IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS For OPENING INTERNALLY STOPPERED BOTTLES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hiram Codd, of No. 58, King William Street, in the
City of London, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS For
OPENING INTERNALLY STOPPERED BOTTLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hiram Codd at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th March 1881.
HIRAM CODD, of No. 58, King William Street, in the City of London.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS FOR OPENING INTERNALLY STOPPERED
BOTTLES."
The object of this Invention is to provide an instrument by which bottles
fitted with internal stoppers and filled with aerated liquids may be opened
without permitting the escape of any liquid from the bottle at the time of
opening.
For this purpose I as heretofore form an opening instrument of a disc or head
having a short stem or shank projecting from the centre of its underside, and over
the end of the shank I place a cap of elastic vulcanized india rubber. The is
cap
formed with a thick ring around its rim or edge which nips the stem near its
middle. This ring stands outwards from the cap, and forms a flange around it.
When the end of the shank with the elastic cap upon it is passed into the mouth
of a bottle, so that its end may be made to bear upon the top of the internal
stopper, the thick ring which is around the edge of the cap comes down onto and
rests upon the top of the bottle.
When the head of the opener is forced downwards by pressure of the hand upon
it, so as to force the stopper away from its seat, the elastic cap stretches as the
shank of the opener passes further down into the mouth of the bottle, the ring
at the top of the cap is thereby drawn downwards tightly against the top of the
bottle, and forms a close joint over it, thereby preventing a sudden escape of gas,
and consequent carrying away of liquid from the bottle.
In place of forming a joint over the mouth of the bottle in the above manner
previously to displacing the internal stopper from its seat, I in some cases make
an approximately close joint between the sides of the shank and the mouth of the
hottle

page_text: For this purpose I surround the shank with a tapering ring or cylinder of elastic
material, such as cork; the head and shank of the opener may be of wood, and in
this case the top and rim of the head may be covered with a metallic cap made to
hold to the wooden head by forming corrugations or indentations in the part of the
metallic cap which fits over the rim of the head. A slight hollow or cup is formed,
as heretofore, in the extremeity of the shank, so that it may the better rest upon
the top of the ball or other stopper when pressed downwards against it. The
shank also might be made to project somewhat beyond the elastic material
surrounding it. In this case the elastic material might be in the form of a sphere
with the shank passing through it, and of such dimension that the lower part of
the sphere should bear against the top of the bottle, and be somewhat compressed
just as or somewhat before the internal stopper is displaced from its seat by the
end of the shank pressing upon it; or the elastic material might be in the form
of a tapering cylinder around the upper part of the shank, so that it might enter
the mouth of the bottle, and thereby form a joint to close the mouth of the bottle
before the end of the shank displaces the internal stopper. Openers formed in
these ways instead of being formed with a disc head by which they may be pressed
downwards, may be carried at the end of one of a pair of levers jointed together
whilst the end of the other lever is formed to take a hold of the neck of the bottle;
but the shank might be affixed to the handle of an ordinary corkscrew, or it might
be passed through the top of a cap suitable for being placed over the top of a bottle,
and above the top of the cap it might have a disc head upon it to admit of its
being pressed downwards.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Hiram Codd in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th September
1881.
$
HIRAM CODD, of No. 58, King William Street, in the City of London..
"IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS FOR OPENING INTERNALLY STOPPERED
BOTTLES."
The object of this Invention is to provide an instrument by which bottles
fitted with internal stoppers and filled with aerated liquids may be opened
without permitting the escape of any liquid from the bottle at the time of
opening.
For this purpose I, as heretofore, form an opening instrument of a disc or head
having a short stem or shank projecting from the centre of its underside, and over
the end of the sbank I place a cap of elastic vulcanized india rubber. The cap is
formed with a thick ring around its rim or edge which nips the stem near its
middle; this ring stands outwards from the cap and forms a flange around it.
When the end of the shank with the elastic cap upon it is passed into the mouth
of a bottle, so that its end may be made to bear upon the top of the internal
stopper, the thick ring which is around the edge of the cap comes down onto and
rests upon the top of the bottle.
When the head of the opener is forced downwards by pressure of the hand upon
it, so as to force the stopper away from its seat, the elastic cap stretches as the
shank of the opener passes further down into the mouth of the bottle, the ring
at the top of the cap is thereby drawn downwards tightly against the top of the
bottle, and forms a close joint over it, thereby preventing a sudden escape of gas
and consequent carrying away of liquid from the bottle.
