IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPING THE MOUTHS OF JARS AND BOTTLES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hiram Codd, of No. 58, King William Street, in the City
of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPING THE MOUTHS
OF JARS AND BOTTLES."
Sealed the 4th July 1879, and dated the 23rd April 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hiram Codd at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd April 1879.
HIRAM CODD, of No. 58, King William Street, in the City of London.
PROVEMENTS IN STOPPING THE MOUTHS OF JARS AND BOTTLES."
"
IM-
At the present time many ways have been suggested for applying an elastic
seating within the neck of ordinary bottles for a rigid stopper of glass or other
material to fit against and form a tight joint to close the bottle. Elastic rings and
tubes of flexible elastic material, generally vulcanized india rubber, have for this
purpose been held in the mouth of a bottle by metal caps secured by wires or other
fastenings.
According to my Invention I form an elastic seat at the mouth of an ordinary
bottle or jar for a rigid stopper to fit against by inserting into the mouth of the
jar or bottle one end of a tube of flexible elastic material, by preference vulcanized
india rubber, and doubling down the other end of the tube to cause it to embrace
and fit closely over the exterior of the head of the jar or bottle.
The edge of the outer end of the elastic tube should be of stouter substance than
the remainder of the tube so that it may tightly grip the neck of the bottle. Thus
the portion of the tube which embraces the head serves to hold in place the other
portion of the tube which is within the neck or mouth, and which is to serve as an
elastic seat for the rigid stopper.
When the bottle is to contain aerated liquids, and is to be provided with an
internal rigid stopper, the rigid stopper is to be dropped into the interior of the
bottle, and the end of the elastic tube then inserted into the neck and the tube
doubled over the exterior of the head, as before explained. The tube should extend
into the neck somewhat beyond where the neck widens out below the contraction
In this case I
at its upper end where the neck is embraced as usual by the head.
make the end of the tube tapering to fit the tapering interior of the neck; a ring

page_text: of thin metal or other somewhat rigid material may also be embedded in or affixed
to the end of the tube. In this case when the end of the tube is to be inserted
into the mouth of a bottle the metal ring is doubled together to allow of its entering
the mouth, and after it has been inserted the ring may be opened out and caused
to fit against the sides of the neck below the narrowest part of the mouth. This
will effectively prevent the tube being withdrawn from the bottle, and will also
keep the end of the tube closely against the interior of the neck, so that the rigid
stopper may with certainty enter the tube and press it outwards against the neck
to form a tight joint when the bottle has been filled with aerated liquid and the
stopper has been brought to the mouth of the bottle in the ordinary manner.
By fitting an elastic seat in the manner above described to the mouth of an
ordinary soda water bottle such bottles can very readily and at small cost be
adapted to be closed by rigid internal stoppers, which can be used over and over
again instead of closing such bottles with corks, as is now for the most part usual.
In the same way to that above described the mouths of bottles which are to be
closed by rigid stoppers having a head outside the bottle may be fitted with an
elastic seating for the stopper in the neck, and as the elastic material is doubled
over the mouth of the bottle an elastic cushion will also be formed between the
head of the stopper and the mouth of the bottle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Hiram Codd in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd
October 1879.
HIRAM CODD, of No. 58, King William Street, in the City of London.
PROVEMENTS IN STOPPING THE MOUTHS OF JARS AND BOTTLES."
"IM-
At the present time many ways have been suggested for applying an elastic
seating within the neck of ordinary bottles for a rigid stopper of glass or other
material to fit against and form a tight joint to close the bottle. Elastic rings and
tubes of flexible elastic material, generally vulcanised india rubber, have for this
purpose been held in the mouth of a bottle by metal caps secured by wires or other
fastenings.
According to my Invention I form an elastic seat at the mouth of an ordinary
bottle or jar for a rigid stopper to fit against by inserting into the mouth of the
jar or bottle one end of a tube of flexible elastic material, by preference vulcanised
india rubber, and doubling down the other end of the tube to cause it to embrace
and fit closely over the exterior of the head of the jar or bottle.
The edge of the outer end of the elastic tube should be of stouter substance than
the remainder of the tube so that it may tightly grip the neck of the bottle. Thus
the portion of the tube which embraces the head serves to hold in place the other
portion of the tube which is within the neck or mouth, and which is to serve as an
elastic seat for the rigid stopper.

