IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING SPIRITS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING SPIRITS."-A communication from abroad by
John Hutchings Cox, Optician, and John Murphy and William Murphy,
Machinists all of the Citer of Montreal in the Pravings of Conede
Sealed the 13th October 1865, and dated the 8th May 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th May 1865.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING SPIRITS," a communication
to me from abroad by John Hutchings Cox, Optician, and John Murphy and
William Murphy, Machinists, all of the City of Montreal, in the Province of
Canada, to be as follows :-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
self-acting and self-registering apparatus for measuring spirits, whereby a
considerable saving will be effected in the collection of revenue from this
source.
The improved self-acting and self-registering spirit meter consists of
revolving pans or cups, four or more in number, of any convenient size,

page_text: arranged around an axle, with a circular disc of metal at each end, to which
they will be strongly attached, and revolve with them on the axle. These
cups may be made of tinned copper or of any other suitable material. A
jacket or outside shell of metal surrounds the lower half of the revolving axle
and cups, and terminates at the level of the axle in a wide flange, to which
the upper half of the jacket, also provided with a flange on the lower side,
will be firmly bolted. India-rubber or gutta percha packing will be introduced
between those flanges to make a water-tight joint. The lower side of the
jacket inclines to the discharging end, from whence the spirit, after escaping
from the cups, will flow through an outlet pipe. The upper portion of the
jacket is for the purpose of retaining the fumes of the spirit, and preventing
spilling; it also serves for supporting a cistern into which the spirit passes
from the worm or still, and thence in a gradual manner and with a uniform
pressure through an aperture in the bottom into the revolving cups below. At
the mouth of the aperture from the cistern is a valve with an india-rubber
seat and a spring latch working on a hinge. The spring works against the
outside of the cups, and closes the aperture from the cistern when the
revolving pans are moving. When they stop for filling the spring is dis-
engaged from the cup and allows the valves to open for filling the cup with
the spirit. When that is accomplished the revolution of the cups commences
and the spring immediately comes in contact with the outside of the succeeding
cup, and closes the valve, and so on. A sinal cup with a bell mouth is
placed on the inside of the lower jacket for the purpose of receiving samples
from each cup as it discharges. This cup is divided by a partition into two
unequal divisions, one about three times greater than the other, for the
purpose herein-after mentioned. The spirit is conveyed from the sample cup
to the sample receiver by pipes or tubes for the purpose, such receivers
having each a slight inclination or declivity towards the discharging spout.
One of these receivers, connecting with the larger division of the sample cup,
will be under the control of the excise officer, who may examine it once a
month, and the second one under the supervisor, who may perform the sanie
duty once in three months, or at whatever other period of time may be neces-
sary. At the various visits of these respective officials the entire quantity of
spirit in the receivers will be withdrawn from them through discharge pipes
and cocks for that purpose. A meter lever is fitted to the supporting
bracket of the meter working on the fulcrum and retained in place by guides.
The short arm of this lever is bent nearly at right angles near its end, and
terminates in a point, against which adjustable catches on the outside of one
of the discs operate. On the long arm of this lever is placed a balance weight

