IMPROVED APPARATUS OR ÅRRANGEMENTS FOR CHARGING OR FILLING AND DRAWING OFF LIQUIDS AND FLUIDS FROM BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR MEASURING THE QUANTITIES OF SAID LIQUIDS OR FLUIDS SUPPLIED TO OR DRAWN OFF FROM SUCH BOTTLES OR VESSELS.
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Clarke, of Canterbury, in the County of
Kent, for the Invention of “IMPROVED APPARATUS OR ÅRRANGEMENTS
FOR CHARGING OR FILLING AND DRAWING OFF LIQUIDS AND FLUIDS FROM
BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR MEASURING THE QUANTITIES OF SAID
LIQUIDS OR FLUIDS SUPPLIED TO OR DRAWN OFF FROM SUCH BOTTLES OR
VESSELS.
"
Sealed the 21st January 1873, and dated the 24th July 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Clarke at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th July 1872.
I, FRANCIS CLARKE, of Canterbury, in the County of Kent, do hereby
5 declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS OR
ARRANGEMENTS FOR CHARGING OR FILLING AND DRAWING OFF LIQUIDS AND FLUIDS
FROM BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR MEASURING THE QUANTITIES OF SAID
LIQUIDS OR FLUIDS SUPPLIED TO OR DRAWN OFF FROM SUCH BOTTLES OR VESSELS,"
to be as follows :—
This apparatus consists of a case or cylinder of metal, glass, or other
material to hold the required quantity of liquid or fluid, and which case

page_text: or cylinder can be changed with facility for a larger or smaller one
according to circumstances. In said case or cylinder is fitted a spindle
having a valve on either end. This valve is actuated by moving the
bottle, glass, or other vessel for receiving the required quantity of liquid
or fluid, or by treadle gear to be used in connection with any apparatus
used for bottle charging or filling.
The two valves above referred to can be actuated by one operation
whether used on the samo or on two or more spindles. To get rid of the
air in the case or cylinder so that the liquid may have free egress and
ingress I use an arrangement of one valve having a hollow spindle for
escape of air, and the other not so spindled. This allows the air to
escape whilst charging or filling, and free egress whilst discharging.
Syruping and charging can be done by this improved apparatus at
one operation, and the Invention is particularly applicable to charging
bottles with effervescing drinks.
The treadle gear above-mentioned might in some cases be used in
connection with ordinary cocks or taps in substitution for the valvo
arrangements above described. The valvo apparatus will however be
found very useful for drawing off measured quantities of liquids or
fluids.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Francis Clarke in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th January 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
CLARKE, of Canterbury, in the County of Kent, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Francis Clarke, Her special license that I,
the said Francis Clarke, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Francis Clarke, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the

page_text: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS
FOR CHARGING OR FILLING AND DRAWING OFF LIQUIDS AND FLUIDS FROM BOTTLES
AND OTHER VESSELS, AND FOR MEASURING THE QUANTITIES OF SAID LIQUIDS OR
FLUIDS SUPPLIED TO OR DRAWN OFF FROM SUCH BOTTLES OR VESSELS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Francis Clarke, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Francis Clarke, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My said improved measuring apparatus consists of a case or cylinder
of metal, glass, or other material of such a capacity as to hold the
required quantity of liquid, which case or cylinder can be changed with
facility for a larger or smaller one according to circumstances. In the
said case or cylinder there is fitted a spindle having two valves fitted or
formed thereon. These valves are actuated by moving the bottle, glass,
or other vessel for receiving the required quantity of liquid or fluid, or
by treadle gear to be used in connection with any apparatus used for
bottle charging or filling.
The two valves above referred to are actuated by one operation. To
get rid of the air in the case or cylinder so that the liquid may have free
egress and ingress I make one end of the valve spindle hollow to allow
the air to escape whilst charging or filling, and free ingress whilst dis-
charging the liquid from the measuring chamber.
Syruping and charging can be done by this improved apparatus at one
operation, and the Invention is particularly applicable to charging
bottles with effervescing drinks. The treadle gear above mentioned may
in some cases be used in connection with ordinary cocks or taps in
substitution for the valve arrangements above described. The valve
apparatus will however be found very useful for drawing off measured
quantities of liquids or fluids.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be more clearly understood,
I shall now proceed to describe the same more particularly by referring
to the several Figures on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, the same
letters of reference indicating similar parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved combined liquid |
measuring and bottling apparatus; Figure 2 is a corresponding vertical
section of the same partly in elevation; Figure 3 is a full sized vertical
section of the measuring apparatus detached; Figure 4 is a plan of the
same; and Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken along the line 1, 2, in
Figure 3.
A is the vessel containing the syrup or other liquid from which the
bottles are to bo supplied. This vessel which may be an ordinary cask
or barrel is supported on brackets B at the upper end of the main
standard or support C. Into the bottom of the vessel A I screw or
otherwise connect thereto my improved measuring apparatus into which
tho syrup or other liquid from the vessel A is caused to enter, and is
discharged therefrom in the manner herein-after described.
The chamber of the measuring apparatus may be made of a certain
defined capacity, and capable of being readily removed from the vessel A
and replaced by a larger or smaller one as occasion may require, or it
may be made in two parts, one part working inside the other and capable
of being adjusted as desired so as to measure a greater or less quantity
of liquid, according to the quantity required to bo drawn from the
vessel A at one operation. The chamber 1) of the measuring apparatus
is discharged of its contents through the nozzle E direct into a bottle or
other receptacle, or into the spout F, by which spout it is conducted into
a bottle placed to receive it on the rising platform or table G of the
bottling apparatus.
The measuring chamber D is composed by preference of a glass
cylinder fitted fluid tight in a metal frame or case H, and is provided
with two valves I and K (see Figure 3), carried on the valve spindle L
at such a distance apart as that when one valve is closed the other will bo
open. When tho measuring apparatus is in its normal condition the
lower valve K will be closed whilst the upper valve I will be open, and
the chamber D full of the liquid, which liquid enters therein from the
vessel A through the annular perforations a in the top of the screwed
stem M (see Figures 3 and 4), the air contained in the chamber D being

