IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR WINE AND OTHER BOTTLES."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Roper and Thomas Richard Edwards, both of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR WINE AND OTHER BOTTLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Roper and Thomas
Richard Edwards at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd
January 1880.
HENRY ROPER and THOMAS RICHARD EDWARDS, both of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR WINE AND
OTHER BOTTLES."
Our Invention has reference principally to holders for champagne, claret, and
other wine bottles, but is also applicable to holders for other bottles.
Our said Invention consists of the arrangement or combination of the parts of the
said holders, herein after described, whereby a holder simple in construction, efficient
in action, and capable of use with bottles of different sizes is produced.
In constructing a holder for a wine or other bottle according to our Invention,
we take a foot of a figure suitable to fit the bottom of the bottle, that is, having a
central elevation to enter the concavity in the bottom of the bottle, and a rim to
surround the lower part of the body of the bottle.
To the edge of the foot a nearly vertical rod is fixed, the said rod inclining from
the rim outwards. To the top of the said rod a horizontal arm is jointed. The
free end of this arm carries a collar or ring of a conical figure suitable to fit on the
shoulder of the bottle to be held, the axis of the said collar or ring being coincident
with the axis of the bottle. On the underside of the jointed arm a rod is fixed, the
said rod projecting downwards, and lying nearly parallel and near to the nearly
vertical fixed rod.
In using the holder the jointed arm is raised sufficiently high to permit of the
insertion of the neck of the bottle in the conical collar or ring. On depressing the
jointed arm the bottom of the bottle is seated in the foot of the holder. The upper
part of the vertical rod constitutes the handle of the holder, and on grasping the
handle the hand at the same time grasps the rod fixed on the underside of the
jointed arm. The act of grasping the handle of the holder to lift the bottle thus
•

page_text: securely fixes the bottle in the holder. When however it is wished that the bottle
should be fixed in the holder independently of the action of the hand in grasping
the handle, the rod on the underside of the jointed arm may be dispensed with, and
a strong coiled spring introduced into the joint, the said spring pressing the arm
downwards.
In order to enable the holder to be adapted to bottles of different sizes the
vertical rod may be made in two parts, the end of one part screwing into the end
of the other, so that the length of tho said rod may be varied by screwing its two
parts more or less together; or one of the parts may be tubular and slide upon
the other, their relative positions being secured after adjustment by a set screw or
clamp.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Roper and Thomas Richard Edwards in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 17th July 1880.
HENRY ROPER and THOMAS RICHARD EDWARDS, both of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOLDERS FOR WINE AND
OTHER BOTTLES."
Our Invention has reference principally to holders for champagne, claret, and
other wine bottles, but is also applicable to holders for other bottles.
Our said Invention consists of the arrangement or combination of the parts of the
said holders, herein after described, whereby a holder simple in construction, efficient
in action, and capable of use with bottles of different sizes is produced.
In constructing a holder for a wine or other bottle according to our Invention,
we take a foot of a figure suitable to fit the bottom of the bottle, that is, having
a central elevation to enter the concavity in the bottom of the bottle, and a rim to
surround the lower part of the body of the bottle. To the edge of the foot a nearly
vertical rod is fixed, the said rod inclining from the rim outwards. To the top of
the said rod a horizontal arm is jointed. The free end of this arm carries a collar
or ring of a conical figure suitable to fit on the shoulder of the bottle to be held, the
axis of the said collar or ring being coincident with the axis of the bottle. On the
underside of the jointed arm a rod is fixed, the said rod projecting downwards, and
lying nearly parallel and near to the nearly vertical fixed rod.
In using the holder the jointed arm is raised sufficiently high to permit of the
insertion of the neck of the bottle in the conical collar or ring. On depressing the
jointed arm the bottom of the bottle is seated in the foot of the holder. The upper
part of the vertical rod constitutes the handle of the holder, and on grasping the
handle the hand at the same time grasps the rod fixed on the underside of the
jointed arm. The act of grasping the bandle of the holder to lift the bottle thus
securely fixes the bottle in the holder. When however it is wished that the bottle
should be fixed in the holder independently of the action of the hand in grasping
the handle, the rod on the underside of the jointed arm may be dispensed with, a
strong spring being introduced into or at the joint, the said spring pressing the arm
downwards.
In order to enable the holder to be adapted to bottles of different sizes the
nearly vertical rod may be made in two parts, the end of one part screwing into
the end of the other part, so that the length of the said rod may be varied by
screwing its two parts more or less together; or one of the parts may be tubular
and slide upon the other, their relative positions being secured after adjustment by
a set screw or clamp.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing
the manner in which our Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in elevation, in combination with a bottle, a bottle holder
constructed according to our Invention, and Figure 2 is a vertical section of the
said holder without a bottle; Figure 3 is a plan of the jointed arm and top of the
nearly vertical rod of the holder, and Figure 4 is a cross section of the rod taken on
the line a, a, Figure 2; Figure 5 represents in elevation a modification of the bottle
holder, as herein after explained. The same letters of reference indicate the same
parts in the several Figures of the Drawing.
b is the foot of the bottle holder, having the figure best seen in the section,
Figure 2, for fitting the bottom of the bottle c to be held in the holder. It will be
seen that the said foot b has a central elevation for entering the concavity in the
bottom of the bottle, and a rim to surround the base or lower part of the body of
the bottle, as represented; d, e, is the nearly vertical rod fixed to the edge of the

