Improvements in Pipes or Tubes for Conveying Liquids and Gases, and for Protecting and Insulating Electric Conductors, and for other like purposes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 12th June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 8th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 16th Apr., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Pipes or Tubes for Conveying Liquids and Gases,
and for Protecting and Insulating Electric Conductors, and for
other like purposes.
I JOHN ARMSTRONG of Phoenix Works Albion West Bromwich in the County
of Stafford Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention has for its object to make pipes or tubes for conveying liquids and
gases and for protecting and insulating electric conductors and for other like
purposes the internal surface of which is of glass and having an external support of
concrete cement pitch or other like non-metallic material; and where great
strength is necessary a further covering of sheet metal or wire work or coils of thin
sheet metal and where the pipes or tubes are to be laid underground preferably a
final coating of concrete.
When
The glass pipes or tubes I employ I make in the ordinary way when their
diameter is such that they can be conveniently made in the ordinary way.
however the glass pipes or tubes to be made are of so large a diameter that they
cannot be conveniently made in the ordinary way I construct or build them up of
parts in the following manner. I take sheets or plates of glass of a length equal to
the length of the pipe to be made and of a breadth equal to or somewhat greater
than the semi-circumference of the pipe to be made. These sheets or plates are
bent by being heated and pressed upon a cylindrical core having the diameter of
the interior of the pipe to be made. When the edges of two trough like parts thus
made are to be joined edge to edge I employ the narrower sheets or strips and when
the edges of two parts are to be joined by flanges 1 employ the broader, sheets or
strips. In the latter case the core has flanges on which the edges of the sheets or
strips are bent at right angles. Or instead of employing sheets or strips of a
breadth equal to the semi-circumference of the pipe to be made I employ sheets or
plates of a breadth equal to one third or one fourth of the circumference of the
pipe to be made. Instead of pipes of a cylindrical figure pipes square or polygonal
in cross section inay be made by employing flat sheets or plates of glass. These
are supported on a prismatic core having the figure of the interior of the pipe to be
made and their edges joined by fusion by a blow pipe or other flame or by
electricity.
Or the pipe may be made of one piece of glass heated and bent into a tubular
figure the edges being joined by fusion.
Or I employ molten glass and mould or roll it into the required form by
pressure. Where the pipes are to be used for protecting and insulating electric
conductors I prefer to employ slabs of glass made by moulding or rolling and
having semi-tubular cavities on one or both faces the said cavities running the whole
length of the slab. These slabs when made with concavities on one face only may
be used in pairs the cavities in the opposed faces forming tubes. When the slabs.
have cavities in both faces they may be piled on one another so as to form several
series of pipes on the same level the top and bottom slabs having cavities preferably
only on their inner faces.
When the pipes are made of curved plates of the kinds described without flanges
they are joined by fusing their edges together by a blowpipe or other flame, or by
electricity. When the curved plates have flanges they are joined by fusing
their flanges together or by screw bolts passed through coincident holes in the
flanges and fixed by screw nuts.
In such cases
In some cases the edges of the parts need not be joined by fusion.

page_text: I prefer to bevil the edges of the parts so that when the parts are put in position
the edges overlap.
The pipe or group of pipes made as described is coated with concrete cement
pitch varnish or the like and over the said coating a strengthening metallic covering
of sheet metal or wire gauze may be coiled or in the case of a single pipe it may be
enclosed in a cast iron or other metallic pipe. Over the metallic strengthening a
final coating of concrete may be employed. The coating of concrete and the like
may be applied by means of a hinged mould in the axis of which the pipe is
supported the concrete being poured into the mould around the pipe and allowed to
set or solidify.
In order to join the pipes end to end tubular junction pieces of metal glass or
vulcanite may be inserted in each end of the mould in which the concrete is cast
around the glass pipe. The junction piece may consist of a short pipe flanged at
its outer end. The opposed flanges of two pipes in the same line may be drawn
together and connected by two slack jamb nuts a screw joint being thereby formed.
