AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DIS- TRIBUTING WATER and REGULATING AND CONTROLLING THE PASSAGE OF FLUIDS THROUGH PIPES OR TUBES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Gilbert Wheeler, of Chicago, Illinois,
United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings,
London, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DIS-
TRIBUTING WATER and REGULATING AND CONTROLLING THE PASSAGE OF FLUIDS
THROUGH PIPES OR TUBES."
Sealed the 9th January 1874, and dated the 21st July 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Gilbert Wheeler
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st July 1873.
I, CHARLES GILBERT WHEELER, of Chicago, Illinois, United States
of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR DISTRIBUTING WATER AND REGULATING AND CONTROLLING THE PASSAGE OF
FLUIDS THROUGH PIPES OR TUBES," to be as follows:-
-

page_text: water therefrom, and also to serve instead of an ordinary cock or valvo
for controlling or regulating the passage of fluids through pipes or
tubes, and for other like purposes.
The said apparatus is simple in construction and capable of ready
application to any of the above named or similar uses, and will be more
convenient to manipulate and less liable to derangement or wear than
the ordinary cocks or valves used for similar purposes.
The said apparatus consists chiefly in the employment of flat plates
or discs with holes in them for the passage of the fluid, and fitted
together so that one turns upon the other to open and close the said
holes.
:
When designed for attachment to a hose or other pipe for discharging
or distributing water the said apparatus is constructed as follows:-
One of the said plates or discs is attached to the pipe or tube, preferably
in such a manner that it does not stand at a right angle but obliquely
to the same; projecting from the centre of the face of this fixed disc
is a stud or pin whereon I fit and secure the rotating disc, which has
the same or nearly the same diameter as the first disc; the faces of
the two discs must be truly fitted together to make them water-tight;
the hose or pipe is not attached to the centre of the fixed disc 'but at
one side of the centre thereof. On the outer side of the rotating 'disc
I attach a nozzle and rose or sprinkler, such as are ordinarily used for
garden purposes. By turning the disc to bring either the said nozzle
or rose in line with the aperture of the pipe I obtain either a con-
centrated or diffused discharge of the water, as desired, and by turning
the said disc to bring its solid part over the aperture of the said pipe
I close the same. By having the discs placed obliquely upon the
pipe, as above described, I am enabled to use discs of smaller diameter
than would be practicable if they were placed at a right angle upon the
said pipe. Or instead of providing the said apparatus with a nozzle
and rose or sprinkler, as above described, I may provide it with only
one discharge, either a rose or nozzle, as desired, or it may have a
number of either kind arranged around the said disc.
'I construct an improved nozzle, which may be adjusted to vary the
discharge therefrom as follows:- I form the said nozzle with a chamber
or enlarged bore, extending nearly to its delivery aperture, and in the
said chamber I place elastic strips or springs of thin metal, which by

page_text: their adjustment enlarge or contract the said delivery aperture. The
adjustment of these springs is effected by screwing the nozzle up or
down upon the nipple whereby it is attached to the disc. And to
render the said nozzle secure and water-tight in either position I form
on the bottom or inner end thereof a shoulder or enlargement, and
place over it a box or case, which is attached to the disc, and through
which the part of the nozzle above the said shoulder passes freely; by
screwing the nozzle up or down its shoulder is brought tightly down
upon the disc or up against the end of the aforesaid box, and the
springs are so formed that by this adjustment of the said nozzle they
are made to come together at the centre of the same or to retire within
the chamber or enlarged bore of the nozzle, thereby contracting or
enlarging its area and causing it to discharge either a small or large
jet.
When the said apparatus is used as a stop-cock or valve at the end
of a pipe or tube it will be constructed substantially as above described,
that is to say, one disc will be fixed on the said pipe while the other
disc is fitted to rotate upon the said fixed disc.
The said apparatus will form a very efficient valve for baths and
lavatories, and in other cases where a supply of hot and cold water is
required. For these purposes I modify the said apparatus by making
in the fixed disc two apertures, with which are connected the hot and
cold water pipes. And in the rotating disc I form an aperture wide
enough to cover both those in the fixed disc, so that the hot and cold
water may be mingled and discharged in one stream from the said
aperture. Or by turning the rotating disc I may obtain either hot or
cold water, as desired.
When my improved apparatus is to be used in place of an ordinary
stop-cock in a pipe for conveying water or other fluids I use three
discs, two of which are fixed to the said pipe, with the third disc fitted
to rotate between them; the latter is provided with one aperture only.
The said discs may be placed obliquely, as above described, or at a right
angle to the said pipe, and the rotating disc is formed with a small
handle or lever, whereby it may be conveniently turned to regulate the
supply of the water or other liquid.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Gilbert Wheeler in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
GILBERT WHEELER, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America,
now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles Gilbert Wheeler, Her
special licence that I, the said Charles Gilbert Wheeler, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Gilbert
. Wheeler, 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 APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING WATER AND
REGULATING AND CONTROLLING THE PASSAGE OF FLUIDS THROUGH PIPES OR TUBES,”
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Gilbert
Wheeler, 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 Charles Gilbert Wheeler, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
My said Invention relates to a novel apparatus designed to be
attached to hose pipes and other pipes or tubes for distributing or
delivering water therefrom, and also to serve instead of an ordinary

page_text: pipes or tubes, and for other like purposes.
The said apparatus is simple in construction and capable of ready
application to any of the above named or similar uses, and will be
more convenient to manipulate and less liable to derangement or wear
than the ordinary cocks or valves used for similar purposes.
The said apparatus has two or more flat plates or discs so constructed
and fitted together that by turning one upon the other or others the
discharge may be varied and regulated as desired.
When designed for attachment to a hose or other pipe for discharging
or distributing water my improved apparatus is constructed as shewn
in the Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the said
apparatus; Figure 2 is an end view of the same. A is the pipe or
tube; B is the fixed disc, and C, the rotating disc. It will be seen
that the disc B is attached to the pipe or tube A in such a manner that
it does not stand at a right angle but obliquely to the same. By
having the said disc placed obliquely upon the pipe A I am enabled
to use discs of smaller diameter than would be practicable if they were
placed at a right angle upon the same, but if desired the disc B may be
placed at a right angle to the said pipe. Projecting from the centre
of the face of this fixed disc is a stud or pin D, whereon I fit and
secure the rotating disc C, which has the same or nearly the same
diameter as the disc B; the faces of the two discs must be truly fitted
together to make them water-tight. The hose or pipe A is not
attached to the centre of the disc B but at one side of the centre
thereof, as shewn. On the outer side of the rotating disc I form or
fix a nozzle E, such as are ordinarily used for garden purposes, and a
rose or sprinkler F. By turning the disc C to bring either the nozzle E
or rose F in line with the aperture A¹ of the pipe A I obtain either a
concentrated or diffused discharge of the water, as desired, and by
turning the said disc to bring its solid part over the aperture A1 of the
said pipe the same will be closed. Or instead of providing the said
apparatus with a nozzle and rose, or sprinkler, as above described, I
may provide it with only one discharge, either a rose or nozzle, aș
desired, or it may have a number of either kind arranged around the
rotating disc, which may be made of any desired diameter for this
purpose. The said nozzle E is so constructed that it may be adjusted

page_text: i
to increase or diminish the volume of liquid discharged from it. For
this purpose I form the said nozzle as shewn in Figure 1, that is to
say, it has a small discharge aperture E¹ at its extremity, and an
enlarged passage or bore extending nearly to the said aperture; in. this
enlarged passage or bore I place elastic strips or springs G of thin
metal, which by their adjustment enlarge or contract the said delivery
aperture, and thereby increase or diminish the size of the jet or stream
discharged from the same. The adjustment of these springs is effected
by screwing. the nozzle up or down upon the nipple C¹ whereby it is
attached to the disc C. And to render the said nozzle secure and
water-tight in either position I form on the bottom or inner end thereof
a socket E, and provide the nipple with packing H of india-rubber or
other suitable material, which will permit the socket to slide freely on
the nipple, but will always make a tight joint. Or I provide the inner
end of the said nozzle with a shoulder or enlargement, and place over
the same a box or cover attached to the disc C, and through which
the part of the nozzle above the said shoulder passes freely; by screwing
the nozzle up or down the said shoulder is brought tightly down upon
the disc or up against the end of the aforesaid box. The springs G are
so formed that by the adjustment of the said nozzle, as above described,
their extremities are made to meet or close at the centre of the
aperture E¹, as shewn, or to expand or open outwardly within the
chamber or enlarged bore of the nozzle, thereby contracting or enlarging
the area of the said aperture and causing it to discharge either a small
or large jet, as above described.
When the said apparatus is used as a stop-cock or valve at the end
of a pipe or tube it will be constructed substantially as above described,
that is to say, one disc will be fixed on the said pipe while the other
disc is fitted to rotate. upon the said fixed disc.
The said apparatus will form a very efficient valve for baths and
lavatories, and in other cases where a supply of hot and cold water
is required. For these purposes I modify the said apparatus by making
in the fixed diso two apertures, with which are connected the hot and
cold water pipes. And in the rotating disc I form an aperture wide
enough to cover both of those in the fixed disc, so that the hot and
cold water may be mingled and discharged in one stream from the
said apparatus. Or by turning the rotating disc I may obtain either
hot or cold water as desired.

page_text: When my improved apparatus is to be used in place of an ordinary
stop-cock in a pipe for conveying water or other liquids I use three
discs, two of which are fixed to the said pipe, with the third disc fitted
to rotate between them; the latter is provided with one aperture only.
The said discs may be placed obliquely, as above described, or at a right
angle to the said pipe, and the rotating disc is formed with a small
handle or lever, whereby it may be conveniently turned to regulate
the supply of water or other liquid.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
-
First. The apparatus consisting of a disc or plate fixed on a pipe or
tube, and a rotating disc fitted upon the said fixed disc and provided
with a discharge nozzle or sprinkler, or both, or any number of the
same or similar devices, the whole constructed and operating as herein
set forth.
Second. The contrivance for varying the size of the jet or stream
discharged from the said nozzle, as herein set forth.
Third. The combination of a rotating disc or plate provided with
a suitable aperture with two fixed discs or plates, as herein set forth,
and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Gilbert Wheeler, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
5
Witness,
C. GILBERT WHEELER. (L.S.)
WILLIAM ROB. LAKE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.