IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STORING AND DRAWING-OFF BEER, WINE, AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Ritchie at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd. May
1867.
I, CHARLES RITCHIE, of Upper Tulse Hill, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR STORING AND DRAWING-OFF BEER, WINE, AND OTHER MATERIALS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for storing. and:
drawing-off beer, wine, and other materials. For this purpose I employ a.
vessel, it may be cylindrical or of other convenient form, and of earthenware;
wood, or other material; within this vessel works a piston with a cupped.
leather or otherwise; it is conveniently packed. The piston has a hole
through it fitted with a screw plug, so that when the piston is raised the space
in the vessel beneath it may be filled with liquid by pouring it through this
opening. The lower part of the vessel receives a tap of peculiar construction
and herein-after described; and immediately above the tap I fit within the vessel a
false bottom of perforated or porous material to prevent any sediment passing
to the tap. When it is desired to draw off a portion of the wine or material
which the vessel contains the tap is opened and the piston is forced down upon
the liquid until the desired quantity is expelled. The descent of the piston is.
caused by turning it round by means of a crank handle fixed to it at the
centre, and projecting upwards through an opening in the cover of the vessel;
there is a screw thread on the edge of the piston working with a corresponding.

page_text: thread formed on the interior of the vessel. Or a screw thread may be
formed on a stem projecting upwards from the piston and passing through a
nut on the cover; this stem may be jointed and the joints applied only as they
are required, so that there need never be any inconvenient length of stem
projecting above the vessel. Or in place of these arrangements the piston
may be made sufficiently heavy to descend as the liquid is allowed to escape
from beneath it. The tap which I employ consists of a tube; it may be of
metal; it is fitted at one end into a socket in the side of the vessel, so as to
stand out horizontally therefrom, and on the lower side of it there is a spout
or nozzle. Within this tube is an inner tube of porcelain or other incorrosive
material; it fits accurately within the first tube, and it is closed at the outer
end. The inner tube is capable of being turned round by means of a key or
handle, and in this way a hole in it is brought to coincide with the spout or
nozzle of the outer tube or case, and the liquid then flows. The hole in the
inner tube is however made considerably smaller than the spout or nozzle, so
that this is not wetted, and the liquid passes direct from the incorrosive inner
tube to the glass or receiver into which the liquid is drawn; in this way the
liquid is not liable to be tainted as when ordinary taps are used, and the
liquid alternately wets and dries upon a metal spout or nozzle. In some cases
I modify the arrangement by fitting the inner incorrosive tube into the socket
in the vessel, and arranging the outer tube to turn or to slide upon it.
Taps thus constructed may be used with ordinary casks and with other
vessels.
When liquids are stored in apparatus such as above described quantities
may be drawn off from time to time without admitting air into contact with
the remainder. The apparatus is suited for storing semi-solids as well as
liquids, thus semi-solid soups, preserves, and vegetables may be conveniently
preserved and portions drawn off from time to time. In order to close the
bung holes of casks and to facilitate the application of the tap I drive a
conical plug into the opening which ordinarily receives the tap. This plug has
a passage passing through it longitudinally, and a screw thread is cut within
the passage; it receives a tube with a similar screw thread on its exterior,
and this tube at its inner end carries a valve which stops the inner end
of the passage through the plug; this valve can, however, be raised from
its seat by turning the tube round and screwing it inwards through the plug.
Within the tube there is also a screw thread, and the tap has a corresponding
thread upon it;
and when the cask is to be tapped the tap is screwed into the
tube as into a socket, and then the tube itself is turned round so as to
remove the valve from its seat. When the cask is empty and the tap removed

page_text: the tap hole is closed by bringing back the valve to its seat, and so the cask
is prevented turning sour. Bottles and other vessels may be fitted with a
similar plug, tube, and valve, and then the valve will serve instead of a
stopper.
The plug in these cases will usually be fixed into the bottle or vessel by