Improvements in Taps or other Valves.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Apr., 1896-Accepted, 9th May, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Taps or other Valves.
We, CHARLES CLARENCE LININDOLL, of Fort Edward in the County of
Washington and State of New York, Manufacturer, and EDWARD MATTHEWS,
of 20 Linden Street, Newark, in the County of Essex and State of New Jersey,
Gentleman, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to taps and other valves, and
for withdrawing liquids-such as beer, ale, and the
receptacles.
.
particularly taps or faucets
like-from casks or other
Various constructions for this purpose have heretofore been employed, the most
common of which comprises a thimble which is screwed into the barrel-head, a
valve-casing attached to the barrel by screwing it into this thimble and having a
valve-seat within the barrel, a rotary gate or valve proper swiveled to this casing,
a spigot having a separable coupling connecting it to the casing and a tubular key
engaging the gate and opening the valve as the spigot is rotated to couple it to
the casing and closing the valve on the reverse or uncoupling rotation of the
spigot.
Our present invention aims to provide certain improvements in taps and the like
which operate on this general principle, and to this end I provide certain novel
features of construction, arrangement and combination which will be fully herein-
after set forth.
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred adaptation of my
invention,
Figure 1 is a fragmentary section of a barrel-head, showing my improved tap in
axial section applied thereto and in the open position and the discharge or draw-off
pipe or spigot in elevation and applied to the tap. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section
thereof cut on the line 22 in Fig. 1, showing the key in end elevation; and
Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the stem and valve Q in the open position.
Referring to the drawings, let A represent a barrel-head; a, a hole there-
through; B, the thimble or casing of the tap; C, the valve proper thereof;
D, the stem of the latter; E, the draw-off or key, and F the handle of the latter.
These parts in their general features are of usual construction and of well-known
operation.
The key E may be any suitable member for operating the valve, being usually
tubular and having flat or other faces c engaging reciprocal flats or faces d on the
stem, whereby the key and valve are locked together and the latter may be turned
to the open or closed position by the former. To couple the key to the thimble,
the thimble has a socket e carrying diametrically-opposite inwardly-projecting
pins f, and the key has diametrically-opposite tapering grooves g, which receive
the pins when the key is passed into the casing and by a quarter-turn lock the
key to the casing. As usual, the casing B has an external thread h screwing into
the hole a and thereby coupling the tap to the barrel-head. The outer face, i,
of the tap comes substantially Hush with the corresponding face of the barrel-
head, and the outer end of the tap substantially fills the outer part of the
hole a.
According to my improved construction the casing B has a reduced inner end

page_text: having an external screw-thread j, and the valve-seat G is formed in a separate
cap H, having an internally-screw-threaded forwardly-projecting flange k, the thread
of which screws on the thread j of the casing with a tight fit, thus closing the inner
end of the casing against outlet through the tap except at the valve-seat. The
seat G is formed as a disk-like web or bridge crossing the interior of the cap H,
and has flat seating-faces at its opposite sides, the outer one lettered 7 and the inner
one lettered m, between which faces are two ducts or valve-openings n, which are
arc-shaped and equally distant from a circular central bearing o, which traverses
the seat axially. The seating-face 7 is preferably a composition or other packing
material face, and is formed by providing a recess p at the outer side of the cap
and pressing or otherwise fixing in this recess a washer 9, the face of which is flush
with the outer edge r of the cap.
Internally the inner end of the casing B is constructed with a cylindrical
chamber I, extending from the inner face, m, of the seat inwardly to an annular
bridge or shoulder J, and having a slight shoulders near the seat and a slight
enlargement t between this shoulder and the seat, and a flat end face u at the
bridge J. Through the bridge is a circular passage K leading from the chamber I
to the outer socket e, and at the junction of this passage and socket is an annular
packing-ring v.
The valve proper, C, may be any suitable rotary or oscillating disk or gate.
I prefer to construct it as an annular disk having a Hat seating-face w, embracing
the face of the seat, and two arc-shaped ducts a coinciding in shape and position
to the ducts n, and when in one position giving communication through the valve,
and when turned out of coincidence with the latter ducts closing communication
therethrough. Except where traversed by the ducts a the valve-disk is a complete
imperforate disk, and its diameter is preferably equal to that of the packing-disk q,
preferably corresponding to the diameter of the socket p, so that the packing-disk
is completely covered and protected by the valve-disk, and in case any wear occurs
the latter can follow the packing-disk inwardly of its recess. Centrally the valve-
disk is connected to its stem in any suitable manner to insure a rotary movement
of the valve with the stem. This is best accomplished by forming the valve-disk
with a square hole a' receiving the squared part y of the stem. Beyond this hole
the valve-disk has a boss z having an outwardly-opening socket 6. In this socket
is an annular packing cl, which surrounds the cylindrical screw-threaded end d' of
the stem, making a leak-tight joint at this point. This packing and the valve-disk
are both held in position on the stem by a wrench-nut L, screwed on the end of
the stem against the packing, and this nut is locked by a lock-nut M screwed on the
stem against it. The nut L has a smooth annular face outside its wrench-faces at
rear, and the lock-nut M has a socket el receiving and inclosing the rear of the
wrench-nut and an annular wall surrounding this socket embracing the annular
rear face of the wrench-nut. The lock-nut is preferably imperforate, the
screw-threaded hole in it terminating in advance of its rear wall, so that it
constitutes an inclosing cover for the nut L and end of the stem. As shown,
it has a reduced rearwardly-extending head N, which is notched for the screw-
driver.
One feature of improvement resides in the construction and application of the
sieve P, which is a perforated substantially hemispherical member extending from
the flanger outwardly and inclosing the valve-disk and nuts, and having centrally
an aperture which passes over the head M of the lock-nut. The strainer is
secured in place by slightly opening the notch in this head, so that the sides of the
latter are expanded at the outer side of the strainer. By the reverse operation
the strainer is released and may be removed.
Another feature of improvement comprises an auxiliary valve-disk Qat the
inner side of the seat G and a tubular valve-stem D through which the discharge
from the valve passes. The valve Q rotates with the disk C and has a smooth
annular face g² engaging the face m of the seat Gr. It is traversed by ducts i³,
corresponding substantially in shape and position with the ducts through the seat

