Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Raising and Discharging Beer, Spirits, and other Liquids.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th June, 1891-Accepted, 25th July, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Raising and
Discharging Beer, Spirits, and other Liquids.
I, HENRY SUTCLIFFE, of the firm of Wright Sutcliffe & Sons, of Adelaide
Street, Halifax, in the County of York, Brass Founders and Finishers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
My invention relates to a new method of and apparatus for raising and discharging
beer and other liquids by means of compressed air made to press on the surface of
such liquid contained in an enclosed cask or vessel for the purpose of discharging
the same through a tap, the object of such apparatus being to raise the beer or
liquid from a cellar or vault up to the level of a bar or counter at which the liquid
is retailed; and another object is to perform this operation with the least possible
disturbance of the liquid, either in the beer cask or on its way to the discharge tap.
Various arrangements of apparatus have been used for effecting the same
purpose, but they have been found liable to derangement, or to be otherwise
defective.
Some methods employed have consisted of vessels containing air and water
separately, but my invention consists in the employment of one vessel only for both
air and water in such a way that every time the discharge tap is opened, the com-
pressed air forces the beer from the barrel, leaving a lessened quantity of air in the
compression chamber, the place of which is taken by an equal quantity of water.
Thus in carrying out my invention I employ a suitable size of air-tight cask or
vessel connected at the bottom thereof by means of a pipe to a water cistern having
a ball tap acting in any well known manner. The upper end of the air tight cask
is connected by an air pipe to the beer barrels, suitable intervening taps being
employed between the air-tight vessel and the beer barrels, which are connected by
piping to taps in the bar where the beer is to be raised and retailed; therefore on
the discharge taps being turned on and beer drawn therefrom, the compressed air
lying between the upper surface of the water and the top of the air-tight vessel
passes through the pipes and presses upon the surface of the beer in the
barrels, which is forced out of the discharge tap, and in proportion as compressed
air leaves the air-tight vessel, water from the cistern takes its place, whereby the
pressure of air is automatically maintained throughout; but when the discharge
taps have been used to such an extent as to exhaust the compressed air from its
chamber, the water will have risen to such a height as to make it necessary to stop
the drawing of any more beer, otherwise the water would pass through the air
outlet valve; therefore to prevent this I employ near the top of the combined water
and air vessel a " tell-tale in the form of a ball cock, which at this point shuts off
'the air outlet tap and stops the whole of the apparatus. The attendant will now
open suitable taps or valves, and discharge the water from the vessel, so as to
commence again with the refilling of the vessel with air and water.
Dated this 30th day of September 1890.
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Raising and
Discharging Beer, Spirits, and other Liquids.
I, HENRY SUTCLIFFE, of the firm of Wright Sutcliffe & Sons, of Adelaide
Street, Halifax, in the County of York, Brass Founders and Finishers, 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 new method of and apparatus for raising and discharging
beer and other liquids, by means of compressed air made to press on the surface of
such liquid contained in an enclosed cask or vessel, for the purpose of discharging
the same through a tap, the object of such apparatus being to raise the beer or
liquid from a cellar or vault up to the level of a "bar" or counter at which the liquid
is retailed; and another object is to perform this operation with the least possible
disturbance of the liquid, either in the beer cask or on its way to the discharge tap.
Such being the nature and object of my invention, I will now proceed to describe
the same more fully, and for that purpose make reference to the accompanying
drawing, which is a geometrical elevation of a refreshment bar, shewing an
arrangement of barrels in the cellar or vault, together with my improved apparatus
for raising the beer, wherein A represents an air-tight cylinder partly filled with
water and partly filled with air. The said water is supplied to the bottom of the
cylinder A from any well known form of water cistern B, placed at a higher
altitude, a tap C being employed to shut off the connection between cylinder A
and the water cistern B. The beer barrels D are connected to the upper end of
the air vessel by means of the pipes E, intervening taps F being employed to shut
off the connection, when required, between the air vessel and the beer barrels,
which barrels, by means of pipes G, are connected to ordinary discharge taps H in
the "bar therefore on any one of the said discharge taps being turned on, the
compressed air lying between the upper surface of the water in the vessel A and
the barrels, will press upon the surface of the beer therein, and so force the beer
out of the discharge tap, and in proportion as compressed air leaves the air tight
vessel, water from the cistern B takes its place, whereby the pressure of air in the
vessel is automatically maintained throughout, but when the discharge taps have
been used to such an extent as to exhaust the compressed air from its vessel, the
water will have risen to such a height therein as to make it necessary to stop the
drawing off of any more beer, otherwise the water would pass through the air
outlet valves into the pipes; but to prevent this, I employ, near the top of the
combined water and air vessel, a tell-tale in the form of a ball cock I which will
operate at a given point and shut off the air outlet tap J and so stop the working
of the whole of the apparatus. The attendant, however, will then shut off taps F,
and C, and open taps K and L, the former letting in air to the vessel and the latter
allowing the water to escape. On the cylinder A being emptied of water, the
taps K and L are closed, and the water inlet tap C opened, as are also taps J
and F, when the air in the cylinder will again force the beer out of the barrels, as
already described.
"
In first commencing to use the apparatus the cylinder A is supplied with water
to a given height and in order to cushion or compress the said water so that it is
ready for immediate action, I prefer (though this is not absolutely necessary) to
pump air into the top of the vessel at point M, this being effected by any well
known form of pump, a pressure gauge N at the top of the cylinder indicating the
pressure within the said vessel.
By the employment of a combined air and water vessel such as A, from which
the air is forced by the pressure of water, beer casks and the like can be emptied
without the use of pumps; whilst the use of a tell-tale or ball tap automatically

page_text: tops the apparatus when the water reaches a given height in the cylinder, and as
the apparatus is simple it is not easily deranged, and is perfectly self-acting and
reliable in all its operations.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The combination with an air and water vessel of a tell-tale or ball tap, for auto-
matically shutting off the air when the water has reached a given height, all
substantially as described and employed for purposes set forth.
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.
Dated this 25rd day of June 1991.
TASKER & CROSSLEY,
Halifax, Agents.