Improved Means for Regulating the Discharge of Liquid from Closed Vessels.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Mar., 1893-Accepted, 20th May, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Regulating the Discharge of Liquid from
Closed Vessels.
We ADOLPH HENRY SCHLUETER, THEODORE ALBERT SCHLUETER, MAX
LAWRENCE SCHLUETER and JOHANN JACOB SCHLUETER, of Oakland, County
of Alameda, State of California, United States of America, Merchants, do hereby
iece the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Our invention relates to a discharging apparatus for closed vessels of any kind,
containing liquids.
It consists of an arrangement of air inlet and liquid discharge passages, 0
operative with relation to each other that the flow of liquid from the discharge
passage is arrested when the quantity in the receiver reaches the level of the
bottom of the air inlet pipe.
It also consists in certain details of construction which will be more fully
explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :—
The figure is a sectional elevation of a containing vessel, showing the arrange-
ment of the inlet and discharge passages.
The object of our invention is to provide a means for allowing liquid to flow from
an air-tight vessel whenever the discharge passage is opened, and for arresting the
How from said passage whenever the receptacle has been filled to the proper height,
and to prevent overflow of the latter.
This may be effected with any automatically closed vessel, cask, or other
container.
In the present case we have shown a containing vessel A which is provided with
a discharge pipe B near the bottom.
This pipe is shown as curved, so that its inner end is near the bottom for the
purpose of drawing out all the liquid in the containing vessel.
The outer end of the discharge pipe is carried down below its inner end, so that
the amount of liquid in the outer arm of the discharge pipe is always greater than
that in the inner arm, and by its superior weight will cause a constant flow of liquid
in the manner of a syphon.
C is an air pipe of small diameter fixed in the containing vessel A, and extending
down to a point near the bottom thereof on the inside. The outer end may be at
any desired point. If above the level of the liquid within the vessel, it may remain
open all the time, but if it is at some point below the level of the liquid, it must be
closed by a cock until a sufficient vacuum is produced in the vessel to prevent the
quid from running out.
The inner end is open so that air can enter the vessel by passing down through
the pipe.
It will be manifest that this pipe may extend down through the interior of the
vessel; or, if desired, it may extend down along the outside of the vessel and enter
it at or near the bottom, the effect being in either case the same.
The operation will then be as follows:-
When the discharge pipe B is opened by means of a cock, or by any other means
to allow the flow of liquid, the latter will pass down through the pipe B, and will
produce a certain amount of vacuum in the upper part of the containing vessel by
reason of the greater length of the outer arm of the discharge pipe over the inner
This vacuum will cause the level of the liquid in the pipe to descend and
the air follows it until the air is allowed to pass into the receiver from the bottom
arm.

page_text: of the pipe and rise to the top. The weight of the liquid in the outer arm of the
discharge pipe is sufficient to cause this action to proceed as long as the liquid is
being drawn, and as long as the pressure in the outer arm of the discharge pipe is
sufficient to produce a vacuum which will overcome the air pressure, and allow the
latter to enter the vessel, and take the place of the liquid which is drawn out.
Whenever a receptacle is to be filled, it is placed beneath the outer end of the
discharge pipe B, with its upper open end at a point above the inner end of
the pipe C. The cock being opened liquid will then flow into the receptacle until
it reaches approximately the level of the inner end of the pipe C, when the extra
weight of liquid in the outer end of the pipe being overcome by the filling of the
receptacle, the vnenum in the vessel A is reduced so that no more air can enter the
containing vessel through the pipe C, and the flow of liquid will cease. This
enables the operator to fill any vessel to the desired height without allowing any
overflow of the same, and it will be easy to know when the vessel has been filled,
because the entrance of the air through the pipe makes a little noise by reason of
the bubbles rising up through the liquid in the containing vessel, and this will cease
when the liquid stops flowing.
The discharge pipe R may be provided with a controlling cock, if desired, or the
receptacle E may be fixed with relation to this pipe so that it will be constantly
kept full up to a certain point, and the receptacle may have a draw off cock from
which other vessels or receptacles are filled.
Whenever the liquid in this receptacle E is drawn down so that the weight in the
outer arm of the discharge pipe B'exceeds that in the inner arm, the liquid will
again commence to flow from the containing vessel, and the air will correspondingly
enter said vessel to take its place until the equilibrium in the discharge pipe has
again heen restored.
F is a trap fixed at the bottom of the containing vessel having an overflow
pipe G. and a pipe H, which extends from near the upper part of the containing
vessel down into the trap F, its lower end being constantly below the upper end of
the pipe G. If any expansion of air occurs in the upper part of the vessel A, it
is allowed to escape through the trap without forcing the liquid to overflow from
the pipe C.
from
In order to prevent the liquid in the outer end of the discharge pipe
escaping when the flow is shut off, and the receptacle E removed, I have shown the
bottom of this discharge pipe as being perforated with holes around the sides, and
this, while it will allow the liquid to flow from the pipe, is sufficient to prevent a
displacement of the liquid by air, so that by this means the outer part of the pipe
will remain filled with the liquid and ready to flow as soon as the cock is opened.
B' is a sleeve which surrounds the outer end of the discharge passage B.
The lower end of the pipe B is made conical and diverging as shown, and is
closed.
Around the conical mouth, holes I are made for the escape of liquid when the
pipe is opened.
The exterior sleeve B' has a correspondingly shaped conical flange around its
bottom, and when this sleeve drops by gravitation, its conical flange rests upon the
cone at the bottom of the discharge pipe and thus closes the openings I.
Around the upper part of the sleeve B is a flange or projection J, and when
liquid is to be drawn, the receptacle is raised up beneath the pipe B until its upper
edge strikes the flange J and lifts it and the sleeve B' so as to allow liquid to flow
out through the openings I.
The operation of the vacuum within the containing vessel to draw air in through
the pipe will be the same as previously described, and the inflow of air and
outflow of liquid will in the same manner be arrested when the liquid in the
receptacle has reached the level of the bottom of the air inlet pipe (when no more
air will flow through the pipe, and no more liquid will pass out through the
discharge. The removal of the receptacle allows the discharge openings to be closed
at once.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1st. A means for discharging liquid from herinetically sealed containing vessels
and automatically arresting the flow therefrom, consisting of the air inlet pipe
extending into the vessel and opening into its lower part, a discharge pipe, the
outer end of which is below the level of the bottom of the air inlet pipe whereby
the flow of liquid produces a vacuum within the containing vessel and draws air in
through the air pipe, said flow being arrested whenever the liquid in the vessel to
be filled reaches a level with the lower end of the air inlet tube in the containing
vessel, substantially as herein described.
end
2nd. A mean for discharging liquid from hermetically sealed vessels, and
automatically arresting the How therefrom. consisting of an air inlet pipe opening
into the vessel with its open inner end at a point within the rank near the bottom,
a liquid discharge pipe, the outer end of which is below the level of the
of the inlet pipe whereby a vacuum is produced by the flow of liquid which draws
the air through the air pipe into the tank, a receiver into which the liquid is
discharged, the upper edge of which surrounding the discharge pipe is above the
level of the lower end of the air pipe, whereby the flow of liquid ceases when its
level in the receiver is approximately that of the bottom of the air pipe, sub-
stantially as herein described.
3rd. A means for preventing the discharge of the liquid from the outer arm of
the discharge pipe, consisting of the closed bottom with perforations either with or
without an exterior sleeve adapted to cover said perforations, substantially as
herein described.
Deted his Twonen fine dow of W 1002