Improvements in and relating to Shives or Bungs of Barrels, Bung Holes and Vent Pegs, to Aid and Facilitate the Bunging and Venting of Barrels.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Aug., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 24th Aug., 1896-Accepted, 3rd Oct., 1896
PROVISIONAL, SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Shives or Bungs of Barrels, Bung
Holes and Vent Pegs, to Aid and Facilitate the Bunging and
Venting of Barrels.
EMMANUEL BALL l'rofessor of Music 112 Lichfield Street Walsall do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention to aid and facilitate the bunging and venting of barrels containing
liquids which require venting, is as follows.
A shive or bung being pierced or bored nearly through, so that when a fairly
pointed vent peg is inserted in the hole so bored, a slight tap on the top of the vent
peg (or anything else that may be inserted) would knock its point through into the
barrel and so vent the barrel. The hole bored in the bung may be tapered or not, as
desired. The vent peg may be made of wood, metal or any other suitable material.
Vent pegs made of wood or such like material, may be metal capped (if desired)
at their points which pierce the barrel. The vent peg and metal cap may be tapered
to as fine a point as desired.
If desired the shives or bungs may be bored through. In this case the bung
would be plugged in the hole bored through it, on that side which is inside the barrel,
or something may be attached and fixed over the hole bored in the bung if prefered
to plugging the hole. The plug may be a little tapered so that when the vent peg is
inserted in this plugged hole a slight tap on the top of the vent peg would knock
the plug out of the bung and so vent the barrel. This plug in the bung may be
made to taper to a fine point at one end if desired, so that when hop sack is used to
cover the bung to make it fit more air tight, the sharp pointed plug would readily
pierce the hop sack, but if, instead of hop sack, a washer (made of paper or other
suitable material) were inserted with the bung, the plug need not then be sharpened
at its one end, as it would have nothing to pierce. The washer encircling the plug
may if desired, have a flange or rim round it. The washer may also be made taper
and thicker through round its lower edge, than at its top part immediately underneath
the rim. A washer so formed would allow the bung to wedge itself more securely in
the bung hole. The bungs may be made of wood, metal, Delaware fibre or any other
suitable material. The bungs may if desired be made to screw in the bung holes
or in the bush of the bung hole. The bung or shire may have a flange or rim at
its top if desired, or the bush may bave a flange or rim round its lower edge inside.
Either bung or bush being so formed would admit of a washer being inserted
to make the bung hole all the more air tight when the bung is screwed down.
A slot (if desired) may be made on either side of the inside rim of the bush of the
bung hole, to aid in screwing the bush in the bung hole of the barrel, also a square
or oblong slot or hole may be made down the centre of the bung to admit of a
suitable tool such as a key being inserted to screw the bung firmly and securely in
the bung hole or bush of the bung hole. If desired the hole through the bung
might be plugged with a metal stamping, so made, as to form a plug and spring in
one. This spring plug would be attached to that side of the bung which is inside the
barrel, so that it would only be necessary to press anything suitable (down the hole
bored in the bung) on the top of the spring plug to vent the barrel.
Dated this 6th day of August 1896.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Shives or Bungs of Barrels, Bung
Holes and Vent Pegs, to Aid and Facilitate the Bunging and
Venting of Barrels.
I, EMMANUEL BALL, of 112 Lichfield Street, Walsall in the County of Stafford,
Professor of Music, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
My invention to aid and facilitate the bunging and venting of barrels containing
liquids which require venting is as follows: A shive or bung being pierced or bored
nearly through so that when a fairly pointed vent peg is inserted in the hole so
bored a slight tap on the top of the vent peg (or anything else that may be inserted)
would knock its point through into the barrel and so vent the barrel. The hole
bored in the bung may be tapered or not as desired. The vent peg may be made
of wood, metal, or any other suitable material. Vent pegs made of wood or such
like material may be metal capped if desired at their points which pierce the barrel.
The vent peg and metal cap may be tapered to as fine a point as desired. If desired
the shives or bungs may be bored through. In this case the bung would be plugged
in the hole bored through it, on that side which is inside the barrel-or something
may be attached and fixed over the hole bored through the bung if preferred to
plugging the hole. The plug may be a little tapered so that when the vent peg is
inserted in this plugged hole, a slight tap on the top of the vent peg would knock
the plug out of the bung and so vent the barrel. The plug in the bung may be
'made to taper to a fine point at one end if desired, so that when hop sack is used to
cover the bung (and make the same more air tight) the sharp pointed plug would
readily pierce the hop sack, but if instead of hop sack a washer (made of paper or
other suitable material) were inserted with the bung, the plug need not then be
sharpened at its one end, as it would have nothing to pierce. The washer encircling
the plug may if desired have a flange or rim round it. The washer may also be made
taper and thicker through round its lower edge than at its top part immediately
underneath the rim. A washer so formed would allow the bung to wedge itself more
securely in the bung hole. The bungs may be made of wood, metal, Delaware fibre
or any other suitable material. The bungs may also, if desired, be made to screw
in the bung holes or in the bush of the bung hole. The bung or shive may have
a flange or rim at its top if desired, or the bush may have a flange round its lower
edge inside. Either a bung or bush being so formed would admit of a washer being
inserted to make the bung hole all the more air tight when the bung is screwed
down. A slot if desired may be made on either side of the inside rim of the bush of
the bung hole to aid in screwing the bush in the bung hole of the barrel. Also
'a square or oblong slot or hole may be made down the centre of the bung to admit
of a suitable tool such as a key being inserted to screw the bung firmly and securely
in the bung hole or bush of the bung hole. If desired the hole hored through the
bung might be plugged with a metal stamping so made as to form a plug and spring
in one. This spring plug would be attached to that side of the bung which is inside
the barrel so that it would only be necessary to press anything suitable (down the
hole bored in the bung) on the top of the spring plug to vent the barrel.