page_text: :
foot b, the said rod inclining from the rim of the foot outwards. The said rod is
made in two parts for the purpose of adjusting its length, as herein after particu-
larly explained. f is the horizontal arm of the bottle holder, jointed to the top of
the rod d, e, the free end of the said horizontal arm carrying a conical collar or
ring g for fitting on the shoulder of the bottle. The manner in which the arm f is
jointed to the top of the inclined rod d, e, is best seen in Figure 3, that is to say, on
the top of the inclined rod d, e, are two knuckles f, f, between which the
knuckle f on the arm f is inserted, the said knuckles being jointed together by
the ornamental joint pin f. On the underside of the jointed arm ƒ a gripping
rod h is fixed, the said rod projecting downwards, and lying when the jointed arm
is in its normal position parallel and near to the handle part d of the inclined fixed
rod d, e, as seen in Figure 1.
In using the holder the jointed arm f is raised on its joint sufficiently high, as
illustrated in Figure 2, to permit the insertion of the neck of the bottle in the
conical collar or ring g. The conical collar or ring g having been fitted on the
shoulder of the bottle the bottle is lowered onto the foot 6 of the bottle holder, the
said bottle seating itself on the said foot by the pressure of the conical collar or
ring g. On grasping the handle part d of the nearly vertical rod of the bottle
holder to lift the bottle, the hand at the same time grasps the rod h fixed on the
underside of the horizontal jointed arm f. The act of grasping the handle d thus
securely fixes the bottle in the holder, that is to say, the jointed horizontal arm f
and the nearly vertical rod d, e, are by the grasping of the handle part d and small
rod h bound together, and the conical ring or collar g on the shoulder of the bottle
is held firmly to its seat on the said shoulder.
Instead of fixing the bottle in the holder by the act of grasping the handle of the
holder the bottle may be fixed in the holder independently of the grasping of the
handle, as illustrated in Figure 5. In this modification the grasping rod h, Figures
1 and 2, is dispensed with, and we place at the joint end of the jointed arm fa
strong spring. One end of this spring is fixed to the collar d³, and the free end
of the said spring bears upon a roller carried by the jointed arm f. By the
pressure of the strong spring i upon the arm fit is pressed downwards and the
conical collar or ring g made to seat itself firmly upon the shoulder of the bottle
and hold the said bottle in its place on the foot b.
For the purpose of enabling the bottle holder to be adapted to bottles of different
sizes we construct the nearly vertical rod to which the horizontal arm fis jointed
in the following manner:-The lower part e of the rod is tubular and fixed to the
foot b, the upper end of the said tubular part e carrying a screw box e². To the
upper or handle part d of the rod a screw m is fixed, which screw works in the
screw box e² on the lower part e. By rotating the handle part d in one or other
direction its screw m may be made to retire into or advance out of the screw
box e, and the length of the rod d, e, be thereby adjusted to the size of the bottle
to be held in the holder.
For the purpose of preventing the rotation of the jointed arm ƒ during the
lengthening or shortening of the rod d, e, by the screwing of the handle part å into
or out of the fixed lower part e, an axial rod n is connected to the collar or terminal
part ɖ² to which the arm fis jointed, the handle part d taking a bearing against
the said collar or terminal part d³. The rod n passes through the handle part d
and lower tubular part e, and its lower end is secured to a block p which slides in
the said tubular part e. The said block p has the same sectional figure as the
lower tubular part e, so that while the said rod n is capable of rising or falling in
the tubular part e as the handle part d is separated from or brought nearer to the
said tubular part e, yet the said rod n, and consequently the collar or terminal
part d² and jointed arm f, are incapable of rotation, as will be understood by an
examination of the sections, Figures 2 and 4.
The handle part & may be made of metal or of some non-metallic material.
Instead of adjusting the length of the nearly vertical rod of the holder by a

page_text: screw and screw box, as described and illustrated, the lower end of the handle part
d may be made to slide upon the lower fixed part e, the two parts being secured in
their adjusted position by a set screw or screws.
The jointed arm f of the bottle holder may be used with an inclined rod
incapable of adjustment.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our Invention
of "Improvements in Holders for Wine and other Bottles,"-
First. Jointing the horizontal arm carrying the conical collar or ring which is
fitted on the shoulder of the bottle to the top of the nearly vertical rod fixed to the
foot of the bottle holder, for the purpose and substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly. Causing the conical collar or ring on the jointed arm of the bottle
holder to fix the bottle in the holder by the act of grasping the handle part of the
bottle holder to lift the bottle, as herein before described and illustrated in Figures 1
and 2 of the accompanying Drawing, also the modification herein before described
and illustrated in Figure 5, in which a spring is made to press the jointed arm
downwards, so that the bottle is fixed in the holder independently of the action of
the hand in grasping the handle of the said holder.
Thirdly. The combination or arrangement of parts herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing for adjusting by a screwing action the
length of the nearly vertical rod of the bottle holder to suit bottles of different
sizes, and for preserving the position of the jointed arm of the bottle holder with
respect to the foot of the said holder.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Roper, have hereunto set may hand and
seal, this Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
HENRY ROPER. (L.S.)