US312588A - thomas - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

121111. THOMAS.

' -$0DA WATER APPARATUS.

No. 312,588. Patented Feb. 17, 1885.

UNITED STATES FBEDERIG R. H. THOMAS,

PATENT OFFICE.

or HUDSON, NEW YORK.

SODA-WATER APPARATUS.

EEPECIFICATION forming part of Letters-Patent No. 312,588, dated February 17, 1885.

Application filed May 12, i884.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern: l

Beit known that LEREDERIC R. H. THOMAS, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Hudson, in the county of Columbia and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mineral-Water Aparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus in which mineral waters and like beverages are mixed and impregnated with carbonic-acid gas, and while so impregnated are bottled. For this purpose the gas under pressure from a gasometer and the water from a separate reservoir are admitted simultaneously by separate pipes into a pump, by which they are fed into a fountain, where they are kept in commotion by a revolving dasher or agitator, and are thence drawn off into bottles; but in similar apparatus as heretofore constructed the agitator, acting in one direction only, moves the liquid with it like a revolving cylinder of water, thereby causing the .gas to impinge upon and be carried round with the surface of such revolving water-cylinder without permeating the entire mass, and to be concentrated or collected mainly above the liquid in the fountain, thence to return to the gasometer, while theliquid becomes comparatively fiat. Another objection is that the pump during the downward or feeding stroke of its piston receives air,which leaks in through the stuffingbox and gradually works its way into the liquid and gas, thereby also rendering the beverage what is termed fiat.

My invention has for its object to obviate the said defects, and it comprises the construction and combination, with a gas andliquid mixing fountain, of an agitator of two or more parts revolving separately in opposite or contrary directions, thereby producing a thorough mixture of the gas and liquid; also, the combination,with the pump-cylinder spacebetween the stuffingbox and piston, of a dis placeable column of water forming a water-seal to prevent the entrance of air, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure -1 represents an end elevation of a mineral-water apparatus forfl bottlers use, improved 'according to my present invention. Fig. 2 is a,

(No model.)

side elevation of the same. or as seen in the direction of arrow 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 1s a longitudinal vertical section of one of the fountains, showing the construction of the agitator.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line w x of Fig. 3, seen in the direction of arrow 2.

A is the frame of the machine, in whichare located at opposite sides of and parallel witha centrally-working shaft, B, two fountains, a. The shaft B is provided with a pulley, 0, through which and a belt motion is transmitted to it from an engine or other motor. It also has a flywheel, D, and at opposite ends pulleys E E and F F, from which motion is transmitted to the agitators of the two fountains, the said belt G and the crossed belt G transmitting motion to the agitator of the fountain atthe left side, (looking at Fig. 1 at the left side,) and the crossed belt H and the straight belt H transmitting motion to the agitator of the fountain at the right side. The belts G H" are dotted in Fig. l, in order to better distinguish them from the other belts.

The fountains being alike, a description of the one on the right will apply to the one on the left side.

I are the ordinary glass gages, and t the pressure-gages. The liquid to be charged with carbonic-acid gas is drawn from its proper tank or reservoir by means of the pump 79 through the pipe 0, and gas from the gasometerthrough the pipe (1. The gas and liquid through the pipes d c are discharged from the pump into the fountian by means of apipe, e. The pumppiston receives its motion from the shaft B by an eccentric, L, in the usual manner.

In pumps as heretofore constructed for this purpose air gradually leaks in through the stuffing-box of the piston on the downward or feed stroke of the piston,and gradually works its way into the mixed liquid and gas discharging into the fountain, thereby causing the beverage to become more or less flat. To remove this objection I provide a pipe, f, leading from some sufficiently-elevated reservoir, or otherwise arranged, so as to keep a moderate degree of pressure at the lowerend of the pipe, which is inserted below the stuffing-box of the pump, and above the piston, or about where shown in Fig. 2, in such a manner that water in the said pipe f will always stand above the piston,thereby making a water-seal between I revolve in opposite directions, thus causing a the same and the stuffing-box, which effectually prevents the aforesaid leakage of air.

The ordinary four-way discharge to fillers 5 for filling bottles is designated by the letter 9, and the discharge-pipe from the top of the fountain for conveying back to the gasometer the surplus gas, so asto use it over again when needed, is designated by the letter h. The fountain a is madein two partshaving flanges, as usual, by which they are bolted togetl'ier at the middle or end, as shown in the drawings; but in filling fountains as heretofore used the agitator is movingin one direction only, there by acting defectively and mixing imperfectly, for the reason stated in the preamble of this specification. In orderto remedy this, I provide an agitatorof two parts or frames, jlc, one arranged inside of the other, the outer frame. j, having centrally-projecting fingers, m, and the inner part of the frame it having radially projecting fingers n placed alternately at rightangles or at an angle to each other interme diate to the said fingers m, so that when the frames are revolved in opposite directions the fingers awill-revolvein thespaees between the fingers m. The shafts or journals K J of the frames 7c 7' have their bearings and stuffingboxes through the opposite ends of the fount ains, and are provided with pulleys M N to receive the aforesaid belt-s H and H, respect ively, the inner end of the shaft K having its bearing in an end hub, O, in the framej, and the framej having the bearing of its opposite end upon the shaft of the frame 70, the hearing being formed by brasses and caps P, as s own in Figs. 3 and 4. Since the belt H,which coaununicatesits motion from the shaft B to the pulley N, is crossed, andthe belt H,which communicates motion from the same shaft to the pulley M, is straightthat is, not crossed it is evident that the said pulleys M N, and t-herebythe shafts KJ and the frames It must thorough commotion of the liquid and. athorough intermixture of the same with the gas, thereby producing a superiorly-charged beverage, which is drawn out into bottles during the operation of the apparatus in the usual manner.

I do not claim, broadly, adasher of two parts moving in opposite directions, for such, I am aware, has been used in churns, an instance of which may be found in United States Patent No. 150,734.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a fountain for mixingtogether compressed gas and'liquid, the combination of the agitator-frames j k, provided with alternatelyarranged fingers m msubstantiallyas described, the said framej being journaled with its outer end through one end of the fountain, and with its inner end upon the shaft K of'the frame It, and thesaid frame 7c beingjournaled with its outer end th rough the opposite end ofthe fountain, and with its inner end in an axial socket of the frame j, and the oppositely-projecting journals being provided outside of the fountain with end pulleys, NM, or their equivalents, for communicating opposite rotary motion to the said frame, as hereinhefore set forth.

2. The combination, with a feed-pump to a gas and liquid mixing fountain, of a pipe, f, entering the pump-cylinder between the stuff ingboX and piston for maintaining a column of liquid above the piston, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in pres ence of two witnesses, this 28th day of April,

FREDERlO R. H. THOMAS. -W itnesses:

CHAS. F. LEwIs,

PETER SMITH.

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