IMPROVEMENTS IN PACKING FOR STUFFING-BOXES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, HELEN HAZEL COBBETT, of 5 Suffolk Place, S.W. in the county of Middlesex,
chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PACKING FOR STUFFING-BOXES to be as follows:-
31
My invention relates to packing for use in stuffing-boxes for the piston or valve
rods of steam engines, pumps, hydraulic machinery, air compressors, rock drills or
any other apparatus in which rods passing through stuffing-boxes are employed.
My improved packing is made in the form of a ring of the proper size for the
particular rod to which it is to be applied, and is preferably prepared in the follow-
ing manner
A strip of wire-gauze is placed around a rod or mandrel of the proper size, so
that the edges of the said gauze just meet each other.
A woven or plaited band or tape of cotton or other fibrous material or cotton
wick is then wound round the rod so that it overlaps the edge of the wire-gauze,
one or more turns of the said band being taken as desired, a band. of ordinary
canvas and rubber of the same width is then placed upon the woven band, and the
woven band then wound one or more times round the canvas and rubber, another
similar canvas and rubber band is then placed in position and secured as before
by one or more turns of the woven band.
The projecting part of the wire-gauze is then cut in a sufficient number of places
so that it can be bent down over the edges of the several layers of wooven band,
and canvas and rubber and lapped over the last layer, one or more turns of the
woven band are then taken around the lapped over gauze, and the whole secured
by numerous pointed pegs made of wood, metal, or other suitable material driven
quite through all the layers of woven band, canvas and rubber, and wire-gauze.
Lubricating material of any suitable character such as tallow, asbestos, plumbago,
French chalk &c. may be incorporated with the wooven band and may be applied
to the said band either before it is wound in place or while it is being so wound.
Or the lubricating material or materials may be applied after the ring has been
constructed or all three methods may be employed together if desired.

page_text: To apply the ring it is only necessary to divide it into two or more segments
place the said segments in position in the stuffing box and screw down the gland
in the usual way, when the said segments will be compressed and form a perfectly
tight joint.
Among the numerous advantages possessed by packing prepared in accordance
with my invention may be mentioned the following―
The packing is of the exact size and shape required, and when forced down by
the gland is compressed evenly all round-The wire-gauze obviates any tendency
to stick to the stuffing box, and an old ring can be removed and a new one placed
in position with great rapidity and by unskilled hands, so that if it is necessary to
repack a stuffing box while a machine is at work, it is only necessary to stop for a
very short space of time.

page_text: I, HELEN HAZEL COBBETT, of No. 5 Suffolk Place S.W. in the county of
Middlesex, Chemist, 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 for use in stuffing-boxes for the piston or valve-
rods of steam engines, pumps, hydraulic machinery, air compressors, rock drills or
any other apparatus in which rods passing through stuffing-boxes are employed.
My improved packing is made in the form of a ring of the proper size for
the particular rod to which it is to be applied, and is preferably prepared in the
following manner.
A strip of wire-gauze is placed round a rod or mandrel of the proper size, so that
the edges of the said gauze just meet each other.
A woven or plaited band or tape of cotton or other fibrous material or cotton
wick, narrower than the aforesaid strip of wire-gauze, is then wound round the
rod, so that it overlaps the edge of the wire gauze, one or more turns of the said
band being taken as desired, a band of ordinary canvas and rubber of the same
width is then placed upon the woven band, and the woven band then wound one
or more times round the canvas and rubber, another similar canvas and rubber
band is then placed in position and secured as before by one or more turns of the
woven band.
The projecting part of the wire-gauze is then cut in a sufficient number of places
so that it can be bent down over the edges of the several layers of woven band and
canvas and rubber and lapped over the last layer, one or more turns of the woven
band are then taken round the lapped over gauze, and the whole secured by
numerous pointed pegs made of wood, metal or other suitable material driven quite
through all the layers of woven band, canvas and rubber and wire-gauze.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood I will now proceed to
describe it more fully by reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Fig. 1 represents a plan, Fig. 2 an end elevation (or edge view) and Fig. 3 a cross-
section through the line X X in Fig. 1 of a packing ring for a piston or valve-rod
stuffing-box constructed according to my invention.
The same letters refer to the same parts in each figure.
A flat strip of wire-gauze a is placed around a mandrel of the same size as the
rod to which the packing is to be applied.
The said strip being of such a length that the ends just meet around the
mandrel.
The mandrel is not shown in the drawing.
Two turns b b² of a band or tape of suitable woven or plaited fibrous material
are then taken around the wire-gauze, so that the said woven material projects
below the lower edge of the said wire-gauze as shown at «², a band of canvas and
rubber o, of the same width as the material b, is then placed around the said
material, and two more turns b³ b³ of the said material are taken around c, a second
band of rubber and canvas c' is then applied and around this two more turns of the

page_text: material 64 65 are taken. The wire-gauze has been previously cut down into strips
of equal width, as far as the line a' and the said strips are now bent down horizon-
tally upon the edges of the woven material and the canvas and rubber bands and
then bent down again to lay over the last two turns of the woven material.
The way in which the gauze is cut is shewn clearly in Fig. 1 and the way in
which it is bent as above described, is also shown clearly by the thick black line
(which is purposely exaggerated) in the section Fig. 3.
Two final turns be 6 of the material are now taken round the gauze, and a
number of pointed pegs d, formed of wood, soft metal or other suitablo material,
are driven through all the layers of wooven material, canvas and rubber band and
wire-gauze, to retain all the parts firmly in position and make the ring firm and
compact.
Lubricating material of any suitable character such as tallow, asbestos, plumbago,
French Chalk &c., may be incorporated with the wooven band and may be applied
to the said band either before it is wound in place, or while it is being so wound
―or the lubricating material or materials may be applied after the ring has been
constructed, or all these methods may be employed if desired.
To apply the ring it is only necessary to divide it into two or more segments,
place the said segments in position in the stuffing-box and screw down the gland
in the usual way, when the said segments will be compressed and form a perfectly
tight joint.
Among the numerous advantages possessed by packing prepared in accordance
with my invention, may be mentioned the following-
The packing is of the exact size and shape required, and when forced down by
the gland is compressed evenly all round. The wire-gauze retains the segments in
shape and obviates any tendancy of the packing to stick to the stuffing box.
An old ring can be removed and a new one placed in position with great rapidity
and by unskilled hands, so that if it is necessary to repack a stuffing box, while a
inachine is at work, it is only necessary to stop for a very short space of time.
I wish it to be understood that I do not necessarily confine inyself to the par-
ticular number of strips into which I divide the wire-gauze, nor to the particular
number of turns of the woven material or canvas and rubber band, nor to the
particular number and position of the pegs as shown in the accompany drawings;
but having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
The construction of packing rings for piston and valve-rod stuffing boxes,
substantially as herein described and shewn.