IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES AND STOPPERS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING OR CHARGING THE SAME."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Barrett, of Hampton, in the County of Middlesex,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTTLES AND STOPPERS, AND IN
APPARATUS FOR FILLING OR CHARGING THE SAME."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Barrett at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th September 1879.
HENRY BARRETT, of Hampton, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN BOTTLES AND STOPPERS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING OR CHARGING THE
SAME."
This Invention relates to the improvements hereinafter described in internal
stoppers for bottles for containing aërated or gaseous liquids (applicable also for
bottles containing beer and other malt liquors), also in the bottles closed by such
stoppers, and in the apparatus employed for filling or charging the said bottles; and
the improvements relate, firstly, to that class of internal spherical stoppers formed
of glass, earthenware, or other like vitreous material, which have inherently a
greater specific gravity than water, and which stoppers close the bottle when it
is filled by being forced by the pressure within the bottle against an elastic sent
consisting of a ring of india rubber or other suitable material which has hitherto
been usually placed in a groove formed in the interior of the neck of the bottle;
this part of the Invention also relates to the bottles closed by such stoppers, and to
the apparatus employed for filling such bottles.
Instead of forming such stoppers solid, as hitherto, I form them with a hollow
space inside them of such dimensions that instead of being of greater specific
gravity than water they shall be sufficiently buoyant to float on the liquid con-
tained in the bottle, whereby I obviate some of the objections to the employment
of this class of stoppers. Amongst these objections may be mentioned that if the
ball (made of glass or earthenware) be allowed to fall to the bottom of the bottle
when the bottle is opened there is great risk of either the bottle or ball starring or
breaking, and therefore it is necessary to contract the lower part of the neck of the
bottle; and, further, in order to prevent the ball rolling back to the mouth of the
bottle when the liquid is poured out it has been found necessary to form the neck
of the bottle with a chamber or recess to receive the ball.

page_text: But by using a hollow ball made of glass or porcelain, or other suitable mat eri
which is inherently of greater specific gravity than water, as herein before described
the stopper, when the bottle is opened, floats on the liquid instead of sinking therein,
and its tendency to prevent the liquid being poured out is obviated.
In some cases I form gravitating stoppers of hollow glass, earthenware, or other
like heavy material, with a hollow space of such dimensions as to allow them to
sink slowly in the liquid, the rate of sinking being capable of being regulated by
increasing or diminishing the hollow space formed in the stopper, thereby avoiding
the risk of breakage to the bottle which would occur if solid stoppers were allowed
to fall to the bottom of the bottle.
When employing hollow gravitating stoppers, as herein before described, I find it
advantageous to form the bottom of the bottles employed therewith with a curved
undercut projection which when the stopper falls to the bottom of the bottle serves
to keep it there while the liquid is being poured out.
I am aware that it has been before proposed to employ internal floating stoppers
made of soft elastic material, and of hollow vessels made of sheet metal, but such
stoppers have not been found of practical use in consequence of the difficulty of
bringing them into their seat when the bottle has been filled, and also from the
fact that they are liable to be blown out of the bottle from the effect of the internal
pressure, and for other objections found to occur in practice.
By my improvements I ain enabled to bring the stopper to its seat in the neck
of the bottle, when the bottle is filled, in a simple manner, and without the waste
of liquid and escape of gas which now usually take place whether a floating or a
sinkable stopper be used, and without reversing the bottle, as is now necessary,
with sinkable stoppers.
For this purpose I form in the inner surface of the bottom of the bottle a central
depression, or its equivalent, in which the stopper falls when the bottle is empty.
The filling or charging apparatus is provided with a vertical tube, the upper end of
which is open to the atmosphere, or provided with a piston, and the lower end of
which may be slightly bell-mouthed and lined with rubber or other suitable
material. The bottle to be filled is placed in the filling apparatus, and the said
tube is passed down into the bottle until the lower open mouth of the tube rests
against and fits upon the surface of the stopper, and the bottle is filled in the usual
manner. The said tube is then quickly raised out of the bottle, and will lead or
draw with it the stopper into its seat in the neck. The lowering and raising
of the tube may be effected by a handle or treadle suitably arranged for the
purpose.
