Improvements in the Manufacture of Bottle Stoppers and Openers.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd July, 1889
Complete Specification Left. 22nd May, 1890-Accented. 19th July, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bottle Stoppers and Openers.
We, WILLIAM PRIESSNITZ BONWICK, of 59 Blomfield Road, Paddington, in the
County of Middlesex, Tutor, LEON NAPOLEON LOEB of 33 Aldermanbury in the City
of London Merchant, and MAITLAND LUMLEY of 1 America Square, Minories in the
City of London Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This improved bottle stopper comprises in one a valve and a button or knob with
connecting stem or part and channels or passages for liquid and for air respectively,
the arrangement being such when applied to a bottle having suitable internal shoulders
and clastic seats or rings and charged with aerated liquid the pressure of gas in the
bottle aided by the action of one of the clastic seats or rings will keep the valve
normally against the other elastic seat or ring but if the bottle be inverted and the
button or knob be pressed the valve will be caused to leave its seat, liquid will flow out
of the bottle by one of the before mentioned channels or passages, and if the button or
knob be released the valve will be returned to its seat thus closing the bottle until the
button or knob is again depressed. This construction of stopper applied as described
according to our invention may be used with advantage in lieu of a syphon as applied
to a bottle from which it is desired to withdraw a portion of the contents whether the
same be aerated water or the like without allowing the remainder to become flat.
When the stopper is applied to a bottle containing still water it is normally held to
its seat by the pressure of one of the elastic seats or rings and when pressed to open
the bottle, should be moved sufficiently far to cause both channels or passages to be
uncovered or opened so that liquid may flow out by one, and air enter by the
other. The channels or passages may advantageously be formed at opposite ends of
the stopper.
Our stoppers as described may be formed in one piece of glass.
To enable the stopper to be readily operated to open a bottle we sometimes provide
an opener comprising a lever that is hinged or jointed to a ring or clip surrounding
the bottle neck in such a manner that the lever can be readily applied to the stopper
and be operated by pressure of a person's finger.
According to a modification the opener is made with a boss or stem adapted to enter
the mouth of a bottle so as to bear against the stopper therein and with curved or bent
arms having notches or covered with india rubber to prevent slipping when placed
upon a tumbler into which the contents of the bottle will flow when the bottle is
inverted and its stopper is pressed upon the boss or stem of the opener.
32 1
CTL 1000
W. P. BONWICK.
Per L. W.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bottle Stoppers and Openers.
We, WILLIAM PRIESSNITZ BONWICK, of 59 Blomfield Road, Paddington, in the
County of Middlesex, Tutor, LEON NAPOLEON LOEB, of 33 Aldermanbury in the
City of London, Merchant, and MAITLAND LUMLEY of 1 America Square Minories, in
the City of London, Merchant, 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 the improvements hereinafter described with reference to

page_text: the annexed drawings in bottle stoppers and openers of the kind described in the
specification of a former patent granted to one of us, viz., William Priessnitz
Bonwick and being No. 10497 of the year 1888.
Fig. 1 of the drawings is a vertical section of the neck of a bottle fitted with a
stopper according to this invention the stopper being shewn closed.
Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but showing the bottle neck inverted and the
stopper moved inward to the open position by an opener resting upon the rim of a
tumbler, which as well as the opener, is indicated in dotted lines.
Fig. 3 is plan of the stopper and ring removed from the bottle neck.
Fig. is an elevation of the stopper alone.
Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. I shewing the stopper applied to a bottle with one
elastic ring only.
Figs. 6, 7 8 and 9 are similar views to Figs. 1 2, 3 and 4, respectively, illustrating
a slightly modified form of bottle stopper according to this invention for use with one
elastic ring.
Figs. 10 and 11 are similar views to Figs. 8 and 9 respectively, illustrating a
modified form of stopper with elastic ring.
Fig. 12 is a vertical section, illustrating a modified form of bottle neck and stopper
therefor, and
Fig. 13 is an elevation of the stopper therefor alone.
The remaining figures are hereinafter described.
The bottle stopper shewn in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive can be made in one piece of
suitable material; usually we make it of glass. It comprises a lower part 1 forming
a valve; an upper part 2 constituting a knob; a part 3 constituting a connecting
stem; two groove-like external channels 4, 4, formed at opposite sides of the stopper,
and each made partly in the knob and partly in the stem; and an annular groove,
formed by and between the valve and knob and siem.
