IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PLUMBERS' TRAPS AND OTHER PIPES OR TUBES OF SOFT METAL OR OTHER MATERIAL, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR."
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
"
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PLUMBERS' TRAPS AND OTHER PIPES
OR TUBES OF SOFT METAL OR OTHER MATERIAL, AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR."
A communication from abroad by Jesse Edward Folk, of Brooklyn, New York,
United States of America, Merchant.
Sealed the 26th February 1878, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
andated the 1 T..1.. 1017
Sealed the 26th February 1878, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
and dated the 21st July 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st July 1877.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
PLUMBERS' TRAPS AND OTHER PIPES OR TUBES OF SOFT METAL OR OTHER MATERIAL,
AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR." [A communication from abroad by Jesse Edward
Folk, of Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, Merchant.]
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of traps or curved
pipes or tubes of lead or other soft metal or other suitable material, and to machinery
and apparatus of that class. in which the metal is forced through a die of annular,"
oval, or other suitable form at variable velocities at opposite sides of the die, so as
to curve the pipe or tube in one direction or another as it issues from the said die
wherein it is formed.
The object of the said Invention is to provide the following advantages; that is
to say,
The production of die-drawn plumbers' traps, having an increased thickness of
metal at their bottom or lower part in order to increase their strength and
durability.
Also the most convenient and easy operation of a machine for the production of

page_text: die-drawn plumbers' traps, and to secure increased strength, durability, simplicity,
and cheapness in such machines.
Also to enable the pipe or trap to be curved in any direction, and to provide for
this purpose apparatus more simple and easily operated than any hitherto devised.
The said Invention comprises a certain novel method of forming the traps with
increased thickness of metal at their lower portion, and also certain novel combina-
tions of parts.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a receiver which receives
the lead or other material from which the pipes or traps are to be made, and which
is provided with a plunger operated by hydraulic or any other suitable power; also
an annular die with a core. The core is of circular form, but the surrounding or
outer wall of the die is longer in one direction than the other; in other words, what
may be termed approximately oval. The core is placed with its circumference
concentric with one-half of the wall, and excentric to the opposite half. Below the
core is a partition which separates the space below said core into two passages
which connect with another passage extending downward.
I provide also an axially turning valve plug, or in other words, a key valve or
cock, which is capable of being turned by a hand wheel, or by hydraulic power or
other suitable means. The bore of the said plug communicates with the receiver.
The bore, when the valve plug is turned to the proper position, communicates with
the receiver below, and with two of the passages above. A slide is arranged to
slide upon the upper part of one side of the block or casting in which the parts
herein-before set forth are provided and arranged, the said slide working, for
example, in fixed guides. The front of this slide is recessed on the arc of a circle,
so that by pushing inward or forward this slide to the requisite degree the semicir-
cular edge of the recess, in conjunction with part of the wall, will form a true circle
concentric with the die core.
The backward and forward movement is given to the slide by means of a screw
and its hand wheel, or by hydraulic power or any other suitable means.
The material from which the curved pipe or traps are to be made, for example,
lead at a suitable temperature, or any other plastic material, is placed in the receiver,
and the plunger, by hydraulic or other power, is forced inward, forcing the material
from the receiver up through the bore of the valve plug through the two first-
mentioned passages, and thence through the annular die. If the die be made, a
concentric circle, by adjustment of the slide and the bore, is exactly coincident with
the passages by which said bore communicates with the receiver and the said
passages, the material will be forced up through the die with uniform velocity at all
portions of the said die, and consequently the said material will issue in straight
tubular form. But if, by turning the key valve or cock axially in one direction or
the other, I increase the quantity of material passed into one of the passages and
diminish that passed into the other of said passages, the material will flow in
greater quantity and with greater rapidity at one side of the die than at the other,
and will produce a pipe or trap curved in a direction away from that side at which
existed the preponderance in quantity or velocity of the material ejected, so that by
merely giving an axial movement one way or the other to the key valve or cock,
the pipe ejected from the annular die may be curved in either direction and to any
requisite extent. Moreover, if the slide be moved in until its arc-shaped surface is
brought concentric with the adjacent side of the core, as herein-before explained,
the side edge will, for all working intents and purposes, supersede one-half of the
outer wall in shaping the exterior of the pipe as it issues from the die. And when
the slide is thus moved inward the pipe produced will have walls of uniform
thickness throughout; but if I move the slide outward so as to increase the width
of the space between the core and the edge, the thickness of the adjacent portion of
the pipe issuing therefrom will be increased until at length the limit of this
thickness will be reached, and the slide is withdrawn entirely away from the
adjacent part of the outermost wall. By this means any desired thickness may be

page_text: given to one longitudinal half or to any portion of such half of the pipe during its
formation; and this thickness may be increased or diminished simultaneously with
the turning of the key valve or cock. So that by providing for the increased
thickness of the pipe simultaneously with the curvature of the pipe in a direction
away from the plate a plumbers' trap may be formed with the thickness of its
bottom or lower portion materially greater than other portions of it, and without
in any wise altering the circular form or diameter of the bore of the pipe produced,
or the thickness of other portions of the said pipe.
The said Invention also comprises the combination of a valve or cut-off, constructed
to have a universal movement with reference to the die, through which the material
is ejected in the formation of the pipe or trap, whereby the preponderance of speed
in the ejectment of the material through the die may be instantaneously shifted to
any part of the said die, thereby enabling any desired bend, curve, or coil to be
given to the pipe or trap formed by the ejectment of the material from the die.
The said Invention further comprises a novel combination of radial partitions
with the valve capable of a universal movement, and the dic, whereby the material,
the flow of which is governed by the valve aforesaid, may be caused to pass in
greater or less quantity, as may be desired, to any determinate portion of the die, in
order that the pipe or trap ejected therefrom may be curved in predeterminate or
determinate directions, as for example, with bends or curves at right angles to each
other.
The said Invention further comprises a novel combination of an operating handle
attached to the valve, capable of a universal movement, a globular valve seat
constructed with a conical opening and die, whereby provision is made for the easy
and convenient manipulation of the valve to govern or control the flow of the
material through and from the die, as herein-before explained.
The said Invention also comprises the combination with the die and the valve,
capable of a universal movement, of a receiver for holding the soft metal and
supplying the same to the said valve to and through the die in the production of
the curved pipe traps or the like.
In the body or frame of the machine is provided a spherical valve seat constructed
with a conical opening. I provide also a valve externally of spherical form and
fitted into the said spherical valve seat, the said valve being provided with a handle
which extends through an opening, and which, being grasped by the hand of the
operator or worked by hydraulic power or other suitable means, enables the valve
to be moved in any direction, said valve being therefore capable of a longitudinal
movement. One end of the bore or passage of the valve communicates with a
receiver which receives the lead or other soft metal from which the pipes or traps
are to be made. The other end of this bore communicates with a chamber leading
to an annular die, as herein presently more fully explained. The walls of the said
die are, at a distance from the circumference of the core, equal to the thickness of
the walls of the pipe or trap to be made.
Formed preferably in one piece with the said core are downwardly extending
radial partitions, which rest upon shoulders formed midway between the top and
bottom of a chamber, the lower part of the said chamber being narrowed. In like
manner the lower portions of the said partitions are narrowed to fit into this
diminished lower portion oi the chamber.
The die may be held down in its place by a transverse bolt passed through the
same and also through the frame, or by any other suitable means.
The lead or soft metal from which the curved pipes or traps are to be made is
poured into the receiver in a molten condition, and by means of a plunger operated
by hydraulic or other suitable power the said lead or other soft metal is forced in a
more or less fluid, plastic, or softened condition, as the case may be, into and through
the bore of the valve. If during this flow or passage of the lead or other soft
metal to the die I operate the valve to conduct a larger portion of the metal to one
side of the die than to another, the metal will issue from the said die in greater
:

page_text: volume and with greater rapidity at such side than at such other, thereby curving
or bending the material as it issues in tubular form from the die.
