IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS IN TAPS OR VALVES, IN PIPE JOINTS, AND IN THE VALVULAR MECHANISM OF WATERCLOSETS." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samue
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Cameron, Plumber, and William Johnston,
Metal Merchant, both of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS
IN TAPS OR VALVES, IN
PIPE JOINTS, AND IN THE VALVULAR MECHANISM OF WATERCLOSETS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samue! Cameron and
William Johnston at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 16th November 1863.
We, SAMUEL CAMERON, Plumber, and WILLIAM JOHNSTON, Metal Merchant,
both of Glasgow, in the Count of Lanark, North Britain, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS OR VALVES, IN
PIPE JOINTS, AND IN THE VALVULAR MECHANISM OF WATERCLOSETS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention comprises various improvements in taps or valves and in the
valvular mechanism of waterclosets, and has generally for object simplicity in
construction and working with facility for making repairs and economy.
In a modification of the improved taps or valves the body in which the
valve piece or plug works is made in two halves like the half bearings of a
shaft, one half bearing being formed on the water inlet piece, and the other in
a cap, which is fixed to the inlet piece by flanges and screws after the plug or
valve piece is placed in position. The plug is by preference cylindrical, and
is formed with collars or flanges which keep it in place, the fluid enters the
plug through a slot in it and another in the inlet piece when the plug is turned
to make these coincide, and the part round the inlet slot is lined with packing
material, such as leather, to make a water-tight bearing, when the plug is
turned with its slot away the packing may be held by the flanges or it may
Dice

page_text: simply occupy the one half bearing and be prevented from slipping round by
the other half bearing which fits close on the plug. This arrangement is
suitable for a tube tap having a curved discharge tube which forms a con-
tinuation of the plug made hollow for the passage of the water into the tube.
In a modification suitable for a nose cock or stop cock instead of one half
bearing being a mere cap it is made with a fluid way and with a curved dis-
charge spout or with a straight continuation tail tube, and the plug is made
with a passage completely across and with a handle or key square externally
to turn it by. In these modifications both half bearings are lined with a
packing material, such as leather. An important advantage of these arrange-
ments consists in the construction permitting of the parts being easily tight-
ened up if they work loose, and of the packing material being easily renewed
when required.
In another modification the plug set in a vertical position is made hollow
and with a short discharge spout projecting downwards and with a handle or
key square on the top to turn it by. The body is in two halves and lined on
the inlet side, as in the modification previously described. The constructing
of the body of the tap or valve in two pieces, and in some cases in three
pieces, is applicable to a great variety of arrangements of the valve piece.
In all arrangements in which a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical valve chamber
is required the external shell may consist of cast iron of unturned brass or
other cheap material in two or more parts, and may enclose a lining of com-
paratively thin metal, such as drawn brass tubing, or of glass or other smooth
material, leakage between the shell and lining being prevented by packing or
cement. In a modification in which the body or shell is in three pieces the
inlet is formed in the middle piece, and on each side thereof and between it
and the top and bottom pieces washers of leather or rubber are held and have
their inner edges projecting slightly into a cylindrical valve chamber in which
there is a hollow cylindrical valve piece. This valve piece has holes in its
sides, and when these holes are between the washers the fluid has access to
the valve piece and is discharged through it, but when the valve piece is shifted
with the holes outside of the washers the fluid is shut off by them. The valve
piece in this and various other modifications, and more particularly
when of large size, may be economically made of an outer shell of
thin metal, such as drawn brass tubing, upon an inner shell or core of cast iron
or other cheap material. Pipe joints, such as the swivel joints of gas brackets,
particularly when of comparatively large size, may be advantageously made in
the same way as the taps or valves first herein-before described, the journal
of the swinging pipe being held like the tap plug between two half bearings.

