Improvements in Apparatus for Filling Bottles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 9th Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Filling Bottles.
We, JOHN JACKSON, of Lonsdale, Rhode Island, Overseer, DANIEL FLETCHER LOGAN
of East Providence, Rhode Island, Painter, and WILLIAM MEIKLEJOHN, of Pawtucket,
Rhode Island, Millman, all of the United States of America, 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 relates to apparatus for filling bottles collectively, and with uniform
quantities of liquids, it being an improvement upon the invention described in the
Specification of John Jackson's prior British patent No. 3201 of 1893.
In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention,
Figure 1 shows a front elevation of the apparatus, a part of the frame in front
being broken away to show the lifting table.
Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the apparatus.
Figure 3 is an elevation of the end looking towards the right of Figure 1.
Figure 4 shows a vertical section of the upper parts of the apparatus taken on
line x-x Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a top view of that part of the apparatus which apportions the liquid
to the bottles.
Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical section on line z-z Figure 5, of one of the
measuring divisions with a bottle in process of filling.
Figure 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 222 Figure 1.
The improvements are intended to facilitate the operation of filling the bottles
and determining the amount of liquid put into them, by providing means for readily
varying the amount put into each bottle and in constructing the apparatus so that a
simple forward and backward motion of a lever will accomplish the whole process, so
that unskilled labour can be employed and the cost of the filling, thereby lessened,
and further, that the liquid can be deposited in the bottles with less foaming, which
with some kinds of liquor is very desirable. The apparatus consists of a back
frame B, preferably of cast iron with side frames D, D, secured to it so as to project
out in front to form a bench on which the bottles are placed to be filled and which
supports the operating shaft and lever. To the top of this back frame B, the
receiving, measuring, and distributing parts of the apparatus are attached, which
consist of the following devices:-First, a receiver J, which is connected at 8, with the
barrel or tank containing the liquid, and also by a small pipe at s¹, to the same barrel
to allow the air to escape from the receiver to the barrel. The receiver J, is connected
by pipes o, o, to a closed receptacle C, a little lower down, which has a regulated
capacity for the amount of liquid required to put in one set of bottles. The pipes o, o,
re intersected by a rotary valve A, shown in section in Figure 4, that governs the
dmission of the liquid from the receiver J, to the receptacle C. A small vent
ipe s connects the top of the receptacle C to the barrel or tank from which the
iquor is drawn. Next below is the dividing tank F, that forms the top of the
pparatus and is divided into chambers c, see Figure 5, to equally apportion the liquid
o be delivered into the bottles. There is one chamber e, for each bottle of the set that
to be filled at one time, and each chamber has a discharge opening at its lower end
hich is closed by a valve c, held on the lower end of a stem that connects it with a

page_text: At the outside of the opening
of each chamber e a tube f, is attached by a short section of rubber tube i, to allow
the tubes freedom of motion to adjust themselves to the bottles. To steady the
lower ends of the tubes f, and hold them at a proper distance apart so as to enter the
bottles, a rack N, is suspended on sliding rods n, from the under side of the tank F,
on a level with the lower ends of the tubes, and a bell shaped collar d, for each bottle
is attached to the rack N, to receive the neck of the bottle, and in these collars the
ends of the tubes hang loosely.
grate, by which all the valves can be raised at once.
A plate I, is held to slide up and down in guides G, fast on the inside of the back
frame B, and arms H, project out from it to form a table on a level with the side
frames D, to receive a rack g, with bottles 91, Figure 3, to be filled. To raise and
lower the plate I, and the bottles, a shaft L, is held in bearings attached to the under
side of the side frames D, and a segment K made fast on it, and a flexible strap h,
made fast at one end to the periphery of the seginent, and at its other end to the
plate I, so that when the shaft and segment are turned by the lever E, the plate and
the bottles will be raised or lowered.
The chambers e, e, receive the liquid from the receptacle C, through the pipes j, j,
and tubes m, m, fitted to slide in passages a, a, made between, each two rows of
chambers and having openings e¹ which agree with like openings e¹¹ in the tubes m,
when they are slid out to the right, see Figure 7, and when slid in they close the
openings e¹ into the chambers, and cut off the flow of the liquid from the receptacle C,
and froin each other.
To lift the grate », and all the valves c connected with it, arms are extended out
from it into each recessed corner of the tank F, see Figure 5, and pins t, are carried
down from these extensions to the inclined slots v, in the sliding bars R, held in
brackets on each end of the tank F, and when these bars are slid endwise by the
levers n¹, n¹, see Figure 2, the slots v, will raise the grater by the pins t, see
Figure 5. To operate the sliding tubes or valves m, m, a knee lever S, is held on a
stud b, fast in a bracket on the corner of the tank F, and one end of this lever is
slotted to work on a stud y, in a bracket fast on the outer ends of the tubes m, and
the other end is moved as will be explained. The combined operation of the working
parts is effected as follows: A bar T, is made fast at its lower end to the sliding
plate I, which is held to slide up and down by brackets w, w, see Figure 2 fast on the
frame B.
