IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF PIPES AND TUBES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF PIPES AND TUBES."-A communi-
cation from abroad by Jean Baptiste Denans, of Paris, in the Empire
of France
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd July 1869.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF PIPES AND TUBES," a com.
munication from abroad by Jean Baptiste Denans, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved mode of joining or connecting
the ends of pipes and tubes employed for the passage of water, gas,

page_text: "
steam, and other fluids, constituting what the Inventor designates a
stuffing box" joint, whereby greater facility is afforded for laying
down pipes, and means are provided to admit of and compensate for the
contraction and expansion of the metal of which the pipes are composed,
whilst maintaining the tightness of the joint. The Invention is equally
applicable to that description of joint in which the socket is cast in one
with one pipe, and surrounds the plain end of the other pipe as to those
in which a separate socket is employed which embraces the plain or
square abutting ends of both pipes.
According to this Invention it is proposed to cast the sockets with
a screw thread on one or more parts of their external surface, and
to employ nuts having corresponding screw threads cast in them which
are screwed on to the sockets. Space is left between the outer surface
of the pipes and the inner surface of the socket for the introduction
of packing, composed either of a washer or collar of lead alone, of
india-rubber, or tow, or of a leaden washer in combination with india-
rubber or tow. On the inner circumference of the socket one or more
shoulders, flanges, or projections are provided, and a rim or projection
are provided, and a rin or projection is formed in the inner portion
of each nut, so that the packing is maintained between the flange
or shoulder on the socket and the rim or projection on the nut, and
the adhesion of the lead to the pipe is ensured. The projecting rim
on the nut will also facilitate screwing up, and when india-rubber or
tow are employed in combination with the leaden washer or collar thin
washers of zine or lead may be disposed between the india-rubber or tow
and the nut, which will turn the one on the other from frictional
contact in the act of screwing up the nut and thus protect the packing
from injury. The leaden washers may be first cast in a mould and
then introduced into their place in the socket in a cold state, by means
of a species of core or mandrill composed of wood partially encased
in metal, around the end of which the washer is placed, and thus
inserted into the recess formed by the shoulder in the socket. Keys or
spanners of suitable form may be employed for the purpose of screwing
up the nuts and holding the pipe stationary during that operation.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send' greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF PIPES AND TUBES," a communication from
abroad by Jean Baptiste Denans, of Paris, in the Empire of France,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:-
The said Invention relates to an improved mode of joining or con-
necting the ends of pipes or tubes employed for the passage of water,
gas, steam, and other fluids, constituting what the Inventor designates a
"stuffing box" joint, whereby greater facility is afforded for laying

page_text: down pipes or tubes, and means are provided to admit of and compensate
for the contraction and expansion of the metal of which the pipes or
tubes are composed whilst maintaining the tightness of the joint. The
Invention is equally applicable to that description of joint in which the
socket is cast in one with one pipe, and surrounds the plain end of the
other pipe; as to those in which a separate socket is employed, which
embraces the plain or square abutting ends of both pipes.
According to this Invention it is proposed to cast the sockets with
a screw thread on their external surface, and to employ nuts having
corresponding screw threads cast in them, which are screwed on to the
sockets; space is left between the outer surface of the pipes and the inner
surface of the socket for the introduction of packing, which may be
composed either of a washer or collar of lead alone, of india-rubber, or
tow, or of a leaden washier in combination with india-rubber or tow.
On the inner circumference of the socket an annular shoulder, flange,
or projection is provided, and a rim or projection is formed on the inner
portion of each nut, so that the packing is maintained between the
flange or shoulder on the socket and the rim or projection on the nut, and
the adhesion of the fend to the pipe is ensured: The projecting rim on the
nut will also facilitate screwing up or tightening of the joint; and when
india-rubber or tow are employed in combination with the leaden washer
or collar thin washers of zinc or lead may be disposed between the
india-rübber or tow and the nüt, which collars will turn the one on the
other from frictional contact with the nut in the act of screwing up
the same, thus protecting the packing from injury. The leaden washers
may be first cast in a mould, and then introduced into their place in the
socket in a cold state by means of a species of core or mandrill composed
of wood partially encased in metal, around the end of which the washer
is placed, and thus inserted into the recess formed by the shoulder in
the socket, or the lead washers or rings may be open or split and applied
to the end of the male pipe. Keys or spanners of suitable form may be
employed for the purpose of screwing up the nuts and holding the pipe
stationary during that operation:
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the Figures.

