US1209954A - Machine for exhausting air from preserving vessels. - Google Patents

Description

W. B. FENN.

MACHINE FOR EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. 1906. RENEWED MAY 18.1916.

1,2099%, Patented Dec. 26,1916.

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MACHINE FOR EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, I906- RENEWED MAY 18, I916- Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

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MACHINE FOR EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. 1906- RENEWED MAY 18.1916

1 9,954. Patenied Dec. 26, 1916.

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WILLIAM B. FENN, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE WEDOIT 00., 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO.

MACHINE FOB EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Application filed March 21, 1906, Serial No. 307,280. Renewed May 18, 1916. Serial No. 98,442.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM B. FENN, a citizen of the United States, residing at C0- lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Exhausting Air from Preserving Vessels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Heretofore air has been removed from jars and other vessels containing edibles or other substances to be preserved by inclosing the jar or vessel in a chamber and removing the air from the chamber and consequently from the contained jar or vessel, the ar or vessel bein closed or sealed while contained in the cham er. But because all or nearly all the operations were manually performed the work was slow and expensive.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine whereby most of the work is performed automatically, and also rapidly and economically, it being only necessary to supply the jars or vessels with their covers loosely placed thereon to the machine.

I will first describe a particular exemplification of the invention and then point out in the claims appended hereto what I deem to be the features of novelty.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating said exemplification Figure 1 is an elevation with parts in section and parts omitted to avoid confusion; Fig. 2 is a top plan view With a part of the large intermediate bevel driving gear broken out; Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional View on the line 01-w Fig. 1 with parts omitted; Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view on the line y-y Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is also a similar sectional view on the line .a2 Fig. 1.

In the views 1 designates a hollow stationary standard having a hollow reduced portion 2 at its upper end. Turning on the portion 2 is a stem 8 in the form of a cylindrical casing which carries at its upper end a table-like carrier 4 and at its lower end a similar table or carrier 5. The upper table 4 carries a series of vertically arranged cylindrical chambers 6 closed at their upper ends and each provided with a plunger 7 having at its lower end a cavity 8. Each of the plungers 7 has a stem 9 to which it is removably secured and which passes upward air-tightly through the upper end of the chamber 6 and the table 4. The plunger 7 and its stem 9 are vertically movable, but the stem is engaged by an ordinary adjustable friction device 9 by itself to hold it yieldingly in the position to which it is moved. Communicably connecting each of the chambers 6 and the interior of the cylinder 3 is a pipe 10. The wall forming the cavity 8 is made with an opening 8. The upper end of the stem 9 is furnished with a roller 11 journaled on a collar 12 secured for vertical adjustment by means of a set screw 13 passed through the collar and engaging the stem.

Screwed into the upper end of the hollow reduced portion 2 is a plug-like stationary valve 14 having about midway its length a horizontal recess or opening 15 extending about half way around its side, as shown in Fig. 3, said opening communicating with the interior of the portion 2 by means of a passage 15 extending axially through the valve as indicated in Fig. 3 and by dotted lines Fig. l. The plug-like stationary valve 14 is provided on its side at a point slightly beyond the end of the horizontal recess or opening 15 with a longitudinal groove 16 extending from about on a line with the lower side of the opening 15 to the upper end of the valve. The valve 14 is shown to be of tapering form and between it and the cylindrical stem 3 is'a packing collar or sleeve 17 fitting closely around the valve and serving to cut off communication of the horizontal opening 15 in the plug with the cavity above it in the hollow stem 3. This packing collar is provided at its outer side with recesses 18 having inclined ,sides against which impinge the ends of screws 19 which when turned inward tend to adjust the collar upward, thus compensating for wear of it and the plug and so keeping the joint as air tight as practicable.

The plunger 7 and its stem 9 are held from turning by means of a small angular piece 20 attached to the rim of the table 4 and engaging the collar 12, and said collar is so placed and held that the roller 11 to the plunger 7.

The table 5 carries at its upper side a series of supports 23 for the jars or other vessels containing the substances to be preserved and which are to be covered and sealed. These supports have stems 241 that are extended down through the openings in the table and are provided at their lower ends with anti-friction rollers 25. The upper surfaces of the jar supports 23 are provided with packing rings 23 adapted, when the support is moved upward against the lower ends of the chamber 6, to air-tightly close that end of the chamber.

26 is an inclined cam adapted, when the stem of a jar support is brought around to it, to elevate the jar and its support and preferably air-tightly inclose the same within the chamber 6, or place it within the cavity 8 of the plunger 7 if the plunger be provided with such cavity.

27 is another inclined cam located at a point to receive the roller 25 when air admitted to the chamber 6 releases the jar support and for the purpose of preventing the violent descent of the jar and its support, and permitting said parts to descend gradually and easily.

