IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERING BOTTLES EXTERNALLY; PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE APPLIED TO OTHER BOTTLES BY ALTERING AND ADAPTING THEM
Year: 1886

page_text: and Adapung them.
We, FRANK WEST of 1 Dartmouth Terrace Lewisham Hill, Lewisham, London,
S.E. Inventor, and FRANCIS BUSFELLD ARMSTRONG, Clerk, of 3 Royston Road
Richmond, Surrey do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN STOPPERING BOTTLES EXTERNALLY; PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE
APPLIED TO OTHER BOTTLES BY ALTERING AND ADAPTING THEM and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:—
Our invention (which will hereafter be known as the "Acme" system of bottle-
stoppering) belongs to that class of stoppers known as "external." Its effectiveness
depends upon its forming a perfect gas-tight joint "on the mouth" (sometimes
called "the upper edges of the mouth" and often called the "top of the neck" or
"the lip") of the bottle.
To attain this object a flat disc must be provided, with some means of
temporarily fixing it (so as to make a gas-tight joint) down on to the bottle.
mouth.
This may be effected in two ways. 1st By altering the form of the disc in
conjunction with an alteration of the bottle-lip so as to make parts of the one take
(or "lock") into parts of the other. [For example, by projecting the central portion
of the flat disc downwards inside the bottle-neck, thereby forming what is called
a "stopper-peg"; or by projecting portions of the rim of the flat disc downwards
on the outside of the bottle-neck, thereby forming together with the disc itself
what is termed a cap. In both these cases these are provided either with lugs,
indentations, or projections or screw-threads and corresponding indentations or
projections et cetera in the glass bottle. And also by forming, on the lip of the
bottle, vertical ears, by means of which a simple flat disc may be brought down on
to the lip which acts as a seating.] 2nd-By using a simple flat disc with such
appliances as bails, clips, or pillars, the two former being generally affixed to the
outside of the bottle-neck and the last taking a purchase on the inside of the
bottle, in conjunction with wedges, cams, levers, screws, or springs.
Our invention comes under the first of the above headings, inasmuch as the
means of fixing the disc down on to the bottle-mouth is obtained by giving both
the disc and the bottle mouth, or lip, such forms as will effect this without the aid
of any other appliance. We have two types of such fixings, one in the form of &

page_text: peg-stopper, and the other in the form of a cap. These two types, however, obey
the same principle and are parts of the same invention.
One part of our invention is specially applicable to bottles stoppered on other
systems but the glass of such bottles which have to be converted, must be thicker
at or near the top of the lip, otherwise it cannot be done. We have two methods
or plans of converting such bottles. The first consists of cutting two grooves on the
inside of the bottle-neck, similar to those shewn in the sheet of drawings hereunto
attached, in figs. 2, and 2, which sections shew both halves of the same bottle-
neck. The vertical portions of the grooves are opposite each other. The lower
portions of the grooves are not parallel with the plane of the bottle-mouth but are
inclined at a greater angle than a right angle (The proper augle is that at which
the stopper-lug will perform the maximum wedging action and will not slip back;
depending as it does upon friction, the angle should vary with the materials of
which the lugs are composed.) to the vertical grooves, which are at right angles to
the plane of the bottle-mouth. The lip of the bottle is also ground perfectly flat.
The stopper is shewn in section with the bottle-neck, in fig. 2, and consists of a
flat disc with a stopper-peg attached to its centre. The stopper-peg in this case
has two lugs, one on each of its opposite sides. To close the mouth of the bottle,
the stopper is inserted, its two lugs coinciding with the two vertical grooves, and
when the underside of the disc is in contact with the bottle-mouth, the lugs just
enter the grooves approximately at right-angles to the vertical grooves and the
stopper is securely fixed and brought tightly down on to its seating by revolving
it on its own axis. With this stopper which is made perfectly true and of such
naterials as non-porous wood and such like, no packing of any kind is required
O ensure a gas-tight joint. The grooves in this bottle-neck are formed by
grinding processes, the vertical grooves being cut by means of a small cylindrical
rod of metal revolving on its axis and fed with glass-cutter's sand (or emery and
such like) and water. The approximately-horizontal-portion is cut by means of a
small metal wheel fed in a similar way.
Instead, however, of cutting two grooves opposite to each other on the inside of
the bottle-neck for the purpose of temporarily fixing a disc down on to the bottle-
mouth, we prefer to cut one groove only, as a saving of nearly half the labour
of cutting is thereby effected and a perfect joint is at the same time ensured.
Indeed one lug is more effective than two inasmuch as there is a greater probability
of its fitting accurately. It must be borne in mind however, that with grooves of
the form usually cut in glass, the lower portion of the stopper-peg opposite to its
lug must press against the inside of the bottle-neck, in order to bring the stopper-
disc properly down on to its seating. A section of the single-lug stopper fitted to
a bottle is shewn in fig. 3. This stopper, however, is shewn built up of different
materials and fig. 3, shews the various parts of the built-up stopper disconnected;
is the disc, e is the packing, is the stopper-peg, and are small pins, or
dowels, passing through the packing into holes in the disc, x is the lug, which, if
not formed out of the solid is driven into a hole in the stopper peg and cut to the
required form. The whole are fixed together by means of the screw which, being
passed through the hole in the centre of the disc and through the packing, is
screwed into the peg. In case the diso à be made of such materials as china, the
surface of which is seldom perfectly true, it is manufactured with a recess in its
underside and a packing of wood (such as willow) is inserted therein, in addition
to the ordinary packing. The stopper-peg is sometimes made of china as well as
any other suitable material and when this is done the screw-thread is either
moulded when the china is in a plastic state or else a screw-thread is formed after-
wards in the hole by means of Plaster of Paris or such cements.
Single-lug stoppers of the stopper-peg form without packing, are shewn on plan
at 3, on elevation at 3, and the underneath plan at 3a. These may be made of
any suitable material, non-porous woods such as "Lignum vitae " acting very well.
In case extra leverage be required at any time to turn the stopper on its axis,
one suitable is shewn in figs. 6b and 6"; the former being an elevation and the
"

page_text: latter a plan of such lever for unstoppering the bottle. The lugs shewn, fit over
the indentations in the rim of the stopper-disc. Its action is self-evident.
Another alternative method (which we call our second method) in place of
cutting two grooves on the inside of the bottle-lip, is to cut the lip of the bottle-
neck on the outside to a peculiar form and also to "flatten the lip." Fig. 4, shews
one of the bottle-necks to be operated upon; it is an ordinary lipped neck suitable
for corking. Figs. 4, and 4, are two views of the same bottle-neck with the lip
flatted" and two sides of the lip cut off and 4, is a plan of the cut bottle-neck.
It is not necessary that the lip of the bottle should be cut away, or "flatted," so
much as is shewn in figs. 4, and 4, but it may be left as in fig. 4, which shews by
dotted lines, the parts to be cut away for the cap 5. Fig. 4, is a plan of the same
bottle-neck with the parts cut away.
"
To explain the process, the lips are ground down (or "flatted") by ordinary.
glass-grinding (or cutting) processes until a portion (The depth of this portion
determines the depth of the cap) is left the mouth of which is perfectly flat.
Two opposite sides of the remaining portion of the lip are also ground away at
right angles to the mouth until part of the neck of the bottle below the lip, is
almost, or quite, touched by the cutter's wheel. The bottle is then ready to receive
the cap-form of stopper. Any other form of bottle-neck having projections may
be adapted in a similar way. Figs. 5 and 5 is an elevation and plan respectively.
of another form of neck and figs. 5, and 5, shew how it has been converted to our
system.
The bottle neck, cut according to this second system, with the cap applied is
shewn in fig. 1.
