AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING WASTE OF WATER IN DWELLINGS PROVISIONAL SPATION OTHER PLACES WHERE THE CONSTANT SUPPLY SERVICE IS LAID ON
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Preston and John Prestige, both of
Deptford, in the County of Kent, Engineers, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING WASTE OF WATER IN DWELLINGS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Preston and
John Prestige at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 8th March 1870.
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We, GEORGE PRESTON and JOHN PRESTIGE, both of Deptford, in the
County of Kent, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING WASTE OF WATER IN
DWELLINGS AND OTHER PLACES WHERE THE CONSTANT SUPPLY SERVICE IS LAID ON,"
to be as follows:-
We employ a cock in connexion with a vertical cylinder containing.
a piston having a valve connected to its lower end, which valve acts
upon a seat placed in the lower end of the cylinder. We fit the cylinder
and cock with suitable communicating passages as herein-after described.

page_text: The cock above referred to has a plug communicating with separate
ways or passages, one of which controls the communication between the
inlet or supply pipe and the delivery outlet, which communication is
made beneath the piston in cylinder and at the same time by means of
a suitable
passage. The water from the inlet or supply pipe is admitted
to the tipper part of the cylinder above the piston; the other controls
the communication between the passage leading to the upper end of the
cylinder and the delivery outlet. When the water way or passage first
described in cock is opened the water flows from the inlet or supply pipo
into the bottom of the cylinder and beneath the piston, which it forces
upwards and with it the piston valve to the upper end of the cylinder,
thus allowing the water to flow through the opening and out of the
delivery outlet, while at the same time the water flows from the inlet or
supply pipe by means of another passage, and then through a small
aperture into the upper end of the cylinder above the piston, so that the
piston directly it is forced to the upper part of cylinder by the influx
of water at the bottom is immediately acted upon by a counteracting
influx of water from the inlet or supply pipe admitted to the cylinder
above the piston although through a smaller aperture than the one by
which it is admitted to the bottom of cylinder. The pressure on the
top of the piston gradually overcomes the pressure underneath it and
causes the piston to descend in the cylinder until the valve at the
bottom of the piston falls on the seat at the bottom of the cylinder, when
all communication between the inlet or supply pipe and the delivery
outlet is thereby cut off, so that the flow of water will last only while the
piston valve is traversing from its seat to the other end of the cylinder
and back again, the time occupied in doing which can be regulated by
the respective sizes of the apertures leading from the inlet or supply pipe
to the bottom and the top of the piston in the cylinder. We prefer to
make the cylinder of such a height that a space is left above the passage
leading from the inlet or supply pipe to the top of the piston in
cylinder, which space is utilized as an air chamber. Directly the piston
valve rests on its scat as before described the flow of water is arrested
and remains so until the plug of the cock is turned so that the way first
referred to controlling the communication between the inlet or supply
pipe and the delivery outlet is shut off, in doing which the second way
in cock above referred to is opened, allowing a communication between
the upper end of the cylinder and the delivery outlet, thus causing the
water contained in the passage leading to the top of the piston and

page_text: also a portion of the water contained in the cylinder above the piston to
pass out thro' the delivery outlet, thereby taking off the pressure that
existed on the top of the piston. Directly therefore the plug of the
cock is opened to the way first before described the water flows from the
inlet or supply pipe into the bottom of cylinder, it forces up. tho piston
valve from its seat and passes out at the delivery outlet until the piston
valve is forced to return to its scat as before described, when the flow of
water stops until the plug of the cock is again turned. In order to
facilitate the escape of water from the cylinder above the piston we
sometimes fit an additional way in the cock and a passage leading there-
from to the upper part of the cylinder; these are so arranged that when
the way in the cock secondly above referred to is turned so as to be in
communication with the delivery outlet an additional communication is
simultaneously opened between the upper part of the cylinder and tho
delivery outlet through this additional way in the cock.
We do not limit ourselves to fitting the valve at the bottom of the
piston, as in some cases, it may be placed at the top of it, in which case
the valve scat is placed at the top of the cylinder. We make the small
aperture at the bottom of the cylinder instead of at the top and a water-
way leading from the supply pipe to the upper part of the cylinder,
where the water is allowed to flow and press upon the upper part of the
piston.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Preston and John Prestige in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 8th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
PRESTON and JOHN PRESTIGE, both of Deptford, in the County of Kent,
Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said George Preston and John Prestige, Her
special licence, that we, the said George Preston and John Prestige,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said

