AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR RECEPTACLE FOR STORING AND FOR WITHDRAWING WINE OR OTHER LIQUIDS, PART OF WHICH APPARATUS IS ALSO APPLICABLE WHEREVER A TAP MAY BE REQUIRED.
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Hunt, of Scarborough, in the County
of York, Hotel Keeper, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS OR RECEPTACLE FOR STORING AND FOR WITHDRAWING WINE OR
OTHER LIQUIDS, PART OF WHICH APPARATUS IS ALSO APPLICABLE WHEREVER A
TAP MAY BE REQUIRED.
"
Sealed the 9th August 1870, and dated the 18th February 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Hunt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th February 1870.
I, RICHARD HUNT, of Scarborough, in the County of York, Hotel
86 AN
Keeper, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVED APPARATUS OR RECEPTACLE FOR STORING AND FOR WITHDRAWING WINE
OR OTHER LIQUIDS, PART OF WHICH APPARATUS IS ALSO APPLICABLE WHEREVER A TAP
MAY BE REQUIRED," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention, or the purpose for which it is designed,
is to afford facilities for storing wine or other liquid in a suitable vessel

page_text: herein-after described, and for withdrawing the same from casks, vats,
or other vessels without contact with atmospheric air and without
allowing the admission of the latter into the storing vessel.
The apparatus or receptacle used for storing the wine or other liquid
consists essentially of a cylinder enclosing a piston working air-tight
therein, which may be made of wood, metal, earthenware, glass, or any
other suitable composition. The wine or other liquid is introduced into
the cylinder at the bottom of the same through or by means of the
peculiarly formed taps hercin-after described, raising the piston within the
cylinder as the latter becomes filled with the liquid, thereby effectually
keeping the atmospheric air from the same.
The improved apparatus for withdrawing the wine or other liquid
from the cask or barrel and for filling or storing the cylinder from which
the liquid is to be drawn as required, consists of two peculiarly formed
taps of the following description:-The taps have each of them an
equal bore throughout. The one attached to the barrel or cask (to be
used for withdrawing the wine from the same) is provided with an air
vent (pierced through the plug) for the emission of air when attached or
in use. The tap is of an ordinary make, being cast in one piece, but
having its plug (provided or not, as desired, with a fixed key) in a vertical
direction, the bore of which communicates when required (by means of
the longitudinal bore of the tap) with the interior of the cask or barrel
containing the liquid and so allows of the emission of the same.
The tap
to be fixed in the lower part of the cylinder (for filling and withdrawing
from the same) is made and shaped at its inlet so as to fit air-tight
round the nozzle of the tap herein-before described. The plug in this
tap lies in a horizontal direction and communicates as required with
either the inlet or outlet of the same, being operated by a loose key; the
inlet is secured by a screwed stopper when the cylinder is not in
communication with the barrel or cask tap.
The operation, or the way in which the taps work together so as to fill
the cylinder, is as follows:-The nozzle of the barrel or cask tap being
inserted into the inlet of the cylinder tap so as to be air-tight, the
vertical plug of the former is turned and put in communication (as
herein-before described) with the interior of the barrel, the liquid from
which runs through the same into the inlet of the cylinder tap. The
horizontal plug of the latter being now turned so as to put the bore of
the same in communication with the inlet the liquid will then flow

page_text: through the inlet along the bore of the horizontal plug and into the
cylinder, raising the piston as the cylinder fills, thereby effectually
keeping the atmospheric air from contact with the wine or other liquid.
These taps either together or separately will be found suitable for
application to any other vessels or receptacles where taps are required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
HUNT, of Scarborough, in the County of York, Hotel Keeper, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-.
third year of Her reign, did, for. Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Richard Hunt, Her special licence that
I, the said Richard Hunt, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Richard Hunt, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to tinic and at all times thereafter 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 "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS OR
RECEPTACLE FOR STORING AND FOR WITHDRAWING WINE OR OTHER LIQUIDS, PART
OF WHICH APPARATUS IS ALSO APPLICABLE WHEREVER A TAP MAY BE REQUIRED,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Hunt,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 im-
mediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Hunt, 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

page_text: following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, that is to say :—
The object of this Invention or the purpose for which it is designed
is to afford facilities for storing wine or other liquids in a suitable vessel
herein-after described, and for withdrawing the same from casks, vats,
or other vessels without contact with atmospheric air and without
allowing the admission of the latter into the storing vessel.
The apparatus or receptacle used for storing the wine or other liquid
consists essentially of a cylinder enclosing a piston working air-tight
therein.
The-improved-apparatus_for_withdrawing the wine or other liquid
from the cask or barrel and for filling or storing the cylinder from which
the liquid is to be drawn as required, consists of two peculiarly formed
taps with an equal bore throughout both. The one attached to the
barrel or cask is provided with an air vent (pierced through the plug)
for the emission of air when attached or in use; the tap is cast in one
piece, but has its plug in a vertical direction, the bore of which com-
municates when required with the interior of the cask. The tap to be
fixed in the lower part of the cylinder is made and shaped at its inlet
so as to fit air-tight round the nozzle of the tap herein-before mentioned.
The plug in this tap lies in a horizontal direction, and communicates as
required with either the inlet or outlet of the same; the inlet is secured
by a screwed stopper when the taps are not in connection.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "An
Improved Apparatus or Receptacle for Storing and for Withdrawing
Wine or other Liquids, Part of which Apparatus is also applicable
wherever a Tap may be required," I will now proceed to describe more
in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed
or carried into practical effect, and in order that the same may be
distinctly understood, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings
illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures and letters
of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof,
that is to say :-
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawings Figure 1 exhibits a vertical
section of the cylinder or storing vessel, showing a side view of the
piston; Figure 2 exhibits in side elevation an outline view of the manner
in which the storing cylinder is filled from the cask, further shown in
Figure 5; Figure 3 exhibits a plan view of the piston; Figure 4a

page_text: transverse vertical section of the "cask" tap; Figure 5 shows a vertical
longitudinal section of the two taps when they are in position for filling
the storing cylinder. This Figure also shows the moveable key of the
lower or cylinder tap; Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section; and
Figure 7 an end view of the cylinder or storing vessel tap.
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are all drawn to the same scale; Figures 1 and 3
are drawn to a smaller (but similar) scale; and Figure 2 is mercly a
view in outline illustrating the positions the various parts would occupy
during the time of filling the "cylinder."
The apparatus or receptacle used for storing the wine or other liquid
consists essentially of a cylinder a, enclosing a piston b working air-
tight therein and provided with a cover a¹. The cylinder (which is placed
on a wooden or metal foundation 6¹) may be made of wood, metal,
earthenware, glass, or any other suitable composition. The piston as
represented in Figure 1 is made of a glass plate at c, india-rubber at d,
and a wooden disc at e, f, are eight guide rods, f2 is a central guide rod;
and is a handle. The central guide rod may be dispensed with if
desirable.
The wine or other liquid is introduced into the cylinder a at the
bottom through the hole j in the base of the same by means of the
peculiarly formed taps and i, herein-after described and illustrated
in Figure 5 in section, thus raising the piston b within the cylinder as
the latter becomes filled with the liquid, thereby effectually keeping
the atmospheric air from the same.
The improved apparatus for withdrawing the wine or other liquid
from the cask or barrel k, and for filling or storing the cylinder a from
which the liquid is to be drawn as required, consists of two peculiarly
formed taps h, i, of the following description:-The taps have an equal
borc throughout both, see Figure 5, for the object of preventing the
passing liquid from "frothing." The one attached to the barrel or
cask (to be used for withdrawing the wine from the same) is provided
with an air vent 1 (pierced through the plug m), for the emission of air
when attached or in use. The tap is of an ordinary make, being cast
in one picce, but having its plug m (provided or not, as desired, with
a fixed key) in a vertical direction, the bore of which communicates,
when required (by means of the longitudinal bore 12 of the tap), with
the interior of the cask or barrel & containing the liquid, and thus allows
of the emission of the same. The tap i fixed in the lower part or base

page_text: of the cylinder a (for filling or withdrawing from the same) is made
and shaped at its inlet o, so as to fit air-tight round the nozzle p of the
tap h, as shown in Figure 5. The plug q in this tap lies in a horizontal
direction and communicates as required with either the inlet or outlet
of the same, being operated by a loose key r. The inlet o is secured
by a screwed stopper s, Figure 6, when the cylinder a is not in com-
munication with the barrel or cask k.
The operation of working the apparatus so as to fill the cylinder is as
follows-First, unscrew the caps, then bring the two taps near
together, then gently raise the cylinder until the nozzle p of the barrel
or cask tap his inserted into the inlet_o_of_the_cylinder_tapi,_so_as_to_
be air-tight (as illustrated in Figure 5). The vertical plug m of the
former is turned (and the vent peg drawn until the liquid appears when
it is replaced) and put in communication, see Figure 5 (as herein-before
described) with the interior of the barrel k, the liquid from which runs
through the same into the inlet o of the cylinder tap i. The horizontal
plug q of the latter being now turned so as to put the bore of the same
in communication with the inlet o, sce Figures 5 and 6, makes the
connection complete and the liquid will then flow through the inlet
along the boret of the plug q, and into the cylinder a, raising the
piston as the cylinder fills, thereby effectually keeping the atmospheric
air from contact with the wine or other liquid. When charged turn
off the two taps and remove the cylinder, and the liquor stored will
keep for any length of time, and can be drawn off at pleasure. In
order to draw any liquid from the interior of the cylinder, in whatever
small quantity, it will only be necessary to turn the plug q by means
of the key r half a revolution from the position shown in Figures 5
and 6, and the liquid will then flow out through the outlet u. The
plugs m and q when required can be held in their places by any
convenient means, for example they may have a groove formed therein
into which fits a pin or screw projecting from the socket of the tap,
as shown at Figure 5. It may here be mentioned that these taps, either
together or separately will be found suitable for application to any other
vessels or receptacles where taps are required.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention
for "An Improved Apparatus or Receptacle for Storing and for With-
drawing Wine or other Liquids, Part of which Apparatus is also
applicable wherever a Tap may be required," together with the manner

page_text: in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect, I would remark in conclusion that I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly. The general construction, arrangement, and application of the
apparatus or receptacle for storing or holding, and for withdrawing wine
or other liquid, substantially as herein-before described, and shown on
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, or any modification thereof or
equivalent therefor.
And, secondly. The application of the tap devices or arrangements
of the above-named apparatus to other vessels or receptacles, or wherever
a tap is required.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Hunt, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Fifteenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
KICHARD HUNT.
(L.S.)