AN IMPROVED MODE OF STOPPING BOTTLES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Simpson, of Redhill, Surrey, for the Inven-
tion of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF STOPPING BOTTLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Simpson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
July 1856.
I, FREDERICK SIMPSON, of Redhill, Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OP STOPPING BOTTLES," to be as
follows:-
In the upper part of the neck of a bottle I form two or more threads of a
screw, the lower part being made more conical in shape than usual. The
cork or other elastic stopper is forced down below the screw and fills up the
neck of the bottle, whence it cannot be displaced by the pressure of the gaseous
matter within, by which means strings and wires may be dispensed with.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Simpson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st January 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
SIMPSON, of Redhill, Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Frederick Simpson, Her special licence that I, the said Frederick Simpson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Frederick Simpson, 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 "AN IMPROVED
MODE OF STOPPING BOTTLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Frederick Simpson, 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 Frederick Simpson, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 :-
This Invention, of an improved mode of stopping bottles, consists in forming
the neck of the bottle in such manner that the cork shall be securely held
so as to retain gaseous or volatile fluids without the assistance of wires or
strings. This is done by making the neck of the bottle with an internal screw,
and the part below the screw of a conical form. When the cork is put into
the bottle it is turned round two or three times, by this action the cork
becomes imbedded in the threads of the screw, and the lower part of it com-
pletely fills the conical space below the thread. The cork of a bottle secured
in this manner resists the pressure of gaseous fluids, as aerated waters, for
example, at the same time prevents the escape of gases or volatile matters, and
may be easily withdrawn without injuring the cork by simply unscrewing or

page_text: turning it in a direction contrary to that used for corking the bottle. By this
improvement the use of corkscrews is unnecessary, and the waste arising from
the breaking and perforation of corks is avoided.
But in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to
describe the same in detail, referring to the accompanying Drawing forming
a part of this Specification, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 represents a vertical section of a bottle made according to my
improvements. A little below the mouth is a short internal screw a, cast,
moulded, or turned in the glass, stoneware, metal, or other material of which
the bottle or vessel is made. The depth of the screw need not exceed two or
three revolutions of the thread, as shown by Figure 1. Below the screw the
neck is contracted, as shown at B; this recess is filled by the cork when it is
screwed down, and the screw facilitates the passing of the cork into this
conical part of the bottle. The cork should be cut rather larger than the
diameter of the neck, in order to give greater resistance (when inserted) to any
pressure from within.
The screw differs from an ordinary V-shaped or
angular threaded screw, and also from the square-threaded screw, but combines
the distinctive features of both. a, a, are the sharp edges of the projecting
thread. The space c, c, between the thread is much wider than in an ordinary
screw, and the greatest portion of this surface being flat, the cork when
inserted lies closely against the inside of the neck; at the same time the pro-
jecting thread a, a, being imbedded in the cork, effectually prevents its
removal by any pressure from within. The angular ridges a, a, serve also to
compress the cork, and thereby prevent the escape of volatile matters; nor can
the cork be removed by the upsetting of the vessel, or from any accidental
cause, as it must be rotated two or three times to release it from the threads a, a,
Figure 2 represents a section of the bottle neck with the cork inserted.
In this Figure it will be observed that the cork is imbedded in the thread of
the screws, and that. the lower portion fills the conical-shaped part of the
neck b. Unless the lower part below the screw was made of a conical form
the screw would be of little utility, for the gaseous matters would escape
around the threads of an ordinary screw; but by my arrangement these
matters cannot reach the screw, being stopped by the cork in the narrow part
of the neck, and likewise by the peculiar form of the worm; and the screw
enabling me to readily force the cork into this narrow part, so as to resist any
ordinary internal pressure. The thread of the screw retains the cork with
sufficient firmness to resist the pressure of gaseous matters, and prevent the
cork being forcibly ejected, as would be the case with soda water if placed in
an ordinary bottle and the cork unconfined by wire or string. The foregoing

page_text: improvement in stopping bottles is applicable also to jars and other similar
vessels, whether made of glass, earthenware, china, metal, gutta percha, wood,
or other material.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that what I claim,
and desire to secure under the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,
making the necks of bottles with an internal screw in conjunction with a
conical space below, substantially as herein-before described and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Simpson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
FRED SIMPSON. (L.S.)