Improvements in Bottling Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 14th Nov., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bottling Apparatus.
I, MELVIN DONALLY, of No. 22 Cornelia Street, in the City of Brooklyn,
County of Kings, State of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to the bottling of liquids, such as beer, by hand, that is
to say when manipulation of each bottle by the attendant is required. As the
operation is usually conducted, each bottling tube is compressed by the operator to
stop the flow of the liquid as he withdraws the end or nozzle of the tube from one
bottle and prepares to insert it in another, and while the operator is transferring
tubes from bottles already filled to empty bottles the liquid is flowing through
other tubes which will at once require attention. If the operator is negligent or
for any reason is unable to stop the flow into certain bottles at the proper time,
such bottles will be filled to overflowing and more or less liquid will be wasted.
Moreover, as the operator's nerves and muscles become wearied by almost ceaseless
repetitions of the same act, it will frequently happen that he will fail to shut off
the flow of liquid completely through the tubes which he is transferring, with the
result that considerable waste is occasioned.
The object of the invention is to provide a device that will effectually prevent
waste in the ways just noted and will thereby be of great value to bottlers who,
by reason of lack of space or of insufficient business for a machine or on account of
the cost of a machine, do not use a bottling machine in their business. To tbis
end I provide for each bottling tube a stopper which will prevent the escape of
liquid from the bottle around the tube and an elastic holder attached to the stopper
or tube and adapted to engage the neck or mouth of the bottle to hold the tube
and stopper in place oven after the bottle has been completely filled. The stopper
may take a variety of forms within the scope of my invention, it being essential
merely that it shall fit snugly around the tube in order to prevent the escape of
liquid between itself and the tube; it may itself, by contact with the bottle-mouth,
prevent the flow of liquid therefrom, or it may cover the mouth of the bottle
loosely, like a cap, while the clamp or holder before referred to may have a
continuous bearing upon the bottle-neck and so retain auy liquid that may flow
between the cap and the bottle-mouth. As a further feature of the invention
I provide means whereby a clip or other valve, which is used to permit or prevent
the flow of liquid through the tube, may be opened automatically when the tube
and bottle are brought together.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a barrel with a series of filling-tubes, two
of which are shown as equipped with one form of my improved device and applied
to bottles:
Figure 2 is a vertical central section of one form of the improved device, showing
also portions of a bottle and the filling and vent-tubes :
Figure 3 is a vertical central section on a plane at right angles to that
represented in Figure 2:
Figure 4 is a vertical central section similar to Figure 2, but without the bottle
and showing a valve in the vent-tube :

page_text: Figure 5 is a rear view of a portion ofsafiame having a. series of tubes, stoppers
and holders fixed thereto and to which the Bottles may be applied, an automatic
valve-operating arrangement being alto shown.::
Figure 6 is a vertical section on the line - of Figure 5:
Figure 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of the stopper and holder:
Figure 8 is a vertical central section of the construction shown in Figure 7, with
the upper part of a bottle shown in elevation:
Figure 9 is a horizontal' section on the line y-y of Figure 7:
In Figure 1 of the drawings I have represented at A a cask or barrel from
which the liquid to be bottled is drawn, a series of bottling or filling-tubes B, and
a corresponding series of gas-return tubes b, said tubes having independent
connections with the cask or barrel and each pair, composed of a single filling-tube
and a single gas-tube, being adapted to be applied to a bottle to be filled. It will
be understood that in the arrangement represented the filling tubes B pass through
the bung C and enter the liquid iu the barrel, the tube thus forming a siphon to
conduct the liquid from the barrel to the bottle; the gas-return tubes b, b, do not
extend either in the bottle nor into the liquid in the barrel, but serve to conduct
the displaced air or gas from the bottles to the barrel. Although I prefer to use
the arrangement just described, it will be apparent that the gas-return tubes may
be dispensed with and the filling tubes connected to the supply-cash or reservoir
in any desired manner without affecting the mode of use of my improved
device.
Before proceeding to describe in detail the different forms shown in the several
figures it may be stated generally that each filling tube is connected to or passes
through a perforated stopper or cap which is adapted to cover the mouth of the
bottle and prevent the escape of the liquid between itself and the tube, and that a
yielding clamp or holder is attached to or carried by the stopper and serves to hold
the tube and stopper in place in relation to the bottle after they have been brought
together.
In the construction represented in Figures 2 and 3, the stopper is formed as a
cap-D which is adapted to cover the mouth of the bottle E and bas fixed thereto
or formed therewith a rigid' tube F which is adapted to enter the bottle and forms
an extension and virtually a part of the filling-tube B. The cap may have a
nipple d'which is adapted for connection with the gas-return tube; in case the
gas-return tube is not employed I prefer to enlarge the nipple, as shown in
Figure 4, and to place therein a float-valve d' which shall be upborne by the liquid
when the bottle and the space between its mouth and the cap D are filled with
liquid and shall thereby prevent the escape of the liquid through the nipple. The
cap is also provided with an extension or skirt which is by preference sub-
stantially rigid and unyielding and is adapted to extend below the enlargement of
the bottle-mouth and at that point to bear a yielding and elastic diaphragm G
having a central aperture 9 which will stretch sufficiently to permit the mouth of
the bottle to pass through it into the cap or stopper and will thereby retain the
Jatter in place, even when the bottle has been filled completely and its pressure
tends to force the cap away from the bottle-mouth, the diaphragm forming an
envelope which closes tightly about the neck of the bottle and prevents the escape
of liquid; at the same time the operator can readily disengage the stopper and the
diaphragm from the bottle. The diaphragm G is normally flat, as represented in
Figure 4; but when applied to the bottle the portions around the central aperture
turn up and remain in the position shown in Figure 2, in which the pressure of
such liquid as may escape between the bottle-mouth and the cap or stopper will
have a tendency to make the joint tighter between the bottle-neck and the
encircling diaphragm. As the tube and stopper are withdrawn from the bottle
the encircling diaphragm will assume the position represented in Figure 3 and will
form a funnel to return into the bottle such liquid as may be contained within the
enclosed space, thereby filling the bottle again to compensate for the withdrawal
of the filling-tube or its extension. The diaphragm may be secured upon the cap

