USRE5745E - Improvement in hydrants - Google Patents

Description

l To all whom it may concern: l

Boston, in the county of Suffolk andA State of `the hydrant therein .shown as a whole is not l second, to improvements in the mode of securor cases on hydrants were 'well known. These frost-jackets surround the hydrant proper1 `an air-space existing between the two, and, when u unattached to the main or elbow, and when not f at rest. If the frost-jacket be ,attached tof the tends to cause, leaks. If it be 'attached to the vvthe jacket cannot liftywithout lifting the hy- Hydrantshavebeen oflate yearsc'onstructed lwith waste-valves; and the'ffrost-jacket;l when -fj Ain preventing the freezing of water in the hy- UNITED SfrulrrEsl PATENT OFFICE.

' zEBULoN E. CCFEIN, or BosToN',vMAssAoHUsErrs, AssIGNon 'ro THE BosroN MACHINE COMPANY.

` IMPRCVEMENr IN -HvDRA'N'rs.

Specificationa formiugpart of Letters Patent No. 80.148,' dated July 2l, 3 reissue No. 5,745,dated January 27, 1874; application filed May 10, 1873.

Be it known that I, ZEnULoN E. COEFIN, of

Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydrants; and that the following, taken in connection with the drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

In vthe drawings', Figure 1 is a vertical central section through my improved hydrant- Fig. 2 isa horizontal` section takenon the line Y Z of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section on the lin'e. W X of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a plan or tol view of the cover.

rlhe drawings represent my invention in the form in which I prefer to apply .the same, but

quite so long iu proportion to its diameter as it should be for ordinaryvuse.

My invention-relates, first, to improvements in what are usually termed frost-jackets,

ing the hydrant proper, through which the water flows tol the main, or elbow leading from the main; and, third, rto an improvement in the contrivance's for actuating the main valve.

Prior to the date of my invention frost-j ackets secured to the hydrant proper, .serve two purposesthe one to prevent freezing of water Ain the hydrant proper, the other to prevent 'the same from being lifted by the frost-the action of the frost being exerted upon the,frostjacket to. heave it, while the hydrant proper remains main or elbow, it lifts the elbow and causes, or l hydrant proper, or so connected with it that drant, then the jacket displaces, or tends to displace, the hydrant and cause leaks, and is useless except as a preventer of the freezing .0f water in the hydrant proper.l

wastefvalves are employed, is of little or no use' Hydrants used prior to the date offmy invention, in New York and other cities, had froste jackets not attached to the elbow or main, and

rising above the top of the/hydrant proper,

with an air-space between the jacket and hydrant throughout their lengths, and with an aperture through which the nozzle to which the -hose is attached passed. This/aperture or slot was longer than the diameter of the nozzle, and the jacket could rise under the influence of frost and be driven into place again without displacing either the hydrant or the .main or elbow leading from it.

The form of jacket above referred to involved one other diiliculty in its use, which was this, that, when the jacket did heave, earth would fall in below its bottom around the. hydrant proper, and this earth'in som'e cases prevented the driving down' of the jacket, and was an obstacle in removing. and replacing hydrants.

I have endeavored to secure in my hydrant the advantages resulting from the use of all known forms of jacket, and to provide an additional one,'premising, before proceeding to the description, that frost seldom` extends so low as the top of the elbow or other 4attachment to the main to which the hydrant is secured, and that la degree of frost which would exert great lheaving power near the surface would have no eifect at the depth of the bottom of the hydrant.

The hydrant to'wllich these first features of my invention are applied may be of any proper construction, secured in any usual way to the elbow or casting attached to the main.

The frost-jacket is, for reasons hereafter explained, made in two pieces, Bfand E, 'both of which are tubular. The lower piece, B, stands on ythe elbow, and is not ,attached to it. The upper piece is supported by the lower one, and hugs the hydrant vclosely abovethe surface of the ground and below the hose-plug, so farbelow it that-any heaving'of the jacket or casing by frost cannot cause it to strike the plug, and

thereby lift, or tend to lift, or displace'the hydrant, and strain thejoints of the hydrant with the elbow, or ofthe elbow with thermain. Al-

though the upper part ol' the jz'icketlnigs the hydrant, it docs net fit it so-'tightly but that the former can slide on the latter, movingl up and down without tending to lift the hydrant; and the jacket is inadc to tit thus closely in order to prevent cold air from droppingr down between the hydrant and the jacket..

. ln order to hinder heaving ot' this jacket, except inveryhcavy and unusual frost, and thereby prevent earth from falling between thelower' end'oi the jacket and the elbow, I have conirived asupplementary frostjackct, D, which is a short tube or cylinder outside ot the jacket,

` and so supported that it can rise and be driven i i down without disturbing the lower end of the jacket. In frosts which do not extend below jacket and the surrounding earth.

