IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED WHEN TRANSMITTING AND DRAWING BEER AND ALE
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
VAUX, of Frederick Street, London, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of May,
in the ninth year of Her reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Christopher Vaux, my exors, adiňors, and assigns,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, tho said
Christopher Vaux, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Christopher Vaux, my exors, adiñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED WHEN TRANSMITTING AND DRAWING
BEER AND ALE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I,
the said Christopher Vaux, should cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Eer said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear,

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Christopher Vaux, do hereby declaro that the naturo of my said Invention is
fully described in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention relates, first, to apparatus to be used when transmitting and
drawing heer or ale, so as to indicate when the pot or other vessel into which
the beer or ale is being drawn is full.
Secondly, my Invention relates to apparatus to be used in lieu of what are
called "beer engines."
Thirdly, my Invention relates to apparatus to be used when drawing beer
and ale.
Fourthly, my Invention relates to cooling beer and ale in its passage from
the barrel or other reservoir used to contain the same to the vessel in which
it is being drawn off.
But in order that my Invention may be better understood, I will proceed to
describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
It is well known that in drawing off beer or alo into an open vessel it is
usual for considerable froth to be produced. and that such froth prevents it
being seen when the vessel into which the beer or ale is being drawn is full,
so that unless great care is exercised there is danger of the beer or ale over-
flowing and being wasted, or of the vessel not being filled, which when the
beer is being measured off for sale acts to the prejudice of the purchaser.
And in order to avoid, on the one hand, not filling the measure, or, on the other
hand, wasting the beer or ale, it is customary for publicans and others when
drawing off beer or ale for sale to blow on to the beer or ale at one side of
the measure, so as to remove the froth at that part and see when the measure
is full, a practise which is very unpleasant and objectionable, and the arranging
of apparatus to avoid the necessity for which constitutes the first part of my
Invention.
4
Figure 1 shows a side view, and Figure 2 a front view, of one of the mouthi-
pieces or nozzles of a beer engine, to which it will be soen is added a pipe a,
which at the upper end is bent into a syphon form, and is terminated by a
glass tube b, which is securely affixed to the pipe a by a close joint, as shown.
Into the limb a' of the syphon I place water or any suitable liquid, which I
color, so that it may more readily be seen through the tube b. When it is
desired to draw off beer the measure or other vessel is applied under the nozzle

page_text: or mouth-piece, which with the lower part of the pipe a should dip into the
measure or other vessel a distance indicated by the dotted line c, which
represents the top of the measure or other vessel, when as the vessel becomes:
full the air contained in the pipe a will be forced upwards and will press on
the surface of the water or other liquid in the syphon, causing it to rise in
the limb 6, on which there is an adjustable marker d to indicate, when the
water or other fluid in the limb b rises to that point, that the measure is full.
Figure 3 shows the upper part of the pipe a in section separately.
Figure 4 shows the section of a measure arranged according to this part of
my Invention. f is a small tube or passage formed at the side of the measure,
with a small aperture 9 at the lower part, opening into the body of the vessel,
so that when the same is being filled the tube f will also be filled, but the froth
will not rise therein, so that by watching the top of the passage f of a measure
or other vessel so constructed while it is being filled with beer it will be seen
when the measure is full by the beer rising in the passage f.
Figure 5 shows another arrangement of vessel into which beer is to be
drawn, in which I make use of a float h in an open compartiment i, the beer
rising in which, when the vessel is being filled, raises the float and indicates
when the vessel is full.
The mode of arranging the float may be varied; that which I have shewn I
consider the simplest; it might, however, have the stem graduated, or the float
might be applied to a syphon tube, such as shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Another made of carrying out this part of the Invention is by causing a
current of air to be directed when required on to the surface of the liquor in
a measure or other vessel being filled with beer or ale, so as partly to remove
the froth, as is now done by the mouth; and one way in which I do it is by
having air condensed in a suitable vessel in any part of the premises, from this "
vessel a pipe is conducted terminating at the outlet for the beer or ale, the
outlet from which air passage is so arranged, that by touching a spring with
the thumb a jet of the compressed air may be directed as required; the mode
of obtaining the jet of air, however, may be varied.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention, which consists in
employing compressed air to force beer or ale to the bar or other place where
it is to be drawn, thereby rendering the present arrangement of beer engine
unnecessary.
Figure 6 shows a mode of carrying out this part of my Invention. k is a
vessel to be kept in the lower part of the premises, and of sufficient strength to
resist the necessary internal pressure to force the beer or ale of four or five
pounds to the inch, the air or gas to be pumped in by means of a force pump

page_text: or otherwise, as is well understood. Within the vessel is a float A, which
carries the upper end of a flexible pipe j, so that the beer or ale may always be
.drawn off from the upper part; the pipe j is connected to the pipe j', which is
shown to terminate in an arrangement of apparatus, according to the third part
of my Invention, which consists in arranging a series of taps at distances apart,
corresponding with the quantity of beer or ale required to bo measured;
thus the area of that part of the barrel between the taps (1) and (2) is
intended to hold, say, half a pint, and from 1 to (3) a pint, and from (1) to 4 a
quart, and so on, for larger or smaller quantities. When I wish to draw off a
quantity equal to that between 1 and 2, I close the tap 2 and open the tap 1 (the
other taps I will suppose to bo open); I also open the tap in the small pipe 1,
which communicates with the interior of the vessel k, so as to allow of the air
contained in that part escaping, and so on; or if I wish to draw off a quantity
equal to that between 1 and 3, I close the tap 3 and open 1 and 2. To
discharge the quantity into the receiving vessel, I close the tap (1) and open
the tap 2 or 3, as the case may be, allowing the tap to be open for an instant,
so that the beer or ale may be violently thrown out to produce froth or a
"head" thereto.
The apparatus forming the third part of my Invention may be used otherwise
than as shown in Fig. 6, by the reservoir of beer being placed above the outlet
taps or valves, in which case the pipe must be connected to a separate
reservoir of compressed air.
I will now describe the fourth part of my Invention, which is shown at
Figure 7, and consists of causing beer or ale in its passage to be drawn off to
he cooled by means of ice, which I place in contact with the circuitous pipe m,
the arrangement of which may be varied; but I prefer that it consist of a coil
of pipe, or a pipe bent into various shapes, in close contact with ice, so that the
beer or ale passing through the pipe may become cooled.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the various details shown and described, so long as the peculiar
character of either part of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,-
First, the arranging of syphon apparatus to be used when transmitting
and drawing beer or ale, so as to indicate the height of the beer or ale in the
vessel being filled, as herein described. Also, 1 claim the arranging vessels
(into which beer or alo is to drawn) with tubes or passages, up which the beer
or ale may rise, and by which the height of the beer or ale in such vessel mny
be better seen, ns described with respect to Figure 4. Also, I claim the
applying floats to vessels into which beer is to be drawn, in order to indicate

page_text: when the same are full, as described with respect to Figure 5. Also, I claim
the directing a jet of air on to a measure or other vessel into which beer or ale
is being drawn, so that the height of the beer or ale in such vessel may be
seen, as herein described.
Secondly, I claim the raising beer and ale from a suitable reservoir by means
of compressed air, as herein described.
Thirdly, I claim arranging apparatus whereby a series of taps or valves are
placed at suitable distances apart for the purpose of measuring beer and ale,
as described.
And, fourthly, I claim the arranging apparatus so that beer may be cooled
by being caused to circulate through pipes or channels in contact with ice, as
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christopher Vaux, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
CHRIST (L.B.) VAUX.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1846, the aforesaid Christopher Vaux came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Thirteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-six.