US1655955A - Soaking apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 10, 1928. 1,655,955

J. L. HEROLD SOAKING APPARATUS Filed March 1926 Till hil

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patented den. 10, T928.

tJlTED STATES PATENT fll tlttjtt.

dllillllhltil Ir. HEROLD, F LUUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNGR TU Htl.lt1tif'-itfltHMILLER Mid .M'r" UUMPAM'Y, OF .Et'lt. LO'Ulfi, MISSOURI, a l. CORPORATION GEE Mi l SOAKING AEIEARATUEL application filed March 18, 1926.

This invention relates generally to bottlesoahinp; apparatus, and more specifically to a bottle soalrer having a plurality of con1- partinents containing liquid through which the bottles pass during the soelring opera tion. The predominant object of the invert-- tion is to produce a soaher of the class de scribed which is provided. with means wl1erehy the liquid which collects in the bottles while said bottles are passing through any one of the compartments oil the soalter will drain therefroin into said compartment he tore said bottles pass to another compartruent.

l-tnothcr object of the invention is to produce a soalrer so constructed that the liquid in the compartments is maintained at a higher level than heretofore.

lV-ith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described. and illustrated in the accompanying drawings 'i vherein is shown the preferred einbodiwent at the invention. However, it is to he understood that the invention colnprehends changes, variations and modifications which ooine within the scope of the claims hereunto appended l is a traginentary vertical section oi a soalrer made in accordance with any inrelation,

Fig ll a cross section taken on line ltll-ll oil lt i u lln the drawing- .tit designatesiny improved soaher which comprises a housing or tank '1 d uded into coin iartinents B, G and l) by part ionsQ. The partitions 23 extend trans versely of the housing or tanla; 1, as shown in Fig". ill, and said partitions are each pro-- vided with i'langes 2" at the bottom and side edges thereof whereby said partitions may be secured to the bottom and side walls of ti housing or tanh l. will he noted by referring to l, the top edges oi the partitions 91 are spaced apart in a downward direction from the top wall of the housing or tank It. The eonipartn ents l3 C and I) produced by the partitions 2 are entirely separate tron'i each other so that liquid which is contained in any one of said C0l11- Serial No. 95,5 l6.

carrier which is adapted to travel in a tortuous course through said housing. Each of the compartments ll C and D contains liquid as suggested in liig. I, and the oottles supported by the bottle carrier pass through successive bodies oi? liquid.

The bottle carrier comprises apair of end less flexible traveling supports preierahly sprocket chains 3 located at opposite sides Off the apparatus as shown in ill, and a series ol bottle holders at having their ends secured in any suitable manner to the oppositely disposed s n'ochet chains 3. The bottle holders may he oi any suitable construction and may he provided with any suitable means for preventing; bottles from being dislodged from said bottle holders durinp; the passage of said bottles throiugh the housing l, but as the bottle holders tl orln no part of the present invention no attempt has i3G11llllCl6l10COIHPlGtGljf illustrate thenl, nor will they be described in detailw 5 and t3 designate a plurality of guide wheels over which the sprocltet chains 3 ep erate. The guide wheels 5 are located adjacent to the upper ends oi? the partitions 2 and are oilset from said partitions in a direction longitudinal with respect to the soaker, as shown in Fig I, while the guide wheels 6 are located within the compartments B, C and D at the lower ends thereof" The sprocltet chains 5 pass over the guide wheels 5 and 6; and because oi the arrange ment ol said guide wheels the bottle carriers and the bottles supported thereby pass downwardly into each of the cornpartinents t-lience upwardly in said compartments over the partition separating; the compartment through which the bottles have just passed from the next succeeding; compartment, and then downwardly into said neat con1partinent. This tortuous course is traveled by the bottles until said bottles have passed successively through the bodies of liquid in each of the compartments cmnprising the housing of the apparatus.

The arrangement oil offsetting the guide wheels 5 with respect to the partitions S2 is an important :teature of my invention :tor the reason that it renders it possible to maintain a higher liquid level in each oi? the compartments than was possible heretotorc. Prior to this invention the uide wheels at the upper ends at the partitions were in ill ltlfi approximate vertical alinement with said partitions, hence it was necessary to cut out portions to receive the guide wheels. The result of these cut-out portions in the parti tions was to reduce the height or the liquid within the compartments, for it is plain that the level of the liquid had to be maintained below the cut-out portions in the partitions to prevent the liquid from one compartment overflowing into the adjacent compartment. By referring to'Fig. I it will be noted that the liquid levels in the various compartments are some distance above the bottom of the guide wheels 5 whereby a longer period of soaking is provided for the bottles as they pass through each compartment.

Arranged at the upper ends of the partitions 2 and at the opposite sides of the soaker is a plurality of arcuate guiding members 7, there being a pair of oppos1te 1y disposed guiding members 7 associated with each individual partition 2, as shown in Fig. II. The guiding members are socured by means of bolts 8 or other suitable securing devices to the side walls of the housing 1, and said guiding members are so shaped that the sprocket chains 3 will be guided over the upper ends of the partitions 2 to the adjacent guide wheels 5. As shown in the drawing the sprocket chains 3 contact with the guide members 7 to guide said sprocket chains around. the upper ends of the partitions 2, and to avoid excessive triction between said chains and said guiding members the chains are preferably provided with rollers 9 (Fig. II). V

Associated with each individual partition 2 is a drain board 10, said drain boards preferably, though not necessarily, comprising each an integral part of the associated partition and being inclined with respect to the horizontal, as shown in I, whereby any liquid which is deposited on said drain boards will be directed into the compartments. The drain boards 10 are each provided with upwardly extended flanges 11 at the opposite ends thereof to prevent the liquid flowing over the ends of said drain boards.

To describe the operation of my improved soaker it will be assumed that bottles are passing through the compartment B. lVhen these bottles reach a point adjacent to the lower ends of the arcuate guide members 7 at the upper end of the partition dividing the compartments B and C the neck portions of said bottles will be pointed downwardly. As soon as the bottles have passed out of the liquid within the compartment liquid which has collected in said bottles during their passage through the compartment B will commence to drain therefrom. The openings inthe neck portions of the bottles are, of course, much smaller than the inone compartment to another.

teriors of said bottles, hence the draining action would be a rather slow one and as a result the bottles would be carried beyond the partition 2 before they would be completely drained. It apparent, therefore, in the absence of the drain boards 10 that the liquid from the compartment B would be drained from the bottles into the compartment C and that the liquid from the compartment C would be transmitted in this manner into the compartment D. This transmission of liquid from one compartment to another is quite undesirable due to the fact that the soaking liquid in the diliferent compartments of my improved soaker are of varying strengths and must be kept so tor successful results.

In the operation of my improved soaker, however, the liqridv from the compartment B does not drain from the bottles into the compartment C, nor does the liquid from the compartment C drain :lfrom the bottles into the conunirtment I), for the reason that said liquid drains from the bottles onto the inclined drain boards 10 and said liquid is directed by said drain boards into the coinpartment from which it came.

Seakers ot the type described herein ordiarily are provided with a great number of bottle holders l, but for the sake of sun plicity of illustration I have shown only a few of said bottle holders in Fig. I of the drawing.

Each guide bar 7 has a long curved face over which a conveyor chain travels and the curve extends from a point considerably lower than the top of a partition 2 to a point above the partition, so the bottles are tilted for drainage during a relatively long period. Each guide bar 7 lies at one side of a partition 2 and it is associated with a guide wheel 5 at the opposite side, the object of this feature being to locate the upper edge of the partition at an elevation higher than the lower edges of the guide members, thereby providing for the relatively high water level without causing an overflow from This enables the desired liquid levels to be maintained in a relatively shallow tank, and since the tanks are usually very large the saving effected by reducing the height of the tank is an important consideration.

I claim:

1. A bottle soaker comprising a housing, partitions whereby said housing is divided into a plurality of compartments adapted to receive liquid, inclined drain boards extending upwardly from said partitions, an end less traveling conveyor, supporting elements for said endless conveyor, bottle carriers supported by said endless conveyor, and means arranged adjacent to said partitions whereby said endless conveyor is deflected to permit all of the liquid within the bottles iii carried by said endless conveyor to drain tl'ieret'rom into one compartment before said bottles pass to another compartment.

A bottle soaker comprising a housing, partitions whereby said housing is divided into a plurality of compartments adapted to receive liquid, an endless traveling bottle conveyor, supporting elements for said endless traveling bottle conveyor, inclined drain boards extending upwardly from the partitions, said supporting elements being arranged adjacent to the upper ends of said partitions and being ofl'set from said partitions so as to lie between the ends of said drain boards and the side walls 01E said housing.

3. In an apparatus oi the character de scribed, a housing provided with a partition whereby it is divided into compartments, a traveling bottle conveyor movable over said partition to pass from one compartment to another, and guide members arranged at opposite sides or said partition to guide said conveyor over the upper edge of the part3ition, the lower portions of said guide members being lower than the upper edge of said partition and the upper portions being higher than the partition.

at In anapparatns of the character described, a housing provided with a partition whereby it is divided into compartments, a traveling bottle conveyor movable over said partition to pass t'rom one compartment to another, and guide members arranged at opposite sides of said partition to guide said conveyor over the upper edge of the parti tion, one oi? said guide members being an elongated bar having a curved guiding face extending from a point lower than the top of said partition to a point above the partinon.

In an apparatus of the character described, a housing provided with a partition whereby it is divided into compartments, a traveling bottle conveyor movable over said partition to pass from one compartment to another, and guide members arranged at opposite sides of said partition to guide said conveyor over the upper edge of the partition, one of said guide members being an elongated bar having a curved guiding face attending from a point lower than the top of said partition to a point above the par tition, and the other guide member being a wheel having an upper portion higher than the top of the partition and a lower portion lower than the top of the partition.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto afiiir my signature.

JAMES L. HEROLD.

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