External Stopper for Tap-holes in Barrels.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 18th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 8th Mar., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
External Stopper for Tap-holes in Barrels.
I ANTHONY PHILBURN Hall Court Ashton under Lyne Lancashire Artist, do
hereby declare the nature this invention to be as follows:-
:―
A cover stamped out of sheet metal and of a circular form is attached to a spring
by passing the said spring through holes in nibs left on the cover for that purpose.
Midway between the nibs a loop or projection is formed in the spring to form a
handle by which to move the cover to or from the tap hole. An indiarubber ring is
attached to the cover to assist in making a water-tight joint over the hole used to put
the tap in. The spring and cover are fastened to the barrel by means of a screw and
washer. The cover can be made of any material such as cast metal or wood.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1889
ANTHONY PHILBURN.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
External Stopper for Tap-holes in Barrels.
I ANTHONY PHILBURN, of Hall Court, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, Artist,
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 and accompanying drawings:-
My said Invention relates to means for securely stopping the holes in barrel ends
or sides through which the tail of a tap is or may be introduced to draw off the liquor
in the barrel. The stopper consists of a washer of sheet metal or of other suitable
material carried on the end of a spring hinged or pivotted to the barrel end or side.
The said washer has a pad of rubber or other suitable elastic material secured to its
under side, so that when the stopper is moved over the tap hole the spring presses
the pad upon the hole and securely packs it against the egress of liquor. The stopper
being pivotted to the barrel is always at hand, cannot be lost and can be placed over
the tap hole in a moment. I do not confine the use of the improved stoppers
to barrels as they can be used in conjunction with other vessels containing liquids.
In order that my invention may be perfectly clear I will now proceed to describe
the same particularly, and with reference to the accompanying sheet of illustrative
drawings.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved stopper.
Fig 2 is a sectional view."
Figs. 3 and 4 are views of a mo·lified form.
In Figs. 1 and 2 the stopper is supposed to be fixed in situ on a barrel end, a
portion of which is shown and marked A. The stopper consists of a washer a stamped
or otherwise produced from thin sheet metal, and formed with two lngs a' a¹ and a
bulge a² in the centre. On the underside of the washer there is a pad b of rubber or
other suitable elastic material. When of rubber this pad b may be vulcanised in
position or may be attached to the washer a by cement or other means. I also
employ a spring c made preferably of steel wire. The tail of the spring passes through
the two lugs a a' projecting from the washer a. The tail of the spring is coiled into
an eye c' opposite to the centre of the washer and the other end of the spring is pivotted
upon a pin or screw d. The tendency of the spring is to press the stopper down upon
the barrel head. The eye c¹ serves as a means of laying hold of the stopper and
moving it over or away from the tap hole which is marked and appears in the
sectional view Fig. 2. The full lines in Fig. 1 show the stopper pressing upon
the tap hole, the dotted lines show its position when moved away from the tap hole.
LD

page_text: A stop e prevents the stopper from being moved too far over the tap hole. As the
tail of the spring is a loose fit in the lugs a' a' the stopper rocks freely on the spring
and can accomodate itself to any inequality in the barrel head. It-will be observed
that the bulge a² in the washer a projects past the rubber. The advantage of this is
that when the stopper is being moved away from or towards the tap hole it rides
smoothly over the barrel head on this projecting bulge instead of rubbing and grinding
upon the pad bàs it would do if this bulge were not present. When in use if the tap
is removed from the hole ; the stopper can be moved at once so as to cover the hole
and when it is wished to re-insert the tap the stopper can as easily be pushed aside.
It will be evident that although I have shown a useful form of stopper, the same
might be modified in construction or in the material used. For example the spring c
might be of another material or metal than steel wire. I might also surround the
tap hole by an elastic ring of packing material instead of attaching it to the stopper
itself, in which case the movable part of the stopper might be made entirely of metal,
wood or other hard or non-elastic material.
Fig. 3 is a plan of a modified form of my improved stopper. Fig. 4 is a sectional
view of Fig. 3. In this case the washer a is a flat disc with a curved tail a³ by which
the stopper is moved. The spring c is made of thin flat steel and is secured to the
washer a by a rivet f. The projecting lower head of the rivet serves the purpose of
the bulge a³ in Figs. 1 and 2-viz. to keep the packing pad bout of rubbing contact
with the barrel head. The curved tail a³ might be formed from a continuation of the
tail of the flat spring c instead of from the washer a as shown. Instead of pivotting
the spring upon a pin as described and so causing the stopper to travel in a curved
path might cause the spring to slide in a staple or in staples or other parts and thus
slide the stopper over and away from the tap 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 :-
(1.) The general arrangement, construction and combination of parts composing
the improved pivotted stopper for closing tap and other holes in barrels and other
vessels substantially as described and as shown in the drawings.
(2.) A stopper of the indicated nature composed of a washer or disc carrying a
pad of rubber or other suitable elastic material and carried by a spring pivotted upon
or attached to the barrel or vessel to which the stopper is applied so that the stopper
can be readily moved over the tap bole or away from it substantially as described and
shown.
(3.) In a stopper of the indicated nature forming the stopper with a bulging part
or projection of metal or other hard material to carry the rubber or other elastic pad
clear of the barrel head when being moved towards and away from the tap hole
substantially as described and shown.
(4.) In a stopper of the indicated nature applying an elastic packing ring to the
tap hole and making the movable stopper of hard or non-elastic material substantially
described.
as
Dated this 17th day of January 1800
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.