Improvements in Machines for Placing Rubber Rings on Bottle Stoppers.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 1st July, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 19th Aug., 1892-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Placing Rubber Rings on Bottle
Stoppers.
I, JOHN BAPTISTE STERCKX of 26 Ampton Street Gray's Inn Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Coach and General Smith &c., do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to machines for placing rubber rings on bottle stoppers by
which the ring is first expanded and then forced on to the stopper which is held in
position to receive it.
The improved machine comprises a central spindle passing through and supported
in a suitable frame attached to a table which is arranged on suitable supports or
standards. The said spindle is provided at one end with a disc, the other end being
engaged by a rocking lever connected by suitable rods to a treadle, which when
depressed forces the spindle forward. The spindle is returned to its original
position by a strong spiral spring.
To the diagonally opposite corners of the upright part of the frame are pivoted
the ring-expanding levers the opposite ends of which pass through suitable
apertures in the aforesaid disc and form a kind of expansible nose upon which the
rubber ring is placed in order to be pushed by the disc on to the stopper.
Between the said frame and the disc the spindle is provided with a collar to which
is pivoted the ends of a series of toggle levers the opposite ends thereof being
connected to the said ring expanding levers so that when the treadle is operated
and the spindle thereby pushed forward, the said toggle levers will open the ends
of the ring expanding levers thus expanding the ring, the disc at the same time
pushing the said ring forward on to the stopper which is held in position to
receive it.
D
די
1005
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Placing Rubber Rings on Bottle
Stoppers.
1 JOHN BAPTISTE STERCKX of 26 Ampton Street, Gray's Inn Road
London W.C. Coach and General Smith 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 :-
My invention relates to machines for placing rubber rings on bottle stoppers by
which the ring is first expanded and then forced on to the stopper which is held in
position to receive it.
In machines of this kind as heretofore constructed the operation of putting the
ring upon the stopper has to be effected by hand, that is to say, when the ring has
been expanded by suitable jaws the said ring is pulled by hand from the ends of
the said jaws on to the stopper which is held in place to receive it.
According to my invention I obviate the above mentioned inconvenience by so
arranging the machine that the operation of placing the ring on the stopper is
effected automatically at the same time as the said ring is expanded.
In the accompanying drawing I have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a machine constructed according
to my invention.

page_text: Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same with the standards and treadle
mechanism removed.
Figures 3 and 4 show front and side elevations respectively of the end of the
central spindle with the washer feeding disc drawn to an enlarged scale the ring
expanding levers being shown in dotted lines in Figure 4.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of
the drawing.
The machine constructed according to my invention comprises a frame or
support a for carrying the various parts of the machine, the said frame may be
made of cast iron or other suitable material and is provided with upright portions a
and a² the said frame being secured in any suitable manner to a table & supported
on legs or standards c. d represents a spindle which passes loosely through suitable
holes formed in the uprights a¹ a² of the frame a. The said spindle projects for
some distance on the outside of the uprights a' and a² and at its front end is
provided with a disc d for pushing the ring onto the stopper as hereinafter
described.
The said disc is connected to the spindle by means of prongs d² forming a kind
of cage as shown in Figures 3 and 4 for receiving the screwed part of the stopper
while the ring is being placed thereon. This disc is moreover provided with a
hole d³ shaped as shown in Figures 3 and 4 to allow of the insertion of the ends of
a series of levers forming the device for expanding the rubber rings to enable them
to be placed on the stoppers.
This device consists as above mentioned of a series of levers e the rear ends of
which are pivoted at e¹ to diagonally opposite points on the face of the upright a²
of the frame a.
The said levers are curved as shown in Figure 1 and tapered towards the front
ends e in order to allow the said ends to be passed through the aperture d³ in the
disc d¹.
spindle d.
At or near the middle of the said levers e are connected the ends of toggle
links the opposite ends of which are pivoted to a collar d* formed on the
At the rear of the upright a² the spindle d is provided with a strong spiral
spring which tends to force the spindle to the rear of the machine, the said
spindle being however prevented from moving too far rearward by a collar or
washer de formed on or fixed to the said spindle.
The rear end of the spindle is reduced in thickness or flattened and passes
through a rod fpivoted at a³ to the upright a' the said rod being provided with an
elongated aperture for this purpose. The said reduced part of the spindle forms
a shoulder against which the rod bears when the machine is operated. The
rod is connected at its lower end by a link with an army attached to the
treadle g which is pivoted at g2 to the leg or standard c of the machine.
The operation of the machine is as follows.
The operator who is stationed in front of the machine places a rubber ring on
the ends of the levers e at e² with his left hand while with his right hand he
takes the stopper which is to receive the said ring and holds the same in position
ready to be inserted between the levers as soon as the latter are opened.
On depressing the treadle with his foot the lever f engages with the shoulder d'
of the spindle and forces the same forward against the tension of the spring d³.
In its forward movement the collar d to which the toggle links e³ are attached will
force the levers e outward and expand the ring at whereupon the stopper is
pushed into the said ring which is immediately forced off the ends of the levers e
on to the said stopper, the said stopper being then quickly withdrawn before the
treadle is released in order to prevent the levers e gripping the end of the stopper.
As soon as the treadle is released the spring d will react to return the spindle to
its original position in readiness for the next operation. Although I have described
my improved machine as being operated by foot power it is evident that the same
may be easily arranged to be operated by any other suitable power. For example

page_text: the spindle d may be connected to a shaft driven from any suitable motor in such a
manner as to give an intermittent to and fro movement to the said spindle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is.
1. The herein described machine for placing rubber rings on stoppers in which
by the depression of a treadle the ring is expanded and at the same time
automatically pushed forward until it slips off the levers e on to the stopper which
is held in position to receive it.
2. In a machine for placing rubber rings on stoppers the arrangement of a
central spindle actuated by levers from a treadle or other means in combination
with a series of radially expanding levers operated from the said spindle by means
of toggle links and a disc on the end of the said spindle for forcing the expanded
ring on to the stopper as herein before described.
3. A machine for placing rubber rings on stoppers having a spindle d and suitable
means for actuating the same and a disc d' attached thereto for displacing the ring,
a series of levers e connected to the said spindle by links all arranged constructed
and combined substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in the drawing..
Dated this 4th day of August 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.