An Improved Tool for Fixing Washers on Bottle Stoppers.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMIT LELM
An Improved Tool for Fixing Washers on Bottle Stoppers.
1, JOSEPH WILKINSON, of 43 Askew Road, Gateshead on Tyne in the county of
Durham, Mineral Water Manufacturer 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 relates to an improved tool for fixing washers on bottle stoppers
and is more especially useful when applied for the purposes of fixing washers on
internal stoppers. Hitherto according to one method the practice in this branch
of the industry has been to place the stopper within the bottle before finishing
the formation of the neck thereon thus enclosing the stopper within the bottle; a
washer is then secured in a recess or groove formed within the bottle neck against
which the stopper abuts to form a gas tight joint or by another method the bottle
is first manufactured and the stopper is then dropped through the neck into the
bottle when a washer has to be secured on the stopper within the bottle and the
difficulties attending the accomplishment of this task have led me to contrive
the special arrangement of tool which is the subject matter of this invention and
which it is my intention hereinafter fully to describe.
Hitherto the difficulty has been to readily and aptly grasp the stopper within the
bottle previous to slipping the washer onto the stopper within the bottle and it will
be readily conceivable that a glass stopper having a smooth surface and circular
formation as is usually the case is not an easy thing to deal with or catch inside a
smooth glass bottle. But according to my invention I do not drop the stopper into
the bottle as has hitherto been the practice but I pass the stopper through the bottle
neck upon a special tool and I then slip the washer onto the stopper within the
bottle without trouble or waste of time. I will now fully describe my invention
having reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of
part of my improved tool Fig. 2 being a plan and Fig. 3 an end elevation of the same.
Fig. 4 is a plan or side elevation of another part of my improved tool Fig. 5 being
an end elevation of the right hand end of the same and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of
the several parts of my improved tool as put together for use and throughout the
following description similar letters of reference in the specification and in the
drawings designate like parts.
Referring to Figs. 1. 2 and 3 a is a piece of half round steel or iron bent over at
its left hand end as shown in the Figs. 1 and 2 and opened out or formed at its right
hand ends so as to form a pair of spoon-shaped clips a'a with projecting edges or
horns aa² and it will be seen from the shape of Fig. 1 that the two ends a' a' are
capable of being bent towards each other and to return to their original position due
to the construction of the piece a as a spring.
In Fig. 4 is shown a tube a³ constructed of thin steel or iron sheet with slits or
openings a formed in the end thereof so as to allow the end to open out or expand
to a certain extent and is an india rubber ring to bring the divisions of the slitted
end back to their original position after expansion.
In order to put the several pieces above described together as shown in Fig. 6
which is a full size drawing of my improved tool firstly slip the rubber washer a
(Fig. 6) which is ultimately intended to be placed upon the stopper a' (Fig. 6) over
the small end of piece a and shove the washer along until it gets to about the point B
(Figs. 1 and 2) thereon as shown in Fig. 6. Now slip end of stopper a² between the
projecting edges or horns a² of piece a where it will be firmly held in position. Now
thrust stopper and stopper end of tool through bottle neck and while tightly
holding a³ in the left hand draw with the right hand the small end of a towards you
the effect of which of course is that the washer a is gradually pushed by the beaded

page_text: end as of piece a³ over ends a¹ a' of piece a onto the body of the stopper a inside
the bottle. A like effect would of course be produced by rigidly holding the piece a
in one hand and slipping the washer onto the stopper by means of pushing or
propelling the piece a³ in the direction of the ends a' a¹ of piece a. It will be
observed that during this operation the stopper a is being more and more. tightly
held between the horns a² a² of piece a and that as soon as the washer has been
placed in position on the stopper the withdrawal of piece a³ off piece a at once relieves
this pressure and allows the washered stopper within the bottle to be easily shaken
out of the tool which having then performed its work is withdrawn from the bottle
when the operations above described may be repeated.
"
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 1
claim is :-
:-
(1) The improvement in tools for fixing washers on bottle stoppers consisting of
the provision in combination with the part or piece a of the spoon-shaped clips a' a¹
and projecting pieces or horns a² ² arranged adapted and operating substantially as
and for the purposes herein before set forth.
(2) The combination with the piece a having the spoon-shaped clips a' a' and
projecting pieces or horns a² a² of the piece a³ all arranged and operating substantially
as herein before set forth.
Dated this Oth 1000
A. CRAWHALL CHAPMAN,
2, St. Nicholas' Buildings, Newcastle on Tyne, Patent Agent for Applicant.