IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHAT ARE COMMONLY CALLED STREET GUARD PLATES FOR PUBLIC WATER SERVICES, AND IN THE MODE OF CONSTRUCTING THE STOP-VALVES, STOPPERS, OR STOP-COCKS USED THEREIN, AND WHICH STOP-VALVES, STOPPERS, OR STOP- COCKS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS OTHER PURPOSES WHERE THE FLOW OF WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS IS REQUIRED TO BE REGULATED OR SUSPENDED
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MIDWORTH, of Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham, Brassfounder, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I did by petition humbly represent unto Her present most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria that I had invented certain "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHAT ARE COMMONLY CALLED STREET GUARD PLATES FOR
PUBLIC WATER SERVICES, AND IN THE MODE OF CONSTRUCTING THE STOP-VALVES,
STOPPERS, OR STOP-COCKS USED THEREIN, AND WHICH STOP-VALVES, STOPPERS, OR STOP-
COCKS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO VARIOUS OTHER PURPOSES WHERE THE FLOW OF WATER
OR OTHER LIQUIDS IS REQUIRED TO BE REGULATED OR SUSPENDED," and Her said
Majesty, being willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions which
may be for the public good, was graciously pleased, by Her Royal Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of July, One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three, in the seventh year of Her reign, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, to give and grant unto me, the said William
Midworth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her special license, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I or they, by myself or themselves, or
by my or their deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as I or they should
agree with, and no others, during the term of fourteen years from the date of
the said Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, uso, exercise, and
vend my said Invention within that part of Her said Majesty's Dominions

page_text: called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
in such manner as to me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, shall seem
meet, and as that I or they shall enjoy the whole profit and advantage arising
by reason of the said Invention during the said term of fourteen years; and
for that end Iler said Majesty requires and strictly commands all Her subjects
whatsoever, within England and Wales and Berwick-upon-Tweed aforesaid,
that they shall not, neither directly nor indirectly, make, use, or put in practice
my said Invention, or any part thereof, nor in anywise counterfeit, imitate, or
resemble the same, nor make any addition thereto or subtraction therefrom,
whereby to pretend himself or themselves to be the inventor or inventors
thereof. And whereas the said Letters Patent contain a proviso, obliging me,
the said William Midworth, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Midworth, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described and
ascertained in manner following, and by the aid of the Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed (that is to say):-
My improvements in the construction of what are commonly called street
guard plates consists in forming such guard plates with an interior hollow,
which is made to serve for a continuation of the water passage through the
underground service pipe (or branch of such pipe), by which water is brought
from some public waterwork or other source from whence water is to be
supplied through such pipe (or branch), and the guard plate having within the
upper part of its said interior hollow or stop-valve, stopper, or stop-cock for
stopping, regulating, or suspending the flow of water through the water pipe
(or branch thereof), or for opening the water passage and permitting an
emission of water to take place from the spout of the guard plate when
required. And guard plates so made according to my said improvements in
the construction of common street guard plates will form substitutes for the
street guard plates commonly used, and also for so much of the usual water
servico pipes (or branches thereof) as rise up above ground, and are concealed
behind and guarded by such guard plates; and also for the ordinary stop-
cocks which are applied at the upper extremities of the said pipes (or branches)
for the purpose of drawing water therefrom.

page_text: Figure 1 of the Drawing is a front elevation; Figure 2, a section; and
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a guard plate constructed according to my
improvements in common street guard plates. A, A, in all the Figures is
the guard plate, made in cast iron, in the form of a semicircular or half
column, projecting out in the manner of a pilaster from the flat back, which
is to be applied against the vertical surface of a wall or of a post, and which
back is to be fastened thereto by screws or spikes inserted in the holes a, a, a, a,
through the projecting border of the guard plate, the interior hollow b, d,
of the said guard plate forming a water passage, into which water is conveyed
from any ordinary water service pipe (or branch of such water pipe), which
pipe (or branch) being underground is to be joined to the lower part of the
guard plate A, A, by a union screw joiut D, so as that the said interior
hollow b, d, will serve for a continuation of the water passage through such
pipe or branch, and the stop-valve, or stopper, or stop-cock, being situated at
the upper part d of the said interior hollow b, d, of the guard plate A, A,
serves to suspend or stop the flowing of water from the water pipe (or branch)
into and through the interior hollow b, d, whenever the water passage through
the said stop-valve, stopper, or stop-cock is closed; but whenever that water
passage is opened (or partially opened), then a flow of water will be permitted
to take place from the water pipe (or branch) up through the interior hollow
b, d, and up through the opened (or partially opened) water passage of the
stop-valve, stopper, or stop-cock into the uppermost part e of the interior
hollow of the guard plate, and out from thence through the spout E at the
upper end of the guard plate A, A, in front thereof. And guard plates so
made as aforesaid, according to my improvements in common street guard
plates, may be substituted for the common street guard plates which are used
for guarding the terminating portions of water service pipes (or branches of
such water pipes), and also the ordinary stop-cocks thereof, at places where
such terminating portions ascend upwards above ground, against or near to
walls or to posts, with the said ordinary stop-cocks at the upper ends of such
terminating portions, for the purpose of drawing off water at the spouts of
such stop-cocks, which spouts are situated at a suitable height above ground
for placing buckets or other portable vessels beneath such spouts for receiving
the water which will be permitted to flow out at the same when the stop-
cocks are opened; and such terminating portions of water service pipes (or
branches thereof) being commonly made of lead, require (as well as the brass
stop-cocks at the upper ends thereof) to be guarded and protected from injury,
to which the same might be exposed when situated in streets or places of
public access, and therefore what are commonly called street guard plates

page_text: (being concave shells, or half tubes, or hollowed plates of cast iron,) aro
applied in front of the said terminating portions and their stop-cocks, and are
fastened to the upright faces of the walls or posts against which the said
terminating portions are carried up, so as to inclose and conceal the said
terminating portions and part of their stop-cocks by such street guard plates,
which form no part of the water passages, and are wholly additional to the
said terminating portions of the pipes (or branches) and their stop-cocks, but
are merely for the purpose of guarding and concealing the same; whereas
guard plates, constructed as aforesaid, according to my improvements in
common street guard plates, having the water passages within their own
interior hollow, such passages are substituted for so much of the terminating
portions of the water service pipes (or branches) as ascend above ground in
the common plan, as well as for the stop-cocks at the upper ends of those
terminating portions; and by the form and substance of the guard plates
constructed as aforesaid according to my improvements in common street
guard plates, the samo aro qualified for resisting injury, and the stop-valves,
stoppers, or stop-cocks within the upper parts thereof are concealed and
protected from injury; and the kind of stop-valves, stoppers, or stop-cocks,
which are most suitable to be used in the guard plates constructed as
aforesaid, according to my said improvements in common street guard
plates (and which kind of stop-valve, stopper, or stop-cock forms part.
