Improved Bottle-washing Apparatus.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 28th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 3rd Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Bottle-washing Apparatus.
I, WILLIAM BEETHAM of Llanrwst in the County of Denbigh, North Wales,
Mineral Water Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
My invention relates to improved apparatus for washing bottles internally, and is
chiefly designed for washing mineral water bottles.
Heretofore, bottles of this kind have been usually cleaned internally one at a time
or at the most two at a time. That is to say, the operator took up the bottle singly,
or one in each hand, and pushed them on a revolving brush after which he held
them over a rinsing nozzle to complete the washing. Now by my improved apparatus
I am enabled to brush and rinse one or two dozen or more bottles at once and I
thus save a very considerable amount both of time and labour in the operation.
For this purpose I place the bottles in an open frame divided into suitable compart-
ments and constructed to hold one or two dozens or any other desirable number of
bottles. The said compartments are preferably arranged in rectangular rows and
columns and spaced at equal distances apart. I employ the ordinary form of
revolving brush for cleaning the interiors, but I provide as many brushes as there
are bottles desired to be operated on at once, and I preferably arrange the brushes
also in rectangular rows and columns and spaced to correspond with the bottles when
mounted in the aforesaid frame. Each brush is carried by a spindle mounted to.
revolve in bearings in a suitable standard, a preferred form of construction of the
said standard being that of two plates secured together, but separated by short distance
pillars, there being sufficient room between the plates to admit the driving wharves
of the spindles. The plates are bored to receive the spindles, and may have ordinary
paps around each hole to increase the bearing surface. In some cases I may prefer
to form the two plates in one casting. My method of driving the brush spindles is
as follows; that is to say, I employ a catgut or other suitable band passing over a
grooved pulley on the driving shaft, and by one band I drive by preference two
vertical rows of spindles. For example, if there are eight spindles in the two
adjoining rows, the driving band passes between the two upper wharves, then round
the second pair of wharves, then between the third pair of wharves, and lastly round
the lowest pair. If there are only six spindles in the two vertical rows, I pass the
two sides of the band round the upper wharves, between the middle wharves, and
round the lowest wharves. And so with any number of spindles, the same principle
of threading the driving band is adopted. A guide pulley may be provided to
guide the driving band vertically over the line midway between the wharves. The
distance between the wharves is merely sufficient to allow of the threading of the
driving band.
The operation of brushing the bottles consists in placing the bottle frame on suitable
guides or rails provided in front of the revolving brushes and pushing the said frame
forward so as to cause each brush to pass into that bottle to which it is opposite.
It is necessary to prevent the bottles turning round while being washed internally,
and for this purpose for some makes of bottles as for instance Codd's bottles I employ
a coarse comb like apparatus, the teeth of which have the same pitch as the bottles
when in the frame. This comb is inserted sideways between the bottle necks at the
flat contracted part thereof and inasmuch as each comb tooth nearly fills up the space
between the said contracted parts, the bottles are thereby prevented from turning.
With bottles of other construction I prevent rotation by means of friction, as for
example I may employ elastic wedges to pass down between the bottles, the same
being tightened if desired by twisting; or I may fix elastic wedges to the slide or

page_text: rails on which the frame is mounted in such a manner that the said wedges will pass
end wise between the bottles when the latter are pushed on the brushes. One wedge
of this kind may be made to serve for four bottles. It is obvious that many other
similar devices may be used for this purpose.
After the bottles have been brushed internally, they are placed while still in the
frame, over the rinsing nozzles which are arranged in rows and columns like the
hottles, and so spaced that each bottle neck will pass over a nozzle. Fixed guides
are provided to facilitate the setting of the frame. While in this position, the bottle
frame is supported by side rails in such a manner as to leave room for the escape of
the waste water which is carried away by a trough.
Instead of fixing the nozzles in a pipe or pipes as is usual I fix them in a plate or
platform, and underneath the said plate or platform I construct a watertight tank
with which all the nozzles connect. The said tank is supplied with water from
a single supply pipe.
Dated this 97th day of February 1890
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Bottle-washing Apparatus.
I, WILLIAM BEETHAM, of Llanrwst, Denbigh, North Wales, Mineral Water
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
My invention relates to improved apparatus for washing bottles internally and is
chiefly designed for washing mineral water bottles and beer bottles.
In the Specification of former Letters Patent granted to me No. 15965 dated
October 10, 1889 I have described apparatus for washing bottles externally in groups,
and my present invention relates to further improvements in the said apparatus
whereby I am enabled to cleanse the bottles internally.
My said invention comprises a group of revolving brushes so arranged that the
bottles when contained in the holder described in the aforesaid Spécification or a
similar holder can be simultaneously passed over the said brushes and cleansed, one
brush entering each bottle.
My said invention also comprises means for preventing the turning of the bottles
while being cleansed, and other improvements hereinafter set forth.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a front elevation, and
Figure 2 a side elevation of a brush standard and brushes constructed according to
my invention.
Figure 3 is a plan of the base plate of the standard.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of a device for preventing the rotation of bottles while
being cleansed.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of another device, especially adapted for Codd's and like
bottles, for preventing rotation while being cleansed.
Figure 6 is a perspective élevation of a device for holding the spherical
stopper in Codd's and like bottles during the operation of cleansing the insides.
Figure 7 is a view of one element of the said device and a portion of a bottle neck
drawn to an enlarged scale, and
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the rinsing tank:
Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the drawings.
a is a vertical standard formed with or fixed to a base plate a¹:
the said standard a there project a group of paps or bosses a² each
to receive a spindle 6 that is provided with a driving wharve or
From one side of
of which is bored
pulley '6¹ secured

page_text: thereon in any suitable manner. The said spindles are arranged in horizontal and
vertical rows and columns as shown, and they are spaced the same distance apart from
centre to centre as the bottles when the latter are placed in the holder. Endwise
movement of the spindles is prevented by the pulleys at one end of the spindles
and by collars 2 formed on or fixed to the spindles at the opposite ends. The spindles
are bored at each end to receive the stems of brushes c, the said stems being secured
in the spindles by set screws or in any other convenient manner. I may drive two
vertical rows of brushes by one band d and for this purpose I thread the driving band
as follows, that is to say, I pass it around the wharves of the two lower spindles, then
between the wharves of the next pair, then around the wharves of the third pair and
so on for as many pairs as there are spindles in the rows. In the present instance
there being four spindles in each vertical row, the driving band will pass out from
between the uppermost pair of wharves and thence around a pair of guide pulleys e
to the driving pulley which may be mounted on any convenient overhead shaft.
In some instances I arrange for driving three vertical rows of spindles by one band.
In this case the band is threaded as follows, that is to say, after two rows of spindles
have been threaded as above described I take the end of the band passing around the
middle row of spindles and I pass it under the lower pulley of the third row and then
between the remaining pulleys of the row in a zigzag manner and finally over the
driving pulley to be connected to the other end of the band. The guide pulleys e are
carried by studs f which are mounted in a slot g in the standard a and secured by
nuts for otherwise. The positions of the studs can be adjusted in the said slots
for the purpose of tightening the driving hands. I have shown and described the
standard a with brushes on both sides, and I prefer to mount the said standard so that
it can be rotated half a revolution in order that either set of brushes may be brought
into position for operating on the bottles. For this purpose I provide a pivot hole a³
in the base plate a¹ and a corresponding pivot pin in the platform that supports the
said standard and I mount the said base plate on the pivot pin so that it may revolve
on the same as a centre. I moreover provide four recesses at in the base plate adapted
to engage with stop pins ' mounted to slide in slots 2 in the platform h in such a
manner that the said pins when at the ends of the slots will act as stops to prevent
further rotation of the standard. By these means I permit of the rotation of the
standard backward and forward through a half revolution thereby enabling either set
of brushes to be used as desired.
I mount the said brush standard in any convenient position above the soaking tank
described in the aforesaid Specification No. 15965 of 1889 and I provide in front of
the said standard a set of guides or rails on which the bottle holder can be placed,
and, when so placed, moved up to the brushes so as to cause each bottle to pass over a
brush. The said guides serve to adjust the position of the holder and they ensure that
the bottles shall move in direct line with the brushes.
To prevent the bottles being rotated by the brushes I provide the device shown in
Figure 4 which consists of a metal bar i provided with a handle, and having two or
more legs on opposite sides of which are fixed a series of semi-circular springs ².
The distance between the said legs is equal to double that between contiguous rows
of bottles measured from centre to centre, so that the said legs may be passed between
the bottles when the latter are placed in the holder. It is obvious that the said device
may be introduced between the bottle necks, and then moved lengthwise of the bottles
until the springs grip the body portion of the said bottles. The pressure produced
by the springs is sufficient to hold the bottles and prevent rotation while the brushes
are revolving therein. The illustration shows a holding device provided with three
legs having four pairs of springs on each leg, and is therefore adapted for a holder
containing two dozen bottles. For a holder containing one dozen bottles, the
retaining device would have two legs, each provided with three pairs of springs.
This device is applicable for all types of round bottles, but for Codd's bottles and
others of the same type which have a portion of the neck flattened I may employ a
more simple device such as shown in Figure 5 which consists of a comb having very
coarse teeth. The said teeth are constructed to pass down freely between the bottle

page_text: necks at the restricted or flattened portions thereof and are sufficiently wide to prevent
when so inserted the turning of the bottles.