Inasmuch as the spaces between the partitions constitute separate passages from
the bore to the die it follows that by operating the valve to throw a preponderance
of the material into one or another of the said passages the pipe may be turned in
any one of several different directions proportioned in number with the number of
the said passages, in other words, to the number of partitions. For example, when
these partitions are employed, the material, as it issues in tubular form from the die,
may be bent in different directions, as, for instance, when required in forming traps
with their connections and planes at right angles; whereas, if no such partitions
were employed, and the preponderance of material at one side or another of the die
depended simply upon the relative position of the end in the bore communicating
with the chamber with reference to the different portions of the die, it would
be more difficult to give an accurate or predetermined form to the curved
pipe or trap resulting from the operation of the apparatus; but on the other hand
greater latitude would be allowed in the variety of the curvatures to be given, as,
for example, in the formation of curved pipes of irregular bend, or of pipe formed
in coils as it issues from the die.
It is, of course, to be understood that any plastic material may be substituted in
place of the molten, plastic, or softened lead or other soft metal, as the case may be.
Thus, for example, the clay ordinarily used in the manufacture of earthenware pipes
may be employed for the production of curved pipes or traps of earthenware.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
February 1878.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
PLUMBERS' TRAPS AND OTHER PIPES OR TUBES OF SOFT METAL OR OTHER MATERIAL,
AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by Jesse Edward
Folk, of Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, Merchant.
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of curved pipes or
tubes, such as plumbers' traps, of lead or other soft metal or other suitable material,
and to machinery and apparatus of that class in which the metal is forced through
a die of annular, oval, or other suitable form at variable velocities at opposite sides
of the die, in such manner as to curve the pipe or tube in one direction or another
as it issues from the said die wherein it is formed.
The object of the said Invention is to provide the following advantages, that is
to say :-
The production of die-drawn plumbers' traps having an increased thickness of
metal at their bottom or lower part in order to increase their strength and
durability.

page_text: Also the most convenient and easy operation of a machine for the production of
die-drawn plumbers' traps, and to secure increased strength, durability, simplicity,
and cheapness in such machines.
The said Invention comprises a certain novel method of forming the traps with
increased thickness of metal at their lower portion, and also certain novel combina-
tions of parts.
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view representing the apparatus
employed in practising my said Invention; Figures 2 and 3 are plans of the same,
showing certain parts in different positions; and Figure 4 is a vertical transverse
section of the same.
The remaining Figures are herein-after described.
In Figures 1 to 4 A is the receiver which receives the lead or other material from
which the pipes or traps are to be made, and which is provided with a plunger B
operated by hydraulic or any other suitable power; C is an annular die, of which
A is the core. The core is of circular form, but the surrounding or outer wall a of
the die is longer in one direction than the other; in other words, what may be
termed approximately oval. The core A' is placed with its circumference concentric
with one-half of the wall a, as represented at a' in Figure 3, and excentric to the
opposite half, as shown at 6' in said Figure. Below the core A¹ is a partition B'
which separates the space below said core into two passages f which connect with
the passage g, extending downward.
E is an axially-turning valve plug, or, in other words, a key valve or cock, the
bore of which is shown at m; the said plug is capable of being turned by a hand
wheel C', or by hydraulic power or other suitable means. The bore m communicates
with the receiver A, as shewn at r. The bore m, when the valve plug E is turned
to the proper position, communicates with the receiver A below, as shewn at r, and
with the passage ƒ and g above. F is a slide arranged to slide upon the upper part
of one side of the block or casting, in which the parts herein-before set forth are
provided and arranged, the said slide working, for example, in fixed guides D¹.
The front of this slide E is recessed on the arc of a circle, as represented at c¹, of the
same radius as the part a' of the outermost wall of the die C; so that by pushing
inward or forward this slide F to the requisite degree the semicircular edge of the
recess c¹ in conjunction with the part a' of the wall a will form a true circle
concentric with the core A¹.