of my said improvements) is constructed in manner following:-The move-
able part is a hollow screw plug F (see also the separate view in perspective,
Figure 4), which is fitted to screw into a screw thread (or into screw threads)
formed within a socket G, G, which is fitted tight into the upper end of the
interior hollow b, d, of the guard plate. The hollow screw plug F has a
projecting flange around it faced with leather, which applies to the upper
surface of the marginal border of the socket G, when the plug F is screwed
downwards in the said socket G as far as it will go, and then the upward
passage of water out of the interior hollow b, d, will be wholly stopped. But
when the hollow screw plug F is turned round, so as that its screw threads
and those within its socket G will cause it to ascend therein, then the pro-
jecting flange of the hollow screw plug F with the leather facing thereto will
quit its previous contact with the said upper surface of the socket G, and the
lateral openings in the sides of the hollow screws plug, as shewn in Figure 4,
being partly raised above the said upper surface of the socket G will allow the
passage of water from the interior hollow b, d, of the guard plate up through
the interior of the hollow screw plug F, and from thence laterally in different
directions through so much of the area of the said lateral openings as is raised

page_text: above the upper surface of the socket G. The said passage of water being
beneath the leather facing of the projecting flange of the screw plug F, and
above the upper surface of the socket G, and the water obtaining such passage
entering into the uppermost part e, e, of the interior hollow b, d, of the guard
plate, flows out therefrom at the spout E of the guard plate. And in order
to turn the hollow screw plug F round for the purpose of screwing it up or
down in its socket G, as aforesaid, its cylindrical spindle H extends upwards
from above its projecting flange, so as to pass up through a stuffing box in
the cover I, I, of the said uppermost part e, e, of the interior hollow of the
guard plate, and a turning key or handle J is applied on a square part at
the uppermost end of the spindle II of the hollow screw plug, the shank part
of the said turning key J having a square hollow within it suited to fit exactly
on the said square at the uppermost end of the spindle II of the hollow screw
plug F, the exterior of the said shank part of the turning key J being
cylindrical, and very nearly filling a cylindrical hole in an exterior cap K,
which is fastened upon the uppermost part of the guard plate by way of a
roof to cover the whole. And note. The upper end of the spindle I
whereon the key J is applied, and the hollow within the shank of the key J.
which is to fit on that upper end, may be triangular or five-sided instead of
being square; or it may be of any unusual figure, such, for instance, as the
ace of diamonds, or of hearts, or of clubs, or of spades, on playing cards, or
other fanciful form, in order that it may be difficult to find any substitute for
the true turning key J, and consequently that the possessors of the true
keys J may alone have the means of turning the spindle II, and consequently
of drawing water. The socket G, G, may be made of bronze or gun metal, and
may be fastened into the upper part d of the interior hollow b, d, of the guard
plate by tapping and screwing, as is shewn in the section, Figure 2, also in
Fig. 4, and with cement, if requisite, to make a tight fitting. The hollow
screw plug F may also be made of bronze or gun metal, together with its
spindle H, either in the same piece of metal as the hollow screw plug, or else
that spindle may be made of iron or steel firmly affixed to the bronze or
gun metal of the hollow screw plug by casting such bronze or gun metal
around the lowermost end of the iron or steel spindle II, or else by fitting
with a square at that lowermost end, and rivetting or otherwise, so as that the
hollow screw plug F and its spindle I will be firmly united like one piece of
metal. The screw threads around the exterior of the hollow screw plug F
and the corresponding screw threads within the interior of the socket G may
be either what is called by workmen a single thread screw, or else a double or
a treble, or a quadruple thread screw, as may be preferred. With a single

page_text: thread there will be more power to screw down the leather facing of the
hollow screw plug F very tight upon the upper marginal surface of the
socket G, and thereby prevent leakage; but with a double, treble, or quad-
ruple thread screw there will be so many times the less of turning of the
hollow screw plug F required (by its key J) in order to open the water
passage to an equal extent and to close the same than there would be with
a single thread screw. The lateral openings in the sides of the hollow screw
plug F for the water passage may be two, or three, or four in number,
arranged at equal distances one from another around the exterior circum-
ference of the hollow screw plug F, and of such size as to leave a sufficiency
of metal between them for strength, the metal so left being about equal or
rather less than equal to that which is cut away in forming the openings.
The leather facing to the projecting flange of the hollow screw plug F may be
a ring or washer of strong leather fitted to screw on the screw threads around
the exterior of the hollow screw plug F, so as to apply closely against the flat
surface of the projecting flange thereof, and such leather ring may be retained
by one or two small brass pins sunk in the leather, so as to prevent it from
getting loose on the said screw threads. The cover I of the uppermost part e
of the interior hollow of the guard plate may be fastened down in its place by
two or more screws with leather interposed in the joint to make a close fitting.
