IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER SIMILAR VESSELS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Smith, of Holland Street, Brixton Road, in the
County of Surrey, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERING
BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER SIMILAR VESSELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Smith at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th December 1880.
HENRY SMITH, of Holland Street, Brixton Road, in the County of Surrey.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER SIMILAR VESSELS."
This arrangement of stoppering is principally applicable to bottles for containing
fermented or aërated waters, but may be applied for closing the opening or mouth
of bottles, jars, or similar vessels containing other substances.
It consists in the manner of mounting the stopper so as to hermetically close
the opening or mouth of the vessel, at the same time offering a great facility
for readily uncovering such opening or mouth when desired to remove the contents
of the bottle or other vessel. For this purpose a piece of metallic wire is wound
round the outside of the neck of the bottle or other vessel, and to it is swung an
inverted U shaped piece made of metallic wire, or a metallic strip with a loop at
each extremity through which the wire passes.
The stopper, which may be of porcelain, glass, cork, wood, or any other suitable
material, is fitted with a metallic strip passing from side to side through the
stopper, and being turned up at one end so as to form a sleeve which turns on the
flat upper end of the inverted U shaped piece. The other extremity of the metallic
strip is turned down and formed with a projecting (tongue, and on the wire round
the neck is pivotted a metallic piece, the upper end having a slot to receive the
tongue piece of the metallic strip, whilst its lower end forms a thumb piece, by
means of which the upper end is forced outwards so as to disengage the slot from
the tongue on the metallic strip running through the stopper. A band or ring of
india rubber or other suitable elastic material is placed round the part of the
stopper which enters the neck, such band or ring being compressed so as to form a
tight joint when the stopper is forced down, the tongue on the metallic strip
engaging with the slot in the piece pivotted to the wire ring round the neck,
whereby the stopper is securely held.
In order to prevent the thumb piece being accidentally forced down, and thus
disengage the catch on the stopper, a small piece of cork or other suitable material
may be inserted under the thumb piece, between it and the neck of the bottle or
other vessel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th June
1881.
HENRY SMITH, of Holland Street, Brixton Road, in the County of Surrey.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER SIMILAR VESSELS."
This arrangement of stoppering is principally applicable bottles for containing
fermented or aërated waters, but may be applied for closing the opening or mouth
of bottles, jars, or similar vessels containing other substances.
It consists in the manner of mounting the stopper so as to hermetically close the
opening or mouth of the vessel, at the same time offering a great facility for readily
uncovering such opening or mouth when desired to remove the contents of the
bottle or other vessel. For this purpose a piece of metallic wire is wound round
the outside of the neck of the bottle or other vessel, and to it is swung an inverted
U shaped piece made of metallic wire, or a metallic strip with a loop at each
extremity through which the wire passes.
The stopper, which may be of porcelain, glass, cork, wood, or any other suitable
material, is fitted with a metallic strip passing from side to side through the
stopper, and being turned up at one end so as to form a sleeve which turns on
the flat upper end of the inverted. U shaped piece. The other extremity of the
metallic strip is turned down and formed with a projecting tongue, and on the
wire round the neck is pivotted a metallic piece, the upper end having a slot to
receive the tongue piece of the metallic strip, whilst its lower end forms a thumb
piece, by means of which the upper end is forced outwards so as to disengage the
slot from the tongue on the metallic strip running through the stopper. A band
or ring of india rubber or other suitable elastic material is placed round the part of
the stopper which enters the neck, such band or ring being compressed so as to
form a tight joint when the stopper is forced down, the tongue on the metallic
strip engaging with the slot in the piece pivotted to the wire ring round the neck,
whereby the stopper is securely held.
In order to prevent the thumb piece being accidentally forced down, and thus
disengage the catch on the stopper, a small piece of cork or other suitable material
may be inserted under the thumb piece, between it and the neck of the bottle or
other vessel.
But in order that my Invention may be more clearly understood, I will proceed
to explain the same by the aid of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a bottle fitted with one arrangement for stoppering;
Fig. 2 is a front view, and Fig. 3, a back view of the same; Fig. 4 shows the
stopper removed from the mouth of the bottle.
A is the piece of metallic wire wound round the outside of the neck of the
bottle, to which is swung the metallic piece B, provided with the slot C at its
upper portion. Through this slot passes a metallic band or strip D, which is
doubled to a certain height, as shown, and which turns on the top bar B¹ of the
metallic piece B. The top extremity of this band or strip D is curled over, so
that when the stopper is released from the neck of the bottle the curled part strikes
against the bottle instead of the stopper itself, as shown in Fig. 4, thereby preventing
the bottle from being broken. This band or strip D has a slot D' cut in its two
branches opposite each other, that is to say, near the top of the shortest doubled
over end or branch. The stopper E has a hole passing through its head, through
which passes the metallic band or strip F, one end of which passes through the
two slots in the piece D, and is turned over, and, if necessary, is secured by means
of a soldering iron. The other end, which is bent downwards for a certain distance

page_text: upon the opposite side of the stopper, is provided with a projecting tongue F¹.
Upon the wire A is pivotted the metallic piece G, the upper end of which has a
slot G¹ to receive the tongue F', whilst its lower end forms a thumb piece, by means
of which the upper end is forced outwards so as to disengage the slot G¹ from the
tongue F when the bottle is to be opened.
Fig. 5 shows a back view of an arrangement in which are inverted U shaped
piece of wire H is pivotted to the wire A, and to which is fixed, so as to turn
thereon, the band or strap F passing through the stopper E, the means of fastening
the stopper in front being the same as above described. Instead of the U shaped
piece of wire H, a metallic piece may be pivotted on the wire A, and provided at
its upper end with a slot, the band or strip F being attached to it so as to turn on
the top bar of the said metallic piece.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that what I claim is the arrange-
ment for stoppering bottles, jars, and other similar vessels, substantially as herein
described and shown in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 11th day of June, in the year of our Lord 1881.