A Spring Clip for Fastening Stoppers and Covers in Bottles, Jars, Cess-pans, and other Receptacles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 14th Apr., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION..
[Communicated from abroad by JOHN MACLELLAN, of the Firm of Foy and
Gibson, trading at No. 139, Smith Street, Collingwood, in the Colony of
Victoria, Merchants.]
A Spring Clip for Fastening Stoppers and Covers in Bottles, Jars,
Cess-pans, and other Receptacles.
I; OLIVER IMRAY of No. 28 Southampton Buildings in the County of
London, Chartered Patent Agent, 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 of a Spring Clip for Fastening Stoppers and Covers in Bottles,
Jars, Cesspans, and other Receptacles, has been devised principally for the purpose of
providing a cheap and convenient method of retaining stoppers iu bottles for
containing preserved fruits, although it may be used for cesspans, jars, and other
receptacles for containing any other substances.
It consists in a spring clip made of a strip of steel or other resilient metal,
having downwardly extending legs, each formed with a claw at its end to engage
by preference with recesses or projections on each side of the receptacle to which
it is to be applied, and preferably having its centre bent downwards so as to press on
the top of the stopper with more or less force. The extent of this downward bend is
a matter of choice or advisability, and may be greatly varied without departing from
the nature and essence of the invention. In some cases it might even be dispensed
with altogether where the stoppers or covers are higher in the centres than at the
edges, or it might sometimes be advantageously made with an upward curve, the
effect in either case being to bend or spring that part of the clip out of its normal
shape, and thereby put a pressure on the stoppers or covers.
The recesses or projections on the sides of the bottle, cesspan or other receptacle,
may also be in any position that may be preferred between the top and the bottom,
and when projections are used they may consist of beads or rings extending entirely
around it, so as to form a shoulder, against. which the ends of my spring clips
may engage.
[
If so preferred, 1 can make each leg of the clip long enough to reach from end
to end of the receptacle, in which case the recesses or projections would be entirely
dispensed with, and the claws would engage either with the top of the stopper or
the bottom of the receptacle according to the way in which the clip was applied.
I prefer to make said bottles, cesspans or other receptacles without any shoulder or
neck-that is, of one diameter from top to bottom.
These spring clips are sprung into position by pressure, and when the stopper is
required to be removed it is needful to force out one end of said spring clip, when
both ends will immediately become free, and the stopper can then be removed.
Referring to the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a front elevation, and
Figure 2 a plan of my spring clip, whilst
Figure 3 is a view of a bottle or jar, with its stopper fastened by my
invention.
Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 3, showing the stopper formed with a
deeper recess in its upper portion and the spring clip brought down closer to the

page_text: gure is a perspective view, and
Figure 6 a plan of a modified formn of my spring clip, whilst
Figure 7 is a vertical central section of a bottle or jar illustrating the appli-
cation of this form of my invention.
Figure 8 is a side elevation, showing the same form of spring clip, but with a
jar which is provided with a projecting bead instead of recesses.
Figure 9 is a view of another modified form of my spring clip, and
Figures 10 and 11 are respectively a side elevation and section illustrating the
application of said clip to a jar or bottle-in one case when it catches on the
bottom, and in the other case when it catches on the top of said jar or bottle.
Figures 12 and 13 show two further modifications of my invention, in which in
one case the central part of my spring clip is made horizontal, and in the other it
is made with a slight upward curve to provide for the case of stoppers, having a
convex upper surface.
The same letters of reference indicate the saine or corresponding parts in all the
figures.
A represents the spring clip, consisting of a strip of steel or other resilient
metal, preferably curved downwards in the centre, that is, along its horizontal
portion, whilst aa are the legs, which are long enough to extend down the sides of
the bottle or other receptacle for a certain distance, as indicated in Figures 1 to 5,
7 and 8; or if preferred, said legs can be long enough to reach from top to
bottom or vice versú of the jar or receptacle, as illustrated in Figures 9, 10
and 11. The lower ends of these legs a are bent inwards, as illustrated at a',
so as to form the claws above referred to. The clip may either be allowed to
project above the stopper, as shown in Figure 3, or if the stopper is formed with
a deeper recess, it may be brought down closer to the top and sides thereof as
shown in Figure 4.
or
The bottle, jar, or other receptacle, B, is provided either with a projecting rim
or bead, as in Figures 3, 4 and 8, with which the inwardly projecting claws a
of the spring clip A can engage; or if preferred, it may be provided with a
recess or recesses, as illustrated in Figure 7. In either case, said recess
its equivalent projection being formed in the sides of the bottle, jar, or other
receptacle, at such a distance from the upper end as that the horizontal part
of the clip has to be bent downwards, as clearly indicated by the dotted lines
in Figures 3 and 12, in order to enable the claws a¹ to be sprung into
engagement therewith, thus ensuring said claws being retained in engagement
with said recesses or projections, and causing the stopper to be held down with an
elastic pressure.
The amount of curve given to the horizontal part of the clip may be varied
considerably to suit different requirements, as will be well understood. For
instance, if the stopper or cover is formed with a recess in its upper surface, as in
Figures 3 and 4, the clip might be curved downwards to a considerable extent, as
shown in those figures, whilst if the stopper or cover is made higher in the centre
than at its edges, the clip might be made straight along its horizontal portion, as
illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 12, or it might even be made with an
upward curve, as in Figure 13.
As above mentioned, the recesses or projections b on the sides of the
receptacle can be dispensed with if the spring clip A be made long enough, as
illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11; to extend down the sides of the jar,
bottle, or other receptacle from top to bottom, in which case the horizontal
portion of the clip may be placed across the top of the stopper, and the claws a
on the lower end thereof may be sprung into engagement with the bottom of said
receptacle.
The arrangement illustrated in Figure 11 is almost identical with that shown in
Figure 10, except that the clip extends across the bottom of the jar or receptacle,
and engages with the stopper instead of being the other way about.

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:
The herein described spring clip for fastening stoppers and covers in bottles,.
jars, cesspans, and other receptacles, consisting essentially of a strip of steel or
other resilient metal bent so as to extend more or less down the sides of said
receptacle, and having inwardly projecting claws on the lower ends of its legs, said
claws being adapted to be sprung into engagement with recesses, projections or
beads on the sides or with the bottom of said receptacle or with the top of the
stopper, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 10th dow of Movah 1904
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.