An Automatic Machine for the Manufacture of Bottles and other Articles of Glass.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 4th Sept., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 4th Sept., 1897-Accepted, 16th Oct., 1897
An Automatic Machine for the Manufacture of Bottles and other
Articles of Glass.
I, JEAN BAPTISTE VERNAY, of 109 rue St. Charles, Paris, in the Republic of
France, 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 an automatic machine for manufacturing bottles and
other articles of glass.
This machine consists of a frame carrying a fixed table upon which rotates a
central plate provided with a casting mould, a mould to form the head, a parison
mould and a finishing mould. This table also carries the tongs for holding the
bottle whilst being made, the apparatus for blowing, the pouring funnel and the con-
veyer for taking the bottles to the annealing furnace, the arrangement for
substituting one mould for another, the arrangement for inverting the casting
mould the arrangement for the alternate rotation of the plate, the arrangement
for turning the tongs, the arrangement for raising and lowering the blowing
tube, the arrangement for rotating the heading mould, the bottom of the finishing
mould and the central rod which forms the neck of the bottle; the arrangement
for alternately raising the heading mould the parison mould and the bottom of
the finishing mould, an arrangement for raising and lowering the central rod
forming the neck and pushing the punch which forms the bottom of the bottle,
the several working parts of the machine and the disengaging arrangement.
This machine is shown in the annexed drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an elevation of the machine.
Figure 2 is a side elevation.
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.
Figure 4 shows the upper portion of Figure 3, the casting mould being in its
inverted position, and the tongs having seized the neck of the bottle.
Figure 5 is a vertical section on the line 55 of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a plan of the top of the machine.
Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a section on the line 9–9 of Figure 7.

page_text: These figures are 1/10th of the true size.
Figures 10 to 18 are detail views of the principal parts of the machine to a
scale of 1/5 for Figures 10 to 17 and 1/10 for Figure 18.
Figure 10 is a vertical axial section showing the casting mould, the heading
mould, the pillars carrying the moulds, the funnel and the grease box.
Figure 11 is a part section of the heading mould on the line 11-11 of
Figure 10.
Figure 12 is a vertical axial section of the parison mould.
Figure 13 is a section of the same on the line 13-13 of Figure 12.
Figure 14 is a vertical axial section of the finishing mould.
Figure 15 is a plan of the bottom of the finishing mould.
Figure 16 is an elevation partly in section of the tongs for holding the bottle
during manufacture.
Figure 17 is a plan of the arrangements for blowing.
Figure 18 shows a modification of the machine.
In these figures:
A is the framing of the machine. Upon the framing is mounted a fixed table B
provided with a supporting arch b and a groove b¹. Upon this table rests a plate C
to which an alternate rotary movement is given as will be described later. This
plate is placed in the centre of the machine, it is guided underneath by the
support 6 and rotates in the V shaped groove b¹. Two axes c c placed at equal
distances from the centre of the plate C rotate in two sockets cast with the
plate; the mould supporting pillars c c are keyed upon the axes c c¹. The
pillars are provided at their bases with flanges c c. The flange carries
three similar parts ecco provided with teeth which successively engage with a
centering finger cll carried by the plate C. The flange is provided with three
parts c¹¹¹ similar to those carried by the flange co.
These pieces successively engage with a centering finger, not shown in the
drawings, opposite to the finger c¹¹.
The plate C carries two springs c¹5 10, these springs encounter at the end of each
alternate rotation of the plate C, abutments c7 18 fixed to supports mounted
underneath the table B.
The pillar carries one half d of the casting mould D, the other half d¹ of
this mould is carried by the pillar c; is the axis of the half d of the mould D
and is the axis of the other half.
A buffer spring d' is fixed upon the half d of the mould D and a stop d³ upon
the half d of this mould.
E E¹ is the mould for forming the head. Each half of the mould is mounted
upon a slide e e¹ fixed in a socket e².
This socket is able to turn and rise in a cylindrical support connected to the
pillar . The heading mould E E¹ is provided with levers ee each having a
fork ee which embraces the axes carried by the heading mould. The bottom
part of these levers carry rollers elo ell. The lower part of this socket is provided
with a driving sleeve having a spring e¹³.