page_text: Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a sectional elevation of the
improved joint composed of lead and caoutchouc; Figure 2 shows the
same form of joint in which lead alone is used; Figure 3 shows the
socket of the pipe with the internal projection cast therein; Figure 4
is a section of the leadén ring; Figure 5 is the nut which compresses
the ring in order to tighten the joint; Figure 6 is a sectional elevation
of the improved mode of jointing tubes. by means of a separate socket
piece or ring or ferrule in conjunction with lead, fibrous material, such
as hemp or caoutchouc; Figure 7 represents the mandrill employed for
inserting the ring of lead in a cold state inside the pipes or tubes;
Figure 8 is a modified form of mandrill for the same purpose; Figure 9
shows the nut as well as the key for screwing the same; and Figure 10
shows the key which is employed for holding the pipe whilst the nut is
being screwed up.
a is the pipe socket having an internal annular projection cast
therein for insuring the close fitting or adhesion of the lead to the pipe.
The exterior of the socket has a screw thread cast or otherwise formed
thereon, upon which is screwed the nut h, also having screw threads
cast or otherwise formed therein, and which is screwed up tight by
means of the keys or levers m, n. The internal part of the nut is formed
with an annular projection o (Figure 5), which serves to compress or
tighten the lead or other packing, the combination of the two pro-
jections 6 and o on the pipe socket and nut respectively forming
a
one of
the essential features of this Invention. The male part of the joint has
slightly raised external annular projection p cast on the end thereof,
which projection when introduced into the socket is not in contact with
the lead, but affords a slight play to the pipe. The object of this pro-
jecting ring p is to prevent the end of the pipe from being withdrawn
from the socket, since it would àbut against the lead joint ring should
there be any tendency for the male portion of the joint to become
withdrawn from its socket.
All these arrangements are equally applicable when using a separate
socket piece or screwed ring c, as shewn in Figure 6, in which case the
contiguous ends of the two pipes are simply provided with the projecting
ring p. The chief portion of the joint strictly speaking consists of a
leaden ring d cast in a mould; these rings are cast open or split, but
care should be taken that their ends overlap or are made with a step or

page_text: broken joint, as ahown at q, in Figure 4; the male end of the pipe is
covered with one of these rings, and is then introduced into the socket,
after which the lead packing ring is squeezed up or compressed longi-
tudinally by the nut so as to make the joint tight. As the projection p
is not essential to the making of a good joint it may in some cases be
dispensed with, the lead ring being then cast without a split or join, but
still preserving the general exterior formation shown in Figure 4. In
this case it is introduced into the socket by means of a wooden mandrill i
(Figure 7) provided with an iron ferrule, the diameter of which is equal
to the external diameter of the małe end of the pipe. This insertion of
the rings may obviously be made at the manufactory, so that when the
pipes are brought to the place where they are to be laid they have
simply to be slipped one into the other, after which the joints are
tightened by screwing up the nut h. When using caoutchouc and lead
rings the dimension of the latter is reduced, and the caoutchouc ringf
is placed in the space left by the tightening up, after which two
superposed rings e are added capable of turning the one over the other
under the friction of the nut, thereby preserving the caoutchouc from
injury during the screwing up of the nut; the same applys when using
hemp or fibrous packing g. In these two latter cases the lead ring
is squeezed into its place in the socket by the mandrill k (Figure 8).
specially adapted for the purpose.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said 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 novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, -
First. The construction and use of pipes provided with sockets
having screw threads cast thereon, and an internal shoulder or projec-
tion made therein, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before
described.
Second. The construction and use of nuts having an internal screw
thread as well as a shoulder or projection cast therein, substantially in
the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
Third. The making of pipe joints by the use of a leaden ring or
washer cast to the required form and dimensions in conjunction or not

page_text: with a ring of caoutchouc or with hemp packing, and two thin metal
washers or rings, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-
before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day
of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)