Richard T. Cornelius Patents A High-Pressure Beer Dispensing Device

On October 26, 1937, the United States Patent Office granted Richard T. Cornelius Patent No. 2,097,020 for a beer-dispensing device. Cornelius had founded the Cornelius Company with his father in 1931, and draft-beer equipment formed the company’s principal business before the Second World War. The patented device was designed to let beer be drawn from a container maintained at relatively high pressure without excessive foaming. An adjustable restriction reduced the pressure and controlled the flow before the beer left the faucet. This pressure-compensation principle anticipated the function associated with later compensator faucets.