Improvements in Fermented or Aerated Liquid Supplying Apparatus.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Nov., 1889-Accepted, 21st Dec., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fermented or Aerated Liquid Supplying Apparatus.
I ALONZO SMART of Pagefield, Wigan in the County of Lancaster, Joiner do
hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus suitable to be sent into any
household and so constructed that being placed upon any, table, bench or stand the
ale, porter, wine, lemonade or other beverage stored in such apparatus can be drawn.
off to the last glass without venting or tilting, but only by prepayment for the liquid
withdrawn so that the consumer is assured of the money wherewith to pay for the
liquid used the money dropping into a closed receptacle which can only be opened by
the owner of the apparatus and which would be done in the ordinary way of business
when he collected his empties at which time he would be justly entitled to payment
for the beverage supplied. The apparatus is further constructed so that ale or other
fermented liquor can be got into usable condition in an ordinary cask and the clear
liquid can then be transferred into my apparatus which is so constructed as to give
the liquor renewed vigour so that it can be drawn off to the last glass without its
going flat or insipid and without the possibility of the liquor becoming muddled by
the insertion of the necessary material to accomplish this as hereinafter described.
The apparatus may also be used without the coin operated lever hereinafter
described so that all the advantages of self venting, uon tilting, invigorating of the
liquid and the drawing off of the liquid in given quantities only as for instance glass
by glass, can be enjoyed by such persons as have no desire to make special provision
for prepayment of the liquid consumed.
And in order that this my said invention may be the more readily understood and
carried into practical effect I have hereunto annexed a drawing illustrative of my
invention and will now proceed to describe the same with the assistance of the
various Figures the letters of reference marked thereon being used to indicate
identical parts in the several views.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 a side sectional view and Fig. 3 a partial plan of
my automatic payment liquid supplying apparatus.
Fig. 4 represents a front exterior view of the measuring chamber with the
covering plate removed and Fig. 5 is a separate view of the inner face of the covering
plate so removed.
In performing my invention I employ an air-tight vessel a constructed of wood,
metal or other suitable material and of rectangular cylindrical barrel-shaped or any
other desired form for containing the supply of liquid. This vessel a is provided with
a false bottom or cover b secured in position by a pair of lugs entering suitable slots
in the vessel a at the back and being locked in position at the front by the bolt of a
lock c there entering a recess formed to receive it as illustrated in sectional view
Fig. 2. In this manner the false bottom 6 is capable of entire removal for instance
when washing out the apparatus or when replenishing the liquid which is introduced
to this vessel a when in an inverted position through the screw plug orifice d. The
perforated tube d' shewn attached to the screw plug in case of malt liquors is capable
of being filled with hops for revivifying the malt liquor.
e is the measuring chamber, the internal capacity of which is equal to the given
quantity (ay a glass or tumbler full at a time) required to be drawn off at each
operation or for each payment. This chamber is secured upon the front of the
vessel a which is extended downwards for the purpose and so that the contents of the
latter shall be able to gravitate into it through an inlet orifice f. A smaller orifice
(opening into a passage g¹ or its equivalent leading to the upper end of the vessel a)

page_text: is also provided for ensuring an equal pressure in the vessel a and measuring chamber e
and thus there being a free communication between the two the chamber e becomes
filled with the liquid and so remains ready charged until drawn off as hereinafter
described.
The orifices and g are designed to remain always open except at the instant of
drawing off the contents through the draw off spout h.
Immediately opposite the inlet orifice in the chamber e is an outlet orifice f¹ which
leads through the passage f to the spout and interposed between the two orifices is
ardouble valve i the function of which is to close the outlet orifice f¹ with its front
extremity and to open the inlet orifice f with its back extremity and to ensure that as
one valve opens the other closes and vice-versa.
To keep the valve in its normal position (as illustrated in Fig. 2) a constant
tendency is given to the said valve to close upon the outlet orifice f' by the
application of a surrounding spiral spring abutting against the opposite orifice f
The spindle of this valvo is extended through the casing of the chamber e and
thus is capable of being pushed open or operated from the outside but to prevent this a
tilting lever k is mounted upon a stud k projecting from the front or outer surface of
the chamber e as seen more clearly in Fig. 4.