The general idea ot' making ajacket in two pieces, so` as to eti'eei; this result, is not new with me. Frost-jackets, which extended over the top of the hydrant, had been made in two pieces or lengths prior to the date of my invention, and were as well known as jackets in one piece. v

In heavy frosts, extending down to the elbow, or nearly so, and below the supplementary casin g, the frostjacket proper will be lifted or heavcd by the frost, andV then my contrivancc acts asif the supplementary.frost-jacket were removed, or liever had been iliade.

`The hydrant proper, with its plug T and' valve-rod K, sta-nds on a basin,C,1naking part ot the elbow. This basin has a rim or inwardly -projecting ilange around its top. Ilelow the upper end of the frost-jacket there are lugs with holes in them, cast in one piece with the hydrant. Through these holes pass hook-bolts L L, screwed on their upper ends,

a nd with their hooks catching under the ila-nge.

A ring of packing is put on t-he basin, the

hook-bolts are hooked in place, the hydrant is slipped down between the bolts, and the nut-s are screwed up. The nuts are'casily got at by lifting the upper portion of the frost-jacket wit-hout disturbing t-hc lower part thereof, and consequently, when the water is shut oli' from the main, a defective hydrant can bereinoved, and one in good condition vput in its place, without disturbing the lower part ot' the jacket or the earth surrounding it.

In former hydrants,'w here the jacket was made in two lengths, the bolts were short, and bolted toa flange at thebottom ofthe hy# drant, andto the ilapge ot' the` elbow; and it was necessary to use a long key for the purpose of turning the nuts, which, owing to their position, soon rusted fast, and were unscrewed with difiiculty, if at all. Further, owing to the fact that the ledge or flange surrounds the basin, the hook-bolts can be shifted to any part of the periphery, and the hose-plug set at any desired angle with the main,

The main valve is shown at Il H; ribs to guide it at 0 O; ribs to guide the cross-head oi the waste-valves at O 0'; This cross-head I I surrounds the valve-stem, and is held down by a spiral spring, and has attached to its lower side the waste-valves, which close tinl tops of the waste-passages or pipes M M when the vmain valve is wide open or partly open. These waste-pipes discharge into the bowl, and thence into the soilthrough the oritce h. The valve-stein passes through` a stuffing-box in the top of the hydrant proper, A, whose gland is shown at S. Upon the top rests a nut, G, which extends through the top of y a Acap, F, which nia-y be held to the top of the hydrant, so as to prevent the nut from rising, in any proper way, preferably by hooks Ff at tachcd to the cap, and taking under a fla-nge. projecting inwardly, and making part ot' the hydrants top. bayonet-joint.

The construction of the nut ispeculiar: Its bore is enlarged at its lower end, so that it act-s as a cover for the stuiug-box; it extends above the cap, so as to be capable of being taken hold of by a wrench or Spanner; and it has a hole bored through the top, which mayl be closed by asmall plug'. The screw .on the valve-stem can be oiled through this hole, which is enlarged as it descends, so as to form an oil-cup, and when the cap is removed, and

the. nut unscrewed, the stutling-box can bc reached and packe( vI claim as my invention- 1. A frost-jacket, Asubstantially suoli as is herein described, closely surrounding the hydrant above ground and below the hose-plug, andextending to the elbow or other casting to which the lower part of the hydrant is scoured, said jacket being attached neither to the elbow nor the hydrant, and therefore having Athe lcapacity of being lifted by frost withoutdisturbing the hydrant or the elbow or they joints, and also preventing cold air from dropping down into the space .between the hydrant and the jacket.

2. In combination with a. frost-jacket, suby stantia-lly such as is herein described, a sup. plementa-ry frostjacket, substantially such'as described, attached neither -to the frost-jacket nor the hydrant, but 'free to move in respectto both, whereby the jacket is protected from the heaving action of moderate degrees of frost, and the results described obtained.

y 3. Incombinationwithlngsatornearthejsurface of the ground, and with long bolts holding down a. hydrant to the elbow or main, and provided withscrew-nuts at their upper ends, a

fiost-jacket-made in at least two pieces in siich This fastening is a sortoi' nmnnor, substantially as specified, that the upper may be lifted` t-he bolts uuserewed, and the hydrant removed and another reset withont displncingthe lower part of the frostjneket, the combination heilig substantially as described. v

4. Hooked bolts, in combination wi th a an'ge att-ached to the casting upon which the hydrant stands, and with the hydrant proper, whereby the hose-plug may be set any desired angle with the main, the combination being' substantially such as herein set forth.

5. The nut for ymetan-ting; the valve-stem, constructed substantially as described, combined with the stuffing-box and valve-Stem,

substantially afs specified.

Z. E. COFFIN.

V\itnesses:

JABEz S. HOLMES, N. AUSTIN PARKS.

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