Improvements in Means or Apparatus Employed in Bottling Beer, Soda Water, and other Liquids.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 26th July, 1887
Complete Left, 26th Apr., 1888
Complete Accepted, 1st June, 1888
Improvements in Means or Apparatus Employed in Bottling
Beer, Soda Water, and other Liquids.
We, ALEXANDER WILLIAM GILLMAN and SAMUEL SPENCER both of the Castle
Brewery, St. Georges Road, Southwark in the County of Surrey, Consulting
Practical Brewers and Analytical Chemists, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows
The invention has for its object a novel construction and arrangement of means or
apparatus for effecting the bottling of liquids when screw stoppered bottles are
employed.
In carrying our invention into effect we employ an adjustable spring support
operated by a treadle to carry the bottle and raise it into position for filling and
stoppering this we preferably construct as follows, the treadle is connected to the
lower end of a short vertical rod which at its upper end is connected to the lower part of
a socket in such manner that the latter may be capable of freely turning thereon but
not of rising or falling in relation thereto, this socket is formed at its upper part as a
nut to receive the screwed lower end of a vertical rod which is suitably guided and at
its upper end carries a spring support to carry the bottle.
The bottle when in position on the spring support is by means of the treadle forced
up with the edge of its neck against a conical india rubber ring in the upper part of
the supply and stoppering socket, the aperture in which is sufficiently large to allow
the stopper to pass through but which ring acts as a stop to prevent the bottle
following. The lower part of the socket is formed with a hollow cone to receive a
correspondingly shaped rubber cone the interior of which is also coned; in use the
neck of the bottle is first forced up tightly against both the india rubber stop and
against the aforesaid hollow rubber cone when a ring or projection on the rod
carrying the spring bottle support acts upon the lower end of a rod the upper end of
which carries a support for the rubber cone and thus forces the rubber cone up into
its seat in the hollow metal cone, thereby compressing the rubber around the neck of

page_text: the bottle so as to secure a tight joint; by this construction of parts automatic
adjustment is provided for slightly different sizes of bottles and bottle necks.
Two treadles may however be used for independently operating these two rods in
which case a spring support for the bottle is not required.
The stopper holder is in the form of a cap to fit over the stopper, it is formed with
a conical toothed or fluted recess, the rim of which is cut transversely so as to give
some elasticity thereto; this holder is fixed to the lower end of a rod or plunger with
capability of short end wise play thereon, the upper end of the stopper rod or plunger
is formed with a screw thread corresponding in pitch to that of the thread of the
stopper and the plain part of such screwed rod or plunger is passed through the boss
of a bevelled pinion which is acted upon by a bevelled wheel operated by a crank
handle the bevelled pinion and the screwed rod are so fitted as to cause the rotation
of the latter and at the same time permit it to rise and fall.
The screwed part of the rod or plunger passes through a fixed nut so that by
rotating the crank handle the stopper plunger is rotated and simultaneously raised or
lowered thereby enabling the stopper to be screwed into or out of the bottle.
The stopper holder is provided with a projecting rubber flange which works up
and down in a cylindrical space in the supply and stoppering socket and acts to
prevent waste when a bottle is not in position in the machine.
A curved vent tube is employed, as in previous bottling apparatus constructed by
us, but instead of employing a pair of toothed wheels to give motion to the supply
tap and to the said vent tube we now connect such vent tube to a short curved hollow
bar provided with stops at each end thereof and we mount on the end of the supply
plug a lever which works between the aforesaid stops thus by working the lever the
said plug is moved either before or after the vent tube has been inserted or withdrawn
from the bottle.
The following is the mode of using the above described arrangement of apparatus.
A bottle is placed on the support with the stopper loosely screwed therein the
bottle is then forced up by a treadle so as to bring its neck against the fixed rubber
ring the stopper passing through the same a further motion of the treadle or of a
second treadle compresses the rubber cone around the bottle neck so as to form a
tight joint. The stopper holder is then lowered so as to seize the stopper and in the
reverse motion the stopper is unscrewed and raised out of the bottle after which
the supply lever is then caused to turn on the supply and a further movement of the
said lever acts to insert the vent tube into the bottle then when the bottle is full the
supply is first cut off and the vent tube is afterwards removed from the bottle after
which the stopper holder is rotated until the stopper is screwed firmly into the bottle;
the motion of the stopper holder is then reversed so as to leave the stopper in
position in the bottle when the latter is lowered and removed from the machine.
Dated this 26th day of July 1887.
ALEX, WM. GILLMAN.
SAM. SPENCER.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.

