Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 18th May, 1896-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1896
I, WILLIAM PRIESSNITZ BONWICK, of No. 82 Sutherland Avenue, Paddington, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Bottle stoppers have been made with a central body or stem of vitreous material
such as glass surrounded with a cork facing, to prevent turning or end wise removal
of which facing the body or stem has been formed with teeth, screw-threads, or
projections of other forms taking into the cork, and annular ridges or beads
engaging with the ends of the cork. In practice however it has been found that
teeth are liable to break off, that protruding ridges or beads besides being
unsightly render glass stems liable to fracture when cooling and that stoppers
having screw-threads on the stems are liable to turn in their cork facings and
sometimes to leave their cork facing in the bottle neck.
Now my present invention has reference to a novel and cheap construction of
stopper designed to obviate the foregoing disadvantages appertaining to the known
constructions above referred to. I make a body or stem, with a zig-zag annular
projection about it which projection has an undercut form at certain parts of its
upper zig-zag side (but so as not to prevent ready clearance from the mould) and
around this body or stem I place a cork facing or ring which can be applied by
forcing the stem into a cork tube or facing in any suitable known or convenient
manner.
According to a modification of my invention I form a stem with a screw-thread
or part threads and with a bead at its end and apply thereon a cork facing as
aforesaid.
In some cases I construct the body or stem without an upper shoulder and
provide a cork or other elastic ring next the head of the stopper and below it the
cork facing already referred to.
When stoppers thus constructed are applied to bottles having internal screw
threads the upper edge of the lower cork ring engages with the said threads and a
better grip is thus obtained.
To facilitate turning a stopper into and out of a bottle I make it with a head
whose periphery is provided with a series of projecting partial screw threads which
threads are preferably left handed.
Dated this 16th day of August 1905

page_text: Improvements in Bottle Stoppers.
I, WILLIAM PRIESSNITZ BONWICK, of 82 Sutherland Avenue, Paddington, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, 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 :-
Bottle stoppers have been made with a central body or stem of vitreous material
such as glass surrounded with a cork facing, to prevent turning or endwise removal
of which facing the body or stem has been formed with teeth, screw-threads, or
projections of other forms taking into the cork, and annular ridges or beads
engaging with the ends of the cork. In practice however it has been found that
teeth are liable to break off, that protruding ridges or beads besides being unsightly
render glass stems liable to fracture when cooling and that stoppers having screw-
threads on the stems are liable to turn in their cork facings and sometimes to leave
their cork facing in the bottle neck.
Now my present invention has reference to a novel and cheap construction of
stopper designed to obviate the foregoing disadvantages appertaining to the known
constructions above referred to. I make a body or stem, with a zig-zag annular
projection about it which projection has an undercut form at certain parts of its
upper zig-zag side (but so as not to prevent ready clearance from the mould) and
around this body or stem I place a cork facing or ring which can be applied by
forcing the stem into a cork tube or facing (hereinafter called the cork facing) in
any suitable known or convenient manner.
Fige. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings show respectively in side elevation
and horizontal section, a stopper body or stem with zig-zag projection according to
this invention.
Fig. 3 shows such a body or stem in vertical section with a cork facing applied
to it to form the complete stopper.
1 is a zig-zag projection moulded on the stem 2 so as to extend entirely around
the stem, the projection consisting of eight inclined portions arranged to form two
oppositely arranged pairs of upwardly pointing ^ shaped parts over which the
cork facing 3 is forced end ways. The upper side of the two opposite parts 1* 1b
are undercut as shown in Fig. 2, these parts with their pointed ends I resembling
barbs that engage both at the sides and upper ends with the cork facing and
effectually prevent the latter turning upon or being withdrawn from the stem
whilst it remains intact. The undercut sides of the parts 1, 1b are formed by
correspondingly shaping the recesses located on each side of the dividing line 5 of
the mould 6 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the resulting parts 1, 1 being
barb-like in appearance. The upper sides of the other pair of parts 1ª 1° are
not undercut.
By using a zig-zag projection the sides of which are inclined alternately in
opposite directions as shown, the space between such sides and the lower surface of
the head 7 of the stopper is made wedge-shape in each direction round the stem so
that any tendency of the cork facing to revolve relatively to the stem, as for
example when fitted very tightly into a bottle neck and the body of the stopper is
turned, would result in the cork becoming wedged in between the inclined sides
and the head of the stopper in whichever direction the body of the stopper was
turued. In this way rotary movement of the cork facing on the stem is effectually
prevented.
To obtain such a wedging action it is not essential that the zig-zag projection
should be continuous. Thus it may be discontinuous so as to form two (or more)

