AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REGULATING THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF WATERLACE ANT OTHER COSBY HYDRAULIC PRESSURE "
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Penn, of No. 40, Westbury Street,
Wandsworth Road, Clapham, in the County of Surrey, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REGULATING THE OPENING AND
CLOSING OF WATERLACE ANT OTHER COSBY HYDRAULIC PRESSURE
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Penn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th August 1870.
I, THOMAS PENN, of No. 40, Westbury Street, Wandsworth Road,
Clapham, in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REGULATING THE OPENING AND
CLOSING OF WATERCLOSET AND OTHER COCKS BY HYDRAULIC PRESSURE," to be as
follows:-
The principal object of my Invention is to gradually close watercloset
and other cocks to give time for a certain quantity of water or fluid to
flow through the cock from the time it commences to close until it is

page_text: entirely shut off, at the same time preventing the cock from being
injured by suddenly jerking it open; this I accomplish by affixing a
suitable lever to the shank or stem of the cock, made to extend out on
both sides of it. To one end of this lever is attached a rod of brass
furnished with a piston on its opposite end, and made to work in a tube
or small cylinder of oil or other fluid, closed at one end and furnished
with a screwed cap or cover, at the other through which the piston rod
works this cap is provided with a stuffing box to make a joint around
the rod. The piston is furnished with a small hole for the passage of
the oil or fluid from one end of the cylinder to the other. The ease with
which the cock opens or closes will depend upon the size of the hole in
the piston for allowing the oil to pass from one end of the cylinder to
the other when the cock is being opened or closed. The cock is opened
by moving the opposite end of the lever to which the piston is attached,
and may be worked or moved through the medium of bell cranks, rods,
or cords and pullies, or by taking hold of the lever direct. The passage
of the oil from one end of the cylinder to the other through the opening
in the piston will prevent it from being suddenly jerked open owing to
the resistance given by the oil. A weight is attached to the end of the
lever to which the piston is affixed for closing the cock by pulling the
lever down; the size of the weight is regulated to suit the time in which
the cock is to be closed. The lever to which the weight is suspended
is provided with holes or notches for hanging the weight upon it at the
proper point to get the required power for closing the cock at the proper
time.
This improvement is particularly applicable to cocks employed in
connection with waterclosets, which can be regulated to give ample
time for the water to flow after the pan is up to hermatically seal it;
they can be fixed and worked in any position and arranged without
being connected to the seat to interefere with its being removed for
repairing the closet or other purposes. The cylinder of oil or fluid in
which the piston works is affixed to a bracket or standard placed in any
suitable position for connecting the piston to the lever on the cock stem,
and connected with lever and bracket so it will accommodate itself to
any position to suit the working of the lever. If desired, instead of
making a hole through the piston for the passage of the oil or other
fluid, the piston may be made slightly smaller than the cylinder or tube

page_text: for allowing the oil or other fluid to pass from one end of the cylinder
to the other for giving resistance in opening and closing the cock for
the purposes before stated..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Penn in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS.
PENN, of No. 40, Westbury Street, Wandsworth Road, Clapham, in the
County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Penn, Her special licence that I,
the said Thomas Penn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Thomas Penn, 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 "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REGULATING
THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF WATERCLOSET AND. OTHER COCKS
BY HYDRAULIC
PRESSURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
Penn, 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 Thomas Penn, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
:—
The principal object of my Invention is to regulate the closing of water-
closet and other cocks to give time for a certain quantity of water or