The cap itself consists of a disc, perfectly flat on its underside and having two
ears (Two ears are not essential as the same object is attained by a rim as shewn
in Fig. 5 form of cap.) projecting downwards beneath it. These ears are hollowed
out on their inner sides to correspond to the portion of the bottle-lip they are
intended to fit. The hollow does not extend right across the ear but is stopped at
one end (as shewn in the drawings 1, and 1, at y and x respectively) to prevent
the stopper from being turned backwards or too far round. Nor does the hollow
in each ear exactly coincide with the bottle-lip, but is so inclined to it that by
revolving the cap it may be brought tightly down on to the top of the bottle-
mouth and will not slip back. Two other projections, and y, are shewn
underneath the disc for the purpose of keeping the cap whilst it is being revolved
in its proper position on the mouth of the bottle. We sometimes dispense with
these projections and and use instead one circular boss or projection fitting
inside the bottle mouth for the same purpose. Fig. 1a is a plan of the cap;
Fig. 1. is an underneath plan; and figs. 1, and 1, are transverse vertical sections of
the same.
To ensure, with little trouble, a perfectly gas-tight joint we fasten (by adhesion
or otherwise) a disc or discs of parchment or other suitable material on the under-
side of each cap and by regulating the thickness of such packing, the stoppers may
be accurately adjusted to fit each bottle perfectly. A packing of parchment will not
affect the flavour of the liquor contained by the bottle whereas some liquors that
have come in contact with indiarubber (i.e. the packing hitherto commonly used
with almost all bottle-stoppers) have a peculiar flavour imparted to them. With
all packing materials, however, that are absorbtive, strict cleanliness cannot be
ensured. Where this is required we make the under bearing-surface of the cap, or
stopper-form of disc and the surface of the bottle-mouth to be stopped, perfectly
true by known means and when this has been done no packing whatever is
required. We prefer, however, in this case to use the peg-form of disc in preference
to the cap forin, altho' we do not restrict ourselves to it.
Besides the methods described of converting and adapting old bottles (meaning
those stoppered in other ways except that of ours,) to this system of stoppering, we
also manufacture bottles with necks and lips as herein described.

page_text: With the single-lug stopper we manufacture the bottles with a groove suitable
to the compressibility of the packing used,-that is if any be used at all. For this
reason the approximately-horizontal-groove may not only extend partly round the
-bottle-neck in the manner shewn in the drawings hereunto attached, but may also
be extended round the inside of the bottle-neck one or more times if necessary.
Any suitable material may be used for the manufacture of our bottle-stoppers,
for example iron or steel (either wrought or cast) with or without a surface deposit
of any other metal or substance; glass; burnt clays, including porcelain and china;
vulcanite and such like and wood that is non-porous, whilst if they are built up as
shewn, any suitable material may be used.
The advantages possessed by this invention are (a) that old bottles which have
hitherto been used for other systems of stoppering may be utilized; (b) that it is
simpler than any other form of stopper; (c) that it is an advance in the class of
stoppers to which it belongs, by the fact of its avoiding the necessity of employing
indiarubber packing and also by its being effective without any packing whatever,
so that no foreign or obnoxious flavour can be imparted to the liquor contained in
the bottle; (d) and that in place of the present system of grinding and fitting glass
conical stoppers into their seatings, it supplies a glass-stopper that does not require
to be treated in this way and which is locked down on to its seating and cannot
stick or become unstoppered by jarring as those of conical form are apt to do.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :
1. The single-lug stopper with the bottle-neck for the same substantially as
described herein and illustrated in figs. 2b, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, and 3.; or any colour-
able imitation thereof that may be manufactured in any suitable material.
2. The cap form of stopper and the method of cutting the bottle-lip for the same,
substantially as described herein and illustrated in figs. 4, 4 4 4 4 4, 5, 5α, 1.,
1, 1, and la; or any colourable imitation thereof.
3. The method of hermetically closing bottles without the intervention of packing
of any kind; substantially as described herein.
4. Such a perfect method of stoppering that the necessity for using a packing of
indiarubber, which is liable to impart a disagreeable flavour to liquors that have
come in contact with it, is avoided.
5. The method of converting old bottles (i.e. bottles manufactured for other
systems of stoppering) by cutting and altering parts of their necks; all substan-
tially as herein before described and illustrated.
Dated this twelfth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six.