My improvements in bottles for this class of stopper also relate to simplifying
the form or construction of that part of the neck of the bottle receiving the india
rubber ring forming the seat for the stopper.
Hitherto it has been the practice to form by means of expanding tools an annular
groove in the interior of the neck in which the ring was placed, and the forming
of this groove is attended with some difficulty. Now this part of my Invention
relates to the forming a projecting flange on the interior of the neck of the bottle
so as to receive a seating consisting of a ring of either soft, or combined hard and
soft rubber, such as is referred to in the Specification of Letters Patent granted
to me and dated the Tenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and seventy
nine, and Numbered 1861, such ring being formed with an annular groove or slit
on its periphery, such groove or slit being passed over the said projecting flange in
the interior of the neck of the bottle.
When the herein before described floating stoppers are employed for closing
bottles containing beer or other malt liquor the required pressure for keeping the
stopper against its seat in the bottle is obtained by introducing a small quantity
of compressed air into the bottle or into the cask from which the beer is drawn
for bottling.
My improvements also relate to a novel construction of bottle and internal
stopper to be used therewith, whereby I am enabled to employ a stopper of hard

page_text: non-elastic material of larger diameter than the opening of the mouth of the
bottle, and to introduce such stopper into and remove it from the interior of the
bottle as required.
In carrying out this part of my Invention the stopper is formed of a circular
disc of suitable hard material such as pearl or ivory, but preferably pearl, two of
the sides of the said disc being preferably cut or formed straight so as to give the
stopper somewhat of an elliptical shape. The bottle to be used with this stopper
is formed with an interior annular grooved shoulder in the neck, a slot or groove
being formed vertically through the said annular grooved shoulder on each side;
the diameter of the interior of the neck of the bottle below the shoulder is slightly
in excess of the larger diameter of the hereinbefore described disc forming the
stopper, while the shorter diameter of the stopper is slightly less than the diameter
of the neck of the bottle between the bottom of the two hereinbefore described
grooves. From this construction it will be evident that if the stopper be taken
edgewise with its larger diameter in a vertical direction it can be passed into the
interior of the bottle through the hereinbefore described slots, the width of the
slots being slightly greater than the thickness of the stopper.
The stopper having been introduced into the bottle I then place in the annular
groove the seating for the stopper to bear against. This seating I have found it
advantageous to make of a ring of a suitable hard material such as ivory, bone,
vulcanite, or glass, to each side of which is cemented a thin ring of compressed
cork, the circumference of the said seating being of the same shape as that of the
hereinbefore described stopper, so that it may be passed into the bottle through the
herein before described slots, and is then placed (by means of a suitable tool) into
the annular groove, and cemented in position, care being taken that the shorter
diameter of the ring is placed transversely to the slots in the annular groove. By
these means I obtain a yielding seat for the stopper to bear against, and also a
yielding seat to form an air-tight joint between the ring and the bottle.
A bottle provided with the hereinbefore described flat stopper may be filled by
being inserted in the manner usual with bottles having internal non-floating
stoppers, and the stopper will fall flatwise into its seat, the neck of the bottle
serving as a guide.
Or it may in some cases be found advantageous to provide the centre of the
stopper with a small piece of steel or other suitable metal, and the end of the air
pipe of the filling machine is provided with a small magnet, by which means the
magnet will during the filling of the bottle attract the stopper, which will thus be
drawn into its seat by the withdrawal of the air tube from the bottle.
The bottle may also be filled in an upright non-inverted position, in which case
instead of an air tube I employ a rod with a magnet, the bottom of the bottle being
formed of such a shape that the stopper will fall to the centre thereof in a similar
manner to that hereinbefore described for the hollow floating stopper.
