Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Aug., 1888.
Complete Specification Left, 14th Nov.. 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 14th Dec., 1888
1, EMMA JOHNSON of 52 Church Road, Richmond in the County of Surrey,
Gentlewoman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists in manufacturing stoppers of wood (especially screw stoppers
such as are now manufactured of various compositions) in such a way that they
shall be suitable for stoppering bottles containing beer, aerated waters and other
liquids.
Various attempts have been made to manufacture stoppers, for bottles, of wood
(especially screw stoppers) but without success on account of two fatal objections, the
one being that the wood was porous and the other that it swelled to such an extent
that it was either liable to break the neck of the bottle or render it impossible to with-
draw the said stopper.
Now according to this invention the stoppers are turned crosswise of the grain of
the wood instead of with the grain as heretofore by which the above objections are
entirely obviated and a cheap and very efficient stopper is produced.
BROWNE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in the Manufacture of Wooden Stoppers for
Bottles.
I, EMMA JOHNSON of 52 Church Road, Richmond in the County of Surrey,
Gentlewoman do hereby declare the nature of my said 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 consists in manufacturing screw stoppers of wood (such as are now
manufactured of various compositions) in such a way that they shall be suitable for
stoppering bottles and jars containing beer, aerated waters, and other liquids.
Various attempts have been made to manufacture screw stoppers for bottles, of
wood, but without success, on account of two fatal objections, the one being that the
wood was porous and the other that it swelled to such an extent that it was either
liable to break the neck of the bottle or render it impossible to withdraw the said
stopper.
Now according to this invention the said stoppers are turned crosswise of the grain
of the wood (that is with the grain of the wood running with the diameter instead of
in the direction of the length) instead of with the grain as heretofore by which the
abovo objections are entirely obviated and a cheap and very efficient screw stopper is
produced.
It will however be found in practice that a suitable thread cannot be cut on a wooden
stopper made crosswise of the grain by the ordinary means therefore I have devised
special means for effecting this object as follows and shown in the accompanying
sheet of drawings in which Fig. 1 shews side elevation partly in section of machine,
Fig. 2 end elevation and Fig. 3 plan of same.
a is a hollow metal cylinder, having in the interior thereof, a female thread or
worm a either cut from the solid metal or inserted therein a coil of copper wire
answers very well for this purpose, one and a half convolutions of the thread aro
sufficient, the pitch of the coil or screw thread being equal to that of the screw in the
neck of the bottle. Underneath the cylinder a is an atmospheric gas burner 6 for the
purpose of heating the cylinder a, c is a tube for supplying gas to the burner.
The cylinder a and burner bare cast in one with the tube d which is turned to fit
the bored socket e and held securely therein by means of the set screw f, 9 is the base
plate of the machine carrying the two standards and '. The standard his formed
with a female thread of the same pitch as the thread on the stoppers and the standard h¹
is bored to fit the spindle k which has formed on one end thereof a male screw working
into the female screw of the standard h.
The spindle also carries a socket to receive the heads of the stoppers and the
other end is formed with a square to receive the crank handle m.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-the stopper head being placed in the
socket or chuck and the burner & having heated the coil in cylinder a, the handle m

page_text: is turned and the stopper advanced through the hot worm a¹ which is of the same
internal diameter as the bottom of the required threads on the stopper and the screw
burned out of the solid wood.
The chuck is made with an adjusting piece n to compensate for any inequality in
the size of the head.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is :-
:-
A screw stopper for bottles formed of wood so that the grain runs crosswise as set
forth.
Dated this 14th day of November 1888