The smaller orifice g is also provided immediately opposite with a similar orifice
and valve g for opening a communication or vent with the outer atmosphere through
the passage g³ but only at the instant when the liquid is being drawn off. The
spindle g of this valvo also extends through the casing to be operated from the
outside. To ensure that this vent passage shall not be open before the smaller
inlet orifice g is first closed I arrange that the extended spindle g* of the vent valve g²
shall be flattened or filed away at one side and within the desired distance from
the valve (as indicated about full size in separate view Fig. 6) and thus I arrange
that no communication can take place with the atmosphere through the passage g³
until this flattened surface is pushed inwards sufficiently far to be exposed to the
interior of the chamber.
The simultaneous operating of the two valves i and g² is effected by the actuating
lever mounted upon the front face of the covering plate-the projections m and n
upon the front of which lever are capable of being pushed in contact with the projecting
ends of the spindles and g* when by the insertion of a coin the tilting lever k has
been pushed on one side.
It now remains to describe how the contents of my improved apparatus cannot be
withdrawn except by payment of a coin.
The covering plate o (a back view of which is seen in Fig. 5) is bolted in position
upon the front or face of the chamber e by a pair of bolts p. p. the nuts p¹ of which
are situated inside the chamber 62 formed by the false bottom or cover b and thus
are incapable of being tampered with. This covering plate o is formed at the back
(see Fig. 5) with a suitable recess to enclose the self-locking mechanism and in which
back a race or groove q is formed along which the coin runs after being inserted
through the slit or opening until it reaches the short arm of the tilting lever kand
so tilting the same to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 becomes
suspended between its extremity and the opposite fixed buffer or projection s. In
this manner the end of the spindle becomes exposed and all that is necessary is to
push in the actuating lever when its projection m will first come in contact with and
push in the spindle and then the same projection by passing beneath the tilting
lever will cause the same to tilt a degree further and so release the coin from its
suspended position-allowing it to fall into the enclosed receptacle t formed to receive
it beneath the chamber e.
Simultaneously with this action the upper projection n upon the same lever has
pushed in the valve spindle 91 opening a communication with the outer atmosphere
and allowing its pressure to be exercised upon the liquid contents of the chamber e
and causing the same to flow out freely and empty itself through the spout h.
It will be apparent that only the contents of the chamber e can be withdrawn at
each movement of the actuating lever and that as soon as the said lever is released

page_text: the tilting lever will resume its normal position ready for the operation to he
repeated and the valves i and g² reopening the communication with the vessel a the
chamber e will instantly re-fill itself.
In Fig. 7 I illustrate a sectional view of a modification of my improved measuring
or draw off chamber in which the operating lever and coin tilting lever are dispensed
with and the apparatus arranged to be operated and the contents withdrawn by
simply pushing in the knob u. This knob u is attached to the projecting end of the
valve spindlo 0. In this case the venting valve is operated simultaneously with
the draw off valve y by means of an arm z projecting from the spindle of the latter
and the point or extremity of which arm passes between one of the coils of the
spring and thus as the draw off valvey opens and closes the venting valve a is
operated simultaneously.
This modification used in conjunction with my improved measuring vessel as
aforesaid and gives all the advantages of self-venting, non-tilting, invigorating of the
liquid and the drawing off of the liquid in given quantities but without the prepayment
arrangement hereinbefore described.
The vessel containing the body or main supply of liquor can only be constructed
on the principle hereinbefore described and illustrated but I do not confine myself to
the draw off apparatus herein before described as the same may be constructed in
various ways as for instance by an ordinary plug tap of suitable size provided with
the necessary liquid and venting inlets and outlets corresponding the passages in the
main vessel or by a pump or piston arrangement but these I should consider to be
modifications of my invention.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. The general arrangement and construction of fermented or aerated liquid
supplying apparatus substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
2. The improved combination of apparatus for venting and drawing off the
fermented or aerated liquid without at any time exposing or opening the main supply
to the atmosphere thus preserving, the vitality of the liquid to the last glass sub-
stantially as herein before described.
3. The improved construction and arrangement of cask or vessel with extended*
front whereby the draw off apparatus can he attached in such a manner as to
enable the vessel to be drained without tilting substantially as herein before
described.
4. In an automatic fermented or aerated liquid supplying apparatus the employment
of a detachable measuring chamber communicating with the cask or vessel through
suitable orifices and fitted with valves or their equivalents operated by automatic
locking mechanism released by the insertion of a coin in the slot of the chamber and
whereby the given quantity of liquid can only be drawn for each coin inserted and
also the same apparatus without the coin actuated lever, substantially as and for the
purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 2nd day of November 1889.
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Office, 55, Market Street, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.