Improvements in or connected with the Exhaustion of Bottles and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Mar., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Dec., 1897-Accepted, 3rd Mar., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with the Exhaustion of Bottles
and the like.
We, WILLIAM GEORGE TEMPLE and FREDERICK SHIRTLIFF, Engineers, of 12,
Kentish Town Road, in the County of London, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention for improvements in or connected with the exhaustion of bottles
and the like relates to bottles or similar vessels containing articles that are preserved
by mechanically exhausting the air and then sealing the opening of the bottle and
consists in providing a sealing cap adapted to receive the stopper or seal and pass
over the neck of the bottle and containing a spring for forcing, when operated from
the outside, the stopper or seal into position and provided at its outer part with an
elastic packing ring that is forced down on the shoulders or the top face of the bottle
to make a tight joint. The cap is also provided with means for connecting it to the
air pump so that its interior and consequently the bottle can be exhausted.
In one method, the stop or seal is first inserted into a bell-shaped cap, the cap is
lowered on to the bottle to be exhausted, a rubber ring in the lower end making a
tight joint on the neck of the bottle, the cap is connected to the air pump or vacuum
chamber and the spring bearing on the stopper or cap is raised in the cap. When
the bottle. is exhausted, the spring is lowered, the cap is disconnected from the air
pipe and thus air admitted, and is then raised off the bottle. These different
operations may be effected by one movement and its reverse movement or be
performed separately.
The action of the exhaust tends first to make a joint between the cap and the
bottle and afterwards when the air is let into the cap to force the stopper or seal
into close contact with the bottle.
Dated this 2nd day of March 1897.
Improvements in or connected with the Exhaustion of Bottles
and the like.
We, WILLIAM GEORGE TEMPLE and FREDERICK SHIRTLIFF, Engineers, of 12, Kentish
Town Road, in the County of London, 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 for improvements in or connected with the exhaustion of bottles

page_text: and the like relates to bottles or similar vessels containing articles that are preserved
by mechanically exhausting the air and then sealing the opening of the bottle: and
consists in providing a sealing cap adapted to receive the stopper or seal and pass
over the neck of the bottle and containing a means for forcing, when operated from the
outside, the stopper or seal into position and provided at its outer part with an
elastic packing ring that is forced down on the shoulders, or the top face of the
bottle to make a tight joint. The cap is also provided with means for connecting it
to the air pump so that its interior and consequently the bottle can be exhausted.
In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation
of a machine constructed according to this invention for exhausting and sealing a
single bottle. Fig. 2 is a front view of the lower part of the machine. Fig. 3 is a
sectional side elevation to an enlarged scale of the sealing head and vacuum reservoir
and its operating mechanism. Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a similar view
to Fig. 3 showing the sealing head and mechanism in their operative positions.
Fig. 6 is a front elevation of Fig. 3. Fig. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are cross sectional details
of the head. Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 are vertical sections showing different modifications
of the sealing cap.
The machine comprises the main frame 1, the air pumps 2 geared together and
driven from the fast and loose pulleys 3, the vacuum reservoir 4 permanently
connected to the air pumps and the sealing head. The sealing head comprises the
sealing cap 5 detachably secured to a cross head 6 fixed on the lower end of a tube 7
passing through packed joints 8 in a chamber 9 and carrying at its upper end a
gland 10. The cross head 6 is connected by the guide rods 11 to the levers 12
fulcrummed at 13 and connected by the link 14 to an eccentric 15 on a shaft 16 driven
from the fast and loose pulley 17. The guide rods 11 pass through forks 18 on the
ends of the levers 12 and the forks 18 are normally forced up against lock nuts 19
on the ends of the rods 11 by the springs 20 bearing against the fixed collars 21 and
loose collars 44 on the rods 11. The tube 7 is provided with perforations 22 within
the chainber 9 and the chamber 9 communicates through the valve 23 with the
vacuum reservoir 4. The valve 23 is normally kept closed by a spring 24 and is
opened by the tappet 25 on the levers 12 coming in contact with the valve rod 26.
The presser tube 27, by which the stopper 28 is pressed into the bottle after it
has been exhausted passes through the gland 10 and tube 7 and cross head 6 and
terminates in the head 29 that normally lies in a recess in the cross head. The
head 29 is perforated at 30 and the cross head 6 is provided with grooves 31 as shown
in Fig. 9 and the face of head 29 is provided with projections 45 as shown in Fig. 8
to allow of the air passing from the cap 5 to the chamber 9. Within the presser
tube 27 is a valve rod 32 carrying at its lower end a valve 33 closing the lower end
of the presser tube. A washer 34 and nut 35¹ on the top of the valve rod 32 bear
against the top of a fork 35 on a lever 36 fulcrumed at 13 and connected by the
link 37 to an eccentric 38 on the same shaft 16 as the eccentric 15. A spring 39
bears against a fixed collar 40 on the presser tube 27 and against a loose washer 41
also on the tube 27. Normally when the nut 35¹ is in place the loose washer 41 is
forced against the lower edge of the fork 35 by the spring 39.
The eccentric 15 is set slightly in advance of the eccentric 38 and the motion
of the forked end of the lever 12 actuated by the eccentric 15 is slightly less than
the motion of the forked end of the lever 36 actuated by the eccentric 38.
The sealing cap 5 is provided with an elastic packing ring 42 held in place by the
hollow nut 43.
When
The operation is as follows:-The air pumps 2 having been started and having formed
a vacuum in the vacuum reservoir 4, the head driving gear is put in motion.
in the position shown in Fig. 3 the bottle 46 to be exhausted and with its sealing
stopper 28 in place is placed, under the head. The sealing cap 5 first descends its
eccentric being in advance until the head or presser 29 is within the recess in the
cross head 6, the whole head then descending together to the position shown in Fig. 5.
First the cap 5 covers the mouth and neck of the bottle 46 and makes a hermetic joint
between the shoulder and the cap, then when the descent of the cap is prevented by

