AN IMPROVED STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Armand Gilbee, of the Firm of L. de
Fontainemorcau & Co., Patent Agents, 4, South Street, Finsbury,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS."-A communication from
abroad by Jean Léopold Mégret, of Bordeaux, in the Republic of
France.
Sealed the 12th September 1873, and dated the 15th March 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Armand Gilbee
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th March 1873.
I, WILLIAM ARMAND GILBEE, of the Firm of L. de Fontainemoreau
& Co., Patent Agents, 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " AN
IMPROVED STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS," to be as follows, that is
to say:-
The T

page_text: simple and expeditious manner, and for expediting the opening of same.
This stopper consists of a metallic case or capsule to be applied over the
opening of the bottle, pot, jar, flask, or other vessel, of glass, carthen-
ware, or other material. This case or capsule contains a cork stopper
covered with parchment and provided with a wire or a metal band which
is supported by a number of strips formed in the same piece as the
capsule and which are placed around the wire or metal band, the interior
side of which presses against the rim of the vessel to be stoppered, so that
by pressing the case or capsule on the top of the vessel to be closed it
forms a joint over the orifice without entering the neck of the bottle or
other vessel, the diameter of the cork being greater than that of the
opening.
When sufficient pressure has been exerted to force the wire or metal
band to pass under the rim of the vessel to be closed, the closing is
effected by twisting together the two ends of the wire or metal band
which are crossed and left sufficiently long for the purpose.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Armand Gilbee in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th September 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARMAND GILBEE, of the Firm of L. de Fontainemoreau & Co., Patent
Agents, 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Armand Gilbee, Her
special licence that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Armand Gilbee, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of

page_text: Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "AN IMPROVED STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS," a
communication to me from abroad by Jean Léopold Mégret, of Bordeux,
in the Republic of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Armand Gilbee, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say :-
The Invention communicated to me consists in an improved stopper
for bottles, jars, and other vessels for hermetically closing the same in a
simple, expeditious, and effective manner, and for expediting the opening.
of the same. This stopper consists of a metallic case or capsule to be
applied over the opening of the bottle, pot, jar, flask, or other vessel, of
glass, earthenware, or other material. This case or capsule contains a
cork stopper covered with parchment or cloth, and provided with a wire
or a metal band which is supported by a number of strips or projecting
pieces formed in the same piece as or soldered to the capsule. The
wire or metal band presses against the rim of the bottle or vessel to be
stoppered, so that by pressing the the case or capsule on the top of the
bottle or vessel to be closed it forms a joint over the orifice without
entering the neck of the bottle or other vessel, the diameter of the cork
being greater than that of the opening.
When sufficient pressure has been applied to force the wire or metal
band to pass under the rim of the vessel to be closed, the fastening
of the stopper is effected by twisting together the two ends of the wire
or metal band which are crossed and left sufficiently long for the
purpose.
To make the Invention communicated to me better understood I will

page_text: in which Figure 1 is an elevation, and Figure 2 a section of the form of
stopper I prefer for closing jars, pots, and other similar vessels; Figure 3,
elevation of the form of stopper suitable for an ordinary bottle; and
Figure 4, elevation of a stopper for champagne bottles.
a is the case or capsule made of thin sheet metal stamped into the
required form; 6 is the cork stopper inside the case or capsule a; this
cork is covered on the under side with cloth or parchment c to prevent
contract of the substance or liquid in the jar or bottle with the cork;
d, d, are the strips forming loops or stirrups supporting the wire e which
passes through the loops.
To apply this stopper to a bottle or other vessel the stopper is placed
on the top of the neck and sufficient pressure applied to bring the wire e
below the rim or projecting ring on the neck of the bottle or other
vessel, the ends e¹ of the wire e are drawn so as to bring the wire e close
against the neck under the rim or ring of the same, and are then twisted 1
together.
To open a bottle or other vessel closed by this improved stopper the
ends of the wire e have merely to be untwisted, when the stopper can be
removed.
Having now described the Invention communicated to me, and the
manner of performing the same, what I claim is, the peculiar con-
struction of stopper for bottles and other vessels, substantially as herein-
before described and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
2
In witness whereof, I, the said William Armand Gilbee, have
hereto set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of September 2
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.