Improvements in Vent-pegs.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 13th Oct., 1893-Accepted, 28th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vent-pegs.
JOHN PEIRCE HARDING 13 Northampton Park Canonbury N. Examining Officer
H.M. Customs London do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The vent peg is made of brass or nickle to screw into the cask, it is fitted with
a plug forming a sort of tap which is bored in such, a manner as to admit air to the
cask on pressing a small lever, on releasing the lever, the air is perfectly excluded
by the plug being brought back to its original position by a spring there is also a
spiral spring fitted to the upper portion of the plug to keep it in position, this also
allows surplus gas generated in the cask to blow off by raising the plug by its own
force.
JOHN PEIRCE HARDING,
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vent-pegs.
I JOHN PEIRCE HARDING of 13 Northampton Park, Canonbury in the County
of Middlesex, Examining Officer Her Majesty's Customs, 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 a self-closing vent-peg for beer and other casks, which
is also self-opening in case of need to relieve gaseous pressure generated within the
cask by the continued fermentation of the beer or other liquor.
The invention consists in the combination with the vent-peg, of a rotary plug
valve which is normally turned to the closed position by a strong spring which
makes it impossible for the valve to be carelessly left open after being turned by
hand to permit a portion of the contents of the cask to be drawn off, the plug valve
being tapered and held to a correspondingly tapered seat by another spring which
permits the plug to be raised from its seat by excessive internal pressure, the self-
closing and self-opening motions thus being quite distinct:
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical elevation and Figure 2-a plan of the
device. Figure 3 is a vertical section on line 1-1 Figure 1, and Figures 4 and 5
are horizontal sections on lines 2-2 and 3-3 respectively, the plug valve in all
the-figures-being shown turned to the open position in opposition to the spring.
a is the tapered tubular stem of the vent-peg, screw-threaded externally for
screwing into the spile-hole of the cask and terminating in an enlarged chambered
head 6 which serves as a handle to grasp the peg by when screwing its stem into
the spile-hole of the cask, said chamber being closed by a screwed cover c.
tapered tubular plug valve fitted to rotate in a correspondingly-tapered seat bored
out to receive it in the upper part of the stem a. The bore of the plug is open at
d is the
the lower end to the bore of the stem a of which it forms a continuation and is
closed at the upper end and provided with a lateral orifice e which by turning. the
plug in its seat may be made to coincide with an orifice fin the side of the stem a
to give ingress to air when the contents of the cask are to be drawn off. g is an
arm fixed in the upper end of the plug and, passing through a circumferential slot
in the side of the chamber 6 by which the plug is rotated in its seat, and h is a
strong spring fixed within the chamber b and engaging with said arm, whereby the
[Pine 8d1

page_text: plug is normally turned and held so that its orifice e does not coincide with orifice f.
The upper end of the valve d is journaled in the cover c and between this and a
shoulder on the valve a light coiled spring i is confined which presses the valve to
its seat with sufficient force to keep it air tight but which is weak enough to be
overcome by internal pressure acting on the valve so as to permit the latter to rise
from its seat and relieve the pressure, the slot in which the arm 9 works being
wide enough to permit this slight vertical play of the plug. The cover c is a disc
having a threaded edge screwing into the internally-threaded casing 6 so as to
enable the stress of the spring i to be thereby regulated without liability of being
disturbed when the casing b is grasped externally for screwing the stem a into the
spile-hole.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
1. In a vent-peg, the combination, with the tubular stem, of a rotating plug valve
fitted axially in the said stem and having a bore open at the lower end to the bore
of the stem and a lateral orifice communicating therewith which may be made to
coincide with an orifice in the stem, and of a spring whereby the valve is normally
turned to the closed position, as specified.
2. In a vent-peg, the combination, with the tubular stem, of a hollow tapered
rotating plug valve fitted axially in a correspondingly tapered seat in the stem,
lateral orifices in the valve and stem which may be made to coincide by rotating
the valve in its seat, an enlarged chambered head on the stem containing a spring
engaging with the valve by which the latter is normally turned to its closed position,
an arm for turning the valve, and a spring acting on the upper end of the valve for
pressing it to its seat, substantially as specified.
3. In a vent-peg having a tapered rotary plug valve seated axially in its stem, as
herein described, and an enlarged chambered head containing a spring by which
the valve is normally turned to the closed position, the combination, with the valve,
of a coiled spring confined between a shoulder on the valve stem and a disc cover
in which the valve spindle is journaled, said disc screwing into the chamber to
enable the stress of the spring to be regulated, as specified.
Dated this 12th day of October 1908.
J. P. HARDING,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.