IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CLEANING BOTTLES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CLEANING BOTTLES." A commu-
nication from abroad by Joseph Morrill Hoyt, of Lynn, Massachusetts,
United States of America, Merchant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st March 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR
CLEANING BOTTLES." A communication from abroad by Joseph Morrill Hoyt,
of Lynn, Massachusetts, United States of America, Merchant.
This Invention relates to machines for washing the interior of bottles, and
consists chiefly in the employment of a peculiarly constructed expansible brush,
which enters the interior of the bottle, in combination with a tubular revolving
shaft, through which water is supplied to the brush and the interior of the bottle.
It further consists in a peculiar arrangement of rotating and non-rotating sleeves,
combined with a reciprocating frame, and a valve operated thereby, to control
the flow of the water to the brush, all of which will be readily understood by
reference to the following description, and to the accompanying Drawings, in
which,
Figure 1 is a plan of my improved bottle washing machine with the spring for
retracting the sleeve-carrying frame removed.
Figure 2 is a side elevation, and
Figure 3 a vertical longitudinal section thereof on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a front end elevation, and
Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a longitudinal and a transverse section of the
revolving and the non-revolving sleeves drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of one form of brush and its holder drawn to an
enlarged scale and expanded.
Figure 8 is a transverse section on the line y, y, Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a front elevation of the said brush.

page_text: Figure 10 is a partial sectional elevation of a brush adapted to the washing of.
champagne bottles, and shown in an extended position.
Figure 11 is an elevation of the same brush and its holder applied to the
interior of a champagne bottle in the proper position for cleaning the bottom of
said bottle.
Figure 12 is a transverse sectional elevation of the said brush on the line z, z,
Figure 10.
Figure 13 is a plan partly in section, illustrating the application of the modified
form of brush shown in Figures 14 and 15 to the washing of a beer-bottle.
Figure 14 is an elevation of the said brush and its holder, and
.
Figure 15 is a central longitudinal section of the same.
Figure 16 is a partial longitudinal section showing in elevation an inner split
tube hereinafter described.
Figure 17 is a transverse section on the line 1-1, Figures 14 and 15, and
Figure 18 is a similar section on the line 2-2, Figures 14 and 15.
A is the base of the machine, upon which are cast the bosses B, B, to which is
firmly bolted the frame C, provided at each end with a bearing C₁, supporting the
hollow shaft D, upon which are secured the driving pulley E and the fly-wheel F.
One end of the hollow shaft D extends some distance beyond the frame C, and has
screwed thereto the brush-carrier as shown, and to the other end of the said shaft
is attached the fixed pipe G, which is provided with a stuffing box G₁ to render the
joint between the rotating hollow shaft and the stationary pipe water tight. The
pipe G leads to, and is connected with, the water-supply, and is provided with a
plug cock or valve H, by means of which the flow of water through the hollow
shaft D is controlled..
The frame C is provided with four hubs C³, two upon each side, which are bored
out to form bearings for the two rods I, I, connected at their front ends by the
cross head J, and at their rear ends by the arched cross-piece or tail J¹, so as to
form a rigid frame, which may be reciprocated in the bearings C³, as will herein-
after be more fully described. The cross head J has secured to the middle of its
length the sleeve K, which is bell mouthed at its forward end, and which encloses
another sleeve L, also having a bell-shaped or flaring mouth, and being retained in
its proper position in the non-rotating sleeve K by means of the set screw a and
the segment or segmental collar b fitted to a circumferential groove c formed around
the sleeve, the said set screw a being set in the sleeve K, and its inner end entering
a hole in the segment b. The sleeves K and L are maintained in a position to
enclose the brush by the tension of the spring M, connected at one end to the
centre of the arched cross-tail J¹, and at its other end to a correspondingly shaped
tie, bolted to or forming a part of the frame C, in which position the cross-tail J',
bearing against the upper end of the lever & secured to the stem of the cock or
valve H, holds the said cock or valve in a closed position, and prevents the flow of
water through the pipe D, the said valve being opened by the tension of the
spring e when the cross-tail J¹ is moved to the rear by a bottle being presented to
the bell mouth of the sleeve, as illustrated in Figure 13, and pressed backward to
overcome the tension of the spring M to move the sleeves K and L back from the
brush which enters the bottle as shown in the said Figure 13.
The brush carrier, illustrated by Figures 7 and 11, is composed of the tubular
hub N provided with a screw thread by which it is coupled with the hollow
shaft D, and having in its surface two dovetailed grooves extending longitudinally
thereof upon opposite sides, the said grooves being formed with their bottoms
concentric, or nearly so, with the axis of the hub. O, O, are two curved leaf
springs or spring arms cut from a thin flat bar of steel or from thin sheet steel and
of even thickness throughout, but rendered stiffer at one end by being curved
transversely, the edges of the said curved ends being bevelled to fit the said dove-
tailed grooves into which they are driven endwise, as shown; P is the india-rubber
brush provided with sockets P¹, P¹, by which it is secured to the outer or free
ends of the spring arms O, O, as shown in Figure 7. The rubbing face of the

