CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL APPARATUS FOR EXHAUSTING AND CLOSING VESSELS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Avery, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London,
Patent Agent, for the Invention of "CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL APPARATUS
FOR EXHAUSTING AND CLOSING VESSELS."-A communication.
Sealed the 22nd February 1856, and dated the 25th August 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Avery at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th August
1855.
I, JOHN AVERY, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL
APPARATUS FOR EXHAUSTING AND CLOSING VESSELS," a communication, to be as
follows; and is intended principally to be used for the exhaustion of vessels in
which vegetable or animal substances are to be preserved, or in which are to
be contained any substances which may be preserved or improved, by being
placed in a perfect or partial vacuum, and for the insertion of a plug or
stopper to close the opening at which the said exhaustion is effected.
Its principal parts are, an exhausting pump without valves, and certain
devices which serve to hold the plug or stopper during the process of exhaus-
tion in the passage through which the communication is effected between the
pump and the vessel, and to insert the plug in the mouth of the vessel after
the air has been exhausted. - '.
A stand or table supports the exhausting chamber or pump, the sides and
top of which consist of a single casting of metal; and the bottom of a sheet of

page_text: india-rubber, or some other flexible material, but preferably of india-rubber, on
account of its elasticity. At its centre the flexible bottom is held between two
plates or blocks of metal or wood, by which it is attached to a rod, which
connects it with a lever below the chamber.
At the top of the chamber there is an upright pipe, the mouth of which is
ormed so as to receive and form a seat for a nozzle on the preserve jar or
other vessel to be exhausted, the said nozzle containing the opening at which
the exhaustion of the vessel is effected. Below its mouth the pipe is enlarged,
to contain a plunger, which has two heads, fitting in the said pipe easily, but
sufficiently close to give steadiness to the upper part of the plunger, which is
to carry the stopper to close the nozzle. The plunger can be raised by a lever,
which works through an opening or branch in one side of the pipe, the said
opening being covered closely all round the lever by a piece of india-rubber
tubing, which is secured to the lever and to the said branch of the pipe; but
when it is not desired to be raised, the plunger is held down by a spring under
the same, and in the interior of the upright pipe. The stopper is made of raw
potatoe, or other vegetable substance of a similar character, of a thickness
equal to the depth of the stopper.
A sharp-edged tube or tubular punch, whose internal size is equal to the
size of the stopper, is driven through the said substance, cutting therefrom a
cylindrical plug which remains within the tube, which said tube serves to attach
to the plunger..
The most convenient means for forming an air-tight connexion between the
nozzle of the preserve jar or vessel and the exhausting apparatus is to make
the mouth of the upright pipe of conical form, with an elastic mouth-piece
or lining of india-rubber, and make the exterior of the nozzle of conoidical,
spherical, or spheroidal form, but instead of the elastic lining and elastic band
may be applied to the nozzle, which would be equivalent to the elastic lining.
To prepare the apparatus for the exhausting and stopping operation, the ex-
hausting chamber should be filled with water to expel all the air. The preserve
jar or vessel, after it has been filled as far as possible with the substance to be
preserved, should be filled with water to the nozzle, for the purpose of expelling
the air. This being done, the tube containing the plug should be dropped
over the plunger, the end of which will support the plug, and the tube will
remain attached to the plug, and serve as a guide to keep the plug on
the plunger. The lever below the chamber should now be raised to raise
the flexible bottom, so as to reduce the capacity of the chamber, which
may be effected by a spring applied to the lever, or by the operator apply-
ing his hand to the lever. The said plunger should be drawn down into

