US809514A - Bottle-washing machine. - Google Patents

Description

. j W w W 4, 5 m l W M m fi W03 G. H LOEW & H G MILLER. BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. so, 1903.

and 3 at its ends.

IINITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. LOEW AND HENRY G. MILLER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE LOEW SUPPLY & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,- A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BOTTLE-WASHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9,1906.

Application filed November 30, 1903. Serial N0n 183,106.

which we have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail one mechanical form embodying the invention, such detail construction being but one of variousmechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings, Figure I represents a longitudinal section of the improved bottle-washing machine; Fig. II, an enlarged transverse section on the line II II in Figs. I and III; and Fig. III a top plan view of a portion of the bottle-conveyer and its track.

The machine has a tank 1 for the soaking solution and formed with curved guides 2 At one end of the soakingtank is formed a rinsing-tank 4, into which the bottles are dropped after they have been soaked inside and outside in the soakingtank and have had the soaking liquid emptied out of them. A shaft 5, carrying two large sprocket-wheels 6, is journaled at one end of the tank concentric to the curved guide 2. A track composed of suitable rails 7 extends upward and inwardly inclined from this end of the tank tangential to the sprocket-wheels and at an elevation above the tank is carried rearward parallel with the surface of the tank for a short distance, whereupon it inclines toward the rinsingtank and forms a circular loop 8, passing again at an incline over the tank, as at 9,

forms a loop 10 over about the middle of the tank, and passes again parallel with the upper edge of the tank until it forms a circular loop, merging into the curved guide 3. The tanks, sprocket-wheels, and tracks are in all essentials similar to those disclosed in United States .Patent to C. H. Loew, No. 700,518, dated and through. said parts may be driven and guided in any other suitable or desired manner, and the tanks and conveyer may be constructed and arranged in any suitable manner whereby the conveyer may be guided through soaking liquid, be charged with bottles'at a suitable point, and have the bottles discharged at a suitable point An endless conveyer 11 is carried and guided around and upon the sprocket-wheels and tracks and has at its edges two endless sprocket-chains 12, carrying rollers 13, which travel upon the track-rails and upon the flat bottom of the tank, which bottom at that portion of the travel of the conveyer serves as guide or track for the conveyer. Track-rails similar to the track-rails 7 may be provided in the tank, if desired or found necessary, by any construction of the tank different from the illustrated construction. The conveyer-chains are provided with lugs 14, to which the ends of bottle-racks 15 are secured. Said racks consist of frames formed from sheet metal pressed or otherwise shaped and joined to form frames having wide openings 16 at the outer side and narrow openings 17 at the inner side, thus forming each a single row of bottle openings or pockets, the large openings being of a size to accommodate the bodies of the bottles and the small openings being of a size to accommodate the necks of the bottles and to stop the shoulders or breasts of the same. These racks are illustrated in the drawings as each consisting of two sheets of metal stamped to form each one-half of the row of bottle-pockets and joined together by riveting or other suitable means. The illustrated pockets have cylindrical body portions and tapering necks slitted in their sides; but the detail construction of the racks is not material so long as the racks have wide openings at their outer side and narrow openings at the inner side. For the purpose of providing for even and proper balance of the bottle-racks the frames are secured at their ends to the fastening-lugs at the central axis of the frames and pockets or compartments therein. Wherever the tracks are so placed and arranged that the large openings in the bottleracks and the bottoms of the bottles therein point downward, longitudinal retaining-slats 18 are provided against which the bottoms of the bottles may bear and up on which they may ride, being thus prevented from falling out. 1 of sheet metal stamped and united With their The only exception to this arrai'lgement is at faces together, the frames may be formed in the loop 8, where the conveyer travels around a curve and presents the bottle-racks with open bottoms and at such slant that the bottles will slide out and drop into the rinsingtank.

In practice the bottles are placed into the bottle-racks by dropping each bottle into the large opening of a bottle-receptacle at a point of the conveyer at the upper sides of the sprocket-wheels. The bottles are dropped with their necks pointing inward, and the bottle-pockets having the large outer openings and the small lnner openings will admit of the shoulders of the bottles resting against and being stopped by the small inner openings. The conveyer travels along the bot tom of the soaking-tank, with the bottoms of the bottles sliding upon the bottom of the tank or upon guide-slats upon such bottom, toward the curved guide 3 around the loop at that end and along the horizontal portion of the track, the bottles being inverted. As the conveyer and the bottles in the same travel downward around the sprocket-wheels the bottles are immersed into the soaking liquid, and the bottles are held immersed until they emerge at the loop and at the horizontal track portion, where they begin to discharge the soaking liquid which has filled them. As the conveyer passes around the loop 10 the bottles are completely withdrawn from the liquid and discharge the last of the liquid which they contain, whereupon they are carried down the incline until the conveyer passes around the track-loop 8, Where the ends of the bottle-racks are exposed and the bottle-racks presented at a slant which will permit of the bottles sliding out of their pockets and dropping into the rinsing-tank. The empty conveyer then travels around the top of the frame, and each bottle-rack is again presented at the tops of the sprocket-wheels to be again filled and carry thebottles through the soaking solution. By making the bottle-racks in the form of frames having large openings in their outer sides and small openings in their inner sides the bottles may be freely dropped into thebottlepookets orreceptacles and supported within the same without striking the mouths of the bottles against an abutment and thereby chipping them, as is the case in bottle-washing machines having the bottle-racks formed with pockets or receptacles completely or partly closed at their inner ends. The bottles are retained in the pockets constructed in accordance with the present invention by their shoulders abutting against the narrow inner openings.

While the specific embodiment of the present invention as disclosed in the drawings and description illustrates the bottle-racks as frames having inwardly-tapering bottle pockets or receptacles formed from two plates a different shape and manner, the principal feature of the invention being that the bottle-racks consist of frames, each having a sin-.

gle transverse row of holes into which the bottles may be dropped, and a corresponding row of smaller holes in the rear or inner portion of the frame through which the bottlenecks may project and against which the shoulders of the bottles may abut. As the bottle-racks are carried around sprocketwheels and curved guides it is desirable that each frame be supported from the endless chains in such manner that it is properly balanced, and for that reason the frames are secured to the chains and in the conveyer along their central transverse axes.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed for the mode herein explained. Change may therefore be made as regards the mechanism thus disclosed provided the princi les of construction setforth, respectively, in t e following claims are employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention 1. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a soaking-tank, an endless and flexible traveling bottle conveyer formed with bottle-racks arranged transversely to said conveyer and formed with large openings at their outer sides for the passage of the bottle-bodies and with smaller registering openings at their inner sides for the passage of the bottle-necks and for support of the bot tle-breasts, and supports and guides for the conveyer Within and outside of the tank and arranged and constructed to support and guide the conveyer to present the large openings of the racks to receive the bottles to be soaked, to guide the conveyer through the tank, to invert the racks to present the bottle-necks over the tank to discharge the soaking liquid into the same, and to present the large openings of the racks outward and at an incline to discharge the bottles from. the racks.

2. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a soaking-tank, an endless and flexible traveling bottle conveyer formed with bottle-racks arranged transversely to said conveyer and formed with large open ings at their outer sides for the passage of the bottle-bodies and With smaller registering openings at their inner sides for the passage of the bottle-necks and for support of the bottle-breasts, guides and supports for guiding the conveyer through the tank with the bottle-necks ointing in an upward direction, guides an supports for the conveyer to present its large openings outward to receive the bottles to be soaked before entering the tank, guides and su ports for the conveyer arranged above tlie tank to invert the racks to ICC present the bottle-necks toward the tank to discharge their contents as they leave the tank, and guides and supports arranged outside of the tank to present the bottle-racks inclined with their large openings outward to discharge the empty bottles.

3. In a bottle-Washing machine, the combination of a soaking-tank, an endless traveling bottle-conveyer consisting of two endless chains and transverse bottle-racks secured at their ends to the chains and formed with bottle-pockets having large outer openings for the passage of the bottle-bodies and small inner openings for the passage of the bottle-necks and support of the bottle-breasts, guides and supports in the tank for the conveyer-chains to conduct the same through the tank with the small openings ofvthe racks pointing in an upward direction, guides and supports for the conveyer and arranged to present the large openings of the pockets for the recepto be our invention we have hereunto set our 3 5 hands this 21st day of November, A. D. 1903.

CHARLES H. LOEW. HENRY G. MILLER.

Witnesses:

WM. SEcHER, Q. E. JoHNsoN, Jr.

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