IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR STOPPING BOTTLES, - JARS, AND OTHER HOLLOW ARTICLES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nathan Thompson, of the City of Brooklyn, and
State of New York, in the United States of America, but at
present of 23, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR STOPPING BOTTLES,
- JARS, AND OTHER HOLLOW ARTICLES."
Scaled the 9th February 1875, and dated the 29th August 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nathan Thompson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th August 1874.
I, NATHAN THOMPSON, of the City of Brooklyn, and State of New
York, in the United States of America, but at present of 23, South-
ampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR STOPPING
BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER HOLLOW ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
For this purpose I employ, as heretofore, a stopper or cover to fit the
article to which it is to be applied, a disc, ring, or washer of cork or

page_text: other suitable packing being employed to come between the parts, as is
well understood.
The stopper or cover is provided with two or more wing pieces or clips
pin-jointed to the outer edge thercof. These wing picces or clips are so
formed as to take a bearing on the edge of the stopper or cover and
underneath a flange formed on the end or neck of the bottle, jar, or
other hollow article to which the stopper or cover is to be applied. In
combination with these wing pieces or clips is employed a locking piece,
which is pin-jointed to the centre of the stopper or cover, and acts in
such manner that when it is turned in one direction the wing pieces or
clips are free to be turned on their axes of motion, and when turned in
the other direction such locking picce is capable of holding the wing
picces or clips in their closed position.
The action of the stopper or cover, formed as above described, is as
follows: When the wing pieces or clips are turned on their axes of
motion outwards away from the centre of the stopper or cover, the
stopper or cover can be readily passed over the neck or end of the bottle,
jar, or other hollow article; pressure is then applied to the stopper or
cover so as to compress the packing. The wing pieces or clips are then
turned inwards on their axes of motion so as to bear underneath the
flange on the bottle, jar, or other hollow article, after which the locking
piece is turned upon its axis of motion to hold the wing picces or clips
in position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Nathan Thompson in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 27th February 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NATHAN
THOMPSON, of the City of Brooklyn, and State of New York, in the
United States of America, but at present of 23, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, givo and grant unto me, the said Nathan Thompson, Her
2

page_text: special license that I, the said Nathan Thompson, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Nathan Thompson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
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 for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR STOPPING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER HOLLOW
ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Nathan
Thompson, 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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Nathan Thompson, 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:-
For this purpose I employ, as heretofore, a stopper or cover to fit the
article to which it is to be applied, a disc, ring, or washer of cork or
other suitable packing being employed to come between the parts, as is
well understood.
The stopper or cover is provided with two or more wing pieces or
clips, pin-jointed to the outer edge thereof. These wing pieces or clips
are so formed as to take a bearing on the edge of the stopper or cover
underneath a flange formed on the end or neck of the bottle, jar, or
other hollow article to which the stopper or cover is to be applied. In
combination with these wing pieces or clips is employed a locking piece
which is pin-jointed to the centre of the stopper or cover, and acts in'
such manner that when it is turned in one direction the wing pieces or
clips are free to be turned on their axes of motion, and when turned in'
the other direction such locking piece is capable of holding the wing
pieces or clips in their closed position.
:
And in order that my said Invention may be more clearly understood:
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying;
Drawings, more fully to describe the same.

page_text: .
Figure 1 is a section showing a stopper constructed according to my
Invention as applied to the neck of a bottle, jar, or other article.
Figure 2 is a top view of the stopper with the wing picces in their
closed position.
Figure 3 is a top view of the stopper with the wing pieces in their
opened position, to enable the stopper to be applied to or removed from
the bottle, jar, or other article.
Figure 4 is an under side view of the stopper; and Figures 5, 6,
and 7, are various views of one of the wing pieces separately.
a is a cap or cover to which is applied a disc b of cork or other
suitable packing, to fit, or nearly so, the neck of the bottle, jar, or other
articlo to which it is to be applied; around this disc of cork or other
material I pass a ring of india-rubber c or other suitable material, to
render the stopper air tight.
1
1
The cap or cover a is provided with two or more wing pieces or
clips d, pin-jointed to the outer edge thereof. These wing pieces or
clips d are formed with flanges d¹ to take a bearing on the edge of the
cap or cover a, and with flanges d³ to bear on the under side of a
flange e¹ formed on the end or neck e of the bottle, jar, or other hollow 2
article to which the stopper or cover is to be applied. In combination
with these wing pieces or clips d is employed a locking piece f, which is
pin-jointed to the centre of the stopper or cover, and acts in such manner
that when it is turned into the position shown in Figure 3, the wing
pieces or clips d are free to be turned on their axes of motion, and 2
when turned into the direction shown at Figure 2, such locking piece is
capable of holding the wing pieces or clips d in their closed position by
the parts of the locking piece passing over the projections d³ of the
clips or wing pieces.
The action of the stopper or cover, formed as above described, is as 3
follows: When the wing pieces or clips dare turned on their axes of
motion outwards away from the centre of the stopper or cover, as shown
at Figure 3, the stopper or cover can be readily passed over the neck or
end of the bottle, jar, or other hollow article; pressure is then applied

page_text: to the stopper or cover so as to compress the packing; the wing pieces
or clips & are then turned inwards on their axes of motion so as to bear
underneath the flange e' on the neck of the bottle, jar, or other hollow
article, after which the locking piece fis turned upon its axis of motion
to hold the wing pieces or clips in position.
I would here remark that in the Specification of former Letters
Patent granted to me, I described a stopper having a wing piece hinged
to a correspondingly formed piece fixed to the top of the stopper, but in
such case a screw was employed to force a loose disc against the end of
the neck of the bottle, jar, or other article. I do not therefore claim
the employment of wing pieces generally considered; but what I claim
as my present Invention is the peculiar construction of stopper in which
the cap or cover has wing pieces or clips pin-jointed to the edge thereof,
which are locked in position by means of a locking piece fpin-jointed to
the cap or cover, which latter is pressed firmly down on to the neck of
the article to be stopped, and then held in position by the clips or wing
pieces in manner substantially as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathan Thompson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.