Improvements in and relating to Stoppers for Bottles and similar Vessels.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1892-Accepted, 7th Jan., 1893
Improvements in and relating to Stoppers for Bottles and similar
Vessels.
I, GEORGE HORATIO JONES, of 57 Great Russell Street, in the County of
London, Surgeon Dentist and Doctor of Dental Surgery, 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 :-
My invention relates to improved means for stoppering bottles and similar
vessels, and is designed to provide devices for this purpose which can be made at a
lower cost and which are more convenient and efficient than those of the same kind
or class heretofore employed.
My invention relates more particularly to bottle-stoppers of the kind or class in
which a cap or cover, with or without a flange, and provided with a disc or washer
of cork or other suitable material adapted to bear against the mouth of the bottle,
is connected by a hinge-joint to an arm or connecting-piece projecting upward from
a strap or collar which is secured around the neck of the bottle, the said cap being
held down upon the mouth of the bottle by means of a screw-fastening comprising
a thumb-nut fitted upon a screw which is pivoted or coupled by a hook to the said
strap or collar.
Heretofore the said cap has been made in the form of a flat plate having fastened
to the underside thereof, by a pin or rivet, the cork or other disc or washer. Now
I have ascertained that, when the stopper is constructed in this manner, it is
deficient in strength and rigidity, the parts of the said cap near the hinge and near
the slit or slot for the said screw, being too flexible or elastic and being liable to
bend when the screw-fastening is tightened, especially in cases where the stopper
has to resist great pressure within the bottle. Moreover such bottle-stoppers are
costly to manufacture.
One object of my present invention, therefore, is to reduce the cost of manufacture
and increase the strength and rigidity of the cap in bottle-stoppers of the kind or
class above mentioned. For this purpose I make the said cap from stiff sheet-
metal in the manner hereinafter described.
Another object of my said invention is to provide for the efficient use, in combi-
nation with my improved bottle-stopper, of a grooved metal cover or capsule such
as I have described in the Specification of former Letters Patent granted to me
and dated 23rd October 1889 No. 16,758. For this purpose, I construct the said
stopper and the capsule in such a manner that the said capsule will be properly
then be
supported upon the stopper when placed thereon, so that it can
effectually secured to the bottle by means of a wire or cord, the extremities of
which may then be secured by means of sealing wax or the like inserted into a
recess in the top of the said capsule.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the neck of a bottle with my improved stopper
and capsule applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a plan, and
Figure 3 an underside view of the cap.
Figure 4 is a section on the line x, x, Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a section on the line y, y, Figure 3.
Figure 6 is a plan of a piece of parchment or the like hereinafter referred
to, and
Figure 7 is a vertical central section of the capsule.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
a is the cap which is connected by a hinge-joint ↳ to the arm or connecting-
niece c extending upward from the strap or collar d, which is secured upon the

page_text: on the lower end of the fastening screw f; this hook e is passed through holes in
the ends of the strap or collar d, so that, whilst it secures the latter upon the bottle-
neck, it also serves as a pivot about which the screw f can be turned in opening
and closing the bottle. is the thumb-nut fitted upon the said screw f. his
the disc or washer which is inserted in the cap a. jis the metal capsule.
I make the cap a of my improved bottle-stopper from sheet-metal by stamping
by means of suitable dies as follows, that is to say ;-I take a piece of stiff sheet-
metal and cut the same to the required shape, making a hole in the metal at that
part where the recess or cavity for the screw-fastening has to be formed. I then
stamp the piece of metal thus prepared, in such a manner as to form a depression a¹
in the centre thereof, and to turn down the edge around the same and thus form a
flange a² to fit over the mouth of the bottle as shown in Figure 1, leaving a flat
annular portion a³ corresponding to the upper end of the bottle-mouth, and so as
to produce a strong projection or lug at at the part of the cap where it is to be
hinged to the aforesaid connecting-piece c. I then bend inward the metal around
the outer side of the aforesaid hole as shown at a' so as to form the recess or cavity
for the screw-fastening. I am thus enabled to make the cap very strong and rigid
at the parts near the hinge-joint and around the recess or cavity for the screw-
fastening, where strength and rigidity are essential.
I bend the flange a² inward at its lower edge, as more clearly shown in Figure 5,
so that it will securely retain the disc or washer of cork or other suitable material
in place in the said cap, this disc or washer having to be pressed forcibly into the
said cap in order to insert it therein. And I form on the said flange a², by forcing
the metal outward, external projections a' for supporting the metal capsule j.
Before inserting the disc or washer h into the cap a, I apply to the said disc or
washer a piece k of bladder, vegetable parchment or the like, having projecting
pieces which I fold over the edge of the said disc or washer, as shown in
Figures 3 and 4, so that, when the latter is inserted in the cap, these projecting
pieces will be held between it and the under surface of the cap, and the piece of
parchment or the like will thus be securely retained in position. I thus obviate
the necessity for using a pin or rivet to secure the disc or washer and the piece of
parchment or the like to the cap.
I make the metal capsule j substantially as described in my said former Specifi-
cation, but with a slot or notch j¹ to fit over the projecting part that receives
the screw-fastening and with a recess or cavity for the said screw-fastening,
and also with a slot or notch 3 to fit over the lug a. The capsule thus formed,
when placed in position upon the stopper, rests upon the external projections a on
the flange a² of the cap, and can then be readily and effectively secured to the
bottle by means of a wire or cord as shown in Figure 1, the ends of the said
wire or cord being then scaled as above mentioned in the recess j'.
and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I claim is;--
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
First. In or for a bottle-stopper of the kind or class above mentioned, the
improved cap constructed from sheet-metal substantially in the manner herein-
before described.
Second. The improved bottle-stopper constructed substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Third. The improved metal capsule formed with the slots or notches and the
recess or cavity as above described for use in combination with my improved bottle-
stopper as set forth.
Dated the 2nd day of November 1000
GEORGE HORATIO JONES.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.