page_text: brush which acts upon the bottom of the bottle and the outer surfaces of the
sockets P1, P1, are composed of a series of outwardly projecting bosses or lugs f
detached and separate from each other, but each forming an integral part of the
same structure, and each adapted to act independently upon the interior of the
bottle to cleanse the same.
For cleansing champagne bottles, or bottles which have bottoms that project
upward into the bottle in the form of the frustum of a cone, I construct the brush
in the form shewn in Figure 10, with the long projecting and flaring points g, g,
which extend down into the acute angle between the said cone and the inner
surface of the cylindrical body of the bottle, as shown in Figure 11, whereby the
whole surface of the conical bottom and the interior wall of the bottle are
successively acted upon by the brush and thoroughly cleansed.
The india rubber brush, shown in Figures 10, 11, and 12, is provided with
projecting ribs or lips h, h, of india rubber, as shown in Figure 12, in lieu of the
bosses f. f.
In Figures 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, illustrating a modified form of the brush-
holder, P is the india rubber brush provided with ribs h, h, and O, O, are the two
curved spring arms, to the outer expanded ends of which the brush P is applied,
the said springs being formed substantially as heretofore described, except that
their edges are not bevelled. The traversely curved ends of the spring arms O, O,
are inserted in correspondingly shaped sockets in the chuck R, composed of the
outer tube i, the inner split tube j, and the conical shouldered screw k. The tube j
is provided at one end with the male screw thread j¹, by which it is coupled to the
tubular shaft of the machine and with the shoulders j³, j³, and j', and has formed in its
interior at the opposite end a female screw thread to receive the screw k, the mouth
of the said end of the tube being bevelled to fit the conical shoulder of the screw kc,
as shown. The tube j is bifurcated or divided from its conical mouth to the
shoulder j, so that the inward movement of the screw k, after its conical shoulder
comes into contact with the conical mouth of the said tube, will cause the two
parts of the tube to be forced outward against the enclosed portions of the spring
arms O, O, and grip the said arms between them and the outer tube i. The tube i
has brazed or otherwise secured to its inner surface two segmental guide pieces l, l,
upon opposite sides thereof as a means for locating the arms O, Ŏ, opposite each
other. These pieces l, l, instead of being attached to the outer tube may be
secured to or form a part of the inner tube j, in which case the slit which divides
said tube would extend through each of said guide pieces. The screw k has
drilled longitudinally through it the hole k¹, through which the water for washing
the bottle passes from the rotating tubular shaft D to the brush and the interior of
the bottle. The outer tube i extends over the inner tube to the shoulder j³, and is
secured thereto by the pin m; n, n, are holes through which a tool may be inserted
to drive out the arms O, O, in case of breakage close up to the end of the chuck R.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. In a bottle-washing machine a brush-carrier composed of a tubular hub
provided with two dovetailed grooves extending longitudinally therein, and two
leaf springs having a portion at one end curved transversely and its edges bevelled
to fit the said dovetail grooves, substantially as and for the purposes described.
Second. In a bottle-washing machine an india rubber brush provided with two
sockets for securing it to spring arms, and also with a series of projecting bosses or
lugs, the ends of which act upon the surface of the bottle independently of each
other, substantially as described.
Third. The combination in a bottle washing machine of the non revolving
sleeve provided with a set screw, the inner sleeve provided with a circumferential
groove and the segmental collar, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially
as and for the purposes described.
Fourth. In a bottle-washing machine the combination of the hollow revolving

page_text: shaft provided with driving pulley; the fixed frame provided with bosses or
bearings; the movable frame composed of two rods, the cross-head, and the arched
cross-tail; the spring M; the bell mouthed non-rotating sleeve and the inner
sleeve, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially as and for the purposes
described.
Fifth. The combination in a bottle-washing machine of the fixed frame provided
with bearings; the hollow shaft provided with the driving pulley and carrying at
one end the brush and its carrier, and connected at its other end with the fixed
water pipe; the valve H provided with the lever d and a spring; the reciprocating
frame; the spring M; and the sleeves K and L, all arranged and adapted to operate
substantially as and for the purposes described.
Sixth. The chuck R constructed and adapted to operate to hold two arms or
objects, substantially as described.
Seventh. A chuck for holding two articles as set forth, and composed of the outer
tube i, the inner bifurcated tube j, and the conically shouldered screw k, all
arranged, combined, and adapted to operate substantially as and for the purposes
described.
Eighth. The combination of the outer tube 2, the inner bifurcated tube j, the
all
spring-arms O, O, the india rubber brush, and the conically shouldered screw,
arranged and adapted to operate substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.