Bottle filling apparatus

Claim 1

IN AN APPARATUS FOR FILLING A PLURALITY OF CONTAINERS OR THE LIKE SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING AN ELEVATED MEASURING TANK, SELECTIVELY OPERABLE MEANS FOR FILLING SAID TANK WITH A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF LIQUID, SAID TANK HAVING ITS UPPER END IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE ATMOSPHERE, A CONDUIT CONNECTED TO THE LOWER END OF SAID MEASURING TANK AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM, A MANIFOLD DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE LOWER END OF SAID MEASURING TANK, A FILLER MEMBER MOVABLE VERTICALLY RELATIVE TO THE CONTAINERS TO BE FILLED, A PLURALITY OF SPIGOTS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID FILLER MEMBER FOR INSERTION INTO THE CONTAINERS TO BE FILLED, A PLURALITY OF TUBES CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID SPIGOTS AND SAID MANIFOLD, SAID SPIGOTS AND SAID TUBES BEING SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE LOWER END OF SAID TANK, AND A MASTER VALVE FOR CONNECTING SAID CONDUIT TO SAID MANIFOLD WHEREBY THE LIQUID WILL FLOW FROM SAID MEASURING TANK SOLELY BY GRAVITY THROUGH SAID MANIFOLD AND SAID SPIGOTS INTO THE CONTAINERS TO FILL THE CONTAINERS TO A PREDETERMINED LEVEL WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE LOWER END OF SAID MEASURING RANK, SAID MANIFOLD BEING LOWER THAN SAID PREDETERMINED LEVEL WHEREBY SAID MANIFOLD WILL REMAIN FILLED WITH LIQUID SO THAT THE LEVELS OF THE LIQUID IN SAID CONTAINERS WILL EQUALIZE BY SIPHONIC ACTION.