Improvements in or connected with Machines for Corking Bottles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 17th July, 1895-Accepted. 17th Aug.,
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Machines for Corking Bottles.
I JOHN PERKINS JACKSON of 63 Duke Street Liverpool Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention is designed to economise labour by substituting an automatic system
or device for the present method of feeding or placing corks into the cone or
compressing chamber of a corking machine by hand.
It can either be a separate appliance for attachment to an existing machine or
in the original construction of the machine this invention can be incorporated or
combined.
As corking machines vary so extremely in their construction & mechanism this
appliance requires to be varied to suit them. I will describe a form of appliance
suitable for adaptation to a Gervais corking machine.
To operate my appliance I require a motive power or moving part & I get this
from the nearest & most convenient moving part of the machine the main rack at
the back which rises & falls.
I construct an open tube or shoot down which the corks fall, a funnel or hopper
above the shoot to store the corks in, a roller to throw the corks about in the
hopper, a circle or set of rods which pass in & out of the hopper & clear the mouth
of the shoot of any corks which may be lying across it, & a slide which pushes or
carries the cork into the compressing chamber of the corking machine.
The hopper is filled with corks & the handle may be pulled over in order to fill
the shoot before commencing work.
To begin I pull the handle forward as if to drive a cork into a bottle, & this
action rotates the roller in the hopper agitates the corks & causes them to fall down
the shoot. At the same time it lifts the circle or set of rods into the hopper
& clears the mouth of the shoot of any obstructing corks.
When the corks fall down the tube they fall at its base into a circular opening at
the end of a slide which works in a frame fastened to the side of the compression
chamber. When the cork has dropped into the circular end of the slide the latter
moves along in the frame carrying the cork with it until the opening or chamber at
the end of the slide is over the compressing chamber of the corking machine
whereupon the cork drops out into the compressing chamber being no longer
supported by the framework of the slide. The column of corks inside the tube is
meantime resting on the solid portion of the top of the slide which slides away under
them & on the return motion of the slide the lower cork falls into the slide
When the next forward
chamber & the remainder rest upon the cork so situated.
stroke of the slide takes place the slide embraces or carries away in its chamber
or end this lowest cork & in doing so slides away under the column of other corks
above.
The handle of the corking machine is then pushed back & the preceding actions
are reversed or at a standstill as the case may be the roller is no longer driven
round among the corks but remains rigidly in position the set of rods is withdrawn
from the funnel & the slide returns to its original position & receives a cork
into its opening or chamber ready to be carried along at the next operation.
The arrangement of the parts is as follows :-I make a bracket in one or several
parts & fix it to the head of the corking machine. At the back & front this
bracket is continued upwards into two vertical arms & these carry a horizontal
spindle. Or instead of a separate bracket the head of the machine is itself suitably
shaped.

page_text: The spindle carries a large roller with elastic pellets or strips of spring wire-
which pass into or spring into the tube or funnel as the roller goes round & so clear
the mouth of the tube of corks lodging there. Thistroller is so shaped as to
embrace or surround about half of the diameter of the cork shoot or tube. It is
fixed at the junction of the cork shoot & the hopper & it may have serrations or
grooves on its face so as more effectually to stir up the corks. It works loose on
its spindle on to which near the roller is fixed a ratchet wheel & a pawl on the side
of the roller gears into the ratchet wheel.
Onto the far or back end of the spindle is fixed a cog wheel which is operated
by a rack fixed on the main rack of the corking machine rising & falling with it.
The ratchet wheel & pawl are so arranged that as the rack rises & turns the
ratchet wheel the pawl gears & the roller turns with it but as the rack descends
the pawl slips & so the roller does not turn.
Secured to the main rack at an angle to it & crossing over the machine from
back to front is.a bracket which rises & falls as the machine operates.
The front part of the bracket moves the circle or set of rods up & down inside
& round the shoot & into & out of the funnel or hopper above. The back part of
the bracket near to where it is fixed to the main rack carries a little platform or
projection & through this & secured to it passes the lower end of the rack which
operates the cog wheel on the roller spindle."
The cork shoot or tube I form of strong brass tubing & I prefer to have an
elongated slot in it or a portion of the front cut away so as to shew the downward
passage of the corks.
The lower end of this tube is a separate piece & can be slid up & down inside
the tube above & can be adjusted & fixed at any desired position so as to be
adjustable for any height of cork which may fall into the chamber or end of the
slide underneath it.
To obtain the horizontal movement of the slide I employ a lever mounted on
a stud & on one end of the lever is a small roller held in position against a cam by
the aid of a spring.
