fi appar
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 16th Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 2nd Mar., 1889
I FRANCIS J. MAULE of Nos. 243 and 245 South Third Street in the City of
Philadelphia State of Pennsylvania United States of America Manufacturer of Steam
fitting apparatus do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows :-
My Invention relates to that class of pipe couplings in which one section carries an
annular bed of soft metal packing forming a bearing or seat for a rib on the other
section of the coupling the two sections being drawn together by means of an outer
screw ring.
The object of my invention is to provide such packed coupling section with a fixed
and immovable bed of soft metal or alloy in a groove in the coupling section.
The complete coupling consists of two sections and a coupling ring, each section
being threaded internally to receive the threaded end of the pipe and one section
being threaded externally and adapted to the internally threaded portion of the
coupling ring an internal shoulder in this ring bearing against a collar on the other
section which has at one end an annular tongue which fits snugly into the opening in
the end of the first section so that the concentricity of the two sections one with the
other is assured.
An annular rib on the second section bears against a bed of soft metal or alloy
contained in an annular groove formed in the face of the first section the coupling ring
serving to draw the two sections together and thus force the rib against the soft metal
bed and thereby effect a tight joint between the couplings.
My present invention has no reference to the particular construction of the opposite
coupling sections and this construction may be varied without departing from my
said invention which relates solely to the providing of the first coupling section with
a fixed and immovable bed of soft metal of alloy by casting said soft metal or alloy
in the groove in the face of the coupling section.
I am aware that long prior to my invention it had been proposed to provide a
coupling section with a loose packing ring of soft metal or other material of proper
dimensions to lay in a groove in the face of the section also that it had been proposed
to secure such a ring in place and further that it has been a common practice to pour
lead into the space between the bell and socket ends of adjoining sections of cast iron
DQ27

page_text: water main pipe, in order to make a joint, but it is well known that the simple pouring
of lead into the space between the fitted ends of the pipes is not relied upon to make
a tight joint, but is simply adopted as a ready means of introducing the lead into this
space, subsequent tamping or caulking of the lead thus introduced being invariably
resorted to in order to make the joint tight, for when the lead after being poured into
the packing space becomes cold, it shrinks to such an extent that it is of no value as
a packing unless subsequently tamped or calked.
The same defect applies to a packing ring formed by pouring lead into the grooved
face of a coupling section hence I abandon lead as a packing material and as a result
of experiments made with the view of overcoming this defect, I find that certain soft
metals or alloys have the quality of contracting to a less extent, within a certain
range of temperature, than the harder metal of which the coupling section itself is
composed, that is to say, supposing 60 and 8 0 to represent respectively, the average
normal temperature of the coupling and the melting point of the soft metal, the said
soft metal will contract less in passing from the high to the low temperature than will
the iron or other hard metal of the coupling section in a like number of degrees.
I am enabled by the, use of a soft metal or alloy of this character to produce a
coupling section in which an immovable bed of packing can be formed by the simple
operation of casting the metal into the groove in the face of the coupling, the
differential shrinkage of the two metals insuring the firm retention of the soft metal in
the groove.
The manner of making the coupling section which I prefer is as follows
:-
The coupling section in its crude condition and having the internal thread and the
groove previously formed in it is placed vertically on a hot plate and when it has
been heated to a proper degree say to about the melting point of the soft metal or
alloy of the character which I have described the latter is poured into the annular
groove.
After the section with its annular bed of soft metal or alloy has become cold the
section is chucked so as to permit the cutting of the external thread on the same and
the truing up of the face of the section and of the annular bed of soft metal contained
therein, the metal of which the section is composed having such a firm hold upon said
annular bed of soft metal or alloy that the tortional strain to which the latter is
subjected in truing the face of the same is not sufficient to loosen or dislodge it from
the groove in the face of the section.
The alloy which I prefer for making the packing bed is one consisting of about
three parts of lead three parts of tin and one part of antimony, although I do not
limit myself to this alloy but simply give it as an example as other alloys or soft
metals possessing the qualities which I have described may be used in place of the
same, the essential feature of my invention being the securing of the soft metal bed
to the coupling section by reason of the difference in the degree of contraction of the
two metals in cooling.
The filling of the groove with the molten metal may be relied upon to effect the
proper treating of the section if desired.
Dated this 30th day of April 1888.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agents.

