An Improved Valve Stopper for Sterilizing Vessels.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Valve Stopper for Sterilizing Vessels.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the Firm of A. M. & Wm. Clark, of
53 Chancery Lane, London, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication to me by The
Sterilizing Works Company, Ltd., of Frankfort-on-Main, Germany) to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved india-rubber valve stopper for bottles
used for sterilizing milk and other liquids and it has for its purpose to provide
a stopper having a slit to permit the escape of the gases or vapours evolved by the
liquid during the process of sterilization, but which may be relied on to close
automatically under atmospheric pressure and hermetically seal the bottle after
the sterilizing process has been completed.
The object of the improvement is to so construct the stopper that when fitted
in the bottle mouth the compression of the lower part of the stopper will not be
transferred to the slit or interfere in any way with the opening of the slit under
internal pressure or its closing under external pressure, whilst the upper slitted
portion of the stopper will be supported against the external pressure and an
automatic and reliable air-tight closure will be ensured.
The improvement is illustrated in the accompanying drawing which forms part
of this specification and represents in Figure 1 a top plan and in Figure 2 a vertical
section of the improved stopper.
It consists of a rubber stopper A of conical or it may be cylindrical form having
through its lower part which is to be received in the bottle neck a bore of com-
paratively large diameter in which is inserted a rigid liner tube B preferably
of glass whereby the walls of the stopper are supported internally against
compression whilst in the upper solid end of the stopper which projects above the
bottle mouth the narrow slit a is formed which whilst free to permit the escape
of gases or vapours is closed by the external atmospheric pressure to which the
upper projecting part of the stopper is exposed and which is uniformly distributed
over the sides of the slit a, so that an air-tight closure is in any case ensured.
The liner tube B. is slightly enlarged or provided with an external rim or
bead b at its upper end in order to prevent collapse of the slit a and maintain it
unaltered under outside pressure in its longitudinal dimensions.
Dated thin 10th....
J
1005

page_text: An Improved Valve Stopper for Sterilizing Vessels.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the Firm of A. M. & Wm. Clark, of
53 Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention (a communication
to me by The Sterilizing Works Company, Limited, of Frankfort-on-Main,
Germany), 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 to an improved india-rubber valve stopper for bottles
used for sterilizing milk and other liquids and it has for its purpose to provide a
stopper having a slit to permit the escape of the gases or vapours evolved by the
liquid during the process of sterilization, but which may be relied on to close
automatically under the external atmospheric pressure and hermetically seal the
bottle after the sterilizing process has been completed.
The object of the improvement is to so construct the stopper that when fitted
in the bottle mouth the compression of the lower part of the stopper by the mouth
of the bottle shall not be transferred to the walls of the slit or in any way interfere
with the opening of the slit under internal pressure or its automatic closing under
external pressure. Many attempts have been made to provide such automatic
stoppers but they have not been reliable in respect of the hermetic closure of the
bottle under external pressure especially in the case of a longitudinally slitted
stopper the proper action of which is liable to be prevented by the encircling
pressure of the bottle neck. For this reason I provide only the upper part of the
stopper which projects above the bottle mouth during the sterilizing operation, with
a slit whilst the lower part of the stopper has an enlarged bore which when the
stopper is inserted in the bottle neck without using any great force, will extend
up to the level of the bottle mouth, the bore and the upper slitted portion of the
stopper being supported against external pressure in such way that an automatic
and reliable air-tight closure will be assured.
-
The improvement is illustrated in the drawing accompanying my Provisional
Specification which represents in Figure 1 a top plan and in Figure 2 a vertical
section of the improved stopper.
It consists of a rubber stopper A of conical or it may be of cylindrical form
having through its lower part which is to be received in the bottle neck a bore of
comparatively large diameter in which is inserted a rigid liner tube B, preferably
of glass whereby the walls of the stopper are supported internally against com-
pression, whilst in the upper solid end of the stopper which projects above the
bottle mouth the narrow slit a is formed which whilst free to permit the escape of
gases or vapours is closed by the external atmospheric pressure to which the upper
projecting part of the stopper is exposed and which is uniformly distributed over
the sides of the slit a, so that an air-tight closure is in any case ensured. The
liner tube B is slightly enlarged or provided with an external rim or bead bat
its upper end in order to prevent collapse of the slit a and maintain it unaltered
in its longitudinal dimensions under outside pressure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
An india-rubber valve stopper for bottles used for sterilizing milk and other
liquids, having a slitted upper solid end adapted to open under internal, and close
under external, pressure and provided at its lower part with an enlarged bore in
combination with an inserted rigid liner tube for supporting the walls of the

page_text: stopper against compression, the liner having an external rim or bead at its
upper end to prevent the collapse of the slit and maintain it unaltered under
external pressure, as specified.
Dated this 30th day of October 1897.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53 Chancery Lane, London.