Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 3895478A: Roll On Capping Head

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Today in 1975, US Patent 3895478 A was issued, an invention of Kenneth F.M. Friendship, assigned to Continental Can Co., for his “Roll On Capping Head.” Here’s the Abstract:

A roll on type capping head for applying closure cap blanks to the mouths of containers, such as bottles, jars or cans, which is characterized by a non-rotatable inner spindle member supporting a cylindrical outer spindle assembly which is rotatable about the axis of the inner spindle member and which carries cap skirt-engaging rollers adapted to be cammed into engagement with portions of the skirt on the cap blank so as to shape it to the contour of the threads on the container neck and to form a pilfer-proof ring thereon. The head is mounted for vertical reciprocation between operative and inoperative positions and the operation of the head and rollers is effected by a pneumatic spring arrangement with a no-cap no-roll operation feature.

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Patent No. 3895713A: Container Cover Structure

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Today in 1975, US Patent 3895713 A was issued, an invention of Arthur K. Bunnell, assigned to Carling O’Keefe Ltd., for his “Container Cover Structure.” Here’s the Abstract:

A container cover structure for a container in which a plurality of items, typically beer bottles, are situated in separate compartments includes individual seals for each of the separate compartments. The seals are constructed to allow each to be broken for removal of the item from its compartment without breaking the seal of any other compartment.

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Patent No. 564528A: Bottling Machine

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Today in 1896, US Patent 564528 A was issued, an invention of Ernest Lyle Miller, for his “Bottling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The object of this invention is to provide a bottling machine which can be readily adapted to various sizes of bottles, and which, moreover, can be made simple and compact in construction and reliable in its operation; and the invention resides in the novel features of construction set forth in the following specification and claims, and illustrated in the annexed drawings

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Patent No. 3392879A: Beer Dispenser

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Today in 1968, US Patent 3392879 A was issued, an invention of Eugene Blea, for his “Beer Dispenser and the Like.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates generally to vending machines. More specifically it relates to machines for vending beer in bottles or in cans.

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Patent No. 3260395A: Bottle Cap

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Today in 1966, US Patent 3260395 A was issued, an invention of Nicholas D. Ellis, assigned to Anheuser Busch, for his “Bottle Cap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to an improved bottle cap which can be removed from a bottle by hand without the aid of a bottle opener. This bottle cap may be applied to bottles, such as beer or soda bottles, in the conventional manner with existing high speed automatic capping equipment. Further, this bottle cap may be removed if desired by conventional bottle openers which are in use today.

Bottle caps which require no separate opener, or so called self-opening bottle caps, are generally old and are of different design. Some of these bottle caps have a tongue which extends downwardly from the depending skirt and others have constructions which make them difficult to handle in a hopper and to use on the high speed automatic bottling equipment which exists in many bottling shops or plants today. Others of these self-opening bottle caps have a tongue struck from the metal cap itself which is pulled completely free of the cap when opening, with the result that the remaining portions of the bottle cap are propelled like a rocket and cause property damage or cause personal injury. This frequently happens when the bottle cap is removed rapidly so that the tongue portion remains in the lingers of the person opening the bottle, but the remainder of the bottle cap is free to y upwardly or away from the bottle. Still others cannot be opened in the conventional manner with bottle openers if desired. And others result in the cutting of the fingers with sharp metal edges When opening.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a self-opening bottle cap which can be used in existing bottle cap handling apparatus and bottle cap machines for application to bottles, said bottle cap comprising an outer shell, an inner disc, and a seal adapted to seal the bottle cap to the bottle and to prevent the outer shell and inner disc from separating either before or after the bottle cap is removed. Another object is to provide a self-opening bottle cap, a tongue having a rounded edge which protects the lingers against cutting and which is not pulled off in its entirety, so that the removed bottle cap remains in the hands of the person opening the bottle. This prevents the pressure in the bottle from propelling the cap or parts thereof at great speed. Another object is to provide fewer scores in the depending skirt of the bottle cap hereinbefore described, thereby reducing the possibility of splitting the score during the crowning operation so as to create a leaker. Another object is to provide these advantages in a bottle cap which can be removed by a conventional bottle opener if desired.

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Patent No. 996972A: Apparatus For Filling Bottles

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Today in 1911, US Patent 996972 A was issued, an invention of Frank L. Caris and Clarence J. Gardner, for their “Apparatus For Filling Bottles.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to apparatus for use in filling bottles from kegs or barrels, the same being particularly adapted for bottling beer and the like.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an inexpensive device of this character which can be readily handled by one person, there being improved means for discharging the liquid into the bottle and for permitting the escape of foam back to the keg or other receptacle from which the liquid is drawn.

A further object is to provide apparatus of this type having a nozzle in which is mounted a valve normally maintained in closed position but which can be conveniently held open during the filling operation. With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

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Patent No. 3586514A: Thin-Walled Plastic Container For Beer

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Today in 1971, US Patent 3586514 A was issued, an invention of Taco Vijlbrief, assigned to Heineken Tech Beheer NV, for his “Thin-Walled Plastic Container For Beer.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it has been found that a thin-walled container specially suitable for beer and other oxygen-sensitive materials is obtained by having a hard polymer or copolymer of vinyl chloride containing such a quantity of anti-oxidizing agent that the oxygen permeability of this hard polymer or copolymer, measured as the number of cm. of oxygen of standard temperature and pressure which has passed through 1 cm. of the plastic through a thickness of 1 mm, per second, per cm. of oxygen overpressure at 20 C. (mercury), amounts to about 10- cm. (STP)mm./cm. sec., cm. Hg or lower.