page_text: George Preston and John Prestige, our 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 PREVENTING
WASTE OF WATER IN DWELLINGS AND OTHER PLACES WHERE THE CONSTANT
SUPPLY SERVICE. IS LAID ON," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said George Preston and John Prestige, or one of us, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or one of our
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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said George Preston and John
Prestige, 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 thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
We employ a cock in connection with a vertical cylinder containing
a piston having a valve connected to its lower end, which valve acts
upon a scat placed in the lower end of the cylinder. We fit the
oylinder and cock with suitable communicating passages, as herein-after
described. The cock above referred to has a plug communicating
with separate ways or passages, one of which controls the communi-
cation between the inlet or supply pipe and the delivery outlet (which
communication is made beheath the piston in the cylinder, while at
the same time by means of a suitable passage the water from the
inlet or supply pipe is admitted to the upper part of the cylinder above
the piston); the other controls the communication between the passage
leading to the upper end of the cylinder and the delivery outlet. When
the water way or passage first described in the cock is open the water
flows from the inlet or supply pipe into the bottom of the cylinder and
beneath the piston, which it forces upwards and with it the piston
valve to the upper end of the cylinder, thus allowing the water to
flow through the opening in valve seat and out of the delivery outlet,
while at the same time the water flows from the inlet or supply pipe

page_text: by means of another passage, and then through a small aperture into
the upper end of the cylinder above the piston, so that the piston
directly it is forced to the upper part of cylinder by the influx of water
at the bottom is immediately acted upon by a counteracting influx of
water from the inlet or supply pipe admitted to the cylinder above
the piston although through a smaller aperture than the one by which
it is admitted to the bottom of cylinder. The pressure on the top of
the piston gradually overcomes the pressure underneath it, and causes
the piston to descend in the cylinder until the valve at the bottom of
the piston falls on the seat at the bottom of the cylinder, when all
communication between the inlet or supply pipe and the delivery
outlet is thereby cut off, so that the flow of water will last only while
the piston valve is traversing from its seat to the other end of the
cylinder and back again, the time occupied in doing which can be
regulated by the respective sizes of the apertures leading from the
inlet or supply pipe to the bottom and the top of the piston in the
cylinder. We prefer to make the cylinder of such a height that_a
space is left above the passage leading from the inlet or supply pipe
to the top of the piston in cylinder, which space is utilized as an air
chamber. Directly the piston valve rests on its seat as before described
the flow of water is arrested, and remains so until the plug of the
cock is turned so that the way first referred to controlling the com-
munication between the inlet or supply pipe and the delivery outlet
is shut off, in doing which the second way in cock above referred to is
open, allowing a communication between the upper end of the cylinder
and the delivery outlet, thus causing the water contained in the passage
leading to the top of the piston and also a portion of the water con-
tained in the cylinder above the piston to pass out through the delivery
outlet, thereby taking off the pressure that existed on the top of the
piston. Directly therefore the plug of the cock is opened to the way
first before described the water flows from the inlet or supply pipe
into the bottom of cylinder, forces up the piston valve from its seat,
and passes out at the delivery outlet until the piston valve is forced to
return to its seat as before described, when the flow of water stops
until the plug of the cock is again turned. In order to facilitate the
escape of the water from the cylinder above the piston we sometimes
fit an additional way in the cock and a passage leading therefrom to
the upper part of the cylinder, and these are so arranged that when
the way in the cock secondly above referred to is turned so as to be

