IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRAWING OFF OR BOTTLING LIQUIDS.
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
-
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRAWING OFF OR BOTTLING LIQUIDS.".
A communication from abroad by David Perret, Machinist, of 13,
Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
Sealed the 2nd March 1869, and dated the 14th September 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th September 1868.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRAWING OFF OR
BOTTLING LIQUIDS," to be as follows :-
A more expeditious mode than that at present employed in bottling
liquids is much needed in consequence of the corking machines which
are now used working too fast for the filling apparatus. Hitherto two
persons have been required, 'one for corking and the other for filling,
the former being often obliged to stand idle while the bottles are being
filled.

page_text: This Invention relates to a self-acting apparatus by means of which
two advantages are obtained, the bottling is effected much more
expeditiously and employing but one man instead of two.
may
I will now proceed to describe the apparatus and the several appli-
cations of the same, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings.
Theory of the Apparatus.-A syphon placed in the position shown
in Figure 1 is self-acting, and the flow ceases immediately the liquid
in the vessel W rises to a level with that in vessel V, but this principle
alone would not suffice, as the level in the vessel or cask varies as the
contents are drawn off. Figure 2 represents the principle of an instru-
ment by means of which a constant level is maintained during the
bottling until the whole of the contents of the vessel are discharged.
This apparatus is composed of a cock of suitable metal or wood and
a bung through which passes a tin or india-rubber tube. The cock
is represented the full size in perspective view at Figure 3; it consists
of a tube with a tapered end for fitting in the cask and a cylindrical
part provided with several small tubes, the number of which depends on
the interior section of the tube T, T, Figure 3. These cocks have
one, two, three, up to twenty-four or thirty nozzles, the number being
limited by the size of the hole made in the cask for receiving the cock. At
the ends of these nozzles on parts R are fitted india-rubber tubes whose
internal diameter is from one-fourth to one-fifth of an inch, and external
diameter about half an inch, said tubes being rather longer than an
ordinary bottle. The apparatus is further provided with a kind of rack C,
Figure 3, consisting of spaces corresponding in number to the nozzles,
such spaces serving to compress and close the ends of the india-rubber
tubes when it is desired to cut off the supply at some or all of the
nozzles. A bung, such as shown in section at Figuro 4, is driven into
the hole in the cask, through which bung is passed a tin or india-rubber
tube having a spiral bore of a diameter of about one-fifth of an inch.
This pipe projects downwards as far as the line N, N, Figure 6, a little
above the cock, and determines the level for the tops of the bottles
which are readily brought to the desired height by the aid of the screw
table T, Figures 5 and 6, and when the liquid reaches this level in
the bottles the flow ceases.
In order to obtain the necessary perfect joint between the bung and the
tube passing through same I may employ a small india-rubber packing C,
Figure 4, held in place by a metal piece P. When the casks are of very

page_text: I
large dimensions, in order to lengthen the tubes introduced therein,
may make them in lengths fitting one in the other in a perfectly
tight manner by the aid of india-rubber joints C¹, Figure 7, but in this
case and generally speaking it is preferable to use an india-rubber
tube instead of making it of tin. Figure 8 shows another arrangement
of the tube and bung, which latter is made of wood covered with india-
rubber M, by means of which the bung may be fixed by simply
forcing it with the hand without being driven by a hammer so as to
injure the india-rubber. C is a tube of metal, tin for example, inserted
at the centre of the bung, through which passes the india-rubber tube T
provided at its lower end with a weight R¹ for causing said tube to
descend vertically into the liquid. By arranging the parts in the above
manner a perfectly tight fit between the bung and the cask as well as
with the india-rubber tube is obtained. By making the latter of some
length the same tube and bung may be used for casks of different depths.
Satisfactory experiments have been made with this apparatus on alcohols
and also on wines and lees, however if the admission of air be feared
for the more delicate liquids the slight motion produced by the air may
be prevented by the addition of a second tube T, Figure 9, through
which passes the first tin or india-rubber tube A, such second tube being
placed entirely within the cask below the bung, as shown in Figure 10.
In this manner with the aid of a second tube I have been enabled
without difficulty to obtain a liquid from a deposit which was very liable
to become thick.
Advantages of the Apparatus.-The first advantage consists in its
being self-acting, as the bottles are filled and the supply cut off
automatically, one man only being required for bottling. The second
advantage consists in the increased rate at which the bottling may i be
effected. A nozzle provided with an india-rubber tube of an internal dia-
meter of about one-quarter of an inch would easily fill a bottle in twenty
seconds and a quart bottle in twenty-five or thirty seconds; an apparatus
with six nozzles, for example, would fill ten quarts per minute, and six
hundred quarts per hour. Thus the second assistant hitherto employed in
bottling may be occupied with the corking machine, and the two together
will not keep pace with the tap. There is a further advantage of sufficient
importance that in using this apparatus no froth is produced, the bottles
being filled up to the top without requiring to wait while the froth
disappears before filling them up. Instead of using the screw table

