Improvements in Bottle-stoppers.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 16th Feb., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bottle-stoppers.
I, FREDERICK BOOTH THATCHER, of No. 45 Wendell Street, Providence,
County of Providence, State of Rhode Island, 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 :-
My invention relates to the class of devices which are more particularly adapted
to closing bottles, and the object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap and
secure fastening device for those bottles or like vessels which contain liquids under
pressure, and a stopper which is particularly adapted not only for stoppling bottles
containing beer and wine, but also such as hold aerated beverages such as soda,
sarsaparilla and the like light drinks which are used in great quantities during the
wartner seasons of the year.
My invention consists in a bottle stopper comprising a cap piece having a socket
and a valve disk of thin metal adapted to be expanded into place to close the
mouth of the bottle; it further consists of a bottle having a grooved stopple socket
in which a packing may be located and a thin centered metal disk adapted to be
expanded into place; and it further consists in details of the several parts making
up the bottle stopper as a whole and in the combination of such parts as more
particularly hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a detail side view of the upper end of a bottle provided with my
improved stopper.
Figure 2 is a detail top view of the bottle and stopper.
Figure 3 is a view in vertical central section of the mouth and neck of the bottle
and of the socket piece, the stopple being removed.
Figure 4 is a detail view in central section of the disk shaped stopple before
expansion, enlarged.
Figure 5 is a view in central section of the same disk in its expanded position,
enlarged.
Figure 6 is a detail view in central section on enlarged scale through the mouth
of the bottle showing the form of the cap piece and packing in cross section, and
also of the stopple in its first position and before expansion.
Figure 7 is a detail view in central section and on enlarged scale through the
mouth of a bottle showing the stopple expanded into place, and also illustrating
the method of removing the stopple as by means of a pointed tool.
In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes a bottle, the mouth of which
is provided with a socket piece 6 preferably formed to shape of thin metal and
secured so as to extend inward at its upper end and in part overlie the end of the
bottle at the mouth.
In the form shown the neck of the bottle has an external screw thread a' and the
socket piece is made of thin metal bent or spun to shape with a thread which
engages that on the bottle so that the socket piece is held in its proper place by
the engagement of the two threads. An indentation is formed in the outer surface
of the bottle as at the termination of the thread with the object of providing
shoulder against which the metal of the cap may be caused to engage by punching
in the substance of the cap and thus prevent the unscrewing of the same after the
cap has reached the desired final position of adjustment. It is not essential that
a

page_text: such a locking feature should be provided but is arranged for in order to prevent
any accidental removal of the cap.
The socket piece has a socket formed by the flange b' which is turned inward
and overlies the end of the bottle and in this socket there is located a packing
ring c preferably of india rubber or like material, and by turning the socket piece
the degree of compression of this packing ring between the end of the bottle and
the flange & can be adjusted.
This packing ring c is preferably of india rubber moulded to shape and vulcanized
and with an under-cut inner edge c¹ which allows the stopple to reach the seat on
the shoulder at the end of the bottle and within the packing without pinching any
portion of the packing under the edge of the disk and provides at the same time a
proper surface into which the edge of the disk can expand, as illustrated in Figure 7
of the drawings.
The socket piece and the packing ring are in the relative positions shown in the
sectional view in Figure 3 of the drawings, and the open mouth of the bottle is
closed by means of an expansible stopple d. This stopple d consists of a thin disk
of metal larger in diameter than the mouth of the bottle so that its edge may rest
on a firm bearing within the packing ring and in a position to enable it to be
thrust into and against the substance of the packing by flattening or expanding
the disc.
The diameter of the disc in its concaved shape is, as stated, such as to enable it
to fit snugly within the cap, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and by pressure
exerted upon the upper part of this disc-like stopple it is then flattened out or
expanded, its edge being thrust underneath the inward and downturned edge b' of
the socket piece and into the mass of the packing ring.
