US855036A - Bottle-washing machine. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED MAY 28. 1907.

,J. R; AMAGKER. BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIOH FILED 1'33. 8. 1904.

a sums-sum 1.

PATENTED MAY 28, 1907.

J. 'R. AMAGKBR. BOTTLE' WASHING MACHINE,

APPLICATION FILED. mp3. 8, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- PATENTED MAY 28, 1907. J. R. AMACKER.

BOTTLE WASHING MAGHINB.

APPLICATION FILED IEB. 8, 1904.

5 S EETS-SHEET 3.

No. 855,036. PATBNTED' MAY 28, 1907. J. R. AMAGKER.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED m. a, 904. 1

a sums-sun 4.

gainiiliiiliiliiiiiliil ii'? .No. 855,036., 7 PATENTED MAY 28, 1907.

4 J. R. AMAOKER.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FI ED FEB. 8, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

JOHN R. 'AMACKER, OFOAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'r'o THE'OREAMERY ILLINOIS.

PACKAGE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A'CORPORATI'ON OF Specification of Letters Patent.

BOTTLE-WASHING MACHINE:

resented May 28, 1907.

Application filed February 8,1904. Serial No. 192,498.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JoHN R. AMACKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new, useful, and

. Improved Bottle-Washing Machine, of which scribe the following is a s ecification.

My invention re ates to machines for washing bottles, and has particular reference to a machine whereinbottles such as are used for milk and cream may be soaked in lye, then scrubbed, then permitted to drain, and then thoroughly rinsed.

I conceive that time and labor may be saved in the cleaning of bottles, provided a single machine is devised wherein the operations described shall take place, beginning with the receipt of the dirty bottles and ending with the storage of the clean bottles; and that, by providing for the properdistribution of the Work in such a machine, fewer operators will be required.

The object of my invention is to provide a machinethat shall be as nearly as possible automatic, re uiring, however, the constant attention anddlabor of one or more operators, with the attendant assurance of careful inspection of every bottle that passes through t 1e machine.

Another object of my invention is to rovide a bottle-washin machine that sha be extremely economica in operation, requirin tles shall be drained without requiring spe-.

cial attention or expenditure of time on the part of the operator; and further, to provide a machine at which two washers or o erators may work at the same time, making a ternate use of the rinsing apparatus.

A final object of my invention is to provide a machine of great capacity and which'shall require little effort of the operator in its 0 oration in other words, a machine that sha l, itself, erform so many of the functions ded as to render the necessary work of the operators easy and light.

With these objects in view, my invention consists, generally, in a bottle-washing machine comprising a soaking-tank, in combine tion with one or more conveyers operable therein and provided with a plurality of bottle-holding pockets wherein the bottles are continuously resented with their necks u ermost, so t at they may be complete y led with the soaking fluid, in order that they may emerge therefrom partly filled with water, the pockets being so constructed that the water, when escaping therefrom, holds the bottles therein; another element ofmy invention is a scrubbing device which with the scrubbing tank is so constructed and arranged that the loss of washing fluid is avoided. And further, my inventlon consists in various constructions and combinations of parts for safely handling the bottles; for savmg the washing or soaking fluid, and for economizing the time of the operators; all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims. v

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and-in which Figure 1, represents a side elevation of my improved bottle-washing machine; Fig. 2,

is a vertical section through the center of the.

machine, showing the lower pa'rt of one wheel broken away; Fig. 3, is a section on the line 'y.-y of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, is a section on the line zz of Fig: 1; Fig. 5, is a section on the line m-a: of Fig. 1 Fig. 6, is a plan view of Fig. 5, with the spraying-tank and bottlerack removed; F igl 7,. is a general plan view of the entire machine; and Fig. 8, is an enlarged sectional view of one of my im roved bottle-holding pockets, with a bottle t erein.

