IMPROVE- MENTS IN BEER ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO PUMPS FOR BATHS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES WHERE IT IS REQUIRED TO RAISE TWO OR MORE LIQUIDS BY THE SAME PUMP
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Holmes, of Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, in
the County of Warwick, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BEER ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO
PUMPS FOR BATHS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES WHERE IT IS REQUIRED TO RAISE
TWO OR MORE LIQUIDS BY THE SAME PUMP."
Sealed the 30th August 1864, and dated the 21st June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Holmes at the
.Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
June 1864.
I, JOHN HOLMES, of Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, in the County of
Warwick, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BEER ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED
TO PUMPS FOR BATHS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES WHERE IT IS REQUIRED TO RAISE TWO
OR MORE LIQUIDS BY THE SAME PUMP," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object to raise two or more liquids by means
of one pump, the said pump being so constructed that it can be made at
pleasure to raise liquid from either the of barrels or cisterns with which it
is connected. My said Invention is especially applicable to beer engines, but
is also applicable to the raising of hot and cold water for baths, and to other
like purposes.
I will describe my Invention with reference to a beer engine. My said
Invention consists of the following improvements in and additions to a pump :—
I employ in the pump a piston of the kind commonly called a trunk piston,

page_text: that is, a tube open at top and closed at bottom, the connecting rod being
jointed to the bottom of the said tube. The said trunk piston works through
a stuffing box at the top of the cylinder, the packing of the stuffing box
consisting of two slit rings made from a tube of the same size as that in which
the piston slides. These slit rings are surrounded by a strong collar of
vulcanized india-rubber or wire, or both, by which they are pressed into close
contact with the piston. The slit rings are so placed in the stuffing box that
the slit in one does not coincide with the slit in the other. The base of the
pump cylinder is provided with two or more valves opening upwards, the said
valves being respectively connected with pipes passing to the barrels from
which beer or other liquid is to be drawn. When two valves are employed,
I close or fix down one of them at pleasure in the following manner:-A
horizontal shaft passing through the base of the pump carries inside the pump
a lever, the ends of which are respectively situated over the said valves. The
said shaft has at its outer end a handle by which it can be turned. By
moving the handle in one or other direction the lever may be made to press
upon and hold down one or other of the valves, and permit the pump to raise
liquid only through the other. The delivery pipe opens into the base of the
cylinder, and is provided with a valve opening upwards, and also with a tap
for removing any liquid left in the delivery pipe and in the base of the pump.
In working the pump, liquid is raised on the lifting of the piston through that
valve in the base of the pump cylinder which is not pressed down, and is
delivered on the descent of the piston through the delivery pipe. When it
is required to raise more than two liquids, the base of the pump is provided
with the requisite number of valves connected with the respective barrels or
vessels, and a horizontal shaft and short lever or cam is provided for each of
the valves. By means of the handles of the said shafts any or all of the
valves may be fixed down at pleasure. In all the arrangements described a
dial and index finger are provided to indicate the position to which the
handles must be brought in order to pump the liquid required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Holmes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th
December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HOLMES, of Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, in the County of Warwick,
Gentleman, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Holmes, Her special licence that I, the said John Holmes,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jolm
Holmes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during.
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEER
ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO PUMPS FOR BATHS AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES WHERE IT IS REQUIRED TO RAISE TWO OR MORE LIQUIDS BY THE
SAME PUMP," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Holmes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Holmes, do hereby declare the
nature of the sad Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention has for its object to raise two or more liquids by means. of
one pump, the said pump being so constructed that it can be made at
pleasure to raise liquid from either of the barrels or cisterns with which it is
conneeted. My said. Invention is especially applicable to beer engines, but is
also applicable to the raising of hot and cold water for baths, and to other like
purposes.
I will describe my Invention with reference to a beer engine. Mỹ said
Invention consists of the following improvements in and additions to a pump :―
I employ in the pump a piston of the kind commonly called a trunk piston,
that is, a tube open at top and closed at bottom, the connecting rod being
jointed to the bottom of the said tube. The said trunk piston works through
a stuffing box at the top of the cylinder, the packing of the stuffing box con-
sisting of two slit rings or hoops made from a tube of the same size as that in
which the piston slides. These slit rings are surrounded by a strong collar of
vulcanized india-rubber or other compressing material, wire, or both, by

page_text: which they are pressed into close contact with the piston. The slit rings are
so placed in the stuffing box that the slit in one does not coincide with the slit
in the other. The base of the pump cylinder is provided with two or more
valves opening upwards, the said valves being respectively connected with
pipes passing to the barrels from which beer or other liquid is to be drawn..
When two valves are employed I close or fix down one of them at pleasure in
the following manner:-A horizontal shaft passing through the base of the
pump carries inside the pump a lever, the ends of which are respectively
situated over the said valves. The said shaft has at its outer end a handle by
which it can be turned. By moving the handle in one or other direction the
lever may be made to press upon and hold down one or other of the valves, and
permit the pump to raise liquid only through the other. The delivery pipė
opens into the base of the cylinder, and is provided with a valve opening upwards
or outwards, and also with a tap for removing any liquid left in the delivery
pipe and in the base of the pump. In working the pump, liquid is raised on
the lifting of the piston through that valve in the base of the pump cylinder
which is not pressed down, and is delivered on the descent of the piston
through the delivery pipe. When it is required to raise more than two
liquids, the base of the pump is provided with the requisite number of valves
connected with the respective barrels or vessels, and a horizontal shaft and
short lever or cam is provided for each of the valves. By means of the
handles of the said shafts any or all of the valves may be fixed down at
pleasure.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in front elevation, a
beer engine constructed according to my Invention; Figure 3 is a vertical
section of the same, and Figure 4 is a vertical section of the pump of the
same taken in a plane at right angles to that in which the section Figure 3
is taken; Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 represent other views and parts of
the beer engine, as herein-after explained. The same letters of reference
indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
a is the pump cylinder, and b the trunk piston, the connecting rod c being
connected to the bottom of the said trunk piston at d. The rod c is connected
to the handle or lever e by a joint f; the handle e turns upon the joint g
carried by the bracket h on the top of the pump cylinder a. The top of the
i is the
piston 6 is closed by a cover 6' in a slot in which the rod c works.
stuffing box, consisting of two slit rings or hoops k made from metallic tubing

page_text: of the same size as the tubing in which the piston 6 works; m is a collar of
vulcanized india-rubber or other compressing material surrounding the rings
or hoops k, and compressing them upon the piston b. Coils of wire may be
placed upon the india-rubber collar m to aid its contraction upon the slit rings
or hoops k. The said rings or hoops k are so placed in the stuffing box i
that the slit in one does not coincide with that in the other. Figure 5 repre-
sents in elevation, Figure 6 in plan, and Figure 7 in vertical section the slit
rings k, india-rubber m, and coils of wire n, the said parts k, m, n, being in
the relative positions they respectively occupy in the stuffing box. The coils
of wire n are not essential to the action of the packing, and are omitted in the
packing represented in Figures 3 and 4. The base o of the pump cylinder a
is provided with two (or more) conical valves, p, p³, opening upwards, the
said valves being respectively connected with the pipes q, q, passing to the
barrels from which the beer or other liquids are to be drawn. One of the
valves p, p, may be fixed down at pleasure by means of the lever r fixed on
the end of the axis s; t is a handle on the axis s, by turning which either end
of the lever r may be depressed at pleasure, and the valve under the depressed
end fixed upon its seat. In Figure 4 the lever r is indicated in dotted lines
pressing upon the valve p, in which case the working of the pump draws
liquid only through the pipe 9. When the lever r is so turned as to hold
down the valve p³, liquid can only be drawn through the pipe q. Figure 8
represents a plan of the base o of the pump, the cylinder a being removed.
The pipes 9, 9, (one of which is shown separately in elevation in Figure 9.)
are fixed to the base of the pump by means of collars or glands u, one of
which is shown separately in Figure 10. These collars hold the flanges q³ of
the pipes 9, 9, against the under side of the base of the pump, india-rubber
or leather washers v being interposed. The collars u are fixed by means of
screws w, as will be best understood by an examination of Figure 11, which
represents a plan of the under side of the base of the pump.
z is. the
delivery pipe of the pump containing the valve y opening outwards. On the
ascent of the piston 6 liquid is drawn through one of the pipes q, 9³, and on
the descent of the piston the liquid raised is forced out or delivered at the
delivery pipex. By means of the knob or handle z, connected with the
stem y of the valve y, the said valve y can be opened by hand, and any liquid
remaining in the pump allowed to run out at the delivery pipe x. The valve
y is forced to its seat by the coiled spring 2, the said spring 2. yielding and
allowing the valve y to open and liquid to pass through on the descent of the
piston in the pump cylinder.
When it is required to raise more than two liquids by one pump, the

page_text: requisite number of pipes and valves are used, the said valves being held
down by an additional lever and axis similar to the lever and axis 7, 8,
Figures 3, 4, and 7, the said second lever and axis being situated in a
different vertical plane from that of the lever and axis r, s, represented in the
Drawings.
I prefer, however, the arrangement of parts illustrated in Figures 12, 13,
14, 15, and 16 of the Drawings for that purpose. In the said Figures 12,
.13, 14, 15, and 16, I have only represented the base of the pump, as the
cylinder, piston, and other parts not represented do not differ from corre-
sponding parts represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Figure 12 represents in elevation the base of the pump constructed to draw
liquid from three different barrels or vessels, the several parts being repre-
sented in the positions they respectively occupy when the pump is thrown out
of gear, that is, when all the valves are fixed down to their seats. Figure 13 is
an elevation (partly in section), one of the valves being represented open, and
Figure 14 is a vertical section, one of the valves being shown open; Figure 15
is a plan of the base of the pump, one of the valves being shown open, and
Figure 16 is a plan of the under side of the base of the pump.
letters indicate the same parts in Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.
The same
In this arrangement each of the three pipes a, b, c, connected with the
respective vessels from which liquids are to be drawn, is provided at top with
a conical valve; the valves are marked a², 62, and c, respectively; d, e, f,
are horizontal shafts, the inner ends of which carry cams d³, e, f, the said
cams being situated respectively nearly over the three valves a, b, c. Each
of the shafts d, e, f, is provided with a handle by which it can be turned;
these handles are marked g, h, i. By turning the said handles motion may
be given to the shafts with which they are connected and to the cams on the
ends of the said shafts. When either handle is in a vertical position, the
cam connected with it holds down the valve underneath it. When either
handle is moved out of the vertical position, the cam it actuates is lifted from
the valve under it, and the said valve can rise. In Figures 13, 14, and 15
the handles 9, h, are vertical, and the valves a³, c², are fixed down, and the
handle i is inclined, and the valve 6' is at liberty to rise, and, on working the
pump liquid is raised through the pipe 6 and valve 2, and delivered through
the delivery valve k in the delivery pipe l. The motion of the handles g, h, i,
is limited by each handle having a cranked part marked g², h³, 1³, which
cranked part comes against the stuffing-box glands m when the handles have
been brought to the inclination represented in the handle i, Figure 13, and
the further motion of the handles is arrested. In Figure 13 a delivery pipe,

page_text: valve and seat are represented in section, the valve and seat differing some-
what from the valve and seat before described. k is the valve; n; the valve
seat; and, the delivery pipe. The valve k is flat, and has a disk of india-
rubber or leather screwed on its face, the said valve being brought to act
against the V seat n by a coiled spring similar to that represented in
section in Figure 8.
Figure 17 represents in elevation and Figure 18 in vertical section an exit
valve and pipe, which may be substituted for the exit valve and pipe in either
of the forms of pump represented. In this arrangement a stop-cock o is made
immediately under the exit valve p. When the pump is worked the plug q.
of the stop-cock is turned, so as to close communication between the openings
r, S. After the required quantity of liquid has been raised by the pump, the
plug 9 is turned into the position represented in Figure 18, when the small
quantity of liquid left in the pipe t runs down the passage u, and the pump is
cleared of the liquid last drawn.
Although I have described and represented three valves and cams in the
arrangement, Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, yet two valves and cams, or
more than three valves and cams, may be employed when two liquids only or
a greater number of liquids than three are required to be raised by the same
pump.
Either of the arrangements described and represented in the Drawings
may be applied to pumps for baths for raising hot and cold water, and to
pumps for raising two or more liquids for other purposes. My Invention
may be applied to rotary as well as to reciprocating pumps.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the Drawings,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Inven-
tion; but I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, the general arrangement or combination of parts of beer engines
and pumps for raising two or more liquids by the same engine or pump
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
and 11 of the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly, the general arrangement or combination of parts of beer engines
and pumps for raising two or more liquids by the same engine or pump
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 of
the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly, the construction of stuffing boxes for beer engines and pumps for
raising two or more liquids by the same engine or pump herein-before

page_text: described and illustrated in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Fourthly, the arrangement or combination of parts herein-before described
and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 13, 17, and 18 of the accompanying
Drawings for clearing the beer engine or pump of the remains of the liquid
last drawn before withdrawing another liquid.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Holmes, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fifteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOHN HOLMES. (L.S.)