AN IMPROVED VENT TAP
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Foster, of Lower Tower Street, Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, Cock Founder, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED VENT TAP."
Sealed the 26th October 1858, and dated the 26th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Foster at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th April 1858.
I, WILLIAM FOSTER, of Lower Tower Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Cock Founder, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED VENT TAP," to be as follows (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in so constructing the tap (without distinction as to
the purpose for which the same may be used) with a small tube running
through the centre of the barrel of the tap, from front to back, for air to pass
through, and which tube is opened and closed by the same plug which controls
the water way, that when the plug is turned for drawing off the fluid, air may
pass in at the same time; but as it is not at all times requisite that air should
be allowed to pass in, I bring the air way under control by a screw cap or
spring top placed in the front, which prevents the air from passing in unless
the cap or stop is touched or opened (by the person drawing the fluid) for that
purpose.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Foster in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FOSTER, of Lower Tower Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Cock Founder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Foster, Her special license that I, the said William Foster,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Foster, my executors, administrators, or 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 "AN IMPROVED VENT
TAP," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Foster,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said William Foster, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):
My Invention relates to the construction of taps which are to be used for
drawing off fluids that are usually held or confined in closed vessels, such as
barrels or casks for holding malt liquors, wine, and such like fluids. And my
improvement in such taps consist in introducing into their construction an air
way or vent, and which air way is so constructed, that the plug that allows or
cuts off the flow of the liquor also opens or cuts off the passage of air through
the air way of the tap to the vessel; but as it is not at all times requisite that
air should be allowed to pass into the vessel, I so construct the taps that the
air way shall be brought under the control of the user at the time the fluid is
being drawn off; this may be done in various ways, either by the main plug,
or by a stop acted on by a spring, or by a screw, or an additional ground plug.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a part sectional side view of a tap constructed according
to my improvements, with the key, and consequently the plug in the direction
for the liquor to flow, which it does by passing through a hole in the plug,
shewn in dotted lines at a; the liquor or fluid entering the tap through the
holes at its inner end, as indicated by the small arrows, and emerges or delivers
itself from the tap, as indicated by the arrow at b, and at the same time that
the liquor is flowing through the hole in the plug before referred to, marked a,
the small hole through the plug, shown also in dotted lines at c, completes a
thorough air way through the tap, by its being immediately opposite and in a
line with the tubes marked d and e, and which tubes are fitted or forms the
groundwork on which the sand core is formed, which core or cores are laid in
the moulds in the ordinary way pursued by cock founders; thus the air tube
or tubes conduce to facilitate the core work in such taps; and in pouring the
molten metal in their formation, it will be observed that in certain places the
metal of the tap entirely surrounds the air way tubes, and which metal greatly
contracts around the tubes in cooling, in consequence of which they are
thereby very securely held, rendering soldering or other fastening entirely
unnecessary. It will be seen from this Figure, that the turning of the plug by
the key at right angles to its present position, either right or left, that not only
will the water way be closed, but the air way also. And as the admission of
air is not required at all times and conditions of the fluid within the vessel to
which such tap may be applied, I have exhibited a screw plug marked f, at
the inner end of which a leather or other suitable washer may be fixed; and
it must be evident that before air can pass through the air tube in the
direction of the arrows marked h, h, that the screw plug must be unscrewed;
by this means I am enabled to bring the air way entirely under control, for,
although the connection through the air way tube may be made complete
when the plug is turned in the direction for drawing off the fluid, nevertheless,
the assistance of the screw plug makes it optionable to the user whether air
should be allowed to pass in or not. I have found in practice that the use of
this screw plug does not interfere with the ordinary process of applying such
cocks to casks (and other vessels), as the necessary blows (from a wood mallet
does not injure this part, if the precaution is taken to screw it thoroughly in

