CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPING BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolphe Gilbert Chalus, Merchant, of Paris (Empire
of France), and of 45, Essex Street, Strand, London, for the Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPING BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS."
Sealed the 3rd March 1857, and dated the 8th September 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolphe Gilbert Chalus at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th September 1856.
I, ADOLPHE GILBERT CHALUS, Merchant, of Paris (Empire of France), and
of 45, Essex Street, Strand, London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPING BOTTLES & OTHER VESSELS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to certain arrangements by which the stopper, when
out of the bottle or other vessel, is still kept adherent to the neck of the said
bottle or other vessel, and thus ready at hand for being put in or out at will.
For this, I fit beneath the flanch, round the neck of the bottle or other vessel,
an iron or other ring, to which is loosely hinged a band of the same or other
metal, that holds the stopper. Some slots are cut out through the band, which
catch a stop contrived in the collar in such a manner as the fastening point
may be changed and yet the stopper keep on adhering to the band. For
this purpose a slit is made through the band, and into the slit a screw is made

page_text: to pass, the screw head or stud being outwards, and the other end being
screwed into the stopper, which, thus adhering to the said band, may be readily
put in and out.
Instead of the collar and band, as described, I may make use of any wire ;
also of a collar secured to the neck of the bottle or other vessel, and forming
a hinge-like joint, with one or more wires inserted through the stopper, which
may be of india-rubber, gutta percha, cork, wood, glass, or any earthern sub-
stance, but in the latter instances the stopper should be packed or lined with
a piece of india-rubber, gutta percha, felt, or the like substances over that part
that is to fit into and on the neck of the bottle. With such an arrangement,
consider now the bottle filled with any liquid, a tight fastening will be obtained
by pulling the band, and forcing either of the slots made through it to catch
the stop contrived on the collar.
Instead of a metal band, any cloth, leather, &c. band may be properly used,
taking care to pack the holes round that are made into it; I may also employ
a band, chain, or otherwise, which is made to pass through a slot suitably
packed round or eylet.
If, instead of the collar and band described, one or more wires were used,
then it or they should be, after passing through the stopper, turned up into
loops, so as to catch the projection formed by the junction of the wires at any
point round the neck of the bottle for the tight fastening of the stopper. Again,
instead of the said projection, a turning knob may be applied, or a spring knob,
somewhat like that which is applied to caskets, dressing cases, &c., and fitted
either on the very bottle, or on the small band on the chain, or on the wires
holding the stopper, which is always capable of being readily taken in and out
the neck of the bottle, and yet keep adherent to the wires, &c. connected with
the said bottle.
A principal feature of my Invention also consists in the possibility of using
a small metal plate or disc, which, by means of the fastening system above
described, and a round piece of india-rubber, gutta percha, leather, &c., to line
the said plate with, will yield very good results. A set screw may be applied
also for the purpose, which, being engaged into a nut contrived in the collar,
will at will act upon the said plate, and secure it tightly. This last method
may be applied as a fit substitute for all the other methods above described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adolphe Gilbert Chalus in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th March 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ADOLPHE
GILBERT CHALUS, Merchant, of Paris (Empire of France), and of 45, Essex
Street, Strand, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Adolphe Gilbert Chalus, Her special licence that I, the said Adolphe Gilbert
Chalus, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Adolphe Gilbert Chalus, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STOPPING BOTTLES AND OTHER VESSELS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Adolphe Gilbert Chalus, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Adolphe Gilbert Chalus, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My Invention consists in certain arrangements for fastening special stoppers
to bottles or vases, even when they are unstopped, as well as stopping or
unstopping them at will, without the aid of any instrument.
The accompanying Drawing fully illustrates my Invention, in which
Figs. 1 & 2 show a side and end elevation of one arrangement, and Fig. 3,
a side elevation of the same, unstopped. An iron wire 6 is placed underneath
the neck a of the bottle, and is turned into a spiral at the point diametrically
opposite to the one where the band c is hinged to the said iron wire. This
band c is kept to the stopper d by a screw d', or in any other suitable manner,
& some openings e made in this band, see Fig. 2, to allow of its being hooked
or tied to the projection f of the iron wire b, so as to compress the stopper d,