As shown in the drawings, 1 is the tank, supported on the I-beams 2 and containing the washing fluid in which the bottles are soaked. A saponifying solution of any kind may be employed; but I prefer to use a solution of water and any of the wellknown washingpowders. Two large wheels, 3, operate in this tank, each being equipped with a large number of bottle-holding pockets, 6, of such shape as to continuously present the necks of the bottles uppermost, regardless of the changing position of the pockets during the rotation of thewheel'. The wheels may be positively driven, if desired,

but the use of power for this purpose is unnecessary,'for the reason that the weight of thebottles in thepockets at one side of the wheel will naturally produce the necessary rotatlon. The rotary movement of the Wl166l thus occasioned finally presents a into the washing-tank, 1; so that the'liquid remaining in the bottles after brushing is not lost, as each bottle remains in constant com unication with the tank, 1, until it is completely emptied. As shown, Iprefer to use two of the conveyer-wheels in the tank, and two brushes, with corresponding drainstands. Between the drain stands 1 arrange the rinsing portion of the machine. This comprises means for jetting fresh Water into the bottles and then using the polluted water for rinsing the outsides of the bottles.

In operating the machine, one operator stands at the receiving side of the conveyer wheels, and, as rapidly as possible, fillsthe downwardly moving pockets with dirty bottles. Each bottle placed on the wheel tends to continue the rotation thereof and to furnish suflicient force to submerge the bottles previously placed in the pockets. When a sufficient number of bottles have been so inserted in the pockets, the conveyer wheel will have revolved sufiieiently to bring the first bottles to the surface of the liquid on the other s'ide'of the tank, viz:, that nearest the brushes,.31, at which point the bottles are removed from the conveyer pockets by the operator and held on or against one of the brushes, which are rapidly rotated, preferably by; belt, from any convenient source of power. They may thus be thoroughly scrubbed, inside or out. The operator then places them, mouth downward, in the drain stand, 11; and during the time required to fill this stand with the bottles, one by one, they are allowed to drain off the liquid remaining in or upon them, which falls into the drip-pan, 9, and passes thence to the washing-tank, 1. When the drain-stand is filled,.it -is moved over the slides, 10, and shoved into position on the spraying or rinsing-pan, 19, where jets of water are forced upward into the interior of the bot tles and run therefrom into the tank, 16.

From this tankthe water is pumped into tank 15, and showered over the outside" of therefore su ported, and turn thereon.

the bottles. The drain-stand is then drawn off the spraying or rinsing-pan, and the bottles removed therefrom to some convenient point for drying or sterilizing.

Having thus briefly outlined the construction, use and operation of my improved bottle-washing machine, I will now proceed to define and describe the machine in detail.

The soaking and washing-tank, 1, is of rectangular shape and is supported on the I- beanis, 2. It is composed of plates riveted together at the edges, and is stiffened at the center by the panels, 38. At the lower end of one of these panels, 38, is the casting, 42, containing an opening, 45, through which the tank is cleaned out when necessary, and which is closed by the cap, 43, operated by the nut, 44. An overflow pipe, 47, is placed in the tank, 1, and determines the maximum level of the soaking liquid therein. This pipe is removably jointed at the bottom of the tank, so that it may be drawn out "when it'is desired to drain the tank, pre aratory to cleaning it. Secured in the top 0 the panels, 38, are the sockets, 39, for the ends of the rod, 35. The hubs, 4, of the conveyer-wheels, 6, encircle this rod, 35, and the wheels are A collar or col ars, 37, separates the hubs, 4. The two wheels, 3, are entirely independent of each other and revolve freely about the rod, 35, when impelled by the weight of the bottles laced in the bottle-holding ockets, 6. Eac wheel is composed of the ubs, 4, webs, 36, and spokes, 5, supporting the disks, 17. The bottle-holding ockets, (i, are riveted to the outer sides 0 the disks, 17, and are hollow, truncated cones, having their bases next the wheel and their axes perpen- -dicular to the plane of the disk, 17. By reason of their shape, the bottles-placed therein are at all times held in an upwardly inclined position, so that not only is the liquid enabled to reach all parts of the interior and exterior surfaces of the bottles, but they also emerge from the liquid, as the wheels revolve, on the side of tank, 1, nearest the brushes, 3] partially filled with the liquid. This liquid so retained in each bottle is thus immediately available for the scrubbing proces's, during which such of the liquid as may escape from the bottles falls into the extension, 8, and runs thence back into the washing-tank, 1. It is obvious that the quantity 0f liquid extracted from the tank, 1, by each bottle, as

