IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CORKS IN BOTTLES BY WIRE
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederic George Riley of 33 South Lambeth Road in
the county of Surrey Engineer for an Invention of IMPROVED MEANS AND
APPARATUS FOR SECURING CORKS IN BOTTLES BY WIRE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic George Riley at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th June 1883.
FREDERIC GEORGE RILEY of 33 South Lambeth Road in the county of Surrey
Engineer IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CORKS IN BOTTLES
BY WIRE
The object of this invention is to mechanically wire corks in bottles and to
automatically twist and sever said wire in such a manner that the ends are left in
position for the next bottle and securing of its cork and so on in succession.
For the purpose of my invention I lead three or four wires through a plate from
reels or coils said plate having a reciprocating action for feeding the wires ready
for the insertion of a bottle's neck into between them. .
Two or three compressing studs have an in and out motion to press the wires
together and then a rotatory motion by suitable gearing- and mechanism to twist
the wire on each side of another stud.
With the last named stud is a clipping appliance for severing the wire at the
open or bowed part which permits of an easy unwinding for opening the bottle.
The compression studs are controlled in their movements by a slotted or cam
plate.
This severance divides the double twist of the wire and one twist finishes off the
wiring of one bottle, the other twist serving as the commencement of the wiring of
the next bottle and so on

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent and of an
Order of the Lord Chancellor filed by the said Frederic George Riley in the
Patent Office on the 21st February 1884.
FREDERIC GEORGE RILEY of 33 South Lambeth Road in the County of Surrey
Engineer "IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CORKS IN BOTTLES |
BY WIRE
"
The object of this invention is to mechanically wire corks in bottles and to
automatically feed gather twist and sever said wire in such a manner that the
ends are left in position for the next bottle and securing its cork and so on in
succession.
For the purpose of my invention I lead three or four wires through a plate
from reels or coils said plate as a feeding head having a reciprocating action
without revolution for pushing the wires outward from a fixed head and ready for
the insertion of a bottle's neck into between them.
Two or three compressing studs have an in and out motion to press the wires
together and then a rotatory motion by suitable gearing and mechanism to twist
the wire on each side of another stud
With the last named stud is a clipping appliance for severing the wire at the open
or lower part which permits of an easy unwinding for opening the bottle.
The compression studs are controlled in their movements by a slotted or cam
plate.
This severance divides the double twist of the wires and one twist finishes the
wiring of one bottle the other twist serving as the commencement of the wiring of
the next bottle and so on.
My invention will be clearly understood by the annexed drawings in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a back view of a hand machine, said
machine being on wheels to enable it to be conveniently moved from place to place.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the upper part or head of the machine. A A is
the frame having at its front upper part a turned over lip B against which as an
abutment the cork of the bottle C can impinge under the pressure of the foot
lever D through the link E and guide F as in Figure 1 and 4 the bottle resting
upon the block G on the top thereof. HH are reels or drums of wire (preferably
four in number) said wire or wires being led through a holed plate I and over
guide rollers J, J, to the feeding appliance or pusher head K' which has a
reciprocating action within the fixed head L of the machine under the vibrating.
lever M whose short arm N carries a bowl or roller capable of being depressed by
the cam plate P on a transverse traversing arm Q (see Figure 5) being pulled over
towards the operator who actuates the machine. The guide .rollers J, J, are on a
branch of the lever M and move with it sufficient wire being taken from the
reels H, H, to serve for wiring a bottle.
The face or head K¹ of the feed appliance has, say, four holes, two for
wires H, H, at a higher level and closer together than those of the two lower
wires H2, H2, so that they are above the cork and those below under where the
shoulder of the bottles mouth would come as seen by the side elevation Figure 1.
The traversing arm Q has teeth R on the inner face of its bow S which teeth are
in gear with a pinion S¹ mounted loosely on the fixed head L so as to be rotated
by it. The boss of this pinion has clutch teeth (see Figure 1) on its face to engage
with corresponding teeth on a sleeve T as to impart rotation thereto when moving
in one direction only, and to slip over on the return motion. The sleeve T is
provided with two cams U, U₁, (shown separately in Figures 6, 7 and 8) in the
races of which studs V, V, on compression arms W, W₁, are caused to approach
each other for say, the forward movement of the arm Q but are returned to their
normal position by springs a, a.

