IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC PACKING FOR STUFFING BOXES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Francis Fairlie, of Victoria Chambers,.
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC PACKING FOR STUFFING BOXES."
Scaled the 9th August 1870, and dated the 15th February 1870..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Francis
Fairlie at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 15th February 1870.
I, ROBERT FRANCIS FAIRLIE, of Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC PACKING FOR STUFFING
BOXES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar metallic packing for the stuffing
boxes of piston or valve rods and other sliding parts of machinery
requiring to work steam or fluid tight through stuffing boxes, and
consists in the application to such uses of one, two, or more flexible
split rings of brass or other metal, which are inserted into the stuffing

page_text: box and grasp the piston rod or other sliding part to be packed. These
rings are turned conical on their outer circumferences, and are tightened
up or caused to grip the piston rod by the action of an outer ring which
is conical on its inner circumference and fits against the conical outer
circumference of the packing rings. The packing rings may be
tightened up either by forcing down the outer ring by means of the
ordinary stuffing box gland, or otherwise; or if the inner end of the
said gland be made with an internal conical recess therein so as to fit
round the conical packing rings, then the outer ring may be dispensed
with, the packing rings being tightened up by simply forcing down the
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Francis Fairlic in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
FRANCIS FAIRLIE, of Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, Her special license
that I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC PACKING FOR STUFFING BOXES," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within six

page_text: calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Francis Fairlie, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar metallic packing for the
stuffing boxes of piston or valve rods, and other sliding parts of
machinery requiring to work steam or fluid tight through stuffing boxes,
and consists in the application to such uses of one, two, or more flexible
split rings of brass or other metal, which are inserted into the stuffing
box and grasp the piston rod or other sliding part to be packed. These
rings are turned conical on their outer circumferences, and are tightened
up or caused to grip the piston rod by the action of an outer ring which
is conical on its inner circumference and fits against the conical outer
circumferences of the packing rings. The packing rings may be
tightened up either by forcing down the outer ring by means of the
ordinary stuffing box gland, or by screws or otherwise; or if the inner
end of the said gland be made with an internal conical recess therein
so as to fit round the conical packing rings, then the outer ring may be
dispensed with, the packing rings being tightened up by simply forcing
down the said gland.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a sectional elevation of the
steam pipe used by me on my double bogie engine shewing the applica-
tion of my improved metallic packing for keeping the ball-and-socket-
joint steam-tight. A, A, are split rings turned conical on the outside,
as shewn; the outer ring B, B, is turned conical on the inside, and is
kept in position by the bolts or screws C, C. By tightening up the
said bolts the outer ring B, B, is driven home and caused to press
against the split rings A, A, which in their turn are thus made steam-
tight against the sliding pipe or balls D, D.

page_text: Figure 2 shews another arrangement adapted for an ordinary piston
or valve rod, in which the inner end of the gland B is made with an
internal conical recess so as to fit round the split conical packing
rings A, A, which are pressed with more or less force against the rod E
by adjusting the bolts C, C.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I con-
sider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
combination of an inner split ring or segments-of-a-ring-made-conical_
on the outer surface with an outer ring or segments of a ring or with a
gland made conical on the inner surface, arranged and operating
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Francis Fairlic, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day
of August One thousand eight hundred and seventy.