Improvements in Closing Butter Churns, Railway Milk Churns, and other Vessels.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Feb., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 21st Nov., 1898-Accepted, 7th Jan., 1899
PROVISIONAL
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Closing Butter Churns, Railway Milk Churns, and
other Vessels.
I, WILLIAM HOPKINS, of 25, Shakespeare Road, Drayton Park, Hanwell, in
the County of Middlesex, Dairy Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:
My invention has for its object to provide improved means for securing the
lids or covers of butter churns, railway milk churns and other vessels to the
body portions thereof.
According to my invention I employ a ring which can be separate from the
vessel and which is provided with a series of clips for engaging with the cover
and with the vessel, inclines being provided upon either the cover or the vessel
in such a manner that the turning of the ring causes the clips to slide upon
the inclines to draw the cover tightly against its seating.
When the inclines are formed on the cover a rib or flange is advantageously
formed upon the vessel for the clips to engage with. In the case of a railway
milk churn the inclines are preferably formed upon the inside of the neck of
the churn.
A great advantage of my invention as applied to a butter churn is that it
permits of a churn being more readily cleansed than is the case when a number
of clamping screws are attached to the body or to the cover.
In some cases it may be found advantageous to mount the ring upon a pivot
upon the lid so that it will not become inadvertently detached therefrom.
Dated this 21st day of February 1898.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Closing Butter Churns, Railway Milk Churns, and
other Vessels.
I, WILLIAM HOPKINS, of 25, Shakespeare Road, Drayton Park, Hanwell, in
the County of Middlesex, Dairy Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
[Price 8d.]

page_text: 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 has for its object to provide improved means for securing the
lids or covers of butter churns, railway milk churns and other vessels to the
body portions thereof.
According to my invention I employ a ring which can be separate from the
vessel and which is provided with a series of clips for engaging with the cover
and with the vessel, inclines being provided upon either the cover or the vessel
in such a manner that the turning of the ring causes the clips to slide upon
the inclines to press the cover tightly against its seating.
When the inclines are formed on the cover a rib or flange is advantageously
formed upon the vessel for the clips to engage with.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:-
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a part of a butter churn having my
improved closing devices applied to it; and,
Figure 2 is a plan of the said churn;
Figure 3 is a half plan of the body of the churn with the cover removed.
Figure 4 is an elevation illustrating the construction of a detail.
a is the body of the churn and b is the lid or cover which latter as shewn
is provided on the back or underside with a ring e of packing material for
ensuring a good joint between the body and the cover.
d, d are the clips for clamping the said cover to the body and e is the ring
to which the said clips are connected so that they will be operated simultaneously
and retain their proper relative positions. Each of these clips is hook shaped at
its lower end adapted to engage with a flange f fixed to the body of the churn
and at its other end is turned over to press upon inclined surfaces g, g upon
the cover.
h, h are notches formed in the flange f for allowing the hook shaped ends d, d
to be engaged with the said flange.
With this arrangement it will be understood that in order to tightly secure
the cover upon the churn the ring e is lifted by its handles e¹ and placed over
the cover so that the hooked ends of the clips pass through the notches h, h
and the upper ends of the clips bear upon the inclined surfaces g, g; the ring c
being then rotated, the said upper ends of the clips, by running along inclines g, g
draw the lid towards the body of the churn to make a good joint.
A great advantage of my invention as applied to a butter churn is that there
are practically no fittings upon either the body of the churn or the lid so that
they may be more readily cleansed than is the case when a number of clamping
screws or other devices are attached to the body of the churn or the cover.
Furthermore, when closing a churn the pressure is applied evenly around the lid
thereby avoiding the liability of warping frequently caused, when the pressure
is unequally applied by means of screws.
Instead of engaging the clips with a flange f, as shewn, they may be adapted
at their lower ends to engage with a groove in the churn, suitable recesses
being provided for permitting of the hooked ends of the clips entering the said
grooves.
In the case of a railway churn where the cover is below the top of the neck
of the churn I advantageously arrange two or more inclined ledges upon the
inner side of the neck and I attach to the ring a corresponding number of blocks
which when placed upon the cover and rotated more or less will come in contact
with the inclined surfaces and so be forced downwards on to the cover to hold
the same tightly.
In some cases it may be found advantageous to provide the ring with a boss
which is mounted upon a pivot so that the said ring will not become inadvertently

page_text: detached from the lid. In the case of a milk churn the pivot may be formed
by the central projection upon the lid.
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:-
1. The improvements in closing butter churns, railway milk churns and other
vessels consisting in the use of a ring carrying a series of clips or pressure
pieces designed to engage with corresponding inclines in such a
when the ring is turned pressure will be applied to the lid, substantially as
described.
manner that
2. The improved means for closing butter churns and the like hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
1000
Daru
2444
G. F. REDFERN & Co..
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
G. F. REDFERN & Co..
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.