IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FILLING AND STOPPERING BOTTLES AND SIMILAR RECEPTACLES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Phillips at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 14th September 1883.
JOHN PHILLIPS, Engineer, of Liverpool Street, Walworth Road, in the County
of Surrey, " IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FILLING AND STOPPERING
BOTTLES AND SIMILAR RECEPTACLES,"
My Invention consists in improvements in the Machinery described in the
Specification of Letters Patent N° 5619 dated 27th November 1882 and has for its
object to render such machinery applicable for filling and stoppering bottles with
screw stoppers or corks.
For this purpose I use a carrier or feeder provided with a liquid passage, valve
and air outlet, and adapted to slide over the mouth of the bottle; but instead of
having a lid opener, a recess for the open lid and a lid depressor, such feeder has a
receptacle for the stopper or cork, and means for automatically pressing the latter
into the mouth of the bottle, after the same has been filled, and in the case of
a screw stopper, with means for automatically screwing the stopper into the
bottle.
The said receptacle for the stopper or cork may be a cylindrical bore parallel
with the liquid passage and of approximately the same area as the widest part of
the stopper. A spindle, the lower part of which forms or carries a key or clip for
the screw stopper, extends upward from the said receptacle and passes through a
moveable spring barrel carried by the feeder and enclosing an adjustable spiral
spring attached in the centre to the spindle and at the circumference to the inside
of the said barrel. A helical spring which may also be placed inside the spring
barrel, tends to press the spindle downward and begins to act when the receptacle
containing the stopper has been placed over the mouth of the bottle. Before this
position is reached, the spindle is prevented from going downward, by a guide or
a pair of guides formed or applied on the frame on which the feeder slides and
adapted to guide a block or roller connected with the top of the spindle by a pair
of arms or links and a cross head or equivalent connection.
On the spindle is also mounted a cross head guided with its extremeties in
vertical grooves, which prevent the cross head and spindle from turning by the
influence of the spiral spring, until the cross head has been released from the
grooves by the action of the helical spring. The spiral spring, which has been

page_text: automatically wound up by moving the stopper receptacle towards the mouth of
the bottle, is now allowed to uncoil so as to screw the stopper into the bottle. In
the case of screw stoppers the receptacle for the stopper is internally lined with
india-rubber or similar packing, and in the case of Corks, the said receptacle is
composed of three or more sectors which are automatically pressed together, and
the spiral spring with accessories for turning the spindle is omitted. The feeder
may be guided in a straight line or in a curve and is preferably set in motion by
means of a rack and pinion, the rack being kept stationary, while the pinion is
mounted on a shaft carried by the feeder and provided with a lever moved by
hand or otherwise. In the case of a screw stopper the lever or its axle carries
another lever to which is attached a string passing over a string pulley formed
on or connected with the spring barrel, so as to wind up the spring by turning
the lever one way. In the case of a cork the axle of the lever carries a cam
adapted to press down a rod connected with the spindle, as soon as the pinion has
ceased to gear with the rack, which occurs at the moment when the cork-receptacle
arrives over the centre of the bottle.
In using this Machine the empty bottle, without cork or stopper, is placed on
the pedestal and in contact with the feeder, it is then filled by placing the liquid
passage over the mouth of the bottle and operating the valve; a stopper or cork
as well as the key or end of the spindle is introduced into the receptacle and the
feeder moved so as to place the recepticle over the mouth of the bottle, whereupon
the stopper or cork is driven into the bottle, the bottle removed, the feeder noved.
back, and a new stopper or cork introduced into the receptacle.