IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING BOTTLES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thompson, of No. 85, Lower Gardiner
Street, in the City and County of Dublin, Ireland, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING BOTTLES."
Sealed the 14th September 1866, and dated the 11th July 1866.
I, WILLIAM THOMPSON, of No, 85, Lower Gardiner Street, in the City and
County of Dublin, Ireland, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING BOTTLES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention has reference to a combined apparatus for filling and corking
bottles, of which, however, either the corking apparatus or the filling appa-
ratus may also be employed separately. For this purpose I construct a
vertical framework consisting of two uprights, a suitable distance apart, and
a transverse piece at the top, through which a screw spindle passes provided
above the framing with either a lever or a fly wheel. The lower end of this

page_text: screw is connected to a plate working in guides in the framing, and capable of
being raised or lowered by the screw. To the under surface of this plate are
fixed any required number of metal pins or plugs, which when the plate is
screwed down pass into corresponding sockets formed in a fixed transverse
plate below the plate carrying the plugs. The lower ends of these sockets are
formed to receive the necks of the bottles to be corked, whilst in the upper
ends of the sockets are placed the corks for that purpose, which corks are
driven into the bottles by the action of the screw and plug plate. The bottles
stand upon a sliding platform guided by the framing, and capable of being
raised or lowered by means of a second screw working through a lower
transverse part of the framing to which the before-mentioned uprights are
fixed. By this arrangement the bottles can be much more securely held in
the sockets during the process of corking than by the lever arrangement
employed heretofore. From the lower transverse part of the framing are
made to project two brackets, one at each end of the apparatus, and through
these brackets two thumbscrews are made to pass from below, supporting at
top a plate upon which rests the filling apparatus. This consists of a long
rectangular chamber divided internally by partitions into a-number-of-com-
partments exactly equal in contents. Two pipes provided with cocks commu-
nicate, firstly, by means of a length of flexible tubing with the cask or
receptacle from which the bottles are to be filled, and, secondly, they
communicate by means of a corresponding number of branches with each of
the compartments, so that by opening the two cocks simultaneously each of
the compartments is filled with the wine or fluid to precisely the same extent.
The two cocks are for this purpose provided with levers connected by a link,
whereby they are opened and closed simultaneously. In front each compart-
ment is provided with a cock through which the wine or other fluid that is
contained therein flows into the bottles. These cocks are also all connected
together by a link, whereby they are all opened and closed at once. Con-
nected with the one end compartment of the apparatus is a glass gauge, upon
which divisions are marked corresponding with the different levels at which
the wine or other fluid must stand in the compartments, in order for these to
contain the exact quantities, such as pints, quarts, or other measures for the
various sized bottles to be filled. Before operating with this apparatus the
position of the receptacle is adjusted by means of the before-mentioned thumb-
screws so as to be perfectly level, for which purpose a spirit level is attached
to the top of the receptacle. By means of the above-described improved
filling apparatus the bottles are filled very expeditiously and without any loss

page_text: from spilling. As before mentioned the filling and bottling apparatus may
be employed separate from each other by being mounted upon a separate
framework, which may or may not be provided with wheels.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th October 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
THOMPSON, of No. 85, Lower Gardiner Street, in the City and County of
Dublin, Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Thompson, Her special licence that I, the said William Thompson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as 1, the said William
Thompson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING BOTTLES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Thompson, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing, under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Thompson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention has reference to a combined apparatus for filling and corking
bottles, of which, however, either the corking apparatus or the filling appa-
ratus may also be employed separately. For this purpose I construct a vertical

page_text: framework consisting of two uprights a suitable distance apart, and a trans-
verse piece at the top, through which a screw spindle passes, provided above
the framing with either a lever or a fly wheel. The lower end of this screw is
connected to a plate working in guides in the framing, and is capable of
being raised or lowered by the screw. To the under surface of this plate are
fixed any required number of metal pins or plugs which, when the plate is
screwed down pass into corresponding sockets formed in a fixed transverse
plate below the plate carrying the plugs. The lower ends of these sockets are
formed to receive the necks of the bottles to be corked, whilst in the upper
ends of the sockets are placed the corks for that purpose, which corks are
driven into the bottles by the action of the screw and plug plate. The bottles
stand upon a sliding platform guided by the framing, and capable of being
raised or lowered by means of a second screw working through a lower
transverse part of the framing to which the before-mentioned uprights are
fix d. By this arrangement the bottles can be much more securely held in
the sockets during the process of corking than by the lever arrangement
employed heretofore. From the lower transverse part of the framing aro
made to project two brackets, one at each end of the apparatus, and through
these brackets two thumbscrews are made to pass from below, supporting at
top a plate upon which rests the filling apparatus. This consists of a
rectangular chamber divided internally by partitions into a number of com-
partments exactly equal in contents. Two pipes provided with cocks commu-
nicate, firstly, by means of a length of flexible tubing with the cask or
receptacle from which the bottles are to be filled, and, secondly, they com-
municate by means of a corresponding number of branches with each of the
compartments, so that by opening the two cocks simultaneously each of the
compartments is filled with the wine or fluid to precisely the same extent.
The two cocks are for this purpose provided with levers connected by a link,
whereby they are opened and closed simultaneously. In front each com-
partment is provided with a cock through which the wine or other fluid
that is contained therein flows into the bottles. These cocks are also all
connected together by a link whereby they are all opened and closed at
once. Connected with the one end compartment of the apparatus is a glass
gauge, upon which divisions are marked corresponding with the different
levels at which the wine or other fluid must stand in the compartiments
in order for these to contain the exact quantities, such as pints, quarts,
or other measures, for the various sized bottles to be filled. Before operating
with this apparatus the position of the receptacle is adjusted by means of

page_text: the before-mentioned thumbscrews, so as to be perfectly level, for which
purpose a spirit level is attached to the top of the receptacle. By means
of the above-described improved filling apparatus the bottles are filled very
expeditiously and without any loss from spilling, in addition to which the
wine or other fluid is prevented from coming in contact with the air to any
appreciable extent. As before mentioned the filling and corking apparatus
may be employed separate from each other by being mounted upon a separate
framework, which may or may not be provided with wheels.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a front elevation, and Figure 2 shows a transverse section,
of my combined apparatus for filling and corking bottles.
A, A, is the strong upright framing mounted on wheels B, B, through the
upper transverse part A¹ of which framing passes the screw spindle C,
provided at top with a lever D. The lower end of the screw is connected
by means of a socket E, in which it can turn, to a strong plate F, upon the
lower suface of which are formed or fixed three plugs G, G, G. This plate
is capable of being raised or lowered by the action of the screw, the ends
being made to work in guides in the framing A. Below this plate is another
fixed transverse part A2 of the framing containing three cylindrical sockets H,
corresponding in position and diameter with the plugs G. The lower ends
of these sockets are enlarged so as to fit the tops of the necks of the bottles
to be corked, which bottles stand upon the platform I, the position of which
is adjusted to suit the varying height of the bottles by means of the screw J,
turned by means of a wheel K, and working through the lower part of the
framing A. The bottles having been placed upon the platform I are fixed
firmly into the sockets H by turning the screw J, and corks having been
placed in the upper end of each of the sockets the plugs G are moved down
by the screw C so as to enter the sockets and drive the corks into the bottles.
The platform I is then screwed down again and the bottles removed.
Although I have shown the corking apparatus arranged for corking
three bottles at a time, it may be arranged to take any greater or less
number of bottles.
To the front of the lower part of the framing are fixed two brackets T, T,
through which pass the thumbscrews L, L, supporting a plate M. Upon
this plate rests the filling apparatus, consisting of a long closed rectangular
chamber N, divided internally into six equal compartments a, a, a, by means
of partitions b, b, b. Each compartment is provided in front at bottom

page_text: with a cock c, c, c, the levers of all of which are connected together by a
rod d, whereby the attendant can open and close them all simultaneously.
In place of arranging the cocks and levers, as shown, they may be formed
as horizontal cranks hinged to the connecting rod, which in that case would
be moved in a horizontal direction to open and close the cocks; these latter
may also be made to communicate with the bottom surface of the receptacle
instead of with its front surface as shown. Two pipes O, O, also provided
with cocks e, e, connected together by means of a rod f, communicate with
the cask or receptacle P containing the wine or other fluid by means of
lengths of flexible tubing Q, Q, and with each of the compartments a, a, by
means of branches 9, 9, 9, so that on opening the two cocks e, e, simul-
taneouly by means of the rod f, the wine or other fluid flows simultaneously
into each of the six compartments, small apertures being formed in the
tops of each of these for the escape and admission of air during the process
of filling and emptying. R is the graduated glass gauge communicating
with the one end compartment, whereby the exact level of the wine in each
of the compartments can be ascertained; S is the spirit level whereby
the horizontal position of the chamber N, regulated by the thumbscrews L,
is ascertained.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details of the apparatus shown on the accompanying
Drawing, as these may be variously modified without departing from the
nature of my Invention, nor do I claim generally the employment of a screw
for driving the corks into bottles, as I am aware that this has before been
proposed; but what I claim is,-
Firstly, the combination in corking machines of a screw for driving the
corks into the bottles with a second screw for holding the bottles securely in
position while being corked, substantially as herein-before described with
reference to the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly, the employment of a screw for holding the bottles in position
while being corked.
Thirdly, constructing apparatus for filling bottles consisting of a number
of receptacles or compartments of equal capacity so arranged as to be capable
of being filled simultaneously to the extent corresponding with the capacity of
the bottles to be filled therefrom, substantially as herein-before described with
reference to the accompanying Drawing.
Fourthly, the combined arrangement of thumbscrews, spirit level, and

page_text: graduated glass gauge herein-before described for determining exactly the
quantity of fluid to be contained in the several compartments of the filling
apparatus.
Fifthly, the combined arrangement of apparatus for filling and corking
bottles herein-before described with reference to the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Thompson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM THOMPSON. (L.S.)