An Improved Stopper for Bottles, Decanters, and other similar Vessels.
Year: 1885

page_text: .
An Improved Stopper for Bottles, Decanters, and other similar
Vessels.
J, RALPH WALDO LITTLE of 124 Bloomsbury, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster Sanitary Engineer do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED STOPPER FOR BOTTLES, DECANTERS AND OTHER SIMILAR VESSELS
to be as follows:-
"
It consists in utilizing the elastic properties of Indiarubber in order to provide
a stopper which shall be perfectly air tight and firm, and yet readily removeable.
I first take a disc of wood, metal or other suitable material, rather wider than
the neck of the bottle, with a central hole of about the same diameter as the inside
of the neck.
Within this central hole I fasten a piece of indiarubber tubing, or a piece of
indiarubber moulded in the form of a cylindrical bag. I now take a cylindrical
plug (of suitable material) made to fit inside the indiarubber tubing or bag.
In a stopper made with indiarubber tubing the lower end of the plug is made of
a suitable form and the lower edge of the tubing is fastened to it.
In a stopper with an indiarubber bag, I fasten an outside casing of suitable
material over the bottom of the bag, so as to prevent the indiarubber coming in
contact with the liquid contained in the bottle; and insert the plug in the india-
rubber bag.
Each stopper now consists of a more or less flat disc, with the top of the plug
protruding from the central hole, and an indiarubber cork, with a glass or
other end.
It is used in the following manner:-
The two first fingers of the hand are placed beneath the disc, one finger on each
side the stopper. The top of the plug is now pressed with the thumb, which
stretches the indiarubber and by lengthening the stopper lessens its diameter. It
is now inserted in the bottle and upon being released resumes its former thickness
and presses tightly upon the sides of the bottle-neck making a perfectly airtight
stopper.
To remove it, the process is repeated and the stopper withdrawn.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Stopper for Bottles, Decanters, and other similar
Vessels.
"
I, RALPH WALDO LITTLE of 124 Bloomsbury, Manchester in the County of
Lancaster, Sanitary Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
"AN IMPROVED STOPPER, FOR BOTTLES, DECANTERS AND OTHER SIMILAR VESSELS
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
It consists in utilizing the elastic properties of indiarubber, in a new manner, in
order to provide a stopper which shall be perfectly airtight and firm and yet be
readily removeable.
This I accomplish by forming a stopper in the following manner :-
I first take a disc of wood, metal, or other suitable material, of rather wider
diameter than the neck of the bottle; this disc is formed with a central orifice or
hole, of about the same diameter as the inside of the neck of the bottle.
Within this central orifice or hole, I fasten by projections or flanges, which form
part of the disc, or by other suitable means, a piece of indiarubber tubing or a piece
of indiarubber moulded in the form of a cylindrical bag.
I now take a cylindrical plug. (of suitable material) made to fit inside the india-
rubber tubing or bag.
This plug I insert inside the indiarubber tubing or bag. In a stopper made of
indiarubber tubing, the plug is made with a suitable end, furnished with a groove
or other appliance to which the other end of the tube is fastened by a copper wire,
or in any other convenient manner; when the stopper is made with an indiarubber
bag, I place an outside casing of suitable material over the end of the bag so as to
prevent the indiarubber bag coming in contact with the liquid contained in the
bottle.
Each stopper now consists of a more or less flat disc, with the top of the plug
protruding from the central hole or orifice, and an indiarubber cork, with a glass or
other end.
It is used in the following manner :--
The two first fingers of the hand are placed beneath the disc, one finger on each
side the stopper. The top of the plug is now pressed with the thumb, which
stretches the indiarubber, and by lengthening the stopper lessens its diameter. It
is now inserted in the bottle and upon being released resumes its former thickness
and presses tightly upon the sides of the bottle neck, making a perfectly airtight
stopper, any pressure of gas inside the bottle only fixing it more firmly by increasing
its thickness.
It is removed by repeating the process and withdrawing it while thin.
In order that the foregoing may be better understood I send herewith a sheet of
Drawings in which Fig. 1 and 2 are elevations of stoppers made of indiarubber
tubing, and Figs. 4 and 5 are sections respectively of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 3 is
an elevation of a stopper made of a cylindrical indiarubber bag, and Fig. 6 is a
section of the same. Fig. 7 illustrates the method of inserting and withdrawing
the stopper.

page_text: In all the Figures a indicates the disc, b the indiarubber bag or tube, c the
cylindrical plug.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st The apparatus, or stopper, substantially as described and shown hereinbefore
and in the accompanying Drawing for the purpose set forth.
2nd A disc, with a central orifice, substantially as described and shown herein-
before and in the accompanying Drawing for the purpose set forth.
3rd A cylindrical plug, substantially as described and shown hereinbefore and in
the accompanying Drawing for the purpose set forth.
-
4th An indiarubber bag, or tube, substantially as described and shown herein-
before and in the accompanying Drawing for the purpose set forth.
JOHN HENRY TOPHAM,
Agent to Applicant.