IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES AND
SIMILAR ARTICLES" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to bottle stoppers and comprises various improvements
therein to render them more certain and efficient in operation and cheaper in
construction, all as hereinafter described.
In the accompanying Drawing
Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of the neck and mouth of a bottle
provided with the improved stopper, and having the stopper closed down upon the
bottle mouth.
Figure 2 is a plan or top view of the same.
Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the same, with the stopper
raised from the mouth of the bottle.
Figure 4 is a plan or top view of same.
Figure 5 represents a side elevation of the bottle neck with it and the stopping
mechanism partly in section, showing the mode of connecting the same together.
Figure 6 is a separate view from above of the locking cam for the stopper.
Figure 7 is a side view of the same.
Figure 8 is a top view of the plate below the cam, which travels up and down on
the bail.
Figure 9 is a vertical section of same.
Figure 10 is a top view of the elastic disc which bears against the bottle mouth
and closes it.
Figure 11 is a vertical section of same.
Figure 12 is a sectional view of the plate shown in Figure 8, provided with
means of attaching a cork stopper thereto instead of using the india-rubber disc
shown in Figure 10.
A indicates the neck of the bottle which is formed with an enlargement on the
upper end around its exterior part, the lower side of which enlargement serves as
a bearing shoulder for the neck-wire a, which is twisted around the neck of the
Prine C21

page_text: bottle below it. This neck-wire is bent on opposite sides of the bottle neck in the
form of two coils a¹, a¹, which receive the ends of the bail B and allow it to rotate
freely in them. On this bail-wire B is mounted the flat metallic plate b, by means
of two slots b b in the ears of the plate through which the bail-wire passes, so as
to allow the plate to slide freely up and down on the bail-wire to and from the
bottle mouth; these slots are made elongated in a radial direction to allow the
lower ends of the bail-wire to be passed through them after they are bent inward
suitably to enter the coils a¹. The plate b is made with a tubular projection b³ on
its lower side, which projection is rounded on its exterior lower corner, and serves to
press downward into the bottle mouth the elastic disc d which moves up and down
on the bail-wire by having the latter passed through the holes d¹ made in ears
of the disc in proper position for this purpose. When the plate b is pressed down-
ward upon the disc d, it forces the latter upon, and into, the bottle-mouth as shown
in Figure 1, and effectually closes the latter, and when the plate bis raised by
slipping on the bail wire B, the bottle-mouth is unclosed as shown in Figure 3.
The pressing downward of the plate band raising it from the bottle mouth is
effected in the following manner:-A disc c has upon its lower side a pivot c¹, and
on one side of this pivot, at the lower end, is a stud or spur c² so placed as to leave
a cylindrical part of the pivot between the stud and the lower face of the disc c;
centrally in the plate b a hole b³ is made of proper size to receive the pivot c¹ and
allow it to revolve freely therein; extending from one side of this hole 63 is a
slot b, cut through the plate bin like manner, this slot being of proper size to
receive the spur c and allow it to pass down through the plate when the pivot c¹
is inserted in proper position in the hole 63. The hole 6 and slot 6 extend down-
ward into the tubular cavity within the projecting part b³, which cavity b³ is
made-of-sufficient diauieter to allow the spur c to turn around freely therein, when
the pivot c has been passed downward through the hole b³, so that the lower face
'of the disc c bears upon the upper face of the plate b. This construction attaches
*the disc c to the plate b at all points of its rotation, except where the spur c³ comes
directly opposite the slot b*
On opposite sides of the disc c are attached two thumb-pieces c³, c³ to enable it
to be easily rotated by hand upon the plate b as described, and these thumb-pieces
are so located with relation to the bail-wire B, the spur ², and the slot b', as not to
allow the disc c to be revolved so as to bring the stud c² opposite the slot 6' when
the disc c has been connected to the plate b as described, and the latter slipped upon
the bail-wire B and the inwardly curved ends of the latter have been inserted into
the coils a¹ a¹. By this construction of the several parts they can be instantly and
readily joined together and attached to the bottle-neck, or detached and removed
therefrom and separated from each other with the greatest ease and almost
instantaneously which is of great advantage.
The disc c has made across, and downwardly from its upper side into it to a
considerable depth, a transverse groove c' of sufficient width to receive the bail
wire B, and allow it to descend to the bottom of such groove, and when the bail
wire descends to the bottom of such groove, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the disco
and plate b will be lifted froin the bottom as shown in those Figures.
On opposite sides of the disc c and at opposite ends of the groove of the walls of
the groove c³ are made rounding or cam-shaped, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7,
so that when the disc c is rotated from the position shown in Figure 4 to the
position shown in Figure 2, the bail-wire B, at its horizontal part, will be made to
ride over these rounded or cam-shaped edges of the slot c, which edges will force
the disc c downward upon the plate band the latter, downward-upon the india-
rubber & and into the bottle mouth as shown in Figures 1 and 5; thus closing the
bottle. To unclose the bottle, the disc c is rotated in the other direction to the
position shown in Figures 3 and 4, when the bail-wire will descend into the slot of
and the bottle will be unclosed.
.
The disc c and plate b may be cast in a finished and completed state and thus be
very cheaply and easily made. The upper surface of the disc c, between the

page_text: rounded or cain-shaped walls c³, and the thumb-pieces c³, has a portion of it made
flat so as to hold the bail-wire in place, after the bottle mouth has been stopped,
until the disc c is revolved in the opposite direction to unstop it. The elasticity of
the india-rubber plate d assists in throwing the plate b upward when the bottle is
unclosed, by the curved form of the bail-wire B in an inward and upward direction
just opposite the bottle-mouth, on each side. The outer ends of the slots b¹ in the
plate bare at the proper distance from the centre of the plate to cause each slot to
take a bearing upon the outside of the bail-wire on each side of the bottle neck
when the stopper is closed, thus preventing the lower ends of the bail-wire from
expanding under the pressure and springing out of the coils a' a¹
Figure 12 shows a method of attaching a cork-stopper to the plate 6 instead
of using an india-rubber stopper as before described. The tubular downward
projection 63, in this case, is made cylindrical on its exterior, and has a thread n
cut upon it, and the plate bis further provided with a downwardly-projecting
annular flange n³ of sufficient size to receive the upper end of the cork therein, the
latter fitting within the said flange closely, which prevents its expanding and being
cracked or broken under the pressure of stopping the bottle. The cylindrical
downward projection 62 is screwed into the corresponding annular recess made in
the top of the cork, the upper part of the cork which enters the cylindrical
cavity being cut away sufficiently not to interfere with the pivot c²; the cork is
then supported and takes a bearing against the lower face of the plate b, the inner
surface of the flange n³, and upon the outer threaded surface and the inner surface
of the cylindrical projection 62, which gives it great stability and power to
resist the necessary pressure and strain exercised upon it in stopping and
unstopping the bottle.
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 clain is:
First. The combination of the disc c provided with the elongated slot c* and
cam-shaped walls c, the plate b provided with slots b', and the bail-wire B pivotted
to the bottle neck, substantially as described.
Second. The combination of the disc c having cam-shaped walls c³, the plate 6
having slots b', b₁ through which the bail-wire B passes, which slots bear
respectively upon the outside of the bail wire when the bottle is closed, with the
bail wire, pivotted to the bottle neck upon its ends, turned inwardly, substantially
as described.
Third. The combination of the rotating disc c having the slot ct with cam-shaped
walls, the pivot el projecting axially from the said disc, and the plate 6 sliding on
the bail-wire and formed with a downward projection 6, the said plate being
constructed and adjusted with relation to the elastic plate d and bottle mouth so
as to force the elastic plate against the top of the bottle mouth and its inner
annular wall, substantially as shown and described.
Fourth. The combination of the cam-disc c provided with the pivot c¹ and
spur c, with the plate b provided with the corresponding hole b³ and slot b₁,
substantially as de-cribed.
Fifth. The combination of the cam disc c provided with the pivot c¹ and stud c²,
the plate b provided with the corresponding hole 63 and slot 6, and the tubular
projection fitted to receive the lower end of the pivot c¹ and spur c² and allow
the same to rotite therein, substantially as described.
Sixth. The combination of the bail B, the cam disc e provided with a thumb
piece c³, pivut c', and spur c, and the plate b provided with the corresponding
hole 6, and slot 6, the latter being so placed as to prevent the pivot from escaping
from the said hole when the plate bis slipped upon the bail-wire, substantially
as described.
Seventh. The combination of the rotating cam disc c, the plate b sliding upon
the bail wire, and the elastic disc d attached independently to, and sliding upon,
the bail-wire, substantially as described.

page_text: Eighth. The combination of the plate 6 provided with the tubular projection 6*
having a thread cut upon its exterior surface and the annular flange n³ with the
cork stopper screwed upon the said tubular projection and taking a bearing upon
the lower surface of the plate b and the inner surface of the flange n², substantially
as described.