IMPROVE- STOPPERS OR VALVES FOR BOTTLES CONTAINING AËRATED LIQUIDS MENTS IN OR LIQUIDS UNDER CASEOUS PRESS RE AND AN INSTDIMENT OR ADDADA TITS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Bayly Vanes of Uitenhage in the Colony of the
Cape of Good Hope Physician and Surgeon for an Invention of IMPROVE-
STOPPERS OR VALVES FOR BOTTLES CONTAINING AËRATED LIQUIDS
MENTS IN
OR LIQUIDS UNDER
CASEOUS PRESS RE AND AN INSTDIMENT OR ADDADA TITS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Bayly Vanes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th May 1883..
ARTHUR BAYLY VANES of Uitenhage in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope
Physician and Surgeon "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS OR VALVES FOR BOTTLES
CONTAINING AËRATED LIQUIDS OR LIQUIDS UNDER GASEOUS PRESSURE AND AN'
INSTRUMENT OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAID
STOPPERS TO THE SAID BOTTLES
"
My invention consists principally of the improvements hereinafter described in;
stoppers or valves for bottles containing aörated liquids or liquids under gaseous
pressure by which improvements the construction of the said stoppers or valves is
much simplified and their action made more efficient. My invention further
consists of an instrument or apparatus for facilitating the adaptation of the said
stoppers to the said bottles.
In constructing one of the said stoppers according to my invention I make the
body of a pear shape the tapering end terminating in a flange. A shallow groove
or neck is made at the part where the taper end joins the flange and an india
rubber washer or perforated ring is fitted in the said neck and constitutes the
valve which when the stopper is in use seats itself on the contraction or valve seat
in the neck of the bottle. In the narrow part of the body is a notch or groove
parallel or nearly parallel with the axis of the stopper and extending from the
upper surface of the flange to a height above the india rubber washer or valve.
When the stopper is in use the flange is pressed against the india rubber washer or
valve and the latter is pressed on the valve seat in the neck of the bottle and the
bottle is tightly closed the groove in the lower part of the body being covered and
closed by the india rubber valve.

page_text: In order to open the bottle it is only necessary to press on the head of the
stopper when by the slight descent of the body the india rubber washer takes a
slightly concave form. The lower end of the notch or groove described is thereby
partly uncovered and gas escapes along the said groove into the atmosphere and
the stopper being no longer pressed upwards falls and the bottle is thereby
opened.
Or the neck or groove on which the india rubber washer is fitted may be
somewhat longer than the thickness of the said washer so that when the head of
the stopper is pressed down the neck slides on the washer the groove or passage
which was covered by the washer being thereby uncovered.
Instead of the groove or notch in the body of the stopper a hole or passage may
be employed.
The flange of the body may have on its upper side either near its margin or near
its central part an annular rib or projection which under pressure embeds itself in
the india rubber washer thereby more effectually preventing the escape of gas.
In the case of bottles where the valve seat is elastic and is closed by an inelastic
sphere I make the notch or groove on the edge of the said elastic seat or I make a
small hole in it. In either case the pressure of the sphere upon the elastic seat
closes the notch groove or hole in it and gas cannot escape but on pressing upon
the sphere to open the bottle the said notch groove or hole is uncovered and gas
escaping the sphere falls.
The said stoppers are sometimes weighted at one end in order to cause the
stopper to fall with its weighted end downwards in closing the charged and
inverted bottle. The weight usually lead or iron is generally inserted in the
extreme end of the stopper and frequently becomes detached thus rendering the
stopper more or less faulty. In weighting the said stoppers I make the weighting
material in the form of a small bar or rod which I pass through the end of the
stopper crosswise and by rivetting the ends it is prevented from becoming
detached.
