Improvements relating to Bottle Stoppers and to Extractors therefor
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Apr., 1897-Accepted, 28th Aug., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Bottle Stoppers and to Extractors therefor
I, CLIFTON HADLEY DAVIS, of 3801 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, in the County
of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to means for extracting bottle stoppers which are applied
under pressure or which from the nature of the material of which the stopper
is composed adhere with such tenacity as to require considerable force for their
withdrawal.
My invention is particularly applicable for stoppers having bodies composed
of some elastic material with a metallic lifting pin projected through the body of
the stopper to which pin the extracting implement is applied for unseating the
stopper.
A device of this class consists of a stopper composed of a rubber body with a
metal pin inserted through said body, the body of the pin being cylindrical
through that portion embraced by the rubber body and the protruding end of
the pin being circumferentially reduced so as to provide a head or shoulder to
be engaged by the extracting implement. A lever instrument is sometimes used
as the means for extracting the stopper.
A stopper of this character owing to its particular construction and conforma-
tion to the bottle neck can only be withdrawn by the application of considerable
force and I have found in practice that the lever implement sometimes fractures
the mouth of the bottle.
It is the object of my present improvement to make a stopper and extractor
of such form that the stopper may be withdrawn by a direct or straight pull and
without injury to the stopper or bottle. To this end my invention comprises
an extractor having a body portion adapted to rest upon the bottle mouth, a screw
having a beak or claw to engage the head of the pin and a rotating nut for
raising the screw with relation to the bottle and the body of the extractor whereby
the stopper is lifted by a direct pull.
A feature of my invention consists in the particular construction of the stopper
pin whereby the body of the implement is prevented from turning with the
stopper and screw.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section showing the implement in position
for use.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the extractor.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show views of the stopper detached, Figure 3 showing the
pin previous to the formation of the lifting head thereon.
A represents the body of the bottle of usual form having the contracted neck!

page_text: technically known as the "choke" at a. B represents the body of the stopper
which body may be composed of what is known as commercial soft rubber,
although the material of which the body of the stopper is composed is not
essential to this invention. Through this body is inserted a metallic pin having
a flat head 6 which may be produced by upsetting one end of the pin or the
head may be separately attached. The pin is preferably made of a piece of wire
rod having the head portion upset thereon and the body of the pin being
inserted through the body of the stopper which is provided with a central aperture
to permit the passage of the pin. The pin is provided with shoulders 6¹ which
are conveniently produced by flattening the sides of the pin at opposite points
by means of dies or in any other convenient method the result being that the
pin is compressed at opposite sides, the metal swelling out to accommodate the
flattened portions as shown in Figure 5 while the head of the pin remains of
the same size. This particular method of construction enables the pin to be
inserted through the body of the stopper as the head is not enlarged.
Instead of this construction, however, the shoulders which are the essential
features, may be produced by upsetting the head of the pin although it is pre-
ferred not to increase the diameter of the head of the pin over that of the body.
The extractor itself is composed of a body portion C which may be a skeleton
casting having the bell shaped bottom c and the annular shoulder c¹ to rest upon
the bottle mouth. The upper end C' of the body portion is apertured through
which a screw D may slide freely. The threaded nut E engages the threads
of the screw and when turned down into contact with the body C will cause the
screw to move with relation to said body. The nut E preferably has an extended
handle portion E¹. The screw carries at its lower end a beak or claw F, said
claw having an open body with inwardly turned hooked or flanged portions f
separated to receive the flattened portion of the pin and adapted to engage with
the shoulders 6¹ of the head thereof whereby to pull upon the pin and withdraw
the stopper when the screw is operated.
It will be seen that the pull or draft of the screw is directly in the line of the
axis of the pin, and, consequently, in the direction in which the stopper is to
be moved in order to extract it. It will also be seen that the body of the
extractor, which is supported on the bottle mouth by means of its annular
shoulder, forms a rest or support for the nut, screw and claw which form the
moving parts of the extractor, and that the claw will, as just explained, engage
the shoulders of the pin, said shoulders resting on the claw during the act of
extraction. Moreover, the space between the hooks f of the claw F being of
such width that the flattened portion of the pin cannot turn therein, the said
claw and, consequently, the screw D are prevented from rotating relatively to
the pin and stopper along with the nut E, or, in other words, said screw is pre-
vented from simply being turned around on the stopper-pin instead of lifting
it. The screw being prevented from rotating, it is obvious that when the nut
is rotated, the screw will be moved vertically, and by reason of the engagement
of its claw with the shouldered end of the stopper-pin, will extract the stopper.
While I prefer to employ the described construction of the claw and pin to
prevent their relative rotation, such rotation may be prevented in other ways.
As for example, the screw may carry a stop adapted to engage with the body C
to prevent such rotation. The construction of the pin is important for another
reason, viz., that it can be made much cheaper than the pin heretofore used, as
it may be formed by reciprocating dies which can be operated much more rapidly
than it is possible to operate a cutting tool to remove a portion of the metal of
the pin.
Obviously the extractor shown might be slightly modified in its structural
features and it might be employed for the extraction of stoppers of different con-
struction or stoppers having pins of different construction than those described
or referred to above and hence I do not intend to limit my claim to a joint use
of the particular form of stopper and; the particular form of extractor shown.

page_text: Obviously the particular claw shown may be modified to adapt it to the form
of lifting pin with which it is used. For example, a looped wire is sometimes
used instead of a pin and in such case the claw would be of such form so to enter
the eye of the loop. Therefore, I do not limit my invention to the particular
form of the claw. I am aware, of course, that cork extractors have been made
to engage a cork screw operated by a nut, but my invention is intended for use
with that class of stoppers having an elastic body with a rigid lifting pin con-
nected thereto.
By means of my present improvement stoppers which are capable of holding
heavily charged liquids during the operation of processing and without the aid
of clamps may be withdrawn easily and without injury to the stopper or liability
of fracture of the bottle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. An extractor of the class described having a body portion adapted to seat
upon the bottle mouth and apertured for the passage of a screw, a screw adapted
to slide through' said aperture and having a claw at its end adapted to engage
with the rigid portion of a bottle stopper and a nut having a threaded engage-
ment with the screw and adapted to bear upon the body whereby the stoppe
may be withdrawn by a direct pull, substantially as described.
2. An extractor of the class described comprising in combination a body
adapted to seat upon the bottle neck, a screw slidably supported upon said body
and having a rigid claw at one end thereof adapted to engage a stopper pin and
a threaded nut working upon the screw, substantially as described.
3. A stopper having an elastic body and a metallic pin secured thereto and
projecting beyond the elastic body, the projecting portion being flattened on
opposite sides thereof and providing shoulders to facilitate extraction, substantially
as described.
4. A stopper comprising in combination an elastic body and a metallic pin
projecting through a central aperture of said body and having one of its ends
upset or enlarged to prevent its withdrawal and the other end of said pin pro-
jecting beyond the elastic body and being flattened on opposite sides whereby
to provide a shouldered head, substantially as described.
5. The combination with a stopper having, a lifting pin projecting there-
through, the projected end of the stopper being provided with a shouldered head
of an extractor comprising a body portion adapted to seat upon the bottle mouth,
a screw slidably supported by said body and having a claw constructed to embrace
the flattened sides of the pin and to engage the shouldered head thereof, and a nut
engaged with the screw whereby to move the same relatively to the bottle, sub-
stantially as described.
Dated this 14th day of April 1897.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.