IMPROVEMENTS IN COCKS OR TAPS FOR MEASURING LIQUIDS to be as follows:-
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JAMES DALGAIRNS 2 Stafford Place, Buckingham Gate, S.W. Mechanical
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN COCKS OR TAPS FOR MEASURING LIQUIDS to be as follows:-
"
This invention is designed to afford a check and prevent mistakes in accounts
and for obviating the necessity of gauging, and at the same time greatly facilitating
the keeping of a correct stock account, of wines, spirits and other liquids. It
consists in the combination of a shell or vessel with a two or more chambered
plug, with registering mechanism which records the quantity of liquid passed
through it.
The said shell and plug can be made any convenient size, and on top there is an
air chamber which also contains the registering mechanism.
The chambers of the said plug are each made to take in a given quantity of
liquid, both ends of the plug being closed, thus allowing the chamber only that
comes in front of the supply to be charged, the supply being always open to charge
the empty chamber immediately it arrives at this aperture. To this is also attached
an air vent with stand pipe, the outlet being closed by the wings or webs of the
plug. At the bottom of the shell, there is a valve-box, the valve opening and
closing by means of a loose spindle which passes through the centre of the whole
length of the plug spindle and presses on the end of a lever which works on a
centre pin, the other end of the lever being let into a slot in the valve spindle.
To this valve is attached a spring which closes it when the pressure is taken off
the lever. The top of the plug spindle is provided with a handle which works the
whole apparatus simultaneously and can only turn the plug in one direction, and
so prevent it passing liquor without registering. The plug is also provided with a
ratchet and pawl to prevent it being reversed. The said handle is fitted into a cap
having a slot through it and at one side of the cap the handle is fitted as a binge
joint, the slot being sufficiently high to allow of its moving up and down thus
acting on the loose spindle through the centre of the plug which presses on the
outlet valve lever and so lifts this valve to discharge. The registering mechanism
T
A

page_text: consists of toothed wheels and dials arranged in combination with the said plug
spindle in any convenient manner or as follows-
A pin is fixed on the said spindle which gears once in each rotation with one
dial wheel, which registers units and tens, and moves another dial wheel after
making ten revolutions which registers bundreds, and this again in its turn moves
another dial wheel which registers thousands and so on-The dials are fixed and
let into the cover of the shell through which the plug spindle passes. This is also
the air chamber cover, the air being admitted through an air hole placed in any
convenient position in the chamber and a groove is made in the shell to give a free
air passage to the plug chamber when it is in front of the outlet valve. The dials
are provided with hands to point the numbers marked thereon and are protected by
a glass cover so that they cannot be tampered with and no dirt can get to them.
The operation is as follows: The shell or vessel is screwed into a cask or a supply
pipe the plug being free to move in one direction only by means of the handle
attached on the top of the plug spindle one chamber being always charged and
ready to carry round to the delivery side and by pressing the handle down the
outlet valve will open a free passage for the liquid to be drawn off, and should part
of the contents, of one chamber be required by releasing the handle the valve will
close of itself As these chambers are made to hold a measured quantity one turn
of the-plug. registers the total. In the event of part the contents of a chamber being
only required to be drawn off, before the plug can be turned round for the following
chamber, and the handle has to be pressed down to release the plug from a catch
which comes in contact with the outlet valve lever by this means the remaining
liquid passes out before bringing round the next chamber.
By this it will be seen that the apparatus measures correctly the quantity
registered on the dials. It requires no setting or winding up, the quantity, of
liquid can be read off daily or when convenient and as no liquid can be drawn
off without moving the handle a safe check is here found to prevent mistakes.
Modifications in detail can of course be made.
Dated this 8th dow of November 19OA

page_text: COLORES COOKS or Taps for measuring Liquids.
I JAMES DALGAIRNS 2 Stafford Place, Buckingham Gate, S.W. Mechanical
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
COCKS OR TAPS FOR MEASURING LIQUIDS" and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This Invention is designed to afford a check and prevent mistakes in accounts
and for obviating the necessity of guaging and at the same time greatly facilitating
the keeping of a correct stock account of wines spirits and other liquids as will be
'understood by the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a back view of the apparatus without the pipe G; Figure 2 is a
vertical section from front to back; Figure 3 a plan showing the registering
dials; Figure 4 an inverted plan of bottom of tap; Figure 5 a sectional plan on
line z. z. Figure 2; Figure 6 a plan of the outlet valve lever K and Figure 7 a
front view of valve I. It consists in the combination of a shell or vessel A. with
a two or more chambered plug B with registering mechanism C which records the
quantity of liquid passed through it.
The said shell and plug can be made any convenient size and on top there is an
air chamber D which also contains the registering mechanism. The chambers of
the said plug are each made to take in a given quantity of liquid both ends of the
plug being closed as shown at B³, thus allowing that chamber only which comes in
front of the supply E to be charged the supply being always open to charge the
empty chamber immediately it is turned to this aperture. An air vent F with
stand pipe G is also provided the outlet being closed by the wings or webs of the
plug when the inlet E is similarly closed.
As will be seen by reference to Figure 2 this stand pipe G is perforated with
small holes G¹ at short intervals all the way up the pipe reaching to the highest
level to which the liquor attains in the cask.. When this pipe is placed inside the
cask or vessel it is connected in any convenient manner with the air vent F and
carried up to the required height but is shown broken off at G. When the pipe is
placed outside the cask or vessel it is enclosed in a second and larger pipe G'
leaving a small annular space G³ between the two pipes. The liquor of course
rises in the pipe G practically to the same height as in the cask and when the
chamber in the plug B is being filled the air passes by the vent F into the pipe G
escapes in small quantities through the holes G' and bubbles up through the liquor
in the cask or in the annular space G³ and so escapes instead of rising in an
unbroken column to the top of pipe G which I find in practice it has not power to
do. The object of the holes Q' is to provide an escape for the air in small quantities
as it is found in practice that it does not force its way through the column of liquor
in the pipe G without the assistance of the holes G₁ or some equivalent device.
This part of the invention is applicable in other instances where the escape of
air during the influx of fluids of greater specific gravity has to be provided for.

