IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR CORKING BOTTLES CONTAINING CHAMPAGNE WINE AND OTHER GASEOUS LIQUIDS
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Henry Beck at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th August 1880. A communication
from abroad by Edouard Guichard, of Reims, in the Republic of France,
Merchant.
WILLIAM HENRY BECK, of 139, Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent. "IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS
FOR CORKING BOTTLES CONTAINING CHAMPAGNE WINE AND OTHER GASEOUS
LIQUIDS." [A. communication from abroad by Edouard Guichard, of Reims, in
the Republic of France, Merchant.]
The Invention has for object the corking of bottles directly without wrinkling
or crushing the corks. It allows of corking bottles when they are quite full,
without occasioning the breakage of such bottles.
The novel feature of the Invention consists in compressing the cork concentrically
at all points of its height at the same time by means of a spring formed of several
blades as wide as or wider than the height of the non-compressed cork. This spring
which surrounds the cork is drawn by a lever or other suitable means, so as to
contract or lessen against a fixed piece, that part of itself which surrounds the cork,
and consequently so as to compress the whole cork and to reduce it to the diameter
required for entering freely into the neck of the bottle.
When the cork is reduced by these novel means of compression to the required
diameter, the cork is pushed into the bottle by means of a cylindrical punch or
plunger.
The mechanism for carrying the Invention into effect, is of the following
character:
To the frame of the corking machine is attached the cork compressing apparatus,
which consists of a box or holder containing a fixed piece or abutment shaped to
the radius of the compressed cork, and a compressing spring formed of several
blades bent into the form of a loop, the ends of which blades are fixed to a rack or
other instrument, to which a sliding motion is imparted by a lever and pinion or
otherwise.
The sides of the spring pass between the fixed piece or abutment, and the sides
of the box or holder, the looped portion of the spring intended to surround the cork
entering a part of the said box reserved for it. Two friction rollers acted on by
springs or other suitable means force the sides of the compressing spring to bear
Price 2dl

page_text: against the external faces of the fixed piece or abutment in such manner that when
the ends of the looped compressing spring are drawn out by the action of a lever
and pinion upon the aforesaid rack, or by other suitable mechanism, the looped
part of the said spring is drawn against the cork, compressing it concentrically
between itself and the fixed piece or abutment. The cork is then ready to be
pushed into the neck of the bottle by a cylindrical punch or plunger operated by a
lever or other suitable means.
In order to assure the fixity of the bottle and the proper height of its support at
the moment of corking, an automatic movement of the following character may be
employed-The lever of the corking punch or plunger in descending, operates
other levers which compress a spring, which in its turn pushes forward a rod
carrying a stop. This stop comes under the moveable support of the bottle, and
prevents it from descending, and as the levers and other parts for operating it move
automatically with the corking punch or plunger, the support is always held at a
height corresponding to that of the bottle.
A moveable platform may be employed to prevent the non-compressed cork from
falling out before it is taken by the compressing spring. This platform is removed
out of the way at the proper time by mechanism connected with the lever or other
instrument operating the compressing spring.
For corking bottles when they are quite full, and to avoid the breaking of
bottles in such case, an instrument is arranged behind the corking punch or
plunger, which enters the bottle with the cork, so as to liberate any superfluous
liquid, and is withdrawn from the bottle on raising the said corking punch or
plunger.