The cam working this lever is fastened to the end of the horizontal compressor
which projects & works in & out at the back of the machine.
As the compressor returns after its forward movement the cam pushes against
the roller on the end of the lever & so works the slide & causes a cork to be carried
to the compression chamber.
The slide moving in the frame is so formed that it can be adjusted for extra long
& extra short corks but slight variations of the corks will not affect the working.
When the slide is once adjusted it cannot remove more than one cork at a time
from under the supply tube.
1 may dispense with the spring to carry the slide back & effect the same result
by means of a roller & a cam slot which will work the slide both to & fro.
וי
Improvements in or connected with Machines for Corking Bottles.
I, JOHN PERKINS JACKSON, of 63 Duke Street, Liverpool, Engineer, 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 :-
My invention is designed to economise labour by substituting an improved auto-
matic system or device for the present method of feeding or placing corks into the
cone, or compressing chamber of a corking machine by hand.
.
It can either be a separate appliance for attachment to an existing machine,

page_text: or in the original construction of the machine, this invention can be incorporated or
combined.
As corking machines vary in their construction and mechanism this invention
requires to be slightly varied to suit them. I will describe a form of appliance as
adapted to the well known Gervais corking machine.
To operate my appliance I require a motive power or moving part and I get this
from the nearest and most convenient moving part of the machine, the main rack at
the back which rises and falls.
I construct an open tube or shoot, down which the corks fall, a funnel or
hopper above the shoot to store the corks in, a roller to throw the corks about in the
hopper, a circle or set of rods which pass in and out of the hopper and clear the
mouth of the shoot of any corks which may be lying across it, and a slide which
pushes or carries the cork into the compressing chamber of the corking machine.
In operation, corks are placed in the hopper and the handle may be pulled
over in order to fill the shoot before commencing work.
To begin I pull the handle forward as if to drive a cork into a bottle, and this
action rotates the roller in the hopper, agitates the corks and causes them to fall
down the shoot. At the same time it lifts the circle or set of rods into the
hopper and thereby clears the mouth of the shoot of any obstructing corks.
When the corks fall down the shoot they fall at its base into a recess at the end
of a slide which works in a frame fastened near the side of the compressing
chamber. When the cork has dropped into the recess at the end of the slide
the latter moves along in the frame carrying the cork with it until the said recess
is over the compressing chamber of the corking machine, whereupon the cork drops
out into the compressing chamber being no longer supported by the framework of
the slide. The column of corks inside the tube is meantime resting on the solid
portion of the top of the slide, which slides away under them and on the return
motion of the slide, the lower cork falls into the slide recess, and the remainder rest
upon the cork so situated. When the next forward stroke of the slide takes place,
the slide embraces or carries away in its recess this lowest cork and in doing so slides
away under the column of other corks above.
The handle of the corking machine is then pushed back, and the preceding
actions are reversed or at a standstill as the case may be; the roller is no longer
driven round among the corks but remains rigidly in position, the set of rods is
withdrawn from the funnel and the slide returns to its original position and receives
a cork into its opening or chamber ready to be carried along at the next operation.
Referring to the drawings:-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of such parts of the well known Gervais corking
machine as are necessary to show my invention.
Fig. 2 is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the roller and spring wires hereinafter described.
Fig. 4 is a partial sectional elevation as on line - Fig. 1.
A is the bed or timber foundation of the machine. Bis the body or main hollow
standard containing the cog wheel C also main rack D and plunger E actuated
thereby. F is the handle having counterweight F¹. G is the step or support for
the bottles adjustable as regards height in the usual manner and adapted to
be locked in position on the ascent of main rack D by the usual mechanism.
The above
G is the compressing chamber and G is the sliding compressor.
mentioned parts do not differ from those in use and by themselves form no portion
of my invention.
In applying my invention to such a machine I make a bracket H H¹ in one or
several parts and fix it to the head of the corking machine. At the back and front
this bracket is continued upwards into two vertical arms, H H' and these carry a
horizontal spindle I. Instead of a separate bracket the head of the machine may
be itself suitably shaped.
The spindle I carries a large roller J with elastic pellets or strips of spring wire j
which pass into or spring into the shoot K or hopper L as the roller goes round,

page_text: and so clear the mouth of the former of corks lodging there. This roller J is so
shaped as to embrace or surround about half of the diameter of the cork shoot
or tube K. It is fixed at the junction of the cork shoot K and the hopper -L, and it
may have serrations or grooves on its face so as more effectually to stir up the
corks. It works loose on its spindle on to which, near the roller, is fixed a
ratchet wheel, and a pawl on the side of the roller gears into the ratchet wheel.
