IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS OR VALVES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Haigh, of Cubitt Town, in the County
of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS OR
VALVES."
Sealed the 26th October 1875, and dated the 1st May 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Haigh at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st May 1875.
I, BENJAMIN HAIGH, of Cubitt Town, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COCKS OR VALVES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to an improvement in cocks or valves; and it
consists in the employment of a ball or sphere of india-rubber as the
valve, the elasticity of the india-rubber likewise serving the purpose of
a spring to hold the valve against its seat.
By means of my Invention the construction of the cock or valve is
greatly simplified, and it is almost impossible for it to get out of order.

page_text: The india-rubber spherical valve is enclosed in a suitable shell or
chamber, and is pressed up against the valve seat by a guard or cup
fixed behind the india-rubber ball. To open the valve the ball is com-
pressed to raise it off its seat by means of a push rod or spindle. The
india-rubber valve being spherical it may be shifted when one part is
worn so as to bring a fresh part on to the valve seat.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Benjamin Haigh in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 28th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
HAIGH, of Cubitt Town, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of May, in the year of
our Lord One, thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Haigh, Her special
licence that I, the said Benjamin Haigh, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin Haigh, my exccu-
tors, 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 OR VALVES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Benjamin Haigh, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and. ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Benjamin Haigh, 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 accompanying

page_text: Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and ungures marked thereon, that
is to say:
My Invention relates to an improvement in cocks and valves; and it
consists in the employment of a ball or sphere of india-rubber as the
valve. The india-rubber ball or valve is enclosed in a suitable shell or
chamber, and is confined against its seat by a fixed guard or cup behind
it, the india-rubber being slightly compressed to made a tight closure.
The elasticity of the valve itself thus. serves to hold it against its seat
without the use of a spring for the purpose. To open the valve the ball
is forcibly compressed to move it from its scat by means of a push rod
or spindle suitably arranged. The india-rubber valve being spherical it
may be shifted when one part is worn so as to bring a fresh part on to
the valve seat, and it may be readily replaced by a new one when
required without any fitting or grinding in.
By my Invention the construction of the cock or valve is greatly
simplified; it is not liable to leak under either high or low pressure, and
it is almost impossible for it to get out of order.
These cocks or valves are applicable for various purposes, such as
steam cocks, ball and other supply cocks, pet and stop cocks for water,
gas, spirits, oils, and other liquids.
In the accompanying Drawing I have illustrated the Invention as
applied to a few of these purposes.
Figure 1 shows a ball-cock; Figure 2, cistern outlet valve; Figure 3,
a pet-cock Figure 4, a stop-cock; Figure 5, a back pressure valve;
Figure 6, a spirit tap; all provided with the india-rubber ball valve of
my Invention.
a is the ball or sphere of solid india-rubber forming the valve; b, the
valve seat; and c, the guard at the back of the valve; the guard c is
provided with holes to give free passage to the fluid; dis a guide spindle
traversing the ball and working in guides, as shown, to maintain the
ball in its proper position. The spindle is inserted in the ball by being
forced through the india-rubber, for which purpose it is pointed at one
end. The valve is opened by compressing the india-rubber ball against
the guard c so as to lift the ball from its seat. This is done in most
cases by a push rod e which may be operated in various ways, forming
no part of my Invention; for instance, by a lever, thumb knob, or a

page_text: screw spindle, as shown in the different Figures. In Figure 2 the guide
spindle & serves also to compress the ball, being provided with a cup and
having a chain attached by which it is operated. In Figure 5 the valvc
is compressed and opened by the fluid itself; the arrows show the
direction of the liquid or fluid.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to
be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
employment in a cock or valve of a ball or sphere of india-rubber
confined between a suitable valve seat and guard as and for the purpose
herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Haigh, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.