Improvements in Stoppering Bottles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec., 1892-Accepted, 21st Jan., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Stoppering Bottles.
I, EDWARD TURBERVILLE THOMAS of 79 Clapton Common London N.E.
Soap Manufacturer 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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in stoppering bottles, and has for its
object to provide a device by means of which a bottle cannot be opened after
corking, without indicating that it has been tampered with.
The invention is especially intended for use in wine and spirit bottles, and is
designed to prevent a bottle having a special brand being emptied and then filled
with inferior liquor.
The device consists of a secondary stopper of glass or other hard material,
used in combination with the ordinary cork or stopper, placed in the neck of
the bottle immediately below it. This stopper is placed in the bottle first and is
furnished with a ring of resilient material, such as cork, india-rubber and the like,
so that it will be held securely by the neck and prevented from falling into the
bottle on shaking. It is not designed however to form an air tight connection,
but only one sufficient to hold, as the ordinary cork is also employed.
According to one arrangement, the stopper is grooved and a ring of resilient
material placed in the groove, projecting slightly from the side.
A groove is also
formed in the neck of the bottle at a suitable distance from the mouth, so that the
stopper can be simply pushed in until the ring meets the groove, when it will spring
into place and retain the stopper in position. The groove in the neck is so situated
that the top of the stopper will be a short distance below the cork when the latter
is inserted, thus preventing any danger of its being forced in on corking. The
groove in the neck may be dispensed with, the resilient material simply pressing
against the sides. In this case the ring preferably extends for the whole depth of
the stopper.
On opening the bottle, after the cork has been extracted in the usual manner, it
will be found necessary to force the second stopper into the bottle, as it is of hard
material and cannot be withdrawn by a corkscrew or other similar device. After
it has fallen into the bottle it will be practically impossible to abstract it or restore
it to its original position, and thus, if the bottle is used further, a certain indication
is given of its having been tampered with.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference is had to
the accompanying sheet of drawings, all the figures of which are vertical sections,
Figs. 1 and 2 showing one form of stopper, Fig. 3 a modification, and Fig. 4 a bottle
having the stopper forced in to obtain the liquid.
A is the bottle, in the neck of which the auxiliary stopper B is placed, the
cork C being inserted above it in the ordinary manner. According to Figs. 1, 2
and 4, this stopper is formed with a groove B' at about its centre, in which the
ring D of resilient material is placed. The neck of the bottle is made with a
groove A¹ corresponding to the ring D, in which the latter is held on the insertion
of the stopper. Referring to Fig. the stopper B is furnished with a ring D¹
extending from top to bottom, the neck of the bottle being of the usual form.
Fig. 4 shows a device to prevent the stopper interfering with the flow of the liquid
after it has been pushed down, consisting of a downwardly projecting ring A³
formed inside the neck, and perforated to allow free passage for the liquor.

page_text: 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 :-
:―
(1.) A device to be used in connection with stoppering bottles, consisting of an
auxiliary stopper B of hard material, having a ring of resilient material fitting into
the neck of the bottle below the cork or ordinary stopper, substantially as and for
the purposes specified.
(2.) In a bottle stoppering device, an auxiliary stopper B, having a groove B' in
which is placed a ring of resilient material D, fitting, when the stopper is inserted,.
into a groove A' in the neck of the bottle A, substantially as described and shown
and for the purposes specified.
VHO
UnoT 100m00
TO CON HOT
GEO. H. RAYNER,
37, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.