IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS AND VALVES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Harlow and William Jolley, of Heaton
Norris, near Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS AND VALVES."
Sealed the 9th May 1865, and dated the 14th November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Harlow and William
Jolley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 14th November 1864.
We, ROBERT HARLOW and WILLIAM JOLLEY, of Heaton Norris, near Man-
chester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS AND VALVES," to be as follows:-
⚫ This Invention relates, firstly, to cocks employed for opening and closing the
passage of steam, gases, and fluids, and consists in improved arrangements for
tightening the plugs without stuffing boxes or nuts and washers, and for giving
a large area of passage with a comparatively small diameter of plug.
In one arrangement we place the barrel in a casing, and hold it by a nut at
one end, and form around the barrel between the two ends a cavity in the
casing communicating with the opening or openings of supply or discharge,
which cavity is for the purpose of enabling two or more thoroughfares to be
made in the plug when there is only one junction, or when there are several,
and as the barrel is simply held in the casing, the expansion, when the casing
and barrel are of different metals, has no prejudicial effect on the working

page_text: parts. At one end of the plug there is a shaped end for enabling it to be
turned, and through the plug we pass a spindle having one end pointed or flat,
and the other end screwed, the extreme end being shaped for the purpose of
turning it and a nut employed for locking it. At one end of the casing there
is a bridge or support for the pointed or flat end of the spindle to work upon,
so that when the spindle is turned in a screwed hole, it shall draw the plug to
the barrel to any required tightness, and at the same time enable the plug to
be turned with much less friction than with the present modes of tightening.
Or instead of causing the spindle to work on a bridge in the casing it may
work against either end of the plug itself, the screwed end of the spindle
passing through the cover so that it can be turned as required and held firmly
by a lock nut.
In many cases we form the barrel and casing of one piece, and make as
many passages as may be required for cocks having one, two, or more ways.
Secondly, we convert that description of equilibrium valve made with two
pistons having a number of V slits or other openings, and working in two
seatings into a reducing or diminishing valve, by placing on the spindle an
additional piston working in a cylinder, and connecting the top of the spindle
to a weighted lever, so that as the weight is shifted, the valve may be more or
less closed, and diminished accordingly, which arrangements may be applied to
all equilibrium valves of a similar nature.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Harlow and William Jolley, in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 18th May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT.
HARLOW, and WILLIAM JOLLEY, of Heaton Norris, near Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Robert Harlow and William Jolley, Her special license that we, the
said Robert Harlow and William Jolley, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Robert Harlow and William
Jolley, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the.

page_text: . 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 COCKS AND
VALVES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Robert
Harlow and William Jolley, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Robert Harlow and William Jolley,.
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates, first, to cocks employed for opening and closing the
passage of steam, gases, and fluids, and consists in improved arrangements for
tightening the plugs without stuffing boxes or nuts and washers, and for giving
a large area of passage with a comparatively small diameter of plug..
L In one arrangement we place the barrel in a casing, and hold it by a nut at
one end and form around the barrel between the two ends, a cavity in the
casing communicating with the opening or openings of supply or discharge,
which cavity is for the purpose of enabling two or more thoroughfares to be
made in the plug when there is only one junction or when there are several,
and as the barrel is simply held in the casing, the expansion when the casing
and barrel are of different metals has no prejudicial effect on the working
parts. At one end of the plug there is a shaped end for enabling it to be
turned, and through the plug we pass a spindle having one end pointed or Hat
and the other end screwed, the extreme end being shaped for the purpose of
turning it, and a nut employed for keeping it tight. At one end of the barrel
there is a bridge or support for the pointed or flat end of the spindle to work
upon, so that when the spindle is turned in a screwed hole it shall draw the
plug to the barrel to any required tightness, and at the same time enable the
plug to be turned with much less friction than with the present modes of
tightening.
Secondly, we convert that description of equilibrium valve made with two-
pistons having a number of V slits or other openings, and working in two
seatings into a reducing or diminishing valve by placing on the spindle an
additional piston working in a cylinder, and connecting the top of the spinille
to a weighted lever so that as the weight is shifted the valve may be more or

