IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS FOR DRAWING OFF AND MEASURING LIQUIDS
Year: 1884

page_text: DEPOTICATIVA
I, WILLIAM MORRISON, of 96 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, Commercial Traveller, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS FOR DRAWING OFF AND MEASURING LIQUIDS;" to be
as follows:-
This Invention consists of improvements in the construction of taps of the kind
employed for drawing off measured quantities of liquids, such as spirits, from casks
or other vessels.
The improved measuring tap consists of'a hollow spherical or cylindrical shell
divided by a partition into two compartments, and connected to the outer end of
an ordinary drawing-off tube or faucet, which enters the cask or vessel containing
the liquid. The spherical shell is formed with a central plain or tapered tubo, into
which is fitted a correspondingly formed plug provided with a handle outside. This
plug is formed with two L-shaped ports or ducts, the one in the part of the plug
near the top of the spherical or cylindrical shell or casing, and the other in a part
of the plug near the bottom. Opposite the L-shaped ducts corresponding slots or
orifices are formed in the central tube into which the plug is fitted, one orifice
above, and one below communicating with each compartment of the casing. The
tube or faucet connected to the cask opens to and communicates only with the
interior of the central tube by an inlet orifice, and when the plug is turned to
bring the upper L-shaped duct opposite this inlet orifice, the liquid flows from the
cask through the faucet, and through the L-shaped duct into one of the compart-
ments of the tap casing, which it fills, the lower orifice being then closed by the
plug, in which the lower L-shaped duct is formed to communicate with the orifice
opening from the opposite compartment.
If the plug be now turned to a position at right angles, or a quarter of a turn,
the L-shaped duct in the lower end of the plug will communicate with the orifice in
the compartment which has been filled, and the liquid will escape through that duct
to an outlet opening formed through the lower end of the plug, the quantity of liquid
drawn off being determined by the capacity of the compartment which thus serves
to measure the liquid.
By the same movement of the plug, the L-duct in the upper end will be brought
into position to convey the liquid from the cask into the opposite compartment
to fill it. When the plug is acain turned back the second compartment will be

page_text: emptied through the lower L-duct, while the first compartment will again be filled.
In this way one compartment is always filled and is ready for drawing off while the
other is filling
"
To permit of a record being taken of the quantity of liquid drawn off through
the tap, I fit in connection with the tap a device for registering the number of
times the plug bandlo has been turned. The registering device may be of any
kind commonly applied for similar purposes. In a convenient arrangement, a
toothed segment is formed on the handle or on the plug to gear into a wheel or
segment on a spindle carrying right and left pawls acting on ratchets which operate
a train of wheels, the spindles being carried through dials and provided with hands 1
or pointers which indicate the number of times the plug has been acted on and
consequently the number of gills, gallons, or other measure drawn off and measured
in the compartments of the top.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, WILLIAM MORRISON of 96 Buchanan Street Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, Commercial Traveller, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TAPS FOR DRAWING-OFF AND 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 consists of improvements in the construction of taps of the kind
employed for drawing-off measured quantities of liquids, such as spirits, from casks
or other vessels.
A modification of the improved tap is illustrated by the accompanying drawings
in which figure 1 is a vertical section showing the tap fitted in place in a cask.
Figure 2 is n sectional elevation at right angles to figure 1; figure 3 is a
horizontal section and figure 4 is a plan while figures 5, 6, and 7 show parts in
detail.
The improved measuring tap consists of a hollow spherical or cylindrical shell A
divided by a partition B into two compartments a a¹, and connected to the outer
end of an ordinary drawing-off tube or faucet G, which enters the cask or vessel D
containing the liquid. The spherical shell A is formed with a central plain or
tapered tube E into which is fitted a correspondingly formed plug F provided with
a handle G outside. This plug is formed with two L-shaped ports or ducts h h, h'h',
the one in the part of the plug F near the top of the spherical or cylindrical shell
or casings A, and the other in a part of the plug near the bottom. In the example
shown the plug F is hollow and the L-shaped ports are represented by ports at
right angles to each other communicating through the central chambers in the plug.
Opposite the L-shaped ducts or ports corresponding slots or orifices i¹, jj
are formed in the central tube E into which the plug F is fitted, one orifice i or i
above, and one j or j below communicating with each compartment a or a' of the
casing A. The tube or faucet C connected to the cask opens to and communicates
only with the interior of the central tube E by an inlet orifice c, and when the
plug F is turned to bring the upper L-shaped duct or port opposite this inlet
orifice c, the liquid flows from the cask through tho faucet, and through the L-shaped
duct or port into one a of the compartments of the tap casing A, which it fills,
the lower orifice ; being then closed by the plug F, in which the lower L-shaped
duct is formed to communicate with the orifico 1 opening from the opposite
compartment a. Figure 3 shows the position of the upper ports or orifices and
figure G the position of the lower ports or orifices.
If the plug be now turned to a position at right angles, or a quarter of a turn,
the L-shaped duct in the lower end of the plug F will communicate with the
orifice in the compartment a which has been filled, and the liquid will escape
through that duct to an outlet opening K formed through the lower end of the
plug, the quantity of liquid drawn-off, being determined by the capacity of the
compartment a which thus serves to measure the liquid.
By the same movement of the plug F the L-duct h in the upper end will be
brought into position to convey the liquid from the cask into the opposite compart-
ment a¹ to fill it. When the plug is again turned back the second compartment a¹