page_text: before striking it; nor am I compelled to use the screw plug, as the stopping
of the air may be effected in a variety of ways, as, for instance, instead of
using a screw an helical spring may be used, one end pressing on a screwed
cap, and the other against the washer g, in which case the centre rod on which
the spring is placed must be allowed to come through the front plate or cap,
when it may be tapped and fitted with a small knob, the pulling of which
allows the air to pass in, but which otherwise would be entirely stopped or
excluded by the power of the spring, but in either case the part or parts may
be removed, in order that the central air way may be readily cleaned when
desired by the insertion of a straight bit of wire, or other such like appliances.
Figure 2 represents a side view of a tap with the front part shewn in
section, in which the nose or part to be struck in the process of applying is
represented solid, surrounded with a ground collar marked i, i, and which
collar is in position for allowing the air to pass in, as indicated by the arrow);
k is a small screw, which passes through the collar i, the inner end working
around in a groove formed half way round the top part of the nose, as at 1; by
this means the collar i, i, may be turned right or left for cutting off the
ingress of air when required, the collar being provided with projecting ears or
thumb bits for that purpose, as will be seen in a front view of the same tap
marked m, m, in Figure 3, in which the screw k is also seen marked with the
same letter; and n simply represents a screw knob, that may be removed
when desired, as in the case of Figure 1, for clearing or cleaning the air way.
Figure 4 represents a part of a tap which may be identical in form with
Figure 1, but instead of using an horizontal plug (as there shown), I have
here represented a vertical ground plug, shown partly in section, and in
position for allowing the air to pass in, which of course may be cut off by
turning the thumb bit marked n' in an opposite direction, the screw o pre-
venting the removal of the plug and regulating its position when the air is
properly cut off. The screw in the front end of the tap is, as before stated, for
the convenience of cleaning out the air way; and Figure 5 also. represents a
similar position of a tap as represented in the last Figure, showing the air as
being stopped and opened with a ground plug working in an horizontal
direction, the part marked p being a projection on the front top part of the
plug to assist its turning, and to indicate its position. And Figure 6 represents
a side view of what is technically called a straight-down delivery tap, with a
projecting nose, here shown in section, marked r, which is of the ordinary
shape, the nose being applied to such taps simply for the purpose to strike on
during the operation of applying them; and in this nose I bore out or lay in
the air way or tube, as first described, that by means of the downward hole

page_text: marked t being borne into the tube or air way s, an air way is effected, thus
showing that my improvements are not restricted to the particular class of taps
before referred to, and the manner in which I purpose controlling the air way
in this instance is by surrounding that portion with a tube of cork, leather, or
other suitable material, around which I apply a clip formed from sheet or
cast metal, united at the top by a screw, by which the cork or other material
is held very securely to the part on which it works; the part intended to
represent cork or leather is marked u, u, and the metal clip v, v, the clip and
cork having a hole through them corresponding with the hole t, so that the
air may pass freely in, as indicated by the arrow, but which is cut off by
turning the clip down either right or left; w simply represents in section a
screw to be removed when cleansing the air way is required. Figure 7 is a
front view of the cork tube u, u, and clip v, v, held together by the screw y;
and in order to prevent the clip turning independently of the tube u, the
inside of the metal is roughed, and glue or other adhesive material may be
applied to the outside surface of the cork or other tube before the clip is
applied to it.
In the several views and sections I have here given, means are shown for
preventing the ingress of air, at the same time the air way may have been
made complete by the position of the main plug; and I believe that the
various plans drawn and exhibited are the best for giving full effect to my
Invention, as in every instance means are provided for cleaning out the air
way, even while the tap may be in use; but the same object, namely, stopping
the air at pleasure, may be attained by the construction and action of the main
plug, as by turning it in the desired direction, the vent may be entirely
stopped, and the water way only open, and by turning the plug in an opposite
direction, the air way and water way may be both opened at the same time;
and this construction of tap I have exhibited at Figure 8, which represents
the general external form of a common vent tap, the air entering the tap in
the direction of the arrow; but as the means of controlling this air way is
dependent on the plug, I have represented the same in a separate side view at
Figure 9 in position, in relation (to the tap, Figure 8,) for allowing the fluid
to flow, as indicated by the arrow g, but not the air. The true position of the
air way is represented in the section, Figure 10, as taken through the dotted
line 2, 2, of Figure 9; whilst Figure 11 is a transverse section taken through
the dotted line a¹, a', of the same Figure; but supposing the air way marked
bat Figure 10 was brought down to the position of c¹, by turning the plug in
the direction of the arrow, it is evident that c¹ would be opposite the air tube
marked d¹, Figure 8, while the hole would be in the position shown by the

page_text: small dotted circle at e¹ in the same Figure; and as the small hole e¹ opens
into the vertical air way f¹, it is evident that the air vent will be completed,
as the water way will also be open at the same time, by the opening
marked n' in Figure 9, being in the same direction with the watercourse of
the tap.
Having thus given a general description of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same may be carried into effect, I wish it understood that I do
not purpose confining myself to the general details as herein exhibited, or to
their shape or proportions, as the whole may be varied without departing from
the spirit of my Invention; nor do I claim as my Invention the application of
an air vent to taps for drawing off fluids, as taps so constructed have long
been made and commonly sold; but what I do claim and wish protected by
these my in part recited Letters Patent is, the construction of taps as herein
described (for drawing off fluids), by which means I am enabled to stop out
or allow the ingress of air as may be required during the time of drawing off
such fluids.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Foster, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
WILLIAM FOSTER. (L.S.)
Witness,
ALFRED PARRY,
Clerk to J. S. Cockings,
26, Ann Street, Birmingham.