Improvements in Bottles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd July, 1894-Accepted, 25th Aug., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bottles.
I, JAMES HENRY VALENTINE, a citizen of the United States of America
residing at Chatham, in the County of Morris and State of New Jersey, United
States of America, 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:-
This invention relates particularly to square bottles having flat rectangular sides.
for holding poisons and analogous materials or medical preparations.
The invention aims to provide an improved square flat sided poison bottle of this
character which shall be convenient for the application of suitable labels, and which
shall have peculiarly disposed projections so arranged that the bottle cannot be
grasped without contact of the hand with these projections, whereby the person
using the bottle must note its peculiarity, and will thereby be warned of its
contents.
The invention resides in constructing a bottle of square or oblong cross-section
having rectangular substantially flat sides, with two adjacent smooth substantially
flat sides for the labels, and with two adjacent sides having projections serving to
warn the holder of the bottle of its peculiar nature. Thus the opposite sides of the
bottle are strikingly different, one being entirely smooth and the other entirely
rough, whereby it is impossible for a person lifting the bottle by grasping its body
to avoid feeling the rough sides, since to lift the bottle it is essential to grasp its
two opposite sides, and in my improved bottle the opposite sides in each instance
are the one smooth and a flat label side and the other rough and a warning side.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention,
Fig. 1 is an elevation looking toward the corner of my improved bottle, and
showing the two smooth sides thereof;
Fig. 2 is a similar elevation looking toward the diametrically opposite corner of
the bottle, and showing the two rough sides thereof; and
Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the bottle, in which view the arrow 1 shows the point
from which the bottle is viewed in Fig. 1, and the arrow 2 shows the point from
which the bottle is viewed in Fig. 2.
Referring to the drawings, let A indicate the body and B the neck of the bottle.
The body A is constructed with four substantially flat sides extending at
substantially right angles each to the next. Two of these sides, CC, are smooth
or substantially so, extend continuously, substantially from the bottom to the top
of the body, and throughout their length are adapted for the application_of_a
suitable label indicative of the contents of the bottle. The other two sides, D D,
are substantially flat, extend continuously substantially from the bottom to the top
of the body, and throughout their length are roughened with warning projections E EÈ
respectively. The two smooth sides or label walls C C are adjacent sides, and the
two rough sides or warning walls D D are likewise adjacent sides, each being
opposite one of the smooth sides C. The projections E E preferably consist of
pyramidal points arranged in vertical rows traversing the edges of the roughened
sides from top to bottom. Two rows of points are shown at each edge of each
rough side. Between these rows is a groove F rising vertically of the rough side,
in which groove letters or figures may be formed when blowing the bottle. For
example the word " poison may be blown in one of these grooves, and the
representation of a skull and cross bones in the other, as shown in Fig. 2, in letters
of like height to the points E. The corners G between the adjacent sides are
preferably slightly flattened as shown, and in the construction shown the angle of
"

page_text: the pyramidal projections E and of the flat corners is the same, and the corners
constitute essentially continuations of the sides of the outer rows of pyramidal
projections.
In use the bottle must be grasped by its two opposite sides by the hand, whereby
the projections E must be felt by the person grasping the bottle, and this will serve
as notice of the character of the contents of the bottle. Such notice is particularly
desirable in the case of bottles designed for holding poisons or medicinal or chemical
preparations, which are frequently grasped in the dark, or in dark rooms where it is
impossible to see from the appearance, or from the label on the bottle, what the
contents thereof are. Whichever way the bottle is grasped one label side and one
rough side will be exposed for examination by the user, and one label side and one
rough side will be felt by the user, thus enabling both the senses of sight and touch
to be used in distinguishing the bottle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a four sided bottle, two substantially flat rectangular adjacen: smooth side
walls, adapted for a label, and two substantially flat rectangular adjacent rough
side walls roughened with peculiarly disposed warning projections, the said roughened
walls being each opposite one of the said smooth walls, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth, whereby when the bottle is grasped its warning provisions and
one of its smooth sides must be felt.
2. In a bottle, the square body A, having the two adjacent smooth flat label
walls C C, and the two adjacent roughened warning walls D D, each of the said
roughened walls being opposite one of the said smooth walls, and all of the said
walls extending continuously substantially the entire height of the body, whereby
when the bottle is grasped its warning provisions and one of its smooth walls must
be felt.
3. In a bottle having four substantially flat, rectangular walls, the two adjacent
smooth label walls C C and the two adjacent roughened warning walls DD, the latter
each opposite one of the said smooth walls and constructed with vertical rows of
warning projections E E near their edges, and with central grooves F between the
said projections, whereby when the bottle is grasped its warning provisions and one
of its smooth walls must be felt.
Dated the 21st day of July 1894.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.