A Stoppering Device for Vessels Containing Sterilized Materials.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 9th May, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Stoppering Device for Vessels Containing Sterilized Materials.
1, HERMANN FRIEDEMANN of 1 Wintergartenstrasse, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany,
Doctor of Medicine, 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 to a device for effectually closing or stoppering bottles or
other vessels in which sterilized fluids and materials are kept.
As shown on the annexed sheet of drawings the device consists of a flat india
rubber ring b, as shown in plan at Fig. 1 and in perspective view at Fig. 2, and of
a domed cap or cover c as shown in side view at Fig. 3.
Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views showing the application of the device to a.
bottle a.
The cap or cover c is made of some suitably strong and rigid material, such as
glass, and its rim is ground or made truly flat.
The application of the device is as follows:-
Supposing the vessel, say a bottle for instance, contains material which is
sterilized by the aid of heat, then the india rubber ring b, before the bottle is placed
in the boiling pot, steamer, or other sterilizing apparatus, is so arranged, as shown.
at Fig. 4, that its inner edge bears tightly and closely against the outer surface of
the bottle, whilst, as far as possible, its upper and under surfaces are horizontal..
The cap c is subsequently placed over the neck of the bottle with its rim resting.
evenly and closely on the upper surface of the rubber ring.
The bottle is now heated and as the contained air expands under the action of
the heat, it, along with any generated gases or vapours, escapes under the edge of
the cap c.
When the sterilizing action is complete the bottle a is promptly cooled and a.
strong vacuum created therein with the result that the pressure of air upon the
cap c forces it down upon the rubber ring b until, finally, the latter assumes more
or less the form of a truncated cone as shown at Fig. 5. In this position the cap.
and ring effectually close the bottle.
To open the bottle it is necessary to depress the rubber ring at any part of its.
edge and also, at the same time, to raise or tilt the cap a so as to let air rush in,.
which it does with a hissing noise, and fill up the vacuum.
It is of course necessary, when using the stopper, to see that the rubber ring and
cap fit tight enough on each other and on the bottle to prevent ingress of air after
the sterilizing action is complete and the bottle is being cooled.
If it desired to tightly reclose a sterilized bottle or other vessel which has been
opened for the purpose, say, of breeding micro organisms, it is placed under the bell
of an air pump or in a glass cylinder furnished with a cover the ground surfaces
being closed air tight by means of vaseline or the like. The cover bas an open
neck which is conuected by means of a rubber tube to the air pump. The operation
of the pump causes the air to be exhausted from the bottle, between the edge or
rim of the cap c and ring b, and, as soon as a complete vacuum is formed, the india
rubber tube is clamped or closed and the pump removed, so that, when the tube is
subsequently unclamped, air rushes rapidly into the bell or cylinder and presses
down the cap c on the top of the ring 6 as before, thereby effecting a tight closure
of the bottle.

page_text: The device can be modified and adapted for different kinds of sterilizing
vessels.
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
consider, novel and desire to claim is :-
1. A device for stoppering sterilizing vessels consisting of a rigid cap c and
an india rubber ring 6, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
drawings annexed.
Dated this 19th day of August 1895.
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70 Wellington Street, Glasgow, Agent.