In place of forming a joint over the mouth of the bottle in the above manner
previous to displacing the internal stopper from its seat, I in some cases make
an approximately close joint between the sides of the shank and the mouth of the
bottle.
For this purpose I surround the shank with a tapering ring or cylinder of elastic
material, such as cork; the head and shank of the opener may be of wood, and in
this case the top and rim of the head may be covered with a metallic cap made to
hold to the wooden head by forming corrugations or indentations in the part of the
metallic cap which fits over the rim of the head. A slight hollow or cup is formed,
as heretofore, in the extremity of the shank, so that it may the better rest upon the
top of the ball or other stopper when pressed downwards against it.
The shank also might be made to project somewhat beyond the elastic material
surrounding it. In this case the elastic material might be in the form of a sphere,
with the shank passing through it, and of such dimension that the lower part of
the sphere should bear against the top of the bottle, and be somewhat compressed
just as or somewhat before the internal stopper is displaced from its seat by the
end of the shank pressing upon it; or the elastic material might be in the form
of a tapering cylinder around the upper part of the shank, so that it might enter
the mouth of the bottle, and thereby form a joint to close the mouth of the bottle
before the end of the shank displaces the internal stopper. Openers formed in
these ways instead of being formed with a disc head by which they may be pressed
downwards, may be carried at the end of one of a pair of levers jointed together,
whilst the end of the other lever is formed to take a hold of the neck of the bottle;
or the shank might be affixed to the handle of an ordinary corkscrew, or it might
be passed through the top of a cap suitable for being placed over the top of a
bottle, and above the top of the cap it might have a disc head upon it to admit
of its being pressed downwards.
In the Drawings hereunto annexed I have shewn opening instruments formed
as above described.

page_text: Figure 1 shews a vertical section of an opener formed of a disc or head A having
a stem B projecting from the centre of its under side. Over the stem is placed the
cap C of vulcanized india rubber; this cap is formed with a thick projecting flange
or ring around its upper edge. The ring clips the stem, and the lower end of
the stem being of somewhat larger diameter than the part of the stem embraced
by this ring the cap holds securely on to the stem. There is a space between the
ring and the underside of the head A, as shewn.
.
When the instrument is used for opening a bottle fitted with an internal globe
stopper or other like internal stopper, the stem with the cap upon it is introduced
into the mouth of the bottle until its lower end rests on the top of the stopper.
The ring C¹ will then have come against and be resting on the top of the mouth
of the bottle. When the opener is then further pressed downwards the globe or
other stopper will be pressed downwards away from its seat at the mouth of the
bottle, the india rubber cap C then stretching and drawing the ring C¹ tightly
against the bottle's mouth. The escape of gas from the bottle is thereby impeded
at the time of displacing the globe or other stopper, and when the stopper has been
displaced the gas can be allowed to escape quietly by more or less raising the
opener until the rush of gas from the bottle has subsided. In this way bottles
fitted with internal stoppers and filled with aerated liquid can be opened without
allowing liquid to escape from the bottle.
At Figure 2 I have shown an opener with which an approximately tight joint
is formed between the sides of the stem of the opener and the mouth of the bottle,
when the stem is inserted into the mouth of the bottle to force the stopper
inwards.
In this opener the head A and shank B are of wood, and the top and rim of the
head are covered with a metallic cap D made to hold to the wooden head by
indenting the rim of the metallic cap into corrugations, as shown; C is a tapering
ring of cork or other elastic material cemented to the exterior of the shank B.
Figure 3 shews a similar opener, the head and shank of which are of ebonite or
other hard material. The tapering elastic ring C around the stem of the stopper
is in this case preferably of vulcanized india rubber.
Figures 4 shew another form of opener. In this opener the stem or shank B
passes through the centre of a sphere of elastic material C, preferably vulcanized
india rubber. When the lower end of the stem presses against the top of the
stopper the sphere rests against the mouth of the bottle, and when the opener is
further pressed downwards to dislodge the stopper, the elastic sphere C is com-
pressed against the mouth of the bottle and effectually closes it. In Figures 4 this
opener is shewn carried at the back or head of ordinary corkscrews.
In Figures 5 and 6 the stem or shank of the opener passes through the top of a
metallic cap E, which can be placed over and made to rest upon the mouth of the
bottle to be opened. On the top of the stem is a head A by which the stem can be
forced downwards and caused to displace the stopper.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I would have it understood that I claim, the construction of instruments
for opening internally stoppered bottles, substantially in the ways herein before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hiram Codd, have hereunto set my hand and
seal. this Twelfth day of September. in the year of our Lord One thousand