The instrument or apparatus for facilitating the adaptation of the said stoppers
to the said bottles and which constitutes part of my invention consists of a rod on
which near one end a series of discs or spheres are fixed axially the said spheres or
discs progressively increasing in diameter from the end. The use of this instru-
ment is to determine by its introduction into the mouth of the bottle the internal
diameter of the neck and consequently the size of stopper to be used with the said
bottle.
Bottles for aërated liquids are made with necks of several different sizes and
great loss of time is in consequence frequently incurred in fitting them with
stoppers of the proper size. On introducing the said instrument into the neck of
the bottle the size of the stopper suitable for the bottle is immediately indicated by
the distance to which the said instrument will enter the neck of the bottle

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Arthur Bayly Vanes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd November 1883.
ARTHUR BAYLY VANES of Uitenhage in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope,
Physician and Surgeon "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS OR VALVES FOR BOTTLES
CONTAINING AËRATED LIQUIDS OR LIQUIDS UNDER GASEOUS PRESSURE AND AN
INSTRUMENT OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAID
STOPPERS TO THE SAID BOTTLES
"
My invention consists principally of the improvements hereinafter described
in stoppers or valves for bottles containing aërated liquids or liquids under gaseous
pressure, by which improvements the construction of the said stoppers or valves is
much simplified and their action made more efficient..
My invention further consists of an instrument or apparatus for facilitating the
adaptation of the said stoppers to the said bottles.
In constructing one of the said stoppers according to my Invention I make tho
body of a pear shape the tapering end terminating in a flange. A shallow groove
or neck is made at the part where the taper end joins the flange and an india
rubber perforated washer or ring is fitted in the said neck and constitutes the
valve which when the stopper is in use seats.itself on the contraction or valve seat
in the neck of the bottle. In the narrow part of the body is a notch or groove
parallel or nearly parallel with the axis of the stopper and extending from the upper
surface of the flange to a height above the india rubber washer or valve. When
the stopper is in use the flange is pressed against the india rubber washer or valve
and the latter is pressed on the valve seat in the neck of the bottle and the bottle
is tightly closed, the groove in the lower part of the body being covered and closed
by the india rubber valve.
:
In order to open the bottle, it is only necessary to press on the head of the
stopper when by the slight descent of the body the india rubber washer takes a
slightly concave form. The lower end of the notch or groove described is thereby
partly uncovered and gas escapes along the said groove into the atmosphere and
the stopper being no longer pressed upwards falls and the bottle is thereby
opened.
The flange of the body may have on its upper side either near its margin or
near its central part an annular rib or projection which under pressure embeds
itself in the india rubber washer, thereby more effectually preventing the escape
of gas.
The said stoppers are sometimes weighted at one end in order to cause the
stopper to fall with its weighted end downwards in closing the charged and
inverted bottle. The weight, usually lead or iron, is generally inserted in the
extreme end of the stopper and frequently becomes detached thus rendering the
stopper more or less faulty.
In weighting the said stoppers I make the weighting material in the form of a
small bar or rod which I pass through the end of the stopper crosswise and by
rivetting the ends it is prevented from becoming detached.
The instrument or apparatus for facilitating the adaptation of the said stoppers
to the said bottles and which constitutes part of my invention consists of a rod on
which near one end a series of discs or spheres are fixed axially the said spheres or
discs progressively increasing in diameter from the end. The use of this instrument
is to determine by its introduction into the mouth of the bottle the internal
diameter of the neck and consequently the size of stopper to be used with the
said bottle.

page_text: Bottles for aërated liquids are made with necks of several different sizes and
great loss of time is in consequence frequently incurred in fitting them with
stoppers of the proper size. On introducing the said instrument into the neck of
the bottle the size of the stopper suitable for the bottle is immediately indicated
by the distance to which the said instrument will enter the neck of the bottle.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents elevations taken at right angles to one another and a
vertical section, of a stopper or valve constructed according to my invention
having a pear shaped body; Figures 2 and 3 represent the same applied to the
neck of the bottle; Figure 2 exhibiting the stopper or valve pressed to the valve
seat in the neck of the bottle by the pressure of the gas so as to close the bottle
and Figure 3 exhibiting the stopper or valve 'partly pressed from its seat for
opening the bottle.