page_text: in communication with the delivery outlet an additional communication
is simultaneously opened between the upper part of the cylinder and
the delivery outlet through this additional way in the cock.
We do not limit ourselves to fitting the valve at the bottom of the
piston, as in some cases it may be placed at the top of it, in which case
the valve seat is placed at the top of the cylinder. We make the
smaller aperture at the bottom of the cylinder instead of at the top,
and a water way leading from the supply pipe to the upper part of tho
cylinder, where the water is allowed to flow and press upon the upper
part of the piston.
This Invention will be well understood by referring to the accom-
panying Drawings, of which Figure 1 is a sectional view of a tap and
oylinder combined constructed according to our Invention for the
prevention of waste in dwellings and other places.
When the water way or passage is in the position as shewn in Figure 11
the water flows from the inlet or supply pipe through the stem a into
the bottom of the cylinder c and beneath the piston d, which it
presses upwards and with it the piston valve e to the upper end of the
cylinder c, thus allowing the water to flow through the opening in valvo
seat and out of the delivery outlet f, g, while at the same time the water
flows from the inlet or supply pipe by means of another passage h and
then through a small aperture into the upper end of the cylinder c
above the piston d, so that the piston directly it is forced to the upper
part of cylinder by the influx of water at the bottom is immediately
acted upon by a counteracting influx of water from the inlet or supply
pipe admitted to the cylinder c above the piston d although through a
smaller aperture than the one by which it is admitted to the bottom of
cylinder c. The pressure on the top of the piston d gradually overcomes
the pressure underneath it and causes the piston d to descend in the
cylinder c until the valve e at the bottom of the piston & falls on the 3
seat at the bottom of the cylinder c, when all communication between
the inlet or supply pipe and the delivery outlet f, g, is thereby cut off so
that the flow of water will last only while the piston valve e is traversing
from its seat to the other end of the cylinder c and back again, the time
occupied in doing which can be regulated by the respective sizes of the a
apertures leading from the inlet or supply pipe to the bottom and the top
of the piston d in the cylinder c. We prefer to make the cylinder c of
such a height that a space is left above the passage i leading from the

page_text: h
с
inlet or supply pipe to the top of the piston d in cylinder c, which space
forms an air chamber. Directly the piston valve e rests on its seat as
before described the flow of water is arrested and remains so until the
plug of the cock 6 is turned so that the way controlling the com-
munication between the inlet or supply pipe and the delivery outlet f, g,
is shut off, in doing which the way controlling the communication
between the passage / leading to the upper end of the cylinder c and the
delivery outlet j, g, is opened, as shown in Figure 2, thus causing the
water contained in the passage h, i, leading to the top of the piston d
and also a portion of the water contained in the cylinder c above the
piston d to pass out through the delivery outlet j, g, thereby taking off
the pressure that existed on the top of the piston d. Directly therefore
the plug of the cock is opened to the way, as shewn in Figure 1, the
water flows from the inlet or supply pipe into the bottom of cylinder c,
forces up the piston valve e from its seat, and passes out at the delivery
outlet f, g, until the piston valve c is forced to return to its seat as before
described, when the flow of water stops until the plug of the cock is
again turned.
As before stated the action of the apparatus may be
reversed; in that case the main inlet and plug would be at the upper
part and the closed end of the cylinder at the bottom.
In thus describing our Invention we do not limit ourselves to con-
structing the apparatus in the manner before referred to and shown, as
from the adaptability of it to many domestic uses besides that of being
fitted to the ends of pipes from which water is drawn into buckets or
other vessels or to the connections between two tanks it can with slight
modifications be made available for other pipes such as those leading
into a bath or waterclosets, or to a kitchen sink.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim as
our Invention, the construction and employment of apparatus for
preventing waste of water in dwellings and other places where the
constant supply service is laid on in the manner herein-before described
and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. We claim the fitting of a cylinder in which a piston and
valve are combined upon or in connection with a tap in the manner and
for the purposes described and shewn.
And, thirdly. We claim the combination of the tube or passage, the
cylinder, and the combined piston and valve upon taps furnished with

page_text: water ways in the manner referred to and shown, together with the
modifications herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Prestige, on behalf of myself
and the said George Preston, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy.
JOHN PRESTIGE. (L.S.)