AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TAPPING BEER CASKS AND OTHER LIKE VESSELS CONTAINING LIQUIDS UNDER PRESSURE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
..Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR TAPPING BEER CASKS AND OTHER LIKE VESSELS CONTAINING
LIQUIDS UNDER PRESSURE."-A communication from abroad by Thomas
Marsh, Stephen Perry, and John Balckom, all of Central Falls, Smith-
fold Rhode Island in the Iinited Stator of A manice
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd November 1866.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. &,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TAPPING BEER CASKS AND OTHER LIKE VESSELS
CONTAINING LIQUIDS UNDER PRESSURE," a communication, to be as follows:-
The method commonly employed in tapping beer casks and similar vessels
is first partially to force in the plug which closes the hole formed to receive the
tap or sprigot; the end of the said sprigot is then placed against the plug and
is forced into the said hole, driving the plug before it into the interior of the
cask. It often happens that the pressure exerted by the beer or other liquid
is so great as to resist the introduction of the spigot, especially if the latter

page_text: is not exactly fitted to the hole, in which case the contents of the cask will
escape.
This Invention consists chiefly in the novel construction of a faucet whereby
its introduction into a cask or other vessel can be conveniently and quickly
effected, and the difficulties above mentioned are entirely avoided.
A ring or collar by preference made of cast iron or other metal is placed
round the plug; the said ring may be fitted into a recess or countersink
formed in the head of the cask, and is secured to the said head by screws or
other convenient means; the interior of this ring or collar is furnished with a
screw thread. The faucet has a longitudinal perforation or passage through
its centre, and is provided with a stop-cock. This faucet differs from an
ordinary faucet in being made in two parts, which are connected by means of
a screw spindle, the joint between the two parts being furnished with a com-
pressible and elastic packing. The first portion of the said faucet, or the
portion to be inserted into the cask, is by preference formed with a chamber
near its base, and has an extension which is tapped into the collar fixed on
the head of the cask. The screw spindle attached to the second portion of
the faucet is furnished with one or more radial apertures which extend from
its surface into the central perforation of the faucet; these apertures form the
communication between the interior of the, cask and the said perforation, The
chamber at the base of the faucet may be provided with a filter.
When a cask is to be tapped the first portion of the faucet is secured fast
to the collar, and the second portion is placed on the end of the first portion.
By turning the second portion the screw spindle (with which the two portions
are united) will draw the said two portions together; the said screw will also
press against the end of the plug in the cask and will force the said 'plug into
the interior thereof by the time the two parts of the faucet are in the proper
relative position to allow a communication between the interior of the cask
and the central perforation of the faucet; the elastic packing will then be
sufficiently compressed to make a tight joint, and the contents of the cask
can, by means of the stop-cock, be drawn off at pleasure.
ן
'i. 1.
A modification of this Invention consists in providing the screw spindle
with a cutting bit by which the apparatus bores out its own tap hole; in this
case the said spindle may be made shorter than in the modification of the
apparatus first described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd May 1867.****
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.. i :
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence that I, the said William
Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Robert Lake, 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 Invention' for
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TAPPING BEER CASKS AND OTHER LIKE VESSELS
CONTAINING LIQUIDS UNDER PRESSURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 William Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings:-
The method commonly employed in tapping beer casks and similar vessels is
first. to force into the distance perhaps of half the thickness of the head of the
cask the plug which is always inserted in a hole made in one of the plates for
this purpose; the faucet or spigot is then placed with its end.against the
plug, and with a well-directed blow is forced into the said hole, driving the
plug, before it into the interior of the cask. It often happens that the pressure
exerted by the beer or other liquid is so great as to resist the introduction of:

page_text: case the contents of the cask win escape.
This Invention consists chiefly in the novel construction of the faucet
whereby its insertion into a cask or other vessel can be conveniently and
quickly effected, and the difficulties above mentioned are entirely overcome.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an exterior side view of my improved apparatus; Figure 2 is an
end view of the same; Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the said appa-
ratus; Figure 4 is a section showing part of an apparatus of modified
construction..
Like letters indicate the same parts in each of the Figures.
A is a portion of the head of a beer cask, and B the plug which fills the tap
hole. A ring or collar C, by preference made of cast iron or other metal is
placed round the plug B. The said ring may be fitted into a recess or
countersunk in the head of the cask, and is secured thereto by screws a or
other convenient means. The interior of this collar is furnished with a screw
thread of the proper diameter to receive the end of the faucet D. The said
faucet has a longitudinal perforation or passage c through its centre, and is
provided with a stop-cock D¹; this faucet diflers from an ordinary faucet in
being made in two parts 1 and 2, which are connected by means of a screw
spindle E, the joint between these two parts being furnished with a com-
pressible and elastic packing E¹. The portion 1 of the said faucet, or the
portion to be inserted into the cask is by preference formed with a chamber d
near its base, and has an extension or teat e which is provided with a screw
thread, and is tapped into the collar C fixed on the head of the cask. The
screw spindle E attached to the portion 2 of the faucet is furnished with
one or more radial apertures f, which extend from its surface into the central
perforation or delivering passage c of the faucet. These apertures form the
communication between the interior of the cask and the said perforation. The
chamber d at the base of the faucet may be provided with a filter as shown in
Figure 2.
When a cask is to be tapped the portion 1 of the faucet is secured fast to
the collar C, and the portion 2 is placed on the end of the portion 1, as
shown in Figure 1. By turning the portion 2 the screw spindle E (with.
which the two portions are united) while drawing the two parts together will
press against the end of the plug in the cask, and will force the said plug into
the interior thereof by the time the two parts of the faucet are in the position
shown in Figure 3; the elastic packing will then be sufficiently compressed

page_text: to make a tight joint; the aperture f will have entered the chamber d and
connected the interior of the cask with the delivery passage C, and the
contents of the cask can by means of the stop-cock be drawn off at pleasure.
The modification of this Invention shown in Figure 4 consists in providing
the screw spindle E with a cutting bit F, by which the apparatus bores out its
own top hole. In this case the said spindle may be made shorter than in the
modification of the apparatus first described.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, and shown how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First, a faucet composed of two parts 1 and 2, and connected by the
forcing screw spindle E, substantially as described for the purposes specified.
Second, the combination of such faucet with a collar C affixed to the cask,
such parts in combination constituting an apparatus for tapping a cask, sub-
stantially as described.
Third, combining with the apparatus above described a cutting bit F,
substantially as described for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE.
L.8.).