IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND MEASURING BEER AND OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Cuthbert Burnett, of Spennymoor, in the County
of Durham, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR
APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND MEASURING BEER AND OTHER LIQUIDS."
Sealed the 6th December 1870, and dated the 6th October 1870..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Cuthbert Burnett at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th October 1870.
I, CUTHBERT BURNETT, of Spennymoor, in the County of Durham,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND MEASURING BEER AND OTHER LIQUIDS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention for raising and measuring liquids is more particularly
intended to supersede the present beer engines, and is as follows:-I
O make use of a large vacuum vessel exhausted of air when requisite and
placed under the counter or other convenient place. A pump, double or

page_text: single acting, and suitable for exhausting the aforesaid vacuum vessel to
which it may be attached, is by preference, placed under the counter,
and worked by a treadle or other suitable means. The air being
exhausted the apparatus is ready for use, and the quantity of liquid it
will draw is only limited by the capacity of the vacuum vessel, which
may serve for any number of lifts or counter machines. Instead of a
large vacuum vessel exhausted occasionally by an air pump, the latter
may be made so large as to dispense with the vacuum vessel, or each
dome may have its air pump.
I will now proceed to describe a counter machine in connection with
the vacuum vessel. Its lower portion, which is a brass or pewter casting,
is fixed to the counter by a flange, and has a passage communicating with
the beer barrel or spirit tank, and with the upper portion or dome, which
is a closed vessel, by preference, made of glass, and joined air-tight to the
lower portion or stand. A self-acting valve opening towards the dome
serves to close connection between barrel and dome. The stand has
also a cock with several passages through; one when in a certain position
connecting the vacuum vessel and the interior of the dome with each
other; when in another position, however, connecting the interior of
dome with a vent hole so as to admit air. Another passage corre-
sponding with the position last named for the former passage serves to
draw off the beer from the dome. The communication between the
vacuum vessel and the dome consists of an upright pipe in the dome
itself, the outlet of which is closed by a valve in connection with a float
sliding on the said upright pipe.
The action of the counter machine is as follows:-Turn the cock so
as to form connection between dome and vacuum vessel, the rarefaction
of the space in the dome will immediately cause the beer to rise up
through the aforesaid self-acting valve and into the dome; turn the
cock to its other position and the connection between dome and vacuum
vessel will be closed, while the vent hole will communicate with the
upright pipe in the dome; the outlet for the beer will be opened at
the same time, and the self-acting valve closes. As the beer flows off
air enters and takes its place, the float in its descent opening the valve
in connection with it.
For measuring liquids I propose to use tubes of different lengths
leading direct to the tap, and corresponding with different quantities
to be drawn off. The float may be either cylindrical or spherical,

page_text: but for measuring I prefer cylindrical.
cock are modified accordingly to suit.
to it.
The passages through the
An index may also be fitted
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Cuthbert Burnett in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CUTHBERT
BURNETT, of Spennymoor, in the County of Durham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of Oct", in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Cuthbert Burnett, Her special licence, that I,
the said Cuthbert Burnett, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Cuthbert Burnett, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS
FOR RAISING AND MEASURING BEER AND OTHER LIQUIDS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Cuthbert Burnett, 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 immediately after the date of, the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Cuthbert Burnett, 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
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, that is to
say:
My Invention of raising and measuring liquids is more particularly
intended to supersede the present beer engines, and is as follows:-I

page_text: make use of a vacuum vessel exhausted of air when requisite and
placed under the counter or other convenient place. A pump, double
or single acting, and suitable for exhausting the aforesaid vacuum vessel
to which it may be attached is by preference placed under the counter
and worked by a treadle or other suitable means. The air being
exhausted the apparatus is ready for use. Instead of a large vacuum
vessel exhausted occasionally by an air pump, the latter may be made
so large as to dispense with the vacuum vessel, or each dome may have
its air pump.
I will now proceed to describe a counter machine in connection with
the vacuum vessel. Its lower portion which is a brass or pewter
casting is fixed to the counter by a flange, or mounted on a case, and has
a passage communicating with the beer barrel or spirit tank and with
the upper portion or dome, which is a closed vessel, by preference, made
of glass and joined air-tight to the lower portion or stand. A self-acting
valve opening towards the dome serves to close connection between
barrel and dome. The stand has also a cock with several passages, one
when in a certain position connecting the vacuum vessel and the interior
of the dome with each other, when in another position, however,
connecting the interior of dome with a vent hole so as to admit air.
Another passage corresponding with the position last named for the
former passage serves to draw off the beer from the dome. The com-
munication between the vacuum vessel and the dome consists of an
upright pipe in the dome itself, the outlet of which is closed by a
valve in connection with a float sliding on the said upright pipe.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation partly in
section of so much of apparatus or machinery constructed according to
my Invention as will be necessary to show one manner in which I prefer
to carry the Invention into effect; Figure 2 is a vertical section of the
dome, tap, and pipes in connection therewith, drawn on a somewhat
larger scale; Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the line x, y, of
Figure 2.
A is an air pump of ordinary or of any known construction and single
or double acting. It may be placed in any convenient position, for
example, below a counter or in a cellar, and it may be worked by a fly
wheel or by a treadle or other convenient means; B is an air vessel
wherein a vacuum is formed by means of the air pump A, this vessel
may also be placed in any convenient position and may be made of any

page_text: suitable material such as of copper, brass, cast or wrought iron as
circumstances may require; a is a pipe leading from the air vessel B to
the tap c whereby communication between the air vessel and the tap is
maintained, a detached view of this tap is given at Figure 4; e, f, is the
air passage
therein drilled, by preference, at right angles to the centre;
g is the liquid passage, and d is the vent hole. Into the air pipe a there
is another pipe a¹ screwed or otherwise connected therewith, carrying at
top a valve o which in turn cuts off or opens communication between
the air vessel B and the interior of the dome M about to be described.
Sometimes this valve may be dispensed with where a very large vacuum
vessel can be used; N is a float on the tube a¹ which may be cylindrical
or spherical. The dome M is made, by preference, of glass, but any
other material may be employed, it is secured to the base or stand by
screwed collars or otherwise, and while at the same time being air-tight
it is capable of being easily removed for cleaning%; P is the supply pipe
leading from the cask or other source of supply from which the liquid
is required to be drawn; K is the suction valve therein; R is the
delivery pipe, and S a wheel for turning the tap to draw or to cut off the
liquid, or instead of a wheel a lever or handle may be used. The action
is as follows: The air from the air vessel B is exhausted by means of
One
the air pump A, and this done the apparatus is ready for work.
air vessel will serve for any desired number of lifts, and the quantity of
liquid it will draw after being once exhausted is only limited by the
capacity of the air vessel. In the position shown in the Drawings the
tap is shut and the air passage is in that position necessary for placing
the machine and air vessel in direct communication so that the liquid
rises up the pipe P fills the dome M and raises the float N which shuts
the valve o and cuts off communication between the air vessel and the
dome. To draw the liquid from the dome by the delivery pipe R turn
the handle or wheel S of the tap c, air is immediately admitted into the
dome by reason of the angular air passage in the tap c having changed
its position (e is immediately opposite the vent hole d, and f takes up
the position of e) while e is travelling from the position shown in the
Drawing to the vent hole the vacuum is being gradually destroyed by
the grooved passage there shewn in advance, liquid then flows from the
dome through the passage g and delivery pipe R; by turning the handle
or wheel S in the contrary direction the passages in the tap are brought
to their original position, the float N rises and shuts the valve o.
this way liquid may be raised and drawn so long as there is any vacuum
In

page_text: in the air vessel, it being not necessary to make a vacuum each time i
is required to fill the dome. In the end or side of the tap there i
a pin to regulate the distance the tap travels to open or close the
supply.
Figure 5 shows an apparatus constructed according to another arrange
ment where the air pump is made so large as not to necessitate a large
vacuum vessel. It will be observed that I here work the air pump A
by means of a treadle T. This is done each time beer is to be drawn.
Figure 6 is a vertical cross section of the counter machine drawn on a
larger scale. M is the glass dome. The pipe a¹ in the same is here
bored out larger for some distance down, and in that enlarged portion a
pipe a fits and works, the upper part of which is arranged in a manner
similar to that described with reference to Figure 2, that is forming the
seat for the valve o, which is connected to the float N in this case by
means of two light strips of metal passing one on each side of the
pipe a". The inner tube a¹¹ and outer tube a¹ are connected by a piece
of flexible tubing / fastened to each. On the top of the glass dome M
there is another smaller dome or tube M¹, in the upper part of which
there is fitted a valve p, by which means air may be admitted to the
interior of the dome through the vent hole v. When the beverage rises
in the dome because of the vacuum produced there by the air pump the
float is raised, thereby shutting the valve o, but the float continues to
rise till the tube all comes in contact with the valve P and opens the
same, whereby air is admitted to the dome. The communication between
air pump and dome has in the meantime been cut off by turning the
cock c in another direction, and the beverage can now descend and be
drawn off into the glass or measure.
Figure 5 shews the general arrangement of the apparatus when
worked according to the manner just described. M is the dome; 8, the
handle on the cock c. The machine is here mounted on a wood stand
on the counter, and the air pump A with treadle T and vacuum vessel B
are arranged directly under the counter. The air pump is of ordinary
construction, that is, with the valves at the bottom. To the under side
of the piston, which is made with ordinary cup leathers, is fixed a guide
rod working in a tube, the upper part of which serves as a guide.
Instead of one suction valve I prefer to use two, one under the other,
as shewn.
The suction tube t reaches nearly to the bottom of the
vacuum vessel so that in the event of any liquid getting into it (which

page_text: may occur when the water that is generally kept on the top of the piston
for keeping the cup leathers tight and supple should pass through) it
may be raised and ejected by the pump. a is the pipe leading to the
machine on counter. The pump treadle is arranged in such a way as to
give a maximum stroke for the pump with a minimum lift of foot with
a short lever. To accomplish this the foot board of the treadle is
attached by one end to the other end of the pump lever x which turns
on the fulcrum, pin, or weigh shaft u; y is a fixed eccentric fitted with
strap and rod to, the outer end of which is jointed to the board T at or
about the middle. The consequence of this arrangement is that the
board T is quite or nearly level in all positions which materially reduces
the rise of it. The pump lever may have a weight Z or a spring attached
to it for the purpose of carrying the bucket down, thereby raising the
footboard ready for use. Two separate sorts of liquors may be drawn at
one and the same time into the same dome by using two suction pipes,
and liquors thereby can be equally mixed or unequally, as required, by
using two suction pipes of equal or unequal diameter, as the case may
be, with taps for the same; for example, "stout" and "bitter beer"
may be mixed in this way in equal or unequal proportions, and drawn
from one and the same domc.
The dome may be ornamented as fancy or taste may dictate. I make
it by preference of glass in order that the liquid may be seen; gas jets
may be placed round the dome, and lighted at night, and the glass may
be cut in an endless variety of ways. The dome may be cased or boxed
up to contain ice for cooling the liquid.
Liquid is measured by marking the dome with marks for the quantity
of liquid required; for example, the space between two marks is
calculated to contain a certain amount of liquid, and as the supply can
be cut off with great facility the measuring may be accomplished with the
greatest nicety by allowing the liquid to fall from one mark to the other
according to the quantity required to be drawn.
According to another arrangement I use tubes of different lengths
leading directly to the tap, and corresponding with different quantities
required to be drawn off. Figure 7 is a view in vertical section and
Figure 8 in plan section of this arrangement. It is particularly applicable
for drawing and measuring wines and spirits. The air passage in this
tap is somewhat differently constructed, although substantially the same
as the tap first described. The delivery is shewn as divided into four

page_text: parts, but it may be divided into more if required. Upon each division
there is a tube of different length, 1, 2, 3, and 4. It will be seen that the
tap has only to travel a short distance for wine or spirit to escape at
No. 1, next at No. 2, then at No. 3, and, lastly, at No. 4, or at as many
more as there may be fitted. Before the wine or spirit delivery is opened
the air suction must be cut off, thus that part of the air passage marked h
is immediately opposite the air vent, and air is thus admitted and the
vacuum destroyed before the liquid can flow. Air is admitted at all
times when the tap is open. This tap may, however, if desired be made
An index for registering the quantity of
as the other before described.
liquid drawn may be employed.
In order to expel the liquid more rapidly from the dome I sometimes
make a pipe connection between the air pump eduction passage and
the vent hole in the drawing-off cock, whereby the air which is expelled
from the pump in the down stroke of the same is forced into the dome
when the cock is opened.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I lay no claim
simply to the employment of an air vessel, from which the air is
exhausted by an air pump to create a vacuum to raise liquids; but I
claim the combination of such air vessel and pump with apparatus or
machinery of taps, valves, floats, and domes, substantially in manner
and for the purposes herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, together with any mere modifications thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Cuthbert Burnett, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
CUTHBERT BURNETT. (L.S.)