Improvements in Screw Stoppers.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 28th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 28th Sept., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Screw Stoppers.
I, JOHN JAMES VARLEY, of 268, South Lambeth Road, in the County of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of stoppers for closing
bottles, jars and the like, having their mouths provided with internal screw
threads.
Hitherto such stoppers have generally been made with a screwed stem and a
head with an india rubber ring under the shoulder of the head by which a tight
joint is formed.
The object of my invention is to dispense with the use of india rubber.
For this purpose I make use of a cylindrical stem made of wood, glass, porcelain
or other suitable material and form the lower end thereof with a screw thread
adapted to screw into the mouth of the bottle as usual. The upper part of the
stem above the screw thread is provided with cork which is advantageously in the
form of a cylinder and suitably attached to the stem the outer circumference of
the cork cylinder being large enough to form a tight joint in the mouth of the
bottle. In order to place the stopper in the bottle and to allow of it being
removed therefrom the upper end of the wood or other stem is formed with a
slot or nick adapted to receive the end of a key by which the stopper can be
turned.
In cases where it is desired to provide a stopper in which cork only shall come
into contact with the contents of the bottle, I construct the stopper substantially as
above described, except that 1 dispense with the screw threaded part of the stem
and cover the lower end thereof with cork; on the stopper being screwed into the
bottle mouth the cork being sufficiently elastic will pass into the screw thread ip
the neck so as to form a tight joint.
Dated the 19th day of December 1894.
CONELMI DIEVITIVATION
Improvements in Screw Stoppers.
I, JOHN JAMES VARLEY, of 268, South Lambeth Road, in the County of
London, Engineer, 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 :—
This invention relates to improvements in that class of stoppers for closing
bottles, jars and the like, having their mouths provided with internal screw-
threads.
Hitherto such stoppers have generally been made with a screwed stem and a head

page_text: with an india-rubber ring under the shoulder of the head by which a tight joint is
formed.
The object of my invention is to dispense with the use of india-rubber.
For this purpose I make use of a cylindrical stem made of wood, glass,
porcelain or other suitable material and form the lower end thereof with a
screw-thread adapted to screw into the mouth of the bottle as usual. The upper
part of the stem above the screw-thread is provided with cork which is advan-
tageously in the form of a cylinder and suitably attached to the stem, the outer
circumference of the cork cylinder being large enough to form a tight joint in
the mouth of the bottle. In order to place the stopper in the bottle and to allow
of it being removed therefrom the upper end of the wood or other stem is formed
with a slot or nick adapted to receive the end of a key by which the stopper can
be turned.
In cases where it is desired to provide a stopper in which cork only shall come
into contact with the contents of the bottle, I construct the stopper substantially as
above described, except that I dispense with the screw-threaded part of the stem
and cover the lower end thereof with cork; on the stopper being screwed into the
bottle mouth the cork being sufficiently elastic will pass into the screw-thread in
the neck so as to form a tight joint.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which :—
Figures 1 and 2 are respectively an elevation and a plan of a screw-stopper
constructed according to my invention:
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3, Figure 2; and,
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation shewing the stopper applied to the mouth of a
bottle:
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the stopper as constructed when only cork can
come into contact with the contents of the bottle.
Similar reference letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
a is the cylindrical stem of the stopper made of wood, glass, porcelain or other
suitable material and is the slot or nick at the upper end thereof adapted to receive
the end of a key by which the stopper can be turned when being inserted into or
withdrawn from a bottle. c is the cork (which is advantageously in the form of a
cylinder) with which the upper part of the stem a is surrounded to form a tight
joint in the usual recess d of the bottle e, Figure 4, and to which part the cork is
attached by a suitable cement, the said stem being grooved as shewn at h,
Figures 3, 4 and 5, to facilitate such attachment.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4, f is the screw-thread with which the form of my
stopper illustrated in these figures is provided to enable it to be screwed into the
mouth of the bottle e so as to engage with the usual screw-thread g thereof as shewn
in Figure 4.
Figure 5 illustrates the form of stopper I employ in which only cork comes into
contact with the contents of the bottle into which the stopper is screwed. In this
form of stopper the lower part of the stem a is not provided with a screw-thread as
in Figures 1 to 4, but is covered with cork which is advantageously in one piece
with the cork c at the top of the stem and also extends under the base of the stem
as shewn. The grooving his advantageously extended down to the bottom of the
stem a for the attachment of the cork.
By this construction when screwing this stopper into a bottle provided with a
screw-thread, the cork being elastic will conform to the shape of the screw-thread
and form a tight joint.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
The manufacture and use of bottle stoppers for closing bottles, jars and the

page_text: like having internal screw-threads substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 and in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 28th day of August 1895.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.