IMPROVEMENTS IN PIPES OR TUBES, AND IN THE METHOD OF JOINING AND LAYING THE SAME
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Austin, of Upper Portland Place, Wands-
worth Road, in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIPES OR TUBES, AND IN THE METHOD OF JOINING AND
LAYING THE SAME."
Sealed the 16th June 1857, and dated the 16th December 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Austin at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th December 1856.
I, WILLIAM AUSTIN, of Upper Portland Place, Wandsworth Road, in the
County of Surrey, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIPES OR TUBES, AND IN THE METHOD OF
JOINING AND LAYING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
My improvements in pipes and tubes, and in the method of joining and lay-.
ing the same, consist in forming the ends of the pipes or tubes in such manner
that they may be more easily made secure against leakage and more readily
laid and united together, and, when required, taken apart with greater facility
and without destroying them. This I effect by making the shape or form of
the extremities of each length of such pipes or tubes alike, in lieu of the
socket and spigot or flange joints ordinarily used, so that they will follow each
other; and whether I use spigot ends of circular form, enclosed with separate
clip sockets or half circular lap ends, forming when laid an entire pipe, by
alternately turning them over or reversing them, they will not only admit of.
being laid with greater facility, but also of being changed or taken apart without
destroying them, as is frequently the case with pipes and joints of the ordinary

page_text: construction. In cases where the pipes are required to sustain internal pres-
sure, I propose to encompass the joints or junctions with external sockets or
clips, with or without clastic or other packing, as the case may require.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Austin in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th June 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
AUSTIN, of Upper Portland Place, Wandsworth Road, in the County of
Surrey, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Austin, Her special licence that I, the said William Austin, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Austin, 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 for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIPES OR TUBES,
AND IN THE METHOD OF JOINING AND LAYING THE SAME," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Austin, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 samo 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 Austin, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
My improvements consist in forming the ends or extremities of pipes or
tubes in such manner that they may be more easily made secure against
leakage, and more readily laid and united together, and, when required, may
be taken apart with greater facility than ordinary pipes, and without destroying
them. And this I effect by making the shape or form of the extremities of
each length of pipe alike, in lieu of the ordinary spigot and faucet or flange

page_text: so that they will follow each other; and whether I use spigot ends of circular
form, or half circular ends lapping over each other, and enclosed or not with
separate clips or sockets, as may be necessary, forming when laid a continuous
tube by alternately turning them over or reversing them. They will thus not
only admit of being laid with greater facility, but also of being changed or taken
apart without destroying them, as is frequently the case with pipes and joints
of the ordinary construction. Where I find it necessary to employ separate
sockets with packing (elastic or otherwise) interposed. between the sockets
and pipes, I make them taper or conical on the interior surface, so that by
striking them on one end they wedge themselves tightly on the packing, which
they compress; the material of which the packing is made being that best
suited to the purpose for which the pipes are used, that which may be suitable
for water pipes being unfit for gas pipes.
In the accompanying Drawing, Figure 1 represents an elevation of pipes,
having similar ends a, a, without enlargement, and so formed that each pipe
overlaps the corresponding ends of the contiguous pipes (one balf of the
circumference at each end being cut away for that purpose), by which
arrangement the pipes (of one pattern) follow each other and form one con-
tinuous tube. They may be made in such lengths as are found most con-
venient for the purposes to which they may be applied. Figure 2 represents
a transverse section of the pipes taken through the joint, showing the form of
the edges or lips of the joint at b, b, which I indent to prevent the lateral
movement of one pipe upon the other. Where it is desirable to provide for
such a contingency, various forms of toothing or tongueing may be used for
this purpose, but the bird's-mouth or simple V edge and corresponding groove
I consider best adapted to the purpose. When it is required that the pipes
should retain the water or other matter passing through them, the joint may
be luted with clay or cements, clay being preferable, as being liable to set; it
admits of the removal of any single pipe without destroying it or those in
connection with it. Figure 3 represents an elevation of pipes with similar
ends, so formed that the ends of the contiguous pipes overlap each other, but
having the rebates or pieces cut out at c, c, from one side of the pipe, instead of
on opposite sides, as in Figure 1. By this arrangement any alternate pipe can be
lifted for the purpose of examination, cleaning, unstopping, or relaying without
disturbing the contiguous pipes, and thus avoiding the destruction of the
pipes in separating them. In either of these forms the angles of the lap may
be rounded off, as shewn at b, b, dotted, to give strength and to avoid chipping.
Figure 4 represents an elevation of pipes with similar ends, but having the
abutting joints square with the bore, the junctions being covered or enclosed

page_text: with clips or sockets d, d, shewn in section, in some cases with packing
(elastic or otherwise) interposed between them and the pipes. Figure 6
represents an elevation of lapped pipes with clips or sockets, shewn in section.
If for ordinary land drainage pipes, which are commonly of pottery ware,
packing is unnecessary, but if for the retention of water, sewage, and the like,
without pressure, clay luting may be used, with or without clips or sockets, as
may be deemed necessary. When any of the forms of lapped pipes are used
for the conveyance of liquids or fluids under pressure, I further propose to
secure the joints from separating longitudinally by either cutting or casting
them with a slightly bevelled or wedge-formed edge, as at e, e, Figure 6, or by
an indented or serrated surface, as at f, f, Figure 7, but these will rarely be
required for ordinary purposes. The application of taper sockets to the
junctions of iron pipes for the conveyance of water, gas, steam, &c., insures a
firm and secure joint, which can at any time be tightened by driving up the
collar on the packing and compressing it, and relieved by simply driving back
the collar to admit of a single pipe being removed for repair or otherwise.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I claim
the construction of pipes or tubos in the various forms as described herein,
for the conveyanco of liquids, fluids, and other purposes to which pipes are
applied, having their ends so shaped that by simply reversing them they will
follow each other and form a continuous tube, whatever may be the con-
figuration of the interior or exterior of such pipes, or of whatever known
material they may be made.
And I also claim the combination of taper clips or sockets with such pipes,
with the interposition of packing (elastic or otherwise) between the pipes and
sockets, by which arrangement a better and more secure joint is insured, a
saving in the labor of laying is effected, and increased facility given for the
removal of individual pipes for repair or otherwise.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Austin, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of June, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven
Witness,
W. C. HARRISON,
26, Stanley St., Pimlico.
WILLIAM AUSTIN. (L.s.)