Improvements in Apparatus for Controlling the Flow of Liquids into Vessels.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 11th Dec., 1897
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION..
Improvements in Apparatus for Controlling the Flow of Liquids into
Vessels.
I, JOHN FREDERICK SPRAIN, Merchant, of 177 Broadway, New York City,
County and State of New York, United States of America, 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:
My invention relates to a funnel designed to automatically stop discharging the
liquid into a vessel that is being filled upon the liquid reaching a given height in
said vessel and the invention consists in the various novel and peculiar arrange-
ments and combinations of the several parts of the device, all as hereinafter fully
described and then pointed out in the claims.
I have illustrated types of my invention in the accompanying drawings,
wherein
Figure 1 is a view of my improved funnel in section on a vertical plane extending
through the axis of the funnel and the centrally-located air-tube. In this view is
also shown in vertical section the neck of a bottle within which the funnel is
mounted in open position ready to discharge liquid therefrom into the bottle and
to fill it to a predetermined height, as will be hereinafter described.
Fig. 2 is a view of my improved funnel in section on a plane taken vertically
through the center of the funnel with the air-tube and the upper portion of the
handle shown in full. In this view the funnel is in closed position and is supposed
to be suspended by the handle, under which condition. it is closed so as to retain
within it the liquid that may be left standing therein after the operation of the
funnel is automatically stopped.
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in section taken on a plane indicated by line 3-3,
Fig. 2, and with the funnel body and handle omitted.
Fig. 4 is a side view of a modified form of handle and Fig. 5 is a view of the
lower end of the air-tube and spout and shows a modified form of the shield for the
inlet opening of the air-tube.
Referring to the drawings, in which like numbers of reference indicate like parts
throughout, 2 is the funnel-body of the ordinary cone-shape and with its upper
end formed cylindrically, as at 3, though it may assume any desired shape and be
made of any suitable material. 4 is the spout projecting from the funnel-body and
is shown as a straight cylindrical tube of uniform diameter and is preferably
seamless. The end of the spout is formed with a bevel 5 so as to bring it to a
sharp edge to more thoroughly imbed itself in tlie soft material of the washer 6,
which is carried by the stop on the lower end of the air-tube, which is hereinafter
described.
Upon the exterior of the funnel-spout I adjustably mount a pneumatic or per-
manently inflated body 7, which in the present form consists in a ring of soft
rubber which will readily yield under the weight of the device when inserted in
the mouth of a vessel, as shown in Fig. 3. This inflated body or washer is fitted
snugly to the funnel and I prefer to have it sufficiently large to overhang the
mouth of the vessel to be filled in order that it may more perfectly seal the space
between the mouth of the vessel and the funnel as it is designed to do. This
pneumatic body is adjustable lengthwise of the funnel so that the distance which

page_text: the funnel projects into the vessel may be regulated by raising or lowering the
pneumatic body on the funnel and the height to which the vessel is to be filled
may accordingly be regulated predeterminately, as will be more fully understood
hereinafter. In the present construction, the pneumatic ring 7 is held upon the
funnel-spout by friction and a collar or holder 8 previded with a set-screw 9 is
arranged above it upon the spout for the purpose of adjusting it, which adjustment
may be accomplished by loosening the set-screw, then raising or lowering the
collar as may be required, tightening the screw again and moving the pneumatic
ring into contact with it. When the funnel is set in the mouth of the vessel the
entire weight of the device is thrown upon the pneumatic washer or ring 7, as
shown in Fig. 3, and as this body is in intimate contact with the exterior of the
funnel-spout and the mouth of the vessel, the superimposed weight will cause it
to seek all the inequalities in the surface of either part and will press the body
into such firm contact as to form a perfect air-seal and thereby render the funnel
all the more efficient in its automatic operation. It will also readily fit in an
irregularly-shaped mouth of a vessel.
This pneumatic ring 7 may assume any desired form though the one shown is
a commodity found on the market, and if preferred the ring may be fixedly attached
to the collar above it. If preferred, instead of having a set-screw to hold the
collar in adjusted position, the collar may be formed with an interior screw-thread
fitting a corresponding thread upon the exterior of the spout and the collar may
be screwed along the spout into adjustment.
10 is the air-tube which is loosely mounted in a guide or bridge-piece 11 located
within the funnel-body so as to extend centrally through the funnel-spout 4 and
project slightly below the same. This air-tube has a limited vertical play or
endwise movement and is centered within the spout so that there is constituted
between the exterior of the tube and the interior of the spout an annular discharge
passage 12 for the fluid to flow from the body through the spout into the vessel.
Near the lower end of the air-tube is formed a lateral inlet orifice 13 for per-
mitting the air which is displaced by the incoming fluid, to flow from the vessel,
thence to the interior of the air-tube from where it is discharged at the upper
end through a similar opening 14.
-
Upon the exterior of the air-tube and adjacent the inlet 13 is mounted a shield
or piece 15 which extends downwardly over the inlet and serves to prevent the
down-flowing fluid from being sucked into the same and thereby carried out with
the air current. This shield may extend part or all the way over the opening and
in effect is a branch-pipe which, in fact, is the form I employ with large funnels
as shown in Fig. 5. Experience has proved that the best result is obtained when
this covering or branch is carried downward, as the liquid is sharply diverted and
caused to flow away smoothly from the air-inlet and I also prefer to have the lower
end of the shield or branch come on about a level with the end of the spout when
the funnel is open, as indicated in Fig. 1. I also find it better to have the shield
or branch 13 lie against the interior of the spout and I accordingly provide a
projection or piece 16 upon the opposite side of the tube from where the shield is
located, which piece serves to keep the shield or branch 15 against the wall of the
spout and at the same time maintains the air-tube centrally of the spout.
Upon the lower end of the air-tube is screwed a stop 16, the exterior of which
is shaped like an inverted truncated cone in order to permit the device to be more
readily inserted in the mouth of the vessel. The stop 16 carries a washer 6 of
soft material and is of sufficiently greater diameter than the interior of the spout
to permit the spout to rest firmly upon the same when the device is suspended
by the air-tube as shown in Fig. 2. Above the stop 16 and its washer is arranged
a downwardly-flaring collar 17, which is also screwed in place upon the rod and
the tapering shape of this piece (as will be clearly understood from Fig. 5) serves
to evenly shed the liquid as it is discharged from the end of the spout and prevents
the liquid from falling upon the entire upper surface of the washer and causing a
rebound of the same which would interfere with the free escape of the displaced

page_text: air. The tapered shape of this piece 17 which fits within the spout also serves to
center the stop upon the lower end of the spout when it is moved upwardly and
seated against the same. This stop may be made of any suitable material such,
for instance, as hard rubber and the washer G may be made of soft material so
that when it closes upon the end of the spout the beveled end thereof will sink
into it, as shown in Fig. 2, and thereby completely cut off the passage of the
liquid from the spout when the device is lifted by the upper end of the air-tube,
as will be described further on.
The upper end of the air-tube is provided with a removable handle comprising
O a hand-piece 19 having a tubular extension 20 adapted to fit over the end of the
air-tube 10 and rest with its lower end upon the guide or bridge 11 and thereby
support the tube at its lower limit of movement, the upper limit of the vertical
play of the tube being determined by the stop 16 taking against the end of the
spout. This tubular piece 20 of the handle is made of proper length to give the
5 tube a sufficient range of vertical movement and it is provided with a lateral
opening 21 adapted to register with the opening 14 of the air-tube and through
which the displaced air coming up the tube escapes to the outer air. The handle
is locked to the tube by means of a spring finger-piece 22 which is secured by one
of its ends to the exterior of the extension and has its quter end bent, as at 23,
0 so as to take into the hole 24 in the tubular extension and a notch 25 in the tube.
These parts are so related that when the spring latch has locked the parts together
the two openings 14 and 21 are in registration with each other, so as to place the
tube in communication with the outer air.
