IMPROVED AIR-TIGHT VESSELS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Frederick Stansbury, of the firm of Nourse
& Co., American and General Patent Agents, of No. 17, Cornhill,
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVED AIR-TIGHT VESSELS."-A com-
munication from Robert Arthur, of Washington, in the United States of
America
Sealed the 2nd February 1855, and dated the 5th August 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Frederick Stans-
bury at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th August 1854.
I, CHARLES FREDERICK STANSBURY, of the firm of Nourse & Co., American
and General Patent Agents, of 17, Cornhill, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED AIR-TIGHT VESSELS," a
communication from Robert Arthur, M.D., of Washington, in the United
States of America, to be as follows:-
The proposed improvement consists in forming at or near the top of jars,
pots, cans, bottles, color plates, inkstands, and other vessels which it may be
desired to render temporarily or permanently air-tight, an annular groove or
gutter, into which the edges of the cover of such vessels may pass when the
vessel is closed; and in filling said groove or gutter with mercury or other
proper permanent fluid when the vessel has to be frequently opened; or with

page_text: a melted composition or other suitable melted substance when the object is to
keep the vessel permanently air-tight or permetically sealed. The object of
the Invention is to prevent loss by evaporation, and also to prevent those
chemical changes which many substances undergo from the action upon them of
the constituents of the atmosphere.
The composition which I have devised, and which I prefer for ordinary
domestic use, is made by adding gutta percha to melted rosin, in the pro-
portion of an ounce and a half of the former to a pound of the latter, or
thereabout.
445
The details of the Invention, and the several cases in which I have con-
templated its application will be Call to
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Frederick Stansbury in the Great Seal Patent Offico
on the 3rd February 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS, SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
FREDERICK STANSBURY, of the firm, of Nourse & Co., American and General
Patent Agents, of No. 17, Cornhill, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS. Her most, Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Charles, Frederick Stansbury, Her special licence that I, the said
Charles Frederick Stansbury, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Charles Frederick Stansbury, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 "IMPROVED AIR-TIGHT VESSELS," a communication from Robert
Arthur, of Washington, in the United States of America, upon the condition,
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Frederick Stansbury, by an instru-
ment 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Frederick Stansbury, do hereby
declare the nature of my said 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 had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, in which various vessels constructed according to my plan are
represented :---
E is a vertical section
A is a perspective view of a can and its cover. B is a vertical section of
such a can with the cover on. C is a vertical section of a jar with the cover
on. D is a vertical section of a jar of different form.
of a bottle with the cover in place. F is a perspective view, and G a vertical
section, of an inkstand with the cover on. H is a vertical section of a bottle or
jar for gum or paste, with cover and brush in place. I is a vertical section of
a stack or nest of colour saucers; and J is a similar section of a single colour
saucer of like construction.
The nature of my Invention consists in forming at or near the top of jars,
pots, cans, bottles, colour plates, inkstands, and other vessels which it may be
desired to render temporarily or permanently air-tight, an annular groove or
gutter, into which the edge of the covers of such vessels may pass when the
vessel is closed, and in partially or wholly filling said groove or gutter with
mercury or other suitable permanent fluid when the vessel has to be frequently
opened, or with a fusible composition or substance when the object is to keep
the vessel permanently air-tight or hermetically sealed.
The object of the Invention is to prevent loss by evaporation, and also to
prevent those chemical changes which many substances undergo from the
action upon them of the constituents of the atmosphere.
At A in the Drawings, the groove or gutter is marked 1; the cover of the
vessel, 2; and the edge which passes into the groove when the cover is on is
marked 3. The same principle of construction is represented, under slight
modifications of form, in all the other Figures, and is so simple as to need no
further explanation. The form given to the groove in D and E is worthy of
remark, as, when such a form of groove is adopted, the vessel may be entirely
inverted without spilling the fluid the groove contains.
When the groove is filled with mercury or other fluid medium, it is obvious
that the placing of the cover on the vessel completely cuts off the contents from
atmospheric contact and influences, while the yielding nature of the medium
employed does not prevent the opening and closing of the vessel at pleasure.
The fluid medium would only be adopted where the vessel is in frequent use,
and in such cases it is of great service in preserving volatile liquids, such as

page_text: ether and chloroform, and in preventing the déliquescence of certain salts,
while at the same time free access to them is afforded.
I have employed as a medium, for use in the groove, mercury, glycerine,
honey, treacle, or water, according to the requirements of each particular case.
Other fluids
may be used. When the vessel is to be permanently sealed, as,
for example, when used for the preservation of fruits and vegetables, the fluid
medium in the groove is replaced by a fusible substance or composition, which
is in a melted or semi-fluid state when the cover is applied, and afterwards
becomes hard by cooling.
I make use of a cement composition of gutta percha and rosin in various
proportions, or a fusible alloy, melting at or near the temperature of boiling
water. The composition or alloy is poured into the groove or gutter of the
vessel and allowed to harden. When the vessel is to be used, it is only requisite
to heat its contents to the proper temperature, warm the cover, and press it
into place, retaining it there by means of a weight until the cement or alloy
becomes hard by cooling. It will not answer to pour the melted cement into.
the groove after the vessel is filled with the heated substance and the cover is
in place, for the cooling of the contents of the vessel creates a partial vacuum,
and the pressure of the atmosphere forces the melted cement into the vessel,
and renders the sealing imperfect. A strip of soft paper rolled and packed
into the bottom of the groove will effectually prevent such an accident. For
domestic use the cement is to be preferred to the fusible alloy, being cheap
and easily made.
When the sealed vessels are not intended for transportation, the cement
may be made by adding an ounce and a half of gutta percha to a pound of
common rosin while in a melted state, and continuing the heat until the gutta
percha is dissolved. This cement adheres tenaceously to smooth surfaces, and
is not liable to crack when exposed to changes of temperature. For vessels
intended for transportation I increase the proportion of gutta percha to three
ounces to the pound of rosin. If a fusible alloy is used, the groove may be
much smaller and shallower than is required for the cement.
Having thus described my Invention of "Improved Air-tight Vessels," I
wish it to be understood that I do not claim the making of an air-tight joint
by means of a fluid medium.
But what I claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent is, the
forming, at or near the mouth of vessels which it is intended to render
temporarily or permanently. air-tight, of a groove or gutter, into which the
edge of the cover of such vessels may pass, and placing in such groove any

page_text: proper permanent fluid when the vessel has to be frequently opened, or any
proper fusible composition or substance, when the vessel is intended to be
hermetically sealed or permanently air-tight..
I also claim giving to such groove or gutter such a form as to prevent its
contents from being spilled when the vessel is inverted.
And, finally, I claim the composition of the cement herein described, and for
the purpose specified, the same consisting of gutta percha and rosin in any
suitable proportions.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Frederick Stansbury, bave here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Third day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
CHARLES FREDERICK STANSBURY. (L.S.)