IMPROVEMENTS. IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CAPSULES TO BOTTLES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS.
IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CAPSULES TO BOTTLES."-A communication from.
abroad by Jules Mathieu, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer..
Sealed the 4th June 1861, and dated the 8th December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 8th December 1860.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CAPSULES TO BOTTLES," a communi-
cation from abroad by Jules Mathieu, of Paris, in the Empire of France,
Engineer, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of ma-
chinery or apparatus for squeezing or pipping metallic capsules round the
necks of bottles, and consists in the employment for that purpose of a series of
cords attached individually at one end to a rotating disc, and at the other to a

page_text: spiral spring, suitable guide pullies being used for guiding the cords so as to
cause them to unite or cross at the centre of the disc when the latter is turned
by a handle for that purpose. A box or chamber is formed in the centre of the
disc at the back, and an opening is made in front leading to such chamber;
within the chamber is a loose disc, which is held against the central opening
by a helical spring. The bottle to be capsuled is placed horizontally on a
carriage with the capsule on its neck, and is advanced so as to cause the end
of the capsule to enter the central opening in the disc, and bear against the
yielding loose disc in the chamber. The main disc is now rotated, which has
the effect of causing the cords to encircle the neck of the bottle, and force or
squeeze the capsule into the grooves made therein, thereby effectually securing
the capsule in its place.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CAPSULES TO BOTTLES," a communication
from abroad by Jules Mathieu, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, or under the band and seal of one of them, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: 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, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for squeezing or nipping metallic capsules round the
necks of bottles, and consists in the employment for that purpose of a series
of cords attached individually at one end to a rotating disc, and at the other to
a spiral spring, suitable guide pullies being used for guiding the cords so as to
cause them to unite or cross at the centre of the disc when the latter is turned
by a handle for that purpose. A box or chamber is formed in the centre of the
disc, which is open in front and contains a loose disc held against, the central
opening in the front end of the box or chamber by a helical spring contained
within the box. The bottle to be capsuled is placed horizontally on a carriage
or support with the capsule on its neck, and is advanced so as to cause the
end of the capsule to enter the central opening in the disc, and bear against
the yielding loose disc in the box or chamber. The main, disc is now rotatel,
which has the effect of causing the cords to encircle the neck of the bottle, and
force or squeeze the capsule into the grooves made in the neck, thereby
effectually securing the capsule in its place.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in both Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical sec tio of the
machine or apparatus herein-before referred to, and Figure 2 is a front view of
the same with the part which supports the bottle removed for the better
showing of the rotating disc and compressing cords. A is the bed or stand, of
the apparatus, upon which are erected the two uprights or standards B and C.
The standard B serves to support one end of the fixed metal frame D, the
opposite end of which is secured to the standard C. This frame D carries
the moveable or sliding frame E, which slides freely upon it, one end passing
through openings made in the standard C; this end of the sliding frame is
connected by links or chains F, F, with the segments G on the rocking shaft II,
so that on partially turning the shaft II in the direction of the arrow by means

page_text: of the lever handle I (worked by the knee of the operator) the segments will
'draw forward the frame E, and with it the bottle to be capsuled, which is laid
horizontally upon the carriage or support K; fitted to the sliding frame. This
carriage may be fixed in different positions upon the frame E, so as to suit
different lengths of bottles by inserting the holding pin k into any one of the
holes made in the sliding frame; L is a metal disc screwed to the face of the
rotating box or chamber M, which is fitted into the head of the standard C.
This disc has an opening in the centre leading to the interior of the box; against
which opening is pressed the small internal plate or disc by the spiral spring m
behind it. The object of this spring disc is to press against the capsule
and so keep it well in its place on the neck of the bottle when the same is
made to enter the box by the forward motion of its carriage or holder herein-
before described. a, a, a, are three strong cords passing over the fixed guide
pullies b, b, b, and introduced into holes in the face of the rotating disc in which
they are secured at one end whilst the lower portion of the cords is secured to
the studs or pins c, c, c, in the vertical sliding frame N. This frame carries
the lower portion of a telescopic spring box, which portion works or slides
freely within the upper and stationary part P of the box secured to the head
of the standard C. The action of the spring Q contained inside this box serves
to maintain the three cords in a proper state of tension. R is a stop or guage
adjustable laterally on the end of the carriage or bottle support K, for the pur-
pose of centreing bottles of different diameters upon the carriage, so that the
neck of the bottle will always coincide with the central aperture in the rotating
disc; the side of the bottle being held against this stop when the bottle is
adjusted in the machine, as shown by the red lines in Figure 1. In securing a
metallic capsule round the neck of a bottle by this machine, the capsule is
first placed upon the neck over the cork, and the bottle is then laid horizontally
upon its support or carriage K. The handle I is now raised slightly by the
knee of the operator, thereby forcing the end of the neck inside the box or
chamber M in the disc L, the small internal disc / pressing against the capsule,
and so forcing it well home upon the neck of the bottle. The disc L is now
partially rotated by means of the lever handle S secured thereto, which motion
causes the cords a, a, to close upon the capsule, assuming the position indicated
in red lines in Figure 2, and by exerting a pressure thereon, whilst the bottle
is rotated by hand, the capsule will be effectually squeezed or nipped round the
neck of the bottle, which is then removed to be replaced by another.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and

page_text: original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for applying capsules to the necks of bottles as herein-before
described.
Second, the application and use as herein-before described of compressing
cords in combination with a partially rotating disc or plate for the purpose of
applying capsules to the necks of bottles.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.