A NEW OR IMPROVED INSTRUMENT OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION FACILITATING THE INSERTION AND FIXING OF TAPS IN BARRELS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Smith Taylor, of Longdon Mills, near
Wellington, in the County of Salop, Miller, for the Invention of
"A NEW OR IMPROVED INSTRUMENT OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Smith Taylor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 13th July 1874.
I, RICHARD SMITH TAYLOR, of Longdon Mills, near Wellington, in
the County of Salop, Miller, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED INSTRUMENT OR APPARATUS
FOR FACILITATING
THE INSERTION AND FIXING OF TAPS IN BARRELS AND OTHER VESSELS," to be as
follows
-
In inserting and fixing a tap in a barrel or other vessel it is customary
to wrap around the conical pipe terminating the tap a strip of brown

page_text: paper or other packing material for the purpose of making the said
conical pipe fit the hole in the barrel or vessel air and water-tight. The
doing of this is troublesome, and frequently fails of its object, the coil of
brown paper or other packing material being frequently displaced in the
driving of the tap into the barrel.
The object of my Invention is to obviate these difficulties and to
facilitate the rapid and efficient introduction and fixing of taps into
barrels and other vessels.
.
My said Invention consists of a tubular conical collar of papier
mâché or other flexible material of a size and shape proper to fit the 1
conical tube of a tap, which said collar is placed upon the said conical
tube of the tap so as to cover that part of the said tube between its
shoulder or part of largest diameter and the perforations at its smaller
end, by which liquid passes from the barrel or vessel to the tap.
When a tap is provided with my Invention it may be inserted and ]
fixed in a barrel or vessel by placing it in the usual position against the
cork, and striking it two or three blows with a mallet or hammer. It
is in this way very quickly 'inserted and fixed in the barrel or vessel
without the least risk of failure or danger of leakage.
::
I prefer to make my Invention of the kind of papier mâché made 2
from pulp in the way in which cartridge cases are commonly made.
Instead of making my Invention of vegetable fibre it may be made
of wood, cork, leather, felt, gutter percha, or other flexible or yielding
packing material.
+
I make the said tubular conical collars of various sizes to suit various 2
sizes of tane

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Richard Smith Taylor, Her special
license that I, the said Richard Smith Taylor, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Smith
Taylor, 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 Inven-
tion for "A NEW OR IMPROVED INSTRUMENT AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING
THE INSERTION AND FIXING OF TAPS IN BARRELS OR OTHER VESSELS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I; the said Richard Smith Taylor, 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 Richard Smith Taylor, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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, that is to say :-
In inserting and fixing a tap in a barrel or other vessel it is customary
to wrap around the conical pipe terminating the tap a strip of brown
paper or other packing material for the purpose of making the said
conical pipe fit the hole in the barrel or vessel air and water-tight. The
doing of this is troublesome, and frequently fails of its object, the coil
of brown paper or other packing material being frequently displaced in
the driving of the tap into the barrel.
}
The object of my Invention is to obviate these difficulties and to
facilitate the rapid and efficient introduction and, fixing of taps into

page_text: My said Invention consists of a tubular conical collar made preferably
of paper of a size and shape proper to fit the conical tube of a tap, which
said collar is placed upon the said conical tube of the tap so as to cover
that part of the said tube between its shoulder or part of largest
diameter and the perforations at its smaller end, by which liquid passes
from the barrel or vessel to the tap.
When a tap is provided with 'my Invention it may be inserted and
fixed in a barrel or vessel by placing it in the usual position against the
cork, and striking it two or three blows with a mallet or hammer. It
is in this way very quickly inserted and fixed in the barrel or vessel
without the least risk of failure or danger of leakage.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in perspective, end
elévation, and longitudinal section a tubular conical collar made of
strong brown paper according to my Invention; and Figure 2 represents
the blank or piece of brown paper from which the said tubular conical
collar is made.
A pile of blanks of the shape of Figure 2 may be conveniently cut
out by means of cutting tools worked in a press, but the said blanks
may be otherwise made. The conical collar, Figure 1, is made by
rolling the blank, Figure 2, upon a conical mandril having the same
dimensions as the interior of the collar to be produced, the outer end of
the blank being secured to the tubular collar rolled upon the mandril by
means of paste or other adhesive material.
It is preferred to cover with paste about one half of the blank,
Figure 2, the rolling up of the blank upon the mandril being commenced
on the unpasted half of the blank; or the whole of the overlapping
surface of the blank may be covered with paste so as to give great
solidity to the collar produced. A collar thus produced has the same
thickness or bulk of material throughout, that is, the material at the
larger end of the collar has the same thickness as that at the smaller
end, as represented in the sectional view.
Figure 3. represents in elevation a beer tap, to which a tubular conical
collar is applied; and Figure 4 represents in section the said tap fixed
in a cask or vessel by means of the said conical collar; In the said

page_text: J.M
Figures 3 and 4 the conical collar placed on the tube or barrel c of the
tap is marked a. When the tube or barrel c of the tap is driven into
the hole in the cask or vessel b, the tubular conical collar a fits the
said hole.c with great accuracy, and constitutes an air and water-tight
packing to the said barrel. In consequence of the said collar a fitting
closely upon and being supported by the barrel or tube of the tap there
is no tendency to the displacement of the said collar a during the driving
home of the barrel or tube c in the cask or vessel, or to the rupturing of
the said collar.
:
When a single conical collar is not sufficiently thick to form a tight
fitting packing for the hole in the barrel two (or more) of the said
collars of the same or different sizes may be combined together in the
manner illustrated in elevation in Figure 5, and section in Figure 6, that
is, one collar marked a is fitted within the other collar marked a², so as
thereby to double the thickness of the tubular conical packing.
In order to prevent the action of the water or liquid from injuring the
conical tubular collars a the blanks from which they are made may be
treated with a waterproofing solution, or the paper from which the said
blanks are cut may be waterproofed by any of the ordinary and well-
known processes.
I make my Invention of brown or other paper, and of the kind of
papier mâché made from pulp in the way in which cartridge cases are
sometimes made, and also of felt, cloth, and other flexible material.
I make the said tubular conical collars of various sizes to suit various
sizes of taps.
ย
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
claim as my Invention, the new or improved instrument or apparatus
for facilitating the insertion and fixing of taps in barrels and other
) vessels herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, a tubular conical collar made of the materials
herein-before enumerated to be applied to the conical tube of the tap,
the said collar having the same thickness of material at one end as at
the other end, and fitting closely upon the conical tube of the tap, and
3 constituting when the tap is driven into a barrel, cask, or other vessel

page_text: an air and water-tight packing between the said tap and the hole in the
said barrel, cask, or vessel.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Smith Taylor; have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of January, in
the year of our Lord One- thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
RICHARD SMITH TAYLOR. (L.S.)
Witness,
JOHN TAYLOR,
Beach House,
Admaston,
n': 'Wellington,
Salop.