Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Aug., 1887
Specification Accepted, 18th Oct., 1887
and similar Articles.
We THEODORE NEWBURY CURTIS, Machinist, EDWARD WOODBURY HATCH
Machinist, both of Boston in the county of Suffolk and state of Massachusetts,
MARIA BALLOCK BURNS Shoedealer, and JAMES PETTIGREW TURNBULL, Salesman,
both of the City and county of Philadelphia, state of Pennsylvania United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
Our invention relates to a bung for kegs, barrels, casks, &c., made of any suitable
metal and capable of being readily inserted into the heads or cylindrical surfaces
thereof; and the objects of the invention are to obviate the many drawbacks heretofore
experienced in the use of wooden bungs, and to provide a bung which, when inserted
into the keg or barrel, may become a permanent part of the same, so that the liquors
or liquids drawn therefrom may be permitted to pass freely through the bung without
the slightest waste of material or of the gas, which the contents of the keg or barrel
may be heavily charged with, while at the same time made of sufficient strength and
secured sufficiently to the keg or barrel to withstand the pressure of the gas against
it, and so arranged that the contents of the keg or barrel may at all times be kept
free from dirt or other foreign matter, which was not the case where wooden bungs
were used for such purposes. It is important that a bung should possess these
characteristic features, for in the use of the heretofore well-known wooden bungs
in barrels containing malt liquors heavily charged with gas it has proved to be
almost impossible to retain the gas until the entire contents of the barrel had been
discharged, and hence the liquors have become flat, and in many instances rendered
thereby useless.
Our invention consists of a bung made of brass or other suitable metal, by
preference in cylindrical form, with the exterior circumference or surface thereof
for a portion of its length smooth, while the remaining portion in the direction
of the face is provided with a threaded surface. The face of the bung is slightly
larger in diameter than the exterior circumference of the same, forming a projecting
rim all round, and which rim is curved on two of its sides and straight on the

page_text: other two that is to say, the curved surfaces are tangent to the straight surfaces
thereof for the application of a wrench thereto for turning the bung to its proper
position in the keg or barrel. The interior of the bung is hollowed out, forming
distinct chambers separated from one another by ribbed or ratchet-surfaces narrow
projecting walls meshing at their respective ends with threaded annular walls. To
the end of the annular threaded wall is inserted a screw-threaded head provided
upon its face with a transverse groove. The screw-threaded head is rigidly secured to
a steni, carrying at its opposite end a plunger, which plays freely within a chamber,
cast with or otherwise secured to a circular end plate, and provided upon its upper
surface with a packing-ring made of leather or other suitable material for maintaining
an air-tight connection between the end plate and the bung when closed. To the
circular end plate is secured, in line with the valve-stem, a post which extends upward
into a narrow, smooth-surfaced, oblong, annular chamber provided in the bung for
preventing the end plate from turning and for regulating the extent of movement of
the valve. The upper portion of this chamber is slightly larger, by preference, in
diameter than the lower portion, and the two chambers are partially separated from
one another by a wall formed therein, the upper portion or breast of which tapers to
a central opening, and the interior is provided with an annular threaded surface for
the reception of a self-packing-screw, whereby the extent of movement of the valve is
regulated, permitting of the free passage of the liquor or liquid through the hollowed-
out chambers between the ribbed partition-walls therein to pipes or tubes secured into
the threaded wall in the face of the bung for being drawn off for immediate use, as
hereinafter more particularly explained.
In the accompanying drawings we have shown our invention in a form that has
been found practically efficient, embracing the essential features thereof, and in
which―
Fig. 1 is a vertical central section through a draft bung, showing the position of
the several parts thereof when secured within the keg or barrel in a position ready
for attaching the pipes or tubes to the same for drawing the liquor therefrom upon
the opening of the valve appliance. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing, partly in
section, the head of a barrel and a tube connected to the face of the bung and with
the valve and regulating-screw in proper positions for permitting of the free passage
of the material through the bung. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line
Fig. 1, showing the hollowed-out chambers formed in the bung divided by ribbed
projecting walls and a screw-threaded head with the transverse groove in its face.
Fig. 4 is a top view of the face of the bung, showing the shape thereof, and Fig. 5 is
an end view thereof, showing the valve-chamber, and in dotted lines the hub or
plunger secured to the valve-stem for freely playing therein and the post in the
circular end plate for regulating the movement of the valve.
of
Referring to the drawings, A represents the barrel of the bung provided with a
smooth surfaced face, B, preferably larger in diameter than the barrel of the bung
having a projecting-rim, C, on preferably two of the sides of the face, fitting against
the head of the keg or barrel D.
The interior of the bung is provided with hollowed-out chambers a, divided from
one another by ribbed projecting walls b, extending therethrough and meshing at
their respective ends with threaded annular walls c c. To the threaded annular end
wall the screw-threaded head d, having a transverse groove, e, in its face, is inserted,
and to this screw-threaded head d is rigidly secured a stem, f, carrying at its opposite
end a plunger or hub, g, which plays freely within a chamber, h, cast or otherwise
secured to a circular end plate, i. This circular end plate, i, is provided upon its
upper surface with a packing-ring, j, made of leather or other suitable material, and
to this plate a post, k, is rigidly secured, fitting into an oblong smooth-surfaced
narrow chamber, 1, provided in the barrel of the bung A. 'In this narrow chamber
is formed a wall which tapers from the cylindrical surface of the chamber to the
centre, the breast of which is bowl-shaped, and the prolongation of this chamber
beyond the wall m to the face of the bung is somewhat larger in diameter than the
lower portion for the reception of a self-packing screw, n, inserted from the face of