page_text: the tube, and the outer end of the lever be raised, when there will be a
free communication through the pipe around the top of the said tub, and
through holes in the heads of the plunger. When this is done the vessel must
be inverted, so as to place the nozzle in the mouth of the tube, and the lever
below the chamber depressed, to enlarge the capacity of the chamber, and thus
produce a vacuum within it. Into this vacuum the water, together with any
other liquid contained in the vessel, falls by gravity, and leaves a vacuum in the
vessel, which if the chamber be large enough, will be as nearly as practicable
perfect.
After the vacuum has been produced, the plunger is raised, and carries with
it the plug and the tube, until it comes in contact with the end of the nozzle,
where it is arrested, and the continued movement of the plunger expels the
plug from the tube, and inserts it into the nozzle. The vessel is after this last
operation taken away, and the opening in the nozzle may be sealed with wax
or other composition. It would be advisable to make the interior of the nozzle
slightly tapering, so that atmospheric pressure acting upon the plug will only
tend to drive it tighter.
The apparatus may be used without filling either the chamber or the space
to be exhausted in the vessel with water, but it is obvious the vacuum pro-
duced in the vessel could never be perfect, and it would require a very large
chamber to produce even an approximation to a perfect vacuum.
The construction of the preserve vessel for exhaustion by this apparatus is
not important, provided proper means are provided for allowing insertion of the
substances to be preserved; and it is furnished with a suitable nozzle, but it
may have a lid of metal or other material carrying the nozzle, the said lid
being soldered or cemented to the vessel after the insertion of the substances
to be preserved, and being constructed with ribs inside or with a perforated
lining for the substances to rest upon when the vessel is inverted, to prevent
them closing the nozzle and preventing exhaustion.
This apparatus admits of considerable modification; for instance, the flexible
portion of the exhausting chamber, instead of being at the bottom, may be on
one side; the stopper for closing the vessel after exhaustion may be a cap, to
receive which the plunger and nozzle may be constructed in some suitable
manner; the stopper may be so constructed as to be applied to the plunger
without the tube, which is more particularly intended for the kind of stopper
represented in the Drawings, in connexion with which it serves the two
purposes of cutting it out and confining it to the plunger.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Avery in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
AVERY, of 82, Essex Street, Strand, London, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Avery, Her special licence that I, the said John Avery,
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Avery,
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 "CERTAIN NEW AND
USEFUL APPARATUS FOR EXHAUSTING AND CLOSING VESSELS," (a communication,)
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Avery, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Avery, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say:-
'
This apparatus is intended principally to be used for the exhaustion of
vessels in which vegetable or animal substances are to be preserved, or in
which are to be contained any substances which may be preserved or im-
proved by being placed in a perfect or partial vacuum, and for the insertion'
of a plug or stopper to close the opening at which the said exhaustion is
effected. Its principal parts are, an exhausting pump without valves, and
certain devices which serve to hold the plug or stopper during the process of
exhaustion in the passage through which the communication is effected
between the pump and the vessel; and to insert the plug in the mouth of the
vessel after the air has been exhausted.
The object which has been kept in view throughout the Invention has been

page_text: to make a simple apparatus that can be used by housekeepers without liability
to get out of order.
In the accompanying Drawing, which illustrates the Invention, Fig. 1. is a
vertical central section of the apparatus complete, showing its application to
the exhaustion of a preserve jar; Fig. 2 shows a method of forming a plug 'of
vegetable substance for stopping the mouth of a vessel preparatory' to sealing.
A is a stand or table supporting the exhausting chamber or pump, the sides
and top of which consist of a single casting B of metal, & the bottom of a
sheet C of india-rubber, or some other flexible material; but preferably of india-
rubber, on account of its flexibility & elasticity. At its centre the flexible
bottom C is held between two plates or blocks of metal or wood a, a, by which
it is attached to a rod b, which connects it with a lever D; below the chamber!
At the top of the chamber there is an upright pipe c, the mouth of which
is so formed as to receive & form a seat for a nozzle d, on the preserve jar E;
or other vessel to be exhausted, part of which is shown; Fig. 1, the said nozzle
containing the opening at which the exhaustion of the vessel is effected.
Below its mouth the pipe c is enlarged, to contain a plunger f, which has two
heads e, e, fitting in the said pipe easily; but sufficiently close to give steadiness
to the upper part of the plunger, which is to carry the stopper to close' the
nozzle d. The plunger f can be raised by a lever g, which works through an
opening or branch in one side of the pipe c; the said opening being covered
closely all round the lever by a piece of india-rubber tubing h; which is secured
to the lever and to the branch of the pipe c; but when it is not desired to be
raised, the plunger is held down by a spring i.' There may be other ways of
attaching the stopper to a plunger for the purpose of inserting it in the nozzle
d, but for the kind of stopper I propose to use, the method represented in the
Drawing is particularly convenient. Before explaining this it will be well to
describe this stopper. To make it,' I 'take a slice of raw potatoe, or other vege
táble substance of similar character 'j, Fig. 2, of a thickness' equal to the depth
of the stopper; I then take a sharp-edged tube or tubular punch k, Fig. 2,
whose internal size is equal to the intended size of the stopper, & by driving
it through the said substance, cutting therefrom a cylindrical plug l, which
remains within the tube k, the said tube serving to attach it to the plunger.
As the most convenient means of forming an air-tight connection between
the nozzle d of the preserve jar or vessel and the exhausting apparatus, I
make the mouth of the pipe c of conical form, & provide it with an elastic
mouth-piece or lining m of india-rubber, & make the exterior of the nozzle d
of conoidical, spherical, or spheroidal form; but instead of the elastic lining m
of the mouth of the pipe, an elastic band máy be applied to the nozzle, which