above described, would soon materially reduce/the supply in the tank and render it necessary to requently replenish the same, were it not saved in some such manner as above described.

It is, of course, possible that the brushing or scrubbing of the bottles might be automatically erformed, but I prefer that this operation shou d have the constant attention of the operator, for the-following reasonz' After the milk is. used. from an ordinary milk-bottle, the latter is often allowedto indefinite remain for an eriod exposed ,tdthe atmosphere, the result 'eingthatfthe'residue of the contentsiof 'the bottle becomes caked thereon to. i a greater or less degree, according to the *length of such period. Hence, when the bot- 5 tie is scrubbed, more or less time and efiort is m necessary toproperly clean it. It is, therefore, evident that the judgment of the oper-.

ator must be depended on to properly cleanse each bottle, and that the o eration could not be economically and suita interposed at this point.

' innerend, with a cushioning disk, 7 (Fig; 8)

Each of the pockets, 6, is provided, at its preferablyof wood, which serves to deaden the impact of the bottle when placed'in the ocket and thus prevent the cracking or Ereakingof the glass, or other brittle material of which the bottleis'made. 18, in the sides of the pocket, permit'the escape ofliquid from the interior ofthe pocket as itemerges above the surface. The combine'd area of the perforations, 18, in each pocket exceeds that of the mouth 7 thereof; ence, the liquid runs off more rapidly at the rear of the pocket than at its front. The escapingliquld, therefore, holds the bottle in the pocket instead of carrying it out. The

tank, 1, is extended on-one side by the shallow, widened basin, 8, into which, as heretoforestated, the li ui'd drains from the bottles during the scrub ing process. will be seen that the position of the extension or basin, 8, affords the operators at the brushes ample room for the removal of the bottles {from the conveyer wheels, 3,. as they come to the surface of the liquid, and greatly facilitates their transfer from" the wheels to the scrubbing brushes, 31;. The drip-pan, 9, together with the'basin, 8, serves to return any of the liquid draining from the .bottles, durmg their progressfrom the scrubbing to the spraying mechanism, to tank 1.

Mounted over the'central portion of the l basin, 8, is the brush-frame, 40, in which the the spraying-stand, 19)

brdshes, 31, arejournaled on a common spindle, 41 operated by a pulley, 33. These brushes may be used by two operators, one on eaclf side of the basin, 8, at which point it will be seen that either can readily remove the bottles .from the wheels, scrub them on the brushes, 31 and deposit them in the drain-stand, 11', adjacent to the brushes. Two of these drain-stands are shown in Fig. 1-one at the above mentioned 'point, for receiving the scrubbed bottles, and one upon position, the drain-stand rests upon the slides, 10, which serve, as guides therefor as it is pushed around in either direction to the 1y per' formed by an automatic scrubbing device,

The ports,

In the receiving spraying-stand. .As shown, the sprayingq pans are each provided with twenty four water is arT itted under pressure point. The spraying-pan 19 is provided with shoulders734, which serve to hold the drain-stand in the roper position; so that the mouths of the ottles in the stand will exactly coincide with the orifices, 13 and 20.

