Improvements in Packing Appliances for use in Making Tube Joints by Fluid Pressure.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Sept., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 6th July, 1898-Accepted, 6th Nov.,
1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Packing Appliances for use in Making Tube Joints
by Fluid Pressure.
I, WALTER CLAUDE JOHNSON, of The Dignaries, Westcombe Park, in the County
of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
-
My invention relates to packing appliances for use in making tube joints by
fluid pressure, and, as it is particularly applicable in making the joints in cycle
frames, I shall describe it as applied to this particular work.
When it is desired to force the thin steel tube of the framework into recesses
formed in the connecting sockets and lugs, by fluid pressure applied through the
tubes, it is essential that the fluid be not allowed to get between the surfaces which
are to be pressed together, as this would tend to counteract the pressure on the
inside of the tube.
To prevent this, according to one method, I fit into the bottom bracket a steel
bush which is lined with rubber having nozzles opposite each of the sockets and
also at one end. This end nozzle is arranged to receive the spigot of the pipe
which conveys the pressure, and a tight joint is obtained automatically when the
spigot is introduced.
Into each of the other nozzles in this rubber lining I insert tapered plugs, the
other ends of which fit tight into the tubes of the frame. These plugs I make
of rubber of varying degrees of hardness, the top edge of the part which fits into
the tubes being of soft substance and the bottom part being of very hard rubber
or of ebonite, and tapered to fit into the nozzles in the sleeves.
Similarly I fit a suitable rubber lined steel sleeve in the seat column with a
similar plug entering the top tube.
In the sockets of the head lugs which receive the other ends of the top and
bottom tubes of the frame, and in the head tube itself. I fit similar rubber plugs
of soft and hard substance, and the whole of these plugs are arranged in such a
manner that, when the fluid pressure is admitted into the frame, it forces their
soft edges up to the tubes and thus prevents any leakage past the ends of the
tubes and up between the tubes and the sockets in which they are inserted.
The portion of the plug which comes opposite the end of the tube is of ebonite
or hard substance so that no portion of the plug shall get pressed into any slight
space which there may be between the tube and the socket, as would happen if
the plugs were wholly of a soft quality of rubber.
To further ensure against this contingency, the plugs may be protected at this
part by metal sleeves or collars or the lower tapered part may be entirely of metal.
In a similar manner I make the rubber linings of varying degrees of hardness
any part of the lining which comes opposite any recess or sharp edge being made
very hard.
The plugs and sleeves are provided with holes where necessary to allow the pas-
e of the Auid

page_text: Where inlets for the fluid or outlets for air are necessary I arrange these plugs
to receive metal spigots, and I provide the plugs with soft rubber lips to fit round
these spigots and prevent any leakage past them.
According to a modification of the above method, instead of using plugs at
each end of the tubes only, I can use rubber linings for each tube complete, these
linings having ends to correspond with the above described plugs. This still
further reduces the possibility of difficulty from leakage.
In the case of a tube in the frame which it is not necessary to submit to the
fluid pressure, or from which it would be difficult to remove the air, I insert into
it a flexible mandril of rubber with hard protective portions where necessary.
All these plugs and sleeves can be removed after the operation is complete and
can be used again.
According to another method, I fit the tube into the socket, preferably allowing
it to butt up to a shoulder in the socket, this shoulder being of width equal to
the thickness of the tube so that the bore of the socket beyond the shoulder is the
same as that of the tube. Inside the tube where the end of the tube meets the
shoulder in the socket, I insert a joint collar consisting of a metal boss with two
"U" shaped rubber rings, placed in reverse directions to each other
and kept in their places on the boss by guard rings. The boss
has a hole through its centre which allows
the passage
of the fluid
and ensures that the pressure on both sides are equalised, so that the collar does
not tend to move along the tube. The boss is so placed that there is a joint ring
on each side of the junction of the tube and socket, to prevent leakage. These
joint collars, being loose, can be removed from the inside of the tube when the
joint is completed.
According to another method I form in the socket an annular recess into which
the end of the tube projects, and I place in this recess a rubber packing ring of
"U" section its outer edge bearing against the tube and its inner edge bearing
against the inner periphery of the recess.