page_text: I FRANCIS J. MAULE of Nos. 243 and 245 South Third Street in the City of
Philadelphia State of Pennsylvania United States of America Manufacturer of Steam
fitting apparatus 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 that class of pipe couplings in which one section carries an
annular bed of soft metal packing forming a bearing or seat for a rib on the other
section of the coupling the two sections being drawn together by means of an outer
screw ring.
The object of my Invention is to provide such packed coupling section with a
fixed and immovable bed of soft metal or alloy by the simple operation of casting
said soft metal or alloy into a groove in the coupling section.
I will explain my Invention with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein
Figure 1 is a sectional view of my improved coupling in a finished condition.
Figures 2 and 3 are views of the coupling section to which my Invention relates,
these views being drawn to a reduced scale, and showing the method of preparing the
section, and
Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 2.
The complete coupling shown in Figure 1 consists of two sections A and B and
a coupling ring D each section A and B being threaded internally to receive the
threaded end of the pipe, and the section A being threaded externally and adapted
to the internally threaded portion of the coupling ring D an internal shoulder in
this ring bearing against a collar b on the other section B which has at one end an
annular tongue which fits snugly into the opening g in the end of the section A
so that the concentricity of the two sections A and B one with the other is secured.
An annular ribh on the section B bears against a bed i of soft metal or alloy
contained in an annular groove m formed in the face of the section. A the coupling
ring D serving to draw the two sections A and B together, and thus to force the
ribh against the soft metal bed i and thereby make a tight joint between the
couplings.
My present Invention has no reference to the particular construction of the opposite
coupling sections, and this construction may be varied without departing from my
said invention, which relates solely to the providing of the coupling section A with a

page_text: fixed and immovable bed of soft metal or alloy by casting the said soft metal or alloy
in the groove in the face of the said coupling section.
I am aware that long prior to my Invention it had been proposed to provide a
coupling section with a loose packing ring of soft metal or other material of proper
dimensions to lay in a groove in the face of the section, also, that it had been proposed
to secure such a ring in place, and further, that it has been a common practice to
pour lead into the space between the bell and socket ends of adjoining sections of cast
iron water main pipe, in order to make a joint, but it is well known that the simple
pouring of lead into the space between the fitted ends of the pipes is not relied upon
to make a tight joint, but is simply adopted as a ready means of introducing the lead
into this space, subsequent tamping or calking of the lead thus introduced being
invariably resorted to in order to make the joint tight, for when the lead, after being
poured into the packing space, becomes cold, it shrinks to such an extent that it is of
no value as a packing unless subsequently tamped or calked.
The same defect applies to a packing ring formed by pouring lead into the grooved
face of a coupling section, hence I abandon lead as a packing material, and as a
result of experiments, made with the view of overcoming this defect, I find that
certain soft metals or alloys have the quality of contracting to a less extent, within
a certain range of temperature, than does the harder metal of which the coupling
section itself is composed, that is to say, supposing 60 and 800 to represent, respectively,
the average normal temperature of the coupling, and the melting point of the soft
metal, the said soft metal will contract less in passing from the high to the low
temperature than will the iron or other hard metal of the coupling section, in a like
number of degrees.
I am enabled, by the use of a soft metal or alloy of this character, to produce a
coupling section in which an immovable bed of packing can be formed by the simple
operation of casting the metal into the groove in the face of the coupling, the
differential shrinkage of the two metals insuring the firm retention of the soft metal
in the groove.
The manner of making the coupling section which I prefer is as follows: and is
shewn in Figures 2 and 3. The coupling section A in its crude condition and
having the internal thread and the groove m previously formed in it, is placed
vertically on a hot plate and when it has been heated to a proper degree, say to
about the melting point of the soft metal or alloy of the character which 1 have
described the latter is poured into the annular groove as shewn at i.
After the section with its annular bed of soft metal or alloy has become cold, the
section is chucked, so as to permit the cutting of the external thread on the same, and
the truing up of the face of the section and of the annular bed of soft metal contained
therein, the metal of which the section is composed having such a firm hold upon said
annular bed of soft metal or alloy i that the torsional strain to which the latter is
subjected in truing the face of the same is not sufficient to loosen or dislodge it from
the groove in the face of the section.
The alloy which I prefer for making the packing bed i is one consisting of about
three parts of lead, three parts of tin, and one part of antimony, although I do not
limit myself to this alloy, but simply give it as an example, as instead thereof other
alloys or soft metals possessing the qualities which I have described may be used the
essential feature of my invention being the securing of the soft metal bed to the
coupling section by reason of the difference in the degree of contraction of the two
metals in cooling.
The filling of the groove m with the molten metal or alloy may be relied upon to
effect the proper heating of the section A if desired.
1 do not claim broadly, a coupling section having a soft metal packing ring.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described pipe coupling section, having a grooved face containing

page_text: an annular bed of soft metal or alloy immovably held in place by the shrinking of
the walls of the groove upon said annular bed..
2. The mode herein described of preparing a packed pipe coupling section, the
said mode consisting in grooving the face of the section, heating the said grooved
section, and filling the groove with soft metal or alloy of such character that it will,
in cooling, contract less than will the metal of the coupling section, whereby, as the
latter cools, the soft metal bed will be immovably retained by the shrinking of the
walls of the groove upon the same.