The bar T, has inclined slots c¹, cl, see Figure 3, to receive the ends of the knee
lever S, and levers n¹, n¹, and as the bar rises and falls with the plate I, the ends of
the levers will be moved in and out by the slots, c¹, c¹¹. The movement of the
different parts as brought about by simply moving the lever E, forward and back-
ward, is as follows:-Suppose a rack g of empty bottles were placed on the table H,
as seen in Figure 3, and the chambers e, of the tank F, full of liquid, the receptacle C
empty, and the valve A closed. By moving the lever E, over to the front, the
seginent K, and strap h, will raise the plate I, and table H, with the rack g, and
bottles g; and at the same time the plate I will raise the bar T, and by the lower
inclined slots c¹¹, will move the lever S, to push in the sliding tubes m, m, so as to
close the openings c¹ into the chambers e, and the bar T, will also cause the knee
lever y¹, to open the valve A, by the rod b, and allow the liquid to flow from the
receiver J, and fill the receptacle C, and the upper inclined slot c¹, in the bar T, will
cause the levers n', to slide the bars R, and raise the grater, and valves c, and allow
the liquid in the chambers e, to run into the bottles; the tubes f, by this time
having nearly reached the bottoms of the bottles, the liquid will be delivered under
the surface of what first flows in, and the usual foaming will in great degree be
prevented, which, in bottling some kinds of liquor is a great advantage.
When the contents of the chambers e, have run into the bottles, the lever E is
moved back again, letting down the table H and the full bottles, and, as the bar T,
moves down with the plate 1, the inclined slots c¹, c, cause the levers n¹, to push
back the bars R, and let down the grater and valves c to close the outlets of the
chambers and the knee lever y¹ will close the valve A, the receptacle C, having
es

page_text: filled up, and the slot c¹¹, in bar T, will move the lever S, to pull out the sliding
tubes m, and open the passages into the chambers e, to allow them to fill again from
the receptacle C, ready to fill another set of bottles by repeating the foregoing
operations.
The amount of liquid measured by the receptacle C, each time it is filled, is equally
divided among the chambers e, and this quantity may be made more or less by means
of the cylinders P, P, which have a screw thread made on them fitting in a thread in
the openings in the receptacle C, and by screwing the cylinders down, the capacity
of the receptacle will be lessened and by screwing them out, it will be increased, thus
accurately determining the quantity put into each bottle. Screw collars v¹, with
handles to turn them by, serve as check nuts to hold the cylinders when set, and to
hold a packing to keep the joint tight.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The tank F, divided by partitions into a series of chambers each of which has
an outlet at its bottom, horizontal passages extending through the tank and provided
with openings through which the fluid escapes into the chambers, tubular perforated
valves sliding back and forth through the passages, and an angular lever connected
to the outer ends of the valves, combined with a vertically moving bar which
operates the lever at one end, and a mechanism for operating the rod, substantially
as described.
2. A tank divided into a series of chambers, each of which has an outlet at its
bottom, a vertically moving valve for each outlet, a grate to which all of the valves
are connected arms extending from the grate into recessed corners of the tank, and
pins extending down from the arms, combined with slotted sliding bars with which
the pins connect, levers for moving the bars, and a mechanism for moving the levers,
substantially as described.
3. In a bottle filling apparatus, a chamber or receptacle from which the fluid flows,
a tank divided into a series of chambers, each of which has an outlet at its bottom, a
valve for each outlet, a grate to which each valve is connected, arms extending from
the grate, pins extending from the arms, slotted sliding bars to operate the grate,
through the pins, and levers to move the bars, combined with sliding valves, an
angular lever for operating the valves, a vertically sliding bar which operates the
angular lever, and the levers which operate the grate at the same time, a verti-
cally moving table on which the bottles are placed, and means for operating both the
table and the rod, substantially as described.
4. In a bottle filling apparatus a measuring receptacle, a dividing tank connected
thereto a valve for each outlet to the tank, an operating shaft, a segment secured
thereto, a plate connected to and operated by the segment, a vertically movable table
on which the bottles are placed to be filled, and a vertically moving bar connected at
its lower end to the plate, and which bar at its upper end operates the levers, which
control the flow of liquid to the tank, and operate the valves, substantially as
described.