An Improved Filling Head for Machines for Filling Bottles with Aerated Water.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Jan., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 19th Nov.,
1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Filling Head for Machines for Filling Bottles with
Aerated Water.
We, WILLIAM MURRAY, of No. 2 Stanley Street, Richmond, near Melbourne
in the Colony of Victoria, Commercial Traveller, and ROBERT HARRISON, of
Spring Street, Fitzroy, near Melbourne aforesaid, Aerated Water Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
This improved filling head has been devised for the purpose of enabling bottles
fitted with stoppers, such as form the subject matter of Letters Patent No. 14048
of 1891 to be filled with aerated liquid in a simple and convenient manner and
without entailing the waste either of so much liquid or gas, as hitherto.
The essential feature of our invention consists in providing said filling head with
a central vertically sliding spindle fitted with a spring whose tendency is to always
keep it in its raised position and having a small hand lever arranged above its
upper end so that it can be thrust down in such a manner as to cause its lower end
to bear against the top of the spindle of the valve in the stopper so as to open said
valve and thus allow the aerated liquid to flow into the bottle through what is
ordinarily its discharge passage and also to allow the bottle to be snifted in the
ordinary manner. Or instead of using a sliding spring spindle for operating the
valve of the stopper, we sometimes provide a fixed downwardly projecting pin
against which the valve spindle is pressed when the bottle is lifted into its filling
position by means of a foot lever.
Instead of arranging the handle of the rocking lever which operates the filling
and snifting valves of the filling head so that it projects to one side of said lever,
thus causing its weight to tend to open one of said valves and therefore requiring a
stronger spring to keep the latter closed, we arrange said handle so that it projects
up vertically from said rocking lever, and thus has no tendency to open either of
said valves.
Dated this Ninth day of December One thousand eight hundred and ninety-
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Filling Head for Machines for Filling Bottles with
Aerated Water.
We, WILLIAM MURRAY, of No. 2 Stanley Street, Richmond, near Melbourne,
in the Colony of Victoria, Commercial Traveller, and ROBERT HARRISON, of
Spring Street, Fitzroy, near Melbourne aforesaid, Aerated Water Manufacturer,
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 :-
This improved filling head has been devised for the purpose of enabling bottles
fitted with stoppers such as form the subject matter of British Letters Patent
No. 14048, of 1891 to be filled with aerated liquid in a simple and convenient

page_text: manner and without entailing the waste either of so much liquid or gas as
hitherto.
The essential feature of our invention consists in providing said filling head with
a central vertically sliding spindle fitted with a spring whose tendency is to always
keep it in its raised position, and having a small hand lever arranged above its
upper end so that it can be thrust down in such a manner as to cause its lower end
to bear against the top of the spindle of the valve in the stopper so as to open said
valve, and thus allow the aerated liquid to flow into the bottle through what is
ordinarily the discharge passage of the stopper and also to allow the bottle to be
snifted in the ordinary manner.
By using this spindle, the valve of the stopper may be closed before the bottle
is removed, thus preventing the escape of gas or liquid, which was liable to occur
with the ordinary arrangement.
Instead of arranging the handle of the rocking lever which operates the filling
and snifting valves of the filling head so that it projects to one side of said lever,
thus causing its weight to tend to open one of said valves, and therefore requiring a
stronger spring to keep the latter closed, we arrange said handle so that it projects
up vertically from said rocking lever, and thus has no tendency to open either of
said valves.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a filling head for machines for filling bottles with
aerated water, showing it constructed according to our invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 2-2 Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3, Figure 1 and
Figure 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4, Figure 2.
The same letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts in all the
figures.
A represents the vertically sliding spindle, and B the spiral spring which is
coiled around it, and which always tends to keep it in its raised position, whilst
C represents the small hand lever which bears upon the upper end of said spindle A
so that this latter can be pressed down whenever it is required to open the stopper,
said lever being pivotted at c to a bracket c' projecting up from the casing of the
filling head. D represents the filling valve and E the snifting valve, both of which
are operated by a rocking lever F centred at f upon the bracket c' and having a
vertically arranged handle f¹ which when in its normal position is in equilibrium,
that is, it has no tendency to press unduly upon either of the spindles e-d of the
snifting and filling valves E-D. By this construction there will be no tendency
for either of said valves to be opened accidentally by said operating lever, the
springs being made sufficiently powerful to keep said valves pressed tightly
against their seats.
G represents the inlet port or passage to which the supply of aerated liquid is
connected, whilst g represents a smaller passage leading from said inlet port down
into the chamber formed below the filling valve D. Another port or passage gl
leads from the space round the spindle above said filling valve into the space
round the spindle A. A port or passage is formed in the casing between the
space or passage round the spindle A, and the space or chamber below the snifting
valve E and the ordinary shift port H is arranged to lead into the atmosphere
from a space left around the snifting valve spindle e A guard and gland I to
form a gas-tight joint around the neck of the bottle is fitted upon the lower part of
the casing of the filling head, so that it projects down below the opening against
which said bottle neck is pressed by means of a foot lever or otherwise in the
ordinary manner, said guard and gland being screwed upon a downwardly pro-
jecting sleeve and clamped by a nut i in order that its position may be readily
adjusted as required. The spindles A-e-d are each passed through a stuffing
box at their upper ends in order to maintain a perfectly tight joint around them,
and the lower end of the snifting and filling valve spindles e-d work within
screwed cups or socket pieces e²-d² fitted with spiral springs e-d'. In cases

page_text: where it is required to form passages down the sides of the spindles, as for instance
at the lower end of the central spindle A, where it is required to conduct the
nerated water from the space containing the spring B down to the lower end of
said spindle, we prefer to bore holes (such as a) as close to the edge of the hole
through which said spindle passes as possible, as clearly illustrated in Figures 2
and 4, the same also applying in other cases if required.
The manner of employing our improved filling head for machines for filling
bottles with aerated water is as follows:-The bottle to be filled is raised by the foot
lever or otherwise, and its neck is pressed firmly into the gland which is fitted
with india-rubber rings in the ordinary manner. The lever C is then pressed down
by one hand to open the valve of the bottle stopper and the lever F is then rocked
to the right so as to force down the spindle of the filling valve D, the effect being
to open communication between the acrated water inlet port or passage G and the
bottle to be filled, through the passage g, space below the valve D, and thence
between said valve and its seating up round the spindle d and through the passage g
into the space around the central spindle A, whence it is free to pass through the
openings a to the bottle. This latter is snifted by rocking the lever F to the
left so as to open the valve E after having closed the valve D, when communication
will be opened through the passage h, valve E, and snifting port H, with the
atmosphere. If the lever C is then released, the lower end of the spindle A will
be raised out of contact with the valve of the stopper by the spring B and will
thus allow same to close, as will be well understood.
If preferred, instead of using the sliding spring spindle A. for opening the valve
of the stopper, a fixed downwardly projecting pin may be employed, the valve
spindle being pressed against said pin when the bottle is lifted into its filling
position, but there are many objections to using this arrangement.
It will be evident to all persons who have had much experience with aerated
water filling machines, that with our improved filling head there will be but very
little waste of water or gas whilst the bottles are being filled.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
:-
First. In a filling head for machines for filling bottles with aerated water the
combination with a central vertically sliding spindle (such as A) fitted with a
spring whose tendency is to always keep it in its raised position, of a small hand
lever (such as C) arranged to bear upon its upper end so that it can be thrust
down in such a manner as to cause its lower end to bear against the spindle of the
stopper valve, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Second. In a filling head for machines for filling bottles with aerated water, the
combination with filling and snifting valves (such as D-E) having upwardly
projecting spindles of a rocking lever (such as F) provided with a central vertical
handle (such as ), arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein described
and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Seventeenth day of October Oue thousand eight hundred and
ninety-two.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.