page_text: inverted V shaped parts that may be arranged close together as shown in side
elevation and cross section in Figs. 4 and 5 respectively, or be displaced a short
distance from each other as shown in side elevation in Fig. 6, the two opposite
parts 1 1b having undercut upper surfaces in each case. The oppositely inclined
portions of the projection 1 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) or projections (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) may
be regarded as parts of right and left handed screw threads.
A similar result to that herein before described can be attained with a single
screw thread, or part threads of either right or left hand, by providing the lower
part of the stem 2 with a bead 8 as shown in side elevation in Fig. 7, where the
projection consists of a single turn of a left handed screw-thread 1', and in Fig. 8
where there are two part threads 1 cach left handed. In each of these cases it
will be seen that any tendency to relative movement between the body or stem 2
and the cork facing 3 would result in the latter being wedged either between the
thread 1, or part threads 18, and the head 7, or between the thread or part
threads and the bead 8 according to the direction of the relative movement so
that all possibility of the body or stem being unscrewed from the cork facing
is obviated. The projection or projections are best arranged to act upon the
central portion of the cork facing as shown. The facing 3 instead of being of cork
may be of other elastic or yielding material such for example as india rubber.
In some cases I provide the body or stem 2, which is without any shoulder at its
upper part, with a cork or other elastic ring 9, for example, a hard india-rubber
ring, which is arranged next.the head 7 of the stopper, as shown in side elevation
in Fig. 9, and below which is the cork facing 3, the ring 9. being made slightly less
in diameter than the cork facing. When a stopper thus constructed is applied to a
bottle neck having an internal screw thread 10 of slight inclination and of practically
ratchet shape in cross section-the underside of the thread being practically at
right angles to the axis of the bottle as in the example shown in Fig. 10-the
upper edge of the cork facing 3 will engage with the underside of the thread and
thus enable a good grip of the stopper to be effected. In such an arrangement
which is specially suitable for bottles containing aerated liquids, the upper ring 9
and the lower portion of the cork facing 3 will tightly fit the unscrewed portions
of the bottle neck so as to form two gas tight joints therewith.
To facilitate turning the stopper into and out of a bottle, I provide the periphery
of its head 7 with milling 11 in the form of a series of projecting partial screw threads
which are preferably left handed as shown.
The body or stem of the stopper with the projection or projections thereon may
in each case be of glass or other suitable material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A bottle stopper constructed with a body or stem having about it a zig-zag
projection and an elastic or yielding facing or ring surrounding and engaging the
said projection, substantially as described.
2. A bottle stopper comprising a body or stem having inclined undercut projecting
surfaces and an elastic or yielding facing or ring surrounding and engaging the
said undercut surfaces, substantially as described.
3. A bottle stopper constructed with a body or stem having a projecting screw
thread or part threads, and with a bead at its end, and an elastic or yielding facing
or ring surrounding and engaging the said screw thread or part threads, substantially
as described.
4. A bottle stopper constructed with a body or stem having an inclined projecting
part or parts thereon and surrounded by a cork or other elastic ring arranged next
the head of the stopper and by a cork facing arranged below and of larger diameter
than the said ring so that its upper edge can engage with the internal thread of a
bottle neck substantially as described.
5. My improved bottle stoppers constructed as herein before described with

page_text: reference to and shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in Figs. 4 and 5, in Fig. 6; in Fig 7, in
Fig. 8 and in Figs. 9.and 10 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 18th day of May 1896.
W. Lloyd Wise,
W MM. I. DUNWIUD.
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.