IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN CONNECTING SERVICE PIPES, COCKS, AND PLUGS TO MAIN GAS PIPES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Rafferty, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS USED IN CONNECTING SERVICE PIPES, COCKS, AND PLUGS TO MAIN
GAS PIPES."
Scaled the 15th December 1874, and dated the 17th June 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Rafferty at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th June 1874..
I, THOMAS RAfferty, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN CONNECTING SERVICE PIPES, COCKS, And
PLUGS TO MAIN GAS PIPES," to be as follows:-
-
The object of my Invention is to prevent the waste of gas and acci-
dents from explosions owing to the leakage of the gas.
My improved apparatus consists of a bag made of india-rubber in the
form of the frustrum of a cone so as to saddle on the gas main under

page_text: pressure and to suit the size of hole required to be drilled and screwed
The gas
to fit the different sizes of drills, rhymers, and taps required.
bag is fastened to the main by straps and buckles, which when strapped
tight secure it to the gas main so as to be gas-tight. In the interior are
fixed self-acting closing and opening doors made of overlapping flaps of
india-rubber to allow the drill, rhymer, and tap to be fixed or withdrawn
as required, which doors effectually shut off the gas when removing one
tool and replacing the next. The gas bag is supplied with a ledge of
india-rubber fitting on the main to receive the borings or screwings
made in the drilling of the hole for attaching cocks, plugs, or pipes to
the main.
The drills, rhymers, and taps are worked in the ordinary way by a
ratchet brace, which is supported by a light stand drill or apparatus
made of wrought or cast iron, and chained to the main in a firm
manner.
By means of this Invention the required holes can be made in gas
mains more expeditiously than heretofore, the accidents from explosions
are avoided, and the apparatus is so simple that it can be worked by an
ordinary labourer:
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Rafferty in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
RAFFERTY, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-seventhi
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Rafferty, Her special licence, that I,
the said Thomas Rafferty, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Thomas Rafferty, my exécutors, 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,

page_text: 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 APPARATUS USED IN
CONNECTING SERVICE PIPES, COCKS, AND PLUGS TO MAIN GAS PIPES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Rafferty, 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 Rafferty, 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 (that is to say) :-
:-
.
The object of my Invention is to prevent the waste of gas and
accidents from explosions owing to the leakage of the gas from the main
pipes.
My improved apparatus consists of a bag made of india-rubber in
the form of a frustrum of a cone, which is fastened to the gas main by
straps and buckles. In the interior are fixed self-acting closing and
opening doors made of overlapping flaps of india-rubber to allow the
drill, rhymer, and tap to be introduced or withdrawn as required. The
drills, rhymers, and taps are worked in the ordinary way by a ratchet
brace, which is supported by a light stand or apparatus chained to the
gas main in a firm manner.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved apparatus; Fig. 2 is an end
view; and Fig. 3, a plan; Fig. 4 is a section through the gas bag;
and Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the apparatus when in operation.
a represents the gas main to which it is required to connect a service
pipe, a cock, or a plug; b is a bag made of india-rubber in the form of
the frustrum of a cone, within which are the valves or doors c; the upper

page_text: one is formed by cutting a slit in a disc of india-rubber, and the lower
one consists of two overlapping flaps of india-rubber; these doors yield
to allow the tool to pass, as shewn in Fig. 4, and when the tool is with-
drawn they close again by their own clasticity to prevent the escape of
the gas, as shewn in Fig. 1. The base of the gas bag is secured.to the
gas main by three straps and buckles, as shewn best in Fig. 5, and a
ledge is made all round the base to form a recess to receive the borings
and cuttings made in drilling the hole and in screwing.
The stand d is secured to the gas main by the chain e, shewn in Fig. 5,
which chain passes under the gas main, and is hooked to the bridle f,
which is guided by the studs g, and is raised by the screw / to tighten
the chain. The stand d also supports the screw i, the end of which
bears upon the end of the ratchet brace j. When the chain e has been
passed under the gas main, and the ends hooked to the bridle f, the
screw is turned round to tighten the chain, thereby holding the stand d
firm while the hole is being bored and screwed.
с
The mode of operation is as follows: When the stand d has been
secured to the gas main in the manner above described the requisite hole
is bored through about three-fourths of the thickness of the gas main.
The gas bag b is then secured to the gas main, care being taken that the
centre of the bag shall correspond with the centre of the hole that has
been partly bored. The boring tool is then passed through the gas bag,
as shewn in Fig. 4, and the hole is completely bored through. The
boring tool is then drawn out, and the self-acting doors c then close and
prevent the escape of the gas. The hole is then rhymered out, and then
tapped by the usual tools. I make the drills, rhymers, and taps with a
shoulder above resting on the top of the gas bag, and this shoulder, as
the tool penetrates the gas main, serves as a joint to prevent the escape
of gas.
When the hole is screwed it is ready to receive the service pipe,
cock, or plug, but before removing the gas bag the hole is closed by re-
inserting the drill, which has a recess near its shoulder to receive an
india-rubber ring, and this ring prevents the escape of the gas while the
apparatus is removed, and the service pipe, cock, or plug is got ready.
The apparatus above described is cheap, portable, and not liable to get
out of order, and it is so simple in its construction that it can be worked
by any unskilled labourer.
· Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the