I find it advantageous in cases where internal spherical or like bottle stoppers are
used, to provide apparatus for holding the said stoppers while the brushes are at work,
otherwise the stoppers and the brushes are liable to get jammed together in the bottle
necks and the brushes thereby injured. For this purpose I employ a series of
tongues j. Figure 6 constructed preferably of thin flat steel having a spoon like
extremity and forming springs. The said springs are mounted on rails fixed in a
frame which is mounted to slide on guide rails k. The said rails k may be fixed on
the soaking tank but I prefer to make them removable so that they may be taken
away entirely when the brushing apparatus is not being used. In this case I join the
ends of the said rails by cross bars and I provide suitable ledges or the like
on the soaking tank to act as supports for the said cross bars k¹. When the holder
containing the bottles to be washed is placed on the aforesaid slide, the springs jare
thereby caused to enter the bottle necks. The lengths of the said springs are such that
the spoon like extremities will cover the stoppers when the springs are inserted in the
bottle necks. These springs being very small do not sensibly obstruct the passage for
the brushes but when the brushes are inserted in the bottle necks they press upon the
springs and the latter are thereby forced downwards upon the stoppers and caused to
hold the said stoppers in the ordinary recesses prepared to receive them. The relative
positions of the spring and stopper and mode of action are clearly indicated in Fig. 7.
When I employ twelve rotating brushes only and desire to use the device with
holders containing two dozen bottles I arrange the frame j and guide rails k to slide
laterally with respect to the brushes or lengthways of the soaking tank in such a
manner that when one half the bottles have been brushed internally the said frame j
and holder thereon may be moved sideways to bring the other twelve bottles in line
with the brushes and these may then be brushed thus completing the brushing of the
whole of the bottles in the frame. Stops are provided to limit the lateral movement
of the frame and holder. In this case I prefer to use one driving band only for the
whole of the brush spindles.
Another feature of my invention relates to the rinsing apparatus which consists of
a group of nozzles spaced to correspond with the bottles so that the said bottles may
be passed over the nozzles while in the holder and the whole of the bottles rinsed
simultaneously. According to my present invention instead of fixing the said nozzles
in one or more pipes I simplify the construction by fixing them in the upper plate or
cover of a shallow tank Figure 8 to which is connected a supply pipe m. I also
provide rails on which the edges of the holder may rest while permitting the waste
water to freely escape into the soaking tank by means of a trough.
I prefer to arrange a division plate in the rinsing tank to divide the tank in halves
each half having twelve nozzles and I arrange a tap in the supply pipe so that the
water may be cut off from one half of the tank while permitted to enter the other half.
Moreover I sometimes arrange that the water supply pipe tap for the rinser shall be
opened by the act of pushing the bottles on the cleaning brushes and shall he closed
again automatically when the bottles are withdrawn from the cleaning brushes. This
is effected by an arm or projection n on the sliding frame 2 on which the bottle
holder is placed the said arm coming in contact with and operating the lever of the
rinser stop-tap when the bottles are pushed on the brushes. The projection n is
sufficiently long to permit of considerable sliding movement of the frame 12 between
the brushes while still maintaining the tap open. The stop-tap lever is moreover
provided with a spring to close the tap when the sliding frame is withdrawn. By
this means I provide for the automatic rinsing of one set of bottles placed on the
rinsing nozzles by the act of pushing another set of bottles over the cleaning brushes.
It is obvious that I may modify my said apparatus without departing from the
nature of my said invention. For instance I may construct the brush standard with
two parallel plates between which the wharves of the spindles are situated. In some
instances this construction may be advantageous. Again I may employ other devices
for preventing rotation of the bottles, as for example I may employ elastic wedges of

page_text: suitable construction adapted to be passed between the bottles and tightened by
twisting, or I may fix elastic wedges to the slide or rails on which the holder is
mounted during the brushing operation in such a manner that the said wedges will
pass between the bottles end wise when the latter are pushed on the brushes one wedge
serving for four bottles. In this modification, the base of the holder is provided
with suitable holes through which the said wedges may pass. Further I may construct
my apparatus with additional revolving brushes for brushing the outsides of the
bottles, the said brushes being mounted and driven in precisely the same manner as
those for brushing the insides of the bottles. The said additional brushes are placed
between the brushes for cleansing the insides.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
First. In a bottle washing apparatus, a brush standard and brushes mounted therein
constructed and operating as specified, for the purpose of brushing the bottles
internally.
Second. In an apparatus such as above described, the method of driving a series of
brushes by one driving band for the purpose specified.
Third. The devices for preventing the rotation of the bottles during the operation of
brushing, substantially as described.
Fourth. In a bottle washing apparatus the device for holding the spherical stopper
and preventing jamming of the said stopper and brush in the bottle neck substan-
tially as described.
Fifth. The improved apparatus constructed substantially as described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings for brushing and rinsing bottles internally.
Dated this 28th day of November 1890.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.