of APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING OR STOPPERING BOTTLES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick George Riley, of South Lambeth Road, in the
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
County of Surrey, Engineer, for an Invention of
APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING OR STOPPERING BOTTLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick George Riley at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th February 1881.
st
FREDERICK GEORGE RILEY, of South Lambeth Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer. IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING OR
STOPPERING BOTTLES."
My Invention relates to an improved apparatus by means of which the entire
series of operations requisite for the filling and corking or stoppering of bottles
from the introduction of the bottle into the machine to the delivery of the filled
and corked or stoppered bottle therefrom is performed automatically, each bottle
being carried through the several operations before another is brought within the
range of the apparatus to be operated upon.
My Invention is applicable both to bottles for non-aerated liquids closed by
means of corks and to bottles for aerated liquids closed either with corks or
self closing stoppers.
According to my said Invention the whole of the motions necessary for working
the different parts of the machine are obtained from a rotatory disc, wheel, or pulley,
which is mounted upon a horizontal shaft or axis in the main frame of the machine,
and is driven either by hand or by a belt passing around its periphery or by toothed
gearing.
In applying the Invention to the filling and corking of bottles for containing
aerated liquids (for example) this disc, wheel, or pulley carries cams for working
the following parts, vis. :-
1 A devine for sunnlving the corks one by one to the machine.

page_text: 0210
3. A movable stand for carrying the bottles.
4. A syrup pump..
5. Valves for the inlet of the aerated liquid and the escape of air.
6. An appliance for compressing the corks and forcing the same into the
bottles.
These parts are arranged and operated in the manner hereinafter described.
1st. The device for supplying the corks to the machine consists of a frame to
which an intermittent rotating motion is imparted by means of a cam on the disc,
wheel, or pulley, acting upon arms or projections upon the said frame, the latter
being provided around its axis with a series of apertures for the corks, which are
brought one by one beneath the funnel of a filling and compressing apparatus and
caused to fall into or enter the said funnel.
2nd. The device for delivering the bottles into and from the machine consists of
a skeleton frame operated in a similar manner to the cork feeder, and having its
openings arranged for the reception of a number of bottles, the bottoms of which
pass through the openings and rest upon a platform beneath, the bottles being
introduced one by one on to the moveable stand beneath the filling and corking
funnel and delivered therefrom one by one at the requisite periods.
3rd. The movable stand for carrying the bottle receives a vertical rising and
falling motion by means of a cam on the disc, wheel, or pulley, the said stand
being raised in order to force the mouth of the bottle into contact with the funnel
in readiness for the operations of filling and corking and then lowered again after
those operations are completed.
4th. The syrup pump is carried upon the top of the main frame of the machine,
and its plunger is actuated by means of a vertical slide operated by a cam on the
rotatory disc, wheel, or pulley.
5th. The valves for the inlet of the aerated liquid and the escape of the air are
operated by means of two cams carried upon the rotatory disc wheel or pulley, and
suitably timed and arranged to admit of the respective valves being opened at
the réquisite times, maintained open for sufficient periods, and closed at the requisite
times.
6th. The appliance for compressing the corks and forcing the same into the
bottles consists of a plunger operated by a cam carried upon the rotatory disc,
wheel, or pulley, and so timed and arranged as to cause a cork delivered into the
funnel to be first compressed and then after the bottle is filled to be forced into the
same, the compressing and driving plunger being then withdrawn in readiness for
the reception of another cork.
In operating with the machine the cork and bottle feeders are first supplied with
the requisite number of corks and bottles to fill the series of apertures in the same,
and the machine being set in motion a bottle is brought on to the movable stand
beneath the filling and corking funnel and a cork is also fed into the said funnel;
the compressing and driving plunger next performs a portion of its stroke and
compresses the cork; the syrup pump is then operated and the requisite quantity of
syrup is introduced into the bottle; the main portion of the aërated liquid is next
introduced through the valve provided for its admission, and the air valve is
opened for the escape of air so as to admit of the bottle being filled on the former
valve being again opened, after which the air is again exhausted; the compressing
and driving plunger then performs the remainder of its stroke, thus forcing the
cork into the bottle, the moveable stand descends, and the bottle and cork feeders
are operated, thus delivering the filled and corked bottle and bringing a fresh
bottle and cork within the range of the operating apparatus.
In order to afford an indication that the syrup pump is performing its duties or
otherwise I provide the spindle of the delivery valve (which is suitably prolonged)

page_text: with a striker or hammer so arranged in connection with a bell or gong that when
the valve is opened to its full extent the bell or gong shall be sounded, the
failure of this audible signal being the indication of the non-action of the valve.
