Untitled record

Application filed December 14,1888. Serial No, 293,608. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Charles G. Ette, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented cer-. 5 tain new and useful Improvements in SelfClosing Hydrants; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains io to make and use the same.

My present invention has reference to an improvement in self-closing hydrants, the object thereof being to simplify the construction of hydrants of this class and produce. 15 mechanism which may be adjustable to any pressure and will operate to close the hydrant against the water-pressure; and the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several mechanical parts, 20 substantially as will be· hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved self-closing hydrant. Fig. 2 is 25 a vertical section on the line x x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail plan view of the pyramidal hydrant-cap. Fig. 4»is a transverse section of the same, together with the upper part of the main casing, showing the mode of 30 securing the cap in place upon the upper end of the casing. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of my improved hydrant with the cap-plate removed. Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section through the main casing, the outlet-nozzle, the main wa35 ter-pipe, and the adjacent parts. Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line y y of Fig. 1, and shows also a bottom plan view of the main hydrant-casing. Fig. 8 is a vertical section of the valve-body, the valve therein, and the 40 inlet-pipe located at the base of the hydrant.

Fig. 9 is a detail view of a portion of the main casing, showing one of the lugs on which the operating-lever is fulcrumed.

Like letters of reference designate corre45 spending parts throughout all the different figures of the drawings.

A denotes the main inclosing-casing of the hydrant, within which the mechanical parts whereby it is operated are arranged. This 50 casing may be of any desirable size and shape, it being designed to extend upward from the ground surface for a convenient distance, so that the operating-- handle, which projects through a slot in the side wall of the casing, may be at a convenient height to be readily 5 5 grasped by the person who may wish to operate the hydrant.

The form of the casing A shown in the drawings is preferably rectangular and slightly tapering from base to summit. It consists of 60 two right-angled castings a a, each castingforming two of the four sides of the casing, and the said castings being placed together, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to form a rectangular case. . 65

The casing A is surmounted by a pyramidal cap F, having a downwardly-extending peripheral flange f, which receives neatly within it the upper end of the casing A. The said upper end of the casing A is provided on two 70 opposite sides with slotted lugs or projections a' a', through which pass bolts or screws, which also pass through the edge of the cap F, and by means of which the cap is securely fastened to the casing. The encircling flange f is 75 adapted to fit nicely around these lugs a' a', as well as around the remainder of the top edge of the casing A. It will be noted that when the cap F is fixed in place the two rightangled castings a a will be firmly held to- 80 gether at their upper end. This cap F is easily removable, therefore, when it is desired to repair the interior mechanism of the hydrant.

I do not wish to confine myself to any spe- 85 cial pyramidal form for the cap, but reserve the liberty of making it with as many inclined surfaces as may be desired. The purpose of the inclined form of the cap is to prevent the accumulation thereon of snow and ice. It also 90 embellishes the appearance of the hydrant and makes it· neater and more ornamental.

The bottom of the main casing A consists of the two triangular plates k k, formed integral with the right-angled castings a a, the edges 95 of which plates fit closely together when the sections a a are fastened closely together, this fastening being accompli shed at the lower end of the main casing by means of lugs 0 0 on the under surfaces of the plates k k, through 100

408,091 which lugs pass securing bolts or screws, as shown plainly in Fig. 7. The plates 7c 7c together form a flat bottom plate for the easing A, said plate being perforated at its center with a circular opening to permit the passage therethrough of the main hydrant pipe or stem C, which extends downward for a certain distance into the ground, and is connected to the valve-body B, which is entered by the water-inlet pipe E.

The upper portion of the hydrant pipe or stem C is screw-threaded. It is therefore screwed through the circular opening in the bottom of the casing. A jam-nut 7 is placed upon the screw-threaded portion of the pipe C, and is screwed up tightly against the under surface of the bottom of the main casing.

Within the casing A, at a suitable distance from the bottom thereof, is a transverse diaphragm or plate composed of two triangular plates or flanges i i, which are similar to the plates 7c 7c, composing the base of the casing, and which are likewise perforated centrally to receive the upper extremity of the screwthreaded end of pipe C, another jam-nut m being located upon said extremity of pipe C just above this diaphragm. It will thus be seen that by means of the two jam-nuts Z and m, screwed tightly against the base of the casing and its internal transverse plate, respectively, the hydrant pipe or stem C is firmly connected to the main casing A. The diaphragm, consisting of plates i i, serves also another purpose, however, which will hereinafter be alluded to.

In the valve-body B is the valve which controls the water-inlet, by the operation of which valve the water is admitted to the hydrant or excluded therefrom. This valve consists, essentially, of a plunger M, the upper end of which is internally screw-threaded where it incases the lower correspondingly - screwthreaded extremity of the plunger-pipe or main water-supply pipe D, that extends up through the hydrant pipe or stem C, and also through the main casing, terminating at a point near the lever-handle, to which it is attached. The detailed construction of the valve-body and inlet is shown in Fig. 8.

