Means for Facilitating the Hermetical Sealing of Tins or other Receptacles Containing Alimentary and other Products.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 22nd June, 1900-Accepted, 22nd Sept., 1900
Means for Facilitating the Hermetical Sealing of Tins or other
Receptacles Containing Alimentary and other Products.
I, JOHN RADCLIFFE CROFT, of 20, Mark Lane, in the City of London, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to means whereby a tin, can, or other receptacle oi
container in which alimentary or other products are preserved may be so closed
at the place where the gas or liquid, employed to displace the air within the
vessel is admitted that the entry of air is precluded when the supply of the gas
or liquid is cut off on completion of the operation.
The invention consists of a stopper for the vessel provided with a twin passage
one branch of which extends entirely through the stopper while the other extends
from the outside diagonally of the stopper so as to merge into the first or through
passage and is fitted for connection with the pipe through which the gas or liquid
is introduced and a plug which is received in the through passage and adapted
to close the diagonal passage at its junction with said through passage.
In using my device the operation is as follows:-The gas or liquid supply pipe
which is connected with the source of supply is fitted to the diagonal passage,
and the plug is tightly entered in the upper part of the through passage to a
point just above the junction of the two so as to permit the gas or liquid to freely
enter the can through the diagonal passage and the inner portion of the through
passage. When all the air in the can, displaced by the gas or liquid, has been
forced out either through a pinhole in any convenient part of the can or through
a third aperture in the stopper (which pinhole or aperture must be closed when
the operation is completed) the plug (which is preferably conical) is driven down
past the point where the two passages join thus closing the diagonal passage
and effectually preventing the escape of the liquid or gas from within the can
(or access of air thereto from without) when the supply pipe is detached.
It will be obvious that my invention is equally applicable for use in connection
with vessels in which a vacuum is to be produced for the purpose of preserving
the contents or otherwise.
Means for Facilitating the Hermetical Sealing of Tins or other
Receptacles Containing Alimentary and other Products.
I, JOHN RADCLIFFE Croft, of 20, Mark Lane, in the City of London, Merchant,
do, hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same-is

page_text: to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:―
My invention relates to tins or other vessels for the preservation of alimentary
or other products, and has for its object to provide a simple and efficient means
of sealing the tin or vessel, the invention being applicable for sealing tins or
other receptacles for alimentary or other substances which are to be preserved
without cooking by the extraction of the contained air and its replacement by
an inert gas or by melted fat, the invention being also applicable in preserving
alimentary substances by expelling the contained air by boiling the contents in
their own juices or in water.
The invention consists essentially of a means whereby a preliminary or
interim sealing may be readily effected at the proper moment, and in the combina-
tion therewith of a means of final sealing whereby the hermetic closure is
rendered permanent.
The means of preliminary closure comprise a bush or bung seated in the top
or cover of the vessel and having a straight through passage and a branch
passage leading obliquely into the through passage from the outside, and a
wooden plug fitted in the through passage and adapted when driven in to close
both the through and the branch passage.
It further comprises the combination with the interim or preliminary seal
of a final seal to be applied after the plug has been driven in as hereinafter
described.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification wherein I have illustrated the invention on a magnified scale.
Figure 1 shows a central vertical section of the bush (as applied to the cover of
a tin), the branch passage being open. Figure 2 shows the same with the plug
driven in to close the passage, and the final seal applied. Figure 3 shows the
bush as applied to the cork stopper of a wide-mouthed bottle or jar.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a is the bush or bung preferably of wood and of
slightly conical form tightly fitted in a correspondingly shaped seat b formed
of a flanged tube soldered at 6' into an aperture in the top or cover c of the tin
or vessel, the top being preferably conical, and seamless. dis a through passage
and e a branch passage leading obliquely into the passage d. f is the plug
fitting in passage d and adapted to be driven so far into the passage d as to close
the inner end of branch passage e at its point of junction with the through
passage d so that the thoroughfare is entirely closed as shown in Figure 2. In
order to ensure a tight closure, the bush after being driven into its seat should
be well boiled in water (or in oil or paraffin wax when inert gas is to be used) so
as to swell the bush and expel any contained air from the wood.