page_text: fluid to flow through the cock from the time it commences to close until
it is entirely shut off, at the same time preventing the cock from being
injured by suddenly jerking it open; this I accomplish by affixing a
suitable lever to the shank or stem of the cock made to extend out on
both sides of it%; to one end of this lever is attached a rod of brass
furnished with a piston on the opposite end of the rod, and made to work
în a tube or or small cylinder of oil or other fluid, closed at one end and
furnished with a screwed cap or cover at the other through which the
piston rod works this cap is provided with a stuffing box to make a
joint around the rod. The piston is furnished with a small hole for the
passage of the oil or fluid from one end of the cylinder to the other.
The case with which the cock opens or closes will depend upon the size
of the hole in the piston for allowing the oil to pass from one end of the
cylinder to the other when the cock is being opened or closed. The
cock is opened by moving the opposite or same end of the lever to
which the piston is attached, and may be worked or moved through the
medium of bell cranks, rods, or cords and pulleys, or by taking hold of
the lever direct. The passage of the oil from one end of the cylinder to
the other through the openings in the piston will prevent it from being
suddenly jerked open owing to the resistance given by the oil; a weight
is attached to the end of the lever to which the piston is affixed for
closing the cock by pulling the lever down; the size of the weight is
regulated to suit the time in which the cock is to be closed. The lever
to which the weight is suspended is provided with holes or notches for
hanging the weight upon it at the proper point to get the required power
for closing the cock at the proper time.
This improvement is particularly applicable to cocks employed in
connection with waterclosets, which can be regulated to give ample time
for the water to flow after the pan is up to hermatically seal it; they
can be fixed and worked in any position and arranged without being
connected to seat to interfere with its being removed for repairing
the closet or other purposes. The cylinder of oil or fluid in which the
piston works is affixed to a bracket or standard placed in any suitable
position for connecting the piston to the lever on the cock stem and con-
nected with lever and bracket so that the cylinder will accommodate
itself to any position to suit the working of the lever. If desired, instead
of making a hole through the piston for the passage of the oil or other
fluid, the piston may be made slightly smaller than the cylinder or tube

page_text: for allowing the oil or other fluid to pass from one end of the cylinder to
the other for giving resistance in opening and closing the cock for the
purposes before stated.
In order to give a fuller understanding of the said Invention I will
refer to the accompanying Drawings which are made to form part of this
Specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon; similar
letters refer to corresponding parts of the Drawings.
Figure 1 represents a cock mounted on a standard, partly shown in
section, and a sectional view of the oil cylinder; Figure 2 is a top view
of the improvement.
A is a standard made of any suitable length and by preference of
iron tubing, to the top of which the stock B of the cock is attached.
as represented. C is the cock to which is attached the cross lever E, F ;
to the E end of the lever is attached the weight J for drawing the cock
close or shutting off the supply of water; to the same end of the lever
is attached a piston rod k working in the cylinder g through a stuffing
box as represented; this cylinder will be filled with oil or other fluid
if desired; the lower end of the rod is furnished with a piston f,
through which is made a suitable size hole for allowing the oil in
the cylinder to pass through it to regulate the closing of the cock; the
piston has a groove around its circumference for receiving a ring of
leather or any other suitable substance for packing purposes. m is a
support attached to and projecting from the standard A for carrying
the cylinder g; the cylinder is so attached to this stem that it takes any
position to suit the working of the lever E, F. The cock is represented
closed, and in order to open it the E end of the lever may be drawn
up by any suitable handle, rod, or cord, for working the same, or by
drawing the F end of the lever down until it reaches the positon
denoted by the dotted lines in Figure 1, when the cock will be full
open for the passage of water as described by the darts. The cock is
then closed by the weight J pulling the lever down, which in the
meantime forces the piston f to the lower end of the cylinder, the move-
ment of the piston downwards is regulated by the resistance of the oil in
the cylinder passing through the opening in the piston f; the time the
cock C is kept open will depend on the size of the hole for the passage
of the oil, the larger the hole is the sooner the cock will close; the
proper diameter of it will have to be ascertained by practice, for the
various size cocks and quantity of water to be discharged in a given

page_text: time. The cock may be placed in any position and employed for any
purpose required, but they are more particularly intended to be used in
connection with waterclosets as herein-before mentioned..
Having now described the nature of my improvement and manner.
of constructing and working the same, what I claim is, the manner of
regulating the closing of cocks by the resistance of oil or other fluid
passing through an opening in a piston working in the cylinder g in the
manner and for the purpose stated in the foregoing Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Penn, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-cigth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.