VESSELS OF PECULIAR CONSTRUCTION AND APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRE- SERVING VARIOUS ARTICLES OF PROVISION FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
COOPER, of Saint John Street, Saint James Clerkenwell, in the County of
Middlesex, Provision Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Fifth day of December, in the seventh year of Her reign, did, for Her-
self, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Cooper,
Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
James Cooper, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Cooper, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "VESSELS OF PECULIAR CONSTRUCTION AND APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRE-
SERVING VARIOUS ARTICLES OF PROVISION FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso making the same void if I, the said
James Cooper, shall not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in
Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Cooper, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained, in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon;
that is to say-
My Invention relates, first, to improvements in the construction of vessels
for steaming fruit and other articles of provisions; secondly, to apparatus
for closing jars or other vessels with bungs or such like stoppers when
preserving fruit and other provisions. And in order that the Invention
may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to
explain the Drawing hereunto annexed, in the various Figures of which the
same letters of reference are used to indicate similar parts wherever they occur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
The object of the Invention is to enable private persons to preserve fruits
and other provisions in jars and other suitable vessels with greater facility
than they have heretofore been enabled to do, and the first object is to
construct suitable vessels to be applied to the boilers of kitchen ranges, so that
the steam constantly generated therein may be turned to useful account for
preserving provisions.
Figure 1 shews a section of a vessel for receiving a jar or other suitable
vessel in which fruit or other provisions are to be preserved. a, a, is the lower
part of the vessel suitably formed at the lower part to enter an opening in the
boiler of a kitchen range, the vessel a being open below to admit steam from
the boiler; b is a perforated platform on which the jar c or other suitable
vessel is supported; this platform is sustained in its place by means of pro-
jections d, d, affixed to the vessel a and to the platform b. In order that the
vessel a may be capable of enlargement when different sized vessels or jars
are introduced, it is made with one or more parts a', which fit into the vessel a
as is shewn, and the cover a² fits the vessel a or the part a'. The fruit or
other provisions to be partially cooked and then preserved, being placed in
jars or other suitable vessels, the jars or vessels are to be successively placed
into the vessel a, and the same closed by the upper part a³, and after some
time the jar, if containing fruit, is to be filled up and again subjected to steam.
The jar, whether containing fruit or other provisions, after remaining a proper
length of time, is to be removed from the vessel a, and closed with a cork or
stopper as quickly as possible; and to facilitate this part of the operation I
employ the apparatus Figure 2, which shews a side view of a suitable screw

page_text: press for closing the mouth of the jar or vessel c, which I prefer to have a
conical mouth, as is shewn, the cork, bung, or stopper (being first pressed) into
the press, Figures 4 and 5, where Figure 4 shews a side view of the press, and
Figure 5 a plan of the lower or fixed part of the press, the pressing parts of
which press are made conical to suit the mouths of the jars or other vessels.
The cork or stopper being thus forced into the mouth of the bottle, is to be
retained in its place in order to prevent the expulsion of the cork or stopper
during the operation of steaming by means of the clamp shewn at Figures 6
and 7, where Figure 6 shews an elevation of a jar with a screw clamp applied;
and Figure 7 shews a plan of the jar and screw clamp,-this screw clamp being
put into its place as shewn in Figures 6 and 7, as quickly as possible after the
pressure of the screw press, Figure 2, has been removed, the jar or vessel
with the stopper or cork retained therein by the clamp is to be again returned
to the vessel a, and subjected for some time to the action of the steam, and
the screw clamp is to remain till the contents of the jar be cooled down.
I would remark 'that the process of preserving fruits and other provisions
in jars and other vessels by means of the heat of steam, and then closing them
by stoppers, corks, or bungs, has long been extensively practised, and is well
understood, consequently no claim is made thereto, and no further description
thereof will be required, my Invention only relating to the construction and
application of the vessels a, suitably arranged in order to be used with the
boilers of kitchen ranges, and to apparatus for stopping and retaining the
stoppers when preserving fruits or other provisions in jars and other suitable
vessels. As the corks, bungs, or stoppers will be forced into the jars or other
vessels very strongly, they will require a suitable corkscrew to remove them,
for which reason I have devised an apparatus shewn at Figures 8, 9, and 10.
e is the corkscrew, which is first screwed into the cork or stopper f; then the
frame g is placed over the neck of the jar, and the bar e¹ of the corkscrew will
enter into the holder h, the two ends of which are turned in opposite ways,
and the turned ends pass respectively under the bar e¹, and they will, when
the screw is raised, lift the corkscrew, and consequently draw the stopper.
The holder h is affixed to the bar j, which is guided by the two side frames g
of the apparatus, as is shewn, and the lower end of the screw i is attached to
the bar j, as is shewn.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would remark that I do not claim any
of the mechanical parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the precise
details so long as the peculiar character of my Invention be retained. But
what I claim is,-

page_text: First, the constructing of the vessels a in such manner that they may be
applied to an opening in a boiler of a kitchen range when preserving provisions
in jars or other vessels by steam.
And secondly, I claim the mode of constructing apparatus for stopping jars
and vessels when preserving provisions therein, and securing such coppers till
the contents of such jars or vessels are cooled, and also the corkscrew for with-
drawing the cork or stopper.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Cooper, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
Enrolled the Fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.