Improvements in and relating to Automatic Safety Bungs for Casks or the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Automatic Safety Bungs for Casks
or the like.
A communication from abroad by EUGENE CROCHELET, of Gourdinnes, in the Kingdom
of Belgium.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F C S., M.I M.E, of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, 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
1
This invention consists of a safety bung working automatically, and intended to be
used in barrels, casks, etcetera, containing liquids under pressure such as beer, for
instance This bung, very simple in action and cheap in construction, has the
advantage of being able to be adjusted at the moment of the filling in of the liquids,
which may be required to be removed for delivery or transferred from one cellar to
another, and which may vary in pressure in consequence, according to the time elapsing
between the placing of the cask and the tapping of it
It often happens that casks of weak resisting power, burst or leak owing to the non
escape of the carbonic acid gas formed therein; even with some of the best bungs at
present used this may happen, because their passages do not vary for the escape of
the carbonic acid gas automatically, more or less according to the pressure within the
cask.
This invention consists then, of a safety bung, the action of which is automatic and
able to be regulated as desired.
Referring to the annexed drawings .-
Figure 1 is a transverse section through the middle of a bung of usual working
size.

page_text: The remaining Figures will be hereinafter described.
As can be seen on Figure 1, this bung A is furnished in the centre with a valve B
which is opened by the pressure of the fluid contained in the barrel to which it is
fitted, this valve terminates at the outside in a regulating button C, and it is normally
closed by a spring D surrounding it, which latter is enclosed in a recess E in the
stopper a of the bung The body of the valve is formed of the lower part of the
regulating knob, which is furnished with a washer or face of india rubber or other
material The seat of the valve is formed by a little annular projection x made in
casting the body of the bung
The stopper a of the bung is provided at the side with perforations I, designed to
allow the carbonic acid gas to pass through, which then ascends the shank B of the
valve, pushes open the valve, and escapes to the outside of the barrel.
The shank of the valve (shown in section, Figure VII) is square_with_blunted
corneis, so that between its sides and the sheath in which it partly works, it leaves a
free space forming the passage for the carbonic acid gas (see Z, Figure 1).
As stated above, the valve is furnished with a shank B, which penetrates the centre
of the stopper of the bung. This shank termmates in a threaded portion fitting in a
screw nut which holds it in its place, but leaves it perfectly fiee to move up or down,
compressing the spring D if it rises, and releasing it if it descends. But as thus nut
forms also the means of regulating, combined with the spring and the knob (to be
turned), it is necessary that it should not be capable of being dislodged when the
aforesaid regulating knob C is turned For this purpose, there is fitted between the
retaining nut fixed on the screw thread of the aforementioned shank and the spring D,
a second winged uut 7, the wings of which engage in a groove E cut longitudinally
in the lower part of the stopper a of the bung, so that it can move up and down but
not in a circular way, and thereby, on moving the knob C, the worm of the shank B
will only have one effect on the said winged nut, that of making it ascend or descend
in its recéss The latter is arranged so as to permit of this movement, that is to say,
it has a depth equal in extent to two or three times the thickness of the winged.nut.
As this nut is placed immediately beneath the spring, it is the one that compresses
the spirals of the same if the adjusting knob is tuned in the direction to produce this
effect This arrangement of the winged nut, combined with the shank B and the
adjustable knob, forms the method of regulating the tension or the resistance of the
valve.
J
To put the invention into operation, when the bung is placed in its holder G and
screwed into the barrel, it suffices to compress or release the spring D of the valve
more or less in order to give it more or loss resistance to the pressure. If then, it be
known that the liquid contained in the cask will gain at the end of a certain time, an
increased pressure, say for instance, of a half or one atmosphere, and that this pressure
might burst the cask, the valve is regulated to work at this or that pressure by turning
the knob C so as to compress the spring D and give it power to resist all degrees of
pressure below the one desired. If then, at any moment, the pressure reaches the
intended degree, it will overcome the resistance of the spring and force the valve to
open, and thus give a passage to the carbonic acid gas until the force of the pressure
of the latter begins to decrease, and consequently it can no longer keep open the
valve, which is then caused to resume its former place by means of the spring b
This bung is really automatic and safe, for by its use it is impossible for a liquid
contained in a barrel to exceed a given pressure, which is fixed by a regulating
button.
It was stated above that the carbonic acid gas passed through openings arranged in
the stopper of the bung in order to escape by the valve
It may also be caused to
escape by an opening between the winged nut and the inside wall of the stopper
(see O, the dotted lines, Figure VII), in this case, the carbonic acid gas ascends the
inside of the stopper to reach the valve Both nodes of working may be used either
together or separately
The spring may be made of any suitable shape or material a spiral spring was
mentioned because that seemed to be the most practical under the circumstances.

page_text: On the annexed drawing, views of the various parts detached, are shown.
Figure IV shows a side elevation and a cross section of the regulating knob C with
its shank B, worm and screw nut; the plan view shows the shank bisected below the
knob in order to show plainly the section with rounded corners.
Figure V, views in section and plan of the winged nut b.
Figure VI shows the spring D.
;
Figure VII shows a view from above the hung, the regulating knob in section
here the bung is arranged with a hollow with eight faces for engaging a tool for
screwing in, whilst in Figures I and III the holder for use in screwing in is supplied
by means of two projections PP.
Figure VIII shows, in longitudinal section and in plan, a regulating bung applied
to a simple stopper, capable of being fitted direct into a cask wherever desired.
This system of bungs can be used equally well for liquids causing pressure or. not,
as in the latter case, it is sufficient to screw the valve up tight so that the wings of
the nut press against the top of their groove in the stopper, thus arresting the
movement of the spring.
This bung can also be used in a simple form for admitting air to the cask; it
suffices, in this case, to pull up the regulating knob. This knob can be made of the
shape shown in Figure I, or even as a simple perforated projection, as shown,
(Figure VIII) which may be moved by the insertion of a pointed instrument.
This apparatus may be made of any suitable size or material.
.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent. I declare that what I claim is:
In a bung for barrels, casks, or other receptacles for holding liquids, an adjustable
automatic safety apparatus to prevent explosion of the said receptacles, the said
apparatus comprising a stopper which contains a valve mechanism and which is
situated on or in the said bung, this mechanism consisting of a valve shank with
rounded corners and terminating in a screw thread, the said shank passing through a
spring resting in a groove in the stopper, the sad stopper having also a lower recess
in which there rest, and against which there may press, the wings of a winged nut
with a limited power of movement, such nut being supported by the screw thread on
the above mentioned shank, and bearing against the said spring in such manner as to
compress the same when the valve is opened, substantially as described and shown and
for the purposes set forth.