Improvements in or Additions to the Distributors of Street Watering Vans.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 25th June, 1890-Accepted, 26th July, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Additions to the Distributors of Street
Watering Vans.
I WILLIAM CLEMENS ABELL of Shrub Hill in the City of Worcester Manufacturing
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object to more efficiently control or regulate the delivery
of the water from the distributors of street watering vans than has hitherto been
effected and my said invention consists in combining with the said distributors
regulating valves and appliances constructed substantially as hereinafter described
whereby a portion of the length or the whole of the length of the distributor
may be permitted to deliver the water at the pleasure of the driver of the watering
van.
The water distributor of the street watering van consists of a horizontal perforated
tube or wood box at the rear of the van the said distributor being supported from
the said rear of the van and supplied with water by a vertical supply pipe at the
middle of the van. In the distributor say at about two feet or more on each side
the middle portion I place a regulating valve consisting of a metal plate in the
vertical edge at each end of which an india rubber leather or other packing strip is
fitted. The top and bottom edges of the valves fit closely against the top and bottom
of the distributor and the india rubber or leather fitted ends when the valves are
closed bear against the sides of the distributor. The ends of the valves may be
without packing and made to fit closely. The said valves can by a motion through
a quadrant be made either to cross the distributor or be placed parallel to the longer
sides of the distributor in the former position the valves are closed and in the latter
position open. The opening and closing of each of the said valves is effected by a
vertical axis or rod rising upwards and having a lever on its end the said lever being
under the control of the driver of the van. Or the valves may be worked by
horizontal rods.
When both valves are closed or made to cross the distributor the latter is
temporarily divided into three portions that is to say the said valves cut off the
end portions of the distributor having each say a length of seven feet from the middle
portion of the distributor having say a length of six feet into which middle portion
the water is delivered as before described and the supply of the water is thereby cut
off from each of the said end portions of the distributor. By closing one only of
the valves the distributor is open excepting at the end portion beyond the closed
valve. In this way when both valves are closed a length of about six or eight feet at
the middle of the distributor only delivers water and when one only of the valves
is closed a length of about thirteen feet at the middle and one of the end portions of
the distributor delivers water and by opening both valves the full length of the
distributor delivers water.
By using more than two valves the delivery of the water from the distributor may
be still further controlled in the manner I have already described.
Air is admitted to the water delivery pipe through a vertical air pipe thereby
admitting atmospheric pressure and causing a wider spread of water.
Dated this 3rd day of October 1889.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Additions to the Distributors of Street
Watering Vans.
I WILLIAM CLEMENS ABELL of Shrub Hill, in the City of Worcester, Manufacturing
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention has for its object to more efficiently control or regulate the delivery.
of the water from the distributors of street watering vans than has hitherto been
effected; and my said invention consists in combining with the said distributors
regulating valves and appliances constructed substantially as hereinafter described,
whereby a portion of the length or the whole of the length of the distributor
may be permitted to deliver the water at the pleasure of the driver of the watering
van.
.
The water distributor of the street watering van consists of a horizontal perforated
tube or wood box at the rear of the van, the said distributor being supported from
the said rear of the van and supplied with water by a vertical supply pipe or pipes
at the middle of the van. In the distributor, say, two feet or more on each side the
middle portion I place a regulating valve consisting of a metal plate in the vertical
edge at each end of which a leather, india rubber or other packing strip is fitted.
The top and bottom edges of the valves fit closely against the top and bottom of
the distributor and the leather or india rubber or other fitted ends when the valves
are closed bear against the sides of the distributor. The ends of the valves may be
without packing and made to fit closely.
The said valves can by a motion through a quadrant be made either to cross the
distributor or be placed parallel to the longer sides of the distributor; in the former
position the valves are closed and in the latter position open. The opening and closing
of each of the said valves is effected by a vertical axis or rod rising upwards and
having a lever on its end, the said lever being under the control of the driver of
the van.
Or the valves may be worked by horizontal rods. When both valves are
closed or made to cross the distributor, the latter is temporarily divided into three
portions, that is to say, the said valves cut off the end portions of the distributor,
having, say, a length of seven feet from the middle portion of the distributor having
say a length of six feet, into which middle portion the water is delivered as before
described and the supply of the water is thereby cut off from each of the said end
portions of the distributor. By closing one only of the valves the distributor is open
excepting at the end portion beyond the closed valve. In this way when both valves
are closed, a length of about six, eight, or ten feet at the middle of the distributor
only delivers water and when one only of the valves is closed, a length of about
thirteen feet at the middle and one of the end portions of the distributor
delivers water and by opening both valves the full length of the distributor delivers
water.
Figure 1. of the accompanying Drawing represents in elevation, a portion of the
end of a street watering van to which a distributor and appliances constructed
according to my invention are applied, the front of the distributor being removed
for the purpose of exhibiting the regulating valves therein, one of the said valves being
represented open and the other valve closed.
Figure 2. represents a cross-section of the distributor and one of the valves in its
closed position;
Figure 3 represents a side elevation and
Figure 4. a plan of one of the valves drawn to a large scale.
The saine letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawing.
a. is the rear end of the street watering van to which the water distributor b, c, d,
consisting of a horizontal perforated tube or wood box, is supported at its middle by

page_text: the vertical pipe e. (or pipes) by which water from the van is supplied to it. In
the said water distributor or box b, c, d, two regulating valves f, g, work, whereby the
end parts c, d, of the distributor may be made to communicate with or are cut off
from the middle portion b, for the purpose of controlling or regulating the delivery
of the water from the distributor. The end parts c, d, of the distributor, beyond the
valves f, g, may have any desired length, preferably the length herein before indicated,
and the said valves can by a motion through a quadrant, be made either to cross the
distributor as represented with respect to the valve g, or be placed parallel to the
longer sides of the distributor as represented with respect to the valve f.
When the valves are closed or cross the distributor the end portions c, d, are cut
off from the middle portion b, and when the said valves are open the whole of the
distributor is open to the water.
Each valve consists of a metal plate in the vertical edge at each end of which, a
leather or india rubber packing strip 4, or a metallic packing strip, such as brass, is
fitted. The top and bottom edges of the valves which may be provided with packing
strips fit closely against the top and bottom of the distributor and when the valves
are closed their packed ends 4, h, bear closely against the sides of the distributor
(see Figure 2). Although I prefer to fit the ends of the valves with packing pieces
as described and represented yet the said valves may be used without packed ends,
the ends of the valves in this case being made to bear closely against the sides of the
distributor.
I prefer to effect the opening and closing of each regulator valve f, g, by means
of a vertical rod or axis i, worked by a lever k, the said lever being, by means of
connections, under the control of the driver of the van. Or the said valves may be
worked in any other convenient way by the driver.
By the use of the regulating valves f, g, in the distributor, it will be understood
that when both the valves f, and g, are closed or made to cross the distributor (as
shown by the valve g,) the said valves cut off the end portions c, d, of the distributor
from the middle portion b, into which the water is delivered by the pipe e, and the.
supply of water is thereby limited to the said middle portion b. By opening the
valve f, as represented in Figure 1, the portions b, c, of the distributor are open to
the water supply, the end portion d, beyond the closed valve g, being closed. By opening
both of the valves f, g, the whole of the distributor is open to the water supply. It
will thus be understood that when both the valves are closed the distributor only
delivers water at the middle portion b, between the closed valves f, g, and when
either end valve f, or g, is closed, water is delivered from the middle part b, as well
as from the part c, or d, and when both valves are opened the distributor delivers
water through its whole length.
By using more than two valves the delivery of the water from the distributor may
be still further controlled.
Air may be admitted to the water delivery pipe e, through a vertical air pipe
thereby admitting atmospheric pressure and causing a wider spread of the water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I
claim as my invention of "Improvements in or additions to the distributors of street
watering vans,"
The combination with the said distributors of the regulating valves and appliances
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, whereby a
portion of the length or the whole of the length of the distributor may be permitted
to deliver water at the pleasure of the driver of the street watering van substantially
as described and illustrated.
D
32
T
1900
WILLIAM CLEMENS ABELL.