When the pressure is applied to the inside of the tube, it presses the outside
and inside edges of the rubber ring close to the inside of the tube and the inner
periphery of the recess respectively, and forms a fluid tight joint, thus preventing
the fluid from finding its way between the tube and the socket.
Instead of rubber rings of "U" section I may use rings of soft metal such as
copper, brass, lead, or of woodite, leather, guttapercha or other suitable material,
and of cup-shaped, hat-shaped or other section. The rings may be moulded, cast,
turned, stamped, spun or made in
many other ways.
In making joints by fluid pressure, it is necessary to place the objects which
are to be jointed together, in a jig or device for supporting the parts against the
bursting pressure, and my invention is applicable to the making of the connec-
tions between such jigs and the pipes which supply the fluid under pressure.
The pipe can be provided with a suitable connection arranged to slip inside one
of the brackets, sockets, or lugs of the frame, the connection being made to re-
ceive a "U" shaped or other suitable joint ring, over the open side of which
may be placed a small collar having the same outside diameter as that of the ring.
This protects the edges of the joint ring and allows a fluid tight joint to be made
quickly and without need of tightening up separate bolts or screws.
In order to further ensure the rigidity of the tubular joint, when it is made, I
give the inside of the sockets a coating of hardened steel filings or other hard
granular material such that when the pressure is applied the grains bed them-
selves into the tubes and the sockets.
Dated this 6th day of September 1897.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Packing Appliances for use in Making Tube Joints
by Fluid Pressure.
I, WALTER CLAUDE JOHNSON, of The Dignaries, Westcombe Park, in the County
of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
My invention relates to packing appliances for use in making tube joints by
fluid pressure, and as it is particularly applicable in making the joints in cycle
frames, I shall describe it as applied to this particular work.
When it is desired to force the thin steel tube of the framework into recesses
formed in the connecting sockets and lugs by fluid pressure applied through the
tubes, it is essential that the fluid be not allowed to get between the surfaces which
are to be pressed together, as this would tend to counteract the pressure on the
inside of the tube.
To prevent this according to one method I fit into the bottom bracket a steel
bush which is lined with rubber having nozzles opposite each of the sockets and
also at one end. This end nozzle is arranged to receive the spigot of the pipe
which conveys the pressure and a tight joint is obtained automatically when the
spigot is introduced.
Into each of the other nozzles in this rubber lining I insert tapered plugs the
other ends of which fit tight into the tubes of the frame. These plugs I make
of rubber of varying degrees of hardness, the top edge of the part which fits into
the tubes being of soft substance and the bottom part being of very hard rubber
or of ebonite and tapered to fit into the nozzles in the sleeves.
Similarly I fit a suitable rubber-lined steel sleeve in the seat column with a
similar plug entering the top tube.
In the sockets of the head lugs which receive the other ends of the top and
bottom tubes of the frame, and in the head tube itself I fit similar rubber plugs
of soft and hard substance, and the whole of these plugs are arranged in such a
manner that, when the fluid pressure is admitted into the frame, it forces their
soft edges up to the tubes and thus prevents any leakage past the ends of the
tubes and up between the tubes and the sockets in which they are inserted.
The portion of the plug which comes opposite the end of the tube is of ebonite
or hard substance so that no portion of the plug shall get pressed into any slight
space which there may be between the tube and the socket, as would happen if
the plugs were wholly of a soft quality of rubber.
To further ensure against this contingency the plugs may be protected at this
part by metal sleeves or collars or the lower tapered part may be entirely of metal.
In a similar manner I make the rubber linings of varying degrees of hardness,
any part of the lining which comes opposite any recess or sharp edge being made
very hard.
The plugs and sleeves are provided with holes where necessary to allow the pas-
sage of the fluid.
Where inlets for the fluid or outlets for air are necessary, I arrange these plugs
to receive metal spigots, and I provide the plugs with soft rubber lips to fit round
these spigots and prevent any leakage past them.
According to a modification of the above method, instead of using plugs at
each end of the tubes only, I can use rubber linings for each tube complete, these
linings having ends to correspond with the above described plugs. This still
further reduces the possibility of difficulty from leakage.

page_text: In the case of a tube in the frame which it is not necessary to submit to the
fluid pressure, or from which it would be difficult to remove the air, I insert into
it a flexible mandril of rubber with hard protective portions where necessary.
All these plugs and sleeves can be removed after the operation is complete and
can be used again.
boss
According to another method, I fit the tube into the socket, preferably allowing
it to butt up to a shoulder in the socket, this shoulder being of width equal to
the thickness of the tube so that the bore of the socket beyond the shoulder is the
same as that of the tube. Inside the tube where the end of the tube meets the
shoulder in the socket, I insert a joint collar consisting of a metal boss with two
"U" shaped rubber rings, placed in reverse directions to each other
and kept in their places the
on
The
boss by guard rings.
has a hole through its centre which allows the passage of the fluid
and ensures that the pressure on both sides is equalised, so that the collar does
not tend to move along the tube. The boss is so placed that there is a joint ring
on each side of the junction of the tube and socket, to prevent leakage. These
joint collars being loose, can be removed from the inside of the tube when the
joint is completed.
According to another method I form in the socket an annular recess into which
the end of the tube projects, and I place in this recess a rubber packing ring of
"U" section its outer edge bearing against the tube and its inner edge bearing
against the inner periphery of the recess.
When the pressure is applied to the inside of the tube, it presses the outside
and inside edges of the rubber ring close to the inside of the tube and the inner
periphery of the recess respectively, and forms a fluid tight joint, thus preventing
the fluid from finding its way between the tube and the socket.
Instead of rubber rings of "U" section I may use rings of soft metal such as
copper, brass, lead, or of woodite, leather, gutta percha or other suitable material,
and of cup-shaped, hat-shaped or other section. The rings may be moulded, cast,
turned, stamped, spun or made in many other ways.
In making joints by fluid pressure, it is necessary to place the objects which
are to be jointed together in a jig or device for supporting the parts against the
bursting pressure and my invention is applicable to the making of the connec-
tions between such jigs and the pipes which supply the fluid under pressure.
The pipe can be provided with a suitable connection arranged to slip inside one
of the brackets, sockets, or lugs of the frame, the connection being made to re-
ceive a "U" shaped or other suitable joint ring, over the open side of which
may be placed a small collar having the same outside diameter as that of the ring.
This protects the edges of the joint ring and allows a fluid tight joint to be made
quickly and without need of tightening up separate bolts or screws.
In order to further ensure the rigidity of the tubular joint, when it is made, I
give the inside of the sockets a coating of hardened steel filings or other hard
granular material such that when the pressure is applied the grains bed them-
selves into the tubes and the sockets.
The accompanying drawings illustrate packing devices according to this inven-
tion as applied to the frame of a bicycle.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 being vertical central sections of the head tube, scat pillar
tube and bottom bracket respectively together with the contiguous sockets and the
packing devices.
Fig. 4 is a sectional plan of the bottom bracket.
Fig. 5 a section of an alternative form of packing and
Figs. 6 and 7 show further alternative constructions.
Fig. 8 illustrates a device for blocking an open tube or the like.
With reference to Figs. 1 to 4 A, A1, A2, A3 and A4 are the head tube, top tube,
seat pillar tube, chain stays and bottom tube respectively, of a bicycle frame of the

page_text: usual construction; B are the head tube lugs, B₁ the seat pillar tube lugs anu D-
the bottom bracket.
C is a stop ended bush, preferably of steel, inserted in the bottom bracket,
having openings Copposite the chain stay lugs and seat pillar tube end, and
an opening C opposite the bottom tube end, D a rubber lining for the bush C,
having tubular projections D¹ fitting in the holes C¹, C, and E tubular spigots
affording communication between the interior of the sleeve D and the interiors of
the chain stays A³ and bottom tube A, and seat pillar tube A³.
Where these spigots enter the chain stays a packing, forming an important
feature of this invention is employed.
Similar packing is employed around the spigots K' of the pressure supply
pipe K and at each end of the bottom tube and of the head tube: it is also shown
at the head tube end of the top tube.
The packing consists of rubber of three grades a hard grade, say ebonite
The soft
shown at F, a medium hard grade at F2, and a soft grade at F.
grade 3 closes, under the influence of the fluid pressure, tightly around the
spigots and against the walls of the tubes, the layers F2 and F affording a sup-
port or backing for this soft material.
The packings or plugs at the head tube ends of top and bottom tubes are shown
provided with withdrawal plugs H of some hard material to which chains H¹
are attached and by which the packing may be withdrawn through the seat
pillar tube and bottom bracket respectively after the joint has been made. The
material is formed into discs of such a diameter as to fit the inside of the respec-
tive tubes fairly tightly.