My improvements also relate to an improved floating stopper formed of a disc
of several layers of compressed cork, a disc of suitable material such as pearl being
fixed on the surfaces of the cork disc, the upper covering disc being smaller than
the surface of the cork so as to leave a rim of cork all round which forms an elastic
seating. This stopper is provided with a small piece of steel in the centre if a
magnet is to be employed for filling the bottle. The interior of the mouth of the
bottle to be used with this construction of stopper is formed conically with an
annular groove therein, and into the mouth (after the stopper has been placed in
the bottle) I place a hollow cone made of suitable material which will soften under
the effect of heat, and while the material is still soft, or by means of a heated tool
I turn the upper edge of this cone into the annular groove in the neck of the
bottle; the bottom edge of this cone thus forms a projecting shoulder against
which the hereinbefore described rim of cork bears so as to form a tight joint when
the bottle is closed. Or the bottom of this cone may be provided with an elastic
seat, in which case the stopper employed may be a ball or disc of glass, or other
suitable material.

page_text: A bottle provided with a stopper constructed according to this part of my
Invention may be filled by employing a rod with a magnet, as hereinbefore
described, it being understood that for floating stoppers it is not necessary that the
rod should extend to the bottom of the bottle.
If, however, the stopper is not provided with steel the bottle may be filled by
the use of a hollow bell-mouthed tube, as herein before described with reference to
the hollow spherical floating stopper, the bottom of the bottle being formed
accordingly.
An important advantage arising from the employment of the hereinbefore
described flat stoppers is that the stopper does not roll to the mouth of the bottle
while the contents are being discharged, or should it do so it will rest edgewise,
and will therefore not interfere with the discharge of the liquid as is so often the
case with internal stoppers as at present constructed.
Lastly, my Invention relates to the construction and employment of what may
be termed a partly flexible disc stopper, which is flexible in one direction and stiff
in the transverse direction.
In carrying out this part of my Invention I take a disc of cork or india rubber,
on this disc I place a number of lengths of wire, or rods, or strips of metal laid side
by side, and in the same direction; over these pieces of wire or strips of metal I
lay a disc of any suitable gum which will soften under the effect of heat, and over
the disc of gum I superpose a disc of cork or india rubber. I then subject the
whole to pressure, whereupon the pieces or the strips of metal will become
embedded in and covered by the gum, and the discs of cork or india rubber will be
caused to firmly adhere together.
By this means I obtain a disc or stopper which may be rolled up in the direction
parallel with the direction in which the wires are placed, but the disc will be rigid
in the other direction. The bottle to be used with this stopper is formed with an
internal flange or shoulder, as hereinbefore described, and the stopper is made of
greater diameter than the opening of the mouth of the bottle, and somewhat less
than the diameter of the interior of the neck below the shoulder.
To introduce the stopper it is simply partly rolled up, as hereinbefore described,
and may then be passed into the bottle, and when below the shoulder it will
expand, or may be expanded into its flat or normal position.
In filling a bottle provided with this construction of stopper I employ either the
hollow rod or the magnetic rod hereinbefore described, but in the latter case it
will be understood that the stopper must be provided with a piece of steel in the
centre, or otherwise rendered subject to the action of the magnet.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Barrett in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th March
1880.
HENRY BARRETT, of Hampton, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BOTTLES AND STOPPERS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR FILLING OR CHARGING THE
SAME."
This Invention relates to the improvements hereinafter described and represented
in the accompanying Drawing in internal stoppers for bottles for containing aërated
or gaseous liquids (applicable also for bottles containing beer and other malt
liquors), also in the bottles closed by such stoppers, and in the apparatus employed
for filling or charging the said bottles, and the improvements relate, firstly, to that
class of internal spherical stoppers formed of glass, earthenware, or other like
vitreous material which have inherently a greater specific gravity than water, and
which stoppers close the bottle when it is filled by being forced by the pressure
within the bottle against an elastic seat consisting of a ring of india rubber or
other suitable material, which has hitherto been usually placed in a groove formed
in the interior of the neck of the bottle; this part of the Invention also relates to
the bottles closed by such stoppers and to the apparatus employed for filling such
bottles.