page_text: The compression of the arms W W₁ gather the four wires H H³, H², H², into a
cluster but not so that all the four wires will be in actual contact the upper and
lower wires of one side of the bottle neck and cork being alone brought together
by the compression, the separation is ensured by a pointed end 6 of the upper arm W
entering into between the two pairs of wires at that side, so that a twist shall take
place of the four wires on each face of it, a loop being thus formed between said
two twists by reason of the greater travel of the pointed upper arm W the cam
race U for this tool having a greater arc than that for the other compressor The
double cam U U is shown in the detached views Figures 7 and 8 the compressors
being shown in a closed and in an open position respectively in those figures. The
opening action of the compressors is effected by springs a a which keep the
bowls V, V, in contact with the cams U, U₁, the races of which terminate in
abutments so that when the cams are rotated under the action of the clutch T the
arms W, W¹, rotate therewith and not only ensure the gathering of the wires H³, H³,
H* H*, but the twisting of them as before explained.
In the fixed head La hole is formed in which is a bolt d (see Figure 9) and this,
springs out and engages in a hole e in the collar f of the compressor arm W and
locks the arms during such time that the cams are compressing for the gathering
operation and as this is completed a push pin g carried by said arm presses upon
the bolt & and forces it within the head L to allow the arms W W to take up the
motion of the cams and effect the twisting operation, this taking place between
the fixed head and the neck of the bottle.
The traversing lever Qhas sufficient teeth to give the cam plate U, U₁, its
stroke, to first shape the wires H³, H³, H², H³, to one centre, and then two complete
revolutions to form the twisted loop between the neck of the bottle C and the
sliding head K' and just at the termination of its stroke the projecting bowl V' of
the gathering tool W³ which is prolonged through the cam plate, U₁, for this purpose
is struck by the projection X of the traversing arm Q thus causing W₁ to take a
further stroke nearer the centre and sever the wires by bringing the two parts
bc forcibly together.
The traversing lever Q having now completes its stroke has brought the arms
W, W¹, round to their first position and with the hole e directly opposite to the bolt
d in the fixed head L into which it shoots and locks the arms W, W₁, the gathering
tools then open out under tho action of their springs a a and bring the double cam
plate U, U, to its first position. The traversing lever Q is now returned or thrown
back and in doing so its cam plate P through the lever M N causes the sliding or
pusher head K₁ to be forced outwards as in dotted lines and take the twisted
end of the four wires H³ H³, H, H³, with it as shown at Figures 3 and 3ª into
position.
After the traversing lever Q has travelled back a certain distance the lever N
escapes and the counterbalance weight Y returns the sliding head or feeder K¹ into
contact with the fixed head L leaving the wires projecting as a sort of cage as at
Figure 3 into which the cork of the next bottle can enter and be wired by the
gatherers as before explained.
The tension plates hh are carried by a bracket i attached to the frame A. of the
machine and they are governed by springs jj and adjusting screws kk. The wires
H H H H pass through between these plates h h as at Figures 1. 3 and 10 and
regulate the feed of the wires and prevents the slackness of the same, the reels or
drums H H being free.
The machine thus described is to be worked by hand but by certain modifications
such as by affixing cam and other wheels to the main frame the rotating head and
parts adjacent can be worked by power and be made to act intermittently from a
band wheel as shown at Figures 11 and 12 on which m is a half friction and half
slip disc (shown detached at Figures 13 and 14) mounted loosely on an axle pin n.
This disc m has on one of its faces a cam plate P for actuating the short arm N
of the lever M for moving the sliding head K³ and within the other face of the disc

page_text: m is a cam race p in which a stud q (see Figure 16) is actuated as hereafter
described.
The stud q is on the back of a rack which rack can slide up and down in the
heads of the supporting pillar t see Figure 15 said rack being operated in one
direction viz upwards by the depression of the platform or bottle holder G when a
bottle is placed in position on it the platform or bottle holder being then forced
downwards whereby the rack u on its lower end causes the pinion v to rotate and
the other rack to be raised and with it the stud q. The disc m which is supported
by the stud q, (the rim P¹ resting upon it) also rises and the friction rim m³ is put
into contact with the small friction wheel S¹ which corresponds to the spur pinion 1
S of the hand working mechanism previously described and performs a corre-
sponding operation. The cork of the placed bottle abuts against the stop a² and
should the bottle not be removed by hand the sliding head K¹ when next pushed
out by the lever M will knock the bottle away and the spring k with which the
support is provided will force it and the rack u upwards which motion through 1
the pinion will cause the rack to descend and the disc to drop taking the
friction rim m² out of contact with the small wheel S¹ thus the disc m may keep
on revolving without touching the small wheel S₁ until another bottle is placed in
position. This drop of the disc allows the driving band to be slightly tightened
thereby.
A segmental spur wheel may be substituted for the friction rim m' in which case
the small wheel S¹ would be a spur pinion, and the raising and lowering actions
would be necessary as previously described. I purpose using bundles of wire as
sent from the wire drawers and instead of untying the bundle and then winding it
upon a reel I place the bundle direct upon a half pulley x and then place the other
half pulley y upon it and bolt the two half pulleys together as at Figures 17 and 18
the bundle being still intact I then mount the pulley (reel) upon its axle pin w
and sever the binding wires or string and use the wire direct for securing corks in
bottle necks.
Having now described the nature of my said invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed
I am aware that wiring of bottles by mechanical appliances or machinery has
been effected and that Letters Patent have been obtained by others for that object
before the date of these my Letters Patent notably by Patents No. 3271 of the
year 1874; 926 of 1880; and 324 of 1883 I therefore disclaim any novelty or
originality in a broad sense to wiring bottles mechanically but what I do claim as
features of distinction in the above mentioned specification is:-
First The machine shown at Figures 1 and 2 of the annexed drawings arranged
and acting in the manner and for the purpose set forth.
Secondly As part of a wiring machine the applicances shown at Figure 3 all
arranged and acting as described.
Thirdly The sliding head K (not revolving) for pushing the wires out from the
fixed head and leaving said wires exposed as a cage into which the cork
and bottle mouth can be inserted for securing such cork as set forth and
substantially as shown at Figure 3 of the annexed drawings.
Fourthly The arms W W as gatherers, compressors,-twisters and severers of
wire and their method of action from a cam or its equivalent having a
rotating motion as and for the purpose set forth and substantially as
shown at Figure 3 of the annexed drawings.
Fifthly Forming a loop in wires by one gathering tool and using said tool in
conjunction with another gathering tool to sever the wires in the loop so
formed during or simultaneously with the gathering, compressing and
twisting operation produced by a rotating action as set forth
Sixthly The appliances and method of operating by hand or by mechanical power
the wire feeding devices and forming an exposed cage into which the cork
can be inserted as described and substantially as shown by the annexed
drawings,
ด

page_text: Seventhly I also claim in connection with a bottle cork wiring machine the
automatic action of the rack and intermediate pinion to set the mechanism
in operation by the placing of a bottle in position as described and
substantially as shown at Figures 11 and 16 of the annexed drawings
In witness whereof I the said Frederic George Riley have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twentieth day of February in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty four.
FRED G RILEY (L.S.)