AN IMPROVED STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Cutler Street at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with bis, Petition, on the
8th September 1871.
I, WILLIAM CUTLER STREET, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings,
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for." AN
IMPROVED STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS," to be as follows:-
:-
My Invention relates to a stopper for bottles and other vessels or
articles, and is designed to afford a. more sure and convenient means
for closing such vessels and preventing any escape or loss of their
contents (whether liquid or. solid) than has heretofore been practicable
with ordinary. corks and similar stoppers, and which at the same time
will be free from the costliness and liability to derangement incurred
by the use of the more complicated contrivances used for this purpose.

page_text: My improved stopper is made by fixing upon a piece of cork, india-
rubber, or other suitable material which forms the body of the stopper,
a head or cap of brass, tin, or other thin metal in the following manner,
viz. The piece of cork, india-rubber, or other material is made the
proper size and shape to fit and close tightly the mouth of the bottle,
or other vessel or article. The metal head or cap is made by stamping
the same from a thin sheet of brass, tin, or other suitable metal. This
disc is placed in a die and thereby has its edge bent over and turned
inward all around its circumference, leaving a circular opening within
this turned-in portion of the cap. The cork or other substance is then
placed in a die which compresses it to such an extent that it will enter
the aperture in the head or cap. If cork is used it may be wetted to
facilitate its compression. The cork or other material is then released
from the die in which it is compressed and expands to its natural size,
filling the cavity formed in the head by turning in the edge of the cap,
and being thereby firmly secured in the said cap; the latter is larger in
diameter than the body of the stopper, and therefore forms a projecting
rim or flange all around the same.
In some cases I form a central aperture in the metal head or cap,
and place within the same a picture, monogram, name, address, or
other device, either useful or ornamental. This central aperture is
preferably formed by a punch placed in the centre of the die or stamp
used for cutting the disc from the metal sheet, the said disc being
stamped and the hole punched by the same action of the press.
The metal head or cap renders the stopper, if the same is properly
fitted in the bottle, perfectly tight, so that there will be no escape of the
contents of the bottle however volatile they may be. The rim or flange
of the head forms a convenient means of extracting the stopper without
injuring the same, so that it may be used for an unlimited number of
'times, and will therefore in the end be more economical than ordinary
corks, while it possesses all the advantages heretofore sought to be
obtained by the use of various more or less elaborate contrivances for
producing a thoroughly efficient and convenient bottle stopper. The
said stopper is adapted to syringes, infants' feeding bottles, and other
like articles by boring a hole through the centre in the usual manner
to fit the piston or tube, and will be found very advantageous for such

page_text: uses; as the rim or flange extending all around the head and resting on
the neck of the syringe or other article prevents the displacement of
the stopper. The common glass syringe with the ordinary cork stopper
is frequently broken by the displacement of the said cork, which is
liable to be pressed inward, allowing the piston to strike the end of
the syringe, thereby frequently causing great injury to the patient, but
by my Invention all liability to such accidents is obviated.