AN IMPROVED UNION JOINT FOR GAS, WATER, AND STEAM PIPES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE BRANCH PIPES OF FIRE-ENGINES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Armand Gilbee, of No. 4, South Street,
Finsbury, London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
UNION JOINT FOR GAS, WATER, AND STEAM PIPES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE
BRANCH PIPES OF FIRE-ENGINES."-A communication.
Sealed the 8th June 1858, and dated the 27th February 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Armand Gilbee at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th February 1858.
I, WILLIAM ARMAND GILBEE, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
UNION JOINT FOR GAS, WATER, AND STEAM PIPES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE BRANCH
PIPES OF FIRE-ENGINES," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to an improved union joint for superseding the
ordinary screw union joint of fire-engines, and is suitable for water, steam,
and gas pipes in general.
The flange of one pipe of the improved joint is cast with lugs, which project
over a groove in the flange. furnished with a washer of india-rubber or any
other elastic material and also with a stop. The flange of the other
pipe of the joint fits in the groove of the opposite flange, and has. notches
formed in it for the passage of the lugs, and also with notches in which
the stud or stop enters, when the two flanges are placed together;..the
latter pipe is furnished with a collar which fits over it; the flange of this

page_text: collar is also constructed with notches which correspond with the flange of the
pipe. The collar flange is formed with wedges, and on turning the collar
round the wedges come in contact with the lugs, which cause the two pipes
of the joint to be pressed together on the washer, and thus obtain a water or
air tight joint. The collar is formed with a slot, in which works a pin fixed
to the pipe to form a stop. The union joint is fixed to a pipe on the hose of
a fire-engine by means of rivets, screws, or by a ligature.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Armand Gilbee in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th August 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARMAND GILBEE, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Patent. Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Armand Gilbee, Her special licence that I, the said
William Armand Gilbee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or.such
others as I, the said William Armand Gilbee, 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 of "AN IMPROVED UNION JOINT FOR GAS, WATER, AND STEAM PIPES,
ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE BRANCH PIPES OF FIRE-ENGINES," communicated to me
by a foreigner residing abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Armand Gilbee, 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 William Armand Gilbee, 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

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
The Invention communicated to me consists in constructing the upper pipe
of union joints with and applying thereto a grooved flange and a pressure
collar formed with a grooved wedge flange, and in forming the lower pipe of
the joint with lugs and with a suitable elastic seat or bearing, so that when
the flanges are placed under the projecting lugs in the lower pipe of the joint,
by giving a partial turn to the nut of the collar, an air or water tight junction
is obtained, as herein-after described.
.This improved joint may be advantageously employed in marine pumps or
engines in which the ordinary screw joint becomes deteriorated by the action
of sea-water; also for the hose and branch pipes of fire-engines and garden
pumps, and for water, steam, gas pipes, and pipes in general.
For the better comprehension of the Invention, I will now proceed to
describe the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, which shows various modes
in which the Invention may be carried into effect; the same letters refer to
corresponding parts in the Drawings..
Figure 1 represents an elevation, and Figure 2 a partial section of a
complete joint for an underground pipe. It is composed of two pipes A; B,
which may be fitted to a cast-iron or other metallic pipe. Metallic under-
ground pipes may be cast with the improved joint, thus rendering unnecessary
the use of solder or rivets in fitting them together. The pressure collar C
shewn separately in elevation and plan, Figures 3 and 4; is formed in two
semicircles for pipes of a large diameter, and united together by bolts and
nuts D, passing through the lugs or ears E; in the nut F are made four
holes G; into which are introduced four loose pins or levers H, for turning the
collar round; the lower part of the collar is provided with a flange I, in
which are formed four grooves or notches J for giving passage to the four
fixed lugs K, cast to the flange L of the lower pipe B of the joint; each of
the four divisions of the flange I is formed into a wedge or inclined plane M,
which, in passing under the fixed lugs K, produces a strong pressure, so as to
prevent the escape of liquids or gases; N, projecting ring, pressing on a
seat or bearing of india-rubber or other elastic material O enclosed in. the
groove P made in the flange L of the lower pipe, shewn in plan, Figure 5;
Q, groove, in which the flange T of -the upper pipe rests; R, pin or stop, for
preventing the upper pipe A from turning round when the two pipes are fitted
together. Figures 6 and 7 shew an elevation and plan of the upper pipe.
S, grooves, or notches made in the flange T, for the passage of the lugs; T,
small notches, in one of which the stop pin R, Figure 5, enters...

