In- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TAPS OR COCKS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Hill, of the Town and County of the Town
of Nottingham, Plumber and Brassfounder, for the Invention of "In-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TAPS OR COCKS."
Sealed the 2nd December 1864, and dated the 4th June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Hill at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th June
1864.
I, HENRY HILL, of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham,
Plumber and Brassfounder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inver..
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TAPS OR COCKS," to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist in forming a recess round the interior of the tap
or cock in a line with the feed pipe; such recess may be cast in the tap or
cock, or it may be turned out, or formed in any other manner. The recess is
covered by a perforated cylinder, the interior of which receives a rod provided
with two cups of leather, vulcanized india-rubber, or other material, one of
these cups lying above and the other below the perforations in the cylinder
when the water is cut off. This rod and the cups are raised or lowered when
the water is to be turned on by a ball lever, or its equivalent, and at either
end of the perforated cylinder is a conical or otherwise shaped seat, which
receives one or other of the above-named cups.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Hill in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd
December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HILL, of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham, Plumber and
Brassfounder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Hill, Her special. licence that I, the said Henry Hill, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Hill, my executors, administrators, and 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF TAPS
OB Cocks," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Hill,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said Henry Hill, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof. reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My improvements consist in an improved tap or cock, in which a recess is
formed round the interior of such tap or cock in a line with the feed pipe;
such recess may be cast in the tap or cock, or it may be turned out, or formed
in any other manner. The recess is covered by a perforated cylinder, the
interior of which receives a rod or spindle provided with two cups of leather,
vulcanized india-rubber, or other flexible material, one of these cups lying
above and the other below the perforations in the cylinder when the water is
cut off. This rod and the cups are raised or lowered when the water is to be
turned on by a ball lever, or its equivalent, and at cither end of the perforated

page_text: cylinder is a conical or otherwise shaped seat, which receives one or other of
the above-named cups.
The object of these two cups is to prevent the water from escaping either
in the upper or lower part of the tap until such time as the ball or float has
partly fallen, when the bottom cup is raised above the perforations, and admits
the water to run through the outlet of the tap. As the cistern or vessel is
being filled with water the rising of the ball or float will force down the
spindle or plunger and bring one of the cups below the perforations, the
pressure of the water expanding the cup to the sides of the cylinder, thus
causing the cylinder to become water-tight, either for high or low pressure,
and in case any obstruction arises in the cup or cylinder provision is made by
which waste of water is avoided, and this provision consists in having a seat
below the perforations, so that the bottom portion of the lower cup having
passed the perforations of the cylinder will be forced down by the pressure of
the ball on to this seat below the perforations.
Having thus set forth the nature of my said Invention, I now proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same, with reference to the
accompanying Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a sectional view of one modification of a ball-cock or valve, the
body of which is formed in two parts; the outer part A is enlarged at one
end to receive an inner part, which consists of a perforated cylinder B, round
which the enlarged part of A forms a chamber, which chamber allows the
water or other fluid to enter in the direction of the upper arrow, and to sur-
round the perforated portion of the cylinder B; the parts A and B are united
in the position shown by soldering or brazing, or they may be screwed
together. In the interior of the cylinder B is a double-cupped spindle or
plunger C, that is to say, a rod or spindle carrying two cups; these cups may
be formed of leather, vulcanized india-rubber, or gutta percha; one such cup
is held in position by the screw and nut at the bottom of the spindle, and the
other cup is held in position by the upper end of the spindle being screwed
into a somewhat thicker portion of the spindle, which thicker portion has a
slot D passing through it, in which said slot the upper end of a lever E is free
to turn; the lever is hinged by a pin to two projecting tabs on one side of and
at the upper end of the perforated cylinder B; the lever E is somewhat enlarged
at the under side below the projecting tabs, thereby forming a stop to the lever,
and preventing the ball F or other convenient float employed from falling too
low and locking the lever, which lever in this Figure is shown at its lowest point,

page_text: having in its fall raised the cupped spindle or plunger to its highest point, by
means of which the water or other fluid is enabled to escape in the direction
of the lower arrow; when the cistern or other vessel is full or nearly so the
ball or other float to which the lever is attached having risen with the water,
the upper end of the lever will lower the double-cupped spindle and will
effectually cut off the exit of the water or other fluid; the lower cup rests
upon a seat B¹ in the interior of the cylinder B, such seat forming part of
such cylinder B.
Figure 2 represents a second modification of my improvements, and shows
a sectional view of a ball cock or valve, in which the part A forms the
outer portion of the cock or valve, in which a perforated cylinder E is raised
and depressed by the upper end of a lever F, the lower end of which lever is
attached to a ball or other float; the upper end of the lever is hinged by a pin
to two tabs or projections on one side of a screwed cap C, screwed into the
upper portion of the part A; the cap C is screwed down upon an upper
cupped leather, or vulcanized india-rubber or gutta percha cup D¹; the
cap C holds the cup upon a seat or ledge, cast or otherwise formed in the
upper portion and interior of the part A. In this cap C the upper end of the
perforated cylinder E slides, its lower end sliding through or in a cap B
screwed into the lower portion of the part A; this cap B also holds a leather
or other cup D up to a flange or seat in the lower portion of the part A. In
this Figure the portion of the lever F, shown in a raised position, is supposed
to have depressed the inner sliding perforated cylinder E to its lowest position,
by which means the exit of the water through the tap or cock is effectually
cut off, the water readily passing through the cock in the direction of the
arrows, as the ball or other float falls; there is an outer flange on the lower
end of the perforated cylinder E, which prevents the cylinder from being raised
too high, or instead of this flange the lever may have a projecting piece on the
under side of the upper end, as shewn at Figure 1, to form a stop for the lever
if preferred.
Figure 3 represents a tap or cock similar to the one shown at Figure 1,
but in this case the double cupped spindle C is raised by a crutch or handle E,
instead of being acted upon by a ball lever. The cylinder and the other several
parts of the arrangement in this Figure are marked with the same letters as
in Figure 1; the cylinder is prevented from being wholly withdrawn by a pin
working in a slot in the upper portion of the part B, and is prevented from
being pushed too low by a collar on the crutch or handle E. This Figure is
shown in section..
Figure 4 is a sectional view of a water or other fluid tap or cock, having

page_text: the arrangement of parts as those shown in Figure 2, except that the
cylinder E is raised or lowered by a handle F instead of being acted upon by
a ball lever; the extent to which it is raised is governed by the flange on the
bottom of the perforated cylinder, and the depression is governed by the same
means as described for Figure 3.
In the above Figures the direction of the fluid when it is escaping is
indicated by the arrows.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the employment of a perforated cylinder in combination with a rod or
spindle carrying two cups, arranged and acting (as shewn in Figures 1 and 3)
as described,
Second, the employment of a moveable perforated cylinder surrounded by
two cups (as shewn in Figures 2 and 4) as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Hill, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
GEO. JON. ROBINSON,
Patent Office,
Nottingham.
HENRY HILL. (L.S.)