page_text: the bottle, the forked ends of the lever 12 still continue to descend and the
tappet 25 opens the valve 23, the springs 20 being compressed and at the same time
the head 29 descends slightly in its recess. By the opening of the valve 23,
the bottle is open to the vacuum chamber 4 through the grooves between the
projections 45, holes 30, grooves 31, holes 22 chamber 9 and valve 23. The vacuum
draws the stopper firmly against the head 29 and exhausts the bottle. The further
operation of the machine causes the head 29 to still further descend to force the
stopper 28 into the mouth of the bottle and the eccentric 15 being in advance of
the eccentric 38, the forked ends of the levers 12 have begun to rise and release
the valve 23 from the tappet 25 so that the valve is closed by the spring 24
and the bottle shut off from the vacuum reservoir. The further motion of the
lever 36 causes the valve rod 32 to be depressed, the spring 39 being compressed and
the further descent of the head 29 being prevented by the bottle. Communication
is thus established between the cap 5 and the atmosphere through the tube 27, so
that the stopper is forced onto the bottle by the atmospheric pressure and the cap
is left perfectly free. The further motion of the machine, causes the head to rise as
a whole to its initial position, when the sealed bottle is removed and replaced by
another bottle to be exhausted and sealed.
It will readily be understood that when large quantities of bottling are done,
heads may be arranged along a bench or series of benches and be connected to one
or more large vacuum reservoirs or a number of heads may be arranged on one
machine having a single vacuum reservoir. Also if desired the head may be worked
by hand.
Figs. 11 to 14 also show several modifications of making the joint between the
bottle and the sealing cap.
In Fig. 11 a tube 47 replaces the solid elastic ring 42 and a tube may be connected
by a two way cock to a pressure reservoir and a vacuum reservoir.
When the cap is
coming down over the bottle the cock is connected to the vacuum reservoir so that
the tube would be collapsed allowing the bottle to pass in but when it is in pressure
is admitted and blows the tube out to make a joint round the neck of the bottle.
This method would be useful when the bottle had a long neck and no shoulder such
as shown in Fig. 11 or in the case of a wine bottle.
In the arrangement shown in Fig. 12, the bottle is enveloped by the cap and a
joint is made between it and the bench on which the bottle stands.
In the arrangement shown in Fig. 13 the bottle is placed in a receptacle and a
joint inade at the top of the receptacie. Either of these methods would be useful
where the vessel had sloping sides being of larger diameter at the mouth than at
the bottom, or the bottle might be put in a receptacle and the joint made half
way down.
Fig. 14 shows a suitable arrangement for bottles or jars having an inside stopper.
The joint is made on the outer edge of the bottle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A sealing head for use in connection with a vacuum apparatus for exhausting
and sealing single bottles substantially as described.
2. A sealing head for use in apparatus for exhausting and sealing single bottles
consisting of a hermetically closed sealing cap with elastic ring packing adapted to
seal the bottle to be exhausted and a presser head within the sealing cap adapted
to be operated from outside to force the stopper on to the bottle.
3. An exhausting and sealing apparatus for exhausting and sealing single bottles
consisting of a sealing cap with elastic ring packing adapted to seal the bottle to
be exhausted, and a presser head within the sealing cap adapted to be operated from
outside to force the stopper on to the bottle, a vacuum reservoir, a communication
between the vacuum reservoir and the interior of the cap, a valve in the said
communication, a communication between the atmosphere and the cap, a valve in

page_text: the said communication, a shaft and mechanism for automatically operating the
sealing cap, the presser head and the two valves from the shaft.
4. The machine for exhausting and sealing bottles and the like substantially as
described with reference to the drawings.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.