page_text: and the disk C and is coupled to the latter to rotate therewith. The valves C
and Q are adjusted toward and from each other to give the desired friction and fit
against the opposite faces of the seat G, being connected by the cylindrical
spindle h' of the stem, which spindle fits and turns in the cylindrical aperture o
through the seat.
The stem D and valve Q are preferably formed as a single piece, and the stem
is constructed with a hollow or tubular interior R, extending from the ducts ¹
outwardly and terminating in a contracted neck j, partially cylindrical, and there
coinciding with the aperture K through the bridge J, and at its opposite sides
having flat or equivalent faces d reciprocal to and coinciding with the faces c of
the key E. Externally the stem is preferably constructed as a cylinder S,
snugly fitting the socket I of the casing. This cylinder has a slightly-enlarged
cylindrical part k fitting the corresponding enlargement at the outer part of the
socket and a shoulder seating on the shoulders and clamped thereagainst by
the screwing up of the cap H. The end of the stem seats against the inner wall of
the bridge J.
By this construction the discharge through the valve is all received within the
stem and delivered from the interior of the latter into the tubular conduit m' of
the key, spigot or other discharge used with the tap. The valve-stem makes a
sufficiently tight fit with the casing to ordinarily prevent the passage of any of
the contents of the cask between the stem and casing. This is prevented by
the face of the valve Q at one end and by the face n¹ of the stem, which
makes a tight fit with the face u of the shoulder J at the other end. The
packing between the casing and key prevents leakage between these parts.
The provision of two valves, one at each side of the seat, greatly increases
the security of the tap against leakage, while not requiring such pressure of the
valve-faces against the seat as will interfere with the free working of the tap.
It will be seen that our improvements provide a simple, strong, and effective tap
or valve, and it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular
details of construction or combination of features, nor to use with the particular
character of valve, described and shown as embodying the preferred form of the
invention, since it can be availed of according to such modifications of the
structural details, such combination of features, and with such valves as
circumstances dictate.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1. In taps and the like, a tubular casing having a screw-threaded inner end, in
combination with a screw-threaded cap screwing on the end of said casing and
having a transverse valve-seat, a valve engaging said seat and controlling com-
munication therethrough, a stem for said valve fixed thereto and extending
toward the front of said casing, having a cylindrical part bearing and turning in
said cap, and having inwardly of said seat key-faces by which it may be turned
by a key to operate the valve, and said cap having an axial, cylindrical aperture
receiving and rotatively holding the cylindrical part of said stem.
2. In taps and the like, a tubular casing having a screw-threaded inner end, and
an inner chamber open at its rear, in combination with a cap screwed to the inner
end of said casing and having a valve-seat extending at right angles to the axis
and closing the rear end of said chamber, and an axial aperture, a rotary valve
within said chamber engaging said valve-seat, a stem fixed to said valve and
turning the latter, baving a cylindrical part traversing and rotating in said
aperture in said cap and fastened thereto axially at the rear side thereof, and
having key-faces by which it can be turned by a key, said cap separable from said
casing by unscrewing it therefrom, whereby said cap, valve and stem can be
separated from said casing without disconnecting them from each other.
3. In taps and the like, a casing having a cylindrical part t at its inner end and

page_text: a shoulders forwardly of said part, in combination with a valve fitting said
cylindrical part, seating on said shoulder, rotative, and having a valve-face
toward the inner end of said casing, a valve-seat separably connected to the
inner end of said casing and having a face embracing the face of said valve,
means for turning said valve, and a tubular conduit from said valve to the outlet
from said casing.
4. In taps and the like, a casing B having a hollow interior I, in combination
with a stem D consisting of a hollow cylinder fitting-the-interier of said casing
having an aperture at one end and a valve Q at its other end, and a valve-
seat G engaging said valve Q and carried by said casing, and means for rotating
said valve and stem.
Dated thin sah do of Anul 1906
F. W. BARKER,
Applicants' Agent.