The several Figures of the Drawings, excepting the gauge for measuring the
size of the necks of the bottles, are drawn about double the full size.
a is the pear shaped body of the stopper or valve the tapering end of which
terminates in the flange b; c is the shallow groove or neck made between the
taper end of the body and the flange b. In the groove or neck c án india rubber
perforated washer or ring d constituting the valve is fitted as represented; e is a
notch or groove made preferably, parallel to the axis of the stopper. It will be
seen by an examination of Figure 1 that the said notch or groove e extends from
the flange b to above the neck c and the india rubber washer or valve d fitted in
the said neck; f is the contraction or valve seat in the neck g of the bottle upon
which valve seat f the washer or valve d seats itself by the pressure of the gas
• within the bottle, as represented in Figure 2, thereby tightly closing the bottle.
When the stopper is in the position Figure 2 the groove or notch e in the lower
part of the body is closed by the india rubber valve d and no gas can escape from
the bottle through the valve.
The notch or groove e in the stopper may be dispensed with in which case I
employ an india rubber washer or valve d of the kind represented in Figure 3B.
That is to say, an india rubber washer or valve having one or more small
perforations in it marked e² e²; or a plain india rubber ring without the small
perforations may be employed, in which last case the central perforation in the
india rubber washer or valve fits loosely in the neck of the stopper in which it
engages.
When it is wished to open the bottle the head a of the stopper is pressed
downwards as indicated by the upper arrow in Figure 3. By the slight descent
of the body of the stopper the india rubber washer or valve d takes the slightly
concave form represented in the said Figure 3 and the flange b is separated a short
distance from the said valve d. The lower end of the notch or groove é is thereby
partly uncovered and gas escapes along the said groove e into the atmosphere as
indicated by the lower arrow in Figure 3 and the stopper being no longer pressed
upwards falls and the bottle is opened. Where a stopper without the notch or
groove e is employed in conjunction with a washer or valve of the kind
represented in Figure 3B, the depression of the stopper in deflecting the
washer or valve opens one or more of the holes e² e² and permits of an escape
of gas.
Where an unperforated washer or valve is employed fitting loosely in the neck c
of the stopper, the deflection of the washer or valve by the drepression of the
stopper perinits of the escape of gas between the central perforation of the washer
or valve and the neck c, in which it engages.
The depression of the stopper for opening the bottle is much facilitated by the
diminished size of that portion of the stopper situated immediately above the india
rubber valve.
In order to effectually secure the embedding of the flange b in or against the
india rubber valve d, the said flange 6 may have on its upper side a circular rib

page_text: or projection as represented in Figure 3A and marked b. This rib may either be
made at or near the margin of the flange b as represented, or it may be made near
the central part of the flange b.
Instead of making the body of the stopper of a pear shape as represented in
Figures 12 and 3 it may be made of the shape represented in the elevations
taken at right angles to one another and the vertical section Figure 4; that is to
say, opposite sides of the body of the stopper are partly cut away so as to somewhat
flatten the body, the said body having in one direction a wedge shape as
represented.
Or the body of the stopper may have the flattened cone shape represented in
the elevations taken at right angles to one another and the vertical section Figure 5
and plans of upper and lower sides Figure 6.
In each of the modifications Figures 4. 5 and 6 a notch or groove for the escape
of gas on opening the bottle is made at opposite sides of the body of the stopper
instead of at one side only as in Figures 1. 2 and 3.
In the said Figures 4. 5 and 6 the flattened body of the stopper is marked a
the neck or contraction is marked c, the flange is marked 6 the india rubber
washer or valve is marked d. and the notches or grooves for the escape of the gas
are marked h, h. The stoppers Figures 4-5 and 6 are applied to the bottles and
act in the manner described with respect to the stopper Figures 1. 2 and 3,
the stopper being either pressed downwards or aside in order to open the bottle.
