IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPING BOTTLES AND SIMILAR VESSELS CONTAINING AERATED WATERS & OTHER LIQUIDS, ALSO IN CAPS & STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES GENERALLY, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE, CONSTRUCTION AND COMBINATION THEREOF."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Richmond Stocker, of Islington, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPING BOTTLES AND SIMILAR VESSELS
CONTAINING AERATED WATERS & OTHER LIQUIDS, ALSO IN CAPS & STOPPERS
FOR BOTTLES GENERALLY, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE, CONSTRUCTION AND
COMBINATION THEREOF."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Richmond Stocker
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th December 1879.
ALEXANDER RICHMOND STOCKER, of Islington, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STOPPING BOTTLES AND SIMILAR VESSELS CONTAINING AERATED WATERS & OTHER
LIQUIDS, ALSO IN CAPS & STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES GENERALLY, AND IN THE
MANUFACTURE, CONSTRUCTION, AND COMBINATION THEREOF."
My Invention consists in employing with bottles and similar vessels (having
suitably formed necks) india rubber or other elastic packing pieces with holes
through their centres, and certain rigid pieces, also with holes through their centres,
these rigid pieces being held down on to the elastic packing by the aid of a cap or
cover also with a hole through its centre, such cap or cover being secured to the
neck of the bottle or other vessel in any convenient manner, when by turning the
centre rigid piece so that the hole therethrough is vertical the vessel will be open,
and when so placed that the hole therethrough is horizontal the vessel will be
hermetically closed. In some cases I make the centre rigid pieces with a screw
thread formed on one end, the cap or cover also having a screw thread formed in
its hole, so that when the former is placed therein & screwed down on to the
elastic packing it will cover the hole therein and so secure the contents of the
vessel, & when unscrewed sufficiently will allow the withdrawal thereof, a
suitably sized hole being in this instance provided in the side of the cap or cover.
I produce another form of bottle stopper by the employment of an india rubber
ring or band in conjunction with suitably formed parts made of potter's clay, glass,
ו.....מ

page_text: or other material, so that when the elastic band is stretched round the lower part
of the stopper & pressure exerted upon it by compressing it by the aid of a screw
acting on the upper part of the stopper it will cause the band or ring to bulge in
the centre and become larger, so that when acted upon in this manner, after being
placed in the bottle, the contents will be fully secured therein.
The materials I prefer to use for producing the articles according to my Invention
are either potter's clay (preferably in its pulverized or dust state) or glass. I realize
the different figures required by the aid of special dies & pressure, the dies being so
shaped by turning, cutting, sinking, engraving, or otherwise forming them so that
when the desired material is placed therein & suitable pressure exerted thereon the
necessary articles will be produced, & when compounded with india rubber, cork,
or other Bexible elastic material will form my Invention.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Richmond Stocker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th June 1880.
ALEXANDER RICHMOND STOCKER, of Islington, London.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
STOPPING BOTTLES AND SIMILAR VESSELS CONTAINING AERATED WATERS AND OTHER
LIQUIDS, ALSO IN CAPS AND STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES GENERALLY, AND IN THE
MANUFACTURE, CONSTRUCTION, AND COMBINATION THEREOF."
My said Invention relates, first, to an improved mode or method of stopping
bottles and similar vessels containing aërated or other liquids, and to certain
peculiar combinations or arrangements of parts to be employed therein; secondly,
to a new or improved mode of manufacture of certain caps or stoppers of the kind
hereinafter described, suitable for use not only with ordinary bottles but also with
wide mouthed bottles and jars, such, for example, as pickle bottles.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding
Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings is a vertical section of one combination or arrangement
of parts for stopping bottles and similar vessels as comprised under the first part of
my Invention, and representing the stopper as open; Figure 2 is a similar view
showing the stopper closed; and Figure 3 is a plan corresponding to Figure 1.