The stuffing box in that cover I, for the reception of the spindle II of the
hollow screw plug F, may be made in the usual manner of ordinary stuffing
boxes, with packing of leather or of hemp confined by a hollow screw or gland
screwed down around the spindle H, which must be truly cylindrical as well
as straight, and concentric with the screw threads around the hollow screw
plug Fat that part of the spindle H which fits into the stuffing box, and
which part must move up and down through that stuffing box at the same
time that it turns round therein by action of the hand turning the key J, and
by the mutual action of the screw threads around the outside of the hollow
screw plug F and of the corresponding screw threads within the interior of
the socket G. Note.-The tendency to leakage at the said stuffing box is
very slight, because it is only when the hollow screw plug F is screwed
upwards to allow a water passage that the water has access with any force
into the uppermost part e of the interior hollow of the guard plate, and then
such access cannot be attended with any sensible force of hydrostatic pressure,
because the water has a free escape from the said uppermost part e at the
open spout E of the guard plate. The exterior cap K is fastened on its place
by interlocking into projecting parts of the cover I, and by countersunk
screws, or by any other suitable means. The union screw joint D is of the

page_text: usual construction of such union joints, one part whereof is connected with
the lower end b of the interior hollow b, d, of the guard plate by tapping and
screwing, or otherwise, into the cast iron of the guard plate, and the other
part of the same union joint D is connected by soldering or otherwise to the
water service pipe (or branch of such pipe) lying underground, and bringing
water from any suitable supply or water service when the hollow screw
plug F is turned round by its key J, so as to screw it upwards in its socket G,
and open the water passage, as already described, in order to draw out water
from the spout E of the guard plate. And note.-The union joint D may
(if preferred) be connected with the lower end 6 of the interior hollow b, d, in
a lateral direction by screwing or otherwise fastening one part of the union
joint D into the cast iron of the guard plate in a horizontal direction, either
at the back of the guard plate, where it applies against the wall or post (in
case the water service pipe (or branch thereof) comes through that wall or
post), or else in front or on either side of the lower end of the guard plate, in
which cases the guard plate may be made so much longer than the Drawing
represents as to descend below ground as much as is requisite for joining
horizontally to the water service pipe (or branch). And note.-The spindle H
of the hollow screw plug F has a shoulder r, r, formed upon it, which
comes up in contact with the under side of the stuffing box in the cover I, I,
and stops all further ascending motion of the hollow screw plug F, when the
same has been turned back so far by its key J as to have screwed it up high
enough to fully open the lateral openings in the hollow screw plug F, and in
that situation the united areas of all those openings should open a considerably
greater water passage than the area of the interior hollow within the plug F.
And note. The direction of the hollow screw plug F and its spindle H may
be horizontal (and its socket G corresponding thereto, (instead of being vertical
as represented in the Drawings), in cases when a horizontal direction is preferred
for inserting the cylindrical shank of the key J into that hole in the exterior
cap K, wherein the said shank is fitted, as already described. The uppermost
part of the section, Figure 2, where the hollow screw plug F with its spindle
II, and stuffing box in the cover I, I, and the key J, and the socket G, G, are
all represented being supposed to be a horizontal section viewed from above
(instead of a vertical section viewed sideways, will, under that supposition, serve
to explain how the hollow screw plug F and its spindle H may be disposed in
a horizontal direction. In such supposed case the part e, e, of the interior
hollow, which has been herein-before termed the uppermost part, will be at the
side or else in front of the uppermost end d of the interior hollow b, d, of the
guard plate, and the socket G will be screwed or otherwise fastened in a hori-

page_text: zontal direction into the cast iron, so as that the interior of that socket G will form
a connecting opening between the interior hollow b, d, and the interior hollow
e, e, and then the hollow screw plug F, when in its place in the said interior of
the socket G, on being screwed therein, by applying and turning its key J as
far as its flange faced with leather will permit it to go, will stop such con-
necting opening, or on being screwed back, by applying and turning its key J,
will then open the lateral passages, in the manner herein-before described, and
permit water to flow through from the interior hollow b, d, and enter into the
interior hollow e, from whence the water can flow out freely at the spout of the
guard plate, which spout must turn rather downwards in a suitably oblique