page_text: and obtain a fastening as perfect as possible. This stopper d may be made of
cork or wood, with a ring of caoutchouc or any other elastic material; or it
may be made of glass, porcelain, or other ceramic substances, and even entirely
of caoutchouc, gutta percha, or other suitable material. With this arrange-
ment, supposing the bottle to be filled with any liquid, it will be easy to place
the stopper d on the neck, and by drawing the band c of metal, or otherwise,
the projection will be engaged into one of the openings e, thereby keeping
the stopper on the bottle. It will be easily understood that for unstopping, it
will be sufficient to disengage the opening e from the projection f.
C,
I do not limit myself to the above system, which, as it may be seen by the
accompanying Drawing, may be substituted by any disposition of the same
principle. At Fig. 4, I substitute for the band c, Figs. 1, 2, & 3, a chain c¹, of
any kind or shape whatever, passing through a ring e², fastened to the stopper,
or it may be made to pass through the stopper, as shewn at Fig. 5. Figs. 6,
7, & 8 show a combination, in which the stopper dis of caoutchouc or gutta
percha, which is united to the neck of the bottle by two or more metallic
wires c, hinged at c¹ with another metallic wire b, fixed under the ring on the
neck of the bottle. A buckle, arising from the union of the two metallic
wires will be hooked to the small projection f, and will serve easily to stop
and unstop the bottle. I must add, that a small buckle is reserved to each
of the wires, so that if the stopper is not sufficiently compressed by turning
these buckles, the wires will be shortened, and consequently compress the
stopper. In Figs. 9 & 10, instead of using the preceding arrangement, I can
use a metallic eyelet hole in the centre of the body of the stopper. The wire <,
having two or more buckles e², should be fastened to the wire on the neck of
the bottle at its two ends, and for unstopping the bottle it is only necessary to
move or push the buckles c² with the fingers. Figs. 11 & 12 show an arrange-
ment in which the stopper d covers the neck of the bottle. The upper part of
the stopper is pierced so as to receive a small strap c of leather, or otherwise,
attached to the collar b, having a projection f, which is engaged in one of the
openings on the said strap. Figs. 13 & 14 represent a stopper of wood or
other material, having a ring of caoutchouc or other suitable substance. The
metallic wire c may pass through the stopper, and be clasped to the wire on
the neck of the bottle, or to a collar, in metal or otherwise. I can also employ
the arrangement shewn in Figs. 15, 16, & 17, which consists of a disc of metal,
having underneath a disc of caoutchouc, gutta percha, or cork, &c. In Fig. 15,
the disc d is furnished with a ring, through which passes a chain, or one or
several metallic wires, one end of which is fixed to the collar, and the other
clasping it, so as to receive the pressure which produces the stoppage or

page_text: closing. In Fig. 16, the ring of the preceding Figure is substituted by a
small сар destined to receive a band of metal, or otherwise, operating in the
manner as before mentioned. In this Figure the disc of metal bears an
inside nipple, which will, in certain cases, give a more perfect closing. In
Fig. 17, the collar fixed under the ring on the neck of the bottle has attached
fastened
to it a metal strap, in the centre of which is placed a thumb screw,
at its extremity to the metallic disc, so as to give the required pressure to stop
the bottle. This disc is furnished with a ring of caoutchouc, with or without
an inside nipple. The screw may be fastened to the strap, and a nut provided,
so as to compress or disengage the stopper. In Figs. 18 & 19, the bottle is
stopped by the wire c, and the stopper fixed to the bottle by a metallic wire
hooked to the wire fastened to the neck of the bottle. On the wire c, I place
one or more buckles, which allow of stopping or unstopping the bottle with
facility. In the Figs. 20 and 21, the stopper is kept on the bottle by means
of a small double lever d hooking at its upper end into a ring, which may
either be part of the body of the stopper, or inserted therein. It will be easily
understood that it will be sufficient to press upon the handle d¹ of the double
lever to disengage the stopper, which, when taken off from the mouth of the
bottle, rests attached to it by the wire hooked to the ring on the neck of
the bottle. In Figs. 22 & 23, the lever is substituted by a rack fixed to
the ring on the neck of the bottle. This rack may be made elastic at its
base, so that by pressing its upper part it may be disengaged from the catch
or ring e, so as to remove the stopper. This stopper may be made of any
suitable material, and the catch or ring e made with it; or it may be screwed
or inserted in it. The rack may be attached to the stopper, and the catch
fastened to the ring on the neck of the bottle, as shewn at Fig. 24. In
Fig. 25, the stopper is furnished with a lug f, having a notch f, which enters
an opening made on the lever or spring g, and fastens the stopper on the
bottle. In Fig. 26, the stopper, which may be fastened to the bottle by means
of a chain, string, &c., bears a spiral spring, which penetrates in the neck of
the bottle. This neck enlarging gradually, it will be understood that the
spring by descending will extend and form a stop, producing an excellent
closing. This spring may be inside or outside of the bottle. In Figs. 27 & 28,
the stopper d has a groove in its centre, with a small top f, and it is fastened
to the bottle by means of the wire c, or otherwise attached to the wire b on the
neck of the bottle. A strap c², fastened to the wire b of metal, or otherwise,
may be placed by hand on the stopper, so as to compress it. Small lugs c³
may be attached to the strap c², so as to operate it more easily.
sents a metallic collar, band, or strap (opened). One of its
:
Fig. 29 repre-
ends has a set

page_text: b
of openings e, into one of which hook the other end, so that the collar, band,
or strap 6 may be adapted to different diameters of necks of bottles, and
applied as shewn in Fig. 30. Small ears or lugs g are mounted on the said
collar, band, or strap, so as to slide on the same, and receive the wires of the
stopper. Figs. 31 & 32 indicate that by moving or pushing the strap c the
spring will be shortened, and the stopper d, adhering to the said spring, is
overthrown, and the bottle unstopped. By pushing the strap c in the contrary
direction the spring will extend, and by that means compress the stopper, so
as to produce a perfect closing. Figs. 33 & 34 shew an arrangement of a
stopper cock, made of wood, metal, glass, or otherwise, which may be applied
to any kind of bottles, so as to allow of their being washed and filled without
it being necessary to remove the cock, which may be kept in the neck by
means of a tube of caoutchouc, cork, or any other substance. The above
system may be used as a substitute for fastening the ordinary cork stoppers to
bottles.
Having thus described the particulars and nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, I claim all the
above-described and illustrated arrangements, which may be combined, not
only between themselves, but also with other arrangements, giving a good
closing without departing from my principle, which consists of having special
stoppers always fastened to bottles or vases, either stopped or unstopped.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolphe Gilbert Chalus, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.