Improvements in and relating to Stoppers or Valves for Stoppering Liquid Containing Vessels and for Measuring Quantities of Liquid.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Apr., 1899
Completo Spanification Loft 27th Jan 1900 Accented 3rd Mon
1000
Date of Application, 28th Apr., 1899
Complete Specification Loft 27th Jan 1900-Arcanted, 3rd Mor.
1000
Improvements in and relating to Stoppers or Valves for Stoppering
Liquid Containing Vessels and for Measuring Quantities of Liquid.
I, ALFRED EUSTACE LEE, of Cedar Court, Roehampton, Surrey, Army Tutor,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to improvements in and relating to stoppers or
valves for liquid containing vessels and the main object of my invention is to
enable said valve or stopper to be opened so as to permit a quantity of liquid
to be withdrawn into a glass or other vessel held in one hand by merely lifting
or raising said glass a sufficient distance.
In carrying my invention into practice I employ a vessel of any suitable shape
and provided with an opening at the top and bottom which openings are pre-
ferably in alignment. Passing about vertically through said vessel and pro-
jecting through both said openings I provide a spindle or equivalent hereinafter
referred to as the valve spindle and I form or provide said valve spindle with
two valves or equivalents the lower one of which normally rests on a valve
seating with which the opening in the bottom of the vessel is formed or pro-
vided so as to normally close said opening & prevent escape of any liquid from
within the vessel and the upper valve or equivalent normally closes the opening
in the top of the vessel to prevent dust entering the vessel & also to prevent the
evaporation of the contents or the escape of noxious fumes.
The lower end of the spindle is provided with a cross spindle or equivalent
the arrangement being such that if a glass or measure or other vessel be placed
under the spindle & raised said vessel will come in contact with the cross spindle
& then the valve spindle with its valves or equivalents will be raised the lower
one permitting the escape of the liquid and the upper one admitting air to the
vessel.
Instead of forming the upper valve or equivalent integrally with its spindle I
may provide a valve or equivalent resting say in the form of a cap or sleeve
over the upper end of the valve spindle said valve being arranged so as not to
be raised until after the lower valve has been lifted a slight distance off its
seating. By this means any wear of the valves or seatings or other parts will
not prevent the perfect closing of both valves as would be the case if both
valves were fixed on or formed integrally with their spindle.
I wish it to be understood that the valves may if desired be normally held
on their seatings by means of a spring instead of by the action of gravity alone
and the shape and dimensions of the parts and the materials of which they are
made may be any which is found in practice to be most suitable.
For the purpose of enabling a measured quantity of liquid to be withdrawn
at each lifting of the valve spindle as described I form or provide the lower
end of the vessel with a measure which measure may be of any desired form or
material and may be integrally formed with the vessel or may be attached
thereto. The valve spindle passes completely through said measure and said
spindle is formed or provided with two valves or equivalents both being inside

page_text: the measuring vessel. Said measuring vessel is formed or provided with two
valve seatings or equivalents the arrangement being such that normally the
lower valve rests on the lower valve seating & prevents escape of liquid but if
said spindle be raised in the manner herein before described then the lower valve
will be raised off its seating and the upper valve will be closed on its seating in
the upper part of the measure. By this arrangement the contents of the mea-
sure only are withdrawn as the upper valve prevents liquid flowing from the
vessel to the measure until both valves are released.
Dated this 98th day of Annil 1900
Improvements in and relating to Stoppers or Valves for Stoppering
Liquid Containing Vessels and for Measuring Quantities of Liquid.
I, ALFRED EUSTACE LEE, of Cedar Court, Roehampton, Surrey, Army Tutor,
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:―
This invention has reference to liquid containing vessels and its main object
is to provide such vessels with stoppers or valves which can be conveniently
opened to permit a quantity of liquid to be withdrawn into a glass or other
receptacle, by merely raising said receptacle and pressing its mouth against a
suitable projection or projections forming part of or connected with the stoppers
or valves. The said stoppers or valves resume their closed position immediately
the receptacle is removed from the said projection or projections.
According to my invention I employ a vessel of any suitable shape having
an opening at the top and bottom to receive the stoppers or valves by which the
vessel is closed, these stoppers or valves being carried by a stem hereinafter
referred to as the valve-stem. The lower end of the valve-stem is prolonged
through the opening in the bottom of the vessel and is provided with
the aforesaid projection, against which the mouth of the glass or other
receptacle can be pressed when raised. The valve-stem can thus be elevated and
its stoppers or valves raised from their seatings, the lower valve permitting the
escape of the liquid into the said receptacle and the upper one admitting air to
the vessel.
The upper stopper or valve may be made integrally with its valve-stem or
separately therefrom. In the latter case, it would be preferably formed like a
cap to fit loosely upon the upper end of the valve-stem which would act to lift
it when raised a sufficient extent as aforesaid. I prefer to so arrange this loose
stopper or valve with respect to the valve-stem that said stopper will not be
opened until after the lower stopper has been lifted a slight distance from its
seating. By these means any wear of the stoppers or their seatings, will not
prevent the proper closing of both of the stoppers as would be the case if both
of them were fixed on or formed integrally with the stem. The stoppers may
if desired be normally held on their seatings by means of a spring instead of by
the action of gravity alone, but in most cases it will be found unnecessary to
employ a spring.
For the purpose of enabling a measured quantity of liquid to be withdrawn at
each lifting of the valve-stem, I form or provide the lower end of the liquid

page_text: containing vessel with a subsidiary or measuring chamber which may be of any
desired form or material and of a size depending on the quantity of liquid that
is to be delivered at each withdrawal. The valve-stem passes completely through
said subsidiary or measuring chamber and is provided with two stoppers or valves
both of which are situated inside the said chamber, one being near the top and
the other near the bottom thereof. Normally the upper one of these stoppers
remains open while the lower one remains closed and prevents escape of liquid,
but if the said stem be raised, as already explained, then the said lower stopper
will be opened and the upper stopper closed. By this arrangement only the
contents of the subsidiary or measuring chamber are withdrawn, as the upper
stopper prevents liquid flowing from the vessel into the said subsidiary or
measuring chamber until the valve-stem is released, and permitted to descend
again.
In order that my said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the same more fully with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sections of a liquid containing vessel constructed
in accordance with my invention; Figure 1 representing the vessel closed and
Figure 2 representing it open.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a series of the aforesaid vessels, illustrating
how they may be arranged when adapted for laboratory or similar use.
Figures 4 and 5 are vertical sections of a modified form of the said vessel
when adapted for supplying measured quantities of liquid; Figure 4 repre-
senting the vessel closed and Figure 5 representing it open.
Figure 6 is an elevation of a vessel of the kind represented by Figures 4
and 5, supported in a wall bracket such as that sometimes employed in public
houses for supplying whiskey or similar liquid in measured quantities.
Referring first more particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3; A is the liquid con-
taining vessel. B is the valve-stem and B1 B2 are its stoppers or valves. C is
the projection against which the receptacle D is pressed when withdrawing liquid
from the vessel.
The upper part of the said vessel is contracted at a where it is formed with a
seating for the upper valve B'. The opening in the bottom of said vessel is
likewise formed with a seating for the lower valve B2. The valve-stem B may
consist of a tube closed at its upper end and connected at its lower end to the
so called projection C, which in the present example is hollow and of funnel
shape. It will be obvious however that any other form of projection will suffice
for my purpose so long as it will enable the receptacle D to act thereon and so
lift the valve-stem. Near the lower end of the said tubular valve-stem is a
lateral aperture 6 through which the liquid that enters said hollow projection C
can flow into said tubular stem and by escaping from the lower end thereof enter
the receptacle D. The upper valve B is, in the example illustrated, formed
for convenience of manufacture like a cap to loosely fit over the upper end of
the valve-stem.
When a quantity of liquid is to be withdrawn from the vessel, say into a test
tube, the latter is placed beneath the hollow projection C and gently
the valve-stem
pressed upward against said projection, thereby lifting
as represented in Figure 2. This movement opens the valves B1 B2 and
permits air to enter the upper part of the vessel and liquid to escape from
the exit opening in the bottom of said vessel. The liquid enters the hollow
projection C whence it flows through the lateral aperture into the hollow
stem B and escapes from the open end of said tubular stem into the test tube.