The preferred shape of the dish shaped stopple is shown in Fig. 4 of the
drawings as in such a shape the stopple is of a diameter less than the same disk will
have when flattened or expanded. The central part of the stoppled has a recess d'
with a thin center d² which while less in thickness than the rest of the disk is of
ample strength to resist the outward pressure of fluids within the bottle, but can be
easily punctured by a sharp pointed implement in the manner illustrated in Fig. 7
of the drawings. The implement is then used as a lever to pry the stopple out of
its seat, the edge of the recess d' in the stopple forming a fulcrum to support the
strain, this forming one special feature of improvement. While the thin center d²
forms an important feature of the stopple, the recess d¹ is not so essential, although
it is preferred as tending to protect the thin center from accidents by dropping
such center below the level of the top of the bottle even when flattened out in final
position for closing the mouth of the bottle.
When the stopple is thus expanded into place it securely closes the mouth of the
bottle and compresses the packing ring in the socket so as to close all of the
joints against the escape of the liquid or of the gases contained in the bottle.
The socket piece is preferably made of thin metal which may be spun to shape
or formed in a press, or it may be otherwise made, but it is preferably screw-
threaded to fit the thread formed on the outside of the bottle and holds the packing
ring securely in place while providing a construction easily adapted to the renewing
of a packing ring when for any reason the latter shall become worn or is of a wrong
size or shape to perfectly pack the joint.
The packing ring is preferably larger in interior diameter than the mouth of
the bottle, the end or edge of which forms an abutment on which the lower edge
of the stopple disk rests so that when pressure is applied downward on the stopple
it is resisted by the rigid material of the bottle and causes the disk to expand
laterally, pressing it into the substance of the packing. The edge of the stopple d
does not always underlie the packing but takes such a position as the pressure
from within the bottle may force it into. The stopple is, when expanded,
greater in diameter than the opening through the socket piece so that its edge
underlies the inner edge of the flange as stated, the latter holding the stopple
securely against being forced out of place by the pressure of the liquid in the bottle.

page_text: The essential feature of my improvement is in the expanding stopple and its
packing and it is obvious that may be made of various forms and have various
shapes of reinforcing ribs or corrugations to strengthen it; and it is also obvious
that the socket piece may be secured or attached to the bottle, either adjustably
or by any means provided the socket piece contains the socket for the packing ring
and a flange beneath which the edges of the stopple can be expanded. For these
reasons my invention is not limited to the particular form of socket piece and stopple
shown, although they are the preferred forms. The main portion of the stopper,
that is the socket piece and the packing, are usable for a long time, while the stopple
is used but once, but this is not objectionable owing to the extreme cheapness of the
latter.
The stopple is made of thin metal and the central recess forms a shoulder that to
a degree reinforces and strengthens the stopple so as to hold it firmly against a
strain tending to bend it and such reinforcement may be provided by ribs or
corrugations. In a like manner the inturned edge of the top part forms a
reinforcement to prevent the crippling of the socket piece at the mouth and to
form an additional guard against the cracking or splitting the edge of the mouth
of the bottle. If required a wire may be introduced under the bent portion or an
additional fold may be formed in the substance of the socket piece to further
stiffen it.
When the stopple, as is usually the case, expands to place closely against the end
or mouth of the bottle there is exposed to the liquid within the bottle simply the
inetal surface of the stopple, and if india rubber should prove for any reason to be
objectionable for packing a stopple for any particular beverage, then cork or other
suitable material for packing might be substituted without any material change in
the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a bottle-stopper, in combination with a removable socket-piece having an
inturned flange or holding edge and secured to the bottle, a packing underlying
such flange, and a thin metallic expansible stopple expanded into place against the
packing, all substantially as described.
2. In combination with a bottle having an exterior thread at the mouth,
a threaded socket-piece fitting the thread on the bottle and having an edge
reinforced by an inturned flange, a packing ring underlying the flange on the
socket-piece, and an expanded thin metallic disc with its edge extending under-
neath the flange or shoulder on the socket-piece and compressing the packing, all
substantially as described.
3. In combination with a bottle having a packing socket at its mouth, an
annular packing ring located in the socket, a reinforced stopple greater in diameter
than the mouth of the bottle and expanded into place by the flattening of the
stopple and with its edge underlying the upper part of the packing socket, all
substantially as described.
4. In a bottle-stopper, in combination with a packing socket, an annular packing
located in the socket, a thin metallic stopple expanded into a seat against the packing
and having a central portion thinner than the body of the stopple, all substantially
as described.
Dated this 19th dex of November 1894.
FREDERICK BOOTH THATCHER.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.