Corking or Stoppering Bottles.
Year: 1884

page_text: Corking or Stoppering Bottles.
We, CAESAR FREEMAN COHEN and SAMUEL FREEMAN COHEN trading together
as Cohen Brothers of 438 Caledonian Road, in the County of Middlesex, Mineral
Water Manufacturers, and JOHN HENRY HAMILTON, of 3 Vernon Street, Percy
Circus, in the said County, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND
CORKING OR STOPPERING BOTTLES, to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to an improved machine or apparatus, driven by steam, or
other power, for filling and corking or stoppering bottles provided with corks or
internal stoppers, and may be used for for filling and corking bottles which are to
contain aerated or non aerated liquids.
The improved machine consists of a hollow vertical frame or pillar cast on or
bolted to an enlarged hollow base piece which rests on the ground and supports
the machine. Inside this base piece a wheel revolves on a horizontal axle or shaft,
supported by bearings on the base piece. On one side of this wheel a cam groove
is formed and in this groove a roller runs. This roller can turn freely on a stud
fixed in one arm of a bent lever, or instead of the cam a pin may be fixed on the
wheel, the roller upon it running in a slot in one arm of the lever, and to this arm
the lower end of a connecting rod is jointed. This connecting rod passes upwards
through the hollow frame or pillar and is jointed at its upper end to a piece
attached to or formed on a rod capable of sliding in vertical guides. This rod,
hereinafter called the corking rod, serves to drive the corks through a funnel in a
metal mouth piece, attached to the frame, and into the mouth of the bottle, the
neck of which bears against a rubber ring in the lower part of the mouth piece.
The bent lever above mentioned can turn freely on a stud fixed in the frame and
has jointed to one arm, as above mentioned, the connecting rod for actuating the
corking rod, but the other arm has jointed to it a link, or pair of links, which, at
their upper ends, are jointed to a sleeve capable of sliding on a vertical rod or
spindle, which rod or spindle is directly under the mouth piece and carries, on
its upper end, a block or support for the bottle to rest on while it is being filled.
The sleeve can slide upwards on the rod or spindle against the action of a spring,
which is interposed between the top of the sleeve and a nut on the rod or spindlo
The latter can slide freely up and down through a guide attached to the frame

page_text: The arm of the lever which actuates the bottle support, is set at such an angle
to the other arm which actuates the corking rod, that at the beginning of the down
stroke of the latter it causes this support to rise comparatively fast, but as the
motion continues and the centre line of the link approaches the fulcrum the motion
becomes less and during the remainder of the stroke of the corking rod this motion
is very slight.
The filling valve may be opened and closed by means of a rod moved by a tappet
or tappets on the wheel and attached to a lever which bears against the stem of
the valve. By giving this rod a motion, in one direction, it may be made to open
the filling valve, and one in an opposite direction may open the snift valve, or this
latter may be opened by a separate rod, or may be dispensed with altogether, in
which case an air space is formed in communication with the mouth piece. This air
space may be obtained by attaching to the mouth piece a globular or other shaped
vessel, different sized vessels being used to suit different sized bottles, the air
contained in which is forced into these vessels by the incoming liquor. A valve
may be provided to let off the contents of these vessels after the bottle has been
filled.
If it be required to inject syrup into the bottles a syrup pump is attached to the
frame. This pump may be worked by means of a pin or roller on the upper end of
the connecting rod sliding in a slot in one arm of a bell crank lever, which groove
is so shaped that the motion of the connecting rod does not cause the lever to move
except towards the latter end of the stroke of the corking rod. The other arm of
the lever may work between stops on the piston rod of the pump. The position of
these stops will determine the stroke of the pump. Or.a short straight lever
turning freely on a pin in the frame has one end caught by a tappet or catch
on the connecting rod, and has this end pressed down till it is free of the catch
when the other end which had lifted the piston rod of the pump against the
action of a spring or weight is carried down along with this piston rod. The end
of the lever is not attached directly to the pump rod, but merely hears against the
lower face of a collar attached to it, so that there is nothing to prevent the other
end of the lever being freely raised on the upward stroke of the connecting rod till
it falls clear of the catch or tappet, it then falls into its former position.