page_text: the bung. This self-packing screw has a transverse groove, n¹, in its face, and has a
leather or other suitable packing-button, n³, fitting snugly against the under side of
the head thereof. This regulating-screw, when screwed down by any suitable
appliance, will fit snugly into the breast of the wall of this chamber, holding the valve
in the position indicated in Fig. 2, and likewise the circular end plate in an open
position, permitting of the free passage of the liquor through the hollowed-out
chambers of the bung in the direction indicated by the arrows.
The exterior circumference of the barrel of the bung has a smooth surface, P,
extending for a portion of its length, and the remaining portion q being screw-threaded
to the rim, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
The manner of inserting the bung into a keg or barrel and its mode of operation
when therein will now be described.
A hole is bored, by means of an auger or other similar tool, in the head or
cylindrical surface of the keg or barrel, of a diameter commensurate with that of the
lower portion of the barrel of the bung. The bung is then inserted therein to the
threaded cylindrical surface and a wrench applied to the sides r¹ of the rim of the
bung, and then screwed down so that the head of the keg or barrel will fit snugly
against the under side of the rim. The screw-threaded head d is then turned several
revolutions within the hollowed-out chamber to about the position shown in Fig. 2,
and the regulating-valve screw n being retained in the position indicated in Fig.
until the pipe or tubes has been attached to the annular threaded wall c, formed in
the face of the bung B.
It will of course be understood that the pressure of the gas within the keg or
barrel against the back of the circular end plate will firmly hold the valve and this
circular end plate, provided upon its upper surface with a suitable packing-ring, in a
closed position until the self-packing screw is turned to the position shown in Fig. 2,
when the liquid will commence to discharge through the hollowed-out chambers in
the direction of the arrows through the pipe s, for being used.
This construction and arrangement of a draft-bung, it will be observed from the
foregoing description thereof, presents these special characteristic features--that the
contents of a keg or barrel are kept free from dirt and other foreign matter, that a
wasteful escape of gas is practically prevented, and that loss of material in tapping a
fresh keg or barrel of malt liquor is obviated, which results have not been obtained
where the ordinary wooden bungs for such purposes have been used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
1. A draught bung for kegs etc., provided with interior chambers separated from
one another by walls along which surfaces a head carrying a stem is made to travel
and the opposite end of which is provided with a plunger or hub playing freely within
a chamber secured to a plate and devices for regulating the movement of the valve,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. A draught bung for kegs etc., having a smooth and threaded surface exterior
and a face provided with a rim projecting beyond the circumference of the bung,
interior chambers therein divided by partition walls through which a head carrying a
stem operating a valve is made to travel, and a rod secured to a plate extending
upward into a chamber and a self-packing screw projecting downward through a wall
formed therein for regulating the movement of the valve, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
3. A draught bung for kegs &c., of cylindrical form having hollowed out
interior chambers therein separated from one another by ribbed surfaced
walls extending there through and meshing at their respective ends with annular
threaded walls, a threaded head carrying a stem to the opposite end of which a plunger
or hub is secured playing freely within a chamber, a chamber and a rod extending
upward therein and a self-packing screw extending downward through a wall provided
in said chamber, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

page_text: 4. A draught bung for kegs, &c., having a plain surfaced face projecting beyond the
circumference of the barrel of the bung, and hollowed out interior chambers therein
separated from one another by ribbed surfaced partition walls meshing at their respective
ends with annular threaded walls, and a screw threaded head having a transverse
groove in its face and carrying a stem having a plunger on its opposite annular plate, 5
provided with a packing ring thereon and means for holding the valve in an open
position, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dah 10th 1
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