IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO TAPS OR VALVES FOR BEER, WINE, OIL, AND OTHER BARRELS AND SIMILAR VESSELS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Kemp Starley, of Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO TAPS
OR VALVES FOR BEER, WINE, OIL, AND OTHER BARRELS AND SIMILAR
VESSELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Kemp Starley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th January 1881.
JOHN KEMP STARLEY, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND RELATING TO TAPS OR VALVES FOR BEER, WINE, OIL, AND OTHER BARRELS
AND SIMILAR VESSELS."
My Invention relates to improvements in taps for barrels or similar vessels, and
is chiefly designed to provide means whereby such barrels or vessels may be sent
out from breweries, oil refineries, chemical works, or other places filled or charged
with the liquids which they are intended to contain, and furnished with an
internal tap in such a manner that the latter can at any time be quickly adjusted
so as to be ready for drawing off the contents, thus obviating the necessity
heretofore existing for the consumer to insert and fix a tap himself, which is not
unfrequently the cause of much waste and inconvenience.
As a tap when in use is required to project outward more or less from the
barrel to which it is applied it would be impossible to send out for transit barrels
ready provided with taps of the ordinary construction; but according to my
Invention I construct a tap the chief novel feature of which is that it is entirely or
almost entirely within the barrel, excepting when liquid is being drawn therefrom,
at which time a portion of the tap extends outward.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a tube open at both ends,
and of suitable diameter for the size of the barrel to which it is to be applied.
This tube has a longitudinal slot, for a purpose hereinafter described, and is
provided with screw-threads for a short distance at one of its extremities. This
screw-threaded end is designed to be screwed into the head or to a plate or nut
placed on the outside of the head of the barrel in a suitable position for the tap.
Or the nut or plate may be placed in a similar position inside the barrel, or may be
let into the wood so as not to project either inside or outside the same.
The screw
threaded end of the aforesaid tube passes through the head of the barrel to this
nut or plate, and extends rearward within the barrel so as to be surrounded by the
liquid which the latter contains.. Within this tube I fit another tube, which is
[Price 6dl

page_text: closed at both ends, but has a lateral opening coinciding, when the two pipes are
in the proper relative position, with a lateral opening provided in the larger tube
at a point near the inner face of the barrel head. The inner or smaller tube is
arranged to slide telescopically within the outer or larger tube, so that the former
may be pushed within the latter in such a manner that no part of the tap will
then project beyond the surface of the head of the barrel, excepting the nut and
the portions of the tubes within the same. If the nut should be inside instead of
outside, as hereinbefore explained, there will not be even this amount of projection.
The sliding movement of the smaller tube is regulated by means of a screw or stud
attached to the outer surface of this tube, and projecting into the aforesaid longi-
tudinal slot in the outer or larger tube. In some cases instead of providing the
end of the tube with screw-threads it may be plain, and will then be secured to
the head of the barrel by means of a plate fastened by screws.
Near the front end of the inner or sliding tube there is an aperture through
which the liquid flows when this tube is drawn forward into the proper position,
that is to say, into such a position that the lateral openings in the two tubes
coincide, as herein before explained, when the projecting part of the sliding tube
will be at a convenient distance from the head for directing the liquid into any
vessel placed underneath the aperture.
At the front end of the sliding tube I provide a central longitudinal aperture,
which is screw-threaded to receive a key or device by means of which the said
sliding tube is drawn forward or pushed inward. This key may be kept separate
from the tap and only applied thereto when the liquid is to be withdrawn.
When my improved tap is designed to be used in connection with barrels or
other vessels liable to be subjected to great pressure, I may make a portion of the
larger tube (at the rear thereof) of smaller diameter than the remaining portion,
and in some cases the longitudinal slot may be continued at one end for a short
distance at right angles to the main portion so as to form a recess to receive the
screw or stud in the sliding tube, and thus hold the latter in its place more securely
than might otherwise be the case.
The key may in some cases be plain instead of screw-threaded, thus dispensing
also with the screw-threads in the end of the sliding tube, and instead of such
screw-threads I provide a recess or slot in the tube, and make the end of the key
of such form that it will fit within this recess and require only a slight turn to fix
it in position for withdrawing, pushing, or turning the sliding tube, or any other
suitable means may be employed for connecting the key with the tap.
I may modify this construction of my tap in various ways without departing
from the essential principle of the said Invention; for instance, I may in some
cases so arrange the inner tube that a partial rotation must be given to the same
before it can be withdrawn, and I may construct the outer tube in such a manner
that it can be tightened upon the inner tube by means of screws; or springs may
be employed to exert a suitable pressure upon the inner tube for the purpose of
maintaining the connection between the two tubes liquid tight, and thus preventing
leakage. In some cases I may combine the two tubes in such a manner that the
inner one turns or rotates, but does not slide, and in this case the liquid will be
drawn through a device to be applied to the outer end of this inner tube, and also
act as a key for imparting the necessary rotation. The connection between the tap
and the head of the barrel may be rendered tighter by inserting an india rubber or
similar ring between the tap and the head.
My improved tap may be made of metal, wood, or any other suitable material,
and although these taps are chiefly designed to be fixed to the barrels before the
latter are sent out, they are also applicable for being fixed therein by the consumer
himself, and by reason of their occupying a position within the barrel when not in
use are very advantageous in many respects.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Kemp Starley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th
July 1881.
JOHN KEMP STARLEY, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND RELATING TO TAPS OR VALVES FOR BEER, WINE, OIL, AND OTHER BARRELS
AND SIMILAR VESSELS."
My Invention relates to improvements in taps for barrels or similar vessels, and
is chiefly designed to provide means whereby such barrels or vessels may be sent
out from breweries, oil refineries, chemical works, or other places, filled or charged
with the liquids which they are intended to contain, and furnished with an internal
tap in such a manner that the latter can at any time be quickly adjusted to draw.
off the contents, thus obviating the necessity heretofore existing for the consumer
to insert and fix a tap, which is not unfrequently the cause of much waste and
inconvenience.
As a tap when in use is required to project outward more or less from the barrel
to which it is applied it would be impossible to send out for transit barrels ready
provided with taps of the ordinary construction; but according to my Invention I
construct a tap, the chief novel feature of which is that it is entirely or almost
entirely within the barrel excepting when liquid is being drawn therefrom, at
which time a portion of the tap extends outward.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I construct a tap as shewn in the
accompanying Drawing, in which
Figure 1 is an exterior top view shewing the tap closed.
Figure 2 is a similar view shewing the same open.
Figures 3 and 4 are longitudinal sections also shewing the said tap in these two
positions.
Figure 5 is a front end view of the said tap.
Figures 6, 7, 8, are transverse sections on the lines x, x, y, y, and z, z.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
The body of my improved tap is a tube a open at both ends and of suitable
diameter for the size of the barrel or receptacle to which it is to be applied. This
tube has in it a longitudinal slot b for a purpose hereinafter described, and is pro-
vided with screw-threads, as shewn at c. This screw-threaded end or part is
designed to be screwed into the head of the barrel or receptacle, and if desired also
into a plate or nut placed on the outside of the same in a suitable position for the
reception of the tap; or the said nut or plate may be placed inside of the barrel or
may be sunk into the wood or other material of which the barrel or receptacle is
constructed, so as not to project either inside or outside of the same. The rear end
of the aforesaid tube a passes through the head of the barrel or receptacle, and
extends rearward within the same so as to be surrounded by the liquid which the
said barrel contains. Within this tube a I fit another tube e, which is closed at
both ends, but has a lateral aperture or series of small holes or slots f, which when
the said tube e is drawn out, as shewn in Figures 2 and 4, to open the tap, will coincide
with a lateral aperture or a series of holes or slots g provided in the larger tube a
at a point near the inner face of the barrel-head (see Figures 4 and 7). The inner
or small tube e is arranged to slide telescopically within the outer or larger tube a
so that the former may be pushed so far within the latter that no part of the tap
will then project beyond the exterior surface of the head of the barrel excepting the
hexagonal or other shaped nut or portion a' of the outer tube a. This nut facili-
tates the screwing of the tap into the barrel head. If the nut should be inside
instead of outside of the barrel, as hereinbefore explained, there will be no projection
of the tap from the outer face of the head of the barrel.