The valve-body B, at a suitable point between its upper and lower ends,-is pierced with lateral waste-openings 7/. The plunger M is provided externally with cup-washers L L and the usual metallic washers, whereby the cup - washers are held in place. The plunger M is hollow and its lower end is provided with suitable washers K, which are fashioned to fit closely upon the valve-seat J, the washers on the lower end of the plunger being arranged to rest upon the horizontal face of the valve-seat, and also to slide vertically against the inner upright sides of said seat. The valve is thus constructed and arranged so that it may operate to keep the opening through the valve-seat J closed until the washers on the plunger occupy a position within the valve-body opposite the per forations V b', through which the waste water makes its escape.

Around the valve-body B is preferably lo- 70 cated a cylindrical easing 0, open at its lower end and adapted to receive the waste water that courses out of the valve-body through the perforations b' b'. It is not intended here to explain specifically and in detail the con- 75 struction of this valve in the base of the hydrant, but only to indicate the general construction of the same, in order to make the explanation of the present invention fully understood. 80

The main casing A, at a convenient point in one side thereof, near the upper end, is slotted, and on each side of this slot a lug or projection A', of suitable size and shape, extends into the interior of the casing. These 85 parallel lugs A' are provided with a series of apertures bbb, the number of which may vary. Between these lugs, and projecting through the slot in the casing, is the operating-handle H, whereby the hydrant-valve is 90 operated. This lever is provided with a series of apertures h li 7t, and is fulcrumed between the parallel lugs A' by means of a pin g, which passes through one of these apertures, and also through two opposite openings in said 95 lugs. (See Fig. 5.) The upper extremity of the main water-pipe D is provided with upwardly-extending parallel projections or lugs cZ cl. The handle II is located between these projections, and is connected to the water- 100 pipe D by means of a pin e passing through itand the projections del. (See Figs. 5 and6.)

To the inner extremity of the lever-handle II is connected a weight I, which depends vertically within the main casing A, it being 105 in the present example of my invention connected to the handle II by means of a link s. This weight may be of greater or less size, as desired. When disconnected from the handle H, while the hydrant is undergoing repairs no at any time, it will rest upon the diaphragm, eonsisting of plates ii. The diaphragm, therefore, serves this purpose in addition to what has already been said concerning it, to wit: it serves to sustain the weight I when not 115 connected to the handle II.

G denotes the hydrant-spout or outlet-nozzle. It projects from the main casing through a slot in one of the sides thereof, and is connected to and communicates with the main 120 water-pipe D, so that water ascending through said pipe will emerge through the spout G and be discharged from the hydrant. This spout may be connected to the main water-pipe in any suitable manner. In Fig. 6 the detailed 125 construction of its connection is clearly shown. In that figure it will be seen that a short pipe is formed integral with the upper end of the water-pipe D, the outer end of which short pipe is internally screw-threaded 130 to engage the externally-screw-threaded end of the curved pipe that forms the spout G. The slot through which the spout projects from the hydrant is cut vertically in the side

408,091 wall of the casing, and is long enough to permit said spout to have a range of vertical movement for a certain distance above and below its normal position during the upward 5 and downward movements of the water-pipe

D consequent upon the actuation of the latter by the lever-handle or the weight I. A vertical plate I', carried by the spout G,which passes through an opening therein, serves to io cover the slot in the side of the casing, and thus keep it closed during the oscillations of . the spout, thereby improving the appearance of the hydrant and concealing the opening in the side thereof, which might be unsightly.

The operation of my improved self-closing hydrant will be evident from the foregoing description of the construction and arrangement of the several mechanical parts constituting the same without the need of much ad20 ditional description. It will be observed that the hydrant is adjustable to any degree of pressure. The holes in the lever-handle H, through which the fulcrum-pin of this lever passes, enable the lever to be adjusted so as 25 to change the distance from the fulcrum-point of said lever to the weight on the end thereof, and. thus adapt the mechanism to suit any ordinary degree of pressure that may exist in the main water-pipe which enters the valve30 body from the highest to the lowest pressure.

For the highest pressure the fulcrum-pin will pass through the inner of the. series of holes in the lever-handle, and for the lowest pressure it will pass through the other hole.

It will be manifest that the main easing A entirely surrounds and protects the interior mechanism of the hydrant from injury. It will, furthermore, be observed that when the hydrant automatically closes this closure will 40 take place against the water-pressure. This is preferable to closing with the pressure, as it enables the hydrant to be so constructed that it can be easily repaired without being removed from the ground. It also prevents 45 reaction and knocking of the water in the pipes, which often occurs in a self-closing hydrant when it operates to close with the pressure of the'water.

In my present improved construction of 50 self-closing hydrant all springs are dispensed with; also, there are no washers or packing in the top operating mechanism. I use a weight which is entirely concealed from view within the casing. The construction of the 55 hydrant is so simple that the parts cannot well get out of order.