page_text: corresponding with the amount of spirit to be weighed in each of the revolving
cups; there will be one of these catches for each cup. A double ratchet
wheel is placed on the end of the axle, the inner ratchet having one tooth
for each cup with a detent working in it, and serving to stop the revolution
of. the pan at its proper position independently of the lever. The outside
ratchet will have an indefinite number of teeth in its circumference, in an
opposite direction to the teeth of the inner ratchet, and provided also with
a. detent; these two detents will be connected with each other at their ends
by a pivot, on which they will play freely, and work on a second pivot passing
through the first detent.. By the rebound of the revolving cups the inner detent
is thrown out of the inner ratchet, and by that means allows the machine to
revolve, when the succeeding pan is filled to a weight corresponding to the
ascertained weight exerted by the lever. At the front end of the meter
is placed a single or double register, which indicates the number of
pans or cups discharged; it is worked by an eccentric or ratchet on the
end of the shaft provided with the same number of teeth as there are pans.
The meter is surrounded with an external metal casing to protect it from
interference, and in front of the index. will be an aperture provided with a
glass face. Small doors fitted with suitable locks, but differing from each
other,. will be provided in the casing in front of the pipes of the sample
receivers, the keys of which will be in the possession of the excise officer and
supervisor. In using this meter the inlet pipe into the cistern of the meter
will be attached to the worm or still, from which the spirit will flow directly
into the cistern, and from thence in a uniform manner into the revolving cups
or pans of the meter. The meter having been previously adjusted by the
lever, weight, and catches to an amount corresponding in weight with the
contents of the cup when filled with spirit, and the index hands of the registers
placed at 0 on the scales, the first pan is filled and tilts up the lever, and the
spirit passing down is discharged into the space between the pan and jacket;
but in discharging from the cup a sample is caught by the small cup, from
which one-third is conveyed to the supervisor's sample receiver, and the re-
maining two-thirds to the excise officer's. sample receiver. When this is
accomplished the succeeding pan is in a position for being filled and emptied
in the same manner, and so on, each succeeding tilt moving forward the index
hands of the .registers in the ratio of 1 to 100, or in whatever other proportion
they may be arranged.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th November 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and all times there-
after 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
APPARATUS FOR MEASURING SPIRITS," a communication to me from abroad by
John Hutchings Cox, Optician, and John Murphy and William Murphy, all of
the City of Montreal, in the Province of Canada, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators,
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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
self-acting and self-registering apparatus for measuring spirits, whereby a
considerable saving will be effected in the collection of revenue from this
source, and fraud effectually prevented.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall

page_text: refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of the meter, the
outer case of which is shown in section; Figure 2 is an elevation of the
discharging end of the same; Figure 3 is a similar view of the registering end.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the meter, with the upper half of the jacket
removed. Figure 5 is a cross section taken through the meter along the line
A, B, Figure 1. Figure 6 is an enlarged front elevation of the disc of the
revolving pans or cups at the discharging end, and Figures 7 and 8 are enlarged
details herein-after referred to.
a, a, are revolving pans or cups, four or more in number, of any
convenient size, and of the shape shewn in the Drawings. They will
be arranged around an axle with a circular disc of metal at each end,
to which they will be strongly attached, and revolve with them on the axle.
These cups may be made of tinned copper, or of any other suitable material.
b is a jacket or outside shell of metal surrounding the lower half of the
revolving axle and cups, and terminating at the level of the axle in a wide
flange, to which the upper half of the jacket d, also provided with a flange
on the lower side, will be firmly bolted; any suitable packing being introduced
between these flanges to make a liquid-tight joint. The lower side of the
jacket will have the form shown in the Drawings, with a declivity or incli-
nation to the discharging end, whence the spirit, after escaping from the cups
will flow through the outlet pipe c. The upper portion of the jacket is for
the purpose of retaining the fumes of the spirit and preventing spilling, it also
serves for supporting the cistern e, into which the spirit passes from the worm
or still, and from thence in a gradual manner and with a uniform pressure
through an aperture in the bottom into the revolving cups below. At the
mouth of the aperture from the cistern there is a valve f, shown on an enlarged
scale at Figure 7, and in detail plan at Figure 8, with an indian-rubber seat g
and with a spring h, the valve f working on a hinge as shown. The spring
tends to open the valve f against the outside of the cups a, and closes the
aperture from the cistern e when the revolving pans or cups are moving.
When they stop for filling the spring is disengaged from the cup and allows
the valves to open for the purpose of filling the cup with the spirit, and when
that is accomplished the revolution of the cups re-commences, and as the
spring immediately comes in contact with the outside of the succeeding cup
it closes the valve, and so on. i is a small cup with a bell mouth, placed
on the inside of the lower jacket, as shewn in Figures I. and V. for the
purpose of receiving samples from each of the cups a as it discharges. This

