Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Corking Bottles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 20th May, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 20th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 24th Mar.,
1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Corking Bottles.
I FREDERIC EDEN of 3 Hall Street St. Helens in the County of Lancaster
Bottling Stores Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows
:-
This invention has reference to improvements in machinery or apparatus for
corking bottles containing liquids of various kinds as for example ale, porter and
stout.
A table by which the bottles to be corked are fed, is mounted to rotate upon the
machine frame about a vertical axis below a cork plunger or driver and cork
compressor that may be of the ordinary kind. The table is formed with a number
of holes spaced at equal distances apart and each fitted with a sliding bottle carrier
that is raised when brought below the cork plunger by a centering rod that is
raised by the action of a weight and lever and is afterwards lowered by the action
of a cam carried by a wheel the periphery of which is formed for a portion of its
length with teeth that engage with a ring of teeth upon the table. The arrange-
ment is such that at each revolution of the cam wheel (which is preferably placed
below the table) the table is caused to rotate sufficiently to bring a bottle carrier
directly beneath the cork plunger at which time a projection, on the cork plunger
rod releases a catch or stop that engages with one of a number of recesses formed
in the table and holds.the same in position during the centering and corking of the
bottle, after which the centering rod is lowered and the plunger rod lifted by the
cam wheel, and the table released and partly rotated so as to bring the next bottle
into position, when the foregoing operations will be repeated.
The cork feeder or magazine is placed near the cork plunger.
The bottles are fed by hand into the carriers in the table whilst these carriers
are away from the cork plunger thus reducing the chance of accident that might
otherwise result in consequence of the high speed at which the corking will usually
be effected. Moreover by the construction described the operator's hands will be
entirely free whilst the bottle is being corked the corks being fed automatically
when the magazine is once charged. The apparatus may be driven in any suitable
manner, for example by means of belt gearing.
It will thus be understood that the lifting up and centering of the bottles, the
rotation of the table, which may be constructed to hold four or more bottles and
the movement of the cork plunger are effected from one cam wheel. The cork
compressor and feeding arrangement, which may be modified to suit various types
of bottle corking machines may also be driven from the same cam-wheel.
Dated this 10th day of Mar 1803
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Corking Bottles.
I, FREDERIC EDEN, of 13 Hall Street, St. Helens, in the County of Lancaster,
Bottling Stores Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference to improvements in machinery or apparatus for

page_text: corking bottles containing. Iquids of various kinds, as for example ale, porter and
stout.
According thereto, a table by which the bottles to be corked are fed, is mounted
to rotate upon the machine frame about a vertical axis below a cork plunger or
driver and cork compressor, that may be of the ordinary kind. The table is formed
with a number of holes spaced at equal distances apart and each fitted with a
sliding bottle carrier that is raised, when brought below the cork plunger, by a
centering rod that is raised by the action of a weight and lever, and is afterwards
lowered by the action of a cam carried by a wheel the periphery of which is formed
for a portion of its length with teeth that engage with a ring of teeth upon the
table. The arrangement is such that at each revolution of the cam wheel (which
is preferably placed below the table), the table is caused to rotate sufficiently to
bring a hottle carrier directly beneath the cork plunger, at which time a projection
on the cork plunger rod, releases a catch or stop that engages with one of a number
of recesses formed in the table and holds the same in position during the centering
and corking of the bottle, after which the centering rod is lowered and the plunger
od lifted by the cam wheel, and the table released and partly rotated so as to
bring the next bottle into position whereupon the foregoing operations will be
repeated.
The bottles are fed by hand into the carriers in the table whilst these
carriers are away from the cork plunger, thus reducing the chance of accident
that might otherwise result in consequence of the high speed at which the corking
will usually be effected. Moreover by the construction described the operator's
hands will be entirely free whilst the bottle is being corked, the corks being fed
automatically when the magazine is once charged. The apparatus may be driven
in any suitable manner, for example by means of belt gearing.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a vertical section partly in side elevation;
Fig. 2 a front elevation partly in section, some of the parts being removed for
sake of clearness; and
Fig. 3 a sectional plan, taken on the line of Fig. 1, of machinery or
apparatus constructed according to this invention.
Fig. 4 is a detached view of the cam wheel.
