IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER LIKE VESSELS AND IN THE METHOD OF STOPPERING THEM
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Pinkney, of 26, Long Acre, in the County
of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES, JARS, AND
OTHER LIKE VESSELS AND IN THE METHOD OF STOPPERING THEM
Sealed the 13th April 1855, and dated the 14th October 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Pinkney at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th October 1854.
I, ROBERT PINKNEY, of 26, Long Acre, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES,
JARS, AND OTHER LIKE VESSELS, AND IN THE METHOD OF STOPPERING THEM," to be
as follows, viz. :-
It consists in a mode of securely closing the mouths or openings of bottles,
jars, pots, & other vessels of like nature, by the peculiar formation of a
portion of such bottle itself, and taken conjointly with it in a new form of cover
or stopper, fitted to act upon & with the mouth of the bottle or other vessel
to be closed; the method by which I perform the same being as follows:-
In the making of the bottle or vessel, I form on its neck, & conveniently near
to its mouth, small projecting blocks or studs, & in the cover or stopper
thereof, which I fashion after the manner of an inverted cylindrical cup, are
grooves or passages; when such cover is placed on the bottle or vessel covering

page_text: its mouth, it applies itself by its grooves or passages to the aforesaid projecting
blocks or studs on the neck of the bottle, &c., so as to become firmly affixed
thereto, carrying with it, fixed on the inner side of its upper & closed end,
a flat disc or stopper, made of an elastic material; & this, when the cover is
fixed upon the neck of the bottle in the manner afore, is firmly pressed on
& over its mouth, and is securely held in its position by the mutual action of
the bottle & the cover, as described; I also make a modification of the above-
described method to the same end, but in an inverse conformation of the same;
thus, I forin hollow or indented grooves or passages on the outside of the neck
of the bottle, & projecting studs or blocks on the inner face of the cylindrical
cap or cover, & corresponding with & fitting into such indented passage on
the neck of the bottle; the principle of the construction and action being the
same in both cases.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Pinkney in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th April 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
PINKNEY, of No. 26, Long Acre, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Robert Pinkney, Her special licence that I, the said Robert
Pinkney, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Robert Pinkney, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term 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 of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER LIKE VESSELS, AND IN THE METHOD OF STOP-
PERING THEN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert
Pinkney, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Pinkney, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
The nature and intention of this Invention is a mode of closing the mouths
of bottles, jars, pots, and vessels of similar character in a more secure and
expeditious manner than has hitherto been effected. I carry this intention
into effect by a new arrangement of stem and socket combination, known to
gunsmiths and other mechanics as the "bayonet joint" fastening, but in a
modification of its formation, principle of action, and mode of application as
regards the secure closing of bottles and such vessels; and this I do by a new
manner of applying or fitting the socket on the stem, and of securing them
together when so applied.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a stopper and neck of a bottle; Fig. 2 is a section
of the same; Fig. 3 is an elevation of a stopper and neck of a bottle; Fig. 4
is a section of the stopper and elevation of the neck; Fig. 5 is a section of
the stopper and elevation of the neck; Fig. 6 is a section of stopper and neck;
Fig. 7 is an elevation of the stopper and bottle of Figs. 3 and 4.
Fig. 1 may be considered as a modification of the ordinary bayonet fastening.
A represents the upper portion of a bottle of ordinary construction, tapering to
the neck B, in which is the mouth D of the bottle; C is a small circular
projection on the upper part of the neck; E is a cap or cover, of metal or
other suitable material, fitting on the outside of the neck above the rim F,
without friction, and leaving a disc G, of gutta percha, cork, india-rubber, or
other elastic material in the top part of the cap or cover, which presses on
the mouth D, and makes the bottle air or liquid tight. The metal cap E has
on the lower edge of its open end a vertical cut or passage H, extending about
the half of its height, and branching off at an angle of about ten degrees
with the cut H, as shewn; another cut or passage is made on the opposite
side of the cap E, but having the branch passage in the opposite direction, as
shewn in Fig. 2.
When the bottle is to be stopped, the cap E is put on the neck, presenting
the mouth of the passage H directly over the circular projection C, so that it
shall enter the passage; and when the cap has descended as far as the passage
will allow, it is turned round and goes downwards, as the projection C is
allowed to slide or travel along the branch passage, until the lower edge of the
cap is on the upper face of the ring F, and is there held by the projection C,
fit ting in the cavity 1 of the branch passage. The disc G, of india-rubber or

page_text: other suitable elastic waterproof material, will then be pressed on the mouth D,
making the bottle perfectly air or liquid tight.
Fig. 3 and 4' represent a modification of the principle of construction and
action of Figs. 1 and 2. A, B, D, and G, may be respectively taken as
meaning and referring to the same parts in the Figs: 1 and 2: The cap is
made of the same form as the cap in Figs. 1 and 2, with the exception that
the cap J has two projections N, indented from the outside, and 'without
having any vertical cut or passage, as in cap E, Fig. 1. M is a projecting
external ring, formed around the circumference of the bottle neck, and has an
opening or passage O; one such passage being on each side of the circum-
ference, and diametrically opposite to each other. L is the inclined under
edges in surfaces of the projecting ring M. The mode of operation for closing
the mouth of the bottle is, by pressing the cap on the neck until the two
indented projections N have passed into and entirely through the passage O,
and by turning the cap round, it causes a downward progressive motion of the
cap along the inclined under surface L of the ring M, and draws the disc G,
of india-rubber or other suitable waterproof material, gradually tight upon the
top of the bottle D, and until the lower edges of the cap are brought to rest
on the projecting ring T, and is there held by the indented projections N,
fitting in the cavities S. To prevent the cap from turning too far, there
is a vertical stop R, as shown. The projection N may be soldered on the
inside of the cap, so as to leave the exterior perfectly plain for ornamental
chasing, etc.
Figs. 5 and 6 represent another variety of arrangement of the working
parts, and the action of the cap, reciprocally with the projecting block C of
Fig. 1, for the same end. In these Figures the corresponding parts are respec-
tively marked with the same letters of reference as in the preceding Figs., as
far as such parts can be seen. The cap W in these Figures is made perfectly
plain on the exterior for ornamental chasing, &c., and on the inside periphery
are soldered two pieces of metal U, as well as a vertical stop V, as shewn.
The projection C is made to extend to the top of the bottle. To close the
mouth of the bottle, the cap W is put on the bottle, so to allow projection C
to fit in the passage X; and when the cap is pressed down as far as it will
go, it is turned round, and by the projection C sliding or travelling along the
inclined piece of metal soldered on the inside, the disc G, of india-rubber or
any other suitable elastic waterproof material, is brought in contact with the
mouth D of the bottle, as well as the lower edge of the cap, being made tight
against the upper edge of the ring F, and is there held by the projection C,

page_text: fitting in the projection Y, on the inclined piece of metal U. To prevent the
cap from turning too far, there is a stop V, for the same purpose as the
stop R, in Figs. 3 and 4.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood that
what I claim is,-
The method of closing bottles, pots, jars, and other like vessels by the
socket and stem or bayonet action of a cap, or modifications thereof, as
described; firstly, by the cap having two cuts or passages, with an incline,
stop, and cavity, in combination with the projections in the neck of the bottle,
&c., and formed by the mould, as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 6; secondly,
the cap having indentations or projections in combination with a projecting
rim and passages on the neck of the bottle, &c., formed by the mould, as
shewn in Figs. 3, 4, and 7.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Pinkney, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
1855.
ROBERT PINKNEY. (L.S.)