page_text: In arranging a tap of the kind first herein-before described in connection with
a ball float for cisterns and waterclosets, the lever or arm of the ball float is
made tubular, and being fixed on the plug or valve piece the water is dis-
charged through it. The ball float, when made of glass or earthenware, is
formed with two opposite holes, and the lever or arm or a separate spindle to
be attached thereto is passed through these holes and fixed with washers of
leather or the like, and a screw or screws. The discharge mechanism or
valvular details of a watercloset are made like the tap details first herein-
before described, but of course on an enlarged scale, and the axis of the valve
piece may be vertical, inclined, or horizontal. The plug of the water supply
tap may also be constructed in the same way, and it may be fixed on the same
axial spindle as the main discharge valve. In the case of "pan," Bramah,"
and other closets the water supply tap of the kind first herein-before described
may also have its plug fixed on the same axial spindle as the main discharge
valve.
In another modification of main discharge valve for waterclosets a flap valve
is closed against a vertical or nearly vertical face by a weighted lever centred
opposite to the valve, or the lever may be connected to the valve by a link
forming a toggle joint. In closets with discharge valves of the kinds herein-
before described over-filling is conveniently prevented by attaching a metal
or flexible tube to the valve itself, and carrying it up inside the valve chamber
to the requisite height.
In another modification a curved pipe is fitted on the basin discharge in such
a way that when it is turned upwards the overflow by it is at or above the
level at which the water is wished to stand in the basin. The discharge is
effected by turning down the curved pipe.
In applying the tap first herein-before described to waterclosets, one of the
half bearings for the plug may be formed in the cast-iron casing or framing,
and in "pillar" closets with an outer shell of earthenware a similar provision
may be made.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Cameron and William Johnston in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 14th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
CAMERON, Plumber, and WILLIAM JOHNSTON, Metal Merchant, both of Glasgow,
in the County of Lanark, North Britain, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Samuel Cameron and William Johnston, Her special license that
we, the said Samuel Cameron and William Johnston our executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Samuel Cameron
and William Johnston, our executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TAPS OR VALVES, IN PIPE JOINTS, AND IN THE VALVULAR MECHANISM OF
WATERCLOSETS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Samuel
Cameron and William Johnston, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Samuel Cameron and William
Johnston, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement in writing, reference being had to
the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:-
Our said Invention comprises various improvements in taps or valves, in
pipe joints, and in the valvular mechanism of waterclosets, and has generally
for object simplicity in construction and working, with facility for making
repairs, and economy.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, we have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing examples
of the various modifications of which our improved arrangements are susceptible,
the same reference numerals being used to mark the same or like parts in all
the Figures.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 2 is a sectional plan of a tube
tap or swan-neck tap; Figures 3 and 4 are vertical and horizontal sections of

page_text: a stop-cock; Figure 5 is an elevation of a nose-cock; Figure 6 is an eleva-
tion of another nose-cock; and Figure 7 is a sectional elevation of another
stop-cock.
In all these modifications the body in which the valve-piece or plug 1 works
is made in two halves 2, 3, like the half bearings of a shaft, one half bearing 2
being formed on the water inlet-piece 4 and the other in a cap 5, Figures
1, 2, 6, or in the discharge-piece 6, Figures 3, 4, 5, 7, which is fixed to the
inlet piece 4 by flanges and screws after the valve-piece 1 is placed in
position. The plug 1 is, by preference, cylindrical, and is formed with collars
or flanges 8, which keep it in place. The fluid enters the plug 1 through
a slot in it, and from another slot or port in the inlet-piece 4 2, when the plug
is turned so as to make these coincide, and the part of the inlet bearing 2
round the inlet slot is lined with packing material, such as leather, to make a
water-tight bearing when the plug is turned with its slot away. The packing,
which is shown black in the Figures, may be held between one or both pairs
of flanges 7, or it may occupy the inlet half bearing 2, and be prevented from
slipping round by the other half bearing 3, which is made to fit closely on the
plug, whilst the inlet half bearing 2 is made as much larger internally as to
receive the packing. In the tube tap, Figures 1 and 2, the curved discharge
tube 9 forms a continuation of the plug 1, made hollow for the passage of the
water into the tube. In modifications suitable for stop-cocks, Figures 3, 4, 7,
or for a nose-cock, Figure 5, instead of the outlet half bearing 3 being a mere
cap, it is made with a fluid way and with a straight continuation tail tube or
curved discharge spout 6, and the plug 1 is made with a passage completely
across like an ordinary tap plug, and with a handle 10 or key square
externally to turn it by. In these modifications, 3, 4, 5, 7, both half bearings 2,
3, are by preference lined with a packing material, such as leather.
An important advantage of these arrangements consists in the construction
permitting of the parts being easily tightened up if they work loose, and of
the packing material being easily renewed when required. It is obvious that
the parts may be reversed as regards their offices of inlet and outlet; thus,
for example, if the tube 9, Figure 1, were fixed to the service pipe, the tail 4
would act as the discharge without the working parts being at all altered.
Such a disposition of the parts is shown in the sectional plan of a tube tap in
Figure 8, the movable discharge tube 4¹ being formed with the two half
hearings 2, 3, which work on the plug 1, whilst the plug forms a continua-
tion of the inlet piece 91, and has a flanged continuation 11, by which it may
be additionally fixed.
9
Figure 9 is an end elevation, and Figure 10 is a longitudinal vertical section