The backward and forward movement is given to the slide F by means of the
screw G and its hand wheel h, or by hydraulic power or any other suitable means.
The material from which the curved pipe or traps are to be made, for example,
lead at a suitable temperature, or any other plastic material is placed in the
receiver A, and the plunger B, by hydraulic or other power, is forced inward, forcing
the material from the receiver A up through the bore m of the valve plug E
through the two passages f, and thence through the annular die C. If the die C
be made a concentric circle by adjustment of the slide F, and if the bore m is
exactly coincident with the passages g and r, by which said bore communicates
with the receiver A and the passages f, the material will be forced up through the
die C with uniform velocity at all portions of the said die, and consequently the
said material will issue in straight tubular form. But if by turning the key valve
or cock E axially in one direction or the other I increase the quantity of material
passed into one of the passages f, and diminish that passed into the other of said
passages f, the material will flow in greater quantity and with greater rapidity at
one side of the die than at the other, and will produce a pipe or trap curved in a
direction away from that side at which existed the preponderance in quantity or
velocity of the material ejected; so that by merely giving an axial movement one

page_text: way or the other to the key valve or cock E, the pipe ejected from the annular die C
may be curved in either direction and to any requisite extent. Moreover, if the
slide F be moved in until its arc-shaped surface c¹ is brought concentric with the
adjacent side of the core A', as herein-before explained, the side edge c¹ will, for all
working intents and purposes, supersede one-half of the outer wall ȧ in shaping
the exterior of the pipe as it issues from the die. And when the slide F is thus
moved inward the pipe produced will have walls of uniform thickness throughout;
but if I move the slide F outward so as to increase the width of the space between
the core and the edge c¹ the. thickness of the adjacent portion of the pipe issuing
therefrom will be increased until at length the limit of this thickness will be reached
and the slide is withdrawn entirely away from the adjacent part of the outermost
wall a. By this means any desired thickness may be given to one longitudinal half
or to any portion of such half of the pipe during its formation; and this thickness
may be increased or diminished simultaneously with the turning of the key valve
or cock E; so that by providing for the increased thickness of the pipe simultane-
ously with the curvature of the pipe in a direction away from the plate F, a
plumbers' trap may be formed with the thickness of its bottom or lower portion
materially greater than other portions of it, and without in anywise altering the
circular form or diameter of the bore of the pipe produced, or the thickness of other
portions of the said pipes.
Another part of this Invention is designed to enable the pipe or trap to be curved
in any direction, and to provide for this purpose apparatus more simple and easily
operated than any hitherto devised. This part of the said Invention comprises the
combination of a valve or cut-off constructed to have a universal movement with
reference to the die through which the material is ejected in the formation of the
pipe or trap, whereby the preponderance of speed in the ejectment of the material
through the die may be instantaneously shifted to any part of the said die, thereby
enabling any desired bend, curve, or coil to be given to the pipe or trap formed by
the ejectment of the material from the die.
The said Invention further comprises a novel combination of radial partitions,
with the valve capable of a universal movement, and the die, whereby the material,
the flow of which is governed by the valve aforesaid, may be caused to pass in
greater or less quantity, as may be desired, to any determinate portion of the die in
order that the pipe or trap ejected therefrom may be curved in predeterminate or
determinate directions, as, for example, with bends or curves at right angles to each
other.
The said Invention further comprises a novel combination of an operating handle
attached to the valve, capable of a universal movement, a globular valve seat
constructed with a conical opening, and a die, whereby provision is made for the
easy and convenient manipulation of the valve to govern or control the flow of the
material through and from the die, as herein-before explained.
The Invention also comprises the combination, with the die and the valve, capable
of a universal movement of a receiver for holding the soft metal and supplying the
same to the said valve to and through the die in the production of the curved pipe,
traps, or the like.
Figure 5 is a central vertical sectional view of an apparatus made according to
this part of my Invention; Figure 6 is a plan of the same; and Figures 7 and 8
are detached detail views of one portion thereof.
