US1187747A - Drinking-fountain. - Google Patents

Description

W. B. KNAPP.

DRINKING FOUNTAIN.

APPLICATION man MAY 11, 1911.

Patented June 20, 1916.

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WITNESSES.

ATTORNEYS THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm, \VASHINGTON, n. c.

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WILLIAM BRUCE nivarrfor nEwroRK, 1v. Y., n ssrenon r0 opera w. FAIRBANK, or

- NEW YORK, N. Y.

DRINKING-FOUNTAIN Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 2Q, 1916.

I Application filed May 11, 1911. 2 Serial No. 626,618.

To all whom it may concern: w

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM BRUCE KNAPP, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, county and State of. New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drinking-Fountains, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements indrinking fountains, of that type in which there is an upwardlydirected nozzle, from which water may flow at a limited rate, and over which a person desiring a drink may place his mouth. Fountains of this kind are commonly used in parks, schools and other public and semi-public places, an

object being to dispense with the unsanitary public drinking cup. If the water be permitted to flow continually at the fountain, there is an enormous-waste of water, and if each person be permitted to turn the water on and off for himself, it has been found that certain persons, particularlychildren,

will place the lips in direct contact with the nozzle before turning on the water, which renders the fountain no more sanitary than the public drinking cup.

One main object of my invention is to avoid these objections by permitting each individual to turn on the water for himself,

but positively preventing him from placing.

his lips to the nozzle before the flow of water starts. In most drinking fountains, a regulating device is provided for limiting the rate of flow of the water, and often. mischievous persons will, tamper with this regulating device so as to seriously interfere with the proper operation.

A further object of my invention is to.

protect this regulating device in a simple and efficient manner and at the same time permit of its ready adpistment by aproper person.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this.

In the specific form shown in Fig. l, I employ a-cast metal body portion 10, havmg an upwardly projecting nozzle 11, a valve chamber 12 and a lower supporting coupling 13. The coupling may be of any form desired to adapt it for connection to a supply pipe 14. The valve chamber is divided by a partition 15 having a port therethrough and a valve seat 16 for a puppet valve 17. The valve seat lies in a substantially.verticalplane, and the valve moves in a horizontal direction. It is normally held to its seat by a spring 18 disposed between the valve and a removal cap 19 on the high pressure side of the valve. The valve stem 20 is supported and guided in a lug 21 011 the side of the valve casing, and within this lug is a suitable packinggland 22.: It will be noted that when the valve is closed there will be no water pressure against this packing gland and, therefore, no liability. of leakage around the valve stem.

The valve is operated by a handle or arm 23 fulcrumed upon a pivot 24 at the outer end of the lug 21, and has its lower end normally in. contact withor closely adjacent to the outer end of the valve stem. The upper end 26 of the arm or lever is disposed directly over the nozzle so as to form a protecting guard for the latter and normally prevent any one from placing his lips over the nozzle. This guard 26 may be of any form desired, it only being essential that it effectively serve thepurpose desired, that is, to protect the nozzle. The guard is prefererably spaced at short distance from the nozzle, so as not to contact therewith, and is preferably ofsuch shape as to permit it to be readily grasped in the hand to move it to one side in opening the valve. The fulcrum of the lever arm 23 is very much nearer the lower end than the upper end, so that the guard 26 may be swung through a large arc in opening the valve. The valve is normally closed, and the guard isnormally over the nozzle, as shown in the drawout through an opening 27 in the top wall The water is ordinarily de plishing the same object, The particular form shown in Fig. 1 may be very ineXpen-' sively manufactured, as'the main body is fformed'of a single castingand the forming ofthe threads for the cap l9, the grinding of the valve seat 16 and the boring of the "passage for the valve stem may all be done on a turretlathe without changingthe po-' sition of the casting.

After the water passes'thc valve 17, it may flow upwardly into the nozzle Hand of the nozzle. v livered under rather higlrpressure, and it is desired that the flow be uniform and comparatively slow, irrespective of thee tent to which the valve 17 is opened, To

. secure this-regulation, I form the nozzle 11 with an air chamber 28 and a perforated tube 29 extending inwardly and down- 'wardly from theopening 27. This tube has a lower end wall 30 normally spaced a short 7 distance from a seat 31 between the nozzle i proper and the valve chamber. This inner end Wall has a. transverse slot therein, so