28 designates a gas pipe from which a small jet of gas flame may be projected to heat the sealing material within the jar cover and render it soft and pliable and therefore better adapted to seal the ar. I have shown means for providing but one of these gas jets, but several should be used in order that the sealing material shall be heated or warmed at all points.

29 designates a pipe through which air is exhausted from the hollow portion 2 by means of a pump (not shown) and 30 is a chamber interposed between the pump and the pipe 29 to increase the attenuating or exhausting effect. Suitable check valves (not shown) may be provided to prevent the return of pumped air as is usual in air- -exhausting pumps.

The spindle 3 and therefore the carriers or tables 4: and 5 are rotated by the aid of an appropriate mechanism comprising, in the instance shown, the large spur gear 31, secured to the upper end of the spindle 3, the spur pinion 32, on a shaft having at its upper endthe large bevel gear 33 that is driven by a bevel pinion 34 at one end of a shaft containing suitable fast and loose pulleys 35 and 36 so that the machine may be operated or stopped as desired.

37 is an arm placed horizontally in the path of the jar and inclined with reference to said path for the purpose of successively crowding the sealed jars off their supports. The jars may be thus transferred to a suitable conveyer for taking them away from the machine in a well understood manner.

In the exemplification of my invention as depicted in the accompanying drawings, I have indicated that there are fifteen of the jar supports 23 on the carrier 5, and a corresponding number of the air-exhausting chambers 6 on the carrier 1. The air-exhausting chambers are arranged directly above the jar supports.

Plunger-s 7 of different form or size can be substituted for that shown to suit the size and character of jar to be treated. In some instances the plunger may be omitted altogether and reliance had upon the pressure of atmospheric air through the groove .16 to sufficiently close the cover.

In practice the carriers =1 and 5 are re volved continuously, and the air-exhausting pump also operated continuously, and an attendant places the jars with their covers loosely seated thereon one after another on the several supports as they pass the arm 37. The cam 26 lifts the supports one after another into position to project the jars into the chambers 6, the sealing material being heated in its passage upward. WVhen a support is so far elevated by the cam 26 that the lower end of a chamber 6 is closed by the ring 23 said chamber will have arrived at a point where the suction of the air through the recess 15 and orifice 15 in the valve 14 will tightly close the jar support against the lower open end of the chamber 6 and hold said support in that position by atmospheric pressure and Without other aid. The jar support will be held in this position in its passage around the recess 15, but when the roller 11 reaches the cam groove 22 the plunger 7 will be depressed and the cover of the jar tightly seated thereon. Thereafter and when the pipe 10 arrives opposite the groove 16 in the valve 1 1 atmospheric air from the space in the spindle 3 above the'valve is admitted to the chamber 6, whereupon the jar support and jar descend by gravity to their original position, the descent being made gradual and easy by reason of the inclined cam 27. As the table continues to revolve the jars are removed by the arm 37, or they may be removed by hand, as may be desired.

From this construction it will be observed that the operation of exhausting the air from jars and sealing them is largely automatic, the only manual operation involved being the placing of the jars with their covers into the machine, which manual operation does not require skilled or expensive labor.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for exhausting air from vessels, the combination of a rotary carrier, a series of receivers supported thereby, a hollow spindle for said carrier, pipes connecting said receivers and spindle, a tapering stationary ported valye Within the spindle adapted to open and close said pipes, and an axially adjustable packing sleeve between said valve and hollow spindle, said acking sleeve being provided with openings to establish communication of the pipes with the ports of the valve, and means in the spindle for adjusting the packing sleeve.

2. In a machine for exhausting air from vessels, the combination of a rotary carrier, a series of vessels confining receivers supported thereby, a hollow spindle for said carrier, pipes connecting said receivers and spindle, a tapering stationary valve within the spindle adapted to open and close said pipes, said valve having a horizontal elongated port adapted to keep several of said pipes open simultaneously for exhaustion of air and an air admission port beyond said horizontal port.

3. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a base having an upright chambered standard, a stationary valve on the upper end of said standard having a passage communicating with the chamber of the standard, a casing rotatably 'mountedon the standard and surrounding the stationary valve, a series of vessel receiving casings supported by the rotary casing, a series of vessel supports carried by the rotary casing and arranged to cooperate with said receiving casings, ducts leading from the latter casings to the rotary casing and arranged to be moved into and out of register with the passage of the valve, and air exhausting means in communication with the chamber of the standard.

4. In a machine for exhausting air from vessels, the combination of a receiver, a vessel support adapted to open and close said receiver, means for exhausting air from the receiver and a vessel therein, a reciprocable plunger or capping device in said receiver having a cavity in its lower end adapted to inclose the vessel, said plunger being readily removable, whereby a different plunger having a diflerent sized cavity may be substituted for treating vessels of a different size.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

XVILLIAM B. FENN.

Witnesses:

ULYSSES R. PETERS, BENJ. FINCKEL.

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