IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COCKS FOR DRAWING OFF LIQUIDS AND VAPOURS, AND FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OR PASSAGE. THEREOF
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Bailey Hawkins at the
Office of the Commissioners of. Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th June 1861.
I, JAMES BAILEY HAWKINS, of North Street, Limehouse, in the County
of Middlesex, Plumber, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COCKS FOR DRAWING OFF LIQUIDS AND
VAPOURS, AND FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OR PASSAGE. THEREOF," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to cocks intended to be employed for drawing off
liquids and vapours from vessels or reservoirs containing same, or for regulating
or cutting off the flow or passage thereof, and consists in so constructing such
said cocks as to prevent fixing or setting of the plugs thereof in their seats, a
common objection attending cocks constructed with plugs.
The means by which it is proposed to remedy this objection according to
this Invention, and also with a view of simplifying the construction of cocks,
and of rendering the same more efficient and certain in their action, is by
making the same as follows, that is to say :-I form a hollow casting or shell
with three outlets, for example, of the shape of the letter T; the longest arm
represents inlet and outlet passages, and the shorter arm is intended to be
employed as the seat for cutting off or opening the communication between the
inlet and outlet passages, for which purpose the outlet passage turns downwards
for a short distance into the aforesaid shorter arm, and against the knife or
rounded edge of the downward part of such said outlet a cup-shaped piece of
metal, fitted with a piece of india-rubber, leather, or soft metal, is made to press

page_text: by means of a screw stem formed on said cup piece, and passing through a
hole in a cap screwed on to the end of the aforesaid short arm. Into this
screwed cap a diaphragm of india-rubber is fitted, and presses against a
washer, so that when the communication between the inlet and outlet passages
is cut off, the pressure of the liquid acting on the aforesaid diaphragm,
presses the same around the before-mentioned screwed stem, and thus
prevents the escape of the liquid around the stem. When the aforesaid cup-
shaped piece is withdrawn or unscrewed from the end of the outlet pipe, the
liquid then flows through the same; the position of the aforesaid cup may
either be vertical or horizontal according to the description of cock required
to be made. In all cases it is the material in the cup pressing against the
edge of the inner end of the outlet passage that cuts off the communication by
screwing same tightly against such said edge, and it is this novel and peculiar
mode of constructing this part of cocks instead of employing a plug, and the
connecting of the cap to the shell of the cock by a knife edge seating, that con-
stitute this Invention. In adapting the foregoing mode of construction to
ball-cocks for cisterns, the necessity for using a waste pipe is entirely dispensed
with, the rising of the ball shutting off the supply directly the floating hollow
ball rises to its proper height. The shutting-off action is further assisted by
the water pressing upon the cup as it passes through the inlet passage from
the service pipe. The above mode of constructing cocks is susceptible of
various modifications, and is applicable to the construction of cocks of every
description.