In order that my invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried
into practical effect I have appended hereunto a double sized sheet of drawings upon
which I have illustrated different examples of the same.
Figure 1, is a sectional view of part of the top portion of a barrel A with my
improvements applied thereto.

page_text: Figure 2, is a view of the vent peg and the bung in section showing a modified
form of the bung as shown at Figure 1.
Figure 3, shows a modified form of vent plug.
Figure 4, is a sectional view of part of the top portion of the barrel A showing
my improved screwed bush and bung and vent plug.
Figure 5, is a plan view of the bush and bung.
In carrying my invention into practise I drill or bore a hole in the centre of the
bung B which by preference tapers from the inner side. Into this hole I insert a
plug which may be porous or not and when it is required to vent the barrel the
ordinary vent peg a is driven into the hole 6 thus driving out the plug which drops
into the interior of the barrel. Sometimes bangs are wedged into the barrels by
wrapping a piece of hop sacking around it in which case I make the bottom end of
the plug pointed as shown at Figure 3 so as to more readily pierce the sacking.
Or instead of inserting a plug in the vent hole, I may bore the hole nearly through
the bung as shown at Figure 2 in this case 1 prefer to tip the end of the vent peg
with metal so as to more easily pierce the part 65 when venting the barrel. Instead
of wedging bungs into the barrel by wrapping hop sacking or other material around
them which is often faulty and cause the barrel to leak at the bung hole thereby
wasting the contents, I insert a bush 63 made of paper or other equivalent material
into the bung hole as shown at Figure 1 and form a flange or rim around the
top edge which prevents the bush from moving out of its place when driving in
the bung.
At Figure 4 I have shown another method of inserting bungs in barrels and also
for venting the same and which consists in screwing a metal bush & into the bung.
hole. This bush has a flange & on the top which enables it to be firmly screwed
into the hole and the top part of this flange may be flush or level with the outer
surface of the barrel although I have shown it standing above. Into this bush I
screw a metal bung 65 part of the under portion of which is left hollow to save metal
and for lightness, the bush being tapped a certain portion from the bottom upwards
to receive it, the portion extending to the top of the bush above the tapped part is
left plain and slightly larger in the bore so as to form a set off or shoulder above the
tapped portion, on to this shoulder I place a rubber washer 6 or its equivalent for the
underside of the flange or rim 10 formed on the top of the bung to rest upon and when
the bung is screwed tightly into the bush the rubber washer makes a perfectly air
tight joint. In the centre of this bung I form a square or other shaped hole bas
shown clearly at Figure 5 for inserting the key 612 by which means the bung is easily
& readily screwed in or out of the bush. I also form another small hole in any
convenient part of this bung for venting purposes and insert a plug 613 from the
inner side which may be held in position by the spring or the plug and spring
may be formed out of one piece of metal. To vent the barrel the vent peg 6 is
pushed downwards forcing the plug out of the hole which returns to its normal
position as soon as the pressure is removed from the vent peg thus always sealing
the vent hole.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I'
claim is :-
1st. The improvement in and relating to shives or bungs of barrels, bung holes or
vent pegs, to aid and facilitate the bunging and venting of barrels, substantially as
herein before described and shown on the accompanying sheet of drawings.
2nd. Forming a permanent vent hole in the bung or shive of a barrel fitted with
a plug such as 6 which when venting is driven out by an ordinary vent peg such
as a substantially as hereinbefore described and shown on the accompanying drawings
at Figures 1 and 3.
3rd. Forming a vent hole in the bung or shive of a barrel in the manner
substantially as hereinbefore described and shown on the accompanying drawings at
Figure 2.

page_text: 4th. Inserting a screwed bush such as 6 made of paper or equivalent material
into the bung hole of a barrel substantially as hereinbefore described and shown
on the accompanying drawings at Figure 1.
5th. Inserting a screwed bush such as 6 into the bung hole of a barrel in
combination with a screwed bung such as 68 provided with a permanent vent hole
and plug such as 613 and rubber washer such as 6 or its equivalent substantially
as hereinbefore described and shown on the accompanying drawings at Figures 4
and 5.
Dated this 22nd day of August 1896.
GEORGE BARKER,
77 Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent.