IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO BOTTLES OR STOPPERS APPLICABLE FOR BOTTLING BEER AND OTHER NON-AERATED LIQUIDS
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, ROBERT MAYALL, Junior, Cotton and Yarn Agent, Luzley Brook, Royton,
near Oldhamn, in the county of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of my
said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO BOTTLES OR STOPPERS
APPLICABLE FOR BOTTLING BEER AND OTHER NON-AERATED LIQUIDS and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:
"
This invention was originally provisionally applied for by me July 7 1884
No 983+, and I now file the complete specification with a fresh application so as
to cover the said original invention with a slightly varied title and description.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a plan of bottle, Figure 2 section through z, y, Figure 3, showing the
stopper in the position it occupies when the liquor is being poured out. Figure 3
vertical section of bottle showing stopper in the position it occupies when the
bottle is unstoppered to allow the contents to be poured out. Figure 4 vertical
section of bottle and stopper in the position it occupies when the bottle is.
stoppered. Figure 5 front elevation of tool used to extract the stopper. Figure 6
side elevation of same. Figure 7 plan of end of pincers.
The object of the invention is to form a bottle and stopper that shall hold beer
and other liquors tight, without the aid of pressure from within caused by aëration
and yet shall be capable of being pushed in like certain well known aërated water
stoppers so as to allow the liquor to be poured out. The bottle is also designed so
as to prevent the stopper sinking to the bottom of the bottle and so stirring up
the dregs, and enable it to lie in the bulge neck of the bottle without impeding the
passage of the liquor, also to present a smooth glossy surface at top when stoppered,
so as present as little opportunity as possible for the collection of dust, and lastly
to use india-rubber as a means of making the stopper tight, and yet present the
smallest possible part of that india-rubber either to the air or to the contents of
the bottle, the other exposed surface in both instances being pot, glass or other like
impervious solid material.

page_text: Referring to the. drawings; the bottle is composed of the main body A, the
contracted neck B made so narrow as to prevent the stopper from passing into
the body of the bottle, the bulge C made large enough to comfortably allow the
stopper to turn and lie freely in it, and preferably oval in general contour and
constructed with a series of deep corrugations so as to enable the liquor to pour
out freely in the corrugations below the stopper, no matter on which side the bottle
be held. This is well shown in Figure 2. D is a further narrowing in the neck
proper of the bottle, E conical enlargement of the right size to fit the india-rubber
washer hereafter described. F projecting ledge to cover the end of the rubber.
F and D must be made a little wider than any part of the pot or glass portion of
the stopper now to be described. This stopper can be formed of any hard tough,
Emooth, insoluble material, but should not be of heavy metal, as that would tend to
smash the bottle, nor yet of any porous material for obvious reasons. Pot or glass
will be found best in practice. In this G is a projecting rim of considerable less
diameter than For D, and sharply projecting so as to allow the toul hereafter
described (Figures 5 to 7) to obtain a secure grasp on it. H body, I projecting
ledge of almost the same diameter as D), but just small enough to pass it when
the stopper is pulled out. J an annular cone of india-rubber with contracted
rim fitting into a deep groove in the stopper, shown in dotted lines in Figure 4
and fitting tightly over an upper flange with a flat top, (the upper termination
of the stopper).
The mode of action is as follows:
The bottles are nearly filled with liquor the stopper is then forced in by an
instrument similar to one described hereafter, N Figure 4, with a shorter shank,
till it assumes the position shown in Figure 4, it is then ready for market. To
open it, the stopper is forced into the bottle, till it falls into the neck preferably by
means of a simple instrument resembling a mushroom, shown in dotted lines at N,
Figure 4. this can be of wood, metal or other material, and consists of the shank
to press the stopper in, and the head used to form a firm broad-surface for the hand,
and the annular rim to shield the hand fron accidental splashes. The liquor is
now poured out, the stopper lying in the neck as shown in Figure 2. To re-fill
the bottle the stopper is extracted by means of the nipper shown in Figures 5, 6,
and 7, the divided rim P of the nipper fitting under the rim G of the stopper.
The stopper is then pulled out by main force backwards way. The bottle is now
ready for filling as before.
I am well aware that punches somewhat resembling that shown at N Figure 4,
have long been known, that bottles for aěrated water have been pinched as at B,
to prevent the stopper from falling into the bottle, and breaking it in the case of
aërated water, but I have never known the idea to be applied to non-aërated liquors.
I am aware also that glass or pot stoppers with an india-rubber washer shruuk
into a groove in the same, have been used in a rather different manner for aërated
water internal stoppers, and that the use of circular tongs or nippers with circular
rim for black smith use are well known, and 1 make no claim broadly for such.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st. The manufacture and use of internal stoppers applicable for non-aerated
liquids provided with rubber cone or cap, such as J forced into the bottle beyond
a rim such as F, and prevented from coming back by the said cone or cap coming
against the said rim, substantially as described.
2nd. The bottles formed with bulge C, provided with corrugations and contracted
neck B, substantially as and for the purposes described.
3rd. The combination of the rubber cone J and corresponding cone in the neck
of the bottle with the rim F on the bottle and the projecting top of the stopper, a
little less in diameter than F, substantially as described..

page_text: 4th. The bottle and stopper constructed and arranged, substantially as and for
the purposes described.
5th. The manufacture and use of nippers as set forth in Figure 5, substantially
as and for the purposes described.
WP. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
and 323, High Holborn, London,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.