25,904. Kalling, L. Nov. 28. Capsuling and sealing bottles; stoppering.- Relates to machines for securing bottle-sealing caps of the kind shown in Fig. 35. in which a washer 73 enclosed in the flange of the cap 72 is compressed, to form a tight joint with the neck, by crushing, flattening, or elongating a portion of the flange of the cap. Fig. 35 shows the cap after it has been secured by the machine. The bottle is placed on the rest B, Fig. 3, and the cap, which has been fed into proper position in the capping-head A, is secured by the descent of this head. Fig. 4 shows an enlarged sectional elevation of the head, which is carried by a bracket 5 projecting from the hollow bar 3, Fig. 3, this bar being reciprocated within the column 2 of the machine frame by the rod 6 connected to the crank-pin 7 on the driving- shaft 10. The crank-pin 7 is provided with a cam 15, which acts through the abutting rods 17, 21 on the lever 23, whereby certain movements, independent of the movement of the bar 3, are transmitted to the bead A. The bar 17 is held in contact with the cam 15 by the spring 25, which is enclosed in a sleeve 27 bearing on the inner end of the lever 23. The outer end of the lever 23 engages in a slot 38, Fig. 4, in the hollow stud 37, which screws into the upper end of the hollow cylindrical block 33, this block being bored to receive, preferably, eight spring-controlled bolts 85, the lower ends of which engage respectively with inclined projections on a corresponding number of cap-drawing or sealing jaws 52. These jaws are mounted in the lower end of a cup-shaped ring 40 capable of vertical movement on the block 33, and are mounted, under spring control, in grooves in an annulus placed above them in the ring. The controlling-springs are inserted in pockets in the outer edge of a ring 58, which is fitted in the grooved annulus. A second cup-shaped ring 62, provided with a series of spring-controlled jaws 75 for supporting the sealing-cap in the head A, is mounted so as to be capable of vertical movement on the reduced lower end of the ring 40, both rings being formed with lugs 41, 64, which are bored to receive the guiding-stems 42 and springs 45, 66 for controlling the jaws. The sealing-caps 72 are fed into the sealing-throat of the bead A through a guideway 90, Fig. 25, which is preferably covered by a plate, and which is provided with a blade spring 96, and guides 92 for controlling the movement of the caps. When the innermost cap passes on to the supporting-jaws 75, it is stopped in proper position by three fingers 93, Figs. 4 and 25, which project downwards from three of the sealing- jaws 52. On the downward movement of the block 33, by the action of the cam 15. the cap is clamped and held between the jaws 52, 75. The capping-head A is then moved downwards in its entirety by the action of the crank 7, so that the jaws 52 are drawn over the cap and secure it on the bottle. On the return movement, the bolts 85 rise sufficiently to release the jaws 52 before the upward movement of these jaws commences, thus permitting the jaws to become disengaged from the cap. To enable the bottle rest B, Fig. 3, to be adjusted for bottles of different height, it is provided with a hollow screwed stem 103, by which it is adjustably mounted in the nut 101. The nut is capable of vertical movement, against the action of the spring 102, in the bracket 100, but is prevented from rotating therein by wings on the nut. The lower end of the stem 103 is formed as a rack, which is engaged by one or other of two differential pawls 110, to lock the bottle rest in position during the capping operation. The pawls are automatically put in action by an extension of the coupling- pin 8, which connects the bars 3, 6, acting on the cam-lever 113, this lever being operatively connected to an extension 112 on the pawls. In a modification, the rack on the stem 103 is replaced by a flat rack carried by a nut on the stem. The rest B is channelled to carry off any liquid through the stem 103, and is provided with a bottle block, preferably of rubber.