The corks may be put into the machine one by one, as required, or they may be
placed in a receptacle and fed in automatically by a suitable arrangement.
One such arrangement consists of a vertical or inclined channel curving round at
its lower end till it is horizontal, or nearly so. This end is open and opposite to it
is a recess in a metal block capable of admitting one cork. This metal block can
be turned about a horizontal pivot attached to it.
When the block is in its normal position the recess is vertical and the block is
held in that position by the action of a weight, or spring, but on the up stroke of
the corking rod a tappet, nttached to it, strikes against a collar on a rod connected
to the metal block and turns the latter through one fourth of a revolution thus
bringing the recess horizontal and opposite the open end of the channel. The corks
are placed in this channel with their axes horizontal and the lowest one rolls into
the recess in the metal block as soon as it comes opposite the end of the channel.
As the corking rod descends, the weight, or spring, brings the block back to its
normal position and the cork is now vertical and under the corking rod which
continues its downward motion and drives it into the funnel.
In connection with this arrangement a larger receptacle for the corks may be
used. The corks are placed in it with their axes horizontal in rows one above
another. The lowest row rests on a leather or rubber band which receives a slow
continuous motion and so tends to roll the corks along to an opening in one corner
of the receptacle. This opening is the top of the inclined channel, above described,
and the corks are thus fed continually into it. Projecting pieces may be attached
.to the band so that corks dropping between them will be carried along with it.
In another arrangement the corks are put in with their axes vertical and are
rolled along between a vertical wall and a travelling band, or the travelling band

page_text: may have projections on it to carry the corks along. In this case the motion of
the band should be intermittent.
The bottles may be put into or taken out of the machine by hand, one by one, as
required, or may be put in a receptacle and fed into the machine automatically by
an arrangement similar to that used for the corks. Or they may be put in by hand
as required and delivered automatically. Thus, on the descent of the bottle
support, the filled bottle may be caused to fall against an inclined plano attached
to the support and sliding down this plane drop into a tray or shoot provided to
receive them.
The above description is applicable to a machine for operating on only one bottle
at a time, but the machine can be made to operate ou two, three or four bottles at
the same time. For operating on two bottles at the same time, two mouthpieces
may be attached to the frame of the machine either side by side or on opposite
sides of the frame; in the former case, both of the corking rods and both of the
bottle supports may be moved by the same lever and cam, or may receive their
motion from separate levers, moved by separate cams, one on each side of the
wheel. For operating on four bottles at a time, two pairs of the above described
arrangements may be placed on opposite sides of the frame.
The wheel which carries the cam, or pin, may be driven by bevel, spur, or worin
gearing, from a shaft carrying pulleys which are driven from the source of power.
Bottles furnished with self-closing internal stoppers, can be filled by means of
this machine by inverting the bottles and its support and providing an air tube in
the usual manner. This air tube can be worked in the same manner as the
corking rod.

page_text: Improvements in Machines or Apparatus for Filling and
Corking or Stoppering Bottles.
We CAESAR FREEMAN COHEN, SAMUEL FREEMAN COHEN of 438 Caledonian
Road London in the County of Middlesex Mineral Water Manufacturers and
JOHN HENRY HAMILTON of 3 Vernon St. Clerkenwell London in the County of
Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of our invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING OR STOPPERING
"
BOTTLES 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 an improved machine or apparatus driven by steam or
other power for filling and corking or stoppering bottles and may be used for
filling and corking bottles which are to contain aerated or non aerated liquids.
In order that our said invention may be clearly understood we proceed to describe
it fully referring to the accompanying drawings of which Fig. is a sectional
elevation Fig. 2 à plan of section at line A A (Fig. 1) Fig. 3 a front elevation
Fig. 4 a side elevation and Fig. 5 a plan.
