Improvements in and relating to Bottle-filling and Stoppering Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1899
Complete Specification Left. 18th Aug., 1900-Accepted, 20th Oct., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Bottle-filling and Stoppering
Machines.
We, WILLIAM MANNERING, Engineer, and WALTER PHILIP BARNARD, Manu-
facturer, both of 66, Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, do hereby declare
the nature of our invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to bottle-filling and stoppering machines and has for
its object to provide a machine for use in filling screw stoppered bottles with
flavoured aerated water or other liquid.
In machines of this description devices are provided for withdrawing the screw
stopper and filling the bottle with aerated liquid and a suitable quantity of the
flavouring syrup and then replacing the, screw stopper firmly in the neck of the
bottle. In our improved machine we do not shift the bottle from the time of the
commencement of the filling operation until after the stopper has been inserted
and screwed home, and we thereby avoid a considerable loss owing to evaporation
in shifting the bottle from one part of the machine to another. Other advantages
also arise from the use of our machine such as the attainment of quickness and
certainty of operation.
According to our invention we provide a support for the bottle which is capable
of sliding longitudinally and which can by pressure upon a lever be caused to
force the neck and mouth of the bottle into a filling nozzle so arranged as to make
a tight joint therewith. At the same time the stopper which has previously been
loosely screwed into the bottle mouth is gripped at the top by a clutch of suitable
form within the nozzle. The bottle being in position for filling, the operation
of a second lever is arranged to withdraw the stopper from the mouth of the
bottle by means of a helical motion, the rod conveying the motion moving longi-
tudinally in the nozzle through a fluid-tight joint. The movement of the lever
also causes a determined amount of syrup to be ejected from a suitable pump
through the tube into the nozzle and thence into the bottle. When this has been
done the cock for admission of the aerated water, which may be of any suitable
description, is operated to admit the liquid to the bottle, and by means of a
suitable snifting valve, the bottle is completely filled with the liquid. The lever
above mentioned is now operated in the reverse direction so as to screw the stopper
firmly into the bottle, and at the same time draw into the pump a determined
quantity of syrup for the next operation. The bottle being now filled and
stoppered is withdrawn from the filling nozzle by releasing the pressure on the
lever and can then be removed from the machine and an empty bottle inserted in
its place.
It will be seen that the operation of filling and stoppering bottles by means
of our improved machine is very speedy, the bottle when once it is placed in
the machine is not shifted in position from the time of the removal of the stopper
until the same has been reinserted, and since the filling nozzle is during the whole

page_text: operation maintained tightly pressed against the mouth and neck of the bottle,
no escape of liquid or gas is possible.
Dated this 20th day of October 1899.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant.
:
Improvements in and relating to Bottle-filling and Stoppering
Machines.
We, WILLIAM MANNERING, Engineer, and WALTER PHILIP BARNARD, Manu-
facturer, both of 66, Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, 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:-
Our invention relates to bottle-filling and has for its object to provide a machine
for use in filling screw stoppered bottles, with flavoured aerated water or other
liquid.
In machines of this description devices are provided for withdrawing the screw
stopper and filling the bottle with aerated liquid and a suitable quantity of the
flavouring syrup and then replacing the screw stopper firmly in the neck of the
bottle.
In our improved machine we do not shift the bottle from the time of the com-
mencement of the filling operation until after the stopper has been inserted
and screwed home, and we thereby avoid a considerable loss owing to evaporation
in shifting the bottle from one part of the machine to another. Other advantages
also arise from the use of our machine such as the attainment of quickness and
certainty of operation.
To carry out our invention we provide a filling nozzle fastened on a frame,
and provided with suitable valves and passages to admit aerated water, and to
supply syrup from a syrup pump attached to the frame, together with means to
operate the aerated water valve and syrup pump. In the nozzle we provide an
improved clutch to unscrew & screw up the bottle stopper and means for operating
the same, also a sealing ring loosely fitted in the nozzle and a gland to compress
the sealing ring together with means to lift the bottle into position in the nozzle,
and operate the gland to compress the sealing ring around the neck of said bottle.
Our invention is more particularly described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Figure 1 shews a prospective view of our machine and :-
Figure 2 shews a vertical sectional view of the filling nozzle and stopper clutch.
Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 we provide a frame 1, and fastened thereto,
conveniently by means of studs through the holes (see Figure 2) a filling
nozzle 2 provided with passages 4 and 47.
To the passage 47 is screwed any convenient valve 48 for the admission of the
aerated water; and a suitable snifting valve 49, both operated by a hand lever 50
pivotted at 58 and opening valve 48 when closing snifting valve 49 and vice versa.
To the other passage 4 is screwed a syrup cock connected to a suitable syrup pump 6
by means of a pipe 7. To operate the syrup pump we provide a hand lever 8
pivotted on a rocking shaft 9 and balanced by a movable counter-poise 10.
The rocking shaft 9 rocks in bearings 11 and carries two levers 12 and 13;
the end of the lever 12 bearing against two lateral projections 14 fixed to the
syrup-pump rod 15. By means of this lever and the lateral projections; if the