The outlet 14 of the air-tube is provided with a deflector 26 which consists in
5 a collar having a depending flange. coming down partially over the opening and
this is placed upon the exterior of the tubular extension of the handle and in such
position as to deflect into the funnel-body any liquid that may be carried out of
the tube by the outgoing stream of air.
In some cases it may be preferable to use a handle that projects over to the
0 side of the funnel-body instead of one that stands directly above the same as in
Figs. 1 and 2. This I provide for as shown in Fig. 4, wherein the handle 27 is
bent L-shaped with the main portion thereof arranged horizontally and attached
to the tubular piece or sleeve 28 which is fitted upon and locked to the air-tube in
the same way. as the tubular extension 20 in the other figures. The horizontal
5 part is also connected with the sleeve 28 by an inclined barare 29 to give the same
a firm support. These handles are readily interchangeable, so that it it is desired
to use a laterally projecting handle instead of the other they may be readily
interchanged.
From the foregoing description the operation and use of the device will be
readily understood. As the pneumatic ring 7 cuts off the communication between
the outer air. and interior of the vessel, when the funnel is applied thereto as
shown in Fig. 1, the liquid poured into the body of the funnel will flow through
the spout around the air-tube into the vessel, the contained air in which will
find its way through the inlet 13 via the air-tube and the outlet 14 to the outer
air. The liquid will continue to flow in and the air to pass out by these routes
respectively until the level of the liquid reaches the branch or shield 15 covering.
the air inlet 13, whereupon the flow of both will cease automatically and leave a
quantity of the liquid standing in the funnel. The funnel may then be removed
by lifting it by the handle carried by the air-tube and this operation will lift
the tube vertically and bring the stop 16 with its washer up against the end of
the spout and the continued lifting movement will then raise the entire device
from the mouth of the vessel, so that the device may be readily transferred to
another. vessel with the contents remaining in the funnel and prevented from
leaking therefrom by the closure of the stop against the spout. When the funnel:
is thus transferred to another vessel and mounted therein the dropping down of
the air-tube will discharge the liquid carried in the funnel into the other vessel:
and the filling of it will continue in the same way. It will be noted that by

page_text: virtue of having the air-inlet at the lower end of the air-tube-opening at a point
above the stop 16 which cuts off the liquid passage, that any liquid that may be
sucked into the air-tube will be retained therein and will not drop out while the
funnel is being transferred and this is obviously an important advantage.
I desire it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the particular con-
struction of parts herein set forth, as various modifications may be made in the
same without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The combination of a funnel, an air-tube for leading off the air displaced
by the liquid in filling a vessel, the said tube being provided at its upper end with
an outlet and at its lower end with a lateral inlet-orifice provided with a shield
for diverting the inflowing liquid from said orifice and permitting a free inflow
of the displaced air into said tube, as described.
2. The combination of a funnel, an endwise movable gravity air-tube mounted
therein and extending through the funnel-spout, and means for limiting the endwise
movement of the air-tube in each direction and means for cutting off the passage
for the fluid through the spout when said air-tube is at its limit of upward move-
ment, said air-tube being provided at its upper end with an outlet and provided
with an inlet near its lower end at a point above the means for cutting off the
said passage for the liquid through the spout, said air-tube normally standing at
its lower limit of movement and adapted to be drawn up as the funnel is lifted,
whereby the fluid-passage and air-inlet may be simultaneously shut off, sub-
stantially as described.
3. The combination of a funnel, an endwise movable air-tube mounted therein
and extending through the funnel-spout, said air-tube being provided at its upper
end with an outlet and provided near its lower end with a lateral inlet opening
and a depending piece or shield projecting from the exterior of the tube over said
inlet for diverting the down-flowing liquid from the inlet, as set forth.
4. The combination of a funnel, an air-tube mounted therein and extending
through the funnel-spout, said air-tube being provided at its upper end with an
outlet and provided near its lower end with a lateral inlet opening, a depending
piece or shield projecting from the exterior of the tube over said inlet for diverting
the down-flowing liquid from the inlet and a piece interposed between the exterior
of the air-tube and the interior of the spout at a point substantially opposite the
said shield, as set forth.
