Improvements in Apparatus for Storing Liquids and Delivering them in Measured Quantities.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 30th June, 1891-Accepted, 8th Aug., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Storing Liquids and Delivering
them in Measured Quantities.
I WILLIAM MILES FOWLER of No. 15 Vandewater Street in the City and
County of New York, in the State of New York, United States of America,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare 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:--
My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for dispensing liquids, and
particularly for dispensing drinks and doses, the object being to provide an effectual
guard against loss through the inadvertence or intention of the bar tender or clerk,
and to secure a permanent record of the number of drinks or doses sold.
A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying
drawings, in which-
Fig. 1 is a front view of the apparatus;
Fig. 2 is a transverse section through line of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, from front to rear.
Fig. 4 is a front view, on an enlarged scale, of the recording and discharging
mechanism, and parts in proximity thereto.
Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same.
Fig. 6 is a vertical section from front to rear, through line yy of Figs. 4 and 5.
Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view from front to rear, through line of Figs. 4
and 5.
Figs. 8 and 9 represent enlarged views in detail of the arm for operating the
shears, cam for releasing the pawl which operates the printing cylinder or cylinders,
and certain parts in proximity thereto..
My present invention contemplates the arrangement of several supply vessels or
reservoirs in such a relation to a common reservoir or measure, that they may be
readily moved into position to be discharged into said reservoir, and in so mounting
the reservoir or measure with relation to a recording mechanisin, that the said
reservoir or measure cannot possibly be emptied, to bring the liquid or doses into
position to be utilized, without a permanent record being made of the fact that such
a quantity or dose has been drawn.
In the present example of my invention, I have shown several supply vessels or
reservoirs of an elongated type, arranged in a circular series, with their tops
enclosed within a casing B provided with suitable covers b, and with their lower
ends secured in suitable seats c in a support C. The vessels A are preferably made
of some transparent or translucent glass, for example, so that the height of the
liquid therein may be readily determine! by sight. The lower ends of the vessels A
are provided with valves a, which lift inwardly to open, and project downwardly
below the bottom of the vessel, in position to be acted upon by a suitable valve-
operating lever a¹, the latter fixed to a rock shaft a², provided with an operating
handle a³. The operating lever al is located within a tight casing D, which
encloses the recording and discharging mechanism, as will hereinafter appear, the
rock shaft a² being seated in suitable bearings in said casing, and the operating
handle being located outside of the casing. Access to the valves a of the
vessels A can be had only by a person holding keys for opening the casing D or
the covers b, or by taking apart the supporting frame.
As a support for the several vessels A, fixed in their upper and lower seats,
I find it convenient to provide a table E supported upon legs e, the said table
having an upwardly projected annular rim e', the upper edge of which is located in
proximity, to the plate C, the said rim e and the table forming a housing for
CE+

page_text: enclosing the downwardly projecting ends of the valves a. To the central portion
of the table E, an upwardly extending standard is secured, which forms a central
support for the upper casing B and lower plate C, in which the vessels_A_are
secured, the said casing and plate having a pivotal connection with the standard F,
as shown at fand, by means of which they may be freely rotated together with
the vessels around the standard. The plate is provided, at intervals, with
stops for the reception of a catch, pivoted to the casing D, in position to lock
the vessels A consecutively in the desired adjustment relative to the receiver or
measure to be hereinafter explained.
The casing D is provided with a glass front d, or with a glass window in its
front, for the purpose of exposing to view the receiver or measure G supported
therein, and is further provided with an opening d directly above the measure G,
for the purpose of admitting the liquid discharged from a vessel A into the said
receiver. The receiver or measure G is provided with a counterbalance support g.
The support g is loosely mounted upon a rock shaft H, and the weighted end of
the said support is such as to tend to hold the receiver or measure G normally in
an upright position beneath the opening d. A pin or stop h, fixed on the shaft H,
is so located as to work within a slot g², here shown as a quadrant in length formed
in the hub of the support g, so that the shaft H may be rotated a partial revolu-
tion, in the present instance a quarter revolution, without causing the receiver
support to rotate therewith, but any further revolution of said shaft H will, because
of the engagement of the pin or stud with the end of the slot g², cause the
support and the receiver G attached thereto, to be rotated therewith. The
shaft H has a pinion fixed thereon, which meshes with a gear wheel or sector /²
mounted upon a stud axle ³, supported in the casing D, and the wheel ² is operated
by means of a hand lever, which projects through a narrow opening in the
front of the casing D.
A discharge spout I is located with its larger or receiving end in position to
receive the liquid from the receiver or measure G, when the latter is rocked over
into horizontal adjustment, while the narrower or discharge end of the spout
projects outwardly through the lower portion of the casing D, as shown clearly in
Fig. 3, in convenient position for the placing of a drinking glass or other receptacle
underneath it.
The operation of the apparatus, as thus far described, is as follows:-
The catch is released from the plate C, and the series of vessels A. are rotated
until the desired vessel A is brought into position above the opening in the
casing D, and materially over the receiver or measure G: The valve a is then
opened by pressure upon the valve-operating handle a³, and the desired quantity of
liquid or other substance from the vessel A is drawn into the receiver or measure G.
Although the amount of liquid so drawn into the receiver G is in sight of the
operator or tender, it is still wholly without the reach of said operator or tender,
until the said receiver or measure G shall have been emptied into the spout I.
The emptying of said receiver or measure is accomplished from the outside of the
casing, by pulling down upon the lever , and thereby, through the gear and h²,
rocking the shaft H. The first quarter revolution of the shaft II will have no
effect upon tilting the receiver or measure G, but said movement of the shaft will
be utilized for recording purposes, as will hereinafter appear. The further rotation
of the shaft H will, by the engagement of the stop with the end of the slot g²,
gradually tilt the receiver or measure until the same reaches a position horizontal,
or below a horizontal, which tilt of the receiver will discharge its contents into the
spout I, from which they may be collected upon the outside of the casing from the
discharge end i of said spout.
Upon the shaft H, two printing cylinders, or a printing cylinder in two
sections K and K', are or is loosely-mounted, and arc or is caused to rotate with the
shaft H during a portion of its revolution, by means of a pawl k, which engages a
series of ratchet teeth on the rim of one end of the cylinder or cylinder sections,
the said pawl k being itself pivotally secured to an arm 2 fixed on the shaft H.

page_text: The engagement of the pawl k with the printing cylinder, or cylinder section, is such.
that during the first quarter revolution of the shaft H, the printing cylinder or
cylinder sections will be caused to rotate with the shaft, but during the further
revolution of the shaft H, the pawl k will be lifted out of engagement with the
printing cylinder by means of a cam ³ located in its path. A retrograde movement
of the printing cylinders or cylinder sections is prevented by means of a spring
actuated pawl in engagement with suitable notches or teeth upon the rim at one
end of the cylinder (see Fig. 4). The cylinder sections K K' are intended to be
substantially duplicates of each other, and to rotate simultaneously with each other,
aud to simultaneously imprint the same character or characters upon the strips of
paper fed thereto.
Two strips of paper or other suitable flexible material L and L' are fed from
a supply roller M, loosely mounted within the casing D, to the peripheries of
the cylinder sections K and K. The mechanism which I find it convenient to
employ for this purpose, consists in a pair of combined impression and feed
rollers N; or a single roller, divided into two peripheral sections corresponding
with the sections K and K of the printing cylinder, is journalled in suitable
bearings having a vertically yielding movement within slots or recesses n
formed in its supports O, and held normally in contact with the under faces of
the printing roller sections KK by means of the tension of springs o beneath said
bearings n. The frictional contact of the roller sections K K with the paper or
other Hexible material L compressed between the said printing roller sections and
the impression roller N, is sufficient to cause the roller N to rotate simultaneously
with the printing rollers, and to feed the paper continuously between the two.
Suitable guides P serve to direct the strips of paper between the rollers, and to
carry it forward to the shears after it leaves the rollers. Shears consisting of a
stationary blade Q and a movable blade Q' pivotally secured to the blade Qat
one end, as q, are located in position to sever portions of the paper that have been
printed as they leave the printing roller. The movable blade Q of the shears
is operated by means of a rod q', loosely connected at one end to the blade, and at
its opposite end to an arm of a rocking lever R, pivotally secured to a suitable
support within the casing. The lever R is rocked by the engagement of the
end of the arm fixed on the shaft H with its arm during the semi-rotation of
the shaft H under the impulse of the operating lever. The arm 7¹, however, of
the lever R is so located, that the lever R will not be rocked until the printing
cylinder K. K' has been rotated and the printing accomplished.
The record of the tilting of the receiver or measure G, to empty it, is accom-
plished as follows:-
The first part of the rotation of the shaft II, in the present instance a quarter
revolution, while it does not disturb the receiver or measure G, does rotate the
printing cylinders K K' through the pawl and the arm, and thereby imprints
the desired character upon the two strips of paper or other flexible material, and
forces the printed portions of the strips forwardly into position between the blades
of the shears. The next quarter revolution of the shaft H, which emptics the
receiver or measure G, operates the shears by the engagement of the arm with
the arm of the lever R, and cuts from the two strips the printed record. One of
the said printed severed sections, S for example, is conducted outwardly from a
narrow slots in the wall of the casing D to be handed to the customer, while the
other printed section S' falls from the shears within the casing down through a
suitable passageway into an enclosed receptacle T, to which access can be had
only by a person holding a key. To prevent the return of the receiver or measure G
into position to receive a new charge from the vessel A, before the lever *, and
the parts actuated thereby, have been returned to their normal positions, I provide
a spring-actuated stop consisting of a compound lever, the members of which are
pivotally secured to the frame, and one member t of which is thrown into engage-
ment with a notch on the receiver support g, by means of a spring t², the free end
of which presses the member t toward the notch, and thereby serves to lock the

page_text: receiver in its tilted adjustment, until the other member * of said compound lever
is operated upon by a cam t³ on the end of the arm, upon the return of the
shaft H to its normal position. The release of the arm from the notchi t¹ will
allow the receiver or measure to be returned into upright position to receive a
new charge.
As the shaft H is rotated, a pin u, fixed thereon, engages an arm u² on a spring-
actuated rocking support U, carrying a hammer a, which arm lifts the hammer
from a bell ³, and as it passes the arm «', allows the hammer to fall back, and
the strike the bell, announcing audibly the fact that the receiver or measure G
is being tilted.
The casing D may be made wholly or partially of glass, as may be found
desirable, and its shape and dimensions may be changed to suit the different
positions which it may be found desirable to have it occupy. It is evident also
that the shape and arrangement of the several supply vessels, and in fact of all the
operative parts, may be slightly modified or changed without departing from the
spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to
the construction herein set forth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination with a suitable supply vessel, and means for regulating the
discharge therefrom, of a receiver or measure located in position to receive the
discharge from said supply vessel, a complete enclosure surrounding the discharge
vessel, to prevent handling, and means for discharging said receiver or measure
from a point without the enclosure, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination with a suitable supply vessel, and means independent of the
receiver support for controlling the discharge therefrom, of a receiver or measure
located in position to receive the discharge from said vessel, a recording device, and
operating mechanism common to both the recording device and the receiver or
measure, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with a suitable supply vessel, and means for controlling the
discharge therefrom, of a receiver or measure mounted in tilting adjustment in
position to receive the discharge from the supply vessel, a recording device, and a
rocking shaft connected with the recording device and the receiver or measure, the
said recording device having a movement in advance of the tilting of the receiver or
measure, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination with a suitable supply vessel, and means for controlling the
discharge therefrom, of a receiver or measure, a rock shaft upon which the receiver
or measure is mounted, the said shaft having a partial movement independent of
the said measure, a printing cylinder loosely mounted upon the rock shaft, a pawl
connecting the rock shaft with the printing cylinder, and means for disengaging
the pawl from the printing cylinder, the connection between the rocking shaft and
the printing cylinder and measure being such, that the rotation of the rock shaft at
first rotates the printing cylinder, and subsequently tilts the measure, substantially
as set forth.
5. The combination with a suitable supply vessel, and means for controlling the
discharge from said vessel, of a rock shaft, a receiver or measure in position to
receive the discharge from the vessel and mounted upon the rock shaft, means
for counter-balancing the receiver or measure, a connection between the rock
shaft and measure for tilting it, and an enclosure around the measure, means for
actuating the rock shaft from a point without the enclosure, and a discharge
spout leading from beneath the measure to a point without the enclosure, sub-
stantially as set forth.
6. The combination with a suitable supply vessel, and means for controlling the
supply, of a receptacle or measure in position to receive the discharge from the
supply, duplicate printing cylinders, means for feeding strips of material to be printed

page_text: to the cylinders, means for severing the printed portions of the strips, an enclosure
surrounding the measure and printing mechanism, a passage-way for one of the
printed strips through the enclosure, a passageway for the other of the printed
strips into a suitable enclosed receptacle, and actuating mechanism common to the
recording mechanism and the receiver or measure, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination with the receiver or measure, and means for controlling the
discharge thereinto, of a rocking shaft, the said measure having a limited rocking
movement on the shaft, a printing cylinder connected to rotate with said shaft, a
feed and impression roller located in yielding bearings below said printing roller,
and means for operating said rock shaft, and thereby operating the printing cylinder
and receiver or measure, substantially as set forth.
8. The combination with the receiver or measure, and means for controlling the
discharge thereinto, of a rock shaft upon which said receiver or measure is mounted,
a printing cylinder connected to rotate with said rock shaft, an impression roller
mounted in proximity to the printing cylinder, shears located in proximity to the
printing cylinder, a lever for operating the shears, an arm on the rock shaft for
operating said lever, and means for actuating the rock shaft, and thereby the
shears, the printing cylinder, and the measure, substantially as set forth.
9. The combination with the receiver or measure and means for controlling the
discharge thereinto, of a rock shaft upon which said receiver or measure is mounted,
means for rocking the said shaft, and thereby tilting the said receiver or measure,
a stop to engage the measure, and hold it in tilting adjustment, and a cam on said
rock shaft in position to engage the stop, and release the receiver or measure,
substantially as set forth.
10. The combination with a series of supply vessels, and means for bringing them
consecutively over a fixed point, of a receiver or measure located in position to
receive the discharge from said supply vessels when in position over said fixed
point, an enclosure surrounding said receiver or measure, valve-operating mechanism
outside of said enclosure, for controlling the discharge from said supply vessel, and
means for tilting the said receiver or measure from a point without said enclosure,
substantially as set forth.
11. The combination with the series of supply vessels, and the rotary support
in which they are mounted, of an enclosed chamber provided with an opening
over which the discharge ends of the vessels may be adjusted, means for controlling
the discharge from the vessels, a tilting receiver or measure located within the
enclosed chamber, in position to receive the discharge from the vessels, a discharge
spout leading from within the enclosed chamber to the outside thereof, means for
tilting the receiver or measure, and a bell adapted to be sounded by the measure,
substantially as set forth.
12. The combination with a series of supply vessels, the support through which
their nozzles project, and means for rotating the vessels together with their support,
of an enclosure surrounding the nozzles of the vessels, to prevent access thereto,
a receiver or measure over which the nozzles of the vessels pass as they rotate,
means for regulating the flow of the contents from the vessels to the receiver
or measure, and means for discharging the contents from the receiver or measure,
substantially as set forth.
Dated thin 92ul dor of Luna 1801
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.