direction for spouting the water into a bucket or other portable vessel standing
on the ground in front of the guard plate. The direction in which the spindle
Hand key J may be disposed in such supposed case may be horizontally in
front of the guard plate and over the spout thereof, or may, if preferred, be
disposed horizontally at either side, the spout being in front; and the same kind
of stop-valve, stoppers, or stop-cocks, as herein-before described, and as repre-
sented in the perspective view, Figure 4, are also applicable to various other
purposes, such as bib or stop-cocks, and particularly for stop-cocks or valvos
for street mains, where the flow of water or other liquids or fluids is required
to be regulated or suspended; the socket G having a screw thread or screw
threads within the interior thereof, and the hollow screw plug F having a
corresponding screw thread or corresponding screw threads around the exterior
thereof, and also a projecting flange forming a flat shoulder (or a conical one)
adapted to fit tight to a corresponding face or border around the marginal
surface of the socket G, either with a leather or other washer interposed in
such fitting or without, and the socket G being fixed by any suitable means
into the passage which is to be opened or shut, and the interior of the socket
G having the hollow screw plug F screwed into it, then on being turned by
force applied to the end of its spindle H (which may pass through a socket or
stuffing box) that hollow screw plug F will either close the passage if it is
screwed into its socket G as far as it can go therein, or it will open the passage
if it is unscrewed in the said socket, so as to open the lateral openings in the
hollow screw plug F, as already described. And note. In place of facing of
leather for the projecting flange of the screw plug F, as already described,
india-rubber or caoutchouc may be substituted, or washers of soft metal, such
as lead or tin, or such facing may be wholly dispensed with, and the metal of
the projecting flange of the screw plug F brought into actual and close contact
with the marginal border around the socket G, the surfaces so brought in
contact, whether flat or conical, being accurately fitted one to the other.

page_text: Having now described my said improvements, I, the said William Midworth,
do hereby declare that what I claim as new Invention under the said Letters
Patent is, the improvements herein-before described in the construction of what
are commonly called street guard plates for public water services, by making
such guard plates so as that the interior hollows therein will serve as con-
tinuations of the water passages from the underground water service pipes (or
branches thereof) for conveying water therefrom above the level of the ground
through such continuations up to the stop-valves, stoppers, or stop-cocks, by
which (when opened) water is to be drawn from the spouts of the guard plates,
and by which (when partially or wholly closed) the flow of the water is to be
regulated or suspended, the said stop-valves, stoppers, or stop-cocks being
applied within the said interior hollows of the guard plates at or near the
upper part of those hollows; also, in the improvements herein-before described
in the mode of constructing the stop-valves, stoppers, or stop-cocks used in such
guard plates, by making the moveable plug part of the stop-valves, stoppers, or
stop-cocks in the manner of a hollow screw plug, as herein-before described, that
is to say, hollow within, and with a screw thread (or with screw threads) around
the exterior to screw into a corresponding screw thread (or corresponding
screw threads) in the interior of the socket, wherein such moveable plug part
or hollow screw plug is fitted, and the said moveable plug part or hollow screw
plug having a projecting flange around it (which may be faced with leather or
other suitable yielding substance or not) to apply and fit close to the marginal
surface of the socket when the moveable plug part or hollow screw plug is
screwed into its socket as far as it can go therein, and the said moveable plug
part or hollow screw plug having lateral openings, which afford passage for the
water when the moveable plug part or hollow screw plug is unscrewed in its
socket, so as to withdraw the facing of its projecting flange from its fitting to
the marginal surface of the socket, the said passage so afforded by the said
lateral openings being a lesser or greater portion of the area thereof, according
as the noveable plug part or hollow screw plug is less or more unscrewed
in its socket; and the stop-valves, stoppers, or stop-cocks so constructed
according to the said improvements therein, as herein-before described, being
also applicable to various other purposes where the flow of water or other
liquids is required to be regulated or suspended.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Midworth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-four.
WILLIAM (L.B.) MIDWORTH.
WILLIAM (L.B.) MIDWORTH.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of January, in the
seventh year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said William
Midworth came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His lato Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-four.