Improvements in Means for Securing Corks in Bottles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 13th July, 1892-Accepted, 27th Aug., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Securing Corks in Bottles.
I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of 23 Southampton Buildings, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
(a communication to me from Karl Kirschner, of Radlic, near Prague, Engineer)
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon:-
The ordinary bottle stoppers now in use for beer bottles and the like purposes
have the disadvantage that they can be easily opened by unauthorized persons and
that consequently the consumer has not always the certainty of receiving the beer
of the same quality as that sent out from the brewery.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure I is a
side view, Figure 2 an edge view, and Figure 3 a top view of the tool employed,
and Figures 4 and 5 are a side view and a top view of a corked bottle neck secured
by a lead stamp or seal.
The present invention has the object of supplying a lead stamp or seal for
securing beer bottles. For this purpose a wire is bent round the bottle neck, and
over the cork in the usual manner; each end is then formed into a small eye, and,
a short piece of lead wire having been passed through the two eyes, the ends of
the latter are flattened and marked on each side by means of a tool illustrated in
the accompanying drawing.
The said tool is constructed in the following manner. Two hand levers a are
hinged together at b, and there is formed at e Figure 2 a mouth or opening, which
is composed of two pair of jaws d d, see Figure 3. The four inner surfaces i of the
jaws, which are made to close by causing the lever handles a to approach each
other, are marked with a suitable letter, which may be either sunk in the surface
or raised thereon, so as to leave an impression on the compressed lead wire.
On the outer surface of each jaw there is, on one side, a small plate e, Figures 1, 2
and 3, and on the other side, a knife f, the former of which serves, when first
applying the tool, to gauge the proper length of lead wire, to prevent waste of
material, while the latter is intended, when closing the handles together, to cut off
the previously gauged length of lead wire. At Figures 4 and 5 is represented a
finished lead stamp as it is formed by the tool. The reversed bottle neck shown at
Figure 4 is intended to indicate that this is the easiest position to operate. The
bottle is held reversed with the left hand whilst with the right hand the free
hanging end of the lead wire which hangs overhead is passed through the before
mentioned wire eyes and the handles of the tool are pressed together. Experience
has shown that by the use of this tool the stamping of bottles takes but an infinitely
short time, which alone is a great advantage of this apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
A tool for lead stamping or sealing bottle corks provided with punching surfaces i
which impress marks on the ends of the connecting lead wire, a gauge plate e on
one side against which one end of the lead wire abuts, and a knife on the opposite
side which cuts off a suitable length of the lead wire which is used to form the

page_text: lead stamp or seal by being passed through the eyes at the ends of the locking wire
and pressed, substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated this 13th day of July 1892.
D. 3. D. MILLS,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
D. J. D. MILLS,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.