admitting supplementary live steam directly to said injector and auxiliary live steam to said in jector through said automatic valve, and means operatively associated With said main control valve for insuring the opening of the automatic valve to the passage of auxiliary steam when the main control valve is in a position intermediate closed and fully opened positions, whereby the admission of auxiliary steam to the injector through the automatic valve is positively insured when the control valve is moved to said intermediate position.

JOSEPH F. GRIFFIN.

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