IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR BOTTLE STOPPERS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Murray and Lawrence Spring both of the town
or borough of Kingston-upon-Hull for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
FASTENINGS FOR BOTTLE STOPPERS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Murray and Lawrence
Spring at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th March
1883.
JOHN MURRAY and LAWRENCE SPRING both of the town or borough of Kingston
upon Hull
IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR BOTTLE STOPPERS
"
"
Our Invention has reference to fastenings for bottle stoppers and its object is
to provide means of securely holding stoppers in bottles while at the same time
allowing them to be readily freed or released when required and again secured.
Our invention essentially consists in the employment of a bent plate, bar or
rod of approximately 1 shape the vertical limb thereof being connected to a
collar wire or other like device which embraces the bottle neck below the usual
shoulder or rim and the horizontal limb being formed with a catch in the form of
a bayonet joint or otherwise which when this limb is made to slide or move upon
the head of the stopper takes hold of a screw, pin or other similar contrivance on
the said head. Or the parts may be reversed that is to say, the catch may be
formed in the vertical limb and take hold of a screw or similar contrivance on the
collar which embraces the bottle neck.
Our invention may be carried out in various ways some of which we will proceed
to describe.
.
According to one way we form a longitudinal slot in the horizontal limb of the
bent plate, this slot having a transverse continuation at its inner end. The slot
embraces a screw or pin in the head of the stopper and the other limb of the plate
is connected at its lower end to the collar or wire aforesaid. When the stopper is
in the bottle and it is required to secure it therein, the plate is pushed across the
stopper until the transverse part of the slot reaches the screw or pin; a transverse
movement is then given to the plate to cause the transverse slot to catch and hold

page_text: the screw or pin; the stopper is thus secured. In order to free or release the
stopper the reverse actions take place. The outer end of the horizontal limb may
be turned up at one or both corners so as to give a better hold to the fingers. The
transverse slot may extend to both sides of the longitudinal slot so that it may be
moved either way to catch the screw or pin, or it may be limited to one side of
the longitudinal slot. Instead of employing a bent plate as above described we
may employ a wire bent into an analogous form, that is to say, so as to have a
longitudinal opening with a recess or catch at one or both sides to correspond with
the longitudinal and transverse slots herein before described.
According to another way we fix a staple or loop to the head of the stopper in
place of the screw or pin before described and instead of a bent slotted plate we
employ a bent bar or bent rod the horizontal part of this bar or rod passing
through the staple or loop and having a notch at one or both sides to catch on to
the side of the staple or loop when the bar or rod has been moved the necessary
distance across the head of the stopper. The end of the bar or rod should be
sufficiently large to prevent it slipping quite out of the staple.
According to another way we secure the horizontal limb of the bent plate to the
head of the stopper by a screw or otherwise upon which it is not, free to slide and
we make slots such as those herein before described in the vertical limb to embrace
and catch a pin or screw on the collar which goes round the bottle neck.
In all cases where the bent plate bar or rod has to move across the head of the
stopper a metal disc may be placed upon the head to allow the plate to be more
readily moved.
Our fastenings are not limited to any particular kind of stopper; but the stopper
which we prefer to employ is one with a wide india rubber ring or washer fitted
in and projecting from a horizontal groove in the body of the stopper this ring or
washer when the stopper is secured in place making a tight joint with the mouth
of the bottle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Murray and Lawrence Spring in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th September 1883.
>
JOHN MURRAY and LAWRENCE SPRING both of the town or borough of Kingston.
upon Hull
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR BOTTLE STOPPERS,"
Our invention has reference to fastenings for bottle stoppers and its object is to
provide means of securely holding stoppers in bottles, while at the same time
allowing them to be readily freed or released when required and again secured..
Our invention essentially consists in the employment of a bent plate, bar or rod
of approximately 1 shape the vertical limb thereof being connected to a collar,
wire or other like device which embraces the bottle neck below the usual shoulder
or rim and the horizontal limb being formed with a catch in the form of a bayonet
joint or otherwise which when this limb is made to slide or move upon the head of
the stopper takes hold of a screw, pin or other similar contrivance on the saiḍ
head. Or the parts may be reversed, that is to say, the catch may be formed in
the vertical limb and take hold of a screw or similar contrivance on the collar
which embraces the bottle neck.