page_text: for carrying the bottles, as before described, a framing may be fixed below
the casks for this purpose, as the casks are generally supported on frames
at a uniform level.
Figure 11 shows an ordinary syphon to which is added an india-
rubber tube C and a tin tube T entering branch B of the syphon
at a and leaving it at b, at which point the flow is arrested, there-
fore the top of the vessel being filled should be a little above this
level. The same kind of bung before described with india-rubber
packing is to be used for fixing the syphon in the cask, but made of
metal, brass for example, and of greater length as it has some weight
to support. The syphon is put in action in the ordinary way, this
being effected before the syphon is fixed in the cask while the air
is still in communication with the cask through the bung hole but
not with the small tube T, as the level of the flow before closing would
be the top of the cask. In large cellars the contents of several casks
may be bottled simultaneously by providing them with a tube similar
to the branch B of syphon, Figure 11, terminating in a kind of nozzle,
as shown in Figure 12, to which is attached an india-rubber tube from
each cask, supplying a bottling apparatus provided with as many nozzles
as desired, the attendants being occupied simply in corking the bottles
as they are filled. This bottling apparatus, like the apparatus herein
described, should be placed an inch or more below the point b, Figure 12,
so as to ensure its constant action.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 12th March 1869. .
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 3
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in tho
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her
special licence that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander

page_text: Melville Clark, 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 United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRAWING OFF OR BOTTLING LIQUIDS,"
a communication to me from abroad by David Perret, Machinist, of
13, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
, do hereby
NOW KNOW YE, that the said
declare the nature of said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Slicet of Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thercon (that
is to say):-
A more expeditious mode than that at present employed in bottling
liquids is much needed in consequence of the corking machines which
are now used working too fast for the filling apparatus.. Hitherto two
persons have been required, one for corking and the other for filling,
the former being often obliged to stand idle while the bottles are being
filled.
This Invention relates to a self-acting apparatus by means of which.
two advantages are obtained, as the bottling is effected much more
expeditiously and but one man is employed instead of two.
I will now proceed to describe the apparatus and the several appli-
cations of the same, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings.
Theory of the Apparatus.-A syphon placed in the position shown
in Figure 1 is self-acting, and the flow ceases immediately the liquid
in the vessel W rises to a level with that in vessel V, but this principle
alone would not suffice for the purposes of this Invention, as the level
in the vessel or cask varies as the contents aro' drawn off. Figure 2

page_text: represents the principle of an instrument by means of which a constant
level is maintained during the bottling until the whole of the contents
of the cask or vessel are discharged. This apparatus is composed of
a cock of suitable metal or wood and a bung, through which passes a
tin or india-rubber tube. The cock is represented the full size in
perspective view at Figure 3; it consists of a tube with a tapered end
for fitting in the cask and a cylindrical part provided with several
small nozzle pipes, the number of which depends on the interior section
of the tube T, T', Figure 3. These cocks may have one, two, three,
up to twenty-four or thirty nozzles, the number being limited by the
size of the hole made in the cask for receiving the cock. At the ends
of these nozzle pipes R are fitted india-rubber tubes whose internal
diameter is from one-fourth to one-fifth of an inch, and external diameter
about half an inch, said tubes being rather longer than an ordinary
bottle. The apparatus is further provided with a kind of rack C,
Figure 3, consisting of spaces corresponding in number to the nozzles,
such spaces serving to compress and close the ends of the india-rubber
tubes when it is desired to cut off the supply at some or all of the
nozzles. A bung, such as shown in section at Figure 4, is driven into
the hole in the cask, through which bung is passed a tin or india-rubber
tube having a spiral bore of a diameter of about one-fifth of an inch.
This pipe projects downwards as far as the line N, N, Figure 6, a little
above the cock, and determines the level for the tops of the bottles
which are readily brought to the desired height by the aid of the screw
table T, Figures 5 and 6, and when the liquid reaches this level in
the bottles the flow ceases.
In order to obtain the necessary perfect joint between the bung and
the tube passing through same I employ a small india-rubber packing C,
Figure 4, held in place by a metal piece P. When the casks are of very
large dimensions, in order to lengthen the tubes introduced therein, I
may make them in lengths fitting one in the other in a perfectly tight
manner by the aid of india-rubber joints C', Figure 7, but it is preferable
in this case and generally speaking to use an india-rubber tube instead
of making it of tin. Figure 8 shows another arrangement of the tube
and bung, which latter is made of wood covered with india-rubber M,
by means of which the bung may be fixed by simply forcing it in with
the hand without being driven by a hammer so as to injure the india-
rubber. C³ is a tube of metal, tin for example, inserted at the centre

page_text: of the bung, through which passes the india-rubber tube T provided
at its lower end with a weight R. for causing said tube to descend
vertically into the liquid. By arranging the parts in the above manner
a perfectly tight fit is ensured between the bung and the cask as well.
as with the india-rubber. By making the latter of some length the
same tube and bung may be used for casks of different depths. Satis-
factory experiments have been made with this apparatus on alcohols
and also on wines and lecs, however if the admission of air be feared
for the more delicate liquids the slight motion produced by the air
may be prevented by the addition of a second tube T, Figure 9, through
which passes the first tin or india-rubber tube, such second tube being
placed entirely within the cask below the bung, as shown in Figure 10.
In this manner with the aid of a second tube I have been enabled
without difficulty to obtain a liquid from a deposit which was very liable
to become thick.
Advantages of the Apparatus.-The first advantage consists in its
being self-acting, as when the bottles are filled the supply is cut off
automatically, one man only being required for bottling. The second
advantage consists in the increased rato at which the bottling may be
effected. A nozzle provided with an india-rubber tube of an internal
diameter of about one-quarter of an inch would casily fill a pint bottle
in twenty seconds, and a quart bottle in twenty-five or thirty seconds;
an apparatus with six nozzles, for example, would fill ten quarts por
minute, and six hundred quarts per hour. Thus the second assistant
hitherto employed in bottling may be occupied with the corking machine,
and the two together will not keep pace with the tap. There is a
further advantage of sufficient importance that in using this apparatus
no froth is produced, the bottles being filled to the top without requiring
to wait while the froth disappears before filling them up. Instead of
using the screw table for carrying the bottles, as before described, a
framing may be fixed below the casks for this purpose, as the, casks
are generally supported on frames at a uniform level..
Figure 11 shows an ordinary syphon to which is added an india-rubber
tube C and a tin tube T entering branch B of the syphon at a and
leaving it at b, at which point the flow is arrested. The top of the
vessel being filled should be a little above this level. The same kind of
bung before described with india-rubber packing is to be used for fixing
the syphon in the cask, but the syphon is made of metal, brass for

page_text: example, and of greater length as it has some weight to support. The
syphon is put in action in the ordinary way, this being effected with
greater facility before the syphon is perfectly fixed in the cask and
while the air is still in communication with the cask through the bung
hole but not yet with the small tube T, as the flow before closing would
continue until on a level with the top of the cask. In large cellars the
contents of several casks may be bottled simultaneously by providing
them with a tube similar to the branch B of the syphon, Figure 11,
terminating in a kind of nozzle, as shown in Figure 12, to which is
attached an india-rubber tube from each cask, supplying a apparatus
provided with as many nozzles as desired, the attendants being occupied
simply in corking the bottles as they are filled. This apparatus, like the
apparatus herein described, should be placed an inch or more below the
point 6, Figure 12, so as to ensure its constant action. This improved
self-acting syphon cock may also be modified to suit the various pur-
poses to which it is applicable. The principle on. which such modifi-
cations are based is that of the equilibrium of liquids in communicating.
vessels.
Figures 13 and 14 of the Drawings show a section and elevation of
one of the most practical forms of the apparatus; it consists of. a tube
of tin or other metal in which is placed a smaller tube F descending to
within a few inches of the bottom, the point where the tube F terminates
determining the level at which the flow ceases; this point is indicated
on the outside by a band painted thercon or by other marks, there is
consequently no difficulty in ascertaining this level. P is a nozzle or
union to which is to be adapted an india-rubber tube for placing the
apparatus in communication with the upper part of the cask; A is
another nozzle to which is attached a tube for placing the apparatus in
communication with the liquid in the cask.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The air which enters in
proportion as the liquid flows out passes down the tube F up through
the larger tube and thence to the india-rubber pipe at P. In this
manner any difficulty consequent on the passage of air into the cask is
obviated. The length of the tube varies according to the depth of the
capacity to be emptied; its internal diameter should never be less
than from one to two inches, increasing in proportion to the number of
nozzles or with the quantity of liquid to be drawn off in a given
time. The internal diameter of the smaller tube should be at least from
.

page_text: one-fifth to two-fifths of an inch, varying according to the quantity of
liquid to be drawn off.
:
In order to render the same tube available for containers of different
depths I may employ the arrangement of tube shown in Figure 15. In
this instance the metal tube is only about four inches in length, the
smaller tube F being in the position shown. The end R of the tube is
slightly enlarged, as seen, for attaching an india-rubber tube of the same
diameter which is connected to the cask bung; this tube may also form
part of the cock, as shown in Figure 16, or it may be attached thereto by
means of lugs o, o¹, Figure 17; lastly, it may be fixed in any position
near to the cask or otherwise. The lower end of tube F in all cases
serves as the level for stopping the flow, and the tops of the bottles or
vessels to be filled should never be lower than this point. The small
plug shown as secured by a chain serves to close the opening o, Figure 16,
the moment the tube is placed in communication with the cask and it is
not removed until the drawing off commences. Care should be taken
that the portion of the pipe from R to the top of the cask, is not doubled
in any way, and any surplus length of pipe should be placed on the cask
or vessel being emptied. With an india-rubber tube of any length I
may empty casks of different dimensions.
Description of the Arrangement of Cock and Tube represented in
Figures 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, and 20, and Modo of Operation.-The cock
represented in Figure 17 is terminated by a part L carrying two arms or
lugs having openings o, o¹. The bung, Figures 19 and 20, made either of
metal or wood, is hollow and covered with india-rubber, and is provided
with a nozzlo P to which is attached the india-rubber pipe before referred
to. After thus connecting each nozzle with its india-rubber tube the
ends of the tubes are gripped one above the other in the arms of part L,
the last one being that by which the communication is to be effected
between the cock and the tube; this latter tube is not gripped at its free
end but as near as possible to the end fixed to the cock, as shown by
tubo T, Figure 17; this being done the cock is fitted in the cask by
screwing or driving.
Figure 21 represents a metal bung 'provided with a screw thread and
a kind of fork. By means of the screw thread I am enabled to her-
metically close the opening without the aid of india-rubber, while the
fork sustains the india-rubber tube which extends from the bung to the
nozzle on the tube; it also serves as a lever for screwing the bung in the
'
.

page_text: cask. After the cock has been firmly fixed in the cask I take the tube,
shown in Figures 13 and 14, the length of which should at least equal
the depth of the cask under operation, and introduce it by its lower
part A in the openings o, o', Figure 17, which serve to firmly attach it
to the cock, care being taken to turn the nozzle P towards the cask.
The free end of the india-rubber pipe T is then attached to the nozzle A
without removing the same, and after this is done the pipes are removed
from the arm L and the liquid at once finds its level in the tube. The
bung is then removed from the cask and the one provided with a nozzle
substituted, and if the hole be not exactly round it should be well
tallowed, and in all cases this course is preferable. The bung, Figures 19
and 20, being then adjusted its nozzlo P is next connected with nozzle P
of the tubes, Figures 13 and 14, by an india-rubber tube having an
internal diameter of at least one-fifth of an inch; after this has been done
it is simply necessary to place the necks of the bottles or vessels to be
filled on a level with the band or other mark for indicating when the
flow ceases, the position of the bottles or vessels being adjusted by
means of a table or other supports, as herein-before referred to. When
the latter operation is completed the drawing off may commence, the
bottles being lowered every time a tube is introduced until the liquid
begins to flow. When the cask is emptied care should be taken, in order
to prevent any waste of the liquid which might remain in the tube, to
place some vessel under the nozzle A when removing the india-rubber
tubo connecting it with the cock. Figure 18 shows a general view of
the apparatus; the applications and combinations of the principles above
indicated may be greatly varied as regards their form and arrangement.
Figure 22 represents one arrangement by means of which the cask
may be emptied without boring by the aid of the bung hole; this
arrangement possesses the further advantage of dispensing with a table
or trestles, as the apparatus may be placed on the ground in any position.
This apparatus consists of. a base plate P in which is fixed a standard T
carrying the tube M having a smaller tube L fixed thereto...These tubes
are fixed at their lower ends to a part R, which may be of metal, carrying
the nozzles and slotted for the purpose of gripping the india-rubber
tubes. The larger tube M is placed in communication with part R by
an india-rubber tube C, while the other tube is in direct communication
with said part R. The bung is provided with holes, one for the
admission of tube A into the cask, the other end of said tube being

