Improvements in Sterilizing Apparatus.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 23rd May, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sterilizing Apparatus.
We, JOHANN FRANZ HUGO GRONWALD, Apothecary, of 33 Kaiserstrasse, C.,
and EMIL HEINRICH CONRAD OEHLMANN, Engineer, of 70 Dresdener Strasse, S.,
both of Berlin in the German Empire, 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:-
Our improvements relate to that kind of sterilizing apparatus in which bottles or
vessels contained in a closed vessel or pan are closed by means of a presser or
closing piece inside the closed vessel or pan operated from the outside of the same,
and consists in arrangements for bringing said presser or closing pieces into action
by means of liquid, steam or air, or other fluid pressure, produced or controlled by
outside appliances.
On the sheet of drawings appended hereunto two arrangements of apparatus are
shown for carrying our invention into effect,
Figure 1 showing the application of water or other liquid pressure, and
Figure 2 that of liquid steam or compressed air pressure.
The tray carrying the bottles or other vessels may be moveable and the presser
stationary, or the tray may be stationary and the presser moveable.
The lower part of the heating vessel or pan A contains the bottle tray B, provided
in the usual way with compartments a for the bottles C. The moveable part,
which as hereinbefore stated may be either the tray B or the presser D, is attached
by a rod to a piston or plunger E, said rod passing through the bottom of the
vessel A, when the tray is moveable (Fig. 1) or through the said bottom and the
tray when the presser is moveable (Fig. 2). The piston or plunger moves in a
cylinder E, arranged underneath the chamber A and provided with inlet pipes for
the admission of the actuating fluid.
The apparatus is worked in the following manner: The heating vessel A is filled
with water which is made to boil by means of steam, or is directly heated by steam.
The bottles C, filled for instance, with milk, are placed into the vessel A and their
stoppers and locking wires placed loosely upon them, so that they can be closed by
the presser D. The upper part G of the vessel A is then placed upon the lower
part. An air-tight joint is not necessary, as the steam generated inside the sterilizing
apparatus will drive out the air contained in the same and effectually prevent the
entry of fresh air into the vessel from the outside.
c, so that
When the sterilizing process has been completed, the pressing fluid is allowed to
act upon the piston or plunger. In the arrangement shown by Fig. 1 this is done
by screwing down a piston & in the cylinder H by means of the hand wheel
the water or other liquid contained in the cylinder H below the piston b is forced
through the pipe F into the press cylinder below the plunger E. The bottle
tray B is thereby pushed up and the locking wire loops of the bottles are carried
against the presser D and closed as the tray rises higher. The piston b is then
screwed back or upwards and the tray B descends in consequence of its own weight
and forces back the liquid into the cylinder H. Instead of the cylinder H and
piston ba force pump of any ordinary construction may be used.
In the arrangement of apparatus shewn by Fig. 2, steam, compressed air, water
or other liquid under pressure is used and the presser D moved by it in both
directions, i.e. upwards and downwards. For this purpose the pipe supplying the
pressure fluid is fitted with a four-way cock K to which a pipe leading to the
underside and another pipe leading to the upper side of the piston E are
connected, so that by changing the position of the four-way cock the fluid is
admitted to one or the other side of the piston and exhausted from the opposite

page_text: side, and the presser D thus moved down or up for pressing the stoppers into the
bottles and receeding from the same. With the arrangement of moveable bottle
tray shewn by Fig. 1, fluids under pressure may obviously be used to lift the tray,
and discharged into exhaust pipes for lowering the same, three-way cocks or their
equivalents being used in this case.
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 :
Firstly. In combination with sterilizing apparatus the arrangement of cylinders
with pistons or plungers actuated by fluids under pressure, for raising a moveable
bottle tray against a presser or closing piece or for moving down a presser or closing
piece against a bottle tray contained inside said sterilizing apparatus, substantially
às hereinbefore described and for the purpose set forth.
Secondly. The arrangement or construction of sterilizing apparatus with
appliances for lifting the moveable bottle tray by means of fluid pressure sub-
stantially as herein before described with reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings and
for the purpose set forth.
Thirdly. The arrangement or construction of sterilizing apparatus with
appliances for lowering and raising the moveable presser by means of fluid
pressure substantially as herein before described with reference to Fig. 2 of the
drawings and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 3rd day of March 1891.
W. T. EMMOTT,
Agent for the Applicants.