The frame of the machine consists of a base piece b which rests upon the ground
or on a sole plate of the hollow pillar a supported by this base piece. Inside this
base piece is a wheel c fixed to a short horizontal shaft & supported in bearings on
the base piece b.
This wheel c carries teeth at its periphery which gear with those of a pinion e
keyed to another shaft f which also carries the fast and loose pulleys g₁ 9, which
receive motion from the source of power.
Spur wheels are shewn but the gearing may be bevel or worm gearing.
On one face of the wheel ca cam groove or track is formed and in it a roller h
runs. This roller turns freely on a stud or pin fixed in one arm of a bent lever k
turning on a stud or pin i as a fulcrum which stud or pin i is fixed in the base
piece b. A connecting rod jis jointed at its lower end to the same arm of the
lever k and at its upper end to the corking rod capable of sliding in vertical
guides.
This corking rod 7 serves to drive the corks through the conical funnel forined
in the mouth piece M into the neck of the bottle. A short pair of links m are
connected at their lower ends with the other arm of the lever k and at their upper
ends with a sleeve n capable of sliding on a vertical rod o against the action of a
spring. The rod o itself can slide freely in a vertical guide attached to the hollow
pillar a and carries at its upper end a block or support for the bottle to rest upon
while being filled.
The arm of the lever k which is connected with the links m is inclined at such
an angle to the other arm which carries the roller h that at the beginning of the
down stroke of the corking rod it causes the bottle support to rise comparatively
fast but as the motion continues and the angle between the arm of the lever k and
the attached links m becomes greater the movement of the bottle support becomes
less and less in comparison with that of the corking rod so that during the latter

page_text: portion of the stroke of this corking rod 2 when it is driving a cork into the neck
of the bottle the end of the arm of the lever k passes over a "dead centre" and the
upward motion of the sleeve n is very slight and merely increases the compression
of the spring without raising the bottle since the neck of the bottle is pressing
against the rubber of the mouth piece M.
A filling or admission valve (1) (Figs. 3 and 4) for the liquid and an admission
valve (2) for syrup are attached to the mouth piece M and the former is opened at
the proper time by means of a tappet or tappets or cam piece or pieces p attached
to the wheel c and coming in contact with a roller r on a rod a connected with the
end of a levert which on being raised presses against the stem of the filling or
admission valve. A snift valve or air escape valve may be used and opened by a
reverse motion of the lever t and rod & imparted to them by a separate tappet piece
or pieces likewise attached to the wheel c.
Or instead of the snift valve an air vessel u (Fig. 3) may be screwed to the
mouth piece M so that its interior is in communication with that of the bottle while
the latter is being filled; the air contained in the bottle being compressed into the
air vessel u by the entering liquid. The air may escape from the vessel when
the bottle begins to descend or a separate valve may be used to release the air
before that stage in the operation.
For injecting syrup into the bottle any of the ordinary syrup pumps may be
used.
An arrangement for operating such a syrup pump is shown in Fig. 1.
A projection or tooth v is formed on the upper end of the connecting rod j and
on the down stroke of the corking rod this projection or tooth v comes in contact
with the heavy end of a short lever w turning freely on a pin in the hollow pillar a
depresses it to a certain extent (thereby raising the piston or plunger of the syrup
pump) and continuing its downward motion slides past the end of the lover w
which is brought back to its original position by the piston or plunger descending
under the action of a spring. The syrup pump is connected by a pipe with the
syrup valve (2) Fig. 3. When the corking rod ascends it lifts the heavy end of
the lever w which is not attached to but merely bears against a roller or on a
collar on the piston rod or end of plunger and after being raised to a certain extent
that end drops free of the projection or tooth v.
The corks may be put into the machine one by one as required or the automatic
feeding arrangement K shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 may be applied.
