An Improved Apparatus for Tilting Casks and the like, also for Indicating the Quantity of Liquid contained therein.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 11th July, 1:95-Accepted, 5th Oct., 1895
TRUVIDIONAL
An Improved Apparatus for Tilting Casks and the like, also for
Indicating the Quantity of Liquid contained therein.
CHARLES GREEN Junr. 52 Great Coram Street Russell Square, W.C. London,
Engineer HENRY THOMAS WOOD, 5, Martletts Court Bow Street London
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:—
Our invention relates to improvements in apparatus for tilting casks, and also
consists in combination therewith of an electro-mechanical device for indicating
the quantity of liquid contained in a cask, or the like at any distance from the
cask.
The cask with tilter connected may be in the basement of the building, and the
indicator with wires connecting to tilter, may be fixed in any room, or there may
be two or more indicators working from the one tilter if required.
The tilter is constructed so as to act in a gradual and automatic manner.
We use a tilter composed of two tubular casings or cylinders which slide one
within the other. The bottom or small cylinder slides within the top or larger
cylinder, thus making this cylinder an outer casing. Within the top cylinder is
fitted a spiral, or coiled spring of suitable strength. We also provide a rack fixed
on the inner cylinder and having a suitable clutch fixed on the outer, or upper
cylinder, so that the coiled spring within the cylinder cannot be depressed by any
sudden weight, coming on the cask when the tilter is in operation.
We also provide a clutch if required, that will hold the spring compressed while the
tilter is being fixed under a full cask.
The two outer ends of the aforesaid cylinders are formed to a point or ball,
the upper point works in a bearing fitted to a light metal frame which will keep the
cask in the required position. This frame has a suitable adjustment to allow
This allows a
the tilter to be fixed at any point, along the underside of the cask.
small rise of the tilter necessary to tilt the cask. The lower end of the inner
cylinder works on a suitable plate of metal fixed to a piece of timber, which rests
on the floor of the cellar.
There is also a suitable stop to control the length of rise of the tilter.
The sliding surfaces are to be fitted with small balls, so that the upper or
outer cylinder which contains the spring shall only slide, and touch the inner
or lower cylinder at three or more places, and where the surfaces touch the
aforesaid balls are to be fixed. This is to enable the upper or outer cylinder to
work freely and to stop dust and the like from interfering with the proper
expansion of the spring. We also fix on the outside of the tilter a suitable gauge
so that it is possible to tell how far the spring is compressed, and thus be to tell the
quantity of liquid within the cask.
We fix a suitable sliding contact within the tilter worked by the expansion of
the spring in such a manner that as the circuit is closed by the aforesaid sliding
contact, the current works a suitable electric-indicator, or rings an electric bell
fixed in any part of the building required.
We also make a self-acting gauge indicator which consists of electro-magnets
connected to the armatures of the aforesaid magnets, in any well known form of
ratchet wheel and pawl, and having a point, or hand fixed to the spindle of the
ratchet wheel-enclosed in a case, and having a dial, marked in a suitable manner
with a glass front...

page_text: The action of this indicator is, that, when it is connected to the tilter by the
wires and battery, and as the cask gets lighter by the fluid within the cask, being
drawn off the spring moves the slide until it makes the first contact, this closes the
circuit, and the electro magnets pull the armature with pawl in gear with the
ratchet-wheel and this moves the hand on the spindle to the mark made on the dial
to correspond with the aforesaid gauge made on the outside of the tilter in
basement. Then as the cask empties still more, and the spring expands the slide
passes the contact and breaks the circuit the armature with pawl attached is there-
fore pulled away from the electro-magnets by a small suitable spring ready to act
as before, when the slide within the tilter closes the circuit again, and so on until
the cask is empty. Any form of switch as used in electrical bell fitting may be
used, and the necessary number of wires carried to the contact within the tilter.
In this case a bell would ring every time the circuit is closed, or any suitable
kind of indicator may be used. We also arrange a suitable contact within the
tilter that when the required amount of liquid is drawn off from the cask the circuit
is closed and the current rings a bell or works the aforesaid indicators fixed in the
bar, office, or other part of the building.
What we claim is :-A tilter for casks or the like having a gauge fixed on the
outside and having a suitable sliding contact fitted. The said contact to be worked
by the expansion of the spring. The said spring works au indicator with dial
marked to correspond with gauge on outside of tilter, & having the aforesaid
electro-magnets, or any suitable form of switch, with wires connecting battery &
bell, to contact within the tilter-or having a contact arrange so that the circuit
closes and rings a bell, or works the aforesaid indicator at a certain level of liquid
within the cask.
Dated this Sixth day of October 1894.
CHARLES GREEN, JUNR.
HENRY THOMAS WOOD.
An Improved Apparatus for Tilting Casks and the like, also for
Indicating the Quantity of Liquid contained therein.
CHARLES GREEN Junr. of 52 Great Coram Street W.C. London, Engineer,
and HENRY THOMAS WOOD of 5 Martletts Court, W.C. London, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what mauner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
Our invention relates to improvements in apparatus for tilting casks, or the like,
and also consists in combination therewith of an electro-mechanical device for
indicating the quantity of liquid contained therein; at any distance from the cask.
The tilter with contact can be fixed in the basement, & the indicator with wires
may be fixed in any room, or part of the building required.
There can be one or more indicators, or bells working from the one contact
within the tilter.
In order that our invention may be carried into practical effect we use two
cylinders F. & G. Figs. 1. & 6. F is the outer, or upper, and G the inner or lower
cylinder. F contains a suitable spiral spring b. which rests on the top edge of the
inner cylinder G where the cylinder F touches G small balls c are fixed, these can
be adjusted by the screws a' & a-the balls c run in suitable grooves f. A rack
is fixed on G at l, having a catch or pawl K fitted on F. K. has a weight i to
keep it in gear with 1. the catch K also keeps the spring compressed by falling
under the lower part of G at p. when the tilter is required to be placed under
another cask. A gauge can be marked on the outside of G to correspond with the

page_text: number of bars e¹ of contact rod, this shows how far the spring is compressed, and
will tell how much of the contents remain in the cask.
Fig. 1 represents a side view of stand A, A, C & D, showing the cask fixed on
the stand by the wedges O. F & G are the two cylinders showing the top. of F
fixed to the stand at B. and the bottom part of G attached to I-I also is fixed to
a piece of wood J resting on the floor of cellar. Fig. 2. is a front view & Fig. 3.
a plan of the stand A, A, B, C, & D the pins P. P. are fixed in A to keep the stand
in place on the bearer N. Fig. 4 shows the form of wedges O, which fit A. & A
and keep the cask from moving from the stop, or mark. Figs. 1, 2 & 3 shows the
mark or stop D. to which the cask must always be fixed. Figs. 1, 2 & 3 & 5 show
a double insulated ordinary electrical bell wire L running from the contact d
within the cylinders F & G to board Q (Fig. 5) fixed to any part of the cellar out
of the way of damp-from Q the wire M runs to the pole of the battery and from
the battery to the indicator R (Fig. 5) and then back to terminal Q on board, and
from there by the other wire in L, back to the contact and so on to the other
pole of the battery. The indicator R (Fig. 5) can be fixed in any part of the
building required. By using the terminals on the board Q it allows the wires L
running from F & G (Fig. 1) to be easily detached, and so allow the wires from
the tilter under the empty cask to be removed, and the wires from a tilter under a
full cask to be attached-or an ordinary electrical bell switch could be used also-
to close the circuit from the contact under the full cask. There can be also fixed
in the circuit an electric-bell to be worked by the contact in F & G (Fig. 6) so
that the bell will ring when the required amount of liquid remains in the cask.
Figs. 7 & 8. show the form of the contact fixed in F & G by the set
screws a & a² (Fig. 6). Fig. 7 is a section of the contact e is a piece of non-
conducting material having a strip of metal e, also thin pieces et let in, so that
these pieces and the insulating material shall form a flat surface as shown in
Figs. 7 & 10. The insulated rod with the pieces of metal let into it, slides within
the tube (Figs. 7 & 8) fixed to his a piece of insulated material t. having
springs d&d-attached on the other end of the springs are fitted the pieces of
wedged shaped metal d & d. Figs. 8 & 9 show the adjusting knob m (attached
to the tube ,) and which projects through the space made in the cylinder G-as
shown in Fig. 6, so that the tube h, may be easily adjusted from the outside of the
cylinder G, when, the cylinders are in their places under the cask.
Figs. 7 & 8 show the contact in the position it will be when the spring b. (Fig. 6)
is not compressed. The action of this contact is thus, when a full cask is placed
on the stand Figs. 1, 2 & 3, it compresses the suitable spiral spring placed inside
the cylinder F, and also makes the rod, e, slide in h (Figs. 7 & 8). If the cask
with the contents, is of the right weight, the spring will be compressed enough to
allow the bottom edge of cylinder to touch the adjusting knob M. at S (Fig. 6),
but if the weight is inore or less the spring will be compressed accordingly, therefore
the knob m. must be moved so that it always touches the cylinder F at S before
any of the contents of the cask on the stand (A, A', C & D Fig. 1) is drawn off.
By this means the contact makers d & d' (Figs. 7 & 9) are moved to the right
position over the piece of metal e' to make the first contact. To d' (Figs. 7 & 8)
is attached the wire running from one pole of the battery, the current passes through
the small spring to the contact d-which slides on the flat strip of conducting
metal having a part, cut away, and only leaving the bars e¹ (as shown in
Figs. 8 & 10) when comes over a bar e', it closes the circuit, and the current
passes through to d and than through the wire L to the electro-magnet within
the indicator and so back in the usual manner to the battery. As the liquid in the
cask is drawn off the spiral spring rises the rod e, and thus the bar el passes the
point of which now rests against the insulating material between the bars e-this
breaks the circuit. The rod e (Figs. 7 & 8) is fixed by the set screw a to the
outer cylinder F (Fig. 6)-e therefore must move with the cylinder his attached
to the lower cylinder G by the set screw a'-so that can not move by the action
of the spiral spring in G.
.

page_text: Figs. 12 & 13 represents the indicator. Fig. 12 shows the indicator with the
glass, dial & hand or pointer removed. Z is an electro-magnet having an
armature X attached to a rod X₁ working on a centre. X' connects X1 and the
lever X which works on the spindle R. The pawl Y is attached to X³ and is in
gear with the ratchet-wheel S. The wheel S is attached to the centre spindle R.
The hand or pointer is also fixed to spindle R. The action of this indicator is
that when the contact closes the circuit the current passes to the electro magnet
and the armature X is attracted and moves to the magnet X'; therefore moves X
this pulls with pawl in gear with the ratchet wheel Z this wheel being fixed to
the spindle R carrying the hand or pointer, moves the hand to the mark made on
the dial (the ratchet wheel must have the same number of teeth, as marks made
on the dial) than when the circuit is broken by the contact (Figs. 7 & 8) the
small spring W pulls back the lever X³, & with it the pawl Y (and lever X' & X)
ready to move the ratchet-wheel when the circuit is again closed by the contact.
In making the contact rod e we employ a spiral spring of suitable strength
(in F Fig. 6) which is fully compressed by the weight of the cask and contents.
Than we draw off, say one gallon from the cask, and where the spring lifts the
cylinder F we make a mark on G. Than we draw off another gallon, & make
another mark on G, and so on until the cask is empty. From the marks made
on G we construct the contact rod e-Figs. 7, 8 & 9. The bars must be as
narrow as possible and need not be wider than the point of the contact 'makers d & d.
The dial of the indicators must be divided and marked to correspond with the
contact rod e, that is to say, if the rod e, with contact bars el arc arranged for
gallons it will require 36 bars e for a barrel; if arranged for half gallons it will
require 72 quarts will require 144 of bars e' on rod e, and the dial of indicator
(Fig. 13) must be marked accordingly. In Fig. 13 shows the dial with a space
left between the mark 36 & O. This is left to try the contact of a tilter when
placed under a new cask, but this space nead not be left, but the dial marked to
correspond with the contact rod e¹ (Figs. 7 & 8).
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 tilter for casks aud the like, containing a sliding contact worked by the
spring, and having adjustable contacts to be adjusted from the outside of the case
(to allow for the difference in the weights of the casks & contents,) constructed
substantially as herein before described.
2nd. A tilter for casks and the like, with balls fitted to the moving parts and
runing in suitable grooves f., and having adjustment screws a' & a' has shown in
Figs. VI & XI of the accompanying drawings, substantially as, and for the purpose
specified.
3rd. An electro-mechanical indicator worked by the contact fitted within the
aforesaid tilter and having a dial marked to correspond with said contact rod,
constructed substantially as described, and operating as, and for the purpose above
specified.
Dated this 28th day of August 1895
CHARLES GREEN, JUNR.
HENRY THOMAS WOOD.