page_text: cup iis divided by a partition into two unequal divisions, one about three
times greater than the other, for the purpose herein-after mentioned. The
spirit is conveyed from the sample cup i to the sample receivers k, k, by the
pipes or tubes ; . The two sample receivers above referred to are placed
one on each side of the meter; they may be circular in section and of any
suitable diameter, each possessing a slight inclination or declivity towards
the discharging spout, and each connected with the small sample cup-i by
suitable pipes 1, 1, as shown in the Drawings. One of these receivers con-
necting with the larger division of the sample cup will be under the control
of the excise officer, who may examine it once a month, and the second one
under the control of the supervisor, who may perform the same duty once in
three months, or at whatever other period of time may be necessary. At the
yarious visits of these respective officials the entire quantity of spirit in the
receivers will be withdrawn from them through the discharge pipes and
cocks 1, 1.
m is a metal lever working on the fulcrum 2, and retained in
place by suitable guides. The short arm of this lever is bent outwards nearly
at right angles near its end, and terminating in a point as shown in Figure VI.,
against which the catches o operate. On the long arm of this lever is placed
a balance weight p, corresponding with the amount of spirit to be weighed in
each of the revolving cups. 0, 0, are the catches or small screws arranged
on the outside of the disc, as shown in Figure VI., and made adjustable with
the lever; there will be one of these catches for each cup. is a double
ratchet wheel placed on the end of the axle; the inner ratchet will be made
of steel, and have one tooth for each cup (as shown by the dotted lines in
Figure VI.) with a detent working in it, which serves to stop the revolution
of the fan at its proper position independently of the lever. The outside
ratchet will have an indefinite number of teeth in its circumference in an
opposite direction to the teeth of the inner ratchet, and is provided also with a
detent s. These two detents will be connected with each other by a pivot, on
which they will play freely, and work on a second pivot t passing through the
first detent as shown in Figures II. and VI. By the rebound of the revolving
cups the inner detent r is thrown out of the inner ratchet, and by that means
allows the machine to revolve when the succeeding pan is filled to a weight
corresponding to the ascertained weight exerted by the lever. At the front
end of the meter there is placed a single or double register u, which indicates
the number of pans or cups discharged, and is worked by a toothed cam
or ratchet on the end of the shaft, provided with the same number of
teeth as there are pans or cups (see Figure 3). The meter is surrounded
with an external metal casing to protect it from interference, and in

page_text: front of the index will be an aperture protected by a glass face. Small
doors, fitted with suitable locks, but differing from each other, will be provided.
in the casing in front of the pipes 1, 1, of the sample receivers, the keys of
which will be in the possession of the excise officer and supervisor. In using
this meter the inlet pipe into the cistern of the meter will be attached to the
worm or still, from which the spirit will flow directly into. the cistern, and
from thence in a uniform manner into the revolving cups or pans of the
meter, the meter having been previously adjusted by the lever weight and
catches to an amount corresponding in weight with the contents of each cup
when filled with spirit, and the index hands of the registers placed at zero on "
the scales, the first pan is filled and tilts up the lever, and the spirit passing
down is discharged into the space between the pan and jacket, but in
discharging from the cup a sample is caught by the small cup i, from which
one-third is conveyed to the supervisor's sample receiver, and the remaining
two-thirds to the excise officer's sample receiver. When this is accomplished
the succeeding pan is in a position for being filled and emptied in the same
manner, and so on, each succeeding tilt moving forward the index hands
of the registers in the ratio of 1 to 100, or in whatever other proportion they
may be arranged.
After a certain period, say one month, to ascertain the amount of
spirit which has passed through the meter, the excise officer withdraws the
entire amount of spirit from his sample receiver, and tests the average strength
with an hydrometer, and by noting on the registers the number of pans
discharged, and converting the same into pounds weight, the number of gallons
of spirit reduced to a regular standard can be ascertained by the use of the
specific gravity table.
At the end of a quarter or three months the supervisor can check
the returns of his subordinate in a very accurate manner.
By the use of this Invention it is evident that a very great saving will be
effected in the collection of revenue, as the Government will not be at the
mercy of interested parties in making returns, whilst to the honest distiller
who makes correct returns it will be of great service in forcing the dishonest
manufacturer to do likewise, and therefore not be in a position to undersell
the honest man.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-

page_text: First, the general combination and arrangement of discs and revolving
pans, weighted lever, catches, ratchets, and detents, all working together,
substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
Second, the combination with the external jackets of a cistern, sample cups,
and receivers, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before
described, and illustrated by the accompanying Drawings.
Third, the combination of the spring valve with the discharging aperture
of the cistern, such valve being worked by the passage of the revolving cups,
substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described and
illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Eighth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.s.)