IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LUBRICATING AND OTHER CANS, IN ORDER TO REGULATE THE DISCHARGE OR FLOW OF THE LIQUIDS THEY CONTAIN
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Robinson Scartliff, of Wolverhampton, in the
County of Stafford, Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF LUBRICATING AND OTHER CANS, IN ORDER TO REGULATE
THE DISCHARGE OR FLOW OF THE LIQUIDS THEY CONTAIN."
Sealed the 18th November 1859, and dated the 21st May 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Robinson Scartliff
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st May 1859.
I, JOHN ROBINSON SCARTLIFF, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford,
Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LUBRICATING AND OTHER CANS, IN ORDER TO
REGULATE THE DISCHARGE OR FLOW OF THE LIQUIDS THEY CONTAIN," to be as
follows:-
First, I take an ordinary can with a spout of the usual form, and at the
bottom of this can I place a cylinder constructed of tin, or any other suitable
material, and communicating with the interior mouth of the spout; just above-
this opening is a piston, moving upwards and downwards in the cylinder, and
kept in its place by a spring, which is acted on by a stud passing through the
top of the can by means of a series of levers; above this piston are one or
more openings in the cylinder through which the oil can pass. On the piston

page_text: It will
being raised, the openings are put in communication with the spout.
be evident that by more or less opening the aperture, that is, by elevating or
depressing the piston, the oil will flow slower or faster, as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Robinson Scartliff in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st November 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ROBINSON SCARTLIFF, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Mechanic,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Robinson Scartliff, Her special licence that I, the said John
Robinson Scartliff, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Robinson Scartliff, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LUBRICATING AND OTHER CANS, IN ORDER
TO REGULATE THE DISCHARGE OR FLOW OF THE LIQUIDS THEY CONTAIN," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Robinson Scartliff, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Robinson Scartliff, 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, that is to say :-
My Invention consists in forming cans or vessels of any known shape, and
chiefly those used for lubricating purposes, and called oil cans, in such a way
that the flow of the liquids they contain may be regulated at pleasure, and, also,

page_text: as it frequently happens that when machinery is in motion it is both difficult
and dangerous, and often impossible to introduce the lubricating can close to
the parts to be lubricated, I propose to construct them so that the liquids may
be ejected from them with such force as to be thrown on to a place some little
distance from the operator.
The means by which I effect this, is as follows:-In the interior of the can,
which is of the ordinary form, and on the bottom, adjoining to and in con-
nection with the orifice at the neck of the spout, I fix a small barrel, having a
spring within it, and also a piston or plunger; the piston or plunger rod is
attached to the end of a lever, from the other end of which is fixed a spindle,
which passes through the cover or lid of the can; instead of fixing the spring
within the barrel, it may be attached to the lever, or piston rod, or the spindle,
so as to act in a similar manner. A small orifice in the side of the barrel
admits the oil or other liquid into it, below the piston. On pressing the stud
on the end of the spindle, the plunger is raised up, and the oil enters the
barrel; on the pressure being removed, the plunger is forced downwards by
the spring, and forces the oil into the neck of the spout, and a portion is
ejected with some force. As the oil can only enter the spout from the barrel
by raising the plunger more or less, and uncovering the orifice in the barrel,
it will be evident that the oil may be let out either in drops, or in a stream, or
by intermittant jets.
In order more clearly to shew the nature of my Invention, I have to this
Specification appended the accompanying Drawing, which shows in section
the above mentioned parts applied to an oil can.
A is the can; a, the spout, which may either itself terminate in the barrel,
or may communicate with the latter by means of the small pipe b; c, the
barrel; d, the spring within it; e, the plunger, which may be either a stuffed
piston, a solid plunger, or a tube; f, the plunger rod; g, the lever; h, the
spindle; i, a piece of hempen stuffing round the hole in the lid; if thought
necessary, a stuffing box, and a gland may be fixed there. It will be seen
that by slightly altering the position of the levers, the piston may be made to
descend when the stud or button is pressed; the resulting action being the
same.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention, and
how the same is constructed and acts, I wish it understood that what I claim
and want secured by the before in part recited Letters Patent is, the applica-
tion of a barrel with a piston or a solid or hollow plunger to act by means of
the parts here within mentioned, or their equivalents, or other similar well
know and analogous devices, for the purpose of discharging and regulating the

page_text: flow of liquids from vessels, as more particularly described in this Specification,
and generally illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jolin Robinson Scartliff, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of Noveniber, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JAMES WRIGHT,
42, Bridge Street, Blackfriars,
London.
J. R. SCARTLIFF. (L.S.)