Improvements relating to Screw Stoppers for Bottles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct.,
1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Screw Stoppers for Bottles.
I, JOHN FORSHAW, Junior, of 17 and 19, Brasenose Road, Bankhall, Liverpool,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Screw stoppers comprising a screwed shank and a projecting head are usually
formed out of one piece of material, and when such material is lignum vitae it
follows that the blank or uncut piece of wood must be as large in diameter as
the head of the stopper. Hence in cutting or turning down the blank to the
diameter of the shank there is considerable waste of material, which in the case
of lignum vitae is a serious item of cost.
In stoppers according to this invention the shank and the projecting head are
different pieces of wood, and usually of different woods. The shank will be of
lignum vitae or non-porous wood, and is formed from a blank whose diameter is
just sufficient for the purpose, thus obviating the necessity of turning down the
shank from a blank large enough to provide the head. The head will usually
be formed of a less-expensive wood, as it does not require to be non-porous, and
may with advantage be softer than lignum vitae, to facilitate the impression of
names, or trade marks, thereon, and also to facilitate the dyeing of the wood.
Various means may be employed for uniting the head and shank of the stopper.
The method I at present prefer is to form a portion of the shank on the underside
of the head, which portion may form part of the seating for the rubber washer,
A recess is bored or
which is used on stoppers of the type above referred to.
otherwise formed centrally through such portion and penetrating some distance
into the head, but not, by preference, passing completely through the head.
The upper end of the shank is turned down to a diameter which just enables it
A small hole is then bored into the
to be inserted into the aperture in the head.
side of the head or into the seating portion below the head, or other part thereof,
and through the part of the shank within the same, but not, by preference,
emerging on the other side of the head, and into this hole a small pin or dowell
is forced, which locks the shank within the head. Such pin is by preference of
wood, but in some cases it may be of metal or other material.
An alternative means of uniting the head and shank will be the converse of
the above, namely a turned down portion of the head will be inserted in a bored
out aperture in the shank, the locking pin being inserted as before.
When the hole for the locking pin is bored into the seating portion of the
stopper, it will be seen that the rubber washer when in place will cover and hide
the same and also hide the joint between the head and the shank.
A further improvement consists in forming a slightly projecting shoulder just
below the head of the stopper and immediately above the seating of the rubber
washer. Sucli shoulder will be approximately equal in diameter to that of the
washer when the latter is in place. The object of this shoulder is to provide for
the slight irregularity found in the sizes of bottle necks. For instance, when the

page_text: neck is somewhat full in size the head of the stopper sometimes comes in contact
with the bottle-mouth when the stopper is screwed down, thus preventing an
air-tight joint being made by the rubber washer. The provision of the shoulder
above specified will serve to expand the washer as the stopper is screwed home
and will also separate or raise the head from the washer.
improvements relating to Screw Stoppers for Bottles.
I, JOHN FORSHAW, Junior, of 17 and 19, Brasenose Road, Bankhall, Liverpool
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:.
-
A screw stopper formed according to the present invention comprises a shank
formed of lignum-vitae, cut with a screw-thread, and a cap or head formed of
a wood the nature of which is not as hard as that of lignum-vitae.
The drawing hereto annexed illustrates the manner in which a stopper com-
prising a lignum-vitae shank and a softwood head is formed.
"
Figure is a side view-partly in section-of the improved stopper.
Figures 2 and 3 are side views of the head and shank, respectively, shewn
separated from one another.
Figure 4 is a plan of the stopper.
The head a is by preference formed of sycamore and possesses a shank b.
The shank c is formed of lignum-vitae, and in addition to the usual screw
thread and washer seating-possesses a central recess d.
The head and shank are united by forcing the shank 6 of the head a into the
recess d of the shank c. In order to allow for any expansion which might take
place in the shank of the head, the said shank is preferably divided centrally
and vertically by a saw-cut extending the whole length of the shank. A hole
is formed through the portion of the stopper which carries the rubber washer
and through the shank 6; and into this hole is driven a pin-preferably of lance-
wood by which the head and shank c of the stopper are locked together, as
shewn in Figure 1.-
A stopper comprising a lignum-vitae shank and a soft" wood head affords
several advantages not afforded by a stopper composed wholly of lignum-vitae.
In the first place, a lesser piece of lignum-vitae is required; namely, a piece or
uncut blank which is merely large enough to produce the shank, instead of a
piece or uncut blank whose diameter is large enough to produce the head as
well as the shank. Secondly, the "soft" wood head is susceptible to dye, and
is readily dyed black, the hue which is most preferred by users. Thirdly, the
bottler's name or trade mark or other matter may be satisfactorily branded or
die-sunk in the "soft" wood of the head. It is very difficult to brand lignum-
vitae; the wood is so hard that it will not receive a satisfactory impression from
a die, and branding irons must be so highly and so frequently heated to brand
lignum-vitae, that they are quickly burnt away and become useless. The oily
nature of lignum-vitae also precludes the possibility of dyeing it successfully,
and the natural colour of the wood has militated in the past against the use
of lignum-vitae stoppers with many users.
In addition to the above named advantages, attend the use of a
"soft" wood

page_text: head, it will be seen that the lignum-vitae shank and washer e afford the essen-
tial function of a lignum-vitae stopper, namely, the hermetical sealing of the
bottle. In this respect it should be noted that the rubber washer e covers the
ends of the lance-wood pin, which locks the head and shank together, thus pre-
venting any leakage of gas which might otherwise take place through the lance-
wood and through the head.
It should also be noted that the shank of the head completely fills its recess in
the shank of the stopper. Consequently there is no play allowed to the locking
pin and the latter is not twisted or otherwise strained when the stopper is being
screwed into or out of a bottle neck.
66
The term soft" wood which I have applied to the head of my improved stopper
must be understood in a comparative sense and relative to the hard nature of
the lignum-vitae shank, and such term must be taken to mean woods of a similar
nature to sycamore, which wood I prefer. The wood of which the heads are
formed must be sufficiently hard to withstand the rough usage to which stoppers
are usually subjected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A screw stopper for bottles, comprising a lignum-vitae shank and a "soft"
wood head, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
2. A screw stopper for bottles, consisting of a head a having a turned down
portion b, and a shank c having a recess d, said portion 6 being inserted in the
recess d, and secured therein by a locking pin, substantially as described with
reference to the drawings hereto annexed.
Dal
101
1
1000
J. A. COUBROUGH,
Chartered Patent Agent,
10, St. George's Crescent, Liverpool, Agent for the Applicant.