Figure 7 represents in section the stopper Figures 5 and 6 applied to a bottle
and exhibits the position of the stopper and its valve or washer when the stopper
is pressed aside for opening the bottle.
When the stopper is pressed aside as illustrated in Figure 7 the india rubber
washer or valve d has the figure given to it represented in the drawing so that
one of the notches or grooves his uncovered and gas escapes through the said
notch or groove and the stopper falls. Should the stopper be turned aside in the
other direction the other notch or groove h at the opposite side of the stopper is,
uncovered.
In all the various forms of stoppers I make the part bearing on the upper side
of the india rubber valve of small size the small size of this part rendering its
depression or pressing aside and the consequent opening of the bottle easy.
: 7.
Figure 8 represents a stopper weighted according to my invention.' The weight
represented in Figure 8 consists of a small metallic bar or rod p which is passed
across the head of the stopper and its ends rivetted; or melted lead may be
poured into a cross hole in the head; or the weight in the head of the stopper
may either have the cruciform shape shown in Figure 9 and marked q, or the
angular figure shown in Figure 10 and marked r. By weighting the stopper in
the ways described and represented the weighting material is prevented from
becoming detached from the stopper.
Figure 11 represents a gauge or apparatus constructed according to my
invention for facilitating the adaptation of stoppers to the bottles with which they
are to be used.
The said gauge or apparatus consists of a rod having at one end a handle and
below the bandle a series of discs 8, 8 is fixed axially upon the said rod the said
discs progressively increasing in diameter from the lower end to the handle end of
the rod and numbered accordingly. By introducing the gauge or apparatus into
the neck of the bottle the size of the stopper suitable for the bottle is immediately
indicated by the number of discs which have passed through the contracted
portion of the neck of the bottle or the distance to which the said instrument
enters the contracted portion of the neck.
Instead of making a series of numbered discs upon the rod numbered spheres of
the same diameter as the discs may be used; or in place of discs or spheres on a
rod a series of numbered discs of progressively increasing diameter and joined
together may be cut from sheet metal This modification of the gauge is repre-
sented in Figure 12 where the discs are marked t, t
-

page_text: 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 claim as my
Invention ;-
.J.
1
...First The improvements herereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2,
3, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawings in those kinds of stoppers or
valves for bottles, containing aërated liquids or liquids under gaseous pressure
which consist: essentially of a rigid or inelastic body terminating at bottom in a
flauge, and an india rubber. ring or valve fitted upon a neck immediately above
the said flange; that is to say, reducing in size substantially in the manner
herein before described and illustrated in the said Figures that portion of the
stopper immediately. above the india rubber ring or valve so that the said ring or
valve may be easily bent in its middle by the depression or pressing aside of the
stopper and an air passage thereby opened through which gas escapes and the
stopper consequently made to fall.
t
:
Secondly Making a circular rib or projection on the upper side of the flange at
the bottom of the stopper as herein before described and illustrated in Figure 3ª
of the accompanying Drawings, whether the, stoppers be of the kind hereinbefore
described or other stoppers in which the valve consists of a rigid flange or disc
combined, with an elastic ring or washer on or against which the said rib embeds
itself.1..
Thirdly The methods herein before described and illustrated in Figures 8, 9
and 10 of the accompanying drawings of weighting the heads of stoppers for
bottles containing aërated liquids or liquids under gaseous pressure..
Lastly The instrument or apparatus and its modifications herein before
described and illustrated in Figures 11 and 12 of the accompanying Drawings for
facilitating the adaptation of stoppers to bottles containing aërated liquids or
liquids under gaseous pressure
In witness whereof I the said Arthur Bayly Vanes have hereunto set my hand
and seal this second day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty three.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW
AKIHUK BAYLY VANES (L.S.)