In the socket is a grease box el carrying wicks e¹5 16 the object of which will
be explained later.
F is the parison mould. It is composed of a bottom f and of two shoulders fl f³.
These three parts are coated on the inside with retort carbon. This parison
mould moves vertically and is guided by two pillars f³ f* mounted upon a
support fo attached to the pillars. When the mould is at its lower position as
in Figure 13 the two shoulders are open. During the upward movement of the
mould two catches f f fastened to the shoulders f₁f strike against a stop fo
fixed upon the pillar forcing the shoulders to close."
This stop is provided with two springs fo f10 in such a manner that the parison
mould F may still be raised when the shoulders are closed.
The dotted lines in Figure 13 show the shoulders closed.

page_text: At the commencement of the descending movement, the moment the catches f® f
leave the stop f the four counterweights fll fis f13 f14, shown in Figure 6, fixed
to the shoulders bring these latter back to their open position.
A sleeve 15 loose upon the axis f is mounted below the mould F.
The finishing mould is formed of two halves G G. The half G is fixed to the
pillar and the half G₁ to the pillar c is the bottom of the mould, g¹ the
punch which serves to form the push of the bottle. The bottom 7 of the mould
carries at its lower end a series of grooves g³, shown in Figure 15, through which
pass the feathers g³ of the punch g. Two of the feathers g³ are longer than the
others; they serve as guides to the punch and rest upon an internal projection g
on the socket when the punch is in its lower position. The bottom g is mounted
upon this socket which rotates and is vertically moveable in a cylindrical
support carried by the pillar c³.
The lower portion of the socket 95 carries a sleeve g' which gives a progressive
rotary motion to the bottom of the mould by means of a spiral spring 98.
A buffer spring g' is fixed upon the half G¹ of the mould. A stop gl⁰ is fixed
upon the pillar c².
This spring is intended to deaden the blow at the moment of closing the mould.
H are the tongs. They are composed of two branches h¹ jointed upon the two
axes h³ ³ carried by the head which is itself fixed to the support h³ keyed to
the upper end of the hollow shaft ho shown in Figure 5. This shaft turns in the
interior of the pillar h fixed to the table B.
The pillar h carries a fixed arm he provided at its end with a notch hº in which
engages a stop finger 10 sliding in a recess 11 on the support h5.
The stop finger 10 is fixed to a lever actuating the blowing tube which will be
further described. The two branches have upon them two inclined
planes which serve to separate the branches for opening the tongs.
Two springs h 15 serve to close the tongs. The blowing tube I is fixed to
the lever i jointed upon the support . It slides in a recess on this support.
The lower portion of the tube I carries a tuyere and two wings 223 which
serve to push back the inclined planes 13 13 in order to open the tongs H.
At the top of the tube I is placed a rubber tube which connects it to the
blowing box (Figure 17) fixed upon the table B. In the box 25 is a valve
actuated by means of the lever by the cam 28.
This box is connected by a rubber tube to a fan or its equivalent.
J is a funnel mounted upon an arm j fixed to the support 75. This funnel serves
to facilitate the introduction of the glass into the casting mould D.
K is the conveyer; it is composed of a series of cords k of asbestos or. other
incombustible material, which pass over the pulleys or over a working drum ².
Other pulleys and a tension apparatus not shown in the drawings complete the
conveyer.
The conveyer K is fixed to the table B by means of the fixed arm k³.
The arrangement for substituting one mould for another consists of a pinion L
idle upon the shaft which is fixed centrally under the plate C. This pinion L
actuates two toothed cones 12 keyed upon the axes c c. The lower portion of
the pinion L carries four tappets 14 15 10. Two levers 718 provided with pro-
jections successively engage with these tappets to stop the rotation of the pinion L.
These levers are actuated by two discs (110 carrying bosses (1119 13 which push
back the projections on the levers 7. Springs 114 715 bring these levers back
into the position shown in Figure 8.
The casting mould is inverted by means of pinions M M¹ keyed upon the
axes of the mould D.
axes c c.