7 that by extending a screw driver through s end and rotating the tube, the latterfmay v be moved longitudinally to bring it closer the tube into engagement with this inner to or farther away from this seat and thus regulate the flow. The regulating device is thus concealed and is unaccessible save to a person familiar with the construction and having a screwdriver .or otherr'instrument' capable of insertion through the tube. The

tube is shown as beingiadjustable byfreason I of'its threaded connections with: the wall of the nozzle. Instead of forming the tube in this manner, I might employ atub'e 32 as shown in Fig.2,which is rigid with the nozzle. In this form, the inner end wall33 constitutesa plug threaded in the'tube, so that by inserting the; screwdriver through the tube, the inner end alone may be rotated and" adjusted relatively to the'seati The flow. might also be regulatedby adjusting I this inner wall or plug 33 upwardly so as to cover or partially coverso'me'of the 'perforations in the tuber I V r "In the form shown inFig. 2, I employ a" turningplug34 inplace of the puppet valve v =17 shown in; Fig.. 1Q IThisturning' plug is "providednvith a handle 35 extending upwardlyv beside th e' nozzl and terminated in guard..'36 disposedabove the nozzle. With the valvefqclosed, a person'rcannot place his j lipsl to'fthenoz zle, but thexact of turning on the water serves to open the valve.

- It is evident that'other devices might be designedto operate in accordance with. the

: principles of myinvention, for instance, the wvalve might movelengthwiseiof the valvechamber andthe guard b'ein the form of a sleevetelescoping witlrthe nozzle and movable downwardly fto expose the nozzle and pressure of the water. bottom of the tube may be made non-adopen the valve. Instead of this, the nozzle might be vertically movable out of the sleeve 7 to expose the nozzle and open the valve.

The total area of all of the openings in the tube 29 is less than the area of the outlet from the tube, so that these openings may be utilized as the means for reducing the The tube and the justable and the perforations increased in number from a minimum to give the desired flow.

Having thusdescribed my invention what I' claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: V

l. A drinking fountain having an upwardly extending substantially rigidly mounted nozzle, a valve for controlling the flow therefrom, a guard spaced from the outlet of said nozzle and normally in alinement with said nozzle to prevent a person from placing the mouth over said nozzle, said guard being movable laterally out of said position for opening said valve and permitting the flow of water and means independent of said valve and operable through the outlet of said nozzle for restricting the flow.

2. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a nozzle, a puppet valve movable transversely' thereof for. controlling the flow therethrough and a protecting guard opera tively connected to said valve and normally preventing a person from placing the mouth over the nozzle.

3. A drinking fountain, including a cast 100 metal body, including a valve chamber and an upwardly extending nozzle, a valve within said valve chamber,a spring for normally holding said valve in closed position, and a lever fulcrumed on said body and having oneend operatively connected to said valve and the other end normally disposed directly above said nozzle to constitute a protecting guard therefor.

,4. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a water chamber having a water inlet 1 andan outlet, a perforated outlet tube projecting into said chamber from said outlet, and having an open upper end, and a closed inner end, the space within said chamber above the perforations in the tubing constituting an airchamber, and said inner end being adapted for rotation by a tool inserted through said tubeto regulate the flow of water through thetube. p,

5. A drinking fountain, including a nozzle, alvalve movable transversely thereof for controlling the How therethrough and a protecting. guard operatively connected to said valve and normally preventing a person fromplacing the month over the nozzle.

6. In a. drinking fountain, the combination' of a nozzle including a water'chamber having an outlet at the top thereof, and a downwardly from said outlet, a delivery tube projecting into said chamber and re movable through said outlet and adjustable to control the flow through said tube, a valve normally preventing the flow through said tube and means for operating said valve.

7. A. drinking fountain, including a Water chamber having an upper portion constituting a substantially hemispherical dome with an outlet at the top thereof, a perforated outlet tube projecting into said chamber from the top thereof, and having an open upper end substantially flush With said top and a closed innerend, said tube being endwise adjustable to control the flow therethrough.

8. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a water chamber having a Water inlet and an outlet, a perforated outlet tube projecting into said chamber from said outlet and having an open upper end substantially flush with said top Wall, and a closed inner end and said inner end being adapted for rotation by a tool inserted through said tube to regulate the flow of water through said tube.

9. In a drinking fountain, a cast metal body having a nozzle chamber terminating in a substantially hemispherical dome with an outlet at the top thereof, a valve chamber, a passage connecting said chambers, a valve within said valve chamber, a delivery tube extending down into said nozzle from the outlet thereof, and having an open end substantially flush with the outer surface of said nozzle chamber, and a closed inner end movable toward and from said port to control the flow from said valve chamber to said nozzle chamber independently of the action of said valve.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM BRUCE KNAPP.

Witnesses:

C. W. FAIRBANK, W. C. CAMPBELL.

Copioa at this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatenta, Washington, D. C.

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