Instead of forming such stoppers solid, as hitherto, I form them with a hollow
space insido them of such dimensions that instead of being of greater specific
gravity than water they shall be sufficiently buoyant to float on the liquid con-
tained in the bottle, whereby I obviate some of the objections to the employment
of this class of stoppers. Amongst these objections may be mentioned that if the
ball (made of glass or earthenware) be allowed to fall to the bottom of the bottle
when the bottle is opened there is great risk of either the bottle or ball starring
or breaking, and therefore it is necessary to contract the lower part of the neck of
the bottle; and, further, in order to prevent the ball rolling back to the mouth of
the bottle when the liquid is poured out, it has been found necessary to form the
neck of the bottle with a chainber or recess to receive the ball.
But by using a hollow ball made of glass, or porcelain, or other suitable material
which is inherently of greater specific gravity than water, as herein before described,
the stopper when the bottle is opened floats on the liquid instead of sinking therein,
and its tendency to prevent the liquid being poured out is obviated.
In some cases I form gravitating stoppers of hollow glass, earthenware, or other
like heavy material with a hollow space of such dimensions as to allow them to
sink slowly in the liquid, the rate of sinking being capable of being regulated by
increasing or diminishing the hollow space formed in the stopper, thereby avoiding
the risk of breakage to the bottle, which would occur if solid stoppers were allowed
to fall to the bottom of the bottle.
When employing hollow gravitating stoppers, as hereinbefore described, I find it
advantageous to form the bottom of the bottles employed therewith with a curved
undercut projection, which, when the stopper falls to the bottom of the bottle, serves
to keep it there while the liquid is being poured out. In the accompanying
Drawing, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation shewing the bottom part of a bottle so
formed, a being the projection and b the stopper.
I am aware that it has been before proposed to employ internal floating stoppers
made of soft elastic material, and of hollow vessels made of sheet metal, but such
stoppers have not been found of practical use in consequence of the difficulty of

page_text: bringing them into their seat when the bottle has been filled, and also from the
fact that they are liable to be blown out of the bottle from the effect of the internal
pressure, and for other objections found to occur in practice.
By my improvements I am enabled to bring the stopper to its seat in the neck
of the bottle, when the bottle is filled, in a simple manner, and without the waste 5
of liquid and escape of gas which now usually take place whether a floating or a
sinkable stopper be used, and without reversing the bottle as is now necessary with
sinkable stoppers.
For this purpose I form in the inner surface of the bottom of the bottle a central
depression or its equivalent, in which the stopper falls when the bottle is empty. 1
The filling or charging apparatus is provided with a vertical tube, the upper end of
which is open to the atmosphere or provided with a piston, and the lower end of
which may be slightly bell mouthed and lined with rubber or other suitable
material.
In Figure 2 of the accompanying Drawing, e shows the central depression and di
the tube for raising the stopper when the bottle is filled. The bottle e to be filled
is placed in the filling apparatus of ordinary construction, and the said tube dis
passed down into the bottle, as shewn in Figure 2, until the lower open mouth f of
the tube & rests against and fits upon the surface of the stopper g, and the bottle is
filled in the usual manner. The said tube d is then quickly raised out of the bottle
and will lead or draw with it the stopper into its seat in the neck.
The lowering and raising of the tube may be effected by a handle or treadle
suitably arranged for the purpose, and needs no further description.
My improvements in bottles for this class of stopper also relate to simplifying
the form or construction of that part of the neck of the bottle receiving the india
rubber ring forming the seat for the stopper.