The packing shown at the seat pillar ends of the top tube and seat pillar tube
respectively consist of a thin backing F¹ of hard material and cup F' of soft
material.
G are metal plugs with passages G¹ through which the air is allowed to escape
when the frame being filled with water preparatory to applying the pressure.
These passages are closed by screws during the application of pressure and the
plugs themselves held in position by any convenient means, say by the jig in
which the frame is placed during treatment. The plug in the seat pillar tube is
provided with a passage G³ affording communication with the interior of the top
tube A¹
The connection of the head tube to the pressure supply is lettered K and its
spigot K¹.
The device illustrated in Figure 5 comprises a double ended boss or plug L
having a perforation L2 through it. The boss is preferably of metal and accommo-
dates two U shaped washers P of leather rubber or other suitable material as
illustrated. The boss is so placed within a socket B³ into which a tube A5 fits,
that one of the U washers is to one side and the other to the other side of the end
of the tube which preferably butts up against a shoulder turned in the socket as
illustrated. Guard-rings Q are preferably secured one to each side of the boss
so as to retain the U washers in position as shown. These guard-rings may be
conveniently made of metal.
Figure 6 illustrates a similar device for use at the end of a tube fitting within
a socket, which comprises a single-ended plug M of approximately the shape of
one half of the boss L and may be either perforated through the nipple M' so as
to afford communication with the adjacent tube shown at A or may be made solid
as shown so as to serve simply as a packing for the socket in which it is, placed.
Instead of a separate plug M, a nipple M¹ may be formed in the base of the
socket and the socket provided with a shoulder against which the end of the tube
butts as in the device illustrated in Figure 5.
Figure 7 illustrates an alternative device as it would be constructed for instance
for the top tube of a bicycle frame. This device consists of a rubber sleeve 0
stop-ended at one end but having its other end perforated at O₁ for the admission

page_text: of fluid under pressure. The ends of this sleeve are preferably "graded," that is,
made of two or more materials of different elasticity as has already been described
with reference to the "graded" packing F1, F2, F3 or the ends may be made plain.
A chain or other device for withdrawing the boss L or M may be employed it
being either passed through the perforation L2 and secured on the far side of
the boss or to a ring upon the nipple M¹ or in any other convenient manner.
Where it is desired to apply this packing to a tube one end of which is open or
to only one end of which it is desirable to apply fluid pressure, the flexible man-
drel as shown in Figure 8 may be employed. This mandrel consists of a flexible
solid body N, a "graded" perforated end N¹ and a cavity N2. It is preferably
hardened at the opposite end as indicated at N³. This mandrel being inserted
within the tube, pressure is admitted through the perforated end to the cavity N
the "graded" end making a fluid-tight joint and the pressure being confined by
the cavity N2 to that end of the tube which it is desired to expand..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A fluid tight packing for fluid pressure connections formed of two or more
materials of different elasticity arranged in two or more layers of which that ex-
posed directly to the fluid is the most yielding.
2. The combination with a fluid tight packing such as described in Claim 1
of a flexible withdrawing device H¹.
3. In a fluid tight connection the combination of a stop ended bush such as C
lining D and one or more spigots such as E or one or more spigots K with pack-
ing FF arranged and operating substantially as described.
4. In a fluid tight packing the combination with a tube and socket of a per-
forated double ended plug such as L and two U shaped washers substantially as
described and illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
5. In a fluid tight packing the combination with a tube and socket of a single
ended plug such as L' perforated or solid and a U shaped washer substantially
as described and illustrated in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.
6. For use in the hydraulic jointing of tubular structures the employment of
socketted plugs such as K and G in combination with fluid tight packings sub-
stantially as described.
7. A flexible mandril such as N having a perforated plain or "graded" end N¹
and cavity N substantially as described or illustrated in Figure of the accom-
panying drawings.
"
8. The rubber sleeve with "graded" or plain ends substantially as and for
the purpose described and illustrated in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.
9. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete packing
and fluid-pressure connections for a tubular structure substantially as described
and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 or in Figure 5, or in Figure 6 of the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 5th Ja
T1
1000
W. CLAUDE JOHNSON.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.