IMPROVEMENTSs in Machines for BOTTLING SODA WATER AND OTHER GASEOUS OR EFFERVESCING LIQUIDS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolphus Clark and Abraham Van Winkle,
both of Great Wild. Street, in the County of Middlesex, for
the Invention of “IMPROVEMENTSs in Machines for BOTTLING SODA WATER
AND OTHER GASEOUS OR EFFERVESCING LIQUIDS."-Partly a communica-
tion from abroad by Gustavus Davis Dows, residing at Boston,
Massachusetts, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolphus Clark
and Abraham Van Winkle at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 12th January 1870.
WC, ADOLPHUS CLARK and ABRAHAM VAN WINKLE, both of Great
Wild Street, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR BOTTLING SODA
WATER AND OTHER GASEOUS OR EFFERVESCING LIQUIDS," partly a communi-
cation, to be as follows:-

page_text: convenient manner than has heretofore been practicable. A. machine
for such a purpose must be provided with apparatus for introducing
the liquid into the bottles, and for inserting and securing the corks
therein.
We construct and arrange the apparatus for introducing the liquid
into the bottle and for inserting and securing the corks therein in a
novel manner, and we combine with such apparatus certain novel
mechanism for protecting the operators from being injured by the
bursting of the bottles, and also for preventing the heretofore unavoid-
able waste of the liquid during the operations of filling and corking the
bottles.
In its general form and appearance our improved machine somewhat
resembles other machines used for the same purpose, that is to say, it
has a table upon which is fixed framework which supports a pump for
forcing in the liquid and a close fitting cylinder or socket which covers
the mouth of the bottle during the introduction of the liquid and the
insertion of the cork, and which is combined with mechanism for forcing
the corks into the bottles, the said devices or mechanism being adjust-
able on the framework to allow the bottles to be removed after being
corked.
It is very desirable that in using these machines the operators should
be protected from the injury to which they are liable from the bursting
of the bottles (under the strong pressure to which they are subjected in
filling and corking them) without encumbring the machine with parts
which obstruct the rapid placing and removal of the bottles. For this
purpose we arrange upon the table a guard or shield which is caused to
enclose or cover the bottle at the time when it is being filled; and when
the cork is being inserted and which is then opened or moved out of the
way to allow the said bottle to be removed and a fresh one inserted.
This guard or shield and the mechanism for operating it are constructed
and arranged in the following manner :-The said shield is preferably
made in two parts, these parts may be of wire, sheet metal, or other
quitable material, and should be somewhat in the form of a bottle. These
parts are jointed or hinged upon a pin or rod which is attached to the
table or framing and' which can be readily removed if required. To
these two parts of the shield are connected two levers which are jointed
together on a horizontal rod in such a manner that they open and close
in a horizontal plane when the said rod is moved to and fro. The said

page_text: .
rod is guided in bearings attached to the table. Its endwise movements
are produced by the operator through the medium of a treadle connected
to the said rod by a series of levers. The said rod is moved inward to
close the guard around the bottle by depressing the treadle and is drawn
back to open the guard by means of a weight which acts when the
treadle is released. For eonvenience this treadle is also made to bring
down the cylinder or socket which encloses the neck of the bottle during
the operation of filling and corking. Connected with this socket is a
pump of peculiar construction which is chiefly designed for the intro-
duction into the bottles of a syrup and the gaseous liquid together.
This pump is provided with means whereby it may be connected to a
syrup reservoir and a vessel containing soada or aerated water, the syrup
runs freely into the barrel of the pump, then by turning a handle which
opcrates a valve or cock and also the plunger of the pump, the syrup
is forced therefrom into the bottle at the end of the stroke of the said
plunger; by continuing the movement of the lever the passage is opened
for the soda or acrated water which instantiy rushes into the bottle
through the cylinder or socket which covers the mouth thereof. The part
of the filling apparatus for introducing the soda or acrated water
may be
employed independently of the pump. The top of the cylinder has an
aperture for the passage of the mandril which forces the cork into the
bottle previous to the admission of the liquid into the cylinder or socket
to fill a bottle; this aperture must be closed by the cork which is to be
inserted and secured in the said bottle..
Heretofore a great waste of the liquid has been incurred in this part
of the work by the necessity which has existed of raising the socket
or releasing the bottle to allow the escape of air from the bottle. We
obviate this necessity and prevent nearly the whole of such waste by the
employment of an escape valve in connection with the cylinder or
socket. This valve is placed at the end of a tube which extends from the
socket and is provided with a spring, whereby the valve may be adjusted
to allow the air to escape at any desired pressure. We prefer that: this
valve should be placed within a cap which is made to screw upon the
tube and. which is perforated at the end to permit. the escape of the
air and gas. The valve is made to fit a seat cushioned with india-rubber
or other suitable substance and the spring is placed within the cap.
Heretofore in machines for bottling effervescing liquids it has been
usual to support, the bottle upon an adjustable rest, which is raised to the

