IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS, VALVES. WATER PLUGS, AND FLEXIBLE JOINTS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Lund, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS,
VALVES. WATER PLUGS, AND FLEXIBLE JOINTS."
Sealed the 7th November 1854, and dated the 18th August 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Lund at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th August
1854.
I, EDWARD LUND, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of iny said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COCKS, VALVES, WATER PLUGS, AND FLEXIBLE JOINTS," to be as follows:-
The nature of my Invention consists in a particular employment of vul-
canized india-rubber, or other non-metallic, elastic, compressible material, to
obtain a perfectly fluid, gas, vapour, steam, or air-tight joint or contact in
cocks, valves, water plugs, and flexible joints, instead of the metal or other
fittings and packings hitherto employed, which, either by imperfect manufac-
ture, by use, by pressure, by expansion from heat, or by corrosion, are inore or less
liable to leak, and frequently to fail altogether in their construction. The joint
or contact just mentioned is on that side of the aperture from which the fluid,
gas, vapour, steam, or air is to flow, and is maintained, not only by their pres-
sure, but also by the tendency of the compressed vulcanized india-rubber to

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expand in all directions, and thereby close around the spindle of a valve as
well as to draw or pull it in perfect contact with its seat. I propose, under
the head of pressure, to add a spherical recoil valve of vulcanized india-rubber
in the rear of one of my valves, or of any other valve, to check the reaction
of the fluid when the valve is closed suddenly; and to apply my Invention to
the manufacture of "hydrants," both to prevent leakage when they are
applied to mains, and also to enable a portion of the hydrant to be turned on
its axis. Under the head of heat, I propose to apply my Juvention to hot water
and steam, and it may also be used for other purposes where heat is required;
and under the head of corrosion, in addition to several culinary and chemical
uses, I intend to apply it to the improvement of cistern supply cocks, by
making, amongst other alterations in the action of that description of valve
or cock, some portions of porcelain or earthenware; and, lastly, I propose
to apply my Invention to the manufacture of flexible joints, to obviate the
expense and defects of those now in use, as I can take advantage of the vary-
ing compressibility of vulcanized india-rubber to keep such a joint tight on all
sides. I do not confine myself to the examples above given, nor to the par-
ticular form of the several valves to be used, whether spherical, conical, or
flat, or with or without india-rubber, leather, or other like material on their
seats, nor to any particular form of flexible joint; neither do I specify at
present any particular material these cocks, valves, water plugs, or flexible
joints are to be made of, as wood, glass, porcelain, earthenware, or gutta
percha may be used in many cases more conveniently than metal. But I
reserve the details of the application of my said Invention, and the mode of
carrying the same into effect, and the exact statement of the several claims I
may be entitled to make, until the time for filing my complete Specification.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Lund in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th February 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
LUND, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto

page_text: me, the said Edward Lund, Her special license that I, the said Edward
Lund, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Edward Lund, 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 Ire-
land, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN COCKS, VALVES, WATER PLUGS, AND FLEXIBLE JOINTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Edward Lund, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 Edward Lund, 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
and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in a particular employment of vulcanized india-
rubber, or other non-metallic, elastic, compressible material, to obtain a per-
fectly fluid, gas, vapour, steam, or air-tight joint or contact in cocks, valves,
water plugs, and flexible joints, instead of the metal or other fittings and
packings hitherto employed, which, either by imperfect manufacture, by use,
by pressure, by expansion from heat, or by corrosion, are more or less liable to
leak, and frequently to fail altogether in their construction and operation.
The joint or contact just mentioned is on that side of the aperture from which
the fluid, gas, vapour, steam, or air is to flow, and is maintained not only by
their pressure, but also by the tendency of the compressed vulcanized, india-
rubber, to expand in all directions, and thereby close around the spindle of a
valve, as well as to draw or pull it in perfect contact with its seat. In order that
my Invention may be fully understood, I have hereunto attached three Sheets
of Drawings illustrative of the same, and have placed similar letters of reference
upon corresponding parts of the apparatus throughout. In the accompanying
Drawings, Fig. 1 represents the most simple form of my improvements in the
manufacture of cocks and valves; Fig. 2 shews à union cock on the same
principle, which may also be easily adapted to the same uses as Fig. 1, by
constructing the passage on the right hand of the Fig. representing the union
cock in the shape or form of an ordinary draw-off cock. It is apparent that
tho seats of the valves in each cock are manufactured differently, but either