Hitherto, it has been the practice to form by means of expanding tools an
annular groove in the interior of the neck in which the ring was placed, and the
forming of this groove is attended with some difficulty. Now this part of my
Invention relates to the forming a projecting flange on the interior of the neck of
the bottle, so as to receive a seating consisting of a ring of either soft, or combined
hard and soft rubber, such as is referred to in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to me and dated the Tenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and
seventy nine, No. 1861, such ring being formed with an annular groove or slit on
its periphery, such groove or slit being passed over the said projecting flange in the
interior of the neck of the bottle. In the Drawing Figure 4 shews the section of
the upper part of the neck of a bottle constructed according to this part of my
Invention, being the projecting flange on the interior of the neck; the india
rubber ring is shewn detached in the side and plan views at Figures 3 and 6,
i representing the annular groove or slit on the periphery of the ring.
When the herein before described floating stoppers are employed for closing
bottles containing beer or other malt liquor, the required pressure for keeping the
stopper against its seat in the bottle is obtained by introducing a small quantity of
compressed air into the bottle, or into the cask from which the beer is drawn for
bottling.
My improvements also relate to a novel construction of bottle and of internal
stopper to be used therewith, whereby I am enable to employ a stopper of hard
non elastic material of larger diameter than the opening of the mouth of the bottle,
and to introduce such stopper into and remove it from the interior of the bottle as
required. In the Drawing Figure 7 is a section of a bottle constructed according
to this part of my Invention; Figure 8, similar view shewing the stopper applied
thereto; Figure 5, plan of the mouth of the bottle.
In carrying out this part of my Invention the stopper is formed of a circular
disc (as shewn in plan and side views at Figures 9 and 10) of suitable hard
material, such as pearl, ivory, or glass, but preferably pearl, two of the sides of the

page_text: said disc being in some cases cut or formed straight, as shewn in Figure 11, so as
to give the stopper somewhat of an elliptical shape. The bottle A to be used with
this stopper is formed, as shewn at Figure 7, with an interior shoulder in the neck
with the annular groove m in the shoulder, a slot or groove being formed
vertically through the said annular grooved shoulder on each side; the diameter of
the interior of the neck of the bottle below the shoulder is slightly in excess of the
diameter of the hereinbefore described disc k forming the stopping (or of the larger
diameter when the stopper is formed of the shape shewn in Figure 11) while the
diameter of the stopper is slightly less than the diameter of the neck of the bottle
between the bottom of the two hereinbefore described grooves l. From this con-
struction it will be evident that if the stopper & be taken edgewise in a vertical
direction, it can be passed into the interior of the bottle through the herein before
described slots or grooves 1, the width of the slots / being slightly greater than the
thickness of the stopper k.
The stopper having been introduced into the bottle I then place in the annular
groove m the seating for the stopper to bear against. This seating I have found it
advantageous to make of a ring of a suitable hard material, such as ivory, bone,
vulcanite, or glass, a thin ring of compressed cork being combined with or cemented
to each side of the hard ring; the circumference of the said seating being of the
same shape as that of the herein before described stopper, shewn in Figure 11, so
that it may be passed into the bottle through the hereinbefore described slots l, l,
and is then placed (by means of a suitable tool) into the annular groove m and
cemented in position, care being taken that the shorter diameter of the ring is
placed transversely to the slots L, L, in the annular groove. By these means
I obtain a yielding seat for the stopper to bear against, and also a yielding seat
to form an air tight joint between the ring and the bottle.
k
It will be understood that in place of the compound clastic seating, such as is
above referred to, a simple seating, such as that made of vulcanized india rubber
may be used as a seating with my improved disc stopper.
Instead of the bottle being formed with the slots 2, l, as hereinbefore described,
the disc stopper when made of heat resisting material may be introduced into the
bottle before the latter is completed, the mouth of the bottle being afterwards
contracted, but I do not prefer this method.
A bottle provided with the hereinbefore described flat or disc stopper k may be
filled by being inverted in the manner usual with bottles having internal non-
floating stoppers, and the stopper will fall flatwise on to its seat, the neck of the
bottle serving as a guide.