6 is an elastic seat or ring (hereinafter called a ring) of suitable material, such as
india-rubber; it is arranged partly within the annular groove 5 in the stopper, and
partly within an internal annular groove 7 formed in the bottle neck.
This ring 6
loosely fits the annular groove 5 and does not tightly fit the connecting stem 3.
8 is a second elastic ring arranged to bear against the underside of a flange or
enlargement 2 of the knob, and upon an annular seat or shoulder 7 formed within
the bottle neck and the width of which is such as to permit of the inner portion of the
elastic ring 8 being readily moved inward as shewn in Fig. 2 to open the stopper.
Such a stopper with two elastic rings when applied to a bottle containing aërated
liquid will be forced upward by the pressure of the gas within the bottle aided by the
action of the second elastic ring 8, so that its lower or valve part 1 will normally bear
against the ring 6 which forms a seat for it, as shewn in Fig. 1 and will thus
hermetically close the bottle. If the bottle be inverted and the stopper be pressed
inward by any suitable. opener, as for example by that shewn in dotted lines at A in
Fig. 2, and hereinafter described, the inner portion of the elastic ring 8 will be moved
inward, and the valve 1 will be caused to leave its ring 6, so that the channels 4 will
be partly uncovered as shewn and liquid will flow out through these passages into a
glass or tumbler B.below, and if the stopper be released the valve will be returned to
its seat by the pressure of the gas, aided by the action of the ring 8 thus again closing
the bottle until the stopper is again pressed inward. The action of the stopper and
elastic seats or rings when applied to a bottle charged with fermented liquor, is
similar to that which takes place when the bottle is charged with aërated liquid.
When the stopper is applied to a bottle containing still liquid it is normally held to
its ring 6 by the action of the elastic ring 8 which also serves to return the valve to
its closed position after the stopper has been opened and the external pressure applied
thereto to open it has been removed.
When the stopper is used with bottles containing liquids under pressure, the ring 8
can be dispensed with, its valve part 1 when closed being then, only forced against the
ring 6 by the pressure of gas within the bottle.
Fig. 5 shews the stopper thus applied with one ring only. In this case the flange

page_text: or enlargement 2ª on the knob 2 serves, by coming in contact with the shoulder 7° to
prevent the stopper being forced through the ring 6 and into the bottle during charging
with liquids under very high pressure.
In the construction of stopper shewn in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive the upper part 2 of
the stopper constituting the knob is made of less length than that of the stopper shewn in
Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the stopper being intended for use with one elastic ring 6 only,
the second elastic ring 8 (Figs. 1 to 4) being dispensed with as also is the flange or
enlargement 2 shewn on the knob in Figs. 1 to 5. In other respects the stopper is
similar to that herein before described. This stopper for use with one elastic ring 6
is intended for bottles containing aërated liquids. Its operation is similar to that of
the stopper shewn in Figs. 1 to 5 but when closed it is held against its seat or ring 6
only by the pressure of the gas within the bottle. When a stopper such as herein
described is in its closed position, the circular edge 1" of the valve 1 compresses
the ring 6 and thus makes a tight joint therewith. By making the lower part 1 of
the stopper of the conoidal form shewn, it can be readily passed through the elastic
ring to place it in position.
The stopper shown in Figs. 1 to 9 instead of being each formed with two indepen-
dent lateral channels 4, may be formed with one channel only but we consider it better
to use two as they can then be made smaller than if one only be used, and liability
of the ring being forced upward from its seat through the one channel when used
with bottles containing liquid charged at a high pressure, is obviated. The two lateral
channels can be merged into one that may extend through the knob 2 and stem 3
from one side to the other as shewn at 4 in Figs. 10 and 11.
To prevent a stopper such as that shewn in Figs. 6 to 9 being forced into the body
of the bottle as might happen during the charging thereof with liquid under very
high pressure if the lower edge of the groove 7 be imperfectly formed, the lower
part 1 of the stopper can be made of wedge form, as shewn in Fig. 13 the sides at
right angles to the inclined surfaces being parallel, and the neck of the bottle
can be contracted as shewn at 9 in Fig. 12 so that should the stopper be unduly
pressed inward it will be arrested by the contracted part 9 of the neck and be thus
prevented from being forced from the ring 6.
In filling bottles fitted with stoppers such as hereinbefore described, with
liquids under pressure, the filling machine should be provided with a nozzle adapted
to press the stopper inward and hold it in its open position during the filling
operation.