page_text: less closed, and diminished accordingly, which arrangements may be applied to
all equilibrium valves of a similar nature.
These improvements will be clearly understood by refering to the figures
and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings in which Fig. 1 is a section
of one of our improved cocks in which the barrel is held in a casing.
Figs. 2, 3, and 4, sections of other cocks without a casing, and Fig. 5 a
section of one of our improved reducing or diminishing valves, all the cocks
having applied to them our improved arrangement for tightening the plugs. :
In Fig. 1, a represents the plug of the cock; b, the barrel; and c, the casing;
the said barrel is fitted to the top and bottom of the casing, and held to it by
'the nut d, and between the casing and barrel there is a cavity e communicating
with the discharge f, or with as many discharge openings as required. One
end of the plug is shaped as at g, for having a handle or lever fitted to it for
the purpose of turning the plug, and through the plug there is a spindle h,
having a flat or pointed end i, a shaped end k, and a screwed part 7, and at one
end of the barrel there is a bridge or support m, for the pointed or flat end i to
work upon, there being a nut n for tightening the gland o, and keeping the
spindle tight, and the screwed part 7 fits a screwed hole in the plug and when
the spindle is turned by a lever or key one way the plug can be drawn to the
barrel to any required tightness.
In Fig. 2 we shew our improved arrangement of cock for obtaining a large
area of passage with a comparatively small diameter of plug, the said cock being
supplied with our improved tightening spindle. The plug p is made shorter
than the barrel g for the purpose of obtaining a passage r from the supply s to
the interior of the plug. The aperture in the plug leading to the discharge t,
when the cock is opened is shewn at u, and the said aperture can be com-
paritively large without impairing the bearing surface of the plug. The barrel
is covered by the cap having in the centre a bearing for the flat or pointed
end of the tightening spindle to work upon, which spindle when turned one
way tightens the plug as before described, and this arrangement of plug and
barrel can be used when the barrel is held in a separate casing.
Figs. 3 and 4 represent two and three way cocks provided with our improved
spindle for tightening the plug. Instead of causing the spindle to work on a
bridge in the casing it may work against either end of the plug itself, the
screwed end of the spindle passing through the cover so that it can be turned
as required, and held firmly by a lock nut.
In Fig. 5 we represent our improvements for converting an equilibrium
valve with two pistons having a number of V slits or other openings, and
working in two seatings into a reducing or diminishing valve. On the spindle

page_text: which is
The top
w of the pistons a we place by means of the ball point y the piston z,
well fitted to the cylinder a³, screwed to the casing or valve -box 6'.
of the piston is connected by the ball joint c' and pin d¹ to the weighted lever e¹
jointed to the fulcrum f¹. The additional piston z and cylinder a¹ are made
sufficiently long to allow the to-and-fro movement of the pistons x, and yet
have sufficient bearing surface to be tight without any packing, there being a
hole g' in the cylinder to allow the escape of water which might be collected
after a lengthened working, and as there is no packing, the apparatus can
reduce or diminish with great efficiency, the amount being regulated by the
position of the weight on the lever.
Having now described the nature and particulars of our said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be under-
stood that we claim,―
First, in cocks in which the barrel is placed in a casing, a cavity e, Fig. 1,
between the barrel and casing for enabling the plug to have a comparitively
large aperture or apertures.
Secondly, the tightening spindle and modes of using it for tightening the
plugs without stuffing boxes, nuts, and washers.
And, thirdly, the additional piston z, the ball joint y, and cylinder a¹, Fig. 5,
for enabling equilibrium valves to be converted into reducing or diminishing
valves as all such improvements are herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Harlow and William Jolley,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twelfth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Signed, sealed and delivered by
the within-named Robert Harlow,
and William Jolley, in the pre-
sence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
ROBERT HARLOW. (L.B.)
WILLIAM JOLLEY. (L.S.)