Improvements relating to the Bottling of Liquids and the Stoppering or Sealing of Bottles containing such Liquids, and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Apr., 1892-Accepted, 9th July, 1892
COMPLETE DI MOIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM PAINTER, 500, East Monument Street,
of the City of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, United States of America,
Manufacturer.]
Improvements relating to the Bottling of Liquids and the Stoppering
or Sealing of Bottles containing such Liquids, and to Apparatus
therefor.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex 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 relates to the bottling of liquids and the sealing of the bottles and
to apparatus therefor.
For indicating the status of my invention with reference to the prior art, I will
state that I employ bottles which have exterior locking shoulders on the beads
thereof and hard metal flanged caps containing compressible sealing discs, and I
have for the first time in the art, provided for the use of such caps and discs in the
bottling of liquids under gaseous pressure.
The mode of operation of my said invention consists broadly in inserting into and
supporting within the filling chamber of the bottling machine, a metal flanged cap,
containing a compressible sealing disc, also in inserting into said chamber, in line
with said disc and cap, the head of a bottle provided with an annular locking
shoulder, and forming a temporary packing contact between the walls of the filling
chamber and the head of the bottle, also in charging or filling the bottle, forcing
the cap, the disc and the bottle together under heavy pressure, and causing the lip
of the bottle to be embedded in the sealing disc; and then, while maintaining the
disc thus compressed, and with the flange of the cap projected upon the head of the
bottle in exact conformity with the compression of the disc, bending and setting
the said flange beneath and into intimate, and reliable contact with the said locking
shoulder and thereby securely confining the disc in its compressed condition upon,
and in proper sealing contact with the lip of the bottle.
In order that the novelty involved may be fairly defined I will state that it is
believed to be radically new in the art of bottling, to insert into a filling chamber
in a bottling machine, flanged metallic sealing caps of any kind, whether separate
from a bottle, or loosely carried thereon, although it is not new to insert into a filling
chamber, a bottle having a stopper hinged to its head, and permanently carried
thereon, as for instance, as shown in German Letters Patent No. 31,193.
It is also believed to be new to insert a bottle head into a filling chamber, in line
with a previously supplied flanged cap containing a sealing disc.
It is not new to form and maintain a temporary packing contact either as between
the neck or the head of a bottle, and the lower end of a filling chamber, or of an
open-topped throat that operation being essential in many prior bottling operations.
I provide for a shifting packing contact, involving changes in the relative positions
of the packing and the bottle head, whereas in prior operations, the bottle neck or
the head having once been properly engaged with the packing, no changes in
position need occur during the filling and corking operations. While it is believed
to be new to provide for a shifting packing contact with a bottle head, and although
I have devised means to that end, a non shifting packing contact can be relied upon,
when especially heavy bottling pressures are not involved, as will be hereinafter
further explained. In prior operations, clearance for a bottle head having its
wiring yokes, or loops thereon, must be provided for, but clearance for the stopper

page_text: is only required in line with the entrance to the bottle, as far as the passage of a
cork, or an inside sealing disc; but in my operation, clearance must be afforded for
the flange of a sealing cap, not only in line with the outside circumference of the
bottle lip, but there must be a still greater lateral clearance to a degree more or
less closely approximating to the height or length of the heads of bottles to be
filled.
As to the mere charging or filling of the bottle, no novelty is involved. It is,
however, believed to be radically new, in bottle filling to force a disc within a
flanged cap upon and over the lip of a bottle, within a filling chamber in a bottling
machine, and to project or advance the flange upon the head of a bottle to a degree
exactly corresponding to that to which the sealing disc may have been compressed,
while causing it to conform to the top edge or lip of the bottle as well as with
portions of the adjacent inner and outer sides thereof.
It is also believed to be radically new to in any manner secure a flanged sealing
cap to the outside of a bottle head while within the filling chamber of a bottling
machine, whether the bottling operation involve gaseous pressures or not; and it is
believed to be equally new, within a filling chamber, to forcibly bend the flange of
a metal sealing cap into locking contact with a specially formed shoulder on a bottle
head while a sealing disc within the cap is being forced under heavy pressure into
conforming contact with the lip of the bottle, thus causing the cap to operate as a
practically permanent sealing clamp.
It is, however, old in operating outside of and apart. from bottling machines, to
spin the flanges of soft metal capsules, into close enveloping contact with the heads
and necks of bottles and such capsules have contained sealing discs, presumably held
under pressure during the spinning operation, as for instance, as disclosed in German
Letters Patent No. 28,719 of 1884 and British Letters Patent No. 13,062 of
1886.
It is also old, as disclosed in British Letters Patent No. 11,003 of 1845 to secure
the contents of bottles by the use of hollow metal caps or covers composed of
stiff stubborn metal, such as tinned iron, and provided with teeth which, at their
tips, are bent under the head of the bottle, but the said Patent affords no indication
that the cap was not to be used, as a substitute for wire or cord with corks, inserted
in the ordinary way.
Many forms of sealing devices for use with discs have been disclosed in prior
Patents, as for instance, such caps as are provided with spring arms, having latch-
shaped ends, which, being in use with sealing discs, would engage with the lower
edge of a bottle head, as a spring latch engages with its keeper, as described in
British Letters Patent No. 2967 of 1877 and also such as were disclosed in British
Letters Patent Nos. 2415 of 1875 and 13,672 of 1887, said caps having curved
spring arms, intended by their power of contraction to draw or pull downwardly
upon the lower rounded portion of the head of a bottle, for holding a disc in contact
with the lip of the bottle.
The character of sealing caps employed in accordance with the bereinbefore main
feature of my invention, may be widely varied, in matters of detail, as to materials,
form and structure; but for securing the best results, they should be composed of
hard metal, of which tinned iron plate is a preferred type, and the cap must have a
pendant flange, adapted to be so bent peripherally, that it may be firmly engaged
without fracturing contact with a locking shoulder on the head of a bottle. The
flange of the cap must also be of such strength, and capable of being so securely
applied, that it may, in a practically permanent way, maintain a sealing disc under
such compression, as will enable it to resist the escape of gas and liquid from a
bottle, under whatever pressure may be desired, sometimes over 100 pounds per
square inch.
I have devised corrugated hard metal sealing caps fulfilling the several require-
ments, and the same in various forms have been heretofore patented by me.
The mechanism devised by me, for use in the complex operation of bottle-
filling and scaling, is believed to be the first in the art of bottling, which

page_text: renders it possible to apply sealing caps, containing discs, to Dotties charged under
pressure, and to maintain that pressure during the closing and sealing operations;
it is also believed that certain portions of the mechanism devised by me, consti-
tute the first organizations in this art, whereby a bottle may be sealed by a
compressible sealing disc forced upon and around the lip of the bottle, or in
enveloping contact therewith, and then, while the disc is under heavy pressure,
enabling it to be securely clamped and held in its compressed condition by a
flanged hard metal cap, forcibly bent into locking contact with the bottle head. The
most effective operation of fastening corrugated hard metal flanged caps to bottle
heads, having locking shoulders, whether in connection with or separate from,
the charging or filling operation, involves a novel method devised by me, which
includes as one of the steps therein, the bending or indenting of the metal at
the inner corrugations into locking contact with the shoulder on the bottle head,
by applying pressure simultaneously to the several outer corrugations.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure
illustrates one of my machines in side elevation, and with a bottle
in a position preparatory to filling and sealing.
Figure 2 is a top view of the head of the machine.
Figure 3, is a central vertical section, of the machine with a detached illustration
of the portion of the machine embraced between the dotted lines.
Figures 4 and 5, are respectively a top view and section of the bottle supporting
socket.
Figure 6 is a central vertical sectional view of the head of the machine, drawn to
an enlarged scale.
Figure 7, is a sectional view of a cap plunger in its best form.
Figure 8, is a sectional view similar to Figure 6, but with some of the movable
parts in different positions, and with a sealing cap inserted, and maintained in position
by certain engaging fingers.
Figures 9 and 10, are a side elevation and a plan illustrating one of my sealing
caps of the most approved construction.
Figure 11, illustrates a sealing disc in top and edge views.
Figure 12, in side view, illustrates the head of a bottle, in its most approved
form, for use with my caps.
Figure 13, illustrates a bottle head with the cap. Figure 9, applied thereto.
Figure 14, illustrates the same cap and bottle head in vertical cross section.
Figure 15, is a central vertical section of the central lower portion of the machine
head, on a line at right angles to the sectional line of Figures 6 and 8, and with a
sealing cap in position for application to a bottle.
Figure 16, is a bottom view of the main portion of the filling chamber, with an
interior fixed sleeve, and three fingers, which temporarily support the sealing cap
proper relation to the plunger.
in
Figure 17, is a sectional view of the parts shown in Figure 15, but on a line at
right angles thereto, and with a sealing cap in place, a bottle head in position
to receive a charge, and tightly packed around its head, below its locking
shoulder.
Figure 18, is a similar view, illustrating the bottle and cap firmly united.
Figure 19, is a similar view, illustrating the retirement of the packing gasket
from the sealed bottle, the latter being then freely removable.
Figure 20, is a sectional view of a machine head, containing mechanism particu-
larly adapted to operate upon sealing caps of another form.
Figure 21, in side view, illustrates the main portion of the flange bending tool of
Figure 20.
Figure 22, illustrates a sealing cap upon which the said flange bending tool is
specially adapted to operate.
Figure 23, in side view, illustrates a bottle head with a cap like that shown in
Figure 22, applied thereto.

page_text: Figure 24, is a sectional view of another machine head, illustrating another form
of cap flange bending tool.
Figure 25, is a bottom view of said flange bending tool including an encircling
ring, and the sealing cap seat at the lower end of a cap plunger.
Figure 26, is a side view of this cap plunger detached.
Figures 27 and 28, in top and side views, illustrate one of the sections or parts of
the cap flange bending tool.
Figure 29, illustrates, in side view, a modified form of cap flange bending tool,
specially adapted to operate upon plain flanged sealing caps.
Figure 30, illustrates, in side view, a plain flanged sealing cap.
Figures 31 and 32 illustrate respectively in side view and in section, a bottle
head with a plain flanged cap, Figure 30, applied thereto, as by the mechanism
illustrated in Figures 24 and 29.
Figure 33, in side elevation, illustrates a type of machine specially adapted. for
sealing, after the bottles have been in any manner filled, and the caps placed thereon
by hand.
Figure 34, illustrates the head of the said machine in section and on an enlarged
scale.
Figure 35, illustrates a modification of the head of the machine which enables
the hand lever of Figure 33 to be dispensed with.
Figure 36, illustrates a modification of the machine head, with a filling chamber,
and a flange bending tool operating after the manner illustrated in Figure 20.
I will first describe one of my machines, in connection with Figures 1 to 19
inclusive.
The frame A, of the machine, is preferably composed of cast iron, cylindrical in
form, and it has a flaring base, slotted vertically at one side for the reception of a
treadle lever, which is fulcrumed or pivoted in a suitable socket at the opposite side
of the base. At the top of the frame A, there are two vertical tubular columns a, a,
and they not only serve as vertical guides, but their interior surfaces also afford a
frictional contact for securing a proper operation of certain sleeves which slide
therein, as will be more fully hereinafter explained.
Within the frame, as shown in Figure 3, there is a solid horizontal partition,
which serves as fixed bracket a', having a central opening at a². In the vertical
columns a, a, are two vertical parallel grooves a³, a³ which serve as guides for a
bottle socket B, having projections at each side, which freely occupy the said
grooves. The bottle socket has a tubular stem b, having an external screw thread,
fitted to a similarly threaded base nut 62, which rests upon the bracket a', while
the stem projects downwardly through the central opening a², in said bracket.
The stem b is slotted vertically as at 63, for the accommodation of a horizontal stud
or bar a', which is rigidly fixed to or may be a part of the bracket a'. The
particular means described for adjusting the bottle support, forms no material
part of my invention, and any suitable form of table and adjustment may be
used.
The bottle socket B, is internally conical, its sides being lined with thin smooth
flexible metal plates e, secured in place and backed by elastic cushions c', as clearly
indicated in Figures 4 and 5.
A bottle is shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 with its bottom in proper position
im the socket, and it will be seen that it can be readily and accurately centered in a
vertical position, and supported evenly, in line with the filling chamber, and sealing
devices. When vertical pressure is applied to the bottle, the yielding capacity of
its thin cushioned plates, enables a firm bearing to be secured, regardless of slight
imperfections in the form of the bottle at its base, and the liability of breaking the
bottle is reduced to a minimum.
In this machine, there is no movement of the bottle socket during the sealing
operation, but the socket must be adjusted for use with bottles of a given height,
and it will be seen that this vertical adjusting capacity is afforded by the screw

page_text: threaded stem and the base nut.
When but little pressure is required upon the
sealing disc it is not so essential that the bottle be so accurately centred, as when
extra heavy pressure is involved, and therefore in some cases the bottle socket need
not be conical, but a slightly yielding cushion will always be desirable.
The head C of the machine, is reciprocated vertically during the filling and
sealing operation and I will first describe the features of construction which pertain
to this general operation.
The working mechanism of the head is all carried by a cross head d which is
rigidly secured to the tops of two sliding rods which occupy the tubular
guides a, a, and extend downwardly into the frame, and are coupled at their lower
ends by a second cross head d². The head C and these rods are supported in a
normally elevated position, by means of a spiral spring d³ connected at its lower
end to the cross head d2 and at its upper end to the bracket a' by means of the
cross bar a within a slot in the tubular stem of the bottle socket.
The sustaining power of the spring, is made adjustable by means of the thumb
screw d¹.
The depression of the head C is effected by means of the treadle lever C¹ which
is coupled to the cross head by a suitable link and the vertical movement of
the head C is restricted by collars d d on the sliding supporting rods d' d' said
collars abutting against the bases of the tubular guides a a.
This machine being adapted for filling bottles with or without gaseous pressure,
the head of the machine contains a filling chamber e, provided with an induction
pipe el and a suitable cock e as shown in Figures 2, 15 and 16. This chamber has
a vertical tubular dome, having an external annular shoulder at e³ above which it is
externally screw threaded for the reception of a clamping nut ethus providing
for firmly mounting the chamber on the cross head d as clearly indicated in
Figure 6.
The filling chamber proper is reduced in diameter by a tightly fitting stationary
sleeve e, and within said sleeve there is a close fitting stationary tubular internally
tapered sleeve which is composed of metal and performs the duty of a rigid
bending tool for forcibly bending the flange of a sealing cap into locking contact
with a bottle head. This annular bending tool is in its simplest form known to me,
but its construction may be widely varied without departure from certain portions
of my invention.
In the dome of the filling chamber there is a hollow piston guided at its top in
a socket g¹ inside of the screw cap g² of the dome and at its lower end it has a
circular guide flange g³ loosely fitted to the interior annular surface of the dome.
Between the cap and said flange there is a spiral spring gt under compression
which forces the piston g downward and normally maintains it in heavy contact
with a rubber gasket carried by the piston below the guide flange and
interposed between it and the annular top edge of the bending tool f. It will be
seen that when the piston y is depressed, no liquid can pass from the filling chamber
below said piston upward into the dome during the filling operation. Instead of
this gasket, the piston may be provided with a suitable stuffing box.
Within the filling chamber there is a centrally located cap plunger having a
stem sliding freely within the hollow piston g, but it is loosely connected
therewith by means of a lateral stud which freely occupies a slot in the stem /¹
of the plunger. The face of the cap plunger is concaved and conforms to the top
surface of the sealing cap and it therefore serves to properly centre the cap. The
free dropping movement of the cap plunger is restricted by said stud, and said
plunger may be moved upwardly until the top of the plunger head abuts against
the coincident surface of the lower end of the piston g at 2 Figure 6. The cap
plunger may have a solid head and be relied upon for good service when com-
paratively perfect seals and bottles are used; but in its best form the head / is
constructed as shown in Figure 7. This head is chambered for the snug reception
of a cushion of rubber specially selected with reference to its compactness and
desirable resiliency, and said cushion is faced with a thin flexible metal disc ' the

page_text: two being secured to the plunger by a central screw . This plunger enables a
uniform er well distributed pressure to be applied, regardless of ordinary variations
in the form of a bottle lip, such as depressions therein or variations in sealing disc
in the matter of density and thickness.
The gist of this feature of my invention consists in part in providing a plunger
head with a face which has a self adjusting capacity so that should a bottle be
imperfectly centred at its base, and its lip be correspondingly inclined, the plunger
face will adapt itself thereto, and compress the sealing disc with uniformity and
hence this effect would be secured by a swiveling connection between the head or
face portion of a plunger and its stem. The cushioned self adjusting plunger face
has special value for securing a good packing joint between an uneven bottle lip
and a specially thin and correspondingly economical disc.
Now referring to Figures 6, 1, and 16 it will be seen that the stationary sleeve
in the filling chamber is vertically slotted to afford spaces for the reception of three
cap holding fingers iii the shanks of which extend upwardly between the bending
tool and the walls of the filling chamber. The working tips of said fingers
project inwardly beyond the lower edge of the bending tool. The seat or slots at
their lower ends are closed by a ring having its top flat and its lower and inner
surface rounded. The tips of said fingers are normally projected by their back
springs, each finger having a curved spring secured to the back of its shank, and
having its free lower end bearing in a notch and against a coincident portion of the
interior wall of the filling chamber.
With respect of a mere cap holding function supporting fingers are not a
necessity, as I have used a magnetic cap plunger with fairly satisfactory results.
In all bottle filling machines, a packing contact must be at times maintained
between the head of the bottle and the adjacent portion of the passage through
which liquid passes on its way to the bottle. As hereinbefore indicated, I employ
a filling chamber, and said chamber is closed except as to an entrance for liquid and
as to an opening at its base for the complete reception of caps and bottle heads, and
the removal of sealed bottles.
In this machine the packing contact with the bottle head is effected by novel
means, and involves a novel mode of operation, and the prime factor in this con-
nection is an annular specially formed or moulded packing ring or funnel shaped
gasket of rubber, having a thick well rounded pendant lip. This gasket is
clamped to the lower end of the filling chamber by means of a screw threaded
clamping ring which occupies an exterior screw thread on a recessed portion of
the wall of the chamber and permits the annular lip of the gasket to occupy its
normal pendant position as is clearly indicated in Figures 6, 15, and 19.
This gasket is mechanically controlled both with respect of securing or providing
for its engagement with or by the head of a bottle and also its release therefrom
and by means which will now be described.
Below the gasket 7 there is a vertically reciprocating gasket controller in the
form of a bevel surfaced ring m having a tubular sleeve m' which freely encircles
the lower end of the filling chamber and is provided with two pairs of laterally
projecting lugs m². Between the lugs of each pair and pivoted thereto, there is a
lever m³ and these levers at their inner ends bear upon shoulders m on the outside
of the filling chamber e and at their forked or concaved outer ends they bear upon
the tops of collars 'n' secured to or parts of the tops of sleeves n n which surround
the supporting rods d¹ d'.
Referring now to Figure 3 it will be seen that these sleeves n n are longitudinally
slitted to afford outwardly pressing springs 2 which by contact with the interior
surfaces of the guide columns a a enable said sleeves to be frictionally controlled to
the extent that they will remain stationary during a desired portion of the longi-
tudinal movement of the rods d. At the lower or split ends these sleeves abut
against annular shoulders n³ on the rods d', d, thus preventing undue downward
movement of the sleeves, with respect to the rods, and also effecting their proper
elevation after each depression of the head of the machine.

page_text: Referring now to Figures 3, 6 and 8, it will be readily seen that when the
treadle C is depressed, the machine head C will descend, but that the gasket
controller will, for a time, stand still, (or, in one sense, be raised) because of the
lifting action of the levers m³ induced by the temporarily stationary sleeves; but
when the gasket controller has been thus fully lifted, the sleeves will then descend
with the head C, the friction of said sleeves being overcome by the pressure on the
treadle. It will be obvious that the gasket controller can be directly connected
with and controlled by the sleeves, and that arrangement has been used by ne, but
by introducing the levers, the sleeves require less friction and the machine is
therefore more easily operated. It will be seen that the gasket & is normally funnel
shaped, and that when its lip is in a pendant position, the maximum area of opening
is afforded, so that a bottle head may freely enter; also that when the lip of the
gasket is raised by the controller, the area of opening is diminished, resulting in
packing contact with the bottle head, the gasket then being flat and not funnel
shaped; and also that when the bottle is forced upward after the filling operation
has been completed, the shifting packing contact is such that the gasket is made to
assume an inverted funnel shape as is clearly indicated in Figure 18.
The operation of the gasket controller by means of a treadle is desirable, but if
it were operated by hand, as by means of a screw threaded rotative sleeve and a
hand lever, it would involve no departure from certain portions of my invention.
When bottles are to be filled without pressure, the annular gasket, which packs
against the bottle head, need not be a moulded gasket as shown in the drawings,
but may be a sheet of specially fine, strong, flexible and elastic rubber, having a
hole sufficiently smaller than the bottle heads, to enable the latter to be forced into
and through the hole to any desired extent without impairing the packing contact
with the bottle head, and yet enable the latter to be readily withdrawn, after the
sealing cap has been applied. For general use, however, the moulded gasket and
its controller, should be employed. If no cap be put into the filling chamber, the
bottle can be inserted and filled with liquid, then released, the sealing cap applied
by hand to the bottle, and then reinserted for compressing the seal and setting
the cap; but this operation is of course impossible when gaseous pressures are
involved.
A machine constructed and organized as thus far described may be employed for
operating with sealing caps somewhat varied in their character, but in matters of
detail the working parts shown in immediate connection with the filling chamber, are
particularly adapted to operate with my scaling caps in their most approved form,
as shown at D, Figures 9 and 10, which involves certain specific and valuable
features of novelty.
The cap D is composed of tinned iron plate, and contains a suitable compressible
sealing disc o, Figures 11 and 14, which is peripherally embraced by the flange of
the cap. This flange p is corrugated and flared or inclined outwardly, quite
abruptly at its edge, so that the latter on being bent downwardly, will force the
inner corrugations inwardly, beneath the locking shoulder on a bottle, as will be
readily understood from an examination of Figures 13 and 14.
The bottles adapted for use with my sealing caps may be somewhat varied as to
the form of the head and lip, but as shown in Figures 12 and 14, the bottle E must
be provided with a suitable locking shoulder, as at y, properly located below the
lip . Below said shoulder there is a recess 2, and therefrom the head is
gradually enlarged, and then lessened to the diameter of the neck q³. Corrugated
flanged caps and bottles are best suited for use with each other, when the locking
shoulder is located below the lip q at a distance substantially equal to the
distance between the sealing disc (when compressed) and the vertical centre of the
corrugations. If, however, any substantial portion of the inner corrugations be
bent beneath the locking shoulder, the cap will be sufficiently well secured for
ordinary bottling purposes.
As shown in Figures 13 and 14, the edge of the cap flange is intentionally left
projected beyond the adjacent surface of the bottle, to facilitate the use of means

page_text: for detaching the caps, but in some cases I employ bending tools which can bend
said edge inwardly at an angle, and quite closely to the head of the bottle.
The practically simultaneous filling and sealing operation is performed as follows.
As seen in Figure 6, the machine head C is at its highest position, as when at rest;
the cap plunger his downwardly projected by its own weight into the filling
chamber e; the gasket controlling ring is in its lowest position, and the gasket is
open to allow the sealing cap to be inserted into the filling chamber. The
plunger is now lifted, as shown in Figure 15, by the operator, in the act of
inserting the cap D by hand, with the top uppermost, and against the working face
of the plunger in doing this the flange of the cap causes the fingers to retire,
until they can again be sufficiently extended beneath the edge of the cap flange to
properly support the cap with the weight of the plunger thereon, as shown in
Figure 15. The free dropping movement of the plunger below the fingers enables
a cap to be readily centred in the concave face of the plunger so that when the cap
and plunger are moved upwardly the flange of the cap is maintained in a horizontal
position, and therefore the supporting fingers simultaneously retire, and then engage
with the edge of the cap flange.
;
A bottle is placed upright in the bottle socket B, as shown in dotted lines in
Figure 3. The treadle C is then depressed for moving the machine head C
downwardly which promptly causes the gasket controller m to lift the annular lip of
the gasket from the pendant position indicated in Figure 6 to the horizontal
position shown in Figure 8, and also in dotted lines in Figure 15, thus materially
reducing the diameter of the central opening in the gasket. A further depression
of the machine head C forces the contracted gasket i, downward and over or upon
the head of the bottle, as shown in Figure 17, the gasket being thereby radially
expanded to some extent, and made to closely conform to the surface of the bottle
head, thus forming a gas and water tight packing between the head of the bottle,
below the recess 2, and the adjacent annular wall of the filling chamber e.
ring k serves as an abutment for the raised portion of the gasket, and not only
insures its proper conformation with or to the bottle head, but also exerts a
pinching action of the gasket between the ring and the bottle head so that the gas
pressure in the filling chamber cannot displace the gasket.
The
The bottle is then filled, liquid and gas entering by way of the cock e², Figure 2,
pipe or port e Figure 15, passing in between the scaling cap and the top of the
bottle. The requisite occasional discharge of gas or air, known as "snifting," may
be provided for in various ways, as for instance by the use of a special "snifting
duct and valve in connecting with the filling chamber, in a manner well known.
Although the cap plunger stem slides freely within the piston rod, there is no
tendency for liquid to pass upwardly around said stem, as there is no connection
between the interior of the piston and the dome. When the bottle has been
properly charged the cock is closed and the machine head further depressed, the
gasket then yields, being tightly squeezed against the ring k, and passing
downward upon the head of the bottle, bearing meanwhile with good contact
against it. In the meantime the bottle head will have been surmounted by the
cap, and the disk will have been forced heavily upon the bottle lip by the plunger,
causing it to thoroughly embrace said 'lip, as shown in Figure 14. Until the
sealing disk is in solid contact with the lip of the bottle, and the bottle has been
thus practically sealed, the gasket still maintains a tight and perfect joint around
the bottle head, while sliding freely thereon.
18
Further downward movement of the machine head during the locking of the
cap
on the bottle, causes the gasket to slip down below the bottle head upon the neck
as shown in Figure 18. The descent of the cap plunger and spring piston g
ፃ
arrested by the bottle as soon as the plunger has partially compressed, the sealing
disk, the piston and plunger, then being under the compressing action of the spring,
which increases as the machine head descends. During this pressure upon the top
of the bottle, its bottom readily centres itself in the socket B, as before indicated,
because of the conical surface thereof, and said surface being also smooth and

page_text: metallic, the glass freely slips thereon in seeking a central general bearing. The
rubber cushions c', below the metal plates c, afford desirable yielding effects, which
are conducive to the centering operation, as well as obviating liability of breakage,
and providing for properly centering bottles which may be imperfect in form at
their bases, and also for bottles of various sizes.
While the cap and the disc are thus maintained on the bottle under the heavy
pressure exerted by the spring (sometimes from 200 to 300 pounds,) the further
descent of the machine head carries the bending tool f downwardly, and its interior
inclined working surface, by engaging with the periphery of the flange of the cap,
forces the latter inwardly and causes the inner corrugations, or those portions of
the flange which are between the outer corrugations, to be bent beneath the locking
shoulder; into the recess 2, and into firm locking contact with said shoulder, the
portions so bent being clearly indicated at p' in Figures 13 and 14. As the machine
head descends, the fingers move downwardly from the edge of the cap flange, and
although the fingers remain in their inwardly projected position, they do not
reengage with the cap flange, when the machine head is subsequently raised,
because their rounded ends freely slip over the edge of the cap flange, after it has
been reduced in diameter and locked to the bottle.
The filling and sealing operations being thus completed, the treadle is released,
whereupon the machine head C ascends, and at the beginning of its upward move-
ment, the gasket is promptly freed from its controller by reason of the friction
sleeves remaining stationary during the said upward movement of the machine
head; its packing lip is then allowed to assume its normal distended form as shown
in Figure 19, permitting the machine head to rise freely from the filled and sealed
bottle, whereupon the cap plunger will drop into its normal position, as shown in
Figure 6, and be ready for the reception of another sealing cap.
The accurate position of the machine head, with respect to the bottle top, pre-
paratory to filling, as shown in Figure 17, is easily determined, because while
pressing the treadle, and as the machine head descends, the operator can readily
feel the abrupt arresting action of the contracted gasket, after the latter has passed
over the locking shoulder on the bottle, and engages with the head below the recess,
as shown in Figure 17, because the gasket controller will always be fully operated,
and the gasket opening contracted, as shown in Figure 8, before the lip of the
gasket reaches the top of the bottle regardless of the height of the latter. It will
thus be seen that by the action of the friction sleeves upon the gasket controller,
the initial downward movement of the machine closes the gasket so as to make a
joint with the bottle head as soon as it comes in contact with it; and that the
initial upward movement of the machine head causes the gasket to open and release
the sealed bottle, these operations occurring in proper sequence and at proper times
without regard to the heights of bottles, or the extent of movement of the machine
head.
In operating with such a sealing cap as is shown in Figure 22, a flange bending
tool is desirable which can positively engage laterally with the flange. This cap D¹
has corrugations which extend substantially from the lower edge of the flange to
the top of the cap, and it is at or near the middle portions of the interior corru-
gations that they are bent into locking contact with the annular shoulder of the
bottle, as illustrated in Figure 23; the exact point, however, is immaterial, and
depends partly upon the thickness of the disc and partly upon the strength of the
plunger spring.
In the machine head C2 of Figure 20, the filling chamber is omitted, that not
being absolutely necessary in all machines, as when liquids are not to be bottled
under pressure. The cap plunger in this machine is not materially unlike the
cap plunger before described, and it in like manner is backed by a heavy spring.
The cross head d is provided with an internally tapered sockets, and within this,
between its wall and the plunger, is the annular Hange bending tool f¹. This
bending tool is in the form of a hollow truncated cone mounted on and carried by
the cap plunger, and it is slotted to afford spring arms f2, having at the inner sides
B

page_text: of their lower ends, suitable working faces ³, which are, in this case, shown inclined
rearwardly from their lower edges to their tops. With the working faces thus
inclined, the lower portion or edge of the flange below the locking shoulder on the
bottle head, may be bent inwardly at an angle, and into close locking contact with
said shoulder; but when the faces are adapted for setting a cap precisely as in
Figure 23, they should be, and are, vertical instead of inclined, as shown, and they
are also preferably of greater height. In applying a cap of this form, with the
corrugations extending practically throughout the depth of the flange, the locking
action is the result of a squeezing, rather than a bending of the flange, the lateral
pressure of the tool causing the locking shoulder to imbed itself in the corrugations
as shown. Considerable pressure is required in applying a cap of this and similar
forms, where the locking rib must embed itself in the corrugations to a greater or
less extent. But there is no danger of crushing the bottle bead, even if it is not
perfectly round, and the bending tool be rigid, because the corrugations of the cap
flange are interposed between the bending tool and the bottle head, and as these
corrugations are comparatively yielding, they act in a manner as cushions between
the rigid bending tool and the bottle head, and thus prevent hard contact, and
consequent breakage.
Spring fingers, (only one at here shown,) operate as before describe.l, except
that they do not project beneath the edge of the cap, but merely occupy corru-
gations, and diametrically pinch hard enough to sustain the cap in place. These
fingers are also located opposite two adjacent spaces between the bending faces f³,
and therefore, when said fingers occupy spaces between the corrugations of a cap,
none of the corrugations can register with said spaces between the bending faces,
but they will always be opposite said faces, while the spaces between said working
faces will register with the spaces between the outward corrugations.
With a sealing cap in the custody of the plunger, and a bottle supported upon a
bottle socket as before described, it will be seen, that when the head C², is depressed
the
cap and seal will be properly applied to the bottle head, and powerful pressure
exerted on the disk, and that as the machine head descends, the faces of the bending
tool will be forced inwardly by the action of the tapered sockets, and thereby bend
the interior corrugations of the cap flange into conforming contact with the annular
shoulder of a bottle as described.
In some cases, as with specially heavy caps, it is desirable to apply the bending
pressure by means of a bending tool, involving vibrating working faces, operating
with powerful leverage, as illustrated in Figures 24 to 28 inclusive.
In this machine head C³, the cap plunger has a series of cap-holding fingers i,
fully shown in Figure 26. The plunger is recessed at intervals as at r¹, for the
reception of the inner ends of a radially arranged series of segmental shaped
levers t, said levers being also so shaped as to afford working faces t¹, at their outer
ends, these levers are rounded vertically to afford good bearing contact with a
ring which surrounds the levers, and maintains them in proper relation to the
plunger. This ring 2, is preferably of steel, and is strong but flexible, and it is
loosely seated, so that the working faces of the annular bending tool may operate
equally well in locking a cap on a bottle having an imperfectly rounded head, as on
one which has a truly circular bead or locking shoulder. This feature of change of
form to any desirable extent, may be given to any form of bending or locking tools,
whereby an even pressure may be brought on different parts of a bottle head not
truly circular. The hollow tapering bending tool, Figure 6, may be made in
sections and held together by a strong flexible ring. The tapering socket
Figure 20, may also be similarly made flexible, as will be readily understood, the
same principle applying, as shown in Figure 24. The plunger, and these levers
with their working faces, constitute an efficient similar flange bending tool, which,
like the other forms, encircles the sealing cap, and it will be seen that its operation
will follow the vertical retirement of the plunger, incident to the arresting of the
plunger, in contact with the top of a bottle. Sealing caps which have initially
corrugated flanges afford the best results, and the method herein indicated of

page_text: applying such caps to bottles having an engaging shoulder, constitutes a valuable
feature of my invention, the gist thereof consisting, in causing the inner corrugations
to be bent or indented into locking contact with the engaging shoulder, by applying
pressure to the outer corrugations.
of
For applying a plain flanged cap D2, such as is shown in Figure 30, to a bottle,
as illustrated in Figures 31 and 32, it is only necessary to provide the faces
the levers t, with suitable indenting points, one form of which is illustrated at t³,
Figure 29.
It will be understood, that although the machine heads of Figures 20 and 24,
are here shown without a filling chamber, the latter may be added and operated as
in the machine first described. It will be seen, that the cap holding fingers of
Figures 20 and 24, in engaging with a corrugated flange cap, will secure the latter
against rotation, and therefore an internally screw threaded flanged cap, having a
sealing disc and external serrations, may be similarly supported above the threaded
head of a bottle. The bottle while applied to the filling chamber as heretofore
described, may therefore be charged under pressure, and then advanced to the cap,
and bodily rotated, (or the plunger may be rotated, with similar effect,) and thus
made to secure a scaling union with the cap and disc while the contents of the
bottle are under gaseous pressure, this being an operation which, as is believed, was
never before accomplished.
With a filling chamber, it is obviously important, for securing the best results,
that the sealing cap should be supported above the top of a bottle so as to afford
ample space beneath the cap for the prompt, and free entrance of liquid to the
bottle.
Bottles may however, be slowly filled, when caps, for instance, like that shown in
Figure 22, are first loosely placed thereon, then inserted into the filling chamber,
and the gasket closed around the bottle head below the cap, because the corrugations
in the flange afford between the flange and bottle head, numerous channels or
passages for liquid to enter the bottle. In this case, the cap must be of such size
internally, as not to go on to the bottle head far enough for the sealing disc to close
the bottle mouth.
In bottling some kinds of liquids, such as non gaseous mineral waters, syrups,
sances, &c. it may sometimes be desirable to fill the bottles, and place the caps
thereon by hand, preparatory to the sealing operation by a machine. In Figures 33
and 34, I show a machine well adapted for use in the lines just indicated, in sonie
of which it may be desirable to first insert corks in the bottles in the ordinary way,
and to use the sealing caps as mere cork-holding devices, and in other cases the use
of corks, sealing disks and caps may be desirable for obtaining more positive
security.
In this machine, the head C, Figure 33, is adjustably mounted upon a standard,
and it is not vertically reciprocated as in the machines before described, although
it is obvious that the machine heads, Figures 20 and 24, need not be reciprocated
in order to secure good operative results, the sealing action being as well effected,
by lifting the bottle with sufficient force. The cap plunger U, machine Figure 33,
differs from those previously described in that no cap supporting fingers are
employed therewith. The bending tool, is like that first described, but, in this
case, it is carried by a sleeve r, capable of vertical reciprocation by means of a head
lever, (which is shown as if broken away centrally,) and toggle links v², v³ said
lever being normally in a vertical position, and keyed to a rock shaft to which the
links are also keyed.
The operator, on pulling the lever downward and toward the front of the
machine, imparts the proper movement to the bending tool.
The bottle socket. B, is as before described, but in this instance it is vertically
reciprocated, its threaded stem being hollow, and sliding upon a rigid vertical guide
rod . The nut 12, is surrounded by a clamp nut, so that the vertical adjustment of
the socket in the nut may be securely maintained. This nut 62 also serves as
a cross head to which a pair of links w (one only here shown,) are pivoted, at their

page_text: upper ends, their lower ends being similarly pivoted to the vertical forked arm w
of the weighted treadle lever (³.
It will be seen, when a bottle, with a cap mounted thereon, is placed upon or in
the socket, and the treadle lever depressed, that the loosely capped bottle will be
lifted, and the top of the cap forced against the cap plunger, which, on gradually
retiring, will increase its compressing action, according to the height at which the bottle
may be lifted. The depression of the treadle may be adjustably limited by a stop
pin w³, occupying appropriate holes in a pair of flanges, at the sides of the slot in
which the treadle moves. While the bottle, with the seal thus compressed, is in
this position, the hand lever ¹ is operated for bending the flange, and completing
the sealing operation. It will be seen that in this type of machine, the cap plunger
need not be backed by a spring, or, in other words, it need not yield to the upward
pressure applied by way of the treadle and bottle socket, because as soon as
sufficient pressure has been applied, the bending tool can be forced downwardly, or
operated in other ways, causing it to bend the flange of the cap into locking contact
with the bottle head.
It is sometimes desirable to dispense with a hand lever, and to that end, in part,
I organize the head of the machine as shown in Figure 35. In this instance, the
bending tool is of the same form as that previously described, but it is in this
case immovable, and occupies a bracket projecting from the upright portion of the
frame of the machine. The cap plunger a, like the others described, is centrally
located with relation to the bending tool, and it has a stem which is externally
screw threaded, and it carries a mutu² but it slides in a hollow spindle u³, and is
heavily backed by a spring. The spindle, at its upper end, has a guide-bearing, in
the over-hanging portion of the frame, and at its top it is slotted, and provided
with a friction roller, for supporting an adjustably weighted lever ut.
The head of
the plunger projects, normally, considerably below the bending tool, so that when
the bottle with a cap thereon is forced upwardly against the plunger, the latter may
retire until its spring exerts almost the required pressure, just before the bending
tool begins to operate, and then the nut a², strikes against the end of the spindle;
the spring then ceases to yield, and the weighted lever is lifted, and therefore
during the flange bending operation the pressure on the disc will be absolutely
uniform. It will be obvious in view of the slight range of movement involved in
the operation of the cross heads of the other types of machines, that this mode of
obviating variation in pressure upon the disc during the flange bending operation,
may be applied to those machines if desired.
The hollow tapered bending tool, whether it be forced downwardly upon a cap
and bottle, or held stationary while the cap and bottle are forced into it, frictionally
engages with the cap flange to such an extent as to force the cap upon the bottle,
and therefore if the sealing disc be specially compressible, it will be sufficiently
well seated upon the bottle lip to serve a good purpose, in such bottling as involves
little or no gaseous pressure, and hence the said bending tool in combination with
a bottle support, and means for forcing the bottle and the bending tool into working
relations with reference to an interposed cap; constitutes a valuable portion of my
invention..
It is not to be understood that the gasket in my filling machines must of necessity
be arranged to slip wholly over the head of a bottle, as for instance, when the cap
and the flange setting devices are moved downward upon the head, after the latter
has been engaged in packing contact by the gasket. In Figure 36 I show a simple
form of neck gasket 1, in proper relation to the head of a bottle E, at such a
distance below the locking shoulder q as will afford ample space above the gasket,
in which the bending tool may operate, after the sealing cap has been forced upon
the bottle. In this organization, tbe filling chamber e is stationary and the bottle
is also fixed in position after the packing contact with its head has been secured.
The cap plunger 2, is similar to that shown in Figure 20, in that it carries a similar
bending tool, but in this case the cross head d is reciprocated, and its downward
movement causes the cap plunger to deliver the sealing cap upon the bottle, and

page_text: then the disc is compressed through the operation of the plunger spring, and simul-
taneously with the arresting of the downward movement of the plunger, the annular
inclined surface of the hollow piston 7, completes the bending of the cap flange
into locking contact with the bottle head.
.
In the development of my invention, I have devised and applied various
mechanisms other than those herein described and illustrated, but it is believed
that the latter will be ample for enabling persons skilled in this art, to fully
comprehend, and to practically apply the various features of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
First. The method substantially as hereinbefore described of scaling bottles,
which consists in surmounting a bottle head having an annular locking shoulder,
with a corrugated flanged metal scaling cap, and then bending or indenting the
inner corrugations of said cap into locking contact with the engaging shoulder on
the bottle head, by applying pressure simultaneously to the several outer
corrugations.
Second. In a bottling machine, the combinat on substantially as hereinbefore
described of a filling chamber having sufficient interior capacity for receiving the
heads of bottles to be filled, an annular gasket, having a central opening for the
reception of bottle heads, and means within said chamber for bending the flanges of
metallic sealing caps into locking contact with bottle heads.
Third. In a bottling machine the combination, substantially as hereinbefore
described of the following mechanism a filling chamber communicating with a
source of supply, and provided with an opening for the reception of a bottle-head
and with a gasket for maintaining a closure of the space between the bottle head
and the adjacent walls of the chamber; a plunger having its head within the
chamber; means for supporting within said chamber, a flanged metal scaling cap,
containing a sealing disc, and having its flange in a pendant position; means for
forcing the bottle, the cap and the disc into close relations, thereby causing the
disc to conform to the lip of the bottle and means for bending the flange of the cap
beneath and in close locking contact with a suitable locking shoulder on the head
of the bottle.
Fourth. In a bottling machine a filling chamber, closed except as to the induction
of liquids and to the complete reception of the head of a bottle and provided with
an annular funnel shaped gasket or packing, having a pendant lip and normally
adapted to receive a bottle head, and by the inward rolling of the lip, to maintain
a shifting packing contact with different portions of the head of a bottle during the
filling and sealing operation.
Fifth. In a bottle filling machine, the combination, substantially as herein-before
described of a filling chamber closed except as to a suitable induction aperture for
liquids, and an opening for the complete reception of a bottle head; an annular
funnel shaped gasket or packing ring in said opening, and means for varying its
interior annular dimensions, and causing it to maintain packing contact with the
bottle head, and then to release said head for withdrawal after the sealing cap has
been applied.
Sixth. In a bottling machine, the combination substantially as herein before
described of a filling chamber, having an annular gasket adapted to maintain
shifting packing contact with different portions of the head of a bottle when
inserted into said chamber, and means for bending the flange of a sealing cap upon
the head of a bottle, within the filling chamber.
Seventh. In a bottling machine the combination substantially as hereinbefore
described of a bottle filling chamber; an annular gasket or packing ring at its
lower open side; a gasket controller for varying the area of opening in the annular
gasket vertically sliding rods; frictionally controlled sleeves capable of resting
during the descent of said rods, for operating the gasket controller, and also capable

page_text: of moving with said rods a cross head on said rods; for carrying the filling chamber
and other operative parts and a spring for supporting and a treadle for depressing
the same.
Eighth. In a bottle scaling machine, the combination substantially as herein-
before described of an annular bending tool, adapted to encircle and to bend the
flange of a sealing cap into locking contact with a bottle head; a cap plunger
centrally located with relation to the bending tool, and means for supporting the
sealing cap, with its flange in a pendant position, in line with the bending tool and
below said plunger.
Ninth. In a bottling machine, the combination substantially as hereinbefore
described of a filling chamber provided with a tubular dome; a hollow piston
having a stem projecting into said dome, and having a flange serving as a movable
base for a spring a sealing cap plunger having its head in the filling chamber
proper, and its stem loosely fitted in and connected with said piston and an annular
gasket compressed beneath the flange of the piston for packing the joint around the
head of the cap plunger and preventing the passage of liquid from the filling
chamber upwardly into the dome.
Tenth. In a bottling machine the combination substantially as hereinbefore
described of a filling chamber adapted to receive a bottle head, a packing gasket
for engaging with a bottle head well below its lip, and a hollow tapering bending
tool within said chamber, a support for a bottle and means for forcing the bottle
support and bending tool into working relations with respect of a metallic cap,
surmounting a bottle head, within the filling chamber.
Eleventh. In a bottle sealing machine the combination substantially as herein-
before described, of a plunger adapted to hear upon the top of a sealing cap; a
bottle socket for supporting a bottle in line with said plunger; an annular non-
1otative bending tool concentric with said plunger and having hard unyielding
pressure surfaces, and adapted to bend portions of the flange of a hard metal
sealing cap into locking contact with a bottle head, and means for forcing the cap,
the interior sealing medium, and the bottle into close relations and also for
operating the bending tool.
Twelfth. In a machine for applying flanged metal sealing caps to bottles, the
combination substantially as herein before described of a hollow internally tapered
and rigid Hange bending tool a support for a bottle, and means substantially as
described for foreing said support and bending tool into working relations with
respect of an interposed bottle surmounted by a cap, and thereby bending the flange
of the cap into locking contact with the head of the bottle.
Thirteenth. In a bottle sealing machine, the combination, substantially as herein-
before described of a hollow, tapering cap flange bending tool; a cap plunger and
cap-supporting fingers for maintaining a sealing cap with its flange in a pendant
position during its reception of a bottle head, and in proper relation to the bending
tool, preparatory to operation by the latter in bending the flange of the cap into
locking contact with the bottle head.
Fourteenth. In a bottle sealing machine, the combination, substantially as herein-
before described of a hollow tapered bending tool adapted to bend the flange of a
sealing cap into locking contact with a bottle head; a cap plunger in line with said
bending tool, a bottle support in line with said bending tool and cap plunger and
means for forcing the bottle and the cap plunger into compressing contact; and
thereby extending the flange of the cap upon the head of the bottle, and also
means for varying the relative positions of the tapered bending tool and the flange
of the cap and there by bending the flange inwardly into locking contact with the
head of the bottle.
Fifteenth. In a machine for bending flanged sealing caps into locking contact
with the heads of bottles, the combination substantially as hereinbefore described
of a bottle socket; a longitudinally movable cap plunger having a concave face, an
annular flange bending tool concentric to said plunger and means for forcing the
cap plunger and the head of a bottle into close relations with an interposed sealing

page_text: cap
said concave face on the plunger serving to centre the cap and the bottle with
relation to the bending tool.
Sixteenth. In a bottle sealing machine a conical bottle socket having a bottle
bearing surface composed of a series of thin metal plates, in combination with an
elastic cushion interposed between said plates, and the body of the socket, substan-
tially as described.
Seventeenth. In a machine for applying metal sealing caps to bottles, the
combination substantially as hereinbefore described, of a bottle support, and a cap
plunger provided with a self adjusting metallic face adapted to bear upon and to
distribute pressure evenly upon the top of the cap.
Eighteenth. In a bottle sealing machine adapted to operate upon flanged
scaling caps, a cap compressing plunger, having a concaved or recessed metallic
face and containing back of said face an enclosed elastic cushion, substantially as
described.
Deal 1
CA 1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.