page_text: When the bottle is to contain aerated liquids and is to be provided with an
internal rigid stopper the rigid stopper is to be dropped into the interior of the
bottle, and the end of the elastic tube then inserted into the neck and the tube
doubled over the exterior of the head, as before explained. The tube should extend
into the neck somewhat beyond where the neck widens out below the contraction
at its upper end where the neck is embraced as usual by the head. In this case I
make the end of the tube tapering to fit the tapering interior of the neck; a ring of
thin metal or other somewhat rigid material may also be embedded in or affixed to
the end of the tube. In this case when the end of the tube is to be inserted into
the mouth of a bottle the metal ring is doubled together to allow of its entering
the mouth, and after it has been inserted the ring may be opened out and caused
to fit against the sides of the neck below the narrowest part of the mouth. This
will effectively prevent the tube being withdrawn from the bottle, and will also
keep the end of the tube closely against the interior of the neck, so that the rigid
stopper may with certainty enter the tube and press it outwards against the neck
to form a tight joint when the bottle has been filled with aerated liquid and the
stopper has been brought to the mouth of the bottle in the ordinary manner.
By fitting an clastic seat in the manner above described to the mouth of an
ordinary soda water bottle such bottles can very readily and at small cost be
adapted to be closed by rigid internal stoppers, which can be used over and over
again instead of closing such bottles with corks, as is now for the most part usual.
In the same way to that above described the mouths of bottles which are to be
closed by rigid stoppers having a head outside the bottle may be fitted with an
clastic seating for the stopper in the neck, and as the elastic material is doubled
over the mouth of the bottle an elastic cushion will also be formed between the
head of the stopper and the mouth of the bottle.
Figures 1 and 2 shew sections of the necks of bottles fitted with an elastic seat
at the mouth in the manner above described. a is the elastic seat formed of
vulcanised india rubber; in it is embedded, as shewn, a ring of thin metal, it may
be of iron or other metal, that can be bent to and fro in like manner. The ring of
metal is embedded in the india rubber compound forming the seating before this
compound is submitted to heat to effect its vulcanisation, so that after vulcanization
the ring is completely enclosed with vulcanized india rubber.
To insert the elastic seat a into the neck of a bottle the ring is first bent inwards
on two opposite sides, and is then inserted into the neck below the contraction b;
the seating or ring is then straightened out or caused to resume its original form,
and then cannot be withdrawn froin the mouth of the bottle.
In order to prevent the elastic seating a from dropping inwards into the bottle it
is formed at the end of a short tube c of thin vulcanized india rubber. This tube
is stretched and doubled back over the exterior of the head of the bottle as shewn.
The extremity of the outer end of the flexible tube c is by preference somewhat
thickened to allow of its gripping firmly the exterior of the bottle below the ring
which forms the head. The interior of the necks of the bottles shewn at Figures 1
and 2 is formed with a slight shoulder for the upper part of the elastic seating to
rest against, but this is not essential, the neck might simply be formed tapering
and narrowest near to the mouth.
The mouth of the jar or bottle thus provided with a seating of elastic material
having a ring of rigid material embedded in it to keep it in place may, if the jar or
bottle is to contain aerated liquid, either be closed by a rigid internal ball stopper,
as shewn at Figure 1, or by a suitable internal stopper of other form; or especially
if the jar or bottle is not to contain aerated liquid it may be closed by a stopper
which has to be withdrawn outwards as shewn at Figure 2. In both cases a perfect
closing of the mouth of the jar or bottle is secured, as the inner and outer surfaces
of the seating a are both elastic, and one fits against the interior of the neck of the
bottle and the other against the stopper.
In place of the elastic seating a with its internal ring of comparatively rigid
material being held up to prevent its dropping into the interior of the bottle by a

page_text: thin elastic tube c, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2, the bottle might be formed with
an internal ledge to come below the elastic seating and keep it in place, as described
in the Specification of a former Patent granted to me, No. 3070, in the year 1870.
An elastic seating having an internal ring of hard material is shewn at Figure 3 so
supported in the mouth of a bottle.
Another way of preventing the elastic seating from dropping into the bottle is
shewn at Figure 4. In this case a small projection is formed around the interior of
the neck of the bottle and the elastic seating is formed with two rigid rings
embedded in it, one to come below the projection as in the Figures previously
described, the other to come above the projection, so using the same means to
prevent the scating from dropping into the bottle that are used in the other cases
to prevent its being drawn out of the bottle.
In place of the rigid ring inserted into the interior of the elastic seating being of
metal it might, as before stated, be of other rigid material, as for example it might
be of the hard compound of india rubber known as vulcanite or ebonite.
In this case it would be necessary to somewhat soften the rigid interior of the
seating by warming the seating before inserting it into the mouth of a bottle. The
seating can then be readily bent and inserted into its place, and subsequently
straightened out to its original form to cause it to fit against the interior of the
neck of the bottle. Afterwards, when the seating has become cool, its internal ring
Other
will set and become hard and cannot then be withdrawn from the bottle.
suitable comparatively rigid material which will allow of being bent to and fro may
in a similar manner be embedded in the elastic seating a so long as this material
can be bent when the seating is to be inserted into its place and afterwards be
restored to its original form to cause the seating to fit to the interior of the neck of
the bottle or jar into which the seating is inserted.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I would state that on the 12th day of May last I lodged at the Patent
Office a Provisional Specification in which I described special ways of forming an
elastic seating for the mouths of bottles and jars with an interior part composed of
rigid material. One of such modes consisting in embedding a ring of thin metal in
the elastic seating, and another in forming the rigid interior of the seating of a
material which would soften with heat but which would become rigid when cold;
but my application for a Patent for these methods of making an elastic seating for
the mouth of bottles and jars was not allowed to proceed in consequence of an
opposition before Her Majesty's Solicitor General founded on an application of earlier
date than my then application, but subsequent to the date of the Patent to which the
present is my Specification, I do not therefore make special claim to such modes of
forming elastic seatings for the mouths of bottles and jars which I have described
in this Specification, only as the best means I have discovered for carrying my
patented Invention into effect, but I claim generally as my Invention the stopping
or closing the mouth of a jar or bottle by a rigid stopper, it may be of glass or
other material, fitting against an elastic seating having by any suitable means a
ring of comparatively rigid material embedded or contained within it keeping the
seating in its place in the mouth of the jar or vessel.
I also claim the means of stopping or closing the mouths of jars or bottles sub-
stantially as herein before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hiram Codd, have hereunto set my hand and
scal, this Twenty third day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.