Improvements in and connected with Bottle-stopper Extractors.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1894-Accepted, 5th Jan., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Bottle-stopper Extractors.
We, EDWARD WITHINGTON ROBINSON, of Deering, County of Cumberland,
State of Maine, United States of America, Gentleman, and NATHANIEL MASON
MARSHALL, of Portland, County of Cumberland, State of Maine, United
States of America, Physician, 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, reference being to the
accompanying sheet of drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say :-
Our invention relates to improvements in bottle stopper extractors, and consists
of a bottle stopper made of cork, rubber, or other yielding material, combined with
a stopper extractor passing through said stopper and having its body part longer
than said stopper, and a lug on each end. It further consists in making said
extractor of wire bent in the form of a loop, passing the two ends through the
stopper at different points and uniting the ends by twisting or tying them together.
It further consists in having the extractor head recessed in the top of the stopper
and in having the extractor adjustable longitudinally of the stopper. It further
consists in making the wire flat and passing it through the stopper in such manner
that the flat portions of the wire are adjacent to the portion of the stopper lying
between the two vertical portions of the wire.
In said drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a bottle and stopper
having our improved extractor attached thereto; Figure 2 is a cross section of a
stopper having our improved extractor, and same letters refer to like parts.
In the drawing the loop extractor is shown in which a represents a bottle,
b a stopper, and c a wire extractor. The ends of the wire pass entirely through
the stopper at the points d and e and are parallel with each other or nearly so.
The two ends of the wire at the bottom of the stopper are twisted or tied in a knot,
as shown at The length of the wire is somewhat greater than the length of the
stopper, so that when the top or loop g is pressed close to the top of the stopper,
the part at the bottom will extend somewhat below the bottom of the stopper, as
shown in Figure 1, and when the wire is drawn up to form a loop to take hold of
to extract the stopper, the knotted part at the bottom is drawn against the bottom
of the stopper, and the top will be raised above the top of the stopper, as indicated
by dotted lines in Figure 1. The wire may be of any suitable form, but it has
been found by experiment that the flat wire is very much less liable to cut through
the material than the ordinary round wire.
The advantages of this arrangement are that the wire is very much less liable to
pull through the material without drawing the stopper inasmuch as the two parts of
the wire pass through the stopper in nearly parallel lines; the wire extractor may
be drawn up in the stopper to form a loop by which to draw the stopper, and it
does not project above the top of the stopper except when being drawn. This is
important in all cases where it is desired to seal the bottle by wax or other means
to keep out the air or to cover the stopper with a label or ornamental device. The
stopper being made of any elastic or yielding material, readily permits the wire to
be forced through it, and when the stopper is driven into the neck of the bottle, it
is pressed closely against the sides of the wire, so as to prevent the ingress of air
and egress of the contents of the bottle between the material of the stopper and
the wire.

page_text: To draw the stopper, insert a sharp pointed rod under the loop or head and raise
the extractor to the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 1, thus affording good
means for withdrawing the stopper.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The combination with a bottle stopper, made of yielding material, of a stopper
extractor consisting of a wire doubled and passing through the stopper at two
separate points, said wire having its ends united, the two vertical parts being
somewhat longer than the stopper, substantially as and for the purposes set
forth.
2. The combination of a bottle stopper composed of a yielding material, an
extractor passing through said stopper at two different points and having its ends
united together and the top adapted to be recessed in the top of the stopper,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
3. The combination, with a bottle stopper, of a stopper puller consisting of a
single piece of flat wire passing vertically through said stopper at two different
points, said wire being counter-sunk into the top of said stopper and having its two
ends knotted together at the bottom, and so arranged that its flattened side will be
presented to that portion of the stopper lying between its vertical parts, the length
of the vertical parts of said wire being somewhat greater than the length of the
stopper, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 15th day of September AD 1894
EDWARD W. ROBINSON,
NATHANIEL M. MARSHALL,
Per W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, Agent.