CERTAIN IMPROVED MEANS FOR STOPPING LEAKS IN BOILER TUBES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVED MEANS FOR STOPPING LEAKS
IN BOILER TUBES."-A communication from abroad by Richard Lavery
and Sinclair Stuart, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, United
States of America.
Sealed the 2nd May 1865, and dated the 24th December 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th December 1864.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVED MEANS FOR STOPPING
LEAKS IN BOILER TUBES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the application to a leaky boiler tube of a split
ring, with or without a bead at its end, which ring when placed over the leak
is expanded by means of a wedge or wedges driven in between the lips of the
slit in such a manner as to secure the ring in the interior of the tube, and
stop the leak. When the ring is to be applied to the end of the tube near the

page_text: tube sheet it is provided with a bead to fit into the cavity of the tube close
behind the tube sheet, and the leak can be stopped simply by expanding the
tube; or an open cap may be connected to the ring by screw bolts, or other
suitable means, secured to the ring by ears or lugs projecting from its inner
surface. Then by introducing suitable packing between the inner surface of
the cap and the tube sheet, the leak will be stopped without interfering with
the draught. The cap can be secured in its place at any moment, and without
the necessity of boring holes in the tube sheet.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th June 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Alfred
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 "CERTAIN
IMPROVED MEANS FOR STOPPING LEAKS IN BOILER TUBES," being a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
--
This Invention relates to the application to leaky boiler tubes of a split
ring with or without a bead, in combination with one or more expanding
wedges in such a manner that by the action of the wedge or wedges the ring
can be secured in the interior of the tube and the leak stopped. When the
ring is to be applied to the end of the tube near the tube sheet, it is provided
with a bead to fit into the cavity of the tube close behind the tube sheet, and
the leak can be stopped simply by expanding the tube; or an open cap
may be connected to the ring by screw bolts, or other suitable means secured
to the ring by ears or lugs projecting from its inner surface; then by intro-
ducing suitable packing between the inner surface of the cap and the tube
sheet, the leak will be stopped without interfering with the draught. The
cap can be secured in its place at any moment, and without the necessity of
boring holes in the tube sheet.
This Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1
represents a transverse vertical section of a tube fitted according to this
Invention, with a split ring and wedge, the line x, x, Fig. 2 indicating the
plane of section; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of the same, the
plane of section being indicated by the line y, y, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longi-
tudinal central section of a tube, showing the application of the plain split ring
to the interior of the tube. Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.
A represents a portion of a tube sheet, in which the tube B is secured in
the ordinary manner. If a leak occurs in the middle of the tube, or at some
distance from its ends, the sectional or split ring C is applied in the manner
shown in Fig. 8. In this case the ring is cylindrical and perfectly smooth or
even on its outer surface, and it is expanded in the interior of the tube by
means of one or more wedges D. By the action of the wedge or wedges,
the outer surface of the ring is pressed close up against the inner surface of
the tube, and the leak is stopped without stopping the draught through the
tube. If the leak occurs at the end of the tube a sectional or split ring C¹
may be employed with a bead a, such as shewn in Figures 1 and 2. This
bead is intended to fit into the cavity b, formed in the tube close behind the
tube sheet by the action of the tool generally used in securing boiler tubes to
the tube sheets, and after the ring has been adjusted in the proper position
the wedge D is driven into its gap, and by this operation the ring is spread
and forced out against the inner circumference of the tube, the tube being
pressed up tight against the hole in the tube sheet. In order to close the
leak between the tube and tube sheet still more effectually, the ring C¹ is

page_text: provided with ears c projecting inward, and from these ears extend bolts d
through holes in the open cap E, which fits over the end of the tube, as is
clearly shown in Fig. 2. These bolts may either pass through the ears, or
they may be hinged thereto, or the ears may be slotted, as shown in the
Drawing, so that the bolts can be slipped in between them, or they may be
made and connected to the bolts in any other convenient manner, and by the
action of the bolts the cap is pressed up tight against the outer surface of the
tube sheet, and by placing suitable packing between it and the tube sheet any
leak occurring round the end of the tube can be effectually stopped. The
caps E can thus be secured to the tube sheet without drilling holes in the
same, and they can be applied with little loss of time, and by the combined
action of the ring and open cap, leaks occurring in the ends of tubes can be
stopped more effectually than by either alone. The caps and rings do not
obstruct the draught, and they can be made of cast iron and kept on hand, so
that they can be applied at a moment's notice.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of improved means for
stopping leaks in boiler tubes, as communicated to me from abroad, and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim applying
expanding rings to boiler tubes in the manner and for the purpose above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)