page_text: Beer, Soda Water, and other Liquids.
We, ALEXANDER WILLIAM GILLMAN and SAMUEL SPENCER both of the Castle Brewery
St. Georges Road, Southwark in the County of Surrey, Consulting Practical Brewers
and Analytical Chemists, 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 :-
The invention has for its object a novel construction and arrangement of means or
apparatus for effecting the bottling of liquids when screw stoppered bottles are
employed.
In carrying our invention into effect we employ an adjustable spring support operated
by a treadle to carry the bottle and raise it into position for filling and stoppering; this we
preferably construct as follows. The treadle is connected to the lower end of a short
vertical rod which at its upper end is connected to the lower part of a socket, in such
manner that the latter may be capable of freely turning thereon, but not of rising or
falling in relation thereto; this socket is formed at its upper part as a nut to receive the
screwed lower end of a vertical rod which is suitably guided and at its upper end
carries a spring support to carry the bottle.
The lower part of the supply and stoppering socket is formed with a hollow cone to
receive a rubber cone, the interior of which is also coned; in use the bottle is first
raised into position with its neck within the upper narrow end of the aforesaid hollow
india rubber cone, which is supported and held in a ring or carrier at the upper end of
a rod, the lower end of which is acted upon by a ring or projection on the rod, carrying
the spring bottle support, to force the rubber cone up into its seat in the hollow metal
cone, thereby compressing the rubber cone around the neck of the bottle so as to
secure a tight joint; by this construction of parts automatic adjustment is provided for
slightly different sizes of bottles and bottle necks.
Two treadles may however be used for independently operating these two rods in
which case a spring support for the bottle is not required.
The stopper holder is in the form of a cap to fit over the stopper and it is formed
with a conical toothed or fluted recess or interior, the rim of which is cut through in
any suitable direction so as to give some elasticity thereto; this holder is fixed to the
lower end of a rod or plunger with capability of short end wise play thereon; the upper
end of the stopper rod or plunger is formed with a screw thread corresponding in pitch
to that of the thread of the stopper and such screwed rod or plunger is passed through
a bevelled pinion, which is acted upon by a bevelled wheel operated by a crank handle,
the bevelled pinion and the screwed rod being so fitted as to cause the rotation of the
latter and at the same time permit it to rise and fall.
The screwed part of the stoppering rod or plunger passes through a fixed nut, so that
by rotating the crank handle, the stopper plunger rotated and simultaneously raised
or lowered, thereby enabling the stopper to be screwed into or out of the bottle.

page_text: Figure 1 is a front elevation and Figure 2 is a vertical section of our improved
bottling machine. Figure 3 is a vertical section of the spring support for the bottle.
Figures 4 and 5 are respectively an elevation and an underside view of the stopper
holder drawn full size and Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 are various views of parts drawn to
a scale of half the actual size of the machine.
In all the figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
a represents the main framing of the machine. In carrying our invention into
effect we employ an adjustable spring support b operated by a treadle b' to carry the
bottle and raise it into position for filling and stoppering; this we preferably con-
struct as follows. The treadle is connected by links 62 to the lower end of a
short vertical rod 63, which is guided by passing through a socket or bearing a¹, and
at its upper end is connected to the lower part of a socket in such manner that
the latter may be capable of freely turning thereon, but not of rising or falling in
relation thereto; this socket is, for convenience of manufacture, formed in two
parts, which are screwed rigidly together, so that they shall rotate as one piece; the
socket is formed at its upper part as a nut to receive the screwed lower end of a
vertical rod 6 and is provided with a hand wheel 65 by which it can be conveniently
rotated. The vertical rod 66 is guided by a socket or bearing a² and at its upper end
carries a spring 6' on which the bottle support b is mounted.
The vertical rod 6 is also formed with a longitudinal groove to receive the end of
a screw stud 68 which arrangement, whilst permitting of vertical movement of such
rod, will prevent rotary motion thereof.
с
The bottle c when in position on the spring support b is, by means of the treadle b¹,
forced up, so as to bring its neck within the upper narrow end of a hollow india rubber
cone d at the lower part of the supply and stoppering socket e which latter is formed
at its lower part with a hollow metal cone e¹ to receive, and compress as hereinafter
described, the hollow rubber cone d, which latter is coned both internally and
externally. This hollow rubber cone d is supported and held in a ring or carrier fat
the upper end of a rod f¹ which is guided in sockets or bearings a³, a³, and is
provided with an adjustable stop f2 which, when the rod is in its lowermost position,
rests on the lower socket or bearing a³. Such rod f¹ is provided at its lower end with
an arm 3 through which the vertical rod 6° freely passes, and such arm f³, rod f¹ and
carrier are acted upon by the upper part of the socket 6, by the continued notion
of the treadle & after the bottle c has been raised to its required position within the
hollow rubber cone d, so as to force the latter up into the hollow metal cone e' and thereby
compress the rubber cone d around the neck of the bottle so as to secure a tight joint.
By this construction of parts automatic adjustment is provided for slightly different
sizes of bottles and bottle necks.
Two treadles may however, as will be readily understood, be used for independently
operating these two rods 66, 1 in which case a spring support for the bottle is not
required.

