US107407A - Improvement in sap-buckets - Google Patents

Description

tieni CHARLES C. POS'ILOF HINES BURG, VERMONT.

Letters-'Patent No. 107,407, dated September 13, 1870.

IMPRQVEMENT IN SAP-Boosters.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patient and making part of the same.

-HOW To all whom it may concern.- l

Bc it known that I, CHARLES O. Posr, of Hinesbmg, in the county of Chittenden and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvement in Sap-Buckets, for the purpose of adjusting and securing the same in a level position; and the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making a part of this specification, in which- .Figure 1 represents my inventioirattached to the tree, showing the indented side of the bucket.

Figure 2 represents a device to be attached to the bottom of the bucket, as anA auxiliary for said purpose.

Figure 3 shows a modification of the device, to efv feet the same purpose.

Figure 4 represents an adjustable block, designed to hang between the bucket and the tree, to secure the same object.

The object of my invention .is-

First, to secure the sapfbuckct to the tree in a l10- rzontal position, so that the weight ofthe sap within the bucket shall not cause the same to incline, and so that it shall not spill over one edge before the bucket is entirely full; and

Second, to construct tapering buckets, which will pack conveniently for transportation and, at the same time, secure the main object of my invention.

My invention consistsv v First, in forming a taper bucket with an indented side, perpendicular to the bottom, as shown in fig. l.; and

Second, in adjustable devices, attached to the bottom or side of an ordinary taper bucket, to hold it in a horizontal posit-ion when suspended from the sapspout, or otherwise, against the side of the tree.

The buckets in o rdinary use, among the makers of maple-sugar, are either ordinary taper buckets, each provided with an ear on one side, -or an equivalent means for suspending it, or they are made cylindrical,

and similarly provided with means for suspension.

It will be readily perceived that the iirs't mentioned of these forms will, when suspended against they side of a tree, incline forward, so that the upper edge will not be so high upon one side as the other--in other words, the bucket will not hang level, and, with both the taper and cylindrical forms, the bucket will bc more or less free to swing from side to side, if exposed to the inuence of the wind, or other disturbing causes. \Vhen the bucket is not level, it is apparent that it will not retain its full quantity of sap, as thc same will begin to spill over the depressed edge before the full quantity has been'rcceived. When the buckets are made cylindrical, they cannot be conveniently packed for transportation, because one bucket eanno be inserted within another.

My invention obviatesthe above-mentioned objections to the buckets now in use, andthat others mayv fully understand it, I will describe particularly the mode `of construction and yoperation which I prefer to adopt. A

In iig. l A represents a taper bucket, with one side indented, as at l), suiiiciently toI become about perpendicular to the bottom A. Ordinarily and preferably this indentation presents a concave surface, which conforms, more or less nearly, to the curvature of the side of the tree, and the extremities of said concave sur'- face, being in contact with the back of the tree, effectnally prevent anyswinging toward one side, under the iniluenee of the wind orotber slight accidental i disturbances.

In manufacturing these buckets it is found economical to make the side in three pieces, and to make the indented side somewhat higher than the remaining edges, so that a hole, a, may be perforated, to lrcceive thehook B, or other means of suspension, above the level of the remaining edges. The bucket may. then be lled to the brim before any of the contents will escape, and it is'not necessary to attachan ear at the side, for insertion of the suspension-hook. When ready for transportation, they may be packed in the most convenient manner, one being inserted within another, and this is a point ofgreat practical importance, especially to the user, as he Tis thereby enabled to handle, with the same labor, a milch larger number of buckets than would be possiblc'if they were cylindrical.

In fig. 2 is shown a crescent-shaped plate, C, secured to the bottom of an ordinary taper bucket by the pivot d. This plate may be turned and reversed, as shown in dotted lines, and its horns, c e, will then rest against the side of the tree, and will support the bottom of the bucket in a horizontal position. This plate may be attached to buckets already ink use, and it affords great facilityfor adjustment when the tree stands at an unusual inclination, so that the bucket is more or'lcss oblique to the axis of the tree. With the crescent-plate C attached, the buckets may be packed in rests just as conveniently as without them.

In fig. 3 is shown a sliding arm or support, E, secured to the bottom of the bucket, fand, when in usc, may be projected beyond its edge, as shown in dotted lines. 'lheseare modiiications of my invent-ion, dcsigned particularly to bc applied to the ordinary taper buckets,.as now in use.

In fig. 4 is represented still another modification of my invention for theA samev purpose. It consists ot' wire, F, which may be attached to thc side of the bucket by a hook at its uppcrend, or it may be sccured in position in some other convenient way.

An adjustable double concave block, G, is placed upon the wire F, and'may be free to slide up and down upon the saine. ,lhe block Ur is placed between the tree and the 'ordinary taper' bucket A, and can be raised and lowered as may be required to adjust the bucket in ahorizontal position.

From the above description itI will-amical' that the principal object of my invention is to secure a taper bucket, which may be caused to hang level upon the side of a tree, and that my invention consists in means to secure that object.

It will also appear evident that a greater or lesser degree of indentation is immaterial, soflong as one portion of the side of the bucket, whose general form is conical, is made to be about perpendicular-to the b ottom, or so that the bucket, when suspended with said portion against ornext to the tree, the position of said bucket may be level, or nearly so.

The adjustabe plate G or other adjusting-attachment may frequently be advantageously attached to a bucket having the indented side 71, forthe reason that trees sometimes stand at an unusual inclination, and thc indented side may not always be sufficientto level the bucket. The adjustable plate or slide may then be employed as au auxiliary-support.

.Having described my invention audits object, \Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A taper or conical sap-bucket, provided with an indented side, b, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with a conical sap-bucket, constructed as above described, the adjustable' crescentplate. C or slide E, or their equivalent, for thc purpose herein shown and described. 1

CHARLES C. POST.

-iVitnesses:

Elm. F. Buowx, J. B. WOODRUFF.

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