page_text: of a stop-cock showing another modification of the reversed arrangement. In
this example the movable piece consists simply of the two half bearings 2, 3,
with a handle 10, and the plug part 1 is in one piece and line with the inlet and
outlet tails 4, 6. There are two ports into the plug, one into the inlet and
the other into the outlet, which are separated by a diaphragm or partition
formed in the casting. A cavity 12 is made in the movable half bearing 2,
and there is an opening through the packing material, and when this cavity is
turned over the ports the tap is open, but when the cavity is turned away from
the ports the communication between them is cut off.
In another modification, shown in Figure 6, the plug 1, set in a vertical posi-
tion, is made hollow, and with a short discharge spout 9 projecting downwards,
and with a handle 10 or key square on the top to turn it by. The constructing
of the body of the tap or valve in two pieces, and in some cases in three pieces,
is applicable to a great variety of arrangements of the valve piece. In all
arrangements in which a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical valve chamber is
required, the external shell may consist of cast iron, as shown in Figure 7, of
unturned brass, or other cheap material in two or more parts, and may enclose
a lining 13 of comparatively thin metal, such as drawn brass tubing, or of
glass or other smooth material, leakage between the shell and lining being
prevented by packing or cement. When the taps or portions of them are made
of cast iron it may be "electro-bronzed," or have copper or other metal
deposited upon it galvano-plastically.
In a modification of tap shown in vertical section in Figure 11, and in plan
in Figure 12, the body or shell being in three picces 14, 15, 16, the middle
piece 14 is formed on the inlet 4. and on each side thereof, and between it
and the top and bottom pieces 15, 16. washers of leather or rubber are held,
and have their inner edges projecting slightly into a cylindrical valve chamber,
in which there is a hollow cylindrical valve piece 1. This valve piece has
holes in its side, and when these holes are between the washers the fluid has
access to the valve piece and is discharged through it, but when the valve
piece is shifted with the holes outside of the washers, the fluid is shut off by
them. In this example the movement of the valve piece 1 is obtained by means
of a screw handle 10. The valve piece in this and the other modifications,
and more particularly when of large size, may be economically made of an outer
shell of thin metal, such as drawn brass tubing, upon an inner shell or core
of cast iron or other cheap material. Pipe joints, such as the swivel joints
of gas brackets, particularly when of comparatively large size, may be advan-
tageously made in the same way as the taps or valves first herein-before
described, and as shown in elevation in Figure 13 and in horizontal section in

page_text: Figure 14, the journal 1 of the swinging pipe 9 being held like the tap plug
between two half bearings 2, 3. Or the reverse arrangement may be adopted,
as in the tube tap shown in Figure 8. When of large size the pipe joints are
made of cast iron electro-bronzed.
In arranging a tap of the kind first herein-before described in connection
with a ball float for a cistern or for a watercloset, the lever or arm 17 is made
tubular, as indicated in Figure 15, and being fixed on the plug or valve piece 1
the water is discharged through it. Figure 16 is a sectional plan of another
modification of tap, with a tubular float arm or lever 17, in which the angular
motion of the lever by means of a pin and inclined groove causes the inner
end of the tube to close against a seat covered with leather or rubber. This
modification is not claimed as novel, excepting so far as regards the adaptation
of the tubular discharge lever 17. The ball float 18, Figure 15, when made
of glass, as shown, or earthenware, is formed with two opposite holes, and
the lever or arm 17 either tubular or solid, or a separate spindle connected to
the lever is passed across the ball through these holes, and is fixed with
washers 19 of leather or the like, and a screw or screws.
The discharge mechanism or valvular details of one modification of water-
closet are, by this Invention, made like the tap details herein-before described,
but of course on an enlarged scale, as shown in section in Figure 17, and in
plan in Figure 18, and the axis of the valve piece 1 may be horizontal, as
shown, or vertical, or inclined. The plug of the water supply tap 20 may
also be constructed in the same way, and it may be fixed on the same axial
spindle 21 as the main discharge valve I. In the case of "pan "Bramah,'
or other closets, the water supply tap of any of the kinds herein described
may have its plug fixed on the same axial spindle as the main discharge
valve.
وو
"
Another modification of main discharge valve for closets is shown in vertical
section in Figure 19 and in plan in Figure 20, and in it a flap valve 22 is
used for the main discharge valve, being closed against a vertical or nearly
vertical face by a weighted lever 23 centred opposite to the valve 22, and
acting on it either directly or through a link 24, forming a toggle joint, as
shown. Over-filling is prevented in closets of this and similar kinds by
attaching a metal or flexible tube 25 to the valve 22 itself, and carrying it up
inside the valve chamber to the requisite height.
In another modification, shown in vertical section in Figure 21, the main
discharge valve is constructed and worked like the tube tap shown in Figure 8,
and herein-before described, a short discharge spout 4' being formed upon the
movable part and acting as an overflow when turned up in the position in

page_text: which it is shown. The discharge of the closet is effected by turning down
the spout 41 into a horizontal or lower position. The movable part is shown
separately in Figure 22. A curved pipe to discharge by turning down in this
way may be connected to the discharge outlet of the closet basin in various
other ways.
In applying taps of the kinds herein described with movable plugs to water-
closets, one of the half bearings for the plug may be formed in the cast-iron
casing or framing, and in "pillar" closets with an outer shell of earthenware
a similar provision may be made. The inlet tail may be formed in the half
bearing which forms part of the casing or framing; or both inlet and outlet
tails may be formed upon the separate half bearing or cover, their ports com-
municating with the plug chamber on the same side, and the plug being formed
with a cavity or passage disposed so as to communicate with both ports when
turned to the "open" position, but shutting the communication when turned
away.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, we have to state that we do not restrict
ourselves to the precise details herein described or delineated; but that what
we believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to us
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the arranging or com-
bining together of the parts of taps or valves, of pipe joints, and of the valvular
mechanism of waterclosets, substantially in the improved manner herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Samuel Cameron and William Johnston,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
28, St. Enoch Square,
Glasgow.
SAMUEL CAMERON. (L.S.)
WM. JOHNSTON.
(L.S.)