Improvements in Apparatus for Closing Bottles, Jars, and the like.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Dec., 1893--Accepted, 5th May, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Closing Bottles, Jars, and the like.
I, NEWNHAM BROWNE, of 73 Cheapside, in the City of London, Chartered
Patent Agent, do hereby declare this invention, which has been communicated to
me by H. Meyer & Co. of Penzig, Silesia, in the Empire of Germany, Glass
Manufacturer, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The closing device for bottles jars and the like hereinafter described, is so
constructed that the wire fittings of the same may be readily removed, without the
use of tools, should the bottle or jar or the stopper or lid be defective, and may
with equal readiness be adapted to another bottle &c., or be refitted with a stopper
or lid, the stopper or lid always assuming the correct position, with reference to
the piece for depressing it, so as to co-operate with the latter. This last named
peculiarity is of value, inasmuch as it facilitates the manipulation of the closing
device allowing it to be used with one hand, both hands being required with the
customary devices.
The part connecting the bottle and the stopper, or the jar and its lid is so
arranged as firmly to draw together the rings surrounding the said bottle and
stopper or jar and lid.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1, is a side elevation, Fig. 2, a back elevation,
and Fig. 24, a like elevation showing a slightly modified form of the piece c and
Fig. 3, is a plan; in which figures this closing device is represented as attached to
a bottle. For use with jars the dimensions alone require modification.
A ring a made from a single piece of springy wire surrounds the bottle-neck /
in the usual manner it also serves as a bearing for the lever d. A similar ring b
open at one side and provided with the loops or eyes bb surrounds the stopper p
and serves to transmit pressure to the stopper. For the sake of greater security
the ring engages with a groove provided for its reception in the stopper.
Each of the rings a and b must be pressed against the part surrounded by it, if
it is to have firm hold.
In the present construction this is effected by the peculiar formation of the
intermediary part e which forms a shackle connection between these two rings.
The part is also constructed of elastic wire; it engages with the loops or
eyes b. On the ring b, owing to its peculiar curve at that part forces these two
loops towards one another and thus firmly compresses the ring around the stopper.
The two arms formed by curving the part c across one another either as shown in
Fig. 2. or as shewn in Fig. 24 their ends are bent inwards to form hooks to engage
each with a loop on ring a, the peculiar formation of the part e imparts to the arms
a tendency to approach one another and this forces the loops a' on ring a towards
one another thus firmly fixing this ring on the bottle neck.
To remove this fastening from the bottle neck it is only requisite to force apart
the ends of the arms of part c which allows one of the hooks after the other to be
removed from the loops a¹; this releases the ring a and it can readily be removed
from the bottle neck.
By forcing apart the ends of the arms of the part c and taking them out of the
eyes a', the ends of the said arms approach each other by virtue of their springiness
and thus slightly increase the width of the opposite extremity of the part e, and
thereby relaxing the tightness of its grip of the loops b', these and consequently
the ring itself are cased sufficiently to enable the stopper p to be detached and
taken out from the ring b.

page_text: The manner of refitting the wire parts on bottle neck and stopper being obvious
require no further explanation.
As the stopper cannot change its position relatively to the ring b enclosing it,
both can be handled together. The stopper p may therefore be put into place and
the lever d readily turned over by one hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
A closing device for bottles and jars characterized by having the ring a
embracing the neck h of the vessel and the ring 6 embracing the stopper or lid
(also serving to transmit pressure to such stopper or lid) connected by the shackle c
the shackle e forcing the said rings against the stopper (or lid) and the vessel
respectively, by reason of the pressure exerted by the curves of said part c against
the loops 6 61 on ring band by the crossed arms of said piece c exerting an inward
pressure upon the loops a' a' in ring a (being hook shaped for this purpose) so that
by such arrangement the manipulation of the closing device is simplified and the
changing of the stopper or lid or of the bottle or jar, as well as the tightening of
the rings a and b is facilitated.
Dated the 28th day of December 1893.
NEWNHAM BROWNE.