page_text: The smaller tube e is provided with a screw stop stud or pin e¹ which projects
into the aforesaid longitudinal slot b in the outer or larger tube a, and serves to
prevent the displacement of the said small tube without obstructing or preventing
the proper longitudinal movements of the same, or the said stud or pin may be fitted
In some cases
to the outer tube a and the slot be formed in the inner tube e.
instead of providing the end of the tube a with screw-threads it may be plain, and
will then be secured to the head of the barrel by means of a plate fastened by screws
or in any other suitable manner.
Near the front end of the inner or sliding tube e there is an outlet hole or
aperture, through which the liquid flows when this tube is drawn forward to open
the tap, that is to say, into such a position that the lateral openings f, g, in the
tubes e, a, coincide, as hereinbefore explained, when the projecting part of the sliding
tube will be at a convenient distance from the head for directing the liquid into any
vessel underneath the said outlet hole or aperture h.
At the front end of the sliding tube e I provide a central longitudinal aperture,
which is screw-threaded to receive a key or device, by means of which the said
sliding tube is drawn forward or pushed inward. Or the said aperture may be
recessed, as shewn at i, and the end of the key j formed to fit within this recess, so
that it will require only a slight turn to fix it in position for withdrawing, pushing,
or turning the sliding tube; or any other suitable means may be employed for
connecting the key with the tap. This key may be kept separate from the tap,
and only applied thereto when the liquid is to be withdrawn from the barrel or
other vessel.
When my improved tap is designed to be used in connection with barrels or
other vessels liable to be subjected to great pressure, I in some cases provide the
front end of the inner tube e with a cone or conical portion e*, which is adapted to
fit a correspondingly shaped recess or seat a* in the end of the outer tube a, and
To draw the
thereby prevent any leakage of the liquid between the said pipes a, e.
said cone e closely up to its seat and hold the tube e securely in the outer tube a
when the tap is closed, I provide the longitudinal slot with a short inclined lateral
extension, as shewn at b', to form a recess, into which the screw or stud e¹ may be
turned when the sliding tube e is pushed back to close the tap. If desired other
suitable means for locking the tubes may be adopted.
I may modify the construction of my tap in various ways without departing from
the essential principle of the said Invention; for instance, I may in some cases
construct the outer tube in such a manner that it can be tightened upon the inner
tube by means of screws; or springs may be employed to exert a suitable pressure
upon the inner tube for the purpose of maintaining the connection between the two
tubes liquid-tight and thus preventing leakage. In some cases I may combine the
two tubes in such a manner that the inner one turns or rotates but does not slide,
and in this case the liquid will be drawn through a device to be applied to the
outer end of this inner tube, and also to act as a key for imparting the necessary
rotation. The connection between the tap and the head of the barrel may be
rendered tighter by inserting an india rubber or similar ring or washer between the
tap and the head.
My improved tap may be made of metal (preferably non-corrosive or plated or
coated with a protective coating) or of wood or any other suitable material, and
although these taps are chiefly designed to be fixed to the barrels before the latter
are sent out, they are also applicable for being fixed therein by the consumer himself,
and by reason of their occupying a position within the barrel when not in use are
very advantageous in many respects.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of performing the
I wish it understood that I claim,―
same,
A tap constructed with a tube which is designed to be fitted and tightly
secured in a barrel or other vessel, and which has an interior sliding tube guided by
a pin or stud fixed on one tube and projecting into a slot in the other tube, so that

page_text: by the adjustment of the inner tube the hole or series of holes in the two tubes will
be brought into and out of coincidence, and the tap thereby opened and closed as
above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Kemp Starley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
J. K. STARLEY. (L.S.)