IMPROVEMENTS IN JOINTS FOR PIPES, TUBES, AND HOLLOW VESSELS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to. William Hawthorn, of the Borough and County
of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN JOINTS FOR PIPES, TUBES, AND HOLLOW VESSELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hawthorn at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th February 1864.
I, WILLIAM HAWTHORN, of the Borough and County of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN JOINTS FOR PIPES, TUBES, AND HOLLOW VESSELS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar self-closing or self-tightening joint for
closing the ends of pipes or tubes or the mouths of hollow vessels during the
operation of testing the same under high pressure, whether such pressure be
obtained from steam, air, gases, or liquids, and is also applicable in all cases
where a perfectly tight joint is required under very high pressures.
According to this Invention it is proposed to employ a metal cap or socket
which is fitted on to the ends of the tube or vessel, the hollow in the cap or
socket being so formed that a flush joint will be obtained inside between the
tube or vessel and the cap or socket. This joint is rendered perfectly tight
and self-closing when internal pressure is applied by having a collar, ring,
washer, or ferrule of india-rubber, gutta percha, leather, or other suitable

page_text: elastic or flexible material placed inside the cap or socket and extending some
distance inside the tube or vessel, so as to completely cover the junction between
the end of the tube or vessel and the cap or socket and be pressed firmly against
the joint when pressure is applied internally, so that the greater the pressure
the tighter will be the joint. If desired, when testing a tube, the caps or sockets
may each have an opening made therein and be provided with suitable attach-
ments for admitting the steam, water, or other testing medium employed and
allowing it to escape when required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hawthorn in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th August 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HAWTHORN, of the Borough and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Ierself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Hawthorn, Her special license that I, the said
William Hawthorn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Hawthorn, 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 JOINTS FOR PIPES, TUBES, AND HOLLOW VESSELS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Hawthorn, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 I, the said William Hawthorn, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: 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 self-closing or self-tightening joint
for closing the ends of pipes or tubes or the mouths of hollow vessels during
the operation of testing the same under high pressure, whether such pressure
be obtained from steam, air, gases, or liquids, and is also applicable in all cases
where a perfectly tight joint is required under very high pressures.
According to this Invention it is proposed to employ a metal cap or socket
which is fitted on to the ends of the tube or vessel, the hollow in the cap or
socket being so formed that a flush joint will be obtained inside between the
tube or vessel and the cap or socket: This joint is rendered perfectly tight
and self-closing when internal pressure is applied by having a collar, ring,
washer, or ferrule of india-rubber, gutta percha, leather, or other suitable elastic
or flexible material placed inside the cap or socket, and extending some
distance inside the tube or vessel, so as to completely cover the junction
between the end of the tube or vessel. and the cap or socket and be pressed
firmly against the joint when pressure is applied internally, so that the greater
the pressure the tighter will be the joint. If desired, when.testing a tube, the
caps or sockets may each have an opening made therein and be provided with
suitable attachments for admitting the steam, water, or other testing medium
employed and allowing it to escape when required.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in both
Figures.
Fig. 1 of my Drawings represents a side elevation of a tube testing machine
illustrating the application of my improved joint thereto, and Fig. 2 is a partial
sectional plan of the same apparatus showing the peculiar construction of my
improved joint.
A is the pipe or tube to be tested, which is placed at each end in the metal
sockets B, B', screwed into the cross bars C, C'. One of these cross bars C¹
is made to slide along the slide rods D, D, so as to be capable of accommodating
various lengths of pipes or tubes, the adjustment being effected by a screw
spindle and hand wheel, as shown in the Drawing, or by any other equivalent
mechanical device. Each of the sockets B, B', is fitted internally with an
india-rubber, leather, gutta percha, or other flexible or elastic ring or washer
E, which fits nicely into the inside diameter of the pipe A, as shown in Fig. 2.

page_text: The water or other fluid used for testing is introduced through the small
channel a and expands the washer E close round the joint, thereby making
such joint perfectly tight under any pressure which may be applied. The air
contained in the pipe is discharged by a small cock F fitted to one of the
sockets, and the pressure guage (not shown in my Drawings) may be fixed
either on to one of the sockets or on to the force pump employed.
said
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
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 consider to be nove!
and original; and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-1
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the peculiar construction of joint for pipes, tubes, and hollow vessels
intended to withstand pressure, substantially as herein-before described.
Second, the combination of a collar, ring, washer, or ferrule of flexible or
elastic material with a metal socket, substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hawthorn, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and sity-four.
WILLIAM HAWTHORN.
(L.S.)