page_text: hand lever 8 is lifted a measured quantity of syrup is pumped into the nozzle 2,
and a fresh quantity is raised into the syrup pump 6.
The end of lever 13 is
pivotted at 16 to a rod 17 (shewn in dotted lines, Figure 1) the other end of said
rod being pivotted at 18 to a link 19, the latter being pivotted at one end to a
swinging arm 20 and having at the other, a screw matrix 21; said matrix being
passed over a left hand screw 22 cut in a rod 23. The rod 23 rotates in bearings
24 and supports at its top end a weight 25 while the other end passes through the
top of the nozzle, and carries a stopper clutch (see Figure 2).
The rod 23 is surrounded as it passes through the top of the nozzle by a hat
leather 51 conveniently fastened in the top of the nozzle and making a fluid-
tight joint around the rod.
The stopper clutch consists of a disc 28, conveniently screwed on to the rod 23;
and having hinged thereto at 30 an internally serrated split-ring 29.
To the underside of said disc is fastened a rubber plate roughened on the under
side.
The split ring 29 is held together by an elastic ring 31.
A rubber sealing ring 33 (see Figure 2) is fitted in the nozzle 2; the upper
end of said ring bearing against the shoulder 34, while the under side rests upon
the end of a gland 35, said gland being held in the nozzle by means of two studs 36
screwed through the sides of the nozzle into two slots 37 cut in the gland. Two
holes 38 are bored through the flange 39 of the gland and through these holes are
passed the ends 40 of two rods 41 standing on a tee piece 42, at one end of a rod 43
said rod being hinged at the other end 44 to a treadle lever 45, pivotted at 46 to
the frame 1.
The rod 43 moves through a collar 52 at the end of a rod 53, fixed to the frame.
A spring 54 is passed over the rod 43 its upper end bearing against the collar 52
while the lower end presses on the pivotted end of the treadle lever 45 and keeps
the latter raised. A bottle block 54 is fixed to one of the rods 41 and supports
the bottle 55.
The action of our machine is as follows:-
The bottle stopper 56 is loosely screwed into the bottle and the latter is placed
on the block 54 with its head in the sealing ring 33 in the nozzle 2. The operator
now presses on the treadle 45 and thereby lifts the bottle into position in the
filling nozzle & the head of the stopper 56 into the split ring of the clutch, while
the shoulders 57 of the rods 41 bearing against the Hange 39 press the gland 35
into the nozzle and compress the rubber sealing ring 33 around the neck of the
bottle, thereby making a tight joint. The operator next lifts the hand lever 8
and thereby pumps a determined amount of syrup into the filling nozzle as herein
before described at the same time raising the lever 13, rod 17, and link 19, and
thereby causing the matrix 21 to travel up the left hand screw 22 and rotate the
rod 23 and the stopper clutch, and so unscrewing the stopper in the bottle.
When the matrix gets to the end of the left hand screw it bears against the
shoulder 58 on the rod 23 and lifts the unscrewed stopper clear of the bottle allow-
ing the syrup in the nozzle to run into the bottle, the air in said bottle escaping
through the open snifting valve.
The aerated water valve is now opened by means of hand lever 50 and the
aerated water passes into the nozzle and fills the bottle; the hand lever S is then
lowered; and the weight 25 brings the stopper to the mouth of the bottle, and
the matrix 21 travelling down the screw 22, rotates the stopper-clutch and screws
the stopper into the bottle. The aerated water valve 48 is then shut, and the the
snifting valve 49 opened to allow the superfluous aerated water in the nozzle to
escape. The pressure may now be removed from the treadle and the bottle taken
out and replaced by another, and the operation repeated.
It will be seen that the operation of filling and stoppering bottles by means of
our improved machine is very speedy, the bottle when once it is placed in the
machine is not shifted in position from the time of the removal of the stopper
until the same has been re-inserted, and since the sealing ring in the nozzle is

page_text: during the whole operation maintained tightly pressed against the mouth and
neck of the bottle, no escape of liquid or gas is possible.
The apparatus above described is adapted to work as a hand machine but the
invention may obviously be constructed to be operated by steam or other motive
power without departing in any way from the principle thereof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed. We declare that we
claim is:.
1). In a screw bottle filling machine the combination of a filling nozzle pro-
vided with a passage for the syrup, and an aerated water valve and a suifting
valve, a lever to operate the valve and snifting valve, a syrup pump and a pipe
to connect the syrup pump with the filling nozzle a hand lever, rocking shaft,
levers, rods and links adapted to operate the syrup pump, and actuate a stopper
clutch in the filling nozzle, a sealing ring fitted in the filling nozzle and a gland
to compress the sealing ring, a treadle lever, rods and bottle block adapted to lift
the bottle into position in the filling nozzle, and operate the gland to compress
the sealing ring around the neck of the bottle, substantially as described.
2). In combination with our screw bottle filling machine constructed substan-
tially as set forth, a stopper clutch working in a filling nozzle consisting of a disc
at the end of a rod, a roughened rubber plate fastened to the underside of said
disc, an internally serrated split ring hinged to the disc and an elastic ring to
hold the split ring together substantially as described.
3). A screw bottle filling machine substantially as described and shewn in the
accompanying drawings
Dated this 18th day of Anoust 1900
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham.