IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES FOR CONTAINING GASEOUS AND OTHER LIQUIDS, AND IN THE MEANS FOR CLOSING OR STOPPERING SUCH BOTTLES, AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING OR CHARGING SUCH BOTTLES WITH GASEOUS LIQUIDS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Cockburn, of the Town and County
of the Town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Lemonade Manufacturer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES FOR CONTAINING
GASEOUS AND OTHER LIQUIDS, AND IN THE MEANS FOR CLOSING OR STOPPERING
SUCH BOTTLES, AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING OR CHARGING SUCH BOTTLES WITH
GASEOUS LIQUIDS."
Sealed the 1st December 1874, and dated the 5th June 1874.
'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Cockburn at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th June 1874.
:
I, ALEXANDER COCKBURN, of the Town and County of the Town of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Lemonade Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES FOR CONTAINING
GASEOUS AND OTHER LIQUIDS, AND IN THE MEANS FOR CLOSING. OR STOPPERING
SUCH BOTTLES, AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING OR CHARGING. SUCH BOTTLES WITH
Gaseous LIQUIDS," to be as follows :-
My Invention relates to bottles in which internal plugs or stoppers

page_text: are used, such stoppers being forced into the necks or shoulders of the
said bottles so as to effect an air-tight closure.
According to my Invention I make the neck of the bottle slightly
conical, and inside the said neck and at the lower part thereof I form
angular recesses or cavities. I place in the said neck a tube or lining
of india-rubber or other suitable material, on the outside of which lining
projections corresponding with the aforesaid recesses are formed, which
projections, when the said lining is pushed into the neck of the bottle,
lie in the said recesses, the said lining being thereby held in its place.
The said lining, the internal diameter of which is greater at its lower
end than at its upper end, forms an elastic seat for the stopper. The
stopper, which is inserted in the bottle previously to the insertion of the
lining, consists of a plug of glass; earthenware, or other suitable
material, which plug is of slightly larger diameter at its middle than
the elastic seat aforesaid, and is tapered from the middle toward the
ends, one of which ends terminates in a knob. This stopper, when the
bottle is filled with gaseous liquid, is pressed by the gas into or against
the aforesaid elastic seat, and the bottle is thereby securely closed.
When the bottle is filled with liquid other than gaseous, liquid the
aforesaid knobed end of the stopper is gripped by an instrument, by
means of which the stopper is drawn up and wedged into the elastic
seat, thereby closing the bottle.
By the arrangements above described the possibility of the stoppers
being blown out is avoided.
For filling my improved bottles with gascous liquid I use apparatus
which I construct as follows:-On a suitable table or stand I fix a cup
of metal fitted with an elastic washer, into which cup the neck of the
bottle to be filled is placed. The interior of this cup communicates by
means of a pipe or pipes furnished with a valve or valves with the
reservoir or reservoirs containing the liquid or liquids with which the
bottle is to be filled. Through a stuffing box in the lower part of
the said cup passes the upper part of a pipe, which I will term the
escape pipe, and which is capable of being raised and lowered as herein-
after described. This pipe passes through the upper part of the table or
stand, and is jointed at the lower part to one end of a lever of the first
order, which lever works on a rod carried by the frame of the said table

page_text: or stand. To the other end of this lever a rod is jointed, which rod is
capable of vertical motion through the said table, and has formed on it
at the upper part a cross arm, which is brought down upon the bottom
of the bottle as herein-after described, and at the lower part a pedal.
The said rod is counterbalanced by means of a weight attached to the
escape pipe aforesaid. A shield or guard of wire netting is affixed to
the upper part of the apparatus in order to prevent injury to the person
using it in the event of the bottle bursting.
The said apparatus is used and acts as follows:-The bottle to be
filled is placed with the mouth downward and in the cup. The pedal is
then depressed, whereby the escape pipe is forced into the bottle, and
the rod is brought down until the cross arm formed on the upper part
of the said rod rests on the bottom of the bottle, the said bottle being
thus firmly held. The liquid or liquids with which the bottle is to be
filled is or are then allowed to flow into the said bottle through the
pipe or pipes, which forms or form the communication between the
reservoir and the cup, the redundant gas and the air contained in
the bottle escaping by the escape pipe as the liquid passes into the said
bottle. When the bottle is filled the flow of liquid is stopped, and the
pressure is removed from the pedal. The weight attached to the escape
pipe then causes the said pipe to descend, and the rod carrying the cross
arm to ascend, and thus to liberate the bottle which is closed by the
gas acting on the stopper, as herein-before explained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Cockburn in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
COCKBURN, of the Town and County of the Town of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, Lemonade Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Cockburn, Her special
license that I, the said Alexander Cockburn, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Cockburn, my exc-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
otliers, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the terni
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BOTTLES FOR CONTAINING GASEOUS AND OTHER LIQUIDS, AND IN THE
MEANS FOR CLOSING OR STOPPERING SUCH BOTTLES, AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING
OR CHARGING SUCH BOTTLES WITH GASEOUS LIQUIDS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Cockburn, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Cockburn, do hereby
.declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:
My Invention relates to bottles in which internal plugs or stoppers
are used, such stoppers being forced into the necks or shoulders of the
said bottles so as to effect an air-tight closure."
According to my Invention I make the neck of the bottle slightly
conical, and inside the said neck and around the lower part thereof I
form an angular recess or angular recesses. I place in the said neck a
ring tube or lining of india-rubber or other suitable material, on the
outside of which lining a projection or projections corresponding with
the aforesaid recess or recesses is or are formed, which projection or
projections, when the said lining is pushed into the neck of the bottle,
lies or lie in the said recess or recesses, the said lining being thereby
held in its place. The said lining, the internal diameter of which is
greater at its lower end than at its upper end, forms an elastic seat for
the stopper. The stopper, which is inserted in the bottle previously

page_text: to the insertion of the lining, consists of a plug of glass, earthenware, or
other suitable material, which plug is of slightly larger diameter at its
middle than the elastic seat aforesaid, and is tapered from the middle
toward the ends, one of which ends terminates in a knob. This stopper,
when the bottle is filled with gascous liquid, is pressed by the gas into
or against the aforesaid clastic seat, and the bottle is thereby securely
closed. When the bottle is filled with liquid, other than gaseous liquid,
the aforesaid knob on the end of the stopper is gripped by an instrument,
by means of which the stopper is drawn up and wedged into the clastic
scat, thereby closing the bottle.
By the arrangements above described the possibility of the stoppers
being blown out is avoided.
For filling my improved bottles with gaseous liquid I use apparatus
which I construct as follows:-On a suitable table or stand I fix a cup
of metal fitted with an clastic washer or lining, in which cup the neck
of the bottle to be filled is placed. The interior of this cup communicates
by means of a pipe or pipes furnished with a valve or valves with the
reservoir or reservoirs containing the liquid or liquids with which the
bottle is to be filled. Through the lower part of the said cup and lining
passes the upper part of a pipe, which I will term the escape pipe, and
which is capable of being raised and lowered as herein-after described.
This pipe passes through the upper part of the table or stand, and is
jointed at the lower part to one end of a lever of the first order, which
lever works on a rod carried by the frame of the said- table or stand.
To the other end of this lever a rod is jointed, which rod is capable of
vertical motion through the said table, and has formed on it at the
upper part a cross arm, which is brought down upon the bottom of the
bottle as herein-after described, and at the lower part a pedal. The said
rod is counterbalanced by a weight attached to the escape pipe aforesaid.
A shield or guard of wire netting is affixed to the upper part of the
apparatus in order to prevent injury to the person using it in the event
of the bottle bursting.
The said apparatus is used and acts as follows:-The bottle to be
filled is placed with the mouth downward and in the cup. The pedal is
then depressed, whereby the escape pipe is forced into the bottle, and
the rod is brought down until the cross arm formed on the upper part of

page_text: the said rod rests on the bottom of the bottle, the said bottle being thus
firmly held. The liquid or liquids with which the bottle is to be filled
is or are then allowed to flow into the said bottle through the pipe or
pipes, which forms or form the communication between the reservoir or
reservoirs and the cup, the redundant gas and the air contained in the
bottle escaping by the escape pipe as the liquid passes into the said
bottle. When the bottle is filled the flow of liquid is stopped, and the
pressure is removed from the pedal. The weight attached to the escape
pipe then causes the said pipe to descend, and the rod carrying the cross
arm to ascend, and thus to liberate the bottle, which is closed by the
gas acting on the stopper, as herein-before explained.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the neck of a bottle formed according
to my Invention. a, a, are the angular recesses formed therein.
Figure 2 is an edge view of the ring or tube of india-rubber, which
forms the lining of the bottle neck; Figure 2A is a plan of the under
side of the said ring or tube. b, b, are the projections, which, when
the said lining is pushed into the neck of the bottle lie in the
recesses a, a.
Instead of forming recesses in the neck of the bottle and projections
on the lining I in some cases form the bottle neck with one recess, and
the lining with one projection only, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4
respectively.
Figure 5 represents in section a bottle neck and lining of the kind
shown respectively in Figures 3 and 4, and a stopper closing the bottle.
Instead of lining the bottle neck with a tube, on which a projection
is formed, an india-rubber ring of the depth and diameter of the recess
in the said neck, and of suitable internal diameter, may be used.
Figure 6 is a section of a bottle neck so fitted, the lining of which is
shown separately in edge view in Figure 7.
The stoppers, by which the bottles are closed, are shown in Figures 5
and 6, and consist of a plug of glass c² or other suitable material larger

page_text: The said apparatus is used and acts as follows:-The bottle C is placed
with the mouth downward and in the cup B. The pedal g² is then.
dépressed, whereby the escape pipe E is forced into the bottle, and the
rod g is brought down until the cross arm g¹ rests on the bottom of the
bottle, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 9. The said bottle is thus 5
firmly held. The liquids with which the bottle is to be filled are then
allowed to flow into the said bottle from the reservoirs (not shown in
the Drawing) through the pipes D, d², d³, a portion of the gas from the:
gaseous liquid, and the air contained in the bottle escaping by the
escape pipe E as the liquids pass into the said bottle. When the bottle 1
is filled the taps d', do, are shut, and the pressure is removed from the
pedal g². The weight e¹ then causes the pipe E to descend, and the
rod G to ascend, and thus to liberate the bottle, which is closed by
the gas acting on the stopper.
The object of forming two passages in the pipe D is to allow of the 1
simultaneous flow into the bottle of two liquids, such as the syrup and
aerated water used in the manufacture of lemonade.
When it is required to fill the bottle with one liquid only the
diaphragm d and one of the pipes d², d³, may be dispensed with, or
one of the said pipes and one of the passages in the pipe D may be used, 2
the other pipe or passage being closed by its stop-cock.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not claim the use of india-rubber rings or valve seats in the necks of
bottles, except when such rings or valve seats are fixed in the necks 2
of bottles to be closed by taper stoppers or plugs, neither do I claim, per
se, the use of stoppers or plugs with knobs on their upper ends; but I
claim as my Invention,-
Firstly. The improvements in bottles for containing gaseous and
other liquids and in the means for closing such bottles hercin-before
described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 (both inclusive) of the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say, making in the neck of the
bottle an angular recess or angular recesses, and inserting in the said
neck a ring tube or lining made of india-rubber or other suitable
material and of corresponding form, which ring tube or lining constitutes a

page_text: in clastic scat, into which a taper plug or stopper fits, essentially as
lescribed.
Secondly. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the
mproved apparatus herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 9
to 11, both inclusive, of the accompanying Drawings for filling or
charging bottles with gaseous liquids.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Cockburn, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the before-named Alexander
Cockburn, in the presence of
W. BREWIS ELSDON,
Solicitor,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
A. COCKBURN. (L.S.)