Our invention may be carried out in various ways some of which we will proceed
to describe.
One way is represented in Figures 1 to 4, the fastening being shown applied to
a bottle stopper. Figure 1 is a side elevation with the stopper fastened. Figure 2
is a side elevation with the stopper released. Figure 3 is a plan and Figure 4 a
side view. a is the bottle, b the stopper and c a wire around the bottle neck below
the shoulder d. ef is the bent plate or bar before described, the lower end of
the vertical limb f being connected to the wire c. In the horizontal limb e of the
bent plate we form a longitudinal slot g this slot having a transverse continuation /
at its inner end. The slot embraces a screw or pin in the head of the stopper b.
When the stopper is in the bottle and it is required to secure it therein, the plate
ef is pushed across the stopper until the transverse part h of the slot reaches the
screw or pin i; a transverse movement is then given to the plate e f to cause the
transverse slot to catch and hold the screw or pin; the stopper is thus secured.
In order to free or release the stopper the reverse actions take place. A part of the
horizontal limb e may be turned up at one or both sides as seen at k so as to give
a better hold to the fingers. Figures 5 and 6 represent a fastening the same as
that represented in Figures 1 to 4 except that the turned up part k is at the end
of the limb e. The transverse sloth may extend to both sides of the longitudinal
slot gas in the modification represented in Figures 7 and 8 so that it may be
moved either way to catch the screw or pin, or it may be limited to one side of
the longitudinal slot as in Figures 1 to 6. Instead of employing a bent plate as
above described we may employ a wire bent into an analogous form as seen in
Figures 9 and 10, that is to say, so as to have a longitudinal opening g with a
recess or catch hat one or both sides analogous to the longitudinal and transverse
slots hereinbefore described.
According to another way represented in Figures 11 to 14 we fix a staple or
loop to the head of the stopper in place of the screw or pin before described and
instead of a bent slotted plate we employ a bent bar e f Figures 11 and 12 or a
bent rod e f Figures 13 and 14 the horizontal part e of this bar or rod passing
through the staple or loop 7 and having a notch m at one or both sides to catch on
to the side of the staple or loop when the bar or rod has been moved the necessary
distance across the head of the stopper. The end of the bar or rod should be

page_text: sufficiently large to prevent it slipping quite out of the staple. Figures 15, 16
and 17 represent another modification in which the transverse slot h in the limb e
of Figures 1 to 8 is dispensed with, the catch being formed by a notch n in a
piece o which is free to be turned on the pin or centre p.
According to another way represented in Figures 18 and 19 we secure the
horizontal limb e of the bent plate to the head of the stopper by a screw i or
otherwise upon which it is not free to slide and we make slots g h such as those
hereinbefore described, in the vertical limb f to embrace and catch a pin or screw q
on the collar c which goes round the bottle neck. Figures 20 and 21 represent a
modification the same as Figures 18 and 19 except that the bent plate is double,
that is to say, it has two vertical limbs ff with their slots g h to embrace and
catch corresponding pins q q on opposite sides of the collar c. In all cases where
'the bent plate, bar or rod has to move across the head of the stopper a metal
disc may be placed upon the head to allow the plate to be more readily moved.
Our fastenings are not limited to any particular kind of stopper, but the stopper
which we prefer to employ is that shown in the figures viz: one with a wide
india rubber ring or washer r fitted in and projecting from a horizontal groove in
the body of the stopper, this ring or washer when the stopper is secured in place
making a tight joint with the mouth of the bottle.
Having now described the nature of our said invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed we declare that we claim :-
First: A fastening for bottle stoppers consisting of a bent plate, bar or rod
having a sliding limb formed with a catch to take hold of a screw or similar
device either on the head of the stopper or on a collar around the bottle neck and
having another limb attached either to the said collar or to the head of the stopper
substantially as hereinbefore described.
Second The several constructions or arrangements of fastenings for bottle
stoppers hereinbefore described and represented in the annexed drawings.
In witness whereof we the said John Murray and Lawrence Spring have here-
unto set our lands and seals this twelfth day of September One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.