5. The combination of a funnel, an endwise movable air-tube 10 mounted
therein and extending through the funnel-spout and provided with means for
limiting its downward movement, a stop mounted upon the lower end of said
air-tube and of a larger diameter than the interior thereof, a washer 6 of soft
material mounted upon said stop for engaging the lower end of the spout when the
air-tube is drawn up, a downwardly-flaring piece 17 surrounding said tulle above
said washer and having its largest diameter about equal to that of the interior of
said spout, whereby as the air-tube is drawn up, said piece by entering the spout
may gradually stop the flow of liquid before the washer is seated against the spout,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
6. The combination of a funnel, an endwise movable air-tube 10 mounted
therein and extending through the funnel-spout and provided with means for
limiting its downward movement, a downwardly-tapering stop 16 mounted upon
the lower end of said air-tube and having its upper end of greater diameter than
the interior of said tube, a washer 6 of soft material mounted upon the upper
end of said stop 16 for closing against the end of the spout, a downwardly-flaring
piece 17 arranged above said washer for taking in the end of said spout, substán
tially as and for the purpose set forth.
7. The combination of a funnel, and endwise movable air-tube mounted in the

page_text: funnel and extending through the funnel-spout and provided with means for
limiting its upward movement, a guide or bridge-piece for said tube, a detachable
handle mounted upon the upper end of the air-tube and provided with an extension
adapted to engage with said guide or bridge-piece for limiting the downward
movement of the air-tube, as set forth.
8. The combination of a funnel, an endwise movable air-tube mounted in the
funnel and extending through the funnel-spout and provided with means for
limiting its upward and downward movements, a detachable handle having a
tubular extension fitting over the upper end of the air-tube and means for locking
the two together, as set forth.
9. The combination of a funnel, an endwise movable air-tube mounted in the
funnel and extending through the funnel-spout and provided with means for
limiting its upward and downward movements, said air-tube being provided at its
upper end with a lateral outlet opening, a removable handle having a tubular
extension adapted to fit over the upper end of said air-tube and provided with a
lateral opening adapted to register with the said outlet opening of the air-tube,
and a spring-latch for locking the handle to the air-tube when the two said
openings are brought into registration, as set forth.
10. The combination of a funnel, an air-tube mounted within the funnel and
having at its upper end a lateral outlet opening, a detachable handle provided
with a tubular extension adapted to fit over the upper end of said air-tube and
provided with a lateral opening adapted to register with the outlet of said air-tube,
means for locking the handle to said tube, and a deflector mounted upon
said tube adjacent to the lateral opening therein for returning the fluid to the
funnel-body, as set forth.
11. The combination of a funnel provided with means for automatically stopping
the flow of liquid from the funnel into the vessel when the liquid has reached a
given height therein, and an air seal consisting of a fluid-retaining body of
flexible material filled with fluid and adapted to seal the space between the funnel
and the mouth of the vessel, substantially as 'and for the purpose set forth.
12. The combination of a funnel, an annular air-seal surrounding the spout
of the funnel and comprising a fluid-retaining body with a flexible portion for
engaging the mouth of the vessel to be filled, and a holder for limiting the upward
movement of said seal on the spout, said holder being adjustable along the spout,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
13. The combination of a funnel, an endwise movable air-tube extending through
the funnel spout and having a limited range of movement, a stop mounted upon
the lower end of said air-tube below the end of the spout and having a diameter
larger than that of the interior of the spout and serving to close the end of the
spout when the air-tube is drawn up, a downwardly-flaring piece mounted upon
said air-tube above said stop for shedding the fluid evenly as it is discharged from
the spout, and a downwardly-tapering piece secured below said stop for per-
mitting the ready insertion of the funnel in the mouth of a vessel, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
14. The combination of a funnel, and an air-tube having its outlet provided with
a deflector for returning to the funnel-body any liquid that may escape therefrom
by the outward passage of the displaced air, sunstantially as and for the purpose
set forth.