Barrel with trapdoor
AssigneeCanton Wood Products Company
InventorWilliam J. Weil
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The barrel of the present invention contains a removable trapdoor which fits snugly into an aperture in the barrel and which is easily removed from the aperture, thereby providing for easy access to the interior of the barrel. The present invention provides distinct advantages over the prior art because it allows a worker lacking the skills of a cooper to remove or replace the wood chips or additional staves inside the barrel without removing a barrel head. Since the wood replacement can be done by regular employees, the barrels can be serviced when needed or convenient, rather than accumulating a large number of barrels for a cooper to service at one time.
Claims20
A barrel, comprising:
- a. a body having a top end, a middle portion, a bottom end, an interior surface, and an exterior surface;
- b. a first head and a second head, said first head toward said top end, said second head toward said bottom end;
- c. a bunghole;
- d. a removable trapdoor having a geometrical shape, edges, an inner surface and an outer surface;
- and
- e. an aperture having a similar geometrical shape to said geometrical shape of said trapdoor, said trapdoor being receivable by said aperture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.