The bush may
however be made of other material, and when fitted to a metal cover such as c it
might be made of metal and be soldered to the cover c.
In Figure 3 c is the cork bung (closing a wide-mouthed bottle or jar) in
which a hole is punched to form a seat into which a bush A is driven tightly.
In this case the bush A is provided with two through passages d d and two
branch passages e e¹ leading into d d¹ respectively, and with two plugs f adapted
to be driven in by the same blow for closing the injection and escape orifices.
simultaneously. In this case also the cork and bush should be boiled before use
to expel contained air and ensure a tight fit.
The preliminary sealing having been effected by driving in the plug ƒ as above
described affords a hermetic closure until the final sealing which may be per-
formed at leisure and by which the hermetic closure is rendered permanent.
The final sealing is effected by applying a covering layer of impermeable material
such as paraffin wax or (in the case of a tin) melted solder which is run into a
recess left for its reception by slightly countersinking the bush into its seat as
in Figure 1. In Figure 2 g is the layer of wax or solder which adheres to the
sides of the seat 6 (a flux being used in the case of solder) and closely covers the
bush and plug so as to effectually exclude air therefrom. When paraffin wax

page_text: is used it may be protected by a covering disc h soldered by its edges h¹ to the
cover c of the tin.
In the case of a bottle or jar paraffin wax would be used to cover the bush and
also the cork which would be slightly countersunk in the mouth of the bottle
or jar to receive the wax as shown in Figure 3.
In preserving by means of inert gas the tin may be provided with two bushes
such as in Figure 1, the one in the top and the other in the bottom, or with a
bush having double passages and plugs as in Figure 3, this form of bush being
necessarily used in the case of a bottle or jar. The receptacle having been filled
with the goods to be preserved and closed with the exception of the branch
passages e is placed in a chamber which is first exhausted of air and then filled
with an inert gas by which the air extracted from the tissues of the contents and
from the receptacle is replaced.
The nozzle of a gas supply pipe is then fitted into the one branch passage e and
gas is forced through the can to displace any air that may have re-entered, and
whilst the gas is still passing, both the plugs f are driven in simultaneously thus
closing both passages e and effectually preventing the escape of gas or the entry
of air.
In preserving by means of fat, a bush with double passages and plugs as in
Figure 3 would be used. The air would be extracted from the tissues as before,
and then the air which re-enters the receptacle on removal from the vacuum
chamber would be displaced by liquid (animal or vegetable) fat forced in through
the one passage e, both plugs being then closed as before.
In preserving food by boiling the contents in its own juices or in water to
expel the air by the steam generated, the bush with a single straight and branch
passage and a plug as shown in Figure 1 would be used, the plug being driven
in after the air has all been expelled but whilst there is still sufficient steam
pressure within the receptacle to prevent air entering.
In each case after a preliminary closure has been effected by driving in the
plug or plugs as above described the final seal is applied as before described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The herein described means of effecting a preliminary hermetic closure of
tins or other receptacles consisting essentially of a bush or bung seated in the
top or cover of the receptacle and having one or more straight through passages
and one or more branch passages each leading into a straight passage, and of
one or more plugs each fitted into a straight through passage and adapted to be
driven therein so as to close the communication through the corresponding
branch passage with the vessel, substantially as described.
2. The combination with the herein described means of effecting a preliminary
hermetic closure of tins or other receptacles consisting of a bush or bung seated
in the top or cover of the vessel and having one or more straight through passages
and one or more branch passages each leading into a straight through passage
and one or more plugs each driven in to close the corresponding branch passage
as described, of a layer of impermeable material such as paraffin wax or melted
solder applied upon and covering the bush as described.
nated this 22nd day of June 1900
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.