To enable the stopper to be readily operated to open a bottle we provide an
opener comprising a lever that is hinged or jointed to a ring or clip surrounding
the bottle neck in such a manner that the lever can be readily applied to the
stopper and be operated by pressure of a person's finger.
Fig. 14 is a vertical section of such an opener applied to a bottle neck which
is shewn inverted.
Fig. 15 is an elevation of the opener, shewn inverted.
Fig. 16 is a plan or top view.
Fig. 17 is a detail view.
10 is a lever carrying a cap 11 and hinged or jointed at 12 to a metal strip 13
forming one end of a spring clip or band 13 capable of being readily placed within
an external annular groove 14 in the bottle neck and of being secured therein by
engaging the free end of the band with the other end thereof. For this purpose the
band is formed with the notches 13 and 13" as shown in Fig. 17 so that by bringing
the notches in line with each other and causing the part of the band adjacent to the
notch 13 to enter the notch 13° and the part of the band adjacent to the notch 13° to
enter the notch 13b the two ends of the band can be quickly connected together.
This construction also admits of the two ends of the band being quickly
disconnected. The free end of the band is bent to form a finger piece 13d to facilitate
the connection and disconnection of the ends of the band. The cap 11 carries a
hollow boss or stem 16 adapted to enter a bottle mouth and move the. stoppar therein
inward to open it, when the lever is operated by a person's finger. The cap serves to

page_text: guide liquid that may escape between the bottle mouth and the stem, instead of through
the stem, into the tumbler.
Fig. 18 is a vertical section of a modified form of opener adapted to be
applied to a bottle neck in the manner just described. In this construction the
cap 11 shewn in Figs. 14 to 16 inclusive is dispensed with, and the hollow stem 16 is
surrounded by an elastic ring 16 that makes a tight joint between the top of the
bottle neck and the stem when the opener is in use to open a bottle, and thus prevents
escape of liquid at this part.
Figs. 19 and 20 are respectively an elevation and a plan of an opener made with
a hollow stem 16 adapted to enter the mouth of a bottle. This stem is according to
this invention, carried by curved or bent arms 17 adapted to rest upon the rim of a
glass or tumbler as shewn in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 7. These arms are each
formed with a sharp upper edge 17" that offers very little obstruction to liquid escaping
between the bottle mouth and the stem when the stopper is opened in the manner
shewn in Figs. 2 and 7 and thus obviates undue splashing of the liquid. Side escape
of the liquid over the edge of the tumbler is also prevented by curving or bending the
arms 17 downward as shewn so that the bottle mouth can partly enter the tumbler.
These arms may be notched as at 18 or be covered with india-rubber to prevent
slipping when placed upon a tumbler. The broad outer ends of the bent arms 17 may
be connected by a ring 18" to which they may be secured in any suitable manner.
Figs. 21 and 22 shew such an opener in which the arms and ring are shewn as one
piece.
Bottle openers such as shewn in Figs. 19 to 22 can be used for opening bottles
provided with other internal stoppers such as ball stoppers. In such case it will be
advantageous to provide the stem with an elastic ring as in Fig. 18 to prevent sudden
contact between the bottle neck and opener when the valve leaves its seat.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The combination of parts constructed arranged and operating as shewn in and
hereinabove described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive of the drawings hereunto
annexed..
2. The combination of parts constructed arranged and operating as shewn in
and hereinabove described with reference to Fig. 5 of the drawings hereunto
annexed.
3. The combination of parts constructed arranged and operating as shewn in and
hereinabove described with reference to Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive of the drawings hereunto
annexed; or modified according to Figs. 10 and 11.
4. The combination of parts constructed arranged and operating as shewn in and
hereinabove described with reference to Figs. 12 and 13 of the drawings hereunto
annexed.
5. The improved bottle opener comprising the lever 10 with hollow boss or stem 16
and clip or band 13" combined and arranged as hereinabove described with reference
to and shewn in Figs. 14 to 17 inclusive of the drawings or modified according to
Fig. 18.
•
6. The improved constructions hereinabove described with reference respectively to
and shewn in Figs. 19 and 20 and Figs. 21 and 22 of the drawings annexed of openers
.of.the kind described in the specification of my patent No. 10497 of 1888.
Dated this 22110 day of bray 1
WM. P. BONWICK.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.