If preferred roller J may be formed hollow and the ratchet and pawl be contained
therein.
On the far or back end of the spindle is fixed a cogwheel M, which is
operated by a rack N fixed on the main rack D of the corking machine, and
rising and falling with it. The ratchet wheel and pawl are so arranged that as the
rack N falls and turns the ratchet wheel M, the pawl gears and the roller J turns
with it, but as the rack rises the pawl slips and so the roller does not turn. Suitable
slots or perforations are made in the hopper L to allow the salient parts of roller J
and wires to enter.
l
Secured to the top of the main rack D at an angle to it and crossing over
the machine from back to front, is a bracket O which rises and falls as the machine
operates.
The front part of the bracket embraces shoot K and moves the circle or set of
rods P up and down round the shoot K and into and out of the funnel or hopper I.
above. The back part of the bracket O near to where it is fixed to the main
rack D carries a little platform or projection o and secured to it passes the lower
end of the rack N which operates the cogwheel M on the roller spindle. I mention
these details of fitting because they are the best known to me. I do not limit
myself to this precise arrangement.
The cork shoot or tube K I form of strong brass tubing or other suitable
material and I prefer to have an elongated slot k in it or a portion of the front cut
away so as to show the downward passage of the corks.
The lower end of this tube is continued in the form of a separate piece k¹
which can be adjusted and fixed at any desired position so as to be adjustable
for any height of cork which may fall into the chamber or end of the slide
underneath it.
I provide a slide R having recess which reciprocates in a frame R' fixed near
the side of the compression chamber G. The corks are by this means carried one
at a time in recess ŕ from under the bottom of shoot K to over said compression
chamber into which they drop. To obtain this horizontal movement of slide R
I employ lever S mounted on studs whose near end carries cam bowl t which is
embraced and actuated by cam groove or plate T the latter being bracketted to
rear end of compressor G and moving with it.
As the compressor G returns after its forward movement the cam T moves the
roller t on the end of the lever S and so works the slide R and causes a cork to be
carried in recess r to the compression chamber G³.
The slide R moving in the frame may be so formed that it can be adjusted for
extra long and extra short corks, but slight variations of the corks would not affect
the working. When the slide is once adjusted it cannot remove more than one
cork at a time from under the supply shoot K.
If desired the motion may only he given in one direction by the cam, a spring
or counterweight being used to return lever S and slide R.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
In a self-feeding corking machine-
1. A vertical tube or shoot down which the corks pass in combination with a
funnel fitted with a rotary displacing or stirring roller and with a reciprocating
slide to place one cork at a time in the compressing chamber substantially as
described and shewn.

page_text: 2. One or more rods which enter the funnel to move the corks in combination
with a rotary displacing or agitating roller substantially as described and shewn.
3. A sliding ring or frame fitted with one or more rods to enter the funnel in:
combination with a reciprocating slide to carry or push away the lowest cork of
the column substantially as described and shewn.
4. A rotary roller fitted with spring pellets or wires substantially as described
and shewn.
5. A rotary roller which by the action of a ratchet and pawl or similar device is
made to rotate in one direction only, by which means the spring wires enter and
leave the funnel and stir up the corks on the return movement of the corking.
mechanism substantially as described and shewn.
6. A rotary horizontal spindle carrying a roller and which by means of a pinion
and of a rack secured to a vertically reciprocating part of the corking machine
carries round the said roller to displace the corks substantially as described and
shewn.
7. The attachment to the vertically reciprocating rack of a corking machine as
shewn of a bracket to which a ring or frame is secured or forms part, such ring
or frame carrying one or more vertical rods to stir the corks and guide them into
the tube or shoot substantially as described and shewn.
8. The attachment to the lower end of the cork tube or shoot of an adjustable
sliding tube or cone which can be raised or lowered to suit various lengths of corks.
substantially as described and shewn.
9. The attachment at the lower end of the cork tube or shoot of a bracket or
frame into which the column of corks fall and along which the lowest cork is
pushed to the mouth piece or compressing chamber of the corking machine
substantially as described and shewn.
10. The cork slide R working in a bracket or frame and adjustable for various
lengths of corks substantially as described and shewn.
11. The pivotted lever S to operate the cork slide R in combination with a
roller and worked by means of a double cam or cam slot substantially as described
and shewn.
"
12. The attachment to the "strap or compressor slide G of a corking machine
of a double cam T or its equivalent to operate the lever S of the cork slide R
substantially as described and shewn.
Din 19th don of Lule 1895
J. P. JACKSON.