page_text: At the bottom of the shell there is a valve box H the valve I opening and
closing by means of a loose spindle J which passes through the centre of the whole
length of the plug B and presses on the end of a lever K which works on a pin L,
the other end of the lever being let into a slot in the stem of the valve I. This
valve is governed by a spring M which closes it when the pressure is taken off the
lever K. The top of the plug spindle B' is provided with a handle N which works
the whole apparatus simultaneously and can only turn the plug in one direction
by reason of the ratchet teeth B' and pawl B' and so prevents it passing liquor
without registering.
'
The said handle is jointed in a cap B³ having a slot Bª through it in which the
handle works the slot being sufficiently deep to allow of its moving up and down
and when depressed acting on the loose spindle J which presses on the outlet valve
lever K and so lifts this valve to discharge. The registering mechanism consists of
toothed wheels and dials arranged in combination with the said plug spindle in
any convenient manner or as follows. A pin O is fixed on the said spindle which
gears once in each rotation with one dial wheel, which registers units and tons,
and moves another dial wheel after making ten revolutions which registers hundreds,
and this again in its turn moves another dial wheel which registers thousands and
so on. The dials are fixed and let into the cover of the shell through which the
plug spindle passes. This is also the air chamber cover, the air being admitted
through an air hole P placed in any convenient position in the chamber and a groove Q
is made in the shell to give a free air passage to the plug chamber when it is in
front of the outlet valve.
The dials are provided with hands to point the numbers marked thereon and are
protected by a glass cover so that they cannot be tampered with and no dirt can
get to them.
The operation is as follows:-The shell or vessel A is screwed into or onto a
cask or a supply pipe the plug being free to move in one direction only by means
of the handle N as above described one chamber being always charged and ready
to carry round to the delivery side and by pressing the handle down the outlet
valve I will open a free passage for the liquid to be drawn off through the spout R
and should part of the contents of one chamber be required, by releasing the handle
the valve will close of itself. As these chambers are made to hold a measured
quantity one turn of the plug registers the total.
Before the plug B can be turned round for the following chamber the handle N
has to be pressed down to release the pins or catches S of the plug from contact
with the outlet valvo lever K; by this means the remaining liquid passes out
before the next chamber faces the inlet E.
By this it will be seen that the apparatus measures correctly the quantity
registered on the dials. It requires no setting or winding up, the quantity of
liquid can be read off daily or when convenient and as no liquid can be drawn off
without moving the handle a safe check is here found to prevent mistakes.
Modifications in detail can of course be made.
.
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. In an apparatus such as described the combination with the shell or vessel
such as A having an inlet E and an outlet H of a plug B divided into two or
more chambers and adapted to turn in one direction only so as to bring the said
chambers successively opposite the inlet for charging and the outlet for discharging
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. In an apparatus such as described the combination with a shell A and
plug B of a valve I adapted to close the delivery spout R except when removed
from its seat by the action of the operating handle N substantially as specified.
3. In an apparatus such as described the combination with the plug B having
the catches S or their mechanical equivalent of a valve I whose operating lever Ķ

page_text: is adopted to engage with said catches S in such manner that the plug cannot be
turned so as to present more than one chamber to the inlet without opening the
said valve the whole constructed and operating substantially in the manner and
for the purpose specified.
4. In an apparatus such as described the combination with the plug B of a
spindle J passing through it and resting upon the operating lever of the delivery
valve and adapted to be operated by the handle N substantially as specified.
5. In an apparatus such as described the combination with the plug B of
handle N which serves the double purpose of turning the plug and opening the
delivery valve substantially as specified.
6. In an apparatus such as described the method of permitting the escape of air
from the chamber of the plug during filling by means of the passage F stand
pipe G and of the influx of air to the chamber while emptying by means of the
opening Pair chamber D and groove or recess Q substantially as specified.
7. The method of facilitating the escape of the air during the influx of fluids of
greater specific gravity which consists substantially in providing in or in connection
with a pipe such as G means such as the perforations G' whereby the column of air
may be broken and may escape from the pipe in small quantities instead of having
to ascend unbroken to the top of the pipe.
Dated this 8th day of August 1885.