Openings may be provided in the junction pieces of single or grouped pipes for the
attachment of branch pipes.
Dated the 12th day of June 1891
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Pipes or Tubes for Conveying Liquids and Gases,
and for Protecting and Insulating Electric Conductors, and for
other like purposes.
I JOHN ARMSTRONG of Phoenix Works Albion, West Bromwich, in the County
of Stafford Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:―
My invention has for its object to make pipes or tubes for conveying liquids and
gases and for protecting and insulating electric conductors and for other like
purposes, the internal surface of which is of glass and having an external support
of concrete, cement, pitch or other like non-metallic material, and where great
strength is necessary a further covering of sheet metal or wire work or coils of
thin sheet metal and where the pipes or tubes are to be laid underground preferably
a final coating of concrete.
The glass pipes or tubes I employ I make in the ordinary way when their
diameter is such that they can be conveniently made in the ordinary way. When
however the glass pipes or tubes to be made are of so large a diameter that they
cannot be conveniently made in the ordinary way I construct or build them up of
parts in the following manner. I take sheets or plates of glass of a length equal
to the length of the pipe to be made and of a breadth equal to or somewhat greater
than the semi-circumference of the pipe to be made. These sheets or plates are
bent by being heated and pressed upon a cylindrical core having the diameter of
the interior of the pipe to be made. When the edges of two trough like parts
thus made are to be joined edge to edge, I employ the narrow sheets or strips and
when the edges of two parts are to be joined by flanges, I employ the broader
sheets or strips. In the latter case the core has flanges on which the edges of the
sheets or strips are bent at right angles. Or instead of employing sheets or strips
of a breadth equal to the semi-circumference of the pipe to be made I employ
sheets or plates of a breadth equal to one third or one fourth of the circumference
of the pipe to be made. Instead of pipes of a cylindrical figure, pipes, square or
polygonal in cross section may be made by employing flat sheets or plates of glass.
These are supported on a prismatic core having the figure of the interior of the

page_text: pipe to be made and their edges joined by fusion, by a blowpipe or other flame, or
by electricity. Or the pipe may be made of one piece of glass heated and bent
into a tubular figure, the edges being joined by fusion.
Or I employ molten glass and mould or roll it into the required form by pressure.
Where the pipes are to be used for protecting and insulating electric conductors I
prefer to employ slabs of glass made by moulding or rolling and having semi-
tubular cavities on one or both faces, the said cavities running the whole length of
the slab. These slabs when made with concavities on one face only may be used in
pairs the cavities in the opposed faces forming tubes. When the slabs have cavities
in both faces they may be piled on one another so as to form several series of pipes
on the same level, the top and bottom slabs having cavities preferably only on their
inner faces.
When the pipes are made of curved plates of the kinds described without flanges
they are joined by fusing their edges together by a blow pipe or other flame or by
electricity. When the curved plates have flanges they are joined by fusing their
flanges together or by screw bolts passed through coincident holes in the flanges and
fixed by screw nuts. In some cases the edges of the parts need not be joined by
fusion. In such cases I prefer to bevel the edges of the parts so that when the
parts are put in position the edges may make a flat square joint.
The pipe or group of pipes made as described is coated with concrete, cement,
pitch, varnish or the like and over the said coating a strengthening metallic
covering of sheet metal or wire gauze may be coiled or in the case of a single pipe
it may be enclosed in a cast iron or other metallic pipe. Over the metallic
strengthening, a final coating of concrete may be employed. The coating of
concrete and the like may be applied by means of a hinged mould in the axis of
which the pipe is supported, the concrete being poured into the mould around the
pipe and allowed to set or solidify.
In order to join the pipes end to end tubular junction pieces of metal, glass or
vulcanite may be inserted in each end of the mould in which the concrete is cast
around the glass pipe. The junction piece may consist of a short pipe flanged at
its outer end. The opposed flanges of two pipes in the same line may be drawn
together and connected by two slack jamb nuts or by screw bolts, a screw joint
being thereby formed. Openings may be provided in the junction pieces of single
or grouped pipes for the attachment of branch pipes.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in cross section a single pipe or tube constructed according to
my invention for protecting and insulating electric conductors for conveying liquids
and gases and for other like purposes, the said pipe or tube having an internal
surface of glass and an external compound coating or support of pitch and
concrete, papier mâché or other like non-metallic material in which sheet metal
or other strengthening material is embedded.
The internal surface of the compound pipe or tube consists of a cylindrical glass
tube a made in halves and provided with flanges which are bolted together by screw
bolts and nuts, washers of india rubber, leather or other soft material being
interposed between the heads of the bolts and nuts and the glass flanges. Or the
flanged edges of the halves of the glass pipe a may be secured together by fusion.
The semi-cylindrical parts of the glass tube a are made in the manner hereinbefore
described. In place of the flanged cylindrical glass pipe made in halves, a
cylindrical glass pipe composed of four pieces, each equal to one fourth of the
circumference of the pipe may be employed as represented in Figure 2 the said
four parts being joined edge to edge in any of the ways hereinbefore described; or
the pipe may be made of a greater or less number of parts than four.
When the
glass pipe is of small size it may be made of one piece joined edge to edge.
Where the internal glass surface of the compound pipe or tube is required to be
square or polygonal in cross section, the glass pipe has a corresponding figure given
to it.
Figure 3 represents in cross section a pipe made of four pieces of glass with

page_text: flanged edges, the said flanged edges being joined together by screw bolts and nuts
as represented; or by fusion.
The exterior protecting and insulating parts of the glass pipe a Figure 1 consists
of the coating of pitch bin contact with the glass pipe and external to the said
coating of pitch of the thicker coating of concrete, papier mâché or like material c,
the said concrete or like coating c being strengthened by the sheet metal tube d or
by a tube of wire gauze. Over the metallic strengthening tube da final coating of
concrete, papier mâché or the like marked e is cast or moulded. The coatings of
pitch concrete or the like may be applied by means of a hinged mould in the axis
of which the glass pipe is supported, the pitch or concrete. being poured into the
mould around the said pipe and allowed to set or solidify. When the external
strengthening material cannot be poured into the mould, it may be pressed into the
mould; or applied to the pipe without the use of a mould.
Figure 4 represents in cross section and Figure 5 in longitudinal section another
compound pipe or tube made according to my invention, the said Figures 4 and 5
also exhibiting one of the methods which use for joining the tubes end to end:
Figure 6 represents a modification of the same. is the glass tube forming the
internal glass surface of the compound pipe or tube, the said glass tube being made
of one piece of glass heated and bent into a tubular figure and its edges joined by
fusion or the glass tube may be made of molten glass moulded or rolled into the
required form by pressure; g is the coating of concrete, papier mâché or other
like material and around the said coating and near the ends of the tubes are
short metallic pipes, for the purpose of carrying the collars and m by which
the tubes are secured together. These short metallic pipes, have flanges against
which the collars and m abut respectively. Embedded in the concrete coating
for the purpose of strengthening the tube are longitudinal wires i, i secured in the
end annular pieces & also embedded in the concrete.
"
The concrete or other like material is applied in two layers, the inner and
thicker layer being first applied and the outer or thinner layer being applied after
the application of the wires i, i as hereinafter described.
The wires i, are preferably connected to the end annular pieces k, k in the
following manner. A series of equi-distant holes is made in the said annular
pieces and a long length of wire being taken its end is passed through one of the
said holes and returned through the next hole, from whence it passes to the end
annular piece at the other end of the pipe through holes in which last named
annular piece the said wire is passed in a similar manner. The long length of wire
is thus passed backwards and forwards and threaded through the holes in the end
annular pieces k at the end of the pipe.
Where the glass pipe is solid as represented in Figure 4, the wires i may pass
straight, that is parallel to the axis of the pipe from one of the said annular pieces
to the other but where the glass pipe is made in two or more pieces as represented
in Figure 2 prefer to coil the wires around the inner. portion of the concrete
coating so as to strengthen the pipe and to enable it to resist internal pressure.
After the application of the wires i either rectilinearly or helically the remaining
thinner and outer coating of concrete is applied as will be understood by an
examination of Figures 4, 5 and 6. Where the wires are straight they may be
threaded in the annular pieces before the concrete or other coating material is
poured into the mould in the axis of which the glass pipe is suspended, but where
the said wires are to have a helical or coiled direction the concrete or other like
material must be applied at two operations as herein before described.
For the purpose of joining the tubes or pipes end to end the flanges of the short
metallic end pipes are drawn and held together without twisting the pipes by the
union joint represented, the said union joint consisting of the ring screwed
.externally upon which the ring or cap m having an internal screw takes for drawing
together and enclosing between them the flanges of the pipes as represented. Ov
instead of using a union joint, the flanges on the outer strengthening pipes /, h may
be bolted together in the manner seen in Figure 6.

page_text: In place of the methods described and represented of joining the pipes end to end
tubular junction pieces may be inserted in each end of the mould in which the
concrete is cast around the glass tube. The said tubular junction pieces have
flanged ends which are drawn together by screw nuts and bolts.
Figure 7 represents in perspective groups of glass pipes before they are coated
with the concrete or other external covering and Figure 8 represents a front
elevation of the same, partly in section, covered and bound together by the external
covering.
The groups of glass pipes Figures 7 and 8 are made of glass slabs n, n the top
and bottom slabs having semi-cylindrical cavities in their inner faces only and the
inner slabs having semi-cylindrical cavities in each face, the said cavities running
the whole length of the slabs. By piling the glass slabs on one another, series of
cylindrical pipes on different levels are formed. The groups of pipes are bound
together and strengthened and their insulation maintained by casting around them
the pitch covering n Figure 8, and outside the pitch covering the concrete or other
like non metallic covering p is cast or moulded.
Or the recessed slabs of glass of which the series of pipes are composed may be
bound together and protected by the casting or moulding of the outside covering of
concrete or other material upon them in the manner represented in front elevation
in Figure 9 and side elevation in Figure 10.
In this case the sides of the series of slabs are provided with equi-distant
recesses crossing the several slabs from top to bottom. The concrete or other
strengthening material cast around the slabs enters the cross recesses g
piled slabs and thereby binds them securely together.
in the
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim
as my invention of "Improvements in pipes or tubes for conveying liquids and
gases and for protecting and insulating electric conductors and for other like
purposes
23
First Making single pipes or tubes for the purposes described of an internal
cylindrical or other shaped glass tube, made in either of the several ways described
and illustrated, coated or covered with an external support of pitch, concrete,
cement, papier mâché or other non-metallic material which can be cast or moulded
or applied while in a plastic state to the glass tube, the said coated or covered glass
tube being used with or without a further coating or covering of wire gauze, coils
of thin sheet metal, wire or other strengthening material and with or without a
final coating or covering of concrete or other like material substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the
accompanying drawings.
Secondly-The combination with pipes or tubes made in accordance with the
first claim, of the arrangements of parts herein before described and illustrated in
Figures 4, 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings for joining the said pipes end to
end; and the modification described in which tubular junction pieces with flanged
ends are fixed to the pipes by the casting or moulding of the concrete or other
plastic non-metallic material around the glass pipe.
Thirdly-Making grouped pipes or tubes for the purposes described of slabs of
glass having in one or both of their faces concavities for forming when the slabs are
piled or brought together, one or more series of pipes of the desired shape, and
securing together the said glass slabs and covering them by an insulating and.
strengthening external coating of pitch, concrete or other non-metallic material
capable of being cast or moulded upon the piled glass slabs substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated the witch 1
SML 1000