The tank, 15, is mounted directly above the spraying-pan, 19, and communicates, ports,28, with the various spraying-heads, 14, by which the water is distributed over each. inverted bottle, runs down the outside of the same and finally-flows. into the tank, 16. The heads, 14, number of perforations arran ed in annular grooves on the under side of t e heads, from which the wfiteris showeredover the exterior surface of eaclf bottle. The tank, 16,

by the aving eig tcentralol'ifices, 20-,'in

water-through the'connection, 21 to which from a res:

er'voir (not shown) located at any convenient 58o i are provided with a I also receives the drainage from the interior of the bottles. The pump, ply from the tank, 16, and dlschargesinto the tank, 15, by means of the connecting pipes, 27. This pump is of any suitable I type andmay be operated in any convenient manner. An overflow, 32, maintains the proper maximum level in the tank, 16.

One of the supports, 29 for the sprayer end 10 of the machine carries the ratchet, 30, for the treadle, 24, by ated throughthe s stem of levers shown.

It willbe seen from this description that the waterused in rinsing the interior of the bottles on' the sprayer-stand, 19, is subsequently spread over the outside of the botwhichthe valve, 22, is oper-.

25 draws its suptles. While it would, of course, be possible to.-use fresh water in both operations, the economy involved in this re-use of the. water would be found a valuable feature in many instances. Furthermore, it will be seenthat the water is constantly changed, *although much less is used by my improved method than would be the case withother methods.

'In the operation of my improved bottlewashing machine, the tank, 1, having been filled with the desired washing compound, the bottles to be washed are placed in the pockets at the outer end of the wheels, 3.

-Two operators may work at this point, one

at each wheel, if desired. As soon as a few of the bottles have been inserted in the pockets, their weight causes the wheel to 'rotate until they are carried to'the lower part of the tank.- 'As more pockets are inserted into the following pockets, the wheel will be still further rotated until the first bottles come to the surface on the posite end of the tank, namely, that next t e brushes, 3 1. During their slow progress through the tank, the bottles have been free to partiallyge'yolve in the pockets, as actuated by gravity and during this journey it will be'seen that each bottle is upwardly, inclined at all times.

,ventsthe ocketing ofa small portion of air This preat any..po1nt on ;the interior surface of the bottles; and enables the. liquid to reach all points of the exterior and interior thereof. Furthermore, ,owing to the position in which the are held by the "conical shape of the poo ets, the bottles emerge on the side of the.

tank nearest the brushes partially filled with the liquid from the tank. At this point they are withdrawn from the pockets by. the operators, and held, one by one, u on the-brushes,

' which at that time are revo ving with some degree of rapidity. The bottles are then placed, neck downward, in the drain-stand,

" .11, and when the latter is filled, it is pushed aroundupon the slides, -10, and shoved between the shoulders, 34, over the sprayingpan, 19', and against the stop, 46, it beiiu then at the exact point where the mouths 0 the bottles coincide with the openingsand nozzles, 24 and 13, in the sprayer-pipe, 12.

, It will be noted that an operator, standing at the oint where'the bottles are scrubbed upon t e brushes, 31, can, without changing his position, remove the bottles from the wheel, 'scrubthem upon the brush nearest to him, and deposit them upon the sprayingstand. Also, 1f two operators are employed at'the brushes, the'drain-stand maybe simultaneously filled and the spraying-stand alternately "used by each, much time being pump 25 forces-it through Ipipe 27, into the tank, 15. From "this tan over the exterior of the bottles by the heads,

14,to whichit is communicated by the ports,

28. The spraying or rinsing of the bottles. is. thus accomplished. The water from the ear terior of the bottles also drains into tank, .16, and. is thus repeatedly utilized. An abhor it i is showered sespse mal rise of liquid in tank, 16, is prevented by overflow ipe, 32, which may be of any desired heig t. This tank may be drained in a manner similar to that described in connectionwith tank 1, viz:,bylifting pipe 32 out of its socket at the bottom'of the tank. After the spraying rocess is finished, the drainstand and bott es are transferred to any suitable point, for drying or sterilizing.

' It-is ap arent from the foregoing that the complete immersion of the bottles, and the access of the li uid in the tank 1 to the entire interior am exterior surface of each bottle, together with the retention of a considerable portion of the liquid in each, as' it emerges, is accomplished through the instru mentality of the conical pockets;and it is further evident that in order to full meet the end in view, it is necessary that t e bot' tles be loosely held in t ese conical pockets. A holder of this nature enables the bottle to be easily inserted and withdrawn, thus economizing the time of the operators and facilitating their work, and also automat'cally retains the bottle during its entire tri through the liquid. The simplicityof construction of these pockets; the ease with which they can be attached to, the wheels, and the econom in the use of the liquid emplo ed in the soa 'ing and scrubbing processes, 0 the water used in .the spraying process, and of the time the operators, constitute imand labor 0 portant features of my invention. I In the actual practice of my invention, the

water may, if desired, be pumped directly" from the tank 16 to the heads, 14,'without the interposition of tank 15, and may thus be discharged, under ressure, upon the 'outside of the bottles. T he drain-stand may, of course, be constructed to hold any conven ient number of bottles, the groups of sprayer nozzles above and below the rack being ar ranged accordingly.

Frornfthe foregoin description it will be readily seen that it is highly advantageous to operate the spraying jets vertically, as shown,

for the reason that no difficulty is thereby encountered in. readily collecting the water f alling from the bottles; the space occupied by the apparatus is comparatively small; the spattering of the water over the o erators or surrounding ob'ects is avoided, an the maximum rinsing e ect of the water on the insideand outside of the bottles is secured. The undesirable and wasteful features mentioned would be inherent in any system of horizontal'sp'raying that might be devised.

As the'reservoir, 15, is air-tight, the up or part thereof becomes a compression-cham er when the pump, 25, is operated, the capacity of the pump being greater than that of the combined area of the orts, 28'. The result is that the water is disciiarged from the heads, 14, with a considerable degree of force.

It is obvious that numerous modifications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, and I therefore do not confine my invention to the specific constructions herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, 1

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a bottle-washing machine, a tank, a wheel mounted for rotation therein, a plurality of bottleockets provided upon the side of said wheel each consisting of a hollow, truncated cone, the axis of which is normal to the plane of the wheel and suitable perfo-' rations provided in said pockets, to cause a backward flow of the fluid therein, substantially as and for the urpose s ecified.

2. In a bottle-was ing mac ine, a soakingtank, in combination witha conveyer-wheel having a horizontal axis and di pinginto said tank, and a lurality of cone-1i e bottle-holders having their axes per endicular to the side of said wheel, and provi ed with openings in their small ends to. receive bottles, substan-.

tially as described.

3. In a bottle washing machine, a disk-like rotary member, in combination with a hollow,

truncated cone-shaped pocket projecting from the side of said member, said pocket having an o ening at its small end to receive abottle, and provided with a perforated but otherwise closed base, substantially as described.

4. In a bottle washing machine, a bottleholder, shaped as a truncated, hollow cone, closed at its large end and 0 en at' its small end, to receive the base of a ottle, the large end of said pocket containing perforations and having a cushion, and a ocket carrier low, truncated cone having a base'flange secured to the side of said wheel and carr ing a bottle entirely upon one side of the whee ,substantially as described.

7. In a bottle washing and soaking machine, a tank, in combination with a con- Keyer wheel mounted therein, cone-like bottle ders mounted with their axes substantially perpendicular to the face of said wheel and being so constructed that a bottle placed therein will remain at an angle to the horizontal at all positions of the conveyer wheel, and said holders having drain holes at their inner or large ends, substantial] as described.

In testimony whereof, have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of January, A. D. 1904-, at Chicago, Illinois, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN R. AMACKER.

Witnesses O. G. HAWLEY, WM. H. CLARKE.

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