Or it may in some cases be found advantageous to provide the centre of the
stopper with a small piece of steel or other suitable metal, and the end of the air
pipe of the filling machine is provided with a small magnet, by which means the
magnet will during the filling of the bottle attract the stopper, which will thus be
drawn into its seat by the withdrawal of the air tube from the bottle.
The bottle may also be filled in an upright non-inverted position, in which case
instead of an air tube I employ a rod with a magnet, the bottom of the bottle being
formed of such a shape that the stopper will fall to the centre thereof in a similar
manner to that herein before described for the hollow floating stopper, and shewn at
Figure 2.
Instead of using my improved flat or disc stopper separately from its elastic
seating I find that they may be advantageously used in permanent combination
forming a compound stopper and seating.
One form of this modification of my improved stopper and seating is shewn in
plan and section at Figures 10 and 11a of the accompanying Drawing. This
stopper is constructed of a ring of vulcanized india rubber a', formed with a slit
around its interior, in which is placed a disc b' of glass or other suitable material;
the disc b¹ is preferably made somewhat elliptical, as shewn by the dotted lines,

page_text: Figure 10, to allow of the stopper being more easily forced through the neck of
the bottle. A great advantage of this construction of stopper is that no elastic
seating is required in the neck of the bottle which requires to be formed with
merely a shoulder for the elastic ring a¹ to bear against.
My improvements also relate to an improved floating stopper, which is shewn in
plan elevation and section in Figures 12, 13, and 14 of the accompanying Drawing,
such floating stoppers being formed of a disc of several layers of compressed cork n,
a disc o, of suitable material, such as pearl, being fixed on the surfaces of the cork
disc n, the upper covering disc being smaller than the surface of the cork so as to
leave a rim of cork all round (as shewn in plan at Figure 12) which forms an
elastic seating. This stopper is provided with a small piece of steel p in the centre
if a magnet is to be employed in filling the bottle. The interior of the mouth of
the bottle to be used with this construction of stopper is as shewn in Figure 15,
formed conically with an annular groove therein, and into the mouth (after the
stopper has been placed in the bottle) I place a hollow cone s, made of suitable
material, such as is now known in the trade as lionite, which will soften under the
effect of heat, and while the material is still soft, or by means of a heated tool, I
turn the upper edge of this cone into the annular groover in the neck of the
bottle; the bottom edge of this cone thus forms a projecting shoulder, against
which the hereinbefore described rim of cork bears so as to form a tight joint when
the bottle is closed. Or the bottom of this cone may be provided with an elastic
seat, in which case the stopper employed may be a ball or disc of glass or other
suitable material.
A bottle provided with a stopper constructed according to this part of my Inven-
tion may be filled by employing a rod with a magnet, as herein before described, it
being understood that for floating stoppers it is not necessary that the rod should
extend to the bottom of the bottle.
If however the stopper is not provided with steel the bottle may be filled by
the use of a hollow bell-mouthed tube, as hereinbefore described with reference
to the hollow spherical floating stopper, the bottom of the bottle being formed
accordingly.
An important advantage arising from the employment of the hereinbefore
described Hat stoppers is that the stopper does not roll to the mouth of the bottle
while the contents are being discharged, or should it do so it will rest edgewise, and
will therefore not interfere with the discharge of the liquid as is so often the case
with internal stoppers as at present constructed.
Lastly, my Invention relates to the construction and employment of what may
be termed a partly flexible disc stopper, which is flexible in one direction and stiff
in the transverse direction. Figures 16 and 17 shew a horizontal and a vertical
section respectively of a stopper of this construction.
In carrying out this part of my Invention I take a disc t, of cork or india rubber;
on this disc I place a number of lengths of wire or rods or strips of metal u, Inid
side by side, and in the same direction as shewn in Figure 16; over these pieces of
wire or strips of metal u I lay a disc of any suitable gum which will soften under
the effect of heat, and over the disc of gum I superpose a disc v of cork or india
rubber. 1 then subject the whole to pressure, whereupon the pieces or the strips
of metal will become embedded in and covered by the gum, and the discs of cork or
india rubber will be caused to firmly adhere together.
