IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS AND SLUICES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Prentis Hawley, of Brixton, in the County.
of Surrey, Assoc. Inst. C.E., for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COCKS AND SLUICES."
Scaled the 21st January 1873, and dated the 29th July 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Prentis Hawley
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th July 1872.
I, JOHN PRENTIS HAWLEY, of Brixton, in the County of Surrey,
Assoc. Inst. C.E., do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS AND SLUICES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in cocks and sluices for regu-
lating the passage of water and other fluids, and is designed more
particularly to facilitate the removal of the working parts for renewing
or repairing the same without disturbing the fixed portions thereof,
which it is desirable to avoid, as well as to ensure the more gradual
working of the same, thereby reducing the concussion of water in the
pipes, and liability to accidents.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Prentis Hawley in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th January 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN'
PRENTIS HAWLEY, of Brixton, in the County of Surrey, Assoc. Inst. C.E.,
send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Prentis Hawley, Her special licence
that I, the said John Prentis Hawley, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Prentis Hawley, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN COCKS AND SLUICES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Prentis Hawley, 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 John Prentis Hawley, 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 two accom-
panying Sheets of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention relates to improvements in cocks and sluices for regu-
lating the passage of water and other fluids, and is designed more
particularly to facilitate the removal of the working parts for renewing
or repairing the same without disturbing the fixed portions of the cock
or sluice, which it is desirable to avoid, as well as to ensure the. more

page_text: gradual working of the same, thereby reducing the concussion of water
in the pipes, and liability to accidents.
.
For example, I provide a valve or cock with a hollow plug or stem,
which is made to screw into a nut or socket inside the cock, and pro-
vided with waterways, the passage of the fluid being regulated by a
valve consisting of a flange or shoulder formed on the plug, which is
screwed down on to a suitable seating by the rotation of the plug in
order to cut off the passage of the fluid. The inlet is at the lower end of
the plug, which is hollow, and may serve as an additional valve by
screwing it down against a valve seating provided in the cock, the inlets
and outlets in which are arranged accordingly.
1
The said plug or stem and other parts may be introduced through an
aperture in the cock, which is closed by a screwed and flanged or other
cover, a stuffing box and gland being further provided, through which
the plug passes.
I may also make the nut or socket in which the plug or stem is
received and other parts removable. In this case the aperture at which
the valve stem is introduced may be at the bottom or side of the cock,
closed as before-mentioned by a cover, and pressed tightly up to its place
to prevent leakage, with or without suitable packing material.
In applying it as a fire-cock or hydrant I simply modify its general
form, and attach the valve casing by means of a flange or otherwise to
the pipe or main.
·
My Invention relates also to sluices, in which the valve is hinged to a
detachable cover, or otherwise suspended, its action being regulated by a
screwed plug or stem passing through a stuffing box on the top of the
said cover, which plug or stem retains the valve in any position against
the pressure of water or other fluid. The spindle or stem is provided
with a flange, working up and down like a piston in a cylinder on the
casing to guide the stem and to prevent the escape of water.
Instead of this arrangement I may operate the valve directly by a
screw, stem, or worm gearing with a toothed segment formed on the
valve.
All the working parts can be removed in both arrangements and
replaced by duplicate sections without removing the body of the cock or
sluice.

page_text: Figure 1 represents in central longitudinal section a main cock con--
structed according to one arrangement of my Invention; Figure 2 is a
similar view of a somewhat modified arrangement of the same kind of
cock. a is the body or fixed part of the cock. It is cast with an
internal division a¹ of the form shown to serve as a valve seat and form
a socket tapped to receive the stem b, which is hollow and screw
threaded externally at the lower part. c is a circular flange or shoulder
cast on stem b, forming a valve, its working face, which projects slightly
as shown, being pressed down on the seat d by screwing the stem 6 into
socket a¹. d is a leather seating let into a recess in socket a². e arc
waterways leading into a recess or channel f, enclosed by the valve c
when the latter is screwed down. The stem 6 is closed at top but open
at the lower end, which serves as an additional valve, and is pressed
down upon a seating g, fitted in a cap g¹, made to screw or otherwise
fitted into the body a, so as to be capable of adjustment to allow for
wear of the valve seatings. i is the inlet and o the outlet passages of the
cock. The stem 6 is introduced through an opening closed by a screwed
cap or cover j, provided with a flange to effect a tight closure, the stem
passing through a stuffing box and gland j¹ on said cover j, as shown.
k is a leather washer at the back of valve c, which moves up and down
therewith inside the cover j.
In Figure 2, a is the body of the cock, as before, and 6 the stem,
hollow and open at the lower part, having the flange or shoulder c and
waterways e. The stem screws into a corresponding socket 7, as shown,
which socket carries the valve seating d, and is in this instance
removable from the body a. For this purpose the socket is tapered or
made conical externally, and ground into a corresponding seat in the
body a, into which the socket is tightly pressed by the screw cap or
cover m. This cover closes the opening at which the stem b and socket
are introduced, and is provided with apertures m¹³ for the passage of the
water from the inlet i to the stem b, which is in this case always open at
the bottom, but the socket / may be otherwise secured. J is a stuffing
box on the body a, through which stem 6 passes.
Figures 3 and 4 show central vertical sections in the open and closed
positions of a fire-cock or hydrant constructed according to the samo

page_text: .c is a
Invention. The same letters of reference indicate parts similar to those
designated in Figure 2. a is the casing bolted on the pipe or main,
and b a hollow stem open at bottom, where it communicates with the
pipe or main, and closed at top, which terminates in a squared end for a
handle or key to be applied, introduced at the water outlet o.
flange or shoulder forming the valve, as before, which screws down upon
a corresponding seating d on the socket 1, into which the stem is
screwed. This socket is flanged or made conical externally, so as to fit
tightly into a recess in the casing a, as shown. e are waterways, as
before. p are lugs or stops to limit the motion of stem b.
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 show slightly different arrangements of the
same fire-plug or hydrant, a separate outlet o being provided at the side
of the casing a, the stem 6 being prolonged by a second stem b', keyed
thereon and passing through a stuffing box or bearing on a.
Figures 9 and 10 show in central section a sluice in the open and
closed positions. a is the valve, provided with a leather face b, which
is pressed against a suitable seat c. The valve is hung or pivoted at d
in bearings carried on cover e, detachable from the casting. f is a
screwed stem, working through a screwed socket 9 fixed in cover e, and
the point of which screw bears against the back of valve a, as shown.
The stem is plain at the upper part, which works up and down in a
hollow cylinder formed on cover e. This cylinder is closed at top, with
the exception of the opening through which stem ƒ passes, and the
latter has a flange, provided with a suitable packing, which works up
and down like a piston inside the cylinder and serves to prevent
leakage.
Figure 11 shows another arrangement of sluice, in which the valve a
is pivoted on an axis or pin x, hung in brackets from the cover e, and is
operated by a worm i on stem f, which gears with a toothed segment k
on the valve. In this case the stem does not work up and down, but
is fitted in the cover, as shown.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my Inven-
tion, to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
is,—
'
1st. The hollow screw stem b, fitted in the body of the cock as
described, provided with waterways e and flange c serving as a valve to

page_text: control the passage of the water, in combination with the valve seat d,
(whether the lower end of said stem serves as an additional valve or not,)
all arranged and operating substantially as herein described, and shown
in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings.
2ndly. Making the stem b with its flange c removable through an
opening closed by cap j, through which said stem passes, substantially as
described, and shown in Figure 1.
3rdly. The socket 7 and stem b, constructed as described and made
removable through an opening closed by cap m, substantially as
described, and shown in Figure 2.
4thly. The several arrangements of fire-cocks or hydrants shown in
Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, in which the hollow screw stem b, provided
with a flange or valve c and waterways e, is fitted in a socket 7, and
operating substantially as shown and described.
5thly. The valve or sluice a, hung in a removable cover e, combined
with and operated by a screw stem f, fitted and working substantially as
herein described, and shown in Figures 9 and 10.
6thly. The combination with the valve or sluice a, arranged as shown,
of the toothed segment k and the worm i, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth, and shown in Figure 11.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Prentis Hawley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.