In applying the Invention to the filling and corking of non-aerated liquids the
syrup pump is dispensed with, the other parts practically remaining unaltered.
In the case of filling bottles for aerated liquids closed by internal stoppers the
apparatus is constructed generally in the manner first herein before described, but
the bottles are arranged to be operated upon in an inverted position, and an air
rod is substituted for the compressing and driving plunger, the cork feeder being.
obviously dispensed with.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Frederick George Riley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th July 1881.
FREDERICK GEORGE RILEY, of South Lambeth Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer. " IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND CORKING OR
STOPPERING BOTTLES."
My said Invention relates to an improved apparatus, by means of which the
entire series of operations requisite for the filling and corking or stoppering of bottles
may be performed automatically, each bottle being carried through the several
operations before another is brought within the range of the apparatus to be
operated upon.
.
My said Invention is applicable both to bottles for non aerated liquids closed by
means of corks, and to bottles for aerated liquids closed either with corks or self
closing stoppers.
According to my said Invention the whole of the motions necessary for working
the different parts of the machine are obtained from a rotatory disc, wheel, or
pulley, which is mounted upon a horizontal shaft or axis in the main frame of the
machine, and is driven either by hand or by a belt passing around its periphery,
or by toothed gearing; the said disc, wheel, or pulley, carrying cams for operating
the several working parts. When a syrup pump is used, as in the case of aerated
liquids, I may combine therewith a device which will give an audible signal to
warn the attendant when the delivery valve is not working properly.
In order that my said Invention may be perfectly understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings which illustrate the
application of the Invention to the filling and corking of bottles containing aerated
liquids, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings represent elevations, taken
respectively at right angles to each other of the apparatus; Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7,
are details drawn to a larger scale; Figures 3 and 4, being detail sectional plans
of parts of the cork feeding device hereinafter described; Figure 5, a detail vertical
section of the syrup pump hereinafter described, and Figures 6 and 7, detail vertical
and horizontal sections respectively of parts of the valvular mechanism and cork
compressing apparatus, also hereinafter described.
A is a rotatory disc, wheel, or pulley, which is mounted upon a horizontal shaft
or axis & supported in a bearing in the frame B of the machine, and may be driven
either by hand or mechanical power. When mechanical power is adopted, the disc,
wheel, or pulley A, may receive its motion through the intervention of toothed
gearing C from a main shaft D which is supported in a bearing 1 in the frame B,
and is driven by a belt and pulleys E from any suitable prime mover; or the disc,
wheel, or pulley, may be formed with a flange at its periphery, as shewn by dotted
lines at bin Figure 2, and be driven from the prime mover direct by means of a
belt passing round the said peripheral flange.
The rotatory disc, wheel, or pulley A, carries the following cams for working the
undermentioned parts, videlicet.
1. A cam c operating a device F for supplying the corks one by one to the
machine.
2. A cam d, d, operating a moveable stand G for carrying the bottles.
3. Cams e, e, for operating a syrup pump H.
4. Cams f, f, operating a valve g for the inlet of the aerated liquid, and
cams h, h¹, operating a valve g' for the escape of air.

page_text: 5. Cams i, i, i, operating on appliance I for compressing the corks and forcing
the same into the bottles.
These parts are arranged and operated in the manner hereinafter described.
First. The device F for supplying the corks to the machine consists of a frame,
to which an intermittent rotating motion is imparted by means of the cam c on the
disc, wheel, or pulley A, acting upon arins or projections upon the said frame,
the latter being provided around its axis with a series of apertures m for the
corks which are brought one by one beneath the funnel n of a filling and
compressing apparatus, and caused to fall into or enter the said funnel.
The axis is supported in a footstep bearing in a fixed platform n¹ on which the
corks rest until they are discharged one by one into the funnel n.
Second. The moveable stand Ġ for carrying the bottle receives a vertical rising
and falling motion, effected and controlled by means of the cam d, d, on the disc
wheel or pulley A, the said stand being raised in order to force the mouth of the
bottle into contact with the funnel n in readiness for the operations of filling and
corking, and then lowered again after those operations are completed.
Third. The syrup pump H is carried upon the top of the main frame B of the
machine, and its plunger o is actuated by means of a vertical slide p operated by
cams e, e¹, on the rotatory disc wheel or pulley A; the cam e which imparts the
down stroke being made adjustable in an angular direction, so that the quantity of
syrup admitted may be varied as required, whilst the cam e' in all cases returns
the plunger to its normal position. 3 is the inlet pipe for the syrup; r is the inlet
valve of the pump, and the delivery valve.
