AN IMPROVED MODE OF HERMETICALLY CLOSING GLASS BOTTLES OR VESSELS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Lilburne, M.D., of Marionville House,
near Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF HERMETICALLY CLOSING GLASS BOTTLES OR
VESSELS."
Sealed the 11th December 1874, and dated the 26th June 1874.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Lilburne at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th June 1874.
I, JAMES LILBURNE, M.D., of Marionville House, near Edinburgh,
in the County of Mid Lothian, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF HERMETICALLY CLOSING GLASS
BOTTLES OR VESSELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention is designed to enable glass bottles or vessels to be
readily and economically closed hermetically so as to prevent loss arising
from leakage or evaporation of their contents. For this purpose after

page_text: charging the bottle or vessel I insert a cork or stopper into the neck or
tube of the bottle. I force the cork or stopper in some distance beyond
the outer end or peripliery of the neck or tube so that the neck or tube
projects beyond and around the outer end of the cork or stopper. I
then weld the projecting part of the neck or tube so as to hermetically
close it over the end of the cork or stopper which serves to protect the
contents of the bottle during the welding process.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Lilburne in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
LILBURNE, M.D., of Marionville House, near Edinburgh, in the County
of Mid Lothian, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Lilburne, Her special license
that I, the said James Lilburne, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said James Lilburne, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make use, exercise, and
· vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE
OF HERMETICALLY CLOSING GLASS BOTTLES OR VESSELS," upon the condition
' (amongst others) that I, the said James Lilburne, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Lilburne, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object to prevent the heavy loss which is
now experienced in storing, and especially in exporting to hot climates
volatile liquids, such, for example, as ether. This liquid and various
other highly volatile liquids emit vapours which in time find their way
through any ordinary stopping, not only causing loss but also in many
cases danger of explosion and other serious consequences.
According to my Invention I construct bottles of white readily fusible
glass and with long tubular necks, and near the bottom of the neck I
form a contraction to serve as a lodgment for a cork. Such a bottle is
shewn at Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings. I then put into the bottle
the ether or other highly volatile liquid, and having inserted the cork I
press it home firmly into its seat. I take care in filling the bottle to
leave a considerable space, say about 3rd of the capacity between. the
surface of the liquid and the cork, so that there may be no danger of
the expansion of the liquid itself being sufficient to break the bottle.. It
should be remembered that liquids of this class expand considerably
when exposed even to a moderate heat.
Although insufficient as a permanent stopping the cork suffices for a
time to close the bottle practically vapour tight, so that the neck of the
bottle at some distance beyond the cork may be safely heated in a blow
pipe flame. In this way I soften the glass and seal the tubular neck,
welding its sides together and forming a rounded end as is shewn at
Figure 2, which represents the bottle after filling, corking, and sealing.
The scaling should follow the corking as soon as possible, and the body
of the bottle should be kept cool during the operation by holding it in a
cloth.
Before opening a flask the temperature is reduced to at least 56°
Fahrenheit by immersing it in iced water or freezing mixture, with a
file a scratch is made round the neck below the cork, with a smart tap
the tube is broken off and the contents emptied into the dispensing
bottle, which is to be kept in a cool place.
The stock remains in the flasks so that evaporation can only take
place from the dispensing bottle in use.

page_text: I would remark that I am aware that liquids have been sealed in
glass tubes for a variety of purposes chiefly of a scientific nature, and to
this I make no claim, but what I claim is manufacturing glass bottles
or such like vessels with a tubular tapering neck, the narrow part at its
junction with the bottle, so that the cork may be firmly jamned in its
place at the lower end thereof, and hermetically enclosing volatile
liquids in such bottles by means of a cork and fusing and closing the
neck beyond the cork, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Lilburne, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tweflth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.