IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CAPSULING BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Olark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CAPSULING BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS."―A
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 9th September 1874.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Ohancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CAPSULING BOTTLES AND OTHER
VESSELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to hydraulic apparatus for securing capsules to
bottles, consisting of a liquid receptacle in which works a plunger and
an india-rubber diaphragm for transmitting the pressure exerted by the
plunger to the capsule, so as to compress the same around the neck of
the bottle,

page_text: The apparatus is of two kinds which may each be modified in form
and arrangement.
The one is a portable apparatus capable of being readily fixed to a
table or counter, and intended for capsuling bottles and vessels of all
kinds containing still liquids.
The second is more particularly applicable to capsuling bottles and
such like receptacles containing liquids under pressure, such as sparkling
wines and areated waters, being combined with devices for retaining the
cork in position during the operation of fixing the capsule. With this
last mentioned apparatus I may use capsuls of such thickness and
strength that they may serve to secure the corks without wiring, besides
answering the purpose of the ordinary capsule.
By a suitable arrangement of the apparatus it may be employed for
capsuling wide mouthed bottles, jars, pots, or other vessels.
In the first apparatus described for capsuling bottles containing still
liquids the apparatus is disposed horizontally, and has a stuffing box at
one end through which the plunger operated by hand lever works,
the other end being enlarged in the form of a socket to receive the
rubber diaphragm which is clamped thereto round the flanged edges.
The diaphragm is so made as to form a cylindrical or conical cavity to
recieve the neck of the bottle to be capsuled. It is further secured by a
bolt whose head forms the bottom of the cavity, and it is hollowed out
and lined with felt to prevent damage to the trade mark or other device
usually stamped on the top of the capsule.
Diaphragms of different depths may be used in the same apparatus to
suit different sizes of capsules by backing up the diaphragm with washers
placed on the stem of the bolt.
The diaphragm may be slightly conical, the rubber being diminished
in thickness towards the bottom of the cavity in order that the pressure
may first be applied at the top of the capsule near the lip of the bottle,
so as to first press it into the rings or irregularities on the neck, the
pressure then gradually extending towards the edges of the capsule,
whereby the metal is drawn, so to speak, and more firmly attached to
the bottle neck.
☐ The diaphragm may be formed with four or more longitudinal.grooves
on the interior of the cavity, so as to produce ribs on the capsule when

page_text: compressed in imitation of capsules placed on corks which have pre,
viously been wired.
The apparatus intended more especially for capsuling bottles con
taining areated liquids is disposed vertically. The bottle having been
filled and corked, and a capsule placed in position thereon, it is then
placed on a table fitted beneath a diaphragm and raised by a treadle so
as to press the cork against the bottom of the cavity of the diaphragm
and hold it firmly in place. The plunger is then worked to compress
the capsule which serves both to envelope and retain the cork."
For capsuling wide mouthed vessels having short necks the rubber
diaphragm is so made that it can enter the angle formed by the
shoulder of the vessel and the rim, and so apply the pressure uniformly
in all points.
In some cases a screw would be preferable for working the plunger in
lieu of a hand lever, or a second plunger of large diameter might be
used for partially compressing the diaphragm on the bottle neck, the
final pressure being applied by means of a small plunger.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her special licence
that I, the said Alexander Melville Olark, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Melville Clark,
my exécutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might

page_text: make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CAPSULING BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Antoine Bosquet, of Paris, France,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Melville
Clark, 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 Alexander Melville Clark, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say) :-
This Invention relates to improved apparatus for fixing metallic
capsules on bottles and other necked vessels, said apparatus being of the
kind in which the necessary pressure is applied to the capsule through
the medium of water or other fluid acting on an elastic diaphragm or
chamber of india-rubber in contact with the capsule.
One indispensable condition for the proper working of these appa-
ratus is that the elastic diaphragm or chamber (which may be variously
shaped) should be secured at both ends, in such manner that its cylin-
drical or conical portion only may act on the capsule. This condition
has not however been observed in apparatus of this description heretofore
made, as that portion of the diaphragm which forms the bottom of the
capsuling chamber remained exposed to the hydraulic pressure, as well
as the cylindrical part, in consequence of which the said apparatus have
not worked satisfactorily.
The various arrangements of apparatus which I will now describe are
all characterized by the essentially novel feature above referred to.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood I will
describe it in reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1
represents a vertical section of an apparatus for capsuling bottles con-

page_text: taining still liquids; Figure 2, a plan; and Figure 3, an end view of the
same.
The
apparatus works like those of the same kind heretofore proposed
in the manner of a hydraulic press. By pressing on the lever L the
plunger B is forced into the pump barrel A displacing the liquid con-
tained therein, which liquid transmits the pressure to the elastic
diaphragm or chamber D, which according to this Invention is so secured
at both ends that its cylindrical or conical portion only shall be caused
by the pressure to collapse and press the capsule c closely upon the neck
of the bottle 9.
The foregoing description of the method of transmitting hydraulic
pressure to the cylindrical or conical part only of the elastic diaphragm,
applies to all the apparatus represented in tlie Drawings, in which the
same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures
wherever they recur.
The characteristic feature of this Invention consists, as before men-
tioned, in securing the elastic chamber not only by its flange at one end,
but also at the other end by another flange (as in Figure 6); or by a
bōlt 6 passed through the casing or fluid chamber A, and through the
bottom of the flexible chamber D to support both ends of the latter
against the pressure of the fluid. The bolt is secured by a nut on the
outside, and its head which covers the bottom of the cavity or chamber
is recessed to receive a thickness of soft felt in order to prevent damage
to the top of the capsule. Such damage is avoided without any special
contrivance, when the elastic chamber is secured by two flanges, and
open at both ends, as in Figure 6.
The apparatus is filled with liquid at a hole stopped by a screw plug v.
In this as well as in the other arrangements (where the diaphragm or
chamber is provided with a flange at one end and closed at the other
end), flexible diaphragms or chambers of different depths may be used
in the same apparatus to suit cápsules of different lengths, by simply
backing up the chamber with metallic washers v, placed on the stem
of the bolt between the end of the elastic chamber D and the
chamber A.
Figures 4 and 5 show vertical and transverse sections of an appārātus

page_text: such as champagne wine or lemonade. The elastic chamber D in this
case is made of greater depth and of conical form for the purpose of
fixing capsules of considerable length, such as are ordinarily employed
with this kind of bottle. In this arrangement, if the elastic chamber
is made with a closed end or bottom, the bolt □ which holds this bottom
rigidly in position is made tubular to give passage to a stem t termi-
nating in a concave head lined with felt or other soft material.
The position of the head 6¹ in the chamber D may be varied by shifting
a pin which passes through bolt b, and through one or other of a
series of holes in stem t. A cup or lining D¹ of thin iron or copper is
embedded in the thickness of the top of the caoutchouc chamber D in
order to render the same rigid at that part, the object both of the
lining D¹ and head b¹ being to protect from any hard contact, and
from the hydraulic pressure that portion of the capsule which covers
the cork however much the latter may project. The same result
may be obtained with the modified form of apparatus, as shown in
Figure 6, in which the elastic chamber D is open at both ends and
secured by two flanges by means of metallic clamping rings E secured
to the body of the apparatus. In this arrangement the second flange
replaces the bottom previously referred to, and the clamping ring by
which it is secured answers [the same purpose as that fulfilled by
the bolt b. In this case the cork would project beyond the capsuling
device.
For capsuling wide mouthed bottles, carboys, jars, pots, and other
vessels with short necks, the elastic chamber D is so shaped (as shown
at d, Figure 7) that it may be caused by the pressure to enter the angle
formed by the shoulder of the vessel V, and thus uniformly compress
the capsule around the neck, the cork itself not being subjected to any
-pressure owing to the protection afforded by the head of bolt b.
The internal surface of the chamber D instead of being smooth
may be variously corrugated for the purpose, either avoiding pleats
or creases in the capsule or of forming regular pleats therein when
compressed.
In Figures 4, 5, and 6, the elastic chamber is made with a series of
longitudinal grooves e, by means of which a corresponding number of
ridges are first formed at equal distances around the capsule by a pre-
liminary pressure, after which the bottle is partially turned round and a

page_text: second pressure applied which folds down the ridges in regular pleats..
By increasing the number of these grooves e, as in Figure 5 bis, so as
to form a series of corrugations on the interior of chamber D, the capsule
may by a series of pressings (the bottle being slightly turned each time)
be contracted on the neck of the bottle without the formation of any
apparent pleats. The same result may be obtained by making the
chamber D of conical form, as shown in Figure 8, and of increasing
thickness from a to b, in order that the pressure may first be applied
on the capsule by the thinnest part a, and then gradually extend towards
the thickest part b.
Another means of effecting the same result consists in forming a
screw thread on the interior, as shown in Figure 9, and turning the
bottle round while the pressure is being applied.
As the necks of bottles vary considerably in diameter it may be useful
in some cases to insert one or more elastic cups within the chamber D,
as shown at D, Figure 10, for the purpose of reducing the internal
diameter of the elastic chamber when capsuling a bottle having a neck
of small diameter.
It should be observed that the various forms of elastic chambers D,
herein described, are each strengthened at the angles by the insertion of
a thickness of woven fabric in the substance of the rubber, as indicated
in dotted lines.
Figure 11 represents the apparatus adapted for applying metallic
capsules within the mouths of certain descriptions of vessels for stop-
pering by filling up said capsules with plaster. In this arrange-
ment the elastic chamber instead of being compressed as before is
expanded under the influence of the pressure, so as to apply the capsule
against the inside of the mouth of the vessel. The elastic chamber is
again in this case attached by its end as well as by the flange around
its edges, and its cylindrical or conical surface alone acts on the
capsule.
The form of this apparatus differs from those previously described to
adapt it to the particular purpose to which it is to be applied, although
it is precisely the same in its action. V is the vessel placed on a plate P
which is raised or lowered by a pedal,
The several apparatus herein-before described, are readily portable

page_text: and may either be screwed on a counter or table or be fixed by a screw
clamp M, Figures 4, 5, and 6, cast with the shell of the apparatus.
The dotted lines in Figure 5 show the pump barrel A made as a
separate casting connected by flanges and bolts to the body of the
apparatus.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim
to the employment of hydraulic apparatus with elastic chambers for
capsuling bottles and other vessels, but only to the herein described
improvements in such apparatus, and that what I do claim as the Inven-
tion to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,―
1st. Securing the elastic diaphragm or chamber at both ends in such
manner that the fluid pressure shall act with effect only on its cylin-
drical or conical surface, and consequently compress only the corre-
sponding part of the capsule on the neck of the bottle, substantially as
herein described and shown in the Drawings annexed.
2ndly. The said elastic diaphragm or chamber, when provided with
internal grooves or corrugations, whereby the formation of pleats may
either be avoided, or regular pleats may be formed in the capsule as
set forth.
3rdly. The combination of such improved elastic chambers with the
various arrangements of apparatus herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, tho said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five.