Improvements in Caps for Sealing Bottles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 27th May, 1899
[Commumcated from abroad by WILLIAM L'AINTER, 1511 to 1523, Guilford
Avenue, Baltimore, Md., U.S.A., Engineer.]
Improvements in Caps for Sealing Bottles.
We, THE CROWN CORK COMPANY LIMITED, of 79 and 81, Paul Street, Finsbury,
in the County of London, England, 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; —
This invention relates to improvements in metal caps or crowns for sealing
bottles and has for its object to so construct such caps or crowns that the bottles
which they seal may be readily opened and the contents thereof freely discharged
without entirely removing the said caps or crowns.
According to our invention we provide the caps or crowns used for closing the
bottles, with an opening which is normally closed by a displaceable disc or tongue
either connected to or disconnected from said cap, and we further place between
the cap and bottle, suitable sealing means for preventing the escape of liquid and
also for preventing any action of the liquid on the metal of the cap when neces-
sary. When it is required to open the bottle, the said tongue or disc is displaced
and the sealing medium ruptured, in such manner that a free passage is afforded
for the contents of the bottle.
The means employed for sealing the bottle may consist of a thin disc or layer or
a ring of cork, rubber or other easily fractured and compressible elastic material
placed between the edge of the bottle mouth and the cap or crown.
cap or
When a disc of cork or other porous material is thus employed and it is required
to exclude the cap from the contents of the bottle, and form a more perfect seal,
some resinous, pitchy or waxy substance is applied to the inner face of the
crown, either in a melted state or in solution so that it will harden either on cool-
ing or on the evaporation of the solvent. Or if it is only required to make the
seal more perfect, such resinous, pitchy or waxy substance may be applied to the
outer side of the cap. When a ring of cork rubber or similar material is employed,
it is necessary to apply the resinous, pitchy or waxy substance in such manner as
to seal the joint between the cap and its displaceable part.
When applied to the inner side of the cap, the resinous, pitchy or waxy sub-
stance may be applied directly to said cap, or a piece of bibulous paper or similar
material saturated with the said substance may be placed between the cork or
similar substance and the cap.
In order that our said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect we will now proceed to describe the same more fully with reference to
the accompanying drawings in which:-
Figures 1 and 2 show a plan and section of a cap or crown in the process of
making, of one form of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a section of this form of the invention complete, as applied to a
bottle.
Figure 4 is a view showing the sealing medium ruptured and the displaceable
part depressed to form the discharge opening.

page_text: Figures 5 to 15 inclusive show modifications, hereinafter referred to.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4,
a is a cap or crown, of well known construction which is attached to the head of
a bottle by means of its corrugated rim or flange, and has an opening in the
centre thereof. b is a tongue or flap for closing the said opening and is connected
to the crown a by a web c. d is a sealing disc of cork rubber or similar material,
interposed and tightly compressed between the bottle mouth and the crown a.
In making this form of device the central opening and the tongue or flap b are
formed by first depressing the centre of the cap or crown and then cutting through
the metal round said depression, only leaving the web e uncut so as to practically
form a hinge (Figures 1 and 2). By thus depressing the centre of the crown a
the metal forming the tongue or flap b is stretched, so that when the said tongue
or flap is subsequently flattened its edge overlaps the edge of the opening and bears
on the under side of the cap or crown, as shown at e Figures 3 and 4. The tongue
or flap thus resists internal pressure but is free to be depressed into the bottle
neck. When it is required to open the bottle the cap or crown a need not be
removed but the centre flap or tongue b is forced inwards by means of a lead
pencil or other convenient article into the position shown in Figure 4, rupturing
the seal and leaving a free passage for the contents of the bottle, preferably of
about the same diameter as the internal diameter of the bottle neck. The web c
is sufficiently tenacious to prevent the flap or tongue 6 becoming severed and falling
into the bottle when depressed, and sufficiently rigid to maintain the position of
the flap in its depressed position when the contents of the bottle are being
poured out.
b
f is a depression which may be formed in the flap or tongue on the opposite
side thereof to the web c, in order to indicate where the pressure should be applied
to depress the said tongue or flap and also to receive the end of the instrument
used to effect such depression.