page_text: or its extension by any convenient means, as by being wrapped with cord or
wire f.
In the form of the device shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9, the encircling diaphrag.n
having a central aperture is formed of a series of overlapping elastic plates g, g
which may be riveted or otherwise secured to the skirt d' of the cap or stopper D
and, being formed of stiffer material than that employed for the diaphragm shown
in Figures 2, 3, and 4, may be given a suitable shape which will permit the bottle-
neck to be readily entered and withdrawn and so that they may closely encircle
the neck of the bottle below the enlargement near the mouth. Since these elastic
plates are mainly for the purpose of holding the tube and stopper in place and
cannot be depended upon to make a tight joint which will entirely prevent the
escape of the liquid, I prefer to line the upper portion of the cap with a suitable
packing d³, such as rubber, which will make a tight joint between the bottle-mouth
and the cap.
It will be observed that as the diaphragm or yielding envelope is supported by
the substantially rigid and flaring skirt, the bottle can be introduced by a simple
direct movement in the line of its axis and the proper connection established with
certainty.
As bottling is commonly practised the operator compresses the filling-tube with
his fingers, if it be a soft tube, or operates a cut-off cock or valve if the tube be
rigid, and the result is that the tube is not always closed completely and that there
is more or less leakage and waste. I therefore prefer to support on or with the
cap or stopper a cut-off which may be shifted readily by the operator to shut off or
permit the flow of the liquid, or may be actuated automatically when the tube and
bottle are brought together. One form of this cut-off is shown in Figures 2 and 3
as composed of a bent plate K which is fixed directly to the cap or stopper D and
has an opening, as at k to receive the tube or tubes. To the end of the plate is
hinged a second bent plate L which has a lip I to engage a hook fixed on the
cap D. The hinged plate L can be conveniently operated by the thumb of the
hand as it grasps the tube and stopper, either to compress the tube or to be
disengaged from the hook to release the tube. If constructed substantially as
represented in Figure 3, the plate L will be disengaged from the hook by the
slight shock in applying the stopper and tube to the bottle. As stated above, and
as represented in Figures 5 and 6, the cut-off may be actuated without the special
attention of the operator. As shown in said figures, several stoppers may be
supported in a fixed frame represented at M, and to each stopper or near it, so as
to occupy a fixed relation therewith, is secured a spring clip or cut-off N which
normally compresses the tube. The free end of the clip might be extended to
form a movable arm which shall be shifted by the bottle as it is applied to the
tube and stopper, or, as represented, the movable arm N' may be separately pivoted
upon the stopper or frame and may act upon the clip through an intermediate
latch-piece n. If a cut-off valve or cock is employed with a rigid tube it may be
operated by an arm N' in a similar manner.
I have shown and described herein certain convenient and practical forms in
which my invention may be embodied, but it will be understood that I do not
intend to limit my invention to the exact form shown or to any other, as many
different forms which embody my invention will readily suggest themselves.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The combination with a bottling tube, of a stopper encircling said tube and
adapted to close the mouth of the bottle around the tube and having a substantially
rigid skirt, and a yielding envelope carried by said skirt aud adapted to be slipped
upon the outside of the neck or mouth of a bottle as the tube is inserted therein
and to close tightly about the same.
2. The combination with a bottling tube, of a cap encircling said tube, a cut-off

page_text: for said tube supported in fixed relation to said cap, and a yielding arm to operate
said cut-off and adapted to be moved to open the cut-off by contact with the bottle
when the bottle and cap are brought together.
3. The combination with a bottling tube, a gas return tube, and independent
connections for said tubes to the barrel or reservoir, of a stopper fitting both tubes
and adapted to close the mouth of the bottle around the tube and having a sub-
stantially rigid skirt, and a yielding envelope carried by said skirt and adapted to
be slipped upon the outside of the neck or mouth of the bottle as the tubes are
inserted therein and to close tightly about the same.
Dated this 13th day of October 1896.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Chartered Patent Agent, London,
For the Applicant.