By thin-walled throughout the specification and claims is understood that the thickness of the wall does not exceed 2.5 millimeters. Thicker walls present working difficulties and moreover, the problem of undesired oxygen permeation through the wall is felt only if the wall is thin.

HeinekenPETLondon2012Bottle
A modern PET Heineken bottle.

Patent Nos. 3094213A & 3094214A: Fill-Height Inspection Device For Fluid In Bottles/Automatic Container Fill-Height Inspection Machine

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Today in 1895, US Patent 3094213 A and US Patent 3094214 A was issued, both inventions of James H. Wyman, with the second also by Robert G. Husome, for their “Fill-Height Inspection Device For Fluid In Bottles” and “Automatic Container Fill-Height Inspection Machine.” There’s no Abstract for either, though they’re described this way in the application:

This invention relates to inspection apparatus of the type used to deter-mine whether a transparent container, such as a bottle, has been filled to the proper height with a liquid, and, more particularly, to improvements therein.

The requirement that the volume of beverage in a bottle correspond to the volume specified on the label on the bottle is a legal one. Good customer relations also provide more incentive to a bottler of liquids which require him to make sure that the contents of the bottle are as specified. On the other hand, should more than the specified amount of liquid be poured into the bottles, the bottler suffers an economic loss. Thus, a number of different systems have been proposed which inspect translucent containers, such as bottles, to determine whether the fill-height of the bottle is proper. These systems usually apply radiation on one side of the bottle and a detector on the other side of the bottle in the region of the bottle wherein desired fill-height occurs. However, due to various factors, such as the differences in bottle thickness, bottle color, variations in beverage color, as well as the presence of foam in many beverages, none of the heretofore-produced systems have proven consistently satisfactory.

An object of this invention is to provide a fill-height inspection system which is not adversely aifected by variations in bottle thickness or color.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a fill-height inspection system which is not adversely affected by differences in beverage color or the presence of foam.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel and unique fill-height inspection system.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved by taking advantage of the fact that light is refracted or bent at ‘a unique angle by the liquid and its container. Thus, if a photocell is positioned on one side of a container so that no illumination from a light source can reach that photocell, unless it is refracted by the liquid in the container, a positive arrangement for detecting the fill-height of the liquid in the container may be obtained. The photocell is positioned adjacent the container at a level just below the minimum acceptable level. Similarly, to determine whether a container has been overfilled, a photocell may be positioned adjacent the container just above the maximum desired fill-height level, to be illuminated only by light which is refracted by the liquid in the bottle.

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This invention relates to automatic fill-height inspection machines and, more particularly, to an improved arrangement for determining that a translucent container has been filled to the proper level.

Presently known automatic fill-height machines for photoelectrically inspecting a translucent container are not completely reliable, as a result of difficulties experienced with different colored bottles or bottles of varying opacity, thickness, or even in view of the fact that some liquids which are carbonated, such as beer, will have a foam at the top of the liquid which can provide a false signal as to the actual level to which the container is filled. Another difficulty which arises is that the prior systems are substantially limited to use with only one size of a container. If a production run of a different container size or even different fill-height requirements is desired, a considerable realignment of the fill height inspection apparatus parameters is required. A further limitation of prior systems is that they may be applicable only to translucent liquids.

An object of this invention is the provision of a reliable fill-height inspection apparatus.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a novel and useful fill-height inspection apparatus.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of a fill height inspection apparatus which is easily adjustable for inspecting containers of different sizes.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide fill height inspection capability for opaque liquids, translucent liquids with foam on top, or solid (e.g., granular or powdered) materials in translucent containers.

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Patent No. 430526A: Bottle Filling Machine

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Today in 1890, US Patent 430526 A was issued, an invention of Joseph J. De Kinder and Hermann Roemer, for their “Bottle Filling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

Our invention relates to bottle-filling machines; and it consists of certain improvements, which are fully set forth in the following specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

While our invention relates to bottle-filling machines in general, it is especially adapted to beer-bottling, in which heretofore great difficulty has been experienced by reason of the great tendency of the beer to foam and of the difficulty of accomplishing the proper feeding of the beer from the barrel and of the loss of carbonic acid by exposure to the atmosphere. It is the object of our invention to overcome these difficulties and to accomplish a regular feeding of the liquid from the reservoir or supply without objectionable foaming in the bottles 0r Overflowing of the liquid.

In carrying out our invention we employ a convenient receptacle or vessel provided With delivery-tubes for delivering the liquid to the bottles, and connect this vessel with the barrel or supply-reservoir, and by means of certain devices, hereinafter more fully described, control the flow of the liquor from the barrel or reservoir by the level of the liquor in the delivery-vessel. By this means the supply of liquor in the delivery-vessel is replenished from the reservoir as the liquor is allowed to flow into the bottles Without the possibility of overflowing, for the moment the liquor in the delivery-vessel reaches a certain height the flowing of the liquor from the reservoir is automatically stopped and cannot begin again until the liquor-level has again fallen. This We accomplish by controlling the supply of air to the barrel or reservoir, as is hereinafter more fully described.

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Patent No. 7730912B2: Bottle Filler

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Today in 2010, US Patent 7730912 B2 was issued, an invention of John Richard Blichmann, for his “Bottle Filler.” Here’s the Abstract:

An improved bottle filler assembly for filling bottles from kegged carbonated or non carbonated beverages without carbonation loss or oxidation that is intuitive to use, sanitize, and keep free of bacteria. In the preferred embodiment, a long hose gradually reduces the pressure of the beverage on the way to the filler. Two tubes are placed inside each other forming an annulus where CO2 can be forced to the bottom of the bottle via a CO2 valve thereby purging the bottle of air (O2). A valve seat placed on the bottom of the tubes allows the beverage to flow into the bottle from the bottom by depressing a trigger.

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