IMPROVEMENTS IN
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Leonard Clayton, Lawrence Clayton, and James.
Smith, of Hunslet, near Leeds, in the County of York, Gas
Engineers and Contractors, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Leonard Clayton,
Lawrence Clayton, and James Smith at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 6th July 1869.
We, LEONARD CLAYTON, LAWRENCE CLAYTON, and JAMES SMITH, of
Hunslet, near Leeds, in the County of York, Gas Engineers and
Contractors, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TAPS OR VALVES," to be as
follows:-
Our improvements are chiefly applicable to gas purifiers, and refer to
those taps in which the barrel is formed with a series of openings by
which the gas is allowed to pass into and out of vessels or purifiers the
openings of which are governed by a plug of peculiar shape.

page_text: The Invention consists in forming the barrel of six branches, two of
which form the inlet and the outlet passages, the other four being, for
guiding the gas when used in gasworks into and out of the purifiers.
The plug is composed of top and bottom discs connected by thin division
plates. One side of each of the plates has other plates at right angles
thereto, which fill the spaces between any two of the openings at which
they may be placed and form bearing surfaces for the plug to work
upon and to make the same gas-tight.
According to this Invention only one tap is required for every two
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Leonard Clayton, Lawrence Clayton, and James
Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, LEONARD
CLAYTON, LAWRENCE CLAYTON, and JAMES SMITH, of Hunslet, near
Leeds, in the County of York, Gas Engineers and Contractors, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Leonard Clayton, Lawrence Clayton, and James,
Smith, Her special licence, that we, the said Leonard Clayton, Lawrence
Clayton, and James Smith, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as, we, the said Leonard Clayton, Lawrence Clayton, and
James Smith, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TAPS OR VALVES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Leonard Clayton, Lawrence.
Clayton, and James Smith, or one of us, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or one of our, or their, or one

page_text: 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 we, the said Leonard Clayton, Lawrence
Clayton, and James Smith, 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, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
ست
Our improvements are chicfly applicable to gas purifiers, and refer to
those taps in which the barrel is formed with a series of openings by
which the gas is allowed to pass into and out of vessels or purifiers the
openings of which are governed by a plug of peculiar shape.
The Invention consists in forming the barrel of six branches, two of
which form the inlet and the outlet passages, the other four being for
guiding the gas when used in gasworks into and out of the purifiers.
The plug is composed of top and bottom discs connected by thin division
plates. One side of each of the plates has other plates at. right angles
thereto, which fill the spaces between any two of the openings at which
they may be placed and form bearing surfaces for the plug to work upon.
and to make the same gas-tight.
According to this Invention only one tap is required for every two
purifiers, and any one, two, three, or all four purifiers of a set can be
shut off for the purposes of cleaning or for repairs.
The manner in which we carry our Invention into effect is represented
in the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal
section of a plug fitted in a barrel.
The plug is composed of top and bottom discs or plates a, b, which
are connected by vertical division plates c, d, to form as it were three
passages when the plug is in the barrel, one of the passages e being
between the plates a, d, so as to lead the gas direct through. the body,
while the other passages f, g, are formed between the outsides of the
vertical plates c, d, and the inside wall of the, barrel A. The edges
of one end of the vertical plates are of the same thickness as the body
of the plates, or they may be a little thicker to obtain a little more

page_text: bearing surface if desired, but the edges on the other ends have plates
or pieces h, h, projecting from both faces, as shewn in the sectional
plan in Figure 2. These pieces have a surface corresponding in size
with the face of the barrel between every two openings or passages,
and each of the pieces are somewhat larger than the openings themselves,
so that when the pieces lie across two of the openings the openings are
entirely shut off and the gas is caused to flow through the barrel in
another direction. By this arrangement the gas may be directed
straight through the body of the barrel without passing into any vessel,
or should it be desirable to lead it through a vessel before it passes on
through the continuation of the pipe we shift the plug partly round
so that its passage is diverted, whereby it is led into the vessel from one
connection, as at i, and then out of the vessel by another connection j,
and away through the continuation of the main pipe, as represented
in Figure 3, so that should the tap be fitted to such vessels as gas
purifiers, to which our Invention is particularly applicable, the gas can
be led through the same by simply turning the plug in the proper
direction and the given distance. As before mentioned we fit the plug
in a barrel having six ways or passages and arrange it mid-distance
between two purifiers, as shown, and when it is necessary to pass the
gas through two purifiers in succession we turn the plug to the position
represented in Figure 4. In this case the gas after passing through
both purifiers can be allowed to flow to the gasometer to be stored, or
to any other apparatus for after treatment as found desirable. The stem
or head of the plug passes up through a cover or top plate m, which
is secured in place by pins to the flange on the barrel so that the plug
works in the same in a gas-tight manner. The lid or top plate is easily
removable by releasing the pins, when the plug can be taken out for
repairs or examination. The taper of the plug is such that it does not
become fixed in the barrel from disuse. In some cases we fit a bar n on
the plug head with a depending pin p to drop into holes provided for
it in the cover, so that the plug can be retained in any position for any
length of time as circumstances may dictate. The head of the plug may
be provided with a key so that it can be moved by hand, which would
be advisable for small sized taps, but when large taps are employed we
place a wheel q upon the head, as shewn in Figure 5, and move the
wheel by means of a pinion and crank handle s. Of course we do
not confine ourselves to any special apparatus for turning the plug, as
any ordinary mechanism may be employed as found advisable. Holes

page_text: may be formed in the barrel or in the lid for oil to pass through to
lubricate the plug.
It will be understood that we are enabled to fit any number of taps
to any number of purifiers or other vessels to which they may be
attached for accomplishing the object in view. In the foregoing
description we have referred more especially to fitting the taps to gas
purifiers, but they are equally applicable for water taps, and will be
found of great service if fitted to large water mains, as the water can
be directed into almost any direction, and in the case of passing the
water through a succession of filtering beds or basins all impurities
may be washed from it before it is allowed to be used. Among the
advantages in the employment of these taps when fitted to gas purifiers,
when such are used in pairs, is that either one of the purifiers can bo
shut off from each sct, so that it can be cleaned or repaired without
stopping the passage of the supply.
And having now described the nature of the 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 plugs for taps,
substantially in the manner herein-before described and represented in
the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, we, the said Leonard Clayton, Lawrence Clayton,
and James Smith, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.
LEONARD CLAYTON.
(L.S.)
LAWRENCE CLAYTON. (L.S.)
JAMES SMITH.
(L.S.)