Or I produce a similar stopper by taking a disc of vulcanized india rubber
formed or perforated with holes horizontally through it, into which holes I pass the
wires or strips.
By this means I obtain a disc or stopper, which may be rolled up in the direction
parallel with the direction in which the wires u are placed, but the disc will be
rigid in the other direction. The bottle to be used with this stopper is formed with
an internal flange or shoulder, as herein before described, and the stopper is made of

page_text: greater diameter than the opening of the mouth of the bottle, and somewhat less
than the diameter of the interior of the neck below the shoulder.
To introduce the stopper it is simply partly rolled up as hereinbefore described,
and may then be passed into the bottle, and when below the shoulder it will
expand, or may be expanded into its flat or normal position.
In filling a bottle provided with this construction of stopper I employ either the
hollow rod or the magnetic rod hereinbefore described, but in the latter case it will
be understood that the stopper must be provided with a piece of steel in the centre,
or otherwise rendered subject to the action of the magnet.
I sometimes employ a disc of vulcanite or like material which, being heated, may
be rolled so as to allow of introducing it into the bottle; it is then strengthened in
any suitable manner, and will then recover its normal or flat shape, or if a brittle
material be used it must be afterwards strengthened and flattened out into its
normal position.
It will be understood that when a stopper of a non-yielding material is
employed the bottle must be furnished with an elastic seating for the stopper to
bear against.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the best means
with which I am acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein laid down and
shewn in the accompanying Drawing, as the same may be varied without departing
from the peculiar character of my Invention, but what I claim is,—
Firstly. An internal floating or gravitating bottle stopper consisting of a hollow
sphere of glass, earthenware, or like vitreous material having inherently a greater
specific gravity than water, as hereinbefore described.
Secondly. The use in bottle filling or charging machines of a vertical tube for
raising the stopper to its seat when the bottle is filled, as hereinbefore described
and represented in Figure 2 of the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. The use for stopping bottles of an internal stopper consisting of
a circular or slightly elliptical disc or its equivalent of suitable material, such as
glass, porcelain, ivory, or pearl, such stopper having a greater diameter than the
diameter of the opening of the neck, as herein before described.
Fourthly. The construction and employment in combination with an internal
disc stopper of a bottle formed with an annular grooved shoulder for receiving
the seating and with vertical slots to allow of the introduction of the disc shaped
stopper, as hereinbefore described and represented in Figures 5, 7, and 8 of the
accompanying Drawing.
Fifthly. The construction and employment in combination with a bottle con-
structed as shewn in Figures 5, 7, and 8 of the Drawing, of a seating consisting of
a ring of suitable hard material combined with elastic material, such as compressed
cork, as herein before described.
Sixthly. The improved internal bottle stopper forming a combined disc stopper
and seating consisting of a ring of vulcanized india rubber surrounding a disc of
suitable hard material, as hereinbefore described and represented in Figures 10%
and 11 of the accompanying Drawing.
Seventhly. The improved floating stopper formed of a disc of compressed cork,
on each side of which is placed a disc of suitable hard material, and provided in
the centre with a piece of steel in combination with a seating adapted to the
interior of the mouth of the bottle, as herein before described and represented in
Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the accompanying Drawing.
Eighthly. The method of stopping bottles by employing stoppers provided
centrally with a piece of steel or other metal attracted by a magnet, and
bringing them to their seat in the neck of the bottle by the employment of a
rod provided with a magnet, as herein before described.
Ninthly. The construction and employment of the flexible disc stopper, as

page_text: herein before described and represented in Figures 16 and 17 of the accompanying
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Barrett, have hereto set my hand and
seal, this Thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
G. F. REDFERN,
Patent Agent,
4, South St.,
Finsbury.
H. BARRETT. (L.S.)