These pinions are actuated by means of racks m m¹ guided in grooves in the
At the bottom of each rack is a bearing m³ for the rack m and m³ for
the rack m. These bearings are in prolongations of the axes c c¹, they rotate in
a two armed head m mounted idle upon the lower portion of the pinion L. In

page_text: the lower part of the head mt is a groove m³ in which engage the bosses me and m
of the lever m³. This lever is actuated by the cam m³.
In order to give alternate rotary motion to the plate C the latter is provided
at its centre as above described, with a shaft the lower portion of which carries
a toothed wheel N keyed upon it. This wheel is actuated by a toothed sector n
connected to a disc n¹ by means of a connecting rod n; motion is obtained by
means of bevel pinions n³ and n mounted in the framing of the machine. The
continuous rotary movement of the plate n¹ gives to the sector na to and fro
motion by means of the connecting rod n³.
In the lower part of the hollow shaft he is keyed a bevel pinion O actuated by a
toothed sector o, itself actuated by the two spur sectors o¹ 08. These sectors o¹ o
are actuated by the cam 03 by means of the lever o*.
These parts serve to turn the tongs H. To raise and lower the blowing tube I,
a rod Pis employed connected at its upper end to one end of the lever i. The
lower end of the rod P carries an arm p which engages in a groove in the cam p³.
The lower end of the rod P has a square piece p³ which slides in the arm p³ in
order that the cam 21 may not draw the rod P with it in its rotary movement.
The arrangement for rotating the heading mould the bottom of the finishing
mould and the central rod which forms the neck of the bottle consists of a central
tube Q which slides in the interior of the hollow shaft l. The tube Q is provided
at its upper portion with a driving sleeve 9 engaging sometimes with the sleeve e
driving the heading mould and sometimes with the sleeve 97 driving the bottom of
the mould g in order to communicate to them its rotary movement. The rotary
movement of the sleeve 9 is obtained by means of a pinion ql keyed upon the
tube Q in such a manner as to allow the tube to slide in the pinion.
This pinion q¹ is actuated by a bevel wheel q driven by the pinions q³ qq.
To alternately raise the heading mould the parison mould and the bottom of
the finishing mould, the tube Q carries at its lower portion a collar R suspended
by the small rods rr jointed to the end of the lever . This lever which is
mounted upon a suitable support carries at its other end a toothed sector 3
actuated by means of another lever by the cam 75. 7 is a counterweight mounted
upon the lever . S is the central rod for forming the neck for pushing the
punch and for closing the heading mould. This rod may be seen inside the
tube Q. It is provided at its lower portion with a bearings held by two small
connecting rods s¹ s³.
The bearings has a cap for lowering the rod S. The connecting rods s¹
are jointed upon the lever which is itself moved by the cam by means of the
levers, the connecting rod s', the lever 8 and the roller lever 89. 510 is a cone
fixed upon the rod S. This cone serves to open out the levers ee³ for the purpose
of bringing together the two parts E E¹ of the heading mould.
The rod S rotates in the reverse direction to the tube Q by means of the
pinions, keyed upon the rod S, and actuated by the bevel wheel q³. ¹ is a
counterweight mounted upon the lever st.
T is the driving pulley of the machine, it is actuated by any type of motor.
This pulley is mounted upon the horizontal shaft t which carries at its end a
worm t¹. This shaft t carries the pinion 95 and the bevel wheel n³. The worm t¹
transmits its motion to the worm wheel 2 keyed upon the horizontal shaft t³.
This shaft carries small discs 19710. The shaft carries at one end a bevel
wheel which drives the pinion 5 of the vertical shaft to. This shaft carries at
its upper end the cams m³ ³ and 28. At its lower end is keyed the pinion which
drives the horizontal shaft by means of the bevel wheel 18. Upon the shaft to
are mounted the cams 5503 and the drum .
The three shafts t³ to and to make one revolution during the manufacture of a
bottle.
The pulley T idle upon the shaft carries a driving sleeve (10. The treadle (11
serves to drive the machine by means of the lever t¹, connecting rod t¹³, lever (14,

page_text: and forked lever t¹. This lever 15 actuates the sleeve t¹ keyed to the shaft t.
In order to automatically disengage the machine a lever (17 is keyed upon the
horizontal shaft 3; this lever carries a projection (18 which at each rotation of the
shaft lifts the disengaging finger fixed on the axis 20 of the lever t¹.
The machine is arrested by means of an inclined plane tal carried by the lever t¹
which pushes a stop against which the lever fixed to lever 17 rests. On
the machine being put into action, the inclined plane leaves the stop finger (*
which is acted on by a spring not shewn in the drawing and so disengages from
the lever 3. The counterweight assures stability of the arrangement in both
positions. The hand lever 125 serves if needful to disengage the machine.
U₁ is the mass of glass blown in the closed parison mould.
U is the mass of glass the parison finished.
U is the finished bottle.
In order to properly understand the action of this machine an operation will
be described with reference to the drawings.
At the commencement of an operation the casting mould D and its funnel J
are in the centre of the machine. The parts of the mould E E' are placed in
their closed position against the bottom of the mould D as shown in Figure 3;
the driving sleeve 9 is in its position for driving the sleeve e¹, the rod S for
forming the neck hole penetrates slightly into the mould D. When the machine
is put into motion the central tube Q and the central rod S rotate in different
directions and the plate C taking with it the moulds turns in alternate directions
for three quarters of a circle; then the shafts 3 to and to rotate with reduced
speed by means of the endless worm t¹; these movements will continue the whole
time the bottle is being made, the several cams successively acting. Their action
combined with the alternate rotary movement of the plate C and with the rotation
of the tube Q and the rod S will produce the following action in the order
described.
The workman in pouring the glass into the funnel J presses upon the treadle t¹¹;
this movement engages the driving pulley T and the machine is started. The
heading mould E E¹ rotates being impelled by the tube Q whilst the rod S
rotating in the opposite direction commences the neck hole. The cam o³ with-
draws the funnel J from the centre of the machine; the cam 5 raises the rod S
into the mass of glass for the purpose of completing the neck hole. When the
head is completed the cam allows the rod S to descend, the rollers elo ell no
longer being maintained by the conical portion 10 of the rod S.
The wicks e5e16 rub the upper part of the rod S which is thus oiled.
Centrifugal force moves the parts of heading mould E E¹ apart and the head
of the bottle is disengaged. The cam 5 then allows the tube Q to descend, the
whole of the heading mould falls by gravity upon the cylindrical support e³. The
cam m³ inverts the mould D which places the neck upwards as shown in
Figure 4.
The cam os brings the tongs H to the centre of the machine, and the centering
finger 10 drops into its stop tooth h⁹.
The camp closes the tongs H which seize the head of the bottle whilst the
tuvere of the tube I penetrates into the neck. The lever 1 stops the tappet
and the pillars 5 carrying the moulds rotate on their axes opening the casting
mould D and bringing the parison mould F to the centre of the plate C under-
neath the mass of glass suspended by the tongs H as shown in Figure 12. The
cam lifts the tube Q and the parison mould F. The stop f8 arrests the
catches f f causing the shoulders fl and få of the mould F to close upon the
mass of glass as shown in dots in Figure 13.
The cam lifts the blowing valve and the pressure of air forces the glass
against the walls of the mould F to shape it. The cam 75 allows the tube Q to
fall and consequently the mould F, the shoulders fl f of which open by the
action of the counterweights f" fls fls f¹. The mass of glass follows the

page_text: descending movement of the mould F and is elongated until the moment at which
the cam closes the valve 2 of the blowing box and stops the blowing.
The lever arrests the tappet 1 and the mould supporting pillars cc rotate
upon their axes carrying away with them the mould F and the finishing
mould G G close upon the parison as shown in Figure 14.
The cam causes the tube Q to again rise thereby lifting and rotating the
mould bottom g. The cam 28 lifts the blowing valve 6 and the pressure of air
forces the glass against the walls of the finishing mould G G¹, the cam p¹ causes
the blowing tube I to be slightly raised in order to disengage the neck of the
bottle but without bringing the tuyere completely out of the neck and without
opening the tongs H. The cam stops the blowing, the cam raises the rod S
which pushes the punch gl for making the push of the bottle and thus allows the
punch to fall. The cam allows the tube Q to fall and gravity causes the mould
bottom g to descend upon the cylindrical support 96.
The camp disengages the centering finger ho from its stop tooth h³. The
lever 18 arrests the tappet then the tappet 15 and mould supporting pillars c
rotate on their axis, taking with them the finishing mould G G and bringing the
casting mould D) back to the centre of the machine the neck uppermost. Shortly
after the lever 18 arrests the tappet 16 the cam o draws the tongs H back from
the centre of the machine and carries the finished bottle above the conveyer K
as seen in Figure 5. The last but one rotation of the driving pulley T serves:--
1. To bring all parts of the machine back to the position required to com-
mence the next operation, the cam m³ returns the casting mould D, the cam o
brings the funnel J back above the mould D, the cam raises the rod S and
the cam raises the mould E E' which arrive in a closed position below the
mould D.
2. To open the tongs H which allows the bottle to pass away upon the con-
veyer K.
The last turn of the driving pulley T causes the machine to be disengaged as
has been above described.
In Figure 18 is shown a modified arrangement which consists in replacing
the finishing mould D by two dies VV actuated by the parts to be described.
The die is mounted laterally upon the mould carrying pillar c and the die Vi
upon the pillar c. These dies carry below a toothed wheel for the dies V and
a toothed wheel for the die V¹.
The toothed wheels are driven by an inwardly toothed crown mounted
centrally upon the table B by means of pinions idle upon the pillars c¹ and
coupled to the toothed wheels v³ 26. The dies V V rotate in the opposite directions
at the rate of three quarters of a circle for each oscillation of the plate C.
These dies may carry designs or inscriptions in intaglio or relief which repro-
duce in intaglio or relief on the bottle.
The shape of the dies may be varied as desired for making any type of bottle.
If desired the inscriptions or designs may be inked to reproduce them in colour
upon the bottle.
Similarly the parison mould may be replaced by dies provided with suitable
actuating mechanism.
Of course the moulds and dies may be made of any suitable material.
The moulds and dies may be given a continuous rotary motion instead of the
alternate movement above described.
To make bottles with a flat bottom the bottom of the finishing mould only
requires to be suitably modified.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed and without limiting
myself to the details of execution I declare that what I claim is :—
In an automatic machine for manufacturing bottles and other articles of glass:

page_text: 1. A casting mould consisting of two half moulds mounted upon axes to which
an alternate rotary motion is given and capable of invertion by mean of levers,
racks and pinions actuated by a cam.
2. The heading mould for forming the head mounted upon a sleeve, the said sleeve
being actuated by means of a central tube for the purpose of rotating the parts of the
mould, these parts being drawn apart by centrifugal force and drawn together
by means of levers actuated by the central rod which makes the neck of the bottle
the central tube causing these parts to be raised and by their own weight causing
them to fall.
3. The parison mould consisting of three parts inwardly coated with retort
carbon, to which an alternate movement of rotation and an up and down motion
is given by means of a central tube.
4. The finishing mould composed of two symmetrical halves and of a moveable
bottom provided with a punch and to which a continuous rotary and up and down
motion is given, whilst the two symmetrical parts are given an alternate movement
of rotation.
5. The tongs for seizing the neck of the bottle and their opening and closing
mechanism combined with other mechanism for turning them."
6. The blowing apparatus consisting in a box having a valve which opens and
closes and a blowing tube.
7. A conveyor for leading the bottles to the annealing furnace formed of
incombustible cords passing over pulleys.
8. A plate to which an alternate rotary movement is given by means of a sector
connected by a connecting rod to a disc to which circular motion given.
9. The arrangement for substituting one mould for another consisting in a
central pinion gearing with two wheels fixed to axes carrying the moulds, and in
two levers actuated by two cams which successively arrest the central pinion for
causing the substitution of the moulds.
10. The arrangement for raising lowering and rotating the central rod for
forming the neck and pushing the punch.
11. The arrangement for actuating the central tube for rotating the heading
mould the bottom of the finishing mould and for raising and lowering them.
12. Replacing the parison mould and finishing mould by dies which may have
in intaglio or relief designs and inscriptions for reproduction in intaglio or relief
and in colour upon the bottle.
13. The automatic disengaging mechanism for stopping the machine at any,
required time.
14. The automatic machine for manufacturing bottles and other articles of
glass substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
Dated this 4th day of September 1897
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.