Improvements in Machinery for Filling Bottles with Aörated Liquids.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 5th July, 1893-Accepted, 19th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Filling Bottles with Aörated
Liquids.
I FREDERICK FOSTER, of Niagara Works, Eagle Wharf Road, Hoxton in the
County of Middlesex Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention for improvements in machinery for filling bottles with aerated
liquids, relates more particularly to a machine for filling screw stoppered bottles in
which the whole of the operations incidental to the filling and stoppering of the
bottles are performed as the bottles are carried round a central vertical shaft which
usually carries three sets of parts so that three bottles are at different periods of the
operation at the same time: but parts of the invention are applicable to machines
for filling other bottles.
In a machine constructed according to this invention each bottle to be filled is
first placed by hand in the machine which then raises it into position to be filled
and at the same time screens it with a bottle guard so as to prevent injury to the
operator in the event of its bursting; also the screw stopper is inserted at the same
time as the bottle and is raised with it. A pneumatic cushion is then automatically
compressed round its neck so as to make a tight joint; the bottle is then filled, the
stopper lowered on to the bottle and then rotated so as to screw into the bottle.
The bottle holder then descends and at the same time the guard is lowered and
forms a shoot which guides the filled and stoppered bottle to a discharging trough,
the whole of the above operation, after the bottle and stopper are placed in the
machine, being entirely automatic.
The central vertical shaft driven by any suitable gearing carries the bottle
holder and filling head, which is fitted with an arrangement for carrying the screw
stopper. As the shaft rotates the bottle holder is raised by a roller on it working
on a cam surface on the frame of the machine and the holder carries a pivoted
guard provided with a toothed sector gearing with a rack fixed vertically but
rotating with the shaft so that as the holder rises the guard closes round the bottle.
At the same time a roller connected to the stopper holder also comes in contact with
a fixed cam surface and raises the stopper.
The neck of the bottle in being raised passes through a pneumatic ring in the
filling head and this ring is then compressed by means of a pivoted gland provided
with a friction roller which comes in contact with a fixed cam surface so as to
force the ring to firmly grip the neck of the bottle and make an air tight joint.
On a further rotation of the shaft the bottle is filled with aerated liquid through
a passage in the head which as the shaft revolves is connected with the supply of
aërated liquid. The passage in each filling head communicates with a separate
passage in and extending to the end of the vertical shaft, where the passages are
covered by a fixed disc of leather or other suitable material provided with an
elongated slot and situated in a box in communication with the supply of aërated
liquid so that the passages in the shaft as the shaft rotates are opened to the supply
of aërated liquid.
The snifting is accomplished by similar channels carried to the opposite end of
the shaft and covered by a fixed disc of leather or other suitable material provided
with suitable perforations or slots and situated in a box.
On a further rotation of the shaft the cam surface allows the stopper holder to
descend and a wheel mounted on a shaft geared to the holder comes in contact with
a rotating disc and screws the stopper into the bottle. The bottle holder is then

page_text: allowed to fall by its cam and the rack lowers the bottle guard. The bottle then
falls into the guard which guides it to a discharging shoot.
Dated this 6th day of October 1892.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.
:
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Filling Bottles with Aërated
Liquids.
We, WILLIAM LEWIS WHITE, of 85 Gresham Street in the City and County
of London, Accountant, and JOHN BORGNIS ADAMS of 86, Cazenove Road Stoke
Newington in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, executors of the late Frederick
Foster 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 :-
This invention for improvements in machinery for filling bottles with aerated
liquids relates more particularly to a machine for filling screw stoppered bottles, in
which the whole of the operations incidental to the filling and stoppering of bottles
is performed as the bottles are rotating round a central vertical shaft, which usually
. carries three sets of parts, so that three bottles are at different stages of the
operation at the same time. It is obvious that parts of the invention are applicable
to machines for filling other bottles such as for instance corked bottles.
In a
. machine constructed according to this invention, each bottle to be filled is first
placed by hand in the machine, which then raises it into position to be filled, and at
the same time screens it with a bottle guard so as to prevent injury to the operator
in the event of the bottle bursting, also, the screw stopper is inserted at the same
time us the bottle, and is raised with it. As a means of making a tight joint around
the neck of the bottle, we have found by our experiments that the pneumatic
cushion mentioned in the Provisional Specification is not necessary, a simple cushion
of india-rubber or other suitable material, when compressed, being all that is
required to make a sound joint. We do not however confine ourselves to this or
any other method of making a sound joint.
On the bottle being raised in the manner described, a joint is made around its
neck it is then filled the stopper lowered into its mouth and rotated so as to screw
it into the same. The bottle-holder then dèscends and at the same time the guard
is lowered and forms a shoot which guides the filled and stoppered bottle to a
discharging trough. The whole of the above operations after the bottle and
stopper are placed in the machine are entirely automatic.
And in order that this invention may be more readily understood and carried
into effect, we have appended hereunto two sheets of drawings which we will now
proceed to describe. In all figures of the said drawings the same reference letters
are employed to indicate the same or like parts.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a filling machine constructed according to our invention.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section at the line X-X Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 a horizontal
section at the line Y-Y Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken through the central vertical column and one of
the filling heads, and
Fig. 6 an enlarged view of a portion of the last mentioned figure.
The central vertical shaft a is driven by any suitable gearing, such for instance
as is shown at Figs. 1 and 4, and carries one or more bottle supports and filling
heads c, each of the latter being fitted with an arrangement for carrying a screw
stopper. This arrangement may conveniently consist of a spring chuck Figs. 5
and 6 carried at the lower end of a spindle e passing through a stuffing box fsituated

page_text: on the upper part of the filling head. Such a chuck is made so that it will grasp a
stopper head inserted within its jaws sufficiently firm to screw it into the mouth of
the bottle, and at the same time allow of its being readily withdrawn by the removal
of the bottle into which it is screwed. On the upper part of the spindle e is secured
a friction wheel g by means of which it may be rotated in the manner hereinafter
described for the purpose of inserting a stopper into the bottle mouth. The upper
end of the spindle e passes through a suitable guide h and carries at its upper
extremity a bowl or anti-friction roller; which travels between two stationary cam
paths and by the passage over which the spindle is raised or lowered as may be
required to effect the withdrawal of the stopper into the upper part of the filling
head or its insertion within the mouth of the bottle. The bottle support b is given
a vertical movement which synchronises with that of the stopper holding device by
means of a similar cam path m formed at the lower part of the frame of the
machine, and over which it travels. As the weight of the bottle support is
sufficient of itself to cause its descent, but one cam path is in this case required, and
that to elevate the bottle support where necessary.
Though any suitable means may be employed for making a tight joint around.
the neck of the bottle, we have illustrated that which we have found to give good
results. As will be seen by an inspection of Figs. 5 and 6, we employ for this
purpose a ring n of india-rubber or other suitable yielding material, of U-shaped
section or approximately so. The upper edge of this is clamped to the inside of
the bottling head c and at its lower edge is similarly clamped to a cup-like piece p
sliding telescopically over the lower part of the bottling head c. The lower part
of the cup prests upon a ring 9 pivoted to the central column a and provided at the
.diametrically opposite point to that at which it is pivoted with a bowl or roller
arranged to travel over a cam path supported by the framework of the machine.
This cam path elevates the outer side of the ring 7 and causes it to bear upwards
against the cup p which in turn presses upon the elastic ring n, with the effect that
the central portion of the latter is driven inwards and caused to firmly grip the
neck of the bottle as is shown at Fig. 5. At Fig. 6 these parts are shown in their
other extreme position-i.e. not compressed around the bottle neck.
To rotate the stopper holders at the point where it is required to insert the
stoppers into the bottles, a continuously rotating friction discs is employed: this
is driven by chain gearing as shown, or by other suitable means from the main shaft
of the machine, and is mounted upon a spindle which is free to move longitudinally
in its bearings so that the disc s may be maintained in frictional contact with the
wheels by means of a spring u interposed between one bearing of the spindle t and
a collar
the same.
upon
In the arrangement shown in the drawings the spur wheel
over which the driving chain passes is employed in place of such a collar. As each
friction wheel passes the rotating discs the bowl or roller; carried at the upper
extremity of the spindle e comes in contact with a yielding cam surface v (Fig. 2)
by contact with which it, and with it the stopper, is depressed into the mouth of
the bottle, into which the said stopper is screwed. This cam surface is made in
the form of a spring-seated lever, so that it may yield to inequalities in the lengths
of the bottles so that the same may not be broken, as would be the case if the cam
surface were not made to yield. This lever consists of a bar t, so curved as to
conform to the general contour of the machine, to which it is pivoted at w. A
spring is interposed between the upper part of the frame of the machine and the
end of the said lever, so as to keep its operating end normally in its acting
position. It will be understood that it is the lower side of the end that is shaped
to afford the requisite cam surface.
The interior of each filling head is connected to a separate vertical passage in
the upper part of the central column and extending to the upper end of the same,
which is covered by a fixed plate. The under surface of this plate has attached
to it a disc of leather or other suitable material y provided with one curved slot z
struck from the centre about which the column rotates and which slot z in turn
covers each vertical passage in the column a as the same rotates.
As shown at

page_text: Fig. 5 this cover plate and disc y is maintained in contact with the end of the
column a by means of a long bolt passing through the latter. One side of the cover
plate is provided with a lug or projection e¹ which rests within a slot or opening in
the frame of the machine so as to prevent its rotation with the column a. The
supply pipe is connected to an opening in the cover plate immediately above the
slot z so that communication is established between a filling head and the supply
every time one of the vertical passages in the column a comes below the slot :.
To provide for snifting the bottles a similar arrangement of vertical passages
and a slotted disc. situated in this case at the lower end of the vertical column a
may be employed. This will be so obvious as not to require illustrating: we have
therefore preferred to show an alternative arrangement in the drawings. This is
shown at Figs. 1, 5 and 6, and consists of a jamb screw a' which may be adjusted
to regulate the escape of atmospheric air passing from each bottle into the upper
part of the filling head c. This arrangement is that known as a "continuous snift,"
and is commonly employed upon filling machines.
The vertical movement of the bottle support b is caused to operate the bottle
guard which is pivoted to the bottle support and is provided with an arm
extending beyond its pivot and connected by a link with the guide through which
the bottle support passes so that the vertical movement of the latter will cause the
guard to turn upon its pivot and shield or expose the bottle, as will be readily
understood from an inspection of the drawings. When in its depressed position as
shown at Fig. 1 the guard 61 forms a guide by means of which the filled bottle is
conducted to a shoot c' by which it is conveyed away from the machine.
The filled bottle is caused to fall from its support 6 by coming in contact, at the
termination of its journey round the column a, with a yielding fork piece d', which
tilts it off its support and causes it to fall in the manner already described. This
fork piece is spring seated so that it may slightly yield and so reduce the blow
against the bottle, which might otherwise be too sudden.
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 :-
I. A machine for automatically filling with aerated liquids and stoppering screw
stoppered bottles consisting of a number of filling heads and bottle supports attached
to a rotating column, the filling heads being provided with stopper-holding and
manipulating devices which are rotated at the proper moment for inserting the
stoppers by the action of a continuously rotating disc coming in frictional contact
with friction wheels connected to the stopper-holding devices, all other motions
being obtained from stationary cams, a yielding cam being employed for pressing
the stoppers into the mouths of the bottles substantially as and for the purpose
herein before set forth and described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
II. In a machine of the kind herein before described for filling screw stoppered
bottles the employment of friction wheels or the like on the spindles of the stopper-
holding devices which are brought in turn in contact with a continuously rotating
friction disc or the like which is maintained in the path of the passing friction
wheels by the action of a spring or its equivalent substantially as and for the
purpose herein before set forth and described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
Dated thin 5th IT
A D 1000
.
G. W. CHALONER,
26, Eagle Wharf Road, London, N., Agent for Applicants.