page_text: corking devices and lowered to release the bottle. In our improved
machine we support the bottle upon a fixed rest and move the filling and
corking devices up and down on the framing to adjust them to and away
from the bottle. We effect this adjustment of the said devices by means
of a handle and balance weight in connection with levers, the moving
parts of the filling and corking devices being supported on the framing
in such a manner as to slide freely up and down thereon when the
said handle is moved by the operator. It is obvious however that parts
of our improvements are applicable to machines having a moveable
bottle rest.
We prefer to secure the corks in the bottles by means of a device
described in the Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent
were granted to the said Abraham Van Winkle, bearing date the
Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-nine, No. 1535, which device consist of a wire clip
that can be adjusted upon the cork before the bottle is removed from the
aforesaid guard or shield, but if desired we. may secure the corks by the
ordinary wires. For this purpose we provide the table of our machine
with a frame consisting of two upright elbow or bent bars or pieces
placed together in such a manner that there is just sufficient space to
introduce the bottle between them. The horizontal upper parts of these
two pieces are so arranged that they form nearly a continuous bar across
the top, which prevents the escape of the cork from the bottle, while the
slight space left between them allows the wire to be conveniently placed
and secured around the cork. The bottle is placed upon an adjustable
rest connected to a treadle, whereby the bottle may be brought up to
the wiring frame and released therefrom after being wired. The mandril
which forces in the corks is made with a removeable piece which is taken
out to admit one prong of a three-pronged implement whereby we hold
the cork in the bottle while the same is carried to the wiring frame.
This implement is so formed that before the mandril is raised after the
insertion of a cork it can be placed with two prongs around the neck
of the bottle, while the third prong passes over the cork through the
aperture left by taking the removable piece out of the mandril.“

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said. Adolphus Clark and Abraham Van Winkle in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th July 1870.
"
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, WC, ADOLPHUS
CLARK and ABRAHAM VAN WINKLE, both of Great Wild Street, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of January, in the year.
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her licirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Adolphus Clark and Abraham Van Winkle,
Her special license that we, the said Adolphus Clark and Abraham
Van Winkle, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Adolphus Clark and Abraham Van Winkle,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agrée
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 MACHINES FOR BOTTLING SODA WATER AND OTHER GASEOUS
OR EFFERVESCING LIQUIDS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said Adolphus Clark and Abraham Van Winkle, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or onė
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, therefore, that I, the said Adolphus Clark, for myself,
and the said Abraham Van Winkle, do hereby declare the nature of our
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 accompanying Drawing, and forming a part
of this Specification
:-
Our Invention relates to a machine for bottling soda water, aërated
water, and other effervescing liquids in a more speedy. economical and
:

page_text: .
convenient manner than has heretofore been practicable. A machine
for such a purpose must be provided with apparatus for introducing
the liquid into the bottles, and for inserting and securing the corks
therein.
:
.
We construct and combine the apparatus for .introducing the liquid
into the bottle, and for inserting and securing the corks therein in a
novel manner, and we combine with such apparatus certain novel
mechanism for protecting the operators from being injured by the
bursting of the bottles, and also for preventing the heretofore unavoid-
able waste of the liquid during the operations of filling and corking the
bottles.
:
In its general form and appearance our improved machine somewhat
resembles other machines used for the same purpose, that is to say, it
has a table whercon is fixed framework which supports a pump for
forcing in the liquid, and a close fitting cylinder or socket which covers
the mouth of the bottle during the introduction of the liquid and the
insertion of the cork, and which is combined with mechanism for
forcing the corks into the bottles, the said devices or mechanism being
adjustable on the framework to allow the bottles to be removed after
being corked.
It is very desirable that in using these machines the operators should
be protected from the injury to which they are liable from the bursting
of the bottles under the strong pressure to which they are subjected in
filling and corking them without encumbering the machine-with parts
which obstruct the rapid placing and removal of the bottles. For this
purpose we arrange upon the table a guard or shield which is caused to
enclose or cover the bottle at the time when it is being filled and when
the cork is being inserted, and which is then opened or moved out of
the way
to allow the said bottle to be removed and a fresh one inserted.
This guard or shield and the mechanism for operating it are constructed
and arranged in the following manner:-The said shield is preferably
made in two parts, these parts may be of wire, sheet metal, or other
suitable material, and should be somewhat in the form of a bottle.
These parts are jointed or hinged upon a pin or rod which is attached to
the table or framing, and which can be readily removed if required. To
these two parts of the shield are connected two levers which are jointed
together on a horizontal rod in such a manner that they open and close
in a horizontal plane when the said rod is moved to and fro. The said

page_text: .
rod is guided in bearings attached to the table. Its endwise movements
are produced by the operator through the medium of a treadle connected
to the said rod by a series of levers. The said rod is moved inward to
close the guard around the bottle by depressing the treadle, and is
drawn back to open the guard by means of, a weight, which acts when
the treadle is released. For convenience this treadle is also made to
bring down the cylinder or socket which encloses the neck of the
bottle during the operations of filling and corking. Connected with this
socket is the pump, which is chiefly designed for the introduction of a
into the bottles with the gaseous liquid.
syrup
This pump is provided
with means whereby it may be connected to a syrup reservoir con-
taining soda or aërated water. The pump is operated by means of a
handle, and by opening a valve a passage is made for the soda or
acrated water, which with the syrup forced in by the pump rushes into
the bottle through the cylinder or socket which covers the mouth of the
bottle. The part of the filling apparatus for introducing the soda or
aürated water may be employed independently of the pump. The top of
the cylinder has an aperture for the passage of the mandril which forces
the cork into the bottle. Previous to the admission of the liquid into the
cylinder or socket to fill a bottle this aperture must be closed by the
cork, which is to be inserted and secured in the said bottle.
Heretofore a great waste of the liquid has been incurred in this part
of the work by the necessity which has existed of raising the socket or
releasing the bottle to allow the escape of air from the bottle. We
obviate this necessity and prevent nearly the whole of such waste by the
employment of an escape valve in connection with the cylinder or socket.
This valve is placed at the end of a tube which extends from the socket,
and is provided with a spring. The valve may be adjusted to allow the
air to escape at any desired pressure. We prefer that this valve should
be placed within a cap which is made to screw upon the tube, and which
is perforated at the end to permit the escape of the air and gas. The
valve is made to fit a seat cushioned with india-rubber or other suitable
substance, and the spring is placed within the cap.
Heretofore in machines for bottling effervescing. liquids it has been
usual to support the bottle upon an adjustable rest, which is raised to.
the corking devices and lowered to release the bottle. In our improved
machine we prefer to support the bottle upon a fixed rest, and move the
filling and corking devices up and down on the framing to adjust them