This consists of a channel or receptacle (3) in which the corks are placed in a
row with their axes horizontal. The lower end of this channel or receptacle (3)
curves round till it is horizontal or nearly so and is open. Opposite to this open
end there is a metal block (4) capable of turning through th of a revolution within
a casing (5). In the metal block 4 is a recess large enough to freely admit one
cork and in one extreme position of the block (4) this recess is horizontal and
opposite to the lower and open end of the channel or receptacle (3) and in the
other extreme position is vertical and directly over the funnel in the mouth
piece M. When in the former position a cork rolls from the channel into the
recess and in the latter position the cork is directly over the funnel in the mouth
piece M and in a position to be driven into it.
The requisite movement of the block (4) may be obtained from that of the
corking rod by means of the connection shewn as follows: A short crank (6)
is secured to the end of a pin cast on the block (4) and working freely in a bearing
in the casing (5).
To the end of the short crank (6) is jointed the rod (7) passing upwards through
an eye z attached to the corking rod above which is an adjustable nut. When
the corking rod & rises and is near the end of its up stroke the eye coming in
contact with the adjustable nut raises the rod (7) and turns the block round till
the recess in the block (4) above mentioned is horizontal a cork then rolls into
this recess and when the corking rod begins to descend the weight of the rod (7)
causes the block (4) to turn back so that the recess is then vertical in which

page_text: position it is held by a stop, and the continued movement of the corking rod
drives the cork from the recess into the funnel in the mouth piece M. A spring'
may be provided to assist the weight of the rod in returning the block (4) to a
vertical position.
Or the motion of the block (4) may be derived directly from that of the corking
rod without the intervention of the rod (7).
In this case the pin upon which the block oscillates as a centre instead of passing
through the centre line of the corking rod is placed about one inch to one side of
that centre line and the block (4) has a curved surface formed on it upon which
the lower end of the corking rod 7 presses at the commencement of its downward
stroke and as the direction of pressure thus passes to one side of the centre of
motion the block (4) is turned round against the action of a spring or weight till
the recess is vertical when the corking rod moves into the latter forcing the cork
into the funnel in the mouth piece M as before. The spring or weight always
tends to return the block (4) to a horizontal position but can only do so when the
corking rod on its ascent is drawn out of the recess and rises to the top of its
stroke.
In connection with this arrangement a larger receptacle for the corks may be
used, the bottom of which is formed of a leather or rubber band having a slow
continuous motion and carrying projecting pieces for catching and carrying along
the corks which are put into the receptacle with their axes horizontal the lowest
row resting on the band. By this means the corks would be fed into the channel (3)
continuously and from that into the machine as above described. Another arrange-
ment by which the corks may be automatically fed into the machine consists of a
leather or rubber band receiving an intermittent longitudinal movement. The
corks being placed between this band and a vertical wall with their axes vertical
would be rolled along towards the funnel in the mouth piece M.
The bottles may be put in and taken out of the machine one by one by hand or
they may be put in by hand one by one as required and delivered from the
machine automatically. An arrangement for this purpose is shewn at N in Figs. 1,
3 and 4.
An inclined plane (8) is attached to the bottle support and the bottles are caused
to fall against it as the support descends they then slide down the inclined plane (8)
and off the support into a tray or shoot placed to receive them. A piece (9)
attached to the bottle support by and capable of oscillating to a slight extent about
a pin (10) has a groove cut in it. A pin attached to a lever (11) or crank rests in
the groove. This lever or crank (11) is centred on a pin in the hollow pillar a and
has its motion limited by stops on the hollow pillar a so that in its upper extreme
position as shown in the drawing it can swing downwards to its lower extreme
position through an angle of about 30°. When the bottle support is at its highest
point the pin on the lever rests in the inclined portion of the groove and the lever
is in its lowest position. As soon as the support begins to descend the upper edge
of the inclined part of the groove presses on the pin and as the line of pressure
passes to the left of the centre of the crank (11) the latter cannot move so the
piece (9) turns about the centre (10) towards the left and brings a projecting piece
at the top against the neck of the bottle thus throwing the latter against the
inclined plane (8). As the downward motion continues the pin on the crank slides
into the vertical part of the groove and the direction of the line of pressure now
passes above the centre of the crank when the superior weight of the piece (9)
causes it to fall back to its original position where it is held by a stop and does not
move about the pin (10) till the next down stroke commences.