A is a circular table provided around its periphery with bevel teeth A' that are
periodically engaged by a toothed segment B' secured to the face of a rotary cam
wheel B (Fig. 4), which is fixed upon a shaft B² mounted to rotate in a long
bearing in the frame of the apparatus and driven by means of toothed wheels B³
and C from a countershaft C₁ provided with fast and loose belt pulleys C2 and C³
respectively.
The table A in the example illustrated is formed with six circular holes D. D.
(Fig. 3) spaced at equal distances apart around the fixed centre pin A2 about
which the table is rotated and which is secured to the frame E of the machine.
Each of the holes D. is fitted with a bottle carrier D of cup form into which a
bottle D² to be corked is placed, each carrier with its bottle occupying the position
shown whilst the table is intermittently rotated into a position to bring a bottle
beneath the cork plunger F, whereupon the carrier is automatically raised by
means of a lifting rod G, operated by a weighted lever H so as to force the bottle
neck into the tapered centering bush J of the cork compressor K. The lever H
is firmly held in the new position during the corking of the bottle, by any suitable
means such as a pair of wedges L. L. (Figs. 1 and 3) which fall by gravity
between a portion of the main frame M and a short arm N projecting from the
lever H.
The mechanism for compressing and forcing the cork into the bottle is of ordinary
construction, but, instead of being actuated through a hand lever as has heretofore
been usual it is driven from the cam wheel B through a crank pin K', projecting
from the back thereof, and a connecting rod K² the upper end of which is pivotted
to the sliding part F¹ to which the cork plunger F is attached. The sliding part F

page_text: is formed at opposite sides with vertical grooves or recesses F2 as shewn, the lower
ends of which, after the bottle has been corked and whilst the plunger is making
its upward stroke, engage with projections L' on the before mentioned wedges L
which are thereby raised and the lever H thus released. Simultaneously with the
release of the lever H a cam P (Figs. 1 and 4) secured to the cam wheel B acts
against a projection G' carried by the rod G which is thus depressed and held in
its lowered position until the toothed segment B' again gears with the teeth A' and
partly rotates the table A until the next bottle to be corked is brought directly
beneath the cork plunger as shewn in Fig. 1, whereupon the segment B' will
become disengaged from the teeth A' and the cam P from the projection G¹ on
rod G, and the bottle D' will be raised and centered, and afterwards corked as
before.
The number of teeth A' on the wheel A must be divisible by the number of
bottle openings D and the number of teeth in the segment B' must be such that
each time they gear with the teeth A' they will rotate the table sufficiently to
bring the next bottle to be corked directly beneath the cork plunger.
To prevent the table A. from continuing to revolve by reason of its inertia, when
driven quickly, a spring stop-piece Q is provided, the lower end of which is
arranged to take into slots Q¹ formed in the upper side of the table at the required
places. This stop is provided with a projecting arm R (Figs. 2 and 3) and is
connected to the machine frame M in such a position that it will be raised at the
required times by the upper end of the connecting rod K². A cork feeder or
magazine of any suitable kind may be employed in conjunction with the
plunger F.
When corking bottles with machinery or apparatus as hereinbefore described,
the operator has his hands at liberty, the belt shifter not shown, operating when
the machine is to be started or stopped, being for this purpose preferably worked
by a foot lever.
The machine may be driven by steam or other motive power, and as the move-
ments necessary for corking each bottle in turn are effected automatically, the
machine can be driven at a considerable speed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. In a machine or apparatus for corking bottles, a rotary table formed with equally
spaced holes each fitted with a vertically movable bottle carrier, a cam wheel
provided with a toothed segment adapted at each revolution of the cam wheel
to engage with teeth on the table and rotate the latter sufficiently to bring a
bottle carrier beneath the cork plunger, and a centering rod adapted to be raised
by a weight and lever for the purpose of centering a bottle and holding the same
in position to be corked, and to be afterwards lowered by a cam on the said cam
wheel substantially as herein described.
2. In a machine or apparatus of the kind referred to in the preceding claim for
corking bottles, the combination with the intermittently rotated bottle feeding
table, of a catch or stop adapted to automatically engage the table and hold it in
position during the centering and corking of a bottle, and to be afterwards
automatically disengaged from said table substantially as herein described for the
purpose specified.
3. The improved machine or apparatus for corking bottles, constructed, arranged
and operating substantially as described and shewn.
ليمي
1004
FREDERIC EDEN.