page_text: would be equivalent to the elastic lining. To prepare the apparatus for the
exhausting & stopping operation, it is better that the exhausting chamber B, C,
should be filled with water to expel all the air. The air contained in the vessel
E, after it has been filled as far as possible with the substance to be preserved,
should also be expelled by pouring in water to fill the vessel to the nozzle.
This being done, the tube k, containing the plug 1, should be dropped over the
plunger f, the end of which will support the plug 1, & the tube k will remain
attached to the plug & serve as a guide to keep the plug on the plunger. The
lever D should now be raised, as shown in black outline in Fig. 1, to raise the
flexible bottom C, to reduce the capacity of the chamber, which may be effected
by a spring applied to the lever, or by the operator applying his hand to the
lever; and the plunger f should be drawn down into the tube c and the outer
end of the lever g be raised, as shown in black outline in Fig. 1, when there is
free communication through the pipe C, around the top of the tube k, and
through holes in the heads e, e. All is now ready, & the vessel E must be
inverted to place the nozzle in the mouth of the tube c, and then the lever D
must be depressed, as shown in red outline, by the operator, to draw down the
flexible bottom C, to enlarge the capacity of the chamber B, C, and thus to
produce a vacuum within it. Into this vacuum the water, together with any
other liquid contained in the vessel E, falls by gravity, & leaves. a vacuum in
the vessel E. This vacuum, if the chamber B, C, be large enough, will be as
nearly as practicable perfect. After the vacuum has been produced, the outer
end of the lever g is to be depressed by the operator, to raise the plunger f,
which carries with it the plug & the tube k; but as soon as the end of the
tube comes in contact with the end of the nozzle d, it is arrested, & the con-
tinued movement of the plunger f by the lever g expels the plug from the
tube, and inserts it into the nozzle, as shown in red outline in Fig. 1. The
vessel E may now be taken away, & the opening in the nozzle may be sealed
with wax or other composition as soon as convenient; but this need not be done
immediately, as a plug, such as has been described, will preserve the vacuum
perfect for several hours. It may be remarked, that it is well to make the
interior of the nozzle d slightly tapering, so that atmospheric pressure acting
upon the plug will only tend to drive it tighter.
The apparatus may be used without filling either the chamber B, C, or the
space to be exhausted in the vessel E with water, but in that case it is obvious
the vacuum produced in E could never be perfect, and it would require a very
large chamber B, C, to produce even an approximation to a perfect vacuum.
The construction of the preserve vessel for exhaustion by this apparatus is
not important, provided proper means are provided for allowing insertion of

page_text: the substances to be preserved; and it is furnished with a suitable nozzle d, but
it may have a lid n, of metal or other material, carrying the nozzle d, the said
lid being soldered or cemented to the vessel after the insertion of the substances
to be preserved, and being constructed with ribs o inside or with a perforated
lining for the substances to rest upon when the vessel is inverted, to prevent
them closing the nozzle d, and preventing exhaustion.
This apparatus admits of considerable modification; for instance, the flexi-
ble portion of the exhausting chamber, instead of being at the bottom, may
be on one side; the stopper for closing the vessel after exhaustion may be
a cap, to receive which, the plunger f and nozzle d may be constructed in
some suitable manner; the stopper may be so constructed as to be applied
to the plunger without the tube k, which is more particularly intended for
the kind of stopper represented in the Drawings, in connection with which
it serves the two purposes of cutting it out and confining it to the plunger.
These modifications, as well as, perhaps, any others, are not advisable, but
are merely mentioned to shew that in carrying out the Invention the con-
struction of the parts is not limited strictly to the method first described, and
represented in the accompanying Drawing.
CLAIM.
1st, the exhausting apparatus, constructed substantially as described, with a
flexible movable portion C and a lever D, and either with an elastic mouth-
piece m, or so as to be used with an elastic nozzle, which would be equivalent
to the elastic mouth-piece; the said apparatus to be used with or without liquid.
to expel the air from the exhausting chamber and vessel to be exhausted, as
herein fully set forth.
2nd, closing the vessel after exhaustion by means of a plug l, or its equiva-
lent, which during exhaustion remains in the passage leading from the vessel
to the exhausting apparatus, and which after exhaustion is forced into the
opening in the vessel through which it has been exhausted by means of a
plunger f, or its equivalent, operating in the manner substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Avery, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred & fifty-six.
JOHN AVEDV
JOHN AVEDV
(L.C.)