page_text: Figures 8 and 9 represent respectively an elevation and partial section of a
modification of the improved joint in which the pressure collar C is formed in
one piece suitable for pipes or the hose of fire-engines and garden pumps, to
which the joint may be fitted by a ligature; the collar in this joint is turned
by means of a screw wrench or spanner; U, opening or space to allow the
play of the stop pin V, fixed to the upper pipe A; W is a small vertical groove
to allow the collar to be raised, for the purpose of removing any dirt which
may accumulate on it. The corrugations X made on each of the two pipes;
serve to give a hold to the ligature. The joint may also be fitted to hose or
pipes by means of rivets or solder, in which case the pipes are not corrugated.
Figure 10 is a plan of the lower face of the upper pipe, shewing the projecting
ring N. Figure 11 is a plan of. the head of the lower pipe B. Figure 12
is a plan of the pressure collar C, and upper pipe A.
Figure 13 is an elevation, and Figure 14 a partial section of a modification
of the improved union joint, suitable for steam pipes, in which the elastic
material is dispensed with. It consists, like the joints herein-before described,
of three parts, viz., two pipes and a pressure collar. Instead, however, of
using india-rubber to form an air-tight closing, the lower pipe B is formed
with a conical projection or ring Y, which fits in a corresponding conical
socket Z in the upper pipe A. The tightening together of the two pipes is
effected by the pressure collar, as in the joints herein-before described. The
lugs K are formed with a projecting hook a, fitting in a groove b, so as to.
keep the collar tight in its place; c, guard. Figure 15 is a plan of the
pressure collar C, provided with three notches or grooves. Figure 16 is an
elevation of the lower pipe, shewing the conical pipe Y.
The improved union joint may be made of brass or other metal, when it is
required to fit the two parts of the joint together; to form a union between
two pipes, the pressure collar C is turned round on the upper pipe A, to which
it is fitted, until the stop pin V rests against the projection of the nut F, as
shewn in plan, Figure 12, which action brings the notches J and S, in the
two flanges T and I, opposite each other, so as to permit the lugs K to pass
through them, when placing the flange T, of the upper pipe A, in the -groove-
Q, made in the head of the lower pipe B, to receive it. When the parts are
in this position with the stop R in one of the grooves or notches T¹, the
pressure collar is turned either by a screw wrench by the levers or pins H, or a
by a hammer (in the latter case the nut F should be provided with projections)
só as to bring the wedges or inclined planes M of the flange I under the pro-
jecting-lugs K, of which..three or four may be employed according to circum-
stances.
In proportion. to the distance that the wedges are brought under the

page_text: lugs will be the pressure of the projecting ring N, of upper pipe A, on the
india-rubber seat or bearing O, thus forming a perfectly air or water tight
junction.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish to remark in conclusion
that I do not confine myself to the exact details of construction, so long as the
peculiar features of the Invention are retained; what I claim as new and
desire to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the construction of a union joint with a pressure collar C, acting in
combination with a grooved flange T and lugs K, on the pipe B, for pressing
and holding the upper pipe A on an elastic seat or bearing, so as to produce
´an air or water tight junction, as herein-before described and referred to in
Figures 1 to 12 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings.
Secondly, the construction of a union joint with conical tubes fitting one
within the other, in combination with the pressure collar C, flange D, of the
upper pipe, and lugs K¹, as herein-before described and referred to in Figures
13, 14, 15, and 16, of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Armand Gilbee, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
W. A. GILBEL. (L.S.)