a is a spherical or nearly spherical shaped stopper of glass, porcelain, or other
suitable material having a passage or thoroughfare b made through it. This
stopper is made by preference in the form of an oblate spheroid, that is to say, its
diameter in the direction of the passage 6 is slightly less than the diameter at right
angles thereto or in the direction of the dotted line 1-2, for the reason hereinafter
explained. c is an indiarubber or other elastic packing ring of any suitable section
which fits round a slightly projecting lip & formed round the mouth of the bottle,
both the stopper a and packing ring c being enclosed in a cap or cover e of any
suitable material secured to the neck of the bottle in any convenient manner so as
to be readily removeable when required. The said cap or cover serves to hold the
stopper a in its place against the packing ring c, for which purpose an internal
annular projecting ridge fis formed in the upper part of the cap so as to take a
bearing upon the surface of the stopper. A discharge opening g is made in the top
of the cap corresponding with the passage b through the stopper when the latter is
turned to its open position (as shown in Figure 1), that is to say, in line with the
bottle neck, but when the stopper is turned on a horizontal axis inside the cap so
as to bring the passage b at right angles to or across the mouth of the bottle (as
shown in Figure 2) then the bottle will be closed. This partial rotation of the
stopper has the effect of further compressing the packing ring c by bringing the
larger diameter of the stopper into action thereon,and consequently ensures a
perfectly tight closure of the mouth of the bottle. In order to accomplish the
turning of the stopper within the cap, as before described, a projection or arm h is
formed on the stopper and passes through a slot made down the side of the cap, as
shown clearly in Figure 3.
According to a modified arrangement of this mode of stopping bottles, which is
illustrated by Figure 4, the stopper a is made solid or without any passage or
thoroughfore through it, and in lieu of being partially turned on a horizontal axis
inside the cap e, in order to open or close the bottle, it is pressed against or with-
drawn from (as the case may be) the packing ring c on the bottle neck by any
convenient mechanical arrangement, as for example, by an external screw thread
on the stopper working through an internally screwed aperture on the top of the
cap e. In this latter arrangement the stopper a need not be of a spherical or
partially spherical form, but may assume the form of a screw-down valve, as shown

page_text: in the Drawing, it being simply requisite that it be provided with a suitable
pressing face bearing upon the packing ring e when screwed or otherwise forced
down by the detachable enlarged head a². In addition to the indiarubber packing
ring c on the end of the neck of the bottle an internal lining of cork or other
suitable material i may if desired be inserted within a suitable recess formed round
the interior of the mouth of the bottle for the reception of a prolonged portion or
extension k of the stopper, which fits the said lining tightly, and thus prevents the
contents of the bottle from gaining access to the indiarubber packing ring when
closed, which is most objectionable in many cases. In this arrangement the discharge
aperture g is formed in the side in lieu of in the top of the cap. In opening this
stopper it is simply requisite to unscrew the same within the cap e so as to relieve
the packing ring c from pressure, and withdraw the part or plug k from the cork
or other lining, whereupon the liquid will escape round the sides of the stopper, and
pass out through the lateral discharge aperture g in the cap. Both these arrange-
ments admit of the bottle being refilled or charged with aërated liquid without
necessitating the removal or detachment of any of the parts constituting the stopping
appliance. In the first arrangement the spherical stopper a having been turned to
its open position is forced downwards onto the packing ring c in the act of filling
by the pressure against it of the end of the charging nozzle, thereby maintaining a
tight closure, and preventing all leakage or escape of liquid or gas during the
operation of charging. In the arrangement, Figure 4, I provide a packing ring
on the screw-down valve or stopper a, which ring when the valve is fully open
presses against the inside of the top of the cover or cup and so prevents any
leakage past the screw threads during the operation of charging, which in this case
is effected through the lateral orifice g of the cap.
Various means may be employed for securing the caps e to the necks of the
bottles, but the following will be found to answer well in practice :-It consists in
forming an external projecting bead round the top of the bottle neck, and a corre-
sponding bead round the base of the cap e, the two beads when brought nearly
together being clipped at two or more parts round their circumference by loose
metal or other clips m, shaped so as to embrace both the beads, and formed with a
central depression or channel for the reception of a binding wire for holding the
said clips in position. One of these clips is shown in detail detached at Figure 5.
