IMPROVEMENTS IN TANK CANS FOR OIL AND OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, of the Firm of Harris
and Mills, of 23, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TANK CANS FOR OIL AND
OTHER LIQUIDS." A communication from abroad by Charles Ariel Munger, of
the City, County, and State of New York, in the United States of America,
Salesman.
Sealed the 7th October 1876, and dated the 11th July 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard
Mills at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th July 1876.
BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of the Firm of Harris and Mills, of 23,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TANK CANS FOR OIL AND OTHER LIQUIDS." A communication from abroad
by Charles Ariel Munger, of the City, County, and State of New York, in the
United States of America, Salesman.
This Invention relates to tanks or tank cans for the use of retailers of kerosene
or coal oil and other liquids, and for consumers of oils and other liquids. These
vessels are portable so as to be shipped ready for use and to be moved about as
required, and they vary in capacity from those which hold a few gallons to those
which hold a barrel or more; cach tank can be provided with a pump whereby to
draw or discharge the liquid as required, and a cover to enclose the pump and
measures, either or both, when not in use.
The object of the present improvements, as a whole, is the production of an
improved tank can of superior compactness and simplicity of construction which
will at the same time possess the required functions and be adapted to be used with
superior convenience and efficiency.
The first improvement consists in providing a tank can with a flat or nearly
flat horizontal cover, having a fixed rear portion and a pivotted front portion or
lid, the latter revolving horizontally and occupying a position beneath the rear
portion when the tank can is opened. The rear portion of the cover is thus
adapted to be used as an elevated support for the measures when this is desired, or
the tank can may be placed under a shelf, which is simply high enough to admit
the body of the same. The cover is convenient to use, and the lid is wholly out
of the way when opened. The cost of manufacturing, packing, and shipping tank
cans of a given capacity will also be materially reduced by the employment of this
style of cover. The improved cover may be used in connection with the improved
sink floor herein-after described, or with any other style of sink or pump chamber,
Price Gd 1

page_text: and with the improved pump herein-after described, or with a pump having a
sliding discharge tube, or with a fixed or adjustable pump of any preferred style.
The second improvement consists in forming the sink or pump chamber or upper
compartment of a tank can by means of a horizontal partition or floor supported
at the proper height, and provided with a hinged front portion which can be
lifted to give access to the reservoir beneath it for readily filling and cleaning the
latter. Ordinarily this portion of the sink floor supports the measures beneath the
pump nozzle, and also supports the vessel which to be filled. The rear portion
of the partition supports the measures and the funnel or funnels when the tank
can is closed, and the space for this use may be isolated from the remainder by a
low wall flange. This simple and efficient sink floor or partition may be employed
either in connection with the improved cover above described, or with one of any
other form, and with the improved pump herein-after described, or with a pump
of any preferred style.
The third improvement consists in the construction of a novel form of adjustable
pump for tank cans. This improved pump is peculiarly adapted for use in con-
nection with the horizontal cover above described, but may be used in connection
with covers of other styles, and with the improved sink floor herein described, or
with a sink or pump chamber of any preferred style. The pump is so constructed
that its head can be raised or lowered vertically at will, and is thus adapted to
draw the oil or other liquid into the largest measures when elevated or extended,
and to be accommodated beneath a low cover when not in use, while at the same
time it is of simple construction. The pump is also removeable, so as to be used
in the barrels for transferring the liquid therefrom to the tank can. Any drip from
the pump, and any drip or overflow from the measure3, runs back immediately
into the reservoir. Any loss by waste is thus prevented, and the floor of the store
or room is kept clean and dry, and if the liquid has an offensive smell this is
confined when the cover is closed. In the case of inflammable oil a superior pro-
tection against fire is also afforded. The parts are intended to be made chiefly of
sheet metal, and the vertical body of the tank can is intended to be cylindrical in
general shape.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th January 1877.
BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of the Firm of Harris and Mills, of 23,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TANK CANS FOR OIL AND OTHER LIQUIDS." A communication from abroad
by Charles Ariel Munger, of the City, County, and State of New York, in the
United States of America, Salesman.
This Invention relates to tanks or tank cans for the use of retailers of kerosene
or coal oil and other liquids, and for consumers of oils and other liquids. These
vessels are portable so as to be shipped ready for use and to be moved about as
required, and they vary in capacity from those which hold a few gallons to those
which hold a barrel or more; cach tank can being provided with a pump whereby
to draw or discharge the liquid as required, and a cover to inclose the pump and
measures, either or both, when not in use.
The object of the present improvements as a whole is the production of an
improved tank can of superior compactness and simplicity of construction which
will at the same time possess the required functions and be adapted to be used with
superior convenience and efficiency.
The first improvement consists in providing a tank can with a flat or nearly flat
horizontal cover, having a fixed rear portion and a pivotted front portion or lid,
the latter revolving horizontally and occupying a position beneath the rear portion

page_text: when the tank can is opened. The rear portion of the cover is thus adapted to be
used as an elevated support for the measures when this is desired, or the tank can
may be placed under a shelf, which is simply high enough to admit the body of the
same. The cover is convenient to use, and the lid is wholly out of the way when
opened. The cost of manufacturing, packing, and shipping tank cans of a given
capacity will also be materially reduced by the employment of this style of cover.
The improved cover may be used in connection with with the improved sink floor
herein-after described, or with any other style of sink or pump chamber, and with the
improved pump herein-after described, or with a pump having a sliding discharge
tube, or with a fixed or adjustable pump of any preferred style.
The second improvement consists in forming the sink pump chamber or upper
compartment of a tank can by means of a horizontal partition or floor supported
at the proper height and provided with a hinged front portion which can be lifted
to give access to the reservoir beneath it for readily filling and cleaning the latter.
Ordinarily this portion of the sink floor supports the measures beneath the pump
nozzle, and also supports the vessel which is to be filled. The rear portion of the
partition supports the measures and the funnel or funnels when the tank can is
closed, and the space for this use may be isolated from the remainder by a low wall
flange. This simple and efficient sink floor or partition may be employed either in
connection with the improved cover above described, or with one of any other form,
and with the improved pump herein-after described, or with a pump of any preferred
style.
The third improvement consists in the construction of a novel form of adjustable
pump for tank cans. This improved pump is peculiarly adapted for use in connection
with the horizontal cover above described, but may be used in connection with
covers of other styles, and with the improved sink floor herein described, or with a
sink or pump chamber of any preferred style. The pump is so constructed that its
head can be raised and lowered vertically at will, and is thus adapted to draw the
oil or other liquid into the largest measures when elevated or extended, and to be
accommodated beneath a low cover when not in use, while at the same time it is of
simple construction. The pump is also removable so as to be used in the barrels
for transferring the liquid therefrom to the tank can. Any drip from the pump and
any drip or overflow from the measures runs back immediately into the reservoir.
Any loss by waste is thus prevented, and the floor of the store or room is kept clean
and dry, and if the liquid has an offensive smell this is confined when the cover is
closed. In the case of inflammable oil a superior protection against fire is also
aftorded. The parts are intended to be made chiefly of sheet metal, and the vertical
body of the tank can is intended to be cylindrical in general shape.
And in order that the said Invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying Drawings, more fully

page_text: The tank can shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 embodies all the several parts of
the present Invention, and is designed for general use in suitable sizes.
The construction and operation of this improved tank can is as follows:-A
cylindrical shell a of the proper dimensions is made with parallel ends, and is
provided with a flat bottom b, below which the wired lower edge of the shell has
been extended to receive a wooden backing or outer bottom b³, as shown. The
upper end of the shell is provided with a flat or nearly flat circular cover composed
of a fixed rear portion cand a moveable front, cover, or lid c². The former is
adapted, besides its primary function, to serve as a support for measures while the
tank is open at all times. To specially adapt it for this use the fixed section c of
the cover has been depressed at its front edge sufficiently to cause it to shed the
drippings, and provided with radial conducting grooves, the latter leading to a
central drip orifice or passage. This drip orifice in the illustration is formed by an
eyelet d, serving primarily as a pivotal rivet to unite the two parts of the cover.
A knob e, accommodated in one position by a notch fin the fixed section, facilitates
moving the lid which turns horizontally on its pivot d and occupies a position
beneath the fixed section when the cover is opened, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2.
The fixed section is supported below the inturned wire of the upper edge of the
shell. The pivoted lid is supported beneath by a continuous parallel wire g, and
above, when closed, by another wire g, extending around the outside of the front
opening, as shown in Figures 2 and 4. To divide the interior of the tank into a
reservoir A, and a sink or pump chamber B above the reservoir, a horizontal
partition or floor 1, 2, is employed, and to give convenient access to the reservoir
to facilitate filling and cleaning the tank the front portion of this floor is attached
to the fixed rear portion by hinges i so that it can be lifted at will; a ledge or
bracket supports the same beneath at the front of the tank, and a ring / provides
for conveniently lifting it. A low wall flange 3 along the front edge of the rear
portion of the sink floor serves to separate the storage space behind it from the
sink proper.
The measures may be inverted in this space when not in use, as
illustrated in Figures 2 and 4, so as to be enclosed with the pump when the lid is
shut. The front portion of the sink floor supports the measures while they are
being filled, as illustrated in Figure 2, and is provided with a strainers for returning
overflow and drip into the reservoir A. For drawing the oil or other liquid a pump P
is provided, which, besides its adaptation to be supported and extended, as herein-
after set forth, may be of any ordinary or approved construction. A fixed pump
support, attached securely to the inside of the shell a, has horizontal top and bottom
plates l, m, and a vertical side plate n, and the former are provided with an orifice o
(shown in Figure 5 and in dotted lines in Figures 1, 2, and 4), within which the
pump or the upper portion of the pump is adapted to slide and rotate. The top
and bottom plates are supported at the orifice o by a longitudinally grooved tube
which forms the walls of the said orifice, as shown in Figure 5. The pump support
is located at the right-hand side of the tank, and is segmental in form, and is
supported within a corresponding orifice in the sink floor h, h², so as to project
above it, but it may be located wholly above or below the floor if preferred, or with
its upper surface level with the floor, and in the latter case a collar or sleeve of the
required length may take the place of the bottom and side plates m, n.
The pump
support may also be extended back for additional strength.
For supporting the head of the pump in elevated position the neck or upper end
of the pump tube is provided with a pair of lateral lugs p, p², which may be in the
same or different vertical planes. When the pump or pump head is turned into
one position (indicated in Figure 4 and by dotted lines in Figure 1) the upper
lug coincides with a corresponding enlargement of the orifice o, and the pump or
pump head can be lifted until this lug appears above the pump support. A partial
rotation of the pump or pump head then locks it, and moves the nozzle to its
effective position, the respective lugs passing above and below solid portions of the
top and bottom plates of the pump support.
Released in the same manner the pump can be readily withdrawn altogether

page_text: preliminary to filling or cleaning the tank. In the elevated position of the pump
head the gallon measure is accommodated beneath the nozzle, as indicated in
Figure 2.
When the head is lowered upon the pump support the low horizontal lid c² works
freely above it and incloses it, as illustrated in Figure 4. The pump tube is adapted
to extend itself to the required length so as to reach always to near the bottom of
the reservoir by a flexible extension tube t, Figures and 4, having the lower
valve at its extremity, and in a modification by a packed telescopic joint t², as
shown in Figure 5.
In the latter arrangement the lower portion of the pump tube is held in position
against movement with the head, and in the illustration this is accomplished by
means of a book-brace, or strut q, of which two or more may sometimes be used.
The reservoir is conveniently filled by withdrawing the pump and using it to
transfer the liquid from the barrel; the tube of the pump being inserted in the
bung hole of the barrel, and the sink floor h, h, opened to receive the discharge of
the pump.
The tank can shown in Figures 6 and 7 is designed to be made of small size for
the use of families and shops more particularly. Its shell a² is of ordinary make,
and it has a simple flat bottom. Its cover c, c, is of the peculiar form herein-before
described, except that the inclination of the fixed portion c and the provision thereof
with draining grooves and drip orifice are omitted. A single wire g, in addition to
the inturned terminal wire at top, serves to support the cover. The interior of the
tank is divided into chambers A, B, by a fixed horizontal partition ', and this is
provided with an orifice o³, which receives a small force pump P. This pump is
composed of a vertical cylinder provided with a simple piston or plunger y, a little
valve chest at the lower end of this, and at the bottom of the tank provided with
suction and discharge valves, and a fixed discharge tube x extending upward from
the valve chest, with a sliding discharge tube x embracing the latter. The nozzle
of the pump is thus adapted to be elevated a considerable distance above the top of
the tank, and it is constructed of considerable lateral length so as to reach over the
fixed portion c of the cover. A lamp or other vessel placed on the cover may
consequently be readily filled directly from the nozzle, as illustrated in Figure 6.
The pump plunger and discharge tube are shown depressed in dotted lines. When
this is done the lid c can be shut above them. A folding handle or bail w provides
for carrying the closed tank like a bucket.
A preferred construction for larger tank cans is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9.
In this modification a cylindrical shell a³ is employed, and its lower part and bottom
may be like those of the tank can shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, but its upper
end is essentially different, having fixedly attached thereto a bent double segment c³
to form an elevated hood at the back, while a lid c of peculiar shape works above
said fixed portion or hood and completes a dome-shaped cover. The front and
lower edges of the hood c³ are nearly complete semi-circles. The corresponding
edges of the movable lid are larger arcs, and the lid is pivotted or hinged by means
of rivets at the sides of the tank, where they may be said to form the extremities
of the axis of the cover, which axis is horizontal. The lid is composed of three
parts, the edge picces being semicircular bows tapering in width from the middle
to each end; and the third piece is a gore similar in shape to the hood c³.
A neat,
strong, and convenient arched cover is thus made out of flat sheet metal. In
opening and closing the lid works entirely clear of the hood so as not to rub. An
external wire at the front edge of the lid stiffens and strengthens it, and an inturned
wire at the rear edge forms a tight joint around the upper or front edge of the hood
when the lid is closed. A handle is attached to the front edge piece of the lid in
convenient position. An external shoulder is formed by a bead at the bottom of
the rim, over which the lid closes.
A wire may be substituted if preferred, and the upper extremity of the shell
may have an inturned wire to strengthen it. The interior of the tank is divided
by a partition h, h, provided with a wall flange ³, hinges i, support j, and lifting

page_text: ring, as in the tank can first described; and a segmental pump support lis
employed as in that tank; but the latter is provided with a collar o' at the upper
end of its orifice, and an ordinary suction pump P' is secured in this by a bayonet
joint.
The pump tube is provided with lateral lugs (one or more), and the L shaped
openings or slots are formed in the collar o*. A screw joint or any other preferred
But the
fastening may be employed in connection with this non-extensible pump.
pump will preferably be made removable in all cases, so as to be used for filling
the reservoir from the barrel. A pair of strong iron handles ware attached to the
sides of the tank. The form of the cover c³, c, obviates any necessity for employing
an adjustable pump in connection therewith, but it may be employed in connection
with any preferred style of pump. The flat cover may also, in the smaller sizes of
tanks, be made high enought to accommodate an ordinary non-adjustable pump
beneath the closed lid without inconvenience.
Modifications other than those above described, yet clearly within the scope of
the present Invention, will suggest themselves to those skilled in the arts to which
the Invention relates.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the mode in which
the same is carried into effect, I would have it understood that the only details of
mechanical construction which are considered essential to the several parts of the
Invention respectively are specified in the claims following:-
One. A flat or nearly flat horizontal cover for tank cans, composed of a fixed rear
portion, and a pivotted front portion or lid, the latter turning on a vertical pivot,
substantially as herein illustrated and described..
Two. The horizontal partition or sink floor h, l, having a hinged front portion
adapted to be lifted at will to give access to the reservoir beneath the same, sub-
stantially as shown and set forth.
Three. A pump for tank cans adapted to be adjusted, substantially as herein
specified, so that the head or nozzle can be raised or lowered vertically at will.
Four. A tank can having a flat or nearly flat horizontal cover, and provided with
a parallel or nearly parallel partition below this cover to form the sink or pump
chainber, substantially as herein illustrated.
Five. A tank can having a flat or nearly flat horizontal cover and a parallel or
nearly parallel partition below the same which can be opened at will, and a fixed
pump or a removable pump which can be used within the tank can for drawing
the liquid into the measures, or in the case of a removable pump in the barrel for
pumping the liquid into the reservoir of the tank can at will.
Six. A tank can having a horizontal or nearly horizontal partition below the
cover provided with a vertical wall flange h³, and forming therewith a sink and
a separated storage space beneath the cover, substantially as herein shown and
described.
Seven. A tank can having a pump which can be adjusted or extended at will,
and which can also be removed for use in filling the reservoir of the tank can from
the barrel, substantially as herein illustrated and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjanin Joseph Barnard Mill, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
B. J. B. MILLS. (L.S.)