A is the body or frame of this apparatus, in which is provided a spherical valve
seat a constructed with a conical opening 6; B is a valve externally of spherical
form, and fitted into the spherical valve seat a. Said valve being provided with a
handle A¹ which extends through the opening b, and which, being grasped by the
hand of the operator, or worked by hydraulic power or other suitable means, enables
the valve B to be moved in any direction, the said valve B being therefore capable
of a longitudinal movement. B¹ is the bore or passage of the valve B, one end a¹
of the said bore communicating with the receiver C, which receives the lead or

page_text: other soft metal from which the pipes or traps are to be made. The other end b¹ of
this bore B' communicates with the chamber f leading to the annular die D, as
herein presently more fully explained. The walls of the die D are, at a certain
distance from the circumference of the core C¹, equal to the thickness of the walls
of the pipe or trap to be made.
Formed preferably in one piece with the core C¹ are downwardly extending radial
partitions m, which rest upon shoulders g' formed midway between the top and
bottom of the chamber f, the lower part of the said chamber being narrowed, as
represented at h¹. In like manner the lower portions of the partitions m are
narrowed to fit into this diminished lower portion h¹ of the chamber f.
The core C¹ may be held down in its place by a transverse bolt n passed through
the same, and also through the frame A, or by any other suitable means.
The lead or soft metal from which the curved pipes or traps are to be made is
poured into the receiver C in a molten condition, and by means of a plunger F
operated by hydraulic or other suitable power, the said lead or other soft metal is
forced in a more or less fluid, plastic, or softened condition, as the case may be, into
and through the bore B' of the valve B. If, during this flow or passage of the lead
or other soft metal to the die D, I operate the valve B to conduct a larger portion of
the metal to one side of the die D than to another, the metal will issue from the
said die in greater volume and with greater rapidity at such side than at such other,
thereby curving or bending the material as it issues in tubular form from the die.
Inasmuch as the spaces between the partitions m constitute separate passages
from the bore B' to the die D, it follows that by operating the valve B to throw a
preponderence of the material into one or another of the said passages, the pipe
may be turned in any one of several different directions proportioned in number
with the number of the said passages, in other words, to the number of partitions m.
For example, when, as represented in the Drawing, these partitions are employed,
the material, as it issues in tubular form from the die, may be bent in different
directions, as, for instance, when required in forming traps with their connections
and planes at right angles, whereas if no such partitions were employed and the
preponderance of material at one side or another of the die D depended simply
upon the relative position of the end b¹ to the bore B¹ with reference to the different
portions of the die D, it would be more difficult to give an accurate or predetermined
form to the curved pipe or trap resulting from the operation of the apparatus. But,
on the other hand, greater latitude would be allowed in the variety of the curvatures
to be given, as, for example, in the formation of curved pipes of irregular bend, or
of pipe formed in coils as it issues from the die.
It is to be understood that any plastic material may be substituted in place of
the molten, plastic, or softened lead or other soft metal, as the case may be. Thus,
for example, the clay ordinarily used in the manufacture of earthenware pipes may
be employed for the production of curved pipes or traps of earthenware.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The herein-described method of making die-drawn pipes or traps with
thickened bottoms by forcing the material through a die, the variable width of one
side of which is changed simultaneously with the passage of the material through
the die, as herein set forth.
Second. The combination of the recessed slide or equivalent device with the
die C constructed with its core excentric to a portion of the walls of the dic, as and
for the purpose herein set forth.
Third. The combination of an axially turning valve plug or key valve or cock
with the passages, the die, and the receiver, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fourth. The valve constructed to have a universal movement in combination
with a die for the production of curved pipes or traps, as and for the purpose herein
set forth.

page_text: Fifth. The combination of a partition with the valve constructed to have a
universal movement and the die D, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Sixth. The valve seat constructed with a conical opening in combination with
the handle of the valve and the die D, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Seventh. The combination of the receiver, the valve capable of a universal move-
ment, and the die D, all as and for the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
XXZM PORT TAKE