Fourth. The valve g for the inlet of the aerated liquid is operated by means of
two cams ff, and the valve g¹ for the escape of the air is operated by means of
two other cams h, h', all carried upon the rotatory disc, wheel, or pulley A, and
suitably timed and arranged to admit of the respective valves g, g', being opened
at the requisite times, maintained opened for sufficient periods, and closed at the
requisite times.
Fifth. The appliance I for compressing the corks and forcing the same into bottles
consist of a plunger operated by cams i, i, 22, carried upon the rotatory disc, wheel,
or pulley A, and so timed and arranged as to cause a cork delivered into the
funnel to be first compressed under the action of the cam 22, and then after the
bottle is filled to be forced into the same under the action of the cam i¹, the
compressing and driving plunger being then withdrawn under the action of the
cam in readiness for the reception of another cork.
In operating with the machine the cork feeder F is supplied with the requisite
number of corks to fill the series of apertures m in the same, and the machine is
set in motion, a bottle being placed by hand on the movable stand G beneath the
filling and corking funnel n when the said stand is in its lowest position. Let it
be assumed that the disc, wheel, or pulley A is in such a position that the cai a is
about to operate so as to lift the movable stand G, a cork will then be situate in
the funnel n by the feeder F having been previously operated by the cam c, and
the barrel of the syrup pump will be full of syrup by the plunger o having
The
performed its down stroke under the action of the came upon the slide p.
cam & then operates, raising the movable stand G so that the mouth of the bottle
placed thereon is forced into contact with the underside of the funnel n; the
compressing and driving plunger I performs a portion of its down stroke under the
action of the cam 2 and compresses the cork, and the plunger o of the syrup
pump H performs its up stroke under the action of the cam e', thus forcing the
supply of syrup through the valve ', pipe valve 8', and funnel n, into the bottle.
The main portion of the aerated liquid is next introduced through the pipe 2, and
through the valve g, provided for its admission and operated by the cam f, and the
air valve g' is opened under the action of the cam h for the escape of air so as to
admit of the bottle being completely filled on the valve g being again opened under
the action of the cam f¹, after which the air is again exhausted through the valve g'
operated by the cam . The compressing and driving plunger then completes its

page_text: down stroke under the action of the cam i, thus forcing the cork into the bottle,
and gradually rises to the full extent of its up stroke under the action of the
cam, and the moveable stand G, carrying the filled and corked bottle, descends by
gravitation, as allowed by the cam d. During the completion of the last mentioned
series of operations the plunger o of the syrup pump H will have again received
its down stroke by the action of the came upon the slide p, thus taking a fresh
supply of syrup, and on the raising of the compressing and driving plunger I to a
sufficient extent the cork feeder F is again operated by the cam c, thus bringing
another cork within the range of the operating apparatus, and the series of actions
herein before described are then repeated, and so on in succession during the
operation of the machine.
In lieu of introducing the bottles into the machine and removing them therefrom
by hand, they may be delivered into and from the machine automatically by the
employment of a skeleton frame operated by a cam on the disc wheel or pulley A
in a similar manner to the cork feeder and having its openings arranged for the
reception of a number of bottles, the bottoms of which pass through the openings
and rest upon a platform beneath, the bottles being introduced one by one on to the
movable stand G, beneath the filling and corking funnel n, and delivered therefromn
one by one at the requisite periods.
In order to afford an indication that the syrup pump H is performing its duties,
or otherwise, I provide the spindle 3 of the delivering valve (which is suitably
prolonged) with a striker or hammer s so arranged in connection with a bell or
gong t that when the valve is opened to its full extent the bell or gong t shall be
sounded, the failure of this audible signal being the indication of the non-action of
the valve.
In applying the Invention to the filling and corking of bottles with non-aerated
liquids the syrup pump is dispensed with, the other parts practically remaining
unaltered.
In the case of filling bottles for aerated liquids, closed by internal stoppers, the
apparatus is constructed generally in the manner first hereinbefore described, but
the bottles are arranged to be operated upon in an inverted position, and an air
rod is substituted for the compressing and driving plunger, the cork feeder and air
valve being obviously dispensed with.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
In apparatus for filling and corking, or stoppering bottles, in which one bottle
only at a time is operated upon by one set of operating devices obtaining the whole
of the motions necessary for working the different parts of the apparatus from
cams carried on a rotatory disc, wheel, or pulley, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick George Riley, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty eighth day of July, One
thousand sight hundred and night
FREDERIC GEORGE RILEY. (L.S.)