page_text: to and away from the bottle. We effect this adjustment of the said
devices by means of a handle and balance weight in connection witl
levers, the moving parts of the filling and corking devices being sup
ported on the framing in such a manner as to slide freely up and down
thereon when the said handle is moved by the operator.
We prefer to secure the corks in the bottles by means of a device
described in the Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent
were granted to the said Abraham Van Winkle, bearing date the
Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-nine, No. 1535, which device consists of a wire clip
that can be adjusted upon the cork before the bottle is removed from
the aforesaid guard or shield; but if desired we may secure the corks by
the ordinary wires. For this purpose we provide the table of our
machine with a frame consisting of two upright elbow or bent bars or
pieces placed together in such a manner that there is just sufficient
space to introduce the bottle between them. The upper parts of these
two pieces are so arranged that they form nearly a continuous bar
across the top, which prevents the escape of the cork from the bottle,
while the slight space left between them allows the wire to be con-
veniently placed and secured around the cork. The bottle is placed upon
an adjustable rest connected to a treadle whereby the bottle may be
brought up to the wiring frame and released therefrom after being wired.
The mandril for forcing in the corks is made with a removeable piece,
which is taken out to admit one prong of a three-pronged implement
whereby we hold the cork in the bottle while the same is carried to the
wiring frame. This implement is so formed that before the mandril is
raised after the insertion of a cork it can be placed with two prongs
around the neck of the bottle, while the third prong passes over the cork
through the aperture left by taking the removeable piece out of the
mandril.
The accompanying Drawing illustrates a soda water bottling machine
with our improvements as we prefer to construct and arrange the same.
Figure 1 is a plan of the said machine; Figure 2 is a longitudinal
section on the line x, x, Figure 1, shewing the automatic guard and its
operative mechanism; Figure 3 is a vertical section drawn to an enlarged
scale shewing the cylinder and escape valve, and parts connected
therewith; Figure 4 is an outside view of the end of the escape valve;
Figure 5 is a vertical section on the line y, y, Figure 1, shewing the

page_text: wiring frame; Figure 6 shews the implement used in connection with
the said frame; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the said machine
drawn to a reduced scale. Like letters indicate the same parts
throughout the Drawing.
The various devices herein-before partly described are all mounted upon
a strong frame or table A. The two parts a of our improved guard or
shield, which may be of wire, sheet metal, or other suitable material, are
jointed together upon the vertical pin or rod b, which is secured in the
top of the table A. c, c, are the levers, which are jointed to the two
parts of the shield at 6', and to the horizontal rod d at d¹; d² are brackets
fixed on the table for supporting and guiding the said rod; e is a double-
armed lever whose fulcrum is at e¹. One arm e² of this lever is
'connected to the arm d³, which projects down from the rod d, and its
other arm is connected by the link e to the frame f. This frame is
connected by the rod f¹ with the treadle g, and it is obvious that by
depressing this treadle when the parts are in the position shewn in
Figure 1 the rod d will be moved in the direction of the arrow 1, and
the two parts a of the guard will be closed., h, h¹, are the weights which
draw down the frame as soon as the treadle is released. . The cylinder
or socket i, which has to descend and enclose the neck of the bottle
during the filling and corking of the same is connected to the aforesaid
frame by the rods . The pump j is attached to the cylinder i, as
shown in Figures 1 and 7, and is connected to the syrup reservoir by
the flexible pipe The pump is operated to force the syrup into the
bottle by the handle, and at the time the soda or aërated water is
admitted by opening the valve j³. As the cylinder i and the rod d are
connected to the frame f it is obvious that the same action of the
foot upon the treadle g brings cylinder and pump down over the mouth
of the bottle and closes the guard around the said bottle. A cork is
then inserted into the aperture j* of the cylinder, which cork is forced
into the bottle by the mandril k, herein-before mentioned. This mandril,
as clearly shewn in Figure 3, is attached to the cross head '/', which is
guided properly up and down by the vertical rods ³. The said cross
head is connected by the rods k³ and cross bar k* to the lever 1, and by
means of this lever the said frame and mandril are depressed, and the
mandril drives the cork into the bottle. At the sido of the cylinder i;
as shewn in Figure 3, we place our improved escape valve.
m is the
valve proper provided with an india-rubber seat m*, and which has a