Or the bottles may be both fed in and discharged automatically.
An arrangement for this purpose is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 which represent a
sectional and front elevation respectively of a machine for operating on two bottles
at a time and which we now proceed to describe.
The same reference letters apply to parts corresponding with those already
described.

page_text: In this machine two bottles are placed side by side and are operated upon simul-
taneously and the working parts excepting the gearing, cam lever k and connecting
rodjare duplicated.
The corking rods are fixed in a guide block to which the connecting rod jis
jointed a somewhat similar guide block y carries the bottle supports and is con-
nected with the links m. The bottles are held in recesses in wooden blocks
fastened to a metal piece (12) capable of turning about the pin (13) which passes
through the guide block y.
Another pin fixed in the piece (12) passes through a boss on the vertical rod (14).
On this rod (14) are adjustable nuts which when the bottles descend and their
necks are clear of the mouth pieces M come in contact with a boss (15) in which is
formed the hole through which the rod passes.
The downward motion of the rod (14) being thus stopped and that of the guide
block y continuing, the piece (12) is turned over to the left and before the down
stroke is completed the recess is inclined downwards that is to say its open end is
at a lower level than the end next the piece (12) and the bottles slide out into a
tray or shoot placed to receive them. The rod (14) is prolonged below the boss (15)
and carries a nut at its lower end between which nut and the underside of the boss
a spring somewhat compressed is interposed.
Thus on the up stroko of the bottle support the block begins at once to turn
back towards the frame. When a certain portion of this up stroke has been
accomplished the edge of the bottle support comes in contact with spring catch
pieces attached to retaining pieces (16, 16) thereby lifting the latter off the lower-
most bottles (against the action of springs which tend to keep them in position)
thus leaving the bottles free to roll into the recesses which now immediately come
opposite the channels 17, 17 and the cam being shaped so as to allow a slight pause
in the motion at this stage the bottles have time to roll in and on the motion being
resumed are carried upwards and their axes brought into a vertical position. The
further movement carries them up against the rubbers in the mouth piece the spring
on the rod (14) being further compressed at the same tim. The bottles are placed
in a channel or receptacle like that used for the corks and the whole arrangement
is similar in its action to that for feeding in the corks. It is obvious that this
arrangement may be applied to a one bottle machine or the arrangement shown on
the latter, to a two bottle machine.
This remark also applies to the two arrangements shown for operating the syrup
pump. That on the two bottle machine Fig. 6 consists of a cam shaped piece cast
on the guide block (a) against which a roller on one arm of a bell crank w bears.
To the end of the other arm a weight or spring is attached and at an intermediate
point the arm is connected with the piston rod or plunger of the pump.
In another arrangement of machine for operating on two bottles at a time the
bottles are placed on opposite sides of the hollow pillar a instead of side by side and
separate cams (one on each side of the wheel c) operate separate moving parts the
arrangement of all the parts on each side being similar to that described for the one
bottle machine.
The machine may also be made to operate on 4 bottles at a time by compounding
these arrangements that is to say by placing one set of parts similar to that shown
on the two bottle machine Figs. 6 and 7 on opposite sides of the hollow pillar a and
baving a cam on each side of the wheel c. In this case as also in the other involving
a repetition of similar parts on opposite sides of the hollow pillar a the driving
pinion should be placed over the wheel c and not to one side as shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
1° The combination of the cam wheel c with the bent lever k, constructed with
its arms at a suitable angle to one another one being connected with the corking

page_text: rod and the other to the bottle support substantially as described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
2° The automatic cork feeding arrangement substantially as described.
3° The arrangement for delivering the filled bottles from the machine and the
automatic arrangement for feeding and delivering the bottles substantially as
described.
4° The arrangements for operating the syrop pump substantially as described.
5° The general constructions arrangements and combinations of parts constituting
our improved machine or apparatus for filling and corking or stoppering bottles
substantially as described.