page_text: forced therefrom by the inflowing liquid through perforations 6 made in
the under side of the valve I. The perforations 6 communicate with the
upper tubular end N of the valve spindle L which is made of sufficient
length to extend above the level of the liquid in the vessel A. When it
is desired to draw off the contents of the measuring chamber direct into
a bottle or other receptacle, the nozzle E which is screwed on to tho
lower end of the valve spindle L is forced upwards either by the bottle
intended to receive the contents of the chamber into the mouth of which
bottle the nozzle is inserted, or by the hand, thereby opening the lower
valve K, and allowing the contents of the chamber to flow out therefrom
through the perforations c in the nozzle F (see Figure 6) into the bottle
or other receptacle. The upper valve is by the same act closed, and will
thereby prevent the entrance of more liquid from the vessel A. into the
measuring chamber during the time the nozzle is kept clevated; the
nozzle E has feathers or ribs & formed thereon in order to allow the air
contained in the bottle to escape freely during the time the liquid is
entering therein. So soon as the pressure is removed from the nozzle E,
the valves I and K will assume their normal condition, the lower one K
being again closed, and the upper one opened, the liquid from the
vessel A again filling the chamber D. If it be desired to draw off an
indefinite or unmeasured quantity of the liquid, this may be effected by
raising the nozzle E to such an extent as to only partially open both the
valves I and K, when the liquid from the chamber A will flow unin-
terruptedly through the measuring chamber into the bottle or other
receptacle placed beneath the nozzle E to receive it.
When employing my improved measuring apparatus in combination
with a bottling apparatus as illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 of my
Drawings, the bottle to be supplied with liquid is placed upon the table
or platform G. This table or platform is connected by the rod O to the
treadle P of the bottling apparatus. To the treadle P there is also
attached a horizontal bar Q, upon the outer end of which bar the lower
end of the vertical telescopic rod R rests. The rod R is forked at its
upper end and carries a ring or collar S which engages with a journal T
formed on the nozzle E of the measuring apparatus. On depressing
with the foot the treadle P, the platform G will be elevated, carrying
with it the bottle so as to cause the mouth thereof to enter the
chamber U. The rod R will by the depression of the treadle P be also
clevated, and by reason of its connection with the nozzle E will raise the

page_text: valves I and K of the measuring apparatus and thereby allow the
contents of the chamber D to flow through the nozzle into the tube
or spout F which conducts the liquid into the bottle through the
opening V. The syrup or other liquid having entered the bottle a cork
or stopper is placed in the opening V, and is forced into the mouth of
the bottle by the plunger W formed on the lower end of the vertical
sliding rack X, which is caused to descend by the pinion Y actuated by
the handle Z. So soon as the cork is inserted into the mouth of the
bottle the pressure may be removed from the treadle P, when the
valves I and K will resume their normal position, and the chamber D be
again filled, the platform G being also lowered at the same time in
readiness to receive another bottle to be filled. The rod R is made
telescopic in order to render it capable of being lengthened or shortened
to suit the varying lengths of bottles to be filled, a set screw ƒ serving
to fix the said rod at the required length.
If it be desired to introduce soda water into the bottle with the syrup,
this may be effected by opening the cock g in the pipe h, leading from
the soda water machine, the pressure on the treadle being slightly
removed during its introduction for the purpose of allowing the air in
the bottle to escape. (Figure 3) is a helical spring surrounding the
valve spindle Land acting upon the upper side of the valve I so as to
ensure the valves I and K returning to their normal condition when the
pressure is removed from the nozzle F. k is a glass tube communicating
with the interior of the vessel A to indicate the quantity of liquid
contained therein. The measuring apparatus may be thrown out of
action either by raising and fixing by the set screw the lower part of
the rod R so as not to be acted upon by the horizontal bar Q, or by
turning to one side the bar Q so as not to act on the rod R when the
treadle is depressed. The apparatus may then be employed as an
ordinary soda water bottling machine.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be used or carried into effect, I would have it
understood that what I consider to be novel and therefore claim as my
Invention is,-
1st. The combination and use of a liquid measuring and bottling
apparatus, arranged and operated substantially in the manner herein-

page_text: 2ndly. The peculiar construction of liquid measuring apparatus,
hercin-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
3rdly. The general construction and arrangement of apparatus for
measuring and bottling liquids, as herein-before described and illustrated
by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Clarke, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.