Improvements in Bottles and Seals therefor.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan., 1898-Accepted, 26th Feb., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in Bottles and Seals therefor.
I, JOSHUA ENTWISLE, of the Firm of E. K. Dutton & Co., of 5, John Dalton
Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Fellow of the Institute of Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (communicated to me from
abroad by Charles Wright Davison, of 934, Lumber Exchange, Minneapolis, in the
County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, United States of America, Manufacturer),
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings.
This invention relates to improvements in bottles and seals designed to be used
in connection therewith for preventing a fraudulent use of the bottles, and the
object of the invention is to provide a bottle and a seal that can readily be applied
thereto, and which will prevent the withdrawal of the cork from the neck of the
bottle, or the removal of the liquid from the bottle until after the seal has been
destroyed; another object of the invention is to provide a seal with a locking
device that is arranged within the neck of the bottle so that access thereto cannot
be had except by breaking or destroying the seal; another object of the invention
is to provide a lock which will securely hold or lock a cork in the neck of the bottle
so that it cannot be forced therefrom.
The invention consists generally in a glass or other frangible seal adapted to
fit into the neck of the bottle and provided with a thin or weakened portion so that
when the seal is struck or force is applied to it, for the purpose of breaking, it will
break along the line of the thin or weakened part.
In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a bottle neck and cork showing
my improved seal arranged in connection therewith, the neck of the bottle being
in this instance provided with an offset or enlarged part at the mouth and above
the portion that receives the cork.
Fig. 2 is a similar view of an ordinary bottle neck showing the cork and seal
arranged therein.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation.
Fig. 4 is a top plan view.
Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of my improved seal.
Fig. 6 is a detail of the wire holder which I prefer to employ for securing the
seal to the cork.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show a modified form of the seal.
Fig. 10 is a vertical section of a bottle neck with the form of seal shown in
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 arranged therein.
Fig. 11 is a vertical section of a bottle neck and cork showing my improved
fastening for locking the cork to the neck of the bottle without the use of the seal.
Fig. 12 is a detail view of the bottle neck shown in Fig. 11.

page_text: Fig. 13 is a transverse section through the groove of the bottle neck shown
in Fig. 11.
In the drawings, 2 represents the neck of the bottle which may be of any suit-
able construction. The neck of the bottle may be of ordinary form as shown in
Fig. 2, or may be made with an enlarged portion above the part that receives the
cork, as shown in Fig. 1, or it may have an internal groove, as shown in Figs. 10,
11 and 12, or it may be of any other suitable form. I prefer to employ the bottle
neck shown in Fig. 1 as this may be made without the use of a former. In the
bottle neck below the groove or enlarged portion, where such groove or enlarged
portion is used, I place an ordinary cork 3. The seal which I prefer to employ is
shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 and consists generally of the circular disk 4 having a
transverse groove 5 upon its upper surface, preferably arranged substantially at
the center of the disk. Beneath one portion of the disk 4 is a depending lug 6
preferably of substantially semi-cylindrical form, the transverse shoulder formed
by the union of the lug 6 and the disk 4 being substantially parallel with and in
close proximity to the transverse groove 5 formed in the upper surface of the disk.
A shoulder 7, preferably having a beveled under surface, is arranged upon the
inner side of the depending lug 6. I prefer to use a seal lock or holder formed
of wire and having barbs 9 at its lower ends and this lock is put in position to
straddle the cork with the barbs projecting into it, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The
cork is placed in position with the lock engaging it, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,
and the seal is then placed in the mouth of the bottle neck, the beveled shoulder 7
sliding past the top of the lock which then springs over the shoulder into the posi-
tion shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thereby securely locking the seal into position. The
top of the seal comes substantially flush with, or a little below, the end of the
bottle neck and as the disk is made to practically fill the mouth of the bottle neck
it is impossible to remove the seal or the cork without first destroying the seal
which cannot then be used again and if the bottle is again used it must be done
without the seal and this will be evidence that the contents of the bottle is not
genuine. I may also, if preferred, form upon the top of the seal, as indicated by
the numeral 7 shown thereon in Figs. 4, 7 and 8, a suitable design or trademark
which will be an additional safeguard to show the genuineness of the contents of
the bottle. When it is desired to open the bottle a slight blow upon one side of
the disk will cause the seal to break in two along the line of the groove 5. The
lock or staple 8 may then be grasped by a hook or other instrument and the cork
withdrawn from the neck of the bottle. As the seal breaks along the line of its
weakened portion and does not shatter into small pieces there is no danger of
broken or powdered glass getting into the contents of the bottle.
Where it is desired to use the seal in connection with bottles designed
to hold effervescent liquids a groove 11 may be formed on the inner surface of the
bottle neck, as shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 and the lock or holder 8 may then
be provided with suitable bends 12 (see Fig. 10), adapted to spring into said groove
and thereby lock the cork in the neck of the bottle. In this instance I may use
the seal of the form shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 or it may be of the form shown in
Figs. 7, 8 and 9, in which the transverse groove is arranged upon the under surface
of the disk and a groove 13 is arranged to receive the staple or lock 8 in place
of the shoulder 7. In this instance I have shown the lock 8-provided with
points 14 adapted to project into the upper surface of the cork instead of its being
provided with the barbs 9, shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6. Where it is desired to use
the bottle for holding effervescent liquids without employing the seal, a spring
holder 8 may be arranged with points 14 to engage the upper surface of the cork,
as shown in Fig. 11, and with bends. or loops all lying in substantially the same
plane and adapted to spring into the groove in the bottle neck, as shown in
Figs. 11 and 13. The form of the seal, it will be noted, may be varied materially
without departing from the principle of my invention and I do not limit myself
to any particular form or construction thereof; the essential feature being that the
frangible seal be provided with a weakened portion forming a breaking line so that

page_text: the material will not be shattered or powdered when the seal is broken' and that
the seal be provided with a suitable groove or shoulder adapted to be engaged by
a lock that secures it either to the bottle neck or to the cork, this lock being acces-
sible only when or after the seal has been broken.
Where I use a bottle-neck with a groove upon the interior thereof, I prefer to
form said groove as shown in
Figs. 10, 11 and 12. As here shown, the groove 11 is provided with an abrupt
shoulder at the upper side of the groove and with a gradually curved shoulder
below the groove. This enables me to blow the bottle with the groove in its neck,
which it has not been possible to do where attempts have been made to form a
bottle-neck with a groove in the interior surface of the neck. I also prefer to form
the part of the bottle-neck that is above the groove of greater diameter then the
part that is below, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. This permits the ready insertion
of the cork as indicated in Fig. 11 without any apparent strain on the bottle-neck
above the groove.
At the point where the neck contracts and receives the greatest strain when the
cork is forced into the bottle the groove forms a rib or lip which strengthens the
neck and the lip being blown renders the cost of the bottle considerably less than
when the lip is formed by a former making the point of greatest strain at the top
of the neck. The same points apply to a bottle shown in Fig. 1 which shows a
shoulder and leaves the bottle neck above the shoulder larger than below. This
orifice above the shoulder or the groove being larger than below makes a good
receptacle for the seal. By providing the groove in the mould with a square or
abrupt shoulder at its upper side and with an inclined or beveled surface at its
lower side, I am able to blow a bottle with a groove in its neck having a square
shoulder at its upper side which have found cannot be accomplished when the
sides of the groove in the mould are formed alike.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A frangible seal provided with a weakened portion forming a breaking line.
2. A frangible seal provided with a weakened portion forming a breaking line
and having a suitable lug or shoulder adapted to be engaged by a lock or holder.
3. As a new article of manufacture, a frangible seal provided with a transverse
groove forming a breaking line and having a depending lug formed with a groove
or shoulder.
4. A frangible disk 4 provided with the transverse groove 5, the depending
lug 6 and the beveled shoulder 7 arranged upon said lug, for the purpose set forth.
5. The combination, with the bottle-neck provided with a groove upon its
inner surface, a suitable cork arranged within said bottle neck below said groove
and a suitable holder engaging said cork and also engaging said groove.
6. The combination, with the bottle-neck, of a cork arranged therein, a frangible
seal also arranged in said bottle-neck above said cork, and a lock engaging said
seal and securing the same to said cork, said lock being accessible only when or
after said seal is broken.
7. The combination, with a suitable bottle, provided with a groove or recess in
the inner surface of its neck, of a cork arranged in said bottle below said shoulder,
a cap arranged in said neck above said cork, and a spring holder engaging said cap
and engaging the recess in the bottle and thereby holding said cap and said cork
in position in the bottle-neck.
8. A bottle, provided with an interior groove in its neck, the shoulder at the
upper side of the groove being abrupt and that at the lower side being gradually
inclined, permitting the bottle to be blown with the groove in its neck, sub-
stantially as described.
9. A bottle, having a neck provided with an interior shoulder, the diameter of

page_text: the interior of the bottle-neck being greater above said shoulder than below it,
for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 13th day of January 1898.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
Chartered Patent Agents, 5, John Dalton. Street, Manchester.