Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.’s Beer Patents

So I’m not sure what to make of these. For nearly two years, I’ve been searching through Google’s patent search and blogging beer-related patents as I find them. And there are a lot of them: some historic, some by people I know (or knew), some surprising and some truly weird ones. Today, I found two separate patents, from two different years — 1948 and 1965 — but both issued on the same day — July 20 — and both of them assigned to the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. even though each one of them is beer-related — kegs, really — and as far as I know, they had nothing to do with beer during those time periods. So let’s go through each of them.

Patent No. 2445730A: Reinforced Sectional Barrel

Today in 1948, US Patent 2445730 A was issued, an invention of Max O. Kuhn, assigned to the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., for his “Reinforced Sectional Barrel.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This application relates to containers, and more especially to single walled metallic containers.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved container comprising corrosive and noncorrosive metal, said corrosive metal being protected not only from liquid contents within the barrel, but also from direct contact with the atmosphere.

Patent No. 3195760A: Single Walled Double Compartment Container

Today in 1965, US Patent 3195760 A was issued, an invention of William Bulgrin Walter, assigned to the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., for his ” Single Walled Double Compartment Container.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The present invention relates to containers and in particular to single walled metal beer containers with double compartments.

When beer is initially placed in containers for subsequent dispensing it contains a certain amount of natural carbon dioxide gas which serves to maintain the condition of the beer and keep the flavor lively so long as the container remains sealed. When the container is tapped and as the beer is withdrawn the evacuated space must be filled with a pressure balancing medium of some kind.

If the evacuated space is permitted to be filled with impure air any microorganisms carried in this air will tend to contaminate and impair the flavor of the beer and shorten considerably the useful life of the beer. Also unless the replacement medium enters the container quickly, enough of the natural carbon dioxide gas will be thrown off by the beer itself to fill this evacuated space thus causing a loss of condition of the beer and resulting in a flat taste.

In order to dispense the beer from the container it is necessary to use certain auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, valves and possibly long or involved piping, which equipment often may be a common source of contamination.

To avoid permitting impure air from entering and filling the evacuated space as the beer is Withdrawn, it is often considered preferable to use a separate source of carbon dioxide which involves a certain amount of additional equipment such as the gas cylinders themselves in order to dispense the beer under pressure. The use of carbon dioxide gas would be preferable to pump systems requiring facilities for sterilizing the air which is permitted to enter the evacuated space. A further reason for the use of carbon dioxide is that it serves to prevent the natural carbon dioxide in the beer itself from being thrown off inside the container, thereby ensuring that the flavor is kept lively for a longer period of time.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a single walled metal container having a separate compartment for the storage of carbon dioxide gas.

Another object of the invention is to provide a single walled metal container having double compartments, one for the storage of a suitable gas and the other for the storage of a beverage, the container being readily adaptable for establishing communication between the two compartments when tapped through a conventional and simple equipment.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a method of fabricating single walled double compartment metal containers of various dual volume capacities from a single standard size container type.

I know that Japan’s Bridgestone Tires bought Firestone Tires in 1988, but I’m unclear as to when the Firestone family was no longer in control, or had sold the business. This is at least 32 years before Adam Firestone and David Walker started the Firestone Walker Brewing Co., and even for the more recent patent, Adam would have been just a kid. So why would Firestone Tires be patenting kegs, or improvements to kegs? Rubber seals, perhaps? Or just some weird quirk of business, who knows?