page_text: g
The stopper holder g is in the form of a cap to fit over the stopper; it is formed
with a conical toothed or fluted interior, the rim of which is cut through in any given
direction, but preferably in a curved line g¹ from the lower edge to the head thereof,
as shown at Figure 4, so as to give some elasticity thereto; this holder is fixed to
the lower end of a rod or plunger g² by means of a pin g³ in the latter passing through
a short slot g' in the neck of the cap or holder g so as to permit of short independent
endway traverse of the rod or plunger g², at the completion of its downward, and
commencement of its upward traverse. The rod or plunger g² passes through a
stuffing box e at the upper end of the supply and stoppering socket e and the upper
end of such rod or plunger g² is formed with a screw thread g³ corresponding in pitch
to that of the thread of the stopper and such rod or plunger is passed freely in a
longitudinal direction through a bevelled pinion 9 which is acted upon by a bevelled
wheel operated by a crank handle g³. The bore of the bevelled pinion g' is formed
with a groove to receive a feather go on the rod or plunger g2 so as to cause the
rotation of the latter and at the same time permit it to rise and fall.
The screwed part of the rod or plunger g² passes through a fixed nut g so that
by rotating the crank handle g the stopper plunger g² is rotated and simultaneously
raised or lowered, thereby enabling the stopper h to be screwed into or out of the
bottle.
The stopper holder g is provided with a projecting rubber flange gl which works
up and down in a cylindrical space e³ in the supply and stoppering socket e and when
in the position shown in Figure 7 acts to prevent waste when a bottle is not in
position in the machine.
A curved vent tube i is employed, as in previous bottling apparatus constructed by
us, but instead of employing a pair of toothed wheels to give motion to the supply
tap and to the said vent tube i, we now connect such vent tube i to a short curved
hollow bar provided with a stop at each end thereof and we mount on the end of
the supply plug a lever j', which works between the aforesaid stops, so that by
working the lever j¹ the said plug is moved either before or after the vent tube i has
been inserted or withdrawn from the bottle.
A spring vent valve is applied to the outer end of the curved hollow bar i¹ and the
tap is connected with the supply and stoppering socket e by a tube k. A stop lever 1,
operated by a spring to place it in position under the collar g, acts to prevent the
descent of the rod or plunger g² when the vent tube i is within the bottle, and such
stop lever is connected to a link 12, which is curved to the are described by the
lever and passes freely through a hole formed in a lug fixed to the lever, and
such link is at its outer end provided with an adjustable collar 13, which is acted
upon by the lever j only at the extreme end of the outward motion of the vent tube i
and lever in order that the stop lever may be retained in position under the
collar guntil the vent tube i has been completely withdrawn from the path of the
stopper holder g and at the same time enable the spring to place the stop lever /
under the collar g2 directly the vent tube i commences its forward motion towards the
bottle. Such stop lever forms no part of the present invention.
A shield or guard m is employed, as heretofore, to protect the workman in the
event of a bottle bursting; such shield or guard m is mounted on an axis of motion
and is operated by an arm m² passing through an eye m' fixed to the shield or guard m,
such arm m² being fixed to a rotating screw socket mounted in the bracket a', which
socket is rotated at the desired times by a screw blade m³ at the upper end of the
link m connected to the treadle lever b¹.
A trough n is employed, as heretofore, to receive any liquid which may pass out
through the spring vent valve on the outer end of the vent tube i and to conduct it
away to a suitable receiver as is well understood.
In carrying our invention into effect we have found it unnecessary to employ the
india rubber stop referred to in our provisional specification and in lieu thereof we
make use of the stopper holder g as hereinafter described.
The following is the mode of using the above described arrangement of apparatus.
The stopper holder g is, by means of the crank handle g³, caused to descend to its

page_text: lowest position, as shown in the drawing. A bottle c is placed on the spring support b
with the stopper moderately tightly screwed therein. The bottle is then, by means of
the treadle 6, forced up, until the stopper therein enters the holder which latter
acts as a stop thereto, and at the same time the bottle neck is brought within the
narrow upper end of the hollow rubber cone d.
A further motion of the treadle 61 (or of a second treadle in the case of two treadles
being employed) raises the rubber cone d and causes it to be compressed by the
hollow metal cone el around the bottle neck so as to form a tight joint. The stopper
holder is then rotated so as to unscrew and raise the stopper out of the bottle and into
the position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 7 after which the supply lever j¹ is
caused to turn on the supply and a further movement of the said lever acts to insert
the vent tube i into the bottle c, the first portion of the movement of the lever j
towards the right permitting the stop lever to be placed in position by the spring
to prevent the descent of the stopper plunger g² while the vent tube is within the
bottle as before described. When the bottle is full the supply is first cut off by the
motion to the left of the lever j and the vent tube i is afterwards removed from
the bottle c by the continued motion of the lever j', after which, by rotating the crank
handle g, the stopper holder g is rotated until the stopper is screwed firmly into the
bottle. That end of the treadle b¹ which is connected with the bottle support is then
lowered and the bottle removed from the machine leaving the stopper holder in
position to receive another stoppered bottle.
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 :-
1. In bottling machines, the peculiar arrangement and combination of parts,
substantially as herein shown and described.
2. In bottling machines, the means for obtaining a tight joint between the neck of
the bottle and the supply and stoppering socket substantially as herein shown and
described.
3. In bottling machines, the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts for
carrying and operating the vent tube substantially as herein shown and described.
4. In bottling machines, the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts for
holding, rotating, and raising and lowering, the stopper, substantially as herein shown
and described and for the purpose stated.
Dated this 26th day of Anvil 1000
ALEX. WM. GILLMAN.
SAM. SPENCER.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.