page_text: may be used in each cock, as may be considered expedient. In Fig. 1 the metal
portion of the valve vis faced with a hemispherical piece of vulcanized india-
rubber, having a metal seats of corresponding form. In Fig. 2 the face of vul-
canized india-rubber is flat, and the seat is a projecting ring, which indents the
vulcanized india-rubber. These valves are kept water-tight upon their seats,
notonly by the pressure of the water or other fluid, or by the gas, vapour, or
air behind, but also by the expansion of the vulcanized india-rubber a, which is
to be compressed at the time the cock is manufactured, by limiting the actual
length of the valve spindle p. This is effected by turning the screw or nut
behind the valve, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It should be observed that the
vulcanized india-rubber a is not attached in any way either to any portion of
the valve spindle or of the body of the cock. To allow the liquid to pass, this
vulcanized india-rubber must be further compressed, either by the hand
pressed upon the knob k or face of the cock, as in Fig. 1, or by the screw a
as in Fig. 2, or by any other mechanical equivalent. At the same time, since
the vulcanized india-rubber will expand equally on all sides, it grasps or closes
around the spindle (the upper portion, it will be observed, is made conical to aid
this object), and also fills up the hollow in the cavity or chamber in the body
of the cock, see Fig. 1. I have found it very desirable in the manufacture of
these cocks to avoid any tendency to twist the vulcanized india-rubber when
they are opened or shut. I therefore insert a pin c or slot in the head or
spindle of the valve, as shown in Fig. 1. The recoil in all cocks which open
against the stream is considerable, and this I find to be the case especially with
the cock as shewn in Fig. 1, when used under high pressure. The application
of a slow-threaded screw a, as shown in Fig. 2, almost removes this objection,
and which I think may be still more effectually prevented by the use of an
elastic solid or hollow ball of vulcanized india-rubber, placed in the rear of
the cock, with a seat, which takes effect only when the liquid attempts on the
closing of the cock to return into the cistern or other reservoir. Fig. 3 shews
my improved valve applied to street water mains; and Fig. 4 is a plan of the
button 7, which is used to compress the vulcanized india-rubber sufficiently to
keep the hemispherical valve v against its seat s. This amount of compression
is then maintained by turning the extremities of the button beyond the
notches d, as shewn in Fig. 4. The spindle p in this valve may be dispensed
with, and a solid block of vulcanized india-rubber be introduced instead, to keep
the valve against its seat, as shewn in Fig. 5, Sheet 2. Fig. 6 shews the hydrant
I employ to open the valve in the street main, and to which it is attached or
fixed by pins i, i, towards the bottom of the hydrant, working or acting in
corresponding grooves or slots in the valve box. A washer of india-rubber W,