page_text: connected with the upper part of the tube L. The other hole in the
bung serves for placing the end of the tube M in communication with
the upper part of the cask by means of the nozzle and india-rubber
tube B. The two supports S, S¹, permit of the apparatus being raised
or lowered on standard T in order to bring the painted band or streak to
the desired level according to the size of the bottles to be filled.
In order to put the apparatus in action the tube L is first filled with
water before placing the part R in communication with tube M, and
when the tube is connected with the cask by the india-rubber tube above
referred to the water is then allowed to flow out through one of the
nozzle pipes until the liquid to be drawn off begins to run, at which
moment communication is established between R and M and the
apparatus is put in action.
Figure 23 shows a similar arrangement to the preceding, except that
the cock is placed in communication with the liquid at the bottom of
the cask, which must consequently be tapped and provided with a nozzle
for fitting the india-rubber connection. This apparatus does not require
to be started as in the preceding casc.
Figure 24 shows the apparatus.as applied for emptying two casks.
The above improvements may be applied to ordinary wine syphons, in
which case instead of having a number of small nozzles but one or two
are used of larger dimensions, and the mode of fixing the apparatus
would vary according to circumstances.
'
The advantages resulting from the use of the above instrument or.
apparatus are that, 1st, the air. does not pass through the liquid in the
cask; 2ndly, it is no longer necessary to ascertain the level at which the
flow ceases; 3rdly, the apparatus may be placed in any position, it being
simply necessary to put it in communication with the upper part of the
cask and with the liquid therein contained; 4thly, it facilitates tho
simultaneous drawing off of several casks, and there is no need to
regulate the level for stopping the flow by the aid of any vessel, this
being effected automatically by the instrument.
Mode of Applying the first-described Arrangement of Self-acting Cock
without any Tube passing through the Bung, but with, in all cases, an
admission of Air to the Liquid in the Cask. An inch or so above the
nozzle cock I place another ordinary cock with the nose projecting
upwards, see Figure 25. R shows the level at which the flow ceases;
the upper cock is turned on immediately the drawing off commences.

page_text: A still simpler arrangement is represented in Figure 26. In this case
the tube by which the air enters forms part of the nozzle cock, a small
cock R being used to close the air passage when fixing the apparatus in
the cask, but which cock is opened immediately the drawing off com-
The nozzles are bent downwards in order that the liquid may
be always below the level N, N'.
Instead of mounting the tube on the cask, in the manner before
described, I may use the apparatus shown in front and side views in
Figures 27 and 28, and in plan Figure 29. The clamp C is fixed to the
cask by a screw V, and the holder P which is covered with india-rubber
at O, Figure 29, is tightened by a ring B so as to prevent the tube from
slipping. The holder P is pivotted at A so as to enable the tube to be
vertically adjusted. The apparatus may be further modified as regards
form and dimensions and details without departing from the principle of
the Invention.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. I claim the combined self-acting syphon apparatus to be used for
drawing off and bottling wines, spirits, and other liquids, the chief
feature consisting in the self-acting arrangement for cutting off the
supply, the whole arranged substantially as shown and described.
2ndly. I claim the several modifications of the apparatus shown and
.described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hercunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
.A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)