page_text: spindle or stem m¹ extending through the screw cap m²; around this
stém is placed a spiral spring m³, which bears against the said cap and
the back of the valve as shewn, and by adjusting the said screw cap we
regulate the pressure of the spring upon the valve, or in other words, the
pressure to be overcome by the escaping liquid. The branch n connects
the pump and valve with the cylynder i, and it will be seen that there
is a clear passages from this branch and through the cylinder to the
escapc valve. 0 is an
india-rubber cushion which surrounds the cork as
the same is forced into the bottle. The bottle while being filled is, as
herein-before stated, preferably placed upon a fixed rest, which as shewn
at p, Figure 2, is arranged under the mandril: between the vertical rods
which guide the cylinder i. In some casos however we may use in
combination with our improvements a vertically moving bottle-rest, the
cylinder and pump being then stationary.
We may construct the machines either with or without our improved
wiring frames q, but it will be generally found more convenient to
provide the machine with one or more of these frames. The opening.q
in the top bar q² of the frame allows the wire to be conveniently adjusted
across the cork, while the latter is held securely in the bottle by the
said top bar. is the adjustable rest on which the bottle is supported
while being wired, which rest is connected to the treadle by the rod or
bar. The aperture q¹ also admits the top prong of the three-pronged
implements, Figure 6, which as herein-before stated, is placed upon thic
bottle to hold the cork while the bottle is removed from the corking
apparatus to the wiring frame, the mandril k being formed with a
removeable piece 5 to, allow the said implement to be placed on the
bottle to secure the cork before the mandril is raised therefrom.
Having thus fully described our said Invention, I wish it understood
that on behalf of myself and the said Abraham Van Winkle, I claim,-
First. Constructing a machine for bottling soda water and other gascous
liquids with a guard or shield which is actuated by some working part
of the machine to enclose or cover the bottle during the filling or
corking of the same, and then to open and allow the said bottle to be
removed.
Second. The guard or shield consisting of the two parts hinged together
upon a fixed pin or rod, and connected to levers which are arranged and
actuated to open and close by the movement of a rod operated by a
treadle or lever, substantially as set forth.

page_text: Third. In a machine for bottling soda water and other effervescing
liquids the combination of a mechanically operated guard or shield with
á pump for introducing the liquid, and the devices for inserting the
corks in the bottles, and with the other operative parts of such a
machine for the purposes set forth.
Fourth. Constructing a machine for bottling soda water and other
gascous liquids with an escape valve for preventing the waste of the
liquid during the insertion of the cork in the bottle.
Fifth. The escape valve constructed as herein described, and arranged
in combination with the cylinder and pump, and also with the other
parts of a soda water bottling machine, and either with or without the
aforesaid guard or shield, substantially as set forth.
Sixth. A machine for bottling soda water and other gaseous liquids
constructed with a fixed rest for supporting the bottles under the
mandril in combination with the guard or shield for enclosing the bottles
and with the herein-described arrangement of the adjustable cylinder
pump and valves, substantially as set forth.
Seventh. The wiring frame with the adjustable bed, and with the
aperture or slot in the top of the frame, and the three-pronged imple-
ment to be used in connection with the said frame and with a mandril
having a removeable piece to admit the said implement before the
mandril is raised, substantially as set forth.
Eighth. A machine constructed with the filling and corking devices,
the guard or shield, and the escape valve combined and operating
together, and with or without the wiring frames, substantially as set
forth for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolphus Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
ADOLPHUS CLARK. (L.S.)
Witness,
W. ROBT. LAKE.