When the required quantity of liquid has been withdrawn from the vessel into
the test tube, the latter is removed and the valve-stem, being no longer pressed
upward, falls by the action of gravity into the position represented in Figure 1,
whereby both valves B³ 132 close again and further flow of liquid from the vessel
is prevented.

page_text: For laboratory or similar use a number of the said vessels A can be supported
in perforated shelves E E', as shewn in Figure 3, and on the front edge of one
of said, shelves I may affix labels opposite the various vessels, to indicate the
contents of the said vessels. Beneath the various vessels I prefer to arrange an
inclined trough For other receptacle to receive any liquid that may drip from
the vessels.
When it is desired to re-fill any of the vessels A, this can be readily effected
by removing the upper loose stopper B₁ and pouring the liquid into the
mouth A¹.
In cases where it is not specially desired to close the mouth of the vessels to
keep their liquid contents out of contact with the dust and other impurities of
the surrounding air, 1 may dispense with the upper stopper of valve B. The
stem B would then be guided vertically by any suitable form of guide.
Referring now to Figures 4, 5 and 6; the lower part of the vessel A is pro-
vided with a subsidiary chamber G and with two concentrically arranged valve-
stems H, I, the former of which has the two valves H¹ H². The stem I also has
two valves I 12 which are both located within the subsidiary chamber G. The
stem H is hollow and of such diameter, internally, as to surround the stem I
and leave an annular space i between the two stems. Lateral apertures h h¹ are
formed in the surrounding stem H through the former of which air can enter
said annular space.
The other aperture is situated near the bottom of the
vessel A and permits the contents of said vessel to flow into the said annular
space and thereby reach the subsidiary chamber G through the port 9 when the
latter is opened. g is the opening in the lower part of said subsidiary vessel
through which the liquid escapes into the receptacle D. The lower end of the
valve-stem is prolonged through this opening and is furnished with radial
arms which serve as the projections for the mouth of the receptacle D. to
engage with when a portion of the liquid contents of said vessel is to be with-
drawn. When the receptacle D is raised as represented in Figure 5 it elevates
the arms
and with them the stem I, whereby the valve I' 18
caused to close the port g and the valve 12 is caused to open the outlet g¹.
Consequently the liquid contents flow from the subsidiary chamber G and
enter the receptacle 1). Then when said receptacle D is removed, the stem I
descends by the action of gravity and the valve 12 closes the outlet g¹,
the valve opens the port g, so that liquid from the vessel A can enter and
refill the said chamber G. The vessel is then again ready to supply another
measured quantity of liquid when the stem I is next elevated. When it is
desired to re-fill the vessel A with liquid the outer stem H is removed or lifted
to open its valves H1 H2 so that liquid poured into the mouth A' will flow into
the body portion of the vessel. It will be seen that in this construction of the
vessel, the outer stem H does not shift longitudinally to lift its valves H¹ H*
when the inner stem I is elevated. The upper end of said inner stem slides in
the valve H' without lifting it. In some cases the stem H may be dispensed
with.
21
and
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A liquid containing vessel provided with a valve or valves so arranged that
they can be opened by the receptacle into which the liquid is to be withdrawn
substantially as described.
2. The combination with the aforesaid valve or valves, of a movable stem
which extends through the liquid containing vessel and carries at its lower end
a projection for enabling said stem to be operated substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
3. The construction of the valve-stem with one of its valves fixed and the
other loosely mounted thereon substantially as and for the purpose specified.

page_text: 4. A liquid containing vessel having its parts combined arranged and operating
substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 for laboratory or
similar use as represented in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
5. A liquid containing vessel provided with a subsidiary or measuring chamber
and with a movable stem carrying valves so arranged that when said stem is
lifted, one valve acts to close the connection between the vessel and the mea-
suring chamber and the other valve acts to permit the liquid in said chamber to
escape substantially as and for the purpose specified.
6. The combination with the stem carrying the aforesaid valves for opening
and closing the measuring chamber, of a hollow stationary surrounding stem
having apertures near its upper and lower ends and provided with valves for
closing the upper and lower ends of the vessel proper substantially as and for
the purpose specified.
7. A liquid containing vessel for delivering measured quantities of liquid
substantially as described with reference to Figures 4, 5 and 6 of the accom-
panying drawings.
Dated this 26th day of January 1900
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.