The several rigid parts constituting the stopping appliances comprised under the
first head of my Invention may be composed of metal, glass, porcelain, or other
suitable material capable of being cast or moulded, but I prefer to make them,
where the shape will permit, by moulding them from plastic or dry pulverized clay
under pressure between metal dies and matrices arranged somewhat after the
manner set forth in the Specifications to the Letters Patent of Alexander Southwood
Stocker, numbered respectively 1149, A.D. 1871, and 154, A.D. 1872, the dies and
matrices employed being so shaped, as is well understood, as to produce the required
conformation of the particular part to be manufactured. The peculiar conformation
of the neck of the bottle itself requisite for carrying out this mode or method of
stopping, as shown in the Drawings, can be produced by casting or moulding, as
will be readily understood by glass bottle makers.
The second part of my Invention has reference to an improved mode of manu-
facture of .a well known class of caps or stoppers (hitherto composed wholly or
chiefly of sheet metal) for bottles, jars, and similar receptacles, in which class of cap
or stopper herein referred to the closure of the receptacle was effected by the expan-
sion under compression of a ring of vulcanized indiarubber or other suitable elastic
material disposed around and between two discs or surfaces drawn together by a
screwed stem.
Now this part of my said Invention consists essentially in manufacturing the
rigid parts of the class of cap or stopper above referred to from potters' clay
(preferably in a dry pulverized or "dust" state), or from glass whilst in a partly
molten or soft and plastic condition, by subjecting the said materials to powerful
compression, between metal dies and matrices shaped, of course, to produce the

page_text: different forms required, as will be readily understood on referring to the Specifica-
tions hereinbefore mentioned, merely premising however that the dies and matrices
to be employed for making the component rigid parts of this stopper or cap should
by preference be made to fit or work the one within the other after the manner of
a plunger, and should be further provided with moveable or sliding parts to facilitate
the release of the moulded or compressed articles from the upper and under tools,
and that in the case of using clay "dust" the depth of the matrix should be such as
to accommodate the required bulk of material in its uncompressed state necessary to
form the compressed article. By this mode of manufacturo from the said materials
I obtain a cheaper, more cleanly, and more serviceable stopper of the class referred
to than those which have heretofore been constructed wholly or chiefly of metal.
In order the better to identify the kind or class of cap or stopper to which the
second part of my Invention has reference, I have illustrated the same in section
completo at Figure 6 as adapted for a wide mouthed bottle or receptacle, but it can
obviously be also manufactured of such proportions as to render it applicable to
ordinary narrow necked bottles. Figure 7 shows the several rigid parts of the
said stopper separated or detached. a is a cap having a projecting hollow cylindrical
portion formed on its under surface of an external diameter to fit inside the
neck or mouth of the receptacle, its object being to compress the elastic packing
ring g. In some cases if preferred this annular projection b may be replaced by a
loose metal ring rosting on the packing ring g; c is a screwed stem formed with an
enlarged head if required for the convenience of manipulation, and turning freely in
the centre of the cap a, whilst its screwed portion works inside an internally screwed
recess & in the centre of the lower disc e, or in lieu of the screwed stem c being formed
separately and made to enter a screwed recess in the disc e, as shown in Figure 6,
a central screwed stem c¹ may be made in one piece with the disc e, as shown in
Figures 8 and 9, in which latter case it will pass up through the cap a and be fitted
with a separate screwed cap h of its own. The disc e is formed with a flange f, and
carries the india-rubber packing ring g, such ring being more or less compressed
between the flange fand the annular projection b of the cap a. The packing ring g
composed of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable elastic material, and of any con-
venient section, rests upon the flange ƒ, and when not subjected to compression fits
easily inside the mouth of the vessel or receptacle to be closed, but when compressed
between the parts b and fit is caused to bulge outwards and form a tight closure,
as is well understood. With a view to avoiding all chance of the disc e becoming
