IMPROVEMENTS IN LIDS FOR DRUMS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES, & IN MEANS FOR FASTENING THE SAME
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JOHN CLARE of Penketh near Warrington, County of Lancaster, Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN LIDS FOR
DRUMS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES, & IN MEANS FOR FASTENING THE SAME to be as
follows:-
Whereas the present mode of fastening the Lids of Drums (for containing caustic
soda) consists in attaching by screws, or by means of nibs, and which in practise
do not make a satisfactorily fitting cover, in that, in the latter case, especially, the
cover has to be of less width than the aperture, now I take an ordinary cast metal
or wrought cover, large enough to fully cover and over lap the aperture into Drum,
and to the underside by means of rivets or screws attach a piece of hoop iron or
sheet iron or other metal cross bar across the said lid or cover being about the
same length as the width of the cover and place the rivets or screws at such equal
distances apart from the centre as that the furthest each way shall be just within
the size of aperture into Drum and I likewise make an opening in the Drum top at
side of ordinary aperture of such size as will admit the one end of this hoop iron
or cross piece to pass through & so permit it to alido under-that is, there will be
between the cross piece & the Drum lid itself sufficient space for the thin iron of
Drum top to pass between, and I take the lid so made & holding it over the
aperture into Drum press the one side of aperture so that it shall pass up
between the lid & the cross piece as far as the rivet, or stud piece hereafter named
and then depress the other end so as to drop into and pass through, or slide
through, (according to the size of aperture made for it) & pass under the top of
Drum by a circular motion & so secure itself. In the manufacture in case cast
metal lids are used the cross piece can be attached in the casting by means of a
boss or stud of metal underneath & so securing it and the boss of metal may be so
made as to fit the aperture into Drum & so steady the action of fitting the lid on;
and likewise the aperture into Drum may be made of such shape, such as oval, that
the piece of sheet metal thence taken can be used for the cross piece already
named, being attached as described or the cross piece may have substituted for it if
so desired only so much in lieu of the full length as suffices for the proper rivetting
or attaching as the case may be.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, JOHN CLARE of 7 Elizabeth Terrace Ditton by Widnes, (late of Penketh near
Warrington) both in the County of Lancaster Manufacturer do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN LIDS FOR DRUMS & OTHER RECEP-
TACLES & IN MEANS FOR FASTENING THE SAME and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Whereas the present mode of fastening the Lids of Drums (for containing caustic
soda) consists in attaching by screws, or by means of nibs, and which in practise
do not make a satisfactorily fitting cover in that in the latter case especially the
cover has to be of less width than the aperture, now I take an ordinary cast inetal
or wrought cover large enough to fully cover and overlap the aperture into Drums
and to the underside by means of rivets or screws attach a piece of hoop iron, or
sheet iron, or other metal cross bar, across the said lid or cover being about the
same length as the width of the cover and place rivets or screws at such equal
distances apart from the centre as that the furthest each way shall be just within
the size of aperture into Drum and I likewise make an opening in the Drum top,
at side of ordinary aperture, of such size as will admit the one end of this hoop
iron or cross piece to pass through & so permit it to slide under-that is thero will
be between the cross piece and the Drum lid itself sufficient space for the thin iron
of Drum top to pass between & I take the lid so made & holding it over the
aperture into Drum press the one side of aperture so that it shall pass up between
the lid and the cross piece as far as the rivet, or stud piece, hereafter named, and
then depress the other end so as to drop into and pass through, or slide through
(according to the size of aperture made for it) & pass under the top of Drum by a
circular motion & so secure itself.
In the manufacture, in case cast metal lids are used, the cross piece can be
attached in the casting by means of a boss of metal underneath & so securing it
and the boss of metal may be so made as to fit the aperture into Drum & so steady
the action of fitting the lid on, & likewise the aperture into Drum may be made of
such shape-such as oval-(which would be more convenient for filling, & also in
fitting on the lid) that the piece of sheet metal thence taken could be used for the
cross piece already named, being attached as described: or the cross piece may
have substituted for it, if so desired, only so much in lieu of the full length, as
suffices for the proper rivetting, or attaching, as the case may be. I find that at
least one iron founder in casting the lids can so arrange that the cross bar, above
named, may be formed at the same time, and as an integral part of the casting
itself ie of the same metal, and this presents some advantages & may be adopted
where found more convenient.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1stly An overlapping lid or cover secured by a contrivance or arrangement fixed

page_text: 2ndly Such arrangement or contrivance being in the nature of a crossbar more or
less extended and as described, & so fixed as to firmly "grip" the top of Drum
when in place, & if fixed with screws to the lid, the bar, which might be made of
steel, could thus have its grip increased by tension.
3rd The making of this crossbar or "grip" in the casting of the lid either by
inserting in such process the bar, or sufficient at each side to form the "grips," as
named, or if found more convenient the forming of these "grips" in the process of
casting as part of the casting.
4th The use of the oval filling hole as facilitating the fitting of the lid & if
needs be providing the gripping cross piece or bar.
5thly When cast purposely, the use of the boss of metal underneath (already
named) to steady the lid in its first fixing in filling hole, & to keep it more or less
immovable thereafter.