IMPROVEMENTS IN FORMING AND FITTING BOTTLES AND STOPPERS."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bull, of No. 4, Lancaster Place, Strand, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FORMING AND FITTING BOTTLES AND STOPPERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bull at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd February 1879.
WILLIAM BULL, of No. 4, Lancaster Place, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FORMING AND FITTING BOTTLES AND STOPPERS.".
This Invention relates to bottles fitted with internal and other stoppers, and
consists, first, in forming the said bottles with a coned or tapering neck, or contracted
neck or mouth, where it is formed with a tool or otherwise in the ordinary way,
and so that either the stopper hereinafter described or an ordinary cork may be
used; and, secondly, consists in forming stoppers by joining two frustrums of cones
together at their inferior ends, or forming the same in one piece, so that when a
collar of cork is placed upon them the said collar will cone itself or adapt itself to
the form of the neck or mouth of bottle formed as before described, or to the neck
or mouth of an ordinary bottle by the said cork collar sliding upon the coned core
when acted upon by internal or external pressure; a second contraction may, when
required, be found in the necks of bottles formed as above described to prevent the
said stoppers from falling into the bodies of such bottles, or to grip or hold the
stopper in the mouth of the bottle when empty.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Bull in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd August
1879.
WILLIAM BULL, of No. 4, Lancaster Place, Strand, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FORMING AND FITTING BOTTLES AND STOPPERS."
This Invention relates to bottles fitted with internal and other stoppers, and
consists, first, in forming the said bottles with a coned or tapering neck or contracted
neck or mouth, where it is formed with a tool or otherwise in the ordinary way,
and so that either the stoppers hereinafter described or an ordinary cork may be
used; and, secondly, consists in forming stoppers by joining two frustrums of cones
together at their inferior ends, or forming the same in one piece or twin-cone, so
that when a collar of cork is placed upon them the said collar will cone itself or
adapt itself to the form of the neck or mouth of a bottle formed as before described,
or to the neck or mouth of an ordinary bottle by the said cork collar sliding upon
the said coned core when acted upon by internal pressure; a second contraction
may, when required, be formed in the necks of bottles formed as above described to
prevent the said stoppers from falling into the bodies of such bottles, or to grip or
hold the stopper in the mouth of the bottle when empty.
The accompanying Drawing is intended to illustrate some of the forms of bottles
and stoppers which I prefer to use for high pressure aërated or gaseous liquids in
carrying out my said improvements in practice, but as these improvements are
applicable to almost every class of bottles manufactured it will be obvious that
these forms will have to be modified according to the uses for which the improved
bottles are required. In order that the whole nature of the said Invention may bo
ascertained I first proceed to describe the principle upon which such bottles and
stoppers are or may be formed or are intended to act. Referring to the diagram,
Figure 1 on the said Drawing, the lines a, b, and a¹, b¹, shew the inner surface of
the coned neck of the bottle with a contraction at a, a'. The twin-cone or glass
core of the stopper c fitted with its sliding collar of cork d is shewn at A. Now
assuming the bottle thus formed and fitted to be charged and turned bottom
upwards (while under pressure) the stopper will drop into the position shewn at B,
Figure 2, and be driven outwards until the sliding collar is arrested partially by
the increasing friction caused by the cone form of the inner surface of the neck of
the bottle and partly by the increasing distension of the said collar from the forward
motion of the cone core within the said collar. During this movement of the
packing collar the cone core of the stopper also moves forward, partially inde-
pendently of and partially with the said sliding-packing-collar. As the core moves
forward within the collar the diameter of the forward end of the latter is reduced
by compression, while the diameter of the core itself also decreases towards the
centre as it moves forward within the collar, it allows the latter to adapt itself as a
closely fitting packing between the two non-yielding surfaces of the stopper-core
and bottle-neck. By this twofold forward motion, first, of the collar itself, and,
secondly, of the core within it, as above described, partially separately and partially
together, as the case may be, the cork or other analogous substances is more or less
compressed or solidified, in which condition only it is belived cork or other
analogous porous substance effectively air and gas tight, or perfectly effective as a
stopper packing for gaseous liquids under high pressure, hence the hitherto almost
exclusive use of india rubber for that purpose in bottles of this class.
The contraction in the mouth of the bottle, which is intended for preventing the
stopper from being forced out entirely, may be formed by "ringing" and "making"
with a suitably shaped tool, methods already well known to bottle makers; or the
mouth and neck contractions may be forined by using suitably shaped moulds.
When the mouth is formed as shewn at Figure 3 an ordinary cork may be used, and
when such cork is forced is forced into the position shown ate it will be immovable or

page_text: nearly so, and may be then further secured by a perforated disc of soft metal as a
semi-capsule, by wire or otherwise, by forming a notch or step f in the mouth of
the bottle itself. The centre of the cork thus fixed and secured may then be bored
out to receive the coned end of a stopper of the form shewn at 9 previously placed
in the bottle; care must be taken that the inner end of this perforated cork is left
free to be acted upon by internal pressure, by which it may be more or less.
compressed or solidified longitudinally independently of the forward motion of the
cone, by which it will be compressed more or less laterally.
Figure 4 shews a bottle formed with a double-cone neck and mouth fitted with a
packed stopper. For preventing this or any of the said stoppers from falling into
the body of the bottle, I make a contraction in the bottle-neck by placing a
wedge shaped projecting piece in the mould parallel with the axis of the bottle or
centre of the bottle lengthways so as to give the neck the form shewn in section at
Figure 5. It will be observed that in all cases according to this Invention the
glass or other cores or centre portions of the stoppering media are intended to secure
the contents of the bottles by passing through the centre portion of the cork, and
that the packing is free to move by the internal pressure or expansive force of the
contents of the bottle independently of the movement of the glass or other core,
which does not secure such contents by merely bearing against the packing
substance, as in the case in Codd's, Lamont's, Barrett's, Vallet's, and other similar
india rubber fitted closing media of which the principle is that of a valve, from the
whole of which said last mentioned modes of stoppering this my said Invention
differs in the essential features herein described, that is to say, first, the core is
intended to traverse or pass through the packing media backwards and forwards;
secondly, when the core and packing are disconnected fittings the packing media is
free to move or slide in the bottle neck by the pressure or expansive force of the
bottle's contents independently of the core; thirdly, when both the core and packing
are connected fittings the packing media is not "held in the neck of the bottle,'
nor is it a fixture upon the stopper, but is free to slide or move partially in the
former and also to move partially upon the latter.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bull, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty second day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
WILLIAM BULL. (L.S.)