In Figure 5 the cap or crown a, and the tongue or flap b with the overlapping
parte and depression f. are constructed as before. The sealing medium d is in
the form of a ring placed between the mouth of the bottle and the can or crown a,
and the inner surface of the can or crown a is coated with a layer of resinous,
pitchy, or waxy substance which serves to seal the joint between the said cap or
crown and the tongue or flap 6 and to prevent contact between the contents of the
bottle and the cap or crown a. The bottle is opened as before.
Figure 6 shows a crown or cap a in which the tongue or flap bis joined thereto
by means of the web e as before. The said tongue or flap is however of the same
size only as the opening in the cap or crown and does not overlap as in the previous
figures, so that in order to open the bottle the said tongue or flap may be either
raised up or depressed into the bottle neck. This form is suitable where the con-
tents of the bottle are not under pressure and where there is consquently no need
of providing resistance to internal pressure. It is necessary also in this case t
place a sealing medium between the cap or crown and the inside of the bottle, so
as to cover the joint between the tongue or flap and the cap or crown and provide
a perfect closure for the contents of the bottle.
Figure 7 is a plan and Figure 8 is a section on line A-A Figure 7, showing a
modification in which a central part of the cap or crown a is cut through circu-
larly so as to form a removable disc attached to the said cap or crown by uncut
parts or webs . The cuts so formed being turned up slightly (Figure 8). When
it is required to open this form of cap or crown the webs are severed and the
disc and any subjacent sealing medium removed, a free passage being thus
afforded for the contents of the bottle.
In Figure 9 the cap or crown a is shown with a central removable disc formed
by cuts as in Figure 7, but this disc h is raised and the subjacent sealing medium
follows the contour thereof. To open the bottle the webs i and the sealing medium
subjacent to the disc h are severed and a permanent and complete opening thus
formed.

page_text: Figure 10 shows a cap or crown a having a central opening which is closed by
a flanged cup j, the flange of which seats against the said cap or crown and resists
internal pressure from the bottle. To open a bottle fitted with this form of cap
or crown, the cup is pushed into the bottle. It is obvious that in place of being
cup shaped, j might simply be a flat disc of greater diameter than the opening in
the cup or crown a.
Figure 11 shows a modification in which the crown or cap a is inverted and
pressed into a groove in the neck of the bottle, the said crown being provided
with a flap or tongue united thereto by a web e and provided with an overlapping
piece e and a depression f as in Figures 1 to 5. The sealing medium d also fitting
into the groove in the bottle neck, so as to form an effective closure.
To open
this form of closure, the flap or tongue is depressed in a similar manner as
already described with reference to Figure 4.
Figure 12 shows a very similar form of closure to that shown in Figure 11, but
a ring shaped piece of sealing medium or packing d is fitted between the bottle
and cap or crown; the flap or tongue b is constructed as in the previous figure
and some pitchy, resinous or waxy substance k is placed over the joint between the
flap or tongue 6 and the cap or crown a to effectively seal the bottle. A bottle
thus closed is opened as in the previous Figure 11.
Figure 13 is similar to Figure 12 but the sealing medium or packing is con-
tinuous on the under side of the cap or crown a and no substance such as k
Figure 11 is required.
Figures 14 and 15 are underneath plans showing modifications of the cap or
crown shown in Figures 1 to 5 in which the tongue or flap is formed to resist
internal pressure.
In Figure 14 the web e alone is stretched or extended so as to
cause the opposite side of the tongue or flap to overlap the opening in the cap or
crown . In Figure 15 one or more projections 17 are stamped or stretched out of
the edge of the flap or tongue so as to overlap the opening in the cap or crown,
and offer the necessary resistance to internal pressure. Or similar projections mm
may be formed on the edge of the opening in the cap or crown a so as to overlap
the tongue or flap 6 and serve the same purpose.
It will be understood that the various forms of seals may be used with the
various forms of closures as may be found desirable or specially applicable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
us by our foreign correspondent, we declare that what we claim is:-
1. A bottle closure consisting in a cap, crown or its equivalent, provided with
a tongue or removable disc substantially as described.
2. With the bottle closure referred to in the preceding claim, the use of the
compressible elastic sealing medium with or without the pitchy waxy or resinous
substance, substantially as described.
3. A bottle closure constructed, arranged, and operating, substantially as
described with reference to Figures 1 to 4, or to Figure 6, or to Figures 7 and 8,
or to one or other of the remaining figures of the accompanying drawings, for
the purpose specified.
Dated this 25th dox of 1900
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.