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Fig. 3, should be inserted in these grooves to make the joint water-tight. It
is apparent, by the Figs. 3 and 6, that when the hydrant has been thus fixed to
the main, the depression of its leng spindle p by the screw above will simul-
taneously open the valve and close the vulcanized india-rubber (a), Fig. 6,
around the spindle, in like manner as already shewn or described in Figs. 1
and 2. To permit the stream of water from the hydrant to be directed to any
point of a circle of which the hydrant is the centre, the upper part should be
so constructed as to turn easily and yet remain water-tight. This object is
attained by the arrangement shewn in Fig. 7, Sheet 2. Its chief difference.
from Fig. 6 is the addition of a joint 7, which is made water-tight by the inser-
tion of a vulcanized india-rubber washer m; or there may be two such washers
n, n, see Fig. 8, with two thin metal rings o, o, with ground surfaces (sec
also Fig. 8) between them, so as to facilitate the turning of the head of the
hydrant, which might otherwise be impeded by the adhesion of the vulcanized
india-rubber to the metal. If this arrangement should prove insufficient, the
spindle p must be allowed to rise till the valve in the main is closed, and the
top of the hydrant, being thus set free, can be turned round in any direction
before the spindle is again depressed and the valve in the main re-opened.
On the depression of the long spindle p, see Fig. 7, by the screw and handle
at the top, there are three joints rendered water-tight. The head of the hydrant
will first be raised and the joint at m closed, and then the vulcanized india-
rubber (a) closed around the spindle, and compressed in the hollow b under it,
as already shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, and any tendency to force off the head of
the hydrant will only render these several joints points of contact the more
water-tight and secure. It must not be forgotten that the spindle in these
hydrants should be square, to prevent their turning or twisting the vulcanized
india-rubber. To put this hydrant together, the cap or head should be passed
from the bottom of the hydrant, the pins i, i, being first removed till stopped
by the joint at m, Fig. 7. The bottom & should be then screwed down, and
the spindle p with the vulcanized india-rubber a may be put in their places
and the top t screwed on. Fig. 9 shews one of my improved cistern supply
cocks. Here a similar cock to that shown in Fig. 1 (but having by way of
variety a conical seat to the valve) is mounted on a bracket outside the cistern,
from which the pipe e leads the water nearly to the bottom of the cistern.
The lever of the ball-float turns upon a metallic centre f, on a porcelain or
earthenware support or bearing 9; or the centre may be porcelain, and the
bearing, metal. The extent of the fall of the ball is regulated by the stop or
bracket j. The advantages of this arrangement are the removal of the cock
from the damp of the cistern, the introduction of the supply of water below
or

page_text: its surface, whereby any impurities floating on its surface remain undisturbed;
and, lastly, the peculiar construction of the axis on which the ball and
lever turn, as well as its limited range, insure the certain action and dura-
bility of this description of cock. In Sheet 3, Figs. 10 and 11 shew my
peculiar application of vulcanized india-rubber to the manufacture of flexible
joints. Two stout cylinders a, a, a', a', of this material are placed on oppo-
site sides of the flanges b, b, and there compressed by the hollow screws c, c,
until their tendency to expand, together with the conical form of a portion of
the outside of the tubes they surround, (similar to the spindle p, (Fig. 1,)
together with the position of the flanges between the ends of these two
cylinders, make perfectly water-tight joints, and these joints are maintained
rather than injured by the pressure of the water in the tender or other reser-
voir. The length of these cylinders may be twice or thrice their diameter,
and metal rings d, d, may be added to restrain or regulate the form of their
expansion, so as to bring their surfaces as close as possible to the tubes.
Fig. 10 shews the application of this portion of my Invention to the tender
of a locomotive steam engine. By bending the tube at nearly a right angle at
the part e, Fig. 10, I obtain a very considerable amount of flexure, without
any very great difference in the pressure exerted on opposite sides of the tube
and flanges. In putting these joints together, the cylinder of vulcanized india-
rubber a', a', Figs. 10 and 11, should be first compressed by a suitable vice or
other form of screw cramp or grip, between the flanges on the larger and
smaller tubes, till reduced to about half its length. The other cylinder and the
screws c, c, can then be easily applied, and on removing the grip each cylinder
will remain sufficiently compressed to make a good and tight joint. As my
particular application of vulcanized india-rubber or other non-metallic, elastic,
compressible material to tho manufacture of cocks, valves, water plugs, and
flexible joints does not require it to be fixed or attached in any way or manner
to the material of which the same are manufactured, it will be obvious that
they may be made of metal, wood, glass, porcelain, or earthenware, or gutta
percha, according to the purposes to which they are to be applied; but when
made of metal, I find it necessary, to prevent the adhesion of the valve to its
seat, to tin or thickly lacquer the metal surfaces of the valve seats, which
come in immediate contact with the vulcanized india-rubber covering of the
valve. For cocks or valves for passing only cold water, I employ hemi-
spherical or flat portions of gutta percha, instead of vulcanized india-rubber,
as a coating or covering to the valve, already described.
Having now fully described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be carried into practical effect, I desire it to be under-

page_text: stood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein contained, pro-
vided the substantial features of my several improvements in the manufacture
of cocks, valves, water plugs, and flexible joints be maintained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Lund, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
EDWARD LUND. (L.S.)