CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FUNNELS FOR CON- DUCTING LIQUIDS INTO VESSELS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MAC INNES, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturing Chemist,
send greeting..
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twentieth day of April, in the sixth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Mac Innes, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said John Mac Innes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said John Mac Innes, my executors, administrators, 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 and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FUNNELS FOR CON-
DUCTING LIQUIDS INTO VESSELS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso, that I, the said John Maç Innes, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in, what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in Her 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Mac Innes; do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the mauner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say:-
My improvements consist, firstly, in applying to funnels an air or vent tube,
by means of which the air displaced in the process of filling a vessel is pre-
vented from obstructing the free admission of the liquid; secondly, in the
application of a valve as well as the air tube, in order to stop or retain any
portion of the liquid in the funnel whilst removing it from the filled vessel;
and, thirdly, in applying to funnels an air tube, in conjunction with another
tube, having a whistle attached, by which means warning is given to the
operator when the vessel is full, or nearly so, and thus prevent the loss arising
from overflow. In order that these improvements may be fully understood,
I have attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings representing each
of my improved funnels in section.
In Figure 1, a, a, a, is the air tube, bent so as to suit the form of the funnel,
one end being attached to an orifice 6 in the spout c of the funnel; d, d, is a
lapping of soft string or other substance, to cause the spout of the funnel to fit
closely the mouth of the vessel. The small orifice b for the escape of the air
is placed a short distance from the end of the spout, to prevent the descending
liquid from obstructing it. It will be seen by the arrangement, that as the
liquid is poured into the vessel the displaced air will escape by the orifice b
free and unobstructed by the liquid until such time as the liquid in rising covers
the orifice b. When this occurs no more air can escape, consequently no
further admission of liquid can take place, and any additional quantity poured
into the funnel will remain in it. This superabundant quantity of liquid would
have to be returned by lifting and inclining the vessel before removing the
funel; but in Figure 2 is shown the application of a valve, by which the liquid
will be retained in the funnel upon its removal from the vessel. e is a conical
valve fixed to the spout of the funnel, to which is attached a spindle f, f, pass-
ing up through the guides h, h. At i there is a screw cut in the spindle f, f,
which, working in the nut g, allows the valve to be raised or depressed at
pleasure. In filling large stone bottles this arrangement will be found very
useful. In Figure 3, a, a, is the air tube; k, k, the whistle tube; b, the
external opening to the air tube; 1, the opening to the whistle tube; m, the
whistle; p, an orifice in the air tube to allow the air to escape freely; n, an
opening or communication between the whistle and air tube (seen more clearly
in the enlarged section, Figure 4). The object of this communication is
to allow a portion of the air passing through the tube a, a, to escape by
the fissure in the whistle in an opposite direction to that which is passing

page_text: through the whistle tube, thereby preventing the whistle from sounding until
such time as the counteracting current is stopped by the liquid rising and
covering the orifice b. By this arrangement it will at once be seen that the
air while the vessel is filling has a free and unobstructed escape by the two
tubes a and k; but as soon as the liquid reaches the orifice b, warning is given
by the whistle, and the whistle will continue to sound until the orifice lis
covered by the liquid. The time during which warning is given by the whistle
will depend upon the distance between the two orifices 6 and l.
I would remark, in conclusion, that although these improvements may be
applied with advantage, either separately or united, to all sizes of funnels, I
generally apply the first and second improvement to the smaller description of
funnels, or such as are generally used for filling glass and stone bottles; and
the third improvement to the larger sizes, or such as are used for filling casks.
In. witness whereof, I, the said John Mac Innes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Seventeenth day of
October, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid John Mac Innes came
before our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Twentieth day of October, in the year above written.