detached and dropping inside the receptacle, I so construct it as that it shall not be
capable of turning independently of the cap a, which may be accomplished in
various ways, as, for example, by moulding a projection or stop i on the underside
side of the cap a so as to fit into a corresponding hole or recess in the upper surface
of the disc e when brought together. Moreover with a view to preventing the
separate screwed stem c from being entirely unscrewed or detached from the recess
in the disc e, or to prevent the screwed cap h from being entirely unscrewed from
the top of the fixed screwed stein c¹, I employ in the one case a pink fixed into the
stem c, such pin by coming in contact with the stop preventing the screw from
making a complete turn, the thread being so formed as to give the necessary
compression to the india-rubber ring g by merely a portion of a revolution. A
suitable slot or opening is made in one side of the cap a or disc e to admit of the
said pin being introduced from outside. When the stem c' is moulded in one piece
with the disc e, as in Figures 8 and 9, the pin k is fixed into the cap h and bears
against a stop on the cap a and consequently prevents the cap h from making a
complete revolution. The cap a with its cylindrical part_or annular projection b,
also the flanged disc e with its internal screwed recess d, or with its externally
screwed part in one piece therewith (as in Figures 8 and 9) as well as the
separate screwed stem c itself & the internally screwed cap h are all separately
produced or inanufactured from potter's clay, preferably in a pulverized and dry
condition, or from glass in a semi-molten state, by powerful compression between
metal dies and matrices of the required form as before explained, the result being
i

page_text: when the said parts are combined together, as shown, a new article of manufacture.
As I have found that screw threads when moulded of these materials do not work
smoothly and satisfactorily together I propose to form the screw threads on or in
a separate bush or lining piece of some soft metal such as lead or tin, and to apply
the said bush or lining piece to those parts where screw threads may be required,
securing the same in position either by pins or otherwise or fixing by cement. For
a similar purpose I introduce a metal washer m between the top of the cap a and
the shoulder or enlarged head of the screwed stem c, Figures 6 and 7, or between
the screwed cap and the cap a, Figures 8 and 9, as the case may be.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not claim as my Invention the
combination or arrangement of parts constituting the cap or stopper illustrated by
Figures 6 & 8 separate and apart from the peculiar mode of its manufacture from
the materials or substances specified; neither do I claim separately the making
of the lower part or disc e of the said class of cap or stopper from pottery or
earthenware, as I am aware that such has been already proposed with a view to
combining the same with sheet metal tops; but what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the liereinbefore in
part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The mode or method of stopping bottles and similar vessels by the peculiar
arrangement and combination of parts hereinbefore described and illustrated by
Figures 1 to 5 of my Drawings.
Secondly. The application and use of a rotating stopper having a passage or
thoroughfare through it in combination with an enclosing slotted cap or cover, and
an elastic packing ring, when arranged substantially in the manner and for the
purpose herein before described and illustrated by Figures 1, 2, and 3 of my
Drawings.
Thirdly. The application and use of a solid combined valve and plug stopper in
combination with an elastic packing ring and lining and an enclosing cap or cover
with suitable discharge opening when arranged to operate together substantially in
the manner and for the purpose herein before described and illustrated by Figure 4
of my Drawings.
Fourthly. The manufacture of the class of cap or stopper illustrated by Figures 6
and 8 by fashioning or forming the several component rigid parts thereof from
potter's clay or clay "dust," or from glass in a semi-molten condition, by the aid of
compression between suitably shaped dies and matrices, substantially in the
manner hereinbefore specified.
Fifthly. As a new article of manufacture the cap or stopper illustrated by
Figures 6 and 8 when manufactured in the peculiar manner and from the par-
ticular materials hereinbefore specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Richmond Stocker, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
EDWIN P. ALEXANDER,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent,
14, Southampton Buildings,
London,
W.C.
ALEX. R. STOCKER. (L.S.)