Improvