Improved Sterilising Apparatus.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Feb., 1890-Accepted, 29th Mar., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Sterilising Apparatus.
We JOHANN FRANZ HUGO GRONWALD, Apothecary of 35 Kaiser strasse C. and
EMIL HEINRICH CONRAD OEHLMANN Engineer of 70 Dresdener strasse S. both of
Berlin in the German Empire do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to apparatus for sterilising liquids and consists in the
combination of improved appliances with suitably arranged bottles or vessels for
containing the liquid by means of which the liquid can be sterilised in the vessel
used for storage or carriage and the latter closed with exclusion of the atmosphero
and the use of which permits said vessel to be filled to any desired height without
risk of the liquid being subsequently spoiled or the vessel exposed to the risk of
bursting. In most kinds of apparatus for sterilising liquids and closing the vessel
containing them under exclusion of the atmosphere there is either a vacuum formed
above the liquid, which in course of time draws in air and exposes the liquid to
danger of deterioration, or the liquid fills the vessel completely and exposes it to the
risk of bursting through an increase of temperature unless the vessel is made
exceedingly strong.
The object of our invention is to obviate these drawbacks and make simple bottles
available for our apparatus.
The latter consists broadly speaking of an enclosed expansion chamber attachable
to the storage vessel in such a manner that the air enclosed in said chamber is
sterilised simultaneously with the liquid, and provided with arrangements for closing
the vessel from the outside of said chamber, so that after closing under exclusion of
atmospheric air the space above the sterilised liquid is filled with sterilised air. The
entry of atmospheric air is then prevented with certainty by any ordinary so called air
tight closure or stopper, while the enclosed liquid can expand through an increase
of temperature without danger of bursting the vessel, as the enclosed air acts as a
cushion.
On the sheet of drawings appended hereunto our improved apparatus is repre-
sented in two modifications applied to two different stoppering arrangements, figures 1
and 2 shewing one modification and figure 1ª a detail of the same, and figures 3
and 4 the other modification and figure 3 a detail of the same.
The sterilising apparatus consists of the vessel containing the liquid, being in the
arrangement shewn a glass bottle A, and the expansion chamber B. The mouth a
of the bottle may be provided with external threads and the expansion chamber with
internal threads for screwing the same upon the bottle, or the expansion chamber
may be provided with an inclined slot and the bottle with lateral pegs, forming a
bayonet joint as shewn in figures 1 and 2, so that with the interposition of an india
rubber washer c. the chamber B. can be fixed air tight upon the bottle.
The bottle is closed by means of a screwed stopper C. with an india rubber
washer d. The stopper is formed with a square recess in its upper side, into which
the square at the lower end of the spindle D passing air tight through the top of
the chamber B. can be inserted. The said square is slit as shewn by figure 1ª and
springs outwards so as to fit tightly into the recess of the stopper C.
When a liquid, for instance milk, is to be sterilised by means of this apparatus,
the bottle A is first filled with ordinary milk to the desired height and the stopper C.
is pushed upon the elastic square of the spindle D. as shewn on figure 1. The
expansion chamber B. is then firmly and tightly fixed upon the bottle and the milk
n the bottle heated by means of a hot water or steam bath. The milk thereby

page_text: expands and as the stopper is held above the mouth of the bottle, can freely do so
and enter the chamber B. The aqueous vapours generated by the heating of the
milk mix with the air contained in the chamber B and sterilise it. After the milk
has been heated sufficiently long to sterilise the same and the air in the chamber, the
apparatus is removed from the water or steam bath and allowed to cool.
The expanded milk contracts again in cooling and retires into the bottle; the
vapours generated become condensed and the condensed water returns with the
milk into the bottle, so that after cooling the milk fills the bottle again to the same
height and also possesses the same composition as at the commencement of the
process. The spindle D is then pushed down and by turning the same the stopper C.
is screwed air tight upon the bottle (figure 2). After this the spindle D is drawn
out of the stopper C. and the expansion chamber B removed from the bottle, which
is now filled with sterilised milk and ready for transport, and free from the drawbacks
herein before referred to.
If ordinary bottles fitted for instance with Grauel's locking arrangement are to be
used, the modification of the apparatus shewn by figures 3 and 4 is employed. The
stopper of this locking arrangement is formed with a screwed boss e on the top
into which an elastic packing ring g is inserted, the bore of which is of the same
diameter as the perforation of the stopper c. By means of the peg or valve E.
the opening of the ring g. can be closed. In order to allow the expansion of the
milk during the heating the peg E is provided with a cross bore and a central
bore meeting the same as shewn by figure 3ª. As the closure of the peg or
valve is effected in this case by a vertical pressure, the chamber B is arranged
in a different manner from that herein before described, affording a greater certainty
of excluding the atmospheric air than the arrangement of spindle and packing gland
described with reference to figure 1. The chamber is closed at the top by a
diaphragm G to which a press rod H is fixed. While the sterilisation is effected, the
peg E is loosely inserted into the ring g. as shown on figure 3 so that the milk on
expanding can pass through the central and cross bore of said peg. The head of
the peg rests against the press rod H so that the expanding milk cannot push the
peg out of the ring g. When the sterilisation of the milk and air has been
completed and the milk has been cooled again, a pressure upon the diaphragm G.
suffices to press down the peg E. into and upon the ring g. and to close the
openings in said peg. After the expansion chamber B is removed, a cap 1 (figure 4)
is screwed upon the boss e of the stopper, which also presses upon the head of the
peg E. and holds it down on the packing ring g. and prevents its getting loose. The
lugs on the cap I. serve for screwing it upon the stopper and for the attachment of
plumbing strings.
In place of the stopper shewn in figures 3 and 4, Fritzners stopper may be used
provided with similar perforation f. and closing peg or instead thereof a small cock
may be arranged in the stopper for closing the passage f. the handle of which cock
projects into the chamber B and is operated by the press rod H.
Instead of the expansion chambers herein before described a chamber made entirely
of an elastic material for instance of india rubber may be used, in which case spindles
or press rods are unnecessary. For screwing or pushing down the stoppering
devices the expansion chamber C. in that case is simply pressed down or together
until said devices can be felt and directly actuated with the fingers. The arrange-
ment of expansion chamber with a diaphragm or made of elastic material has the
further advantage that the sterilised air in the vessel A can bo compressed so that
when said vessel is stoppered the milk is under an increased air pressure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
The combination with a sterilising vessel (A) of an air tight expansion chamber (B)
"detachably connected to said vessel and so arranged that the liquid during sterilisation

page_text: can partly enter into said expansion chamber and during cooling can flow back
into said vessel, and of stoppering devices inclosed in said expansion chamber
and so arranged that they can be operated from the outside of said expansion
chamber for effecting an air tight closure of the vessel, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
בד
1 +1.
0
1
r TA 1
1000
EMMOTT & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.