Improvements in Devices for Making Connections with Water or Gas Mains and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Nov., 1897-Accepted, 8th Jan., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Devices for Making Connections with Water or
Gas Mains and the like.
We, JOHN KERSHAW HILL, Engineer, and Water Works Manager, of Walton-
on-Thames, in the County of Surrey, and PHILIP BRIGHT, Civil Engineer, of 2
Newgate Street, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
-
This invention relates to improvements in and connected with what are known as
ferrules for making connection with water or gas mains and the like, whether the
connection is to be made while the main is subjected to internal pressure and with
the aid of any of the well known drilling and tapping apparatuses, or while the
pressure is shut off from the main and with the aid of ordinary drilling and tapping
tools only.
And in order that the said invention may be fully understood we will proceed
to describe the same with the aid of the accompanying sheet of Drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ferrule and connecting cover constructed in
accordance with the invention, Figure a plan of same, Figure 3 a longitudinal
sectional elevation corresponding to Figure 1 and taken on the line X-X of
Figures 2 and 4, and Figure 4 a sectional plan taken on the line Y-Y of Figures 1
and 3.
A is the ferrule properly so called, screw-threaded at its lower end A¹ and
adapted to fit liquid or gas-tight into the tapped hole in the main. It is also screw-
threaded at its upper end, A² both externally and internally, and is provided with
a properly faced valve seat B. C is a plug faced or otherwise adapted at its lower
end to fit liquid or gas-tight against the valve seat B. It is screw-threaded exter-
nally to fit the internal thread in the upper end A2 of the ferrule and is provided
with a square recess, D, or other device, for the reception of a key by means of
which it can be turned round so as to be raised or lowered by the said screw-threads.
E is a cover screwed internally and adapted to screw on to the external thread of
the upper end A2 of the ferrule, and to make a liquid or gas-tight joint by means
of a suitable impervious washer F, or otherwise, with the shoulder or collar A³ of
the ferrule A. G is a cap screwed to the upper end of the cover E and adapted to
make a liquid or gas-tight joint therewith by means of an impervious washer H,
or otherwise.
When it is required to apply the connection to a water or gas main for example,
the plug C is screwed down in the upper part A3 of the ferrule until it bears upon
the valve seat B. The lower part A of the ferrule is then screwed into the hole
prepared for it in the main. If the hole in the main has been drilled and tapped
with ordinary tools while the pressure is off, the pressure can be restored as soon as
the ferrule has been screwed in, because the plug C acts as a valve and prevents
the escape of water or gas. If the hole in the main has been drilled and tapped
while the pressure is on, by means of any of the well known apparatuses for that
purpose, the ferrule is screwed into the hole by the same apparatus, and the escape

page_text: of water or gas is prevented by the plug C when the drilling and tapping apparatus
is removed. The cover E is next screwed on to the upper part A2 of the ferrule,
and the service pipe connected to the branch E¹ of the cover. The plug C may then
be screwed upwards by means of a suitable key inserted from the top of the cover
into the square recess D so as to open the passage for water or gas to the service
pipe to any required extent, and the cap G is then screwed on so as to close the
upper part of the cover and prevent the escape of water or gas therefrom.
The above described arrangement of connector has the following advantages
over another well known ferrule, Firstly, that the plug C has only the one internal
screw-thread to travel in, and therefore cannot become jammed, whereas in the
ferrule above mentioned the plug has to pass from a screw thread in the ferrule
to another screw-thread in the cover or vice versa and unless these two threads are
so formed or set, as to be quite continuous with one another, the plug is liable to
become jammed in them. Secondly, that as the cap G makes a water or gas-tight
closure for the cover there is no necessity for the plug C to be screwed up so as to
make a water or gas-tight joint with the under side of the cap as is necessary in
some other ferrules, therefore the plug C may be used to adjust the size of the
opening leading from the main to the service pipe, by screwing it up or down more
or less in the ferrule, whereas in the ferrule previously mentioned the opening
cannot be regulated by varying the position of the plug because the latter must
always be screwed up against the underside of the cap when the pressure is on in
the main, and thirdly, that as the plug C has only to move in one continuous
internal screw-thread it can be made a better fit in such thread than in the ferrulo
previously referred to, where it has to pass from one thread to another, and con-
sequently there is less leakage past the plug while the latter is being operated and
the cap put in place.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
First. The improved device for making connections with water or gas mains or
the like which consists of a ferrule A having a valve seat B and a screw plug C,
a cover E and a cap G, arranged, combined and operating, substantially as described
with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
Second. In a ferrule for making connections with water or gas mains or the like,
so constructing and arranging the valve seating, the screwed closing plug, the
internal screw-thread in which such plug works, and the outlet opening from the
ferrule, in relation to one another, that the said screwed closing plug can be made
to close on to the valve seat, or to open the passage way between the main and
the outlet opening, wholly or partly, without becoming disengaged from the
internal screw-thread in the ferrule, substantially as described with reference to
the accompanying Drawings.