IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS OR COCKS-FOR-REGULATING THE FLOW OF FLUIDS
Year: 1866

page_text: of London, Engineer, and James John Rowe, of Rotherhithe; Street;
Rotherhithe, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by tlie said John Smith: and Jaines
John Rowe at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 16th October 1866.
We, JOHN SMITH, of No. 27, Leadenhall Street, in the City of London,
Engineer, and JAMES JOHN ROWE, of Rotherhithe Street, Rotherhithe, in
the County of Surrey, Engineer; do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS OR COCKS-FOR-REGULATING THE FLOW OF
FLUIDS," to be as follows:
This Invention has for its object improvements in taps or cocks for regu
lating the flow of fluids, and consists of improvements upon the form of tap
or cock referred to in the Provisional Specification upon which. Provisional
Protection, No. 2268, dated 13 August 1862, was granted to John Smith
and John Saunders Rayment. In the form of tap or cock described in the
Provisional Specification referred to a chamber communicating, with the inlet
pipe contains within it a fixed hollow conical plug having one or more passages

page_text: leading to its interior formed in its circumference; the interior of the plug
communicates with the exit pipe leading from the tap or cock. The fixed
conical plug is fitted with a correspondingly formed cover, having an orifice
or orifices to correspond with that or those formed in the fixed plug, but which
may be turned so as not to coincide therewith, and to wholly or partially close
the tap regulating the flow as desired. The cover, or as it may be termed
external plug, of the tap was in. this case revolved by a spindle passing through
a stuffing box formed in the cover or bonnet of the chamber.
According to our present Invention we make use of a chamber having
suitable openings for the inlet and exit of the fluid, and provided in the interval
or space between such inlet and exit openings with a recess made in the forni
of a frustum of a cone, having its smaller end farthest away from the spindle
hereafter referred to; this recess communicates by suitable openings with the
inlet and exit passages of the tap or cock, and contains within it a hollow
moveable circular shell or plug having similar openings, which may be turned
so as either wholly or partially to close the openings in the recess, and thus to
wholly or partially prevent the passage of fluid through the tap or cock. The
interior circular frustum, shell, or plug is moved by means of a spindle passing
through a gland or stufling box formed in the bonnet or cover of the chamber,
and provided with a square or other suitably formed end fitting easily into
a corresponding recess in the shell or plug, but leaving it (the shell or plug)
at perfect liberty to move endwise and follow up such wear as, may occur
between itself and the recess into which it fits, each side of the latter being
farther partially enclosed between spaces containing air for the purpose of
equalising the temperature and preventing the unequal expansion of the recess
and the plug contained within it.
SPECIFICATION
in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Smith and James John Rowe in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th April 1867.
70
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
SMITH, of No. 27, Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, Engineer, and
JAMES JOHN ROWE, of Rotherhithe Street, Rotherhithe, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,

page_text: did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
John Smith and James John Rowe, Her special licence that we, the said
John Smith and James John Rowe, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said John Smith and James John Rowe, our exe-
cutors, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS OR COCKS FOR RAGU-
LATING THE FLOW OF FLUIDS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said John Smith and James John Rowe, our executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertained 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 we, the said John Smith and James John Rowe,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in taps or cocks for regulating
the flow of fluids, and consists of improvements upon the form of tap or cock
referred to in the Provisional Specification, upon which Provisional Protection
No. 2268, dated 13th August 1862, was granted to John Smith and John
Saunders Raymení.
In the form of tap or cock described in the Provisional Specification referred
to a chamber communicating with the inlet pipe contains within it a fixed
hollow conical plug having one or more passages leading to its interior, formed
in its circumference. The interior of the plug communicates with the exit
pipe leading from the tap or cock. The fixed conical plug is fitted with a
correspondingly formed cover having an orifice or orifices to correspond with
that or those formed in the fixed plug, but which may be turned so as not to
coincide therewith, and to wholly or partially close the tap, regulating the
flow as desired. The cover, or as it may be termed external plug, of the tap
was in this case revolved by a spindle passing through a stuffing box formed in
the cover or bonnet of the chamber.
According to our present Invention we make use of a chamber having
suitable openings for the inlet and exit of the fluid, and provided in the interval
or space between such inlet and exit openings with a recess made in the forin

page_text: of a frustum of a cone, having its smaller end farthest away from the spindle
hereafter referred to. This recess communicates by suitable openings with
the inlet and exit passages of the tap or cock, and contains within it a hollow
moveable circular shell or plug having similar openings, which may be turned
so as either wholly or partially to close the openings in the recess, and thus to
wholly or partially prevent the passage. of fluid through the tap or cock. The
interior circular frustum, shell, or plug is moved by means of a spindle passing
through a gland or stuffing box formed. in the bonnet or cover of the chamber,
and provided with a square or other suitably formed end fitting easily into a
corresponding recess in the shell or plug, but leaving it (the shell or plug)
at perfect liberty to move endwise and follow up such wear as may occur
between itself and the recess into which it fits, each side of the latter being
farther partially enclosed between spaces containing air for the purpose of
equalising the temperature and preventing the unequal expansion of the recess
and the plug contained within it.
And in order that our said Invention, and the manner of carrying the
same into effect, may be well understood, we will now proceed to more
fully describe the same, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, whereof Fig. 1 represents a side view of a tap or cock constructed
according to our said Invention; Fig. 2, a plan of the same; Fig. 3, a vertical
section of the cock taken through the line A, B, of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a
horizontal section taken through the line C, D, of Fig. 1 (the upper portion
of the cock being removed); and Fig. 5, a similar section through the central
portion of the cock, showing the position of the circular shell or plug when
the openings for the passage of fluid through the cock are closed; similar
letters of reference relate to the same parts in all the views.
a is the main body or shell of the cock; b is the opening for the inlet,
and c that for the exit of the fluid; d'is a recess or chamber made in the
form of a frustum of a cone, having its smaller end farthest away from the
spindle herein-after mentioned; e and f are the openings by which the
recess d communicates with the inlet passage band exit passage c respectively;
g is the hollow moveable circular shell or plug: hand are the openings in
the circular shell or plug g; is the spindle (actuated by a handle q) by
which the interior circular frustum, shell, or plug g is moved, k¹ being the
square end of the spindle fitting easily into a corresponding recess in the shell
or plug (as shewn), but leaving the latter at perfect liberty to move endwise
for the purpose herein-before mentioned; 1 is the bonnet or cover of the recess
or chamber d m, the stulling box through which the spindle passes, m'
the gland, and the packing; n is a spiral spring for holding down the shel

page_text: or plugg and causing it to follow up such wear as may occur between itself
and the recess d; o are the spaces containing air for the purpose of equalising
the temperature, and preventing the unequal expansion of the recess d and the
plug contained within it; pare lugs or stops for determining the travel of
the handle
In the position of the parts as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 the interior
circular shell or plug is situated so that its openings coincide with those in
the recess or chamber d, thus permitting the passage of fluid through the tap
or cock as indicated by the arrows, but by moving the handle g into the
position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 the hollow moveable circular shell or
plug will be turned so as to close the openings in the recess d, as shown in
Fig. 5, thus preventing the passage of finid through the tap or cock.
In some cases instead of the arrangement of bonnet or cover already
described we make use of that shown in section at Fig. 6, whereby the
gland m employed in the first-mentioned arrangement is dispensed with. In
this case the packing m³ is placed around the upper part of the spindle k above
the washer (against which the upper end of the spiral spring n presses)
before the spindle is passed up through the opening in the top of the stuffing
box, after which the bonnet or cover 1 is secured in its place on the tap or
cock.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be conveniently carried into effect, we would have it understood
that we do not confine or limit ourselves to the precise forms or details repre-
sented, as the same are susceptible of modification without departing from the
distinctive features of our invention, with reference to which we claim,-
Firstly, the use or employment in taps or cocks having interior circular
frustums, shells, or plugs of a separate or loose spindle passing through a
gland or stuffing box formed in the bonnet or cover of the main body or
chamber of the tap or cock; such spindle being provided with a square or
other suitably formed end fitting into a corresponding recess in the shell or
plug, but leaving the latter at perfect liberty to move endwise and follow up
such wear as may occur between itself and the shell into which it fits,
substantially as described.
Secondly, in taps or cocks of the description herein-before referred to the
use or employment of stuffing boxes without the ordinary loose covers or
gland, arranged substantially as shewn in and described with reference to
Fig. 6, of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Thirdly, constructing taps or cocks with spaces partially enclosing the plug
chamber or recess, such spaces containing air for the purpose of equalising

page_text: the temperature and preventing the unequal expansion of the recess and the
phing contained within it, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, we. the said John Smith and James John Rowe.
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifteenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hunder and sixty-seven.