IMPROVEMENTS IN VATS OR BACKS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, WALTER THOMAS RAMSDEN of 177 Kingsland Road in the County of
Middlesex, Cooper and back maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VATS OR BACKS to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in vats or backs made of timber and
with straight sides and has for object the facilitation of the internal cleansing of
such vats or backs. Heretofore it has been customary to make such timber vats or
backs with sharp internal corners or angles both vertically at the junctions of the
sides with each other, and horizontally at the junctions of the sides with the
bottoms. Dirt is very liable to lodge and to accumulate in these sharp corners and
cannot easily be removed therefrom by reason of the difficulty of getting a broom
or brush into them.
In order to obviate this objection, I construct vats or backs having straight sides
with the internal corners rounded or hollowed out at the junctions of the straight
sides with each other, and of the straight sides with the bottom. By this means
the tendency for dirt to accumulate and lodge in the corners or angles is much
reduced and the removal of any dirt that may so accumulate is very much
facilitated by reason of the ease with which a broom or brush can be got into such
corners or angles.
I form the rounded internal corners or angles by any suitable means, for example,
the vertical rounded internal corners may be made in the following way. The sides
of the vat or back are grooved together and secured by iron cramping rods in the
usual way, but at the parts of the sides which are intended to come together to form
an internal corner I form rebates the full depth of the sides and after the sides are
fitted and bolted together I drive strips or fillets of wood down into the space formed
by the said rebates. These strips or fillets of wood are hollowed out at their inner
edges so as to form the rounded corners of the vat or back. Or suitably shaped
corner pieces of wood may be screwed or otherwise secured in the sharp corners
formed by the junctions of the sides.
The horizontal rounded internal corners may also be made by screwing or
otherwise securing suitably shaped corner pieces of wood into the sharp corners
formed by the junctions of the sides with the bottoms, but I prefer to form them
by hollowing out or recessing down the inside of the bottoms out of the thickness
of the same to an extent sufficient to give the required rounding at the corners or

page_text: angles, and when hollowing out or recessing down the bottoms, I prefer to make
such hollowing out or recessing deeper in the centre of the vat or back than at the
sides thereof, thereby causing the inside of the bottom to slope regularly downwards
from the sides towards the middle where the draw off plug or tap is placed, in
order to facilitate the draining away of liquid from the bottom through such plug
or tap.
1 prefer to round or hollow out the internal corners or angles as above described
so that the internal surfaces of the vat or back shall be smooth and continuous
all over without any abrupt corners or angles whatever, but in some cases instead
of hollowing out the corner pieces, I sometimes leave them flat so that they stand
at an angle of about 45° with the sides and bottom of the vat or back, whereby
instead of the corners or angles thereof subtending an angle of 90°, they subtend
angles of 135°, and the removal of dirt therefrom is thereby facilitated.
W. T. RAMSDEN.
Per W. H. Beck, Agent,
115, Cannon Street, London.

page_text: Improvements in vats or backs.
I, WALTER THOMAS RAMSDEN, of 177 Kingsland Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Cooper and Back Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my said
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VATS OR BACKS and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon:-
My invention relates to improvements in vats or back's made of timber, and with
straight sides, and has for object the facilitation of the internal cleansing of such
vats or backs. Heretofore it has been customary to make such timber vats or
backs with sharp internal corners or angles, both vertically at the junctions of the
sides with each other, and horizontally at the junctions of the sides with the
bottoms. Dirt is very liable to lodge and to accumulate in these sharp corners and
cannot easily be removed therefrom by reason of the difficulty of getting a broom
or brush into them.
In order to obviate this objection, I construct vats or backs having straight sides
with the internal corners rounded or hollowed out at the junctions of the straight
sides with each other, and of the straight sides with the bottom. By this means,
the tendency for dirt to accumulate and lodge in the corners or angles, is much
reduced, and the removal of any dirt that may so accumulate is very much
facilitated, by reason of the ease with which a broom or brush can be got into such
corners or angles.
I form the rounded internal corners or angles by any suitable means, for
example, the vertical rounded internal corners may be made in the manner shown
in Figure 1 of the Drawings hereto annexed, in which the adjacent sides A B,
forming one corner of the vat or back, are grooved together, and secured by iron
cramping rods or bolts in the usual way, but at the parts of the sides which are
intended to come together to form the internal corner, I form rebates CD, the full
depth of the sides, and after the sides are fitted and bolted together, I drive strips
or fillets of wood E down into the space formed by the said rebates CD. These
strips or fillets of wood E are hollowed out at their inner edges so as to form the
rounded corners of the vat or back as shown.
In
Figures 2 and 3 show other methods of forming the hollow rounded corners.
Figure 2, the side A or bottom (as the case may be) is. rebated, and the piece E in
which the hollow rounded corner is formed, forms part of the side B. In Figure 3,
the piece E forms the end of both sides A and B, or side and bottom (as the case
may be), and has the hollow rounded corner formed in it as shown. Figure 4
shows how the hollow rounded corner may be formed of a bent sheet of copper or
other suitable metal, either slipped into grooves formed in the sides as shown, or
nailed or otherwise secured to the said sides. Or, instead of the special structural
arrangements above described, and especially when it is desired to apply the
invention to existing vats or backs, suitably shaped corner pieces of wood or metal
may be screwed or otherwise secured in the sharp corners formed by the junctions
of the sides, as illustrated at E in Figure 5.

page_text: •
The corners, formed by the junctions of the horizontal with the vertical corners,
may also be rounded out, forming the hollows out of thicker pieces than the rest of
the sides, as shown at G H in Figure 1.
The horizontal rounded internal corners may also be made by screwing or
otherwise securing suitably shaped corner pieces of wood or other suitable material
into the sharp corners formed by the junctions of the sides with the bottoms, but
I sometimes form them by hollowing out or recessing down the inside of the
bottoms, out of the thickness of the same to an extent sufficient to give the
required rounding at the corners or angles, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, which
represent respectively longitudinal and transverse vertical sections of a vat or back
having a bottom constructed in this manner. And when hollowing out or recessing
down the bottoms, I prefer to make such hollowing out or recessing deeper in the
centre of the vat or back than at the sides thereof, thereby causing the inside of
the bottom to slope regularly downwards from the sides towards the middle or
other point F where the draw-off plug or tap is placed, in order to facilitate the
draining away of liquid from the bottom through such plug or tap as shown in
the said Figures 6 and 7.
I prefer to round or hollow out the internal corners or angles as above described,
so that the internal surfaces of the vat or back shall be smooth and continuous all
over without any abrupt corners or angles whatever; but in some cases instead of
hollowing out the corner pieces, I sometimes leave them flat, so that their internal
surfaces stand at an angle of about 45° with the sides and bottom of the vat or
back, whereby instead of the corners or angles thereof subtending an angle of 90°,
they subtend angles of 135°, as shown at E¹ of Figures 1 and 5, and the removal of
dirt therefrom is thereby facilitated.
I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise means
described and illustrated for forming the rounded or filled in corners as they may
be varied without departing from the nature of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First The construction of vats or backs with their internal corners or angles
rounded or filled in with hollow or angular corner pieces substantially as herein-
before described, and illustrated in the Drawings hereto annexed, and for the
purpose specified.
Second The construction of vats or backs with recessed bottoms preferably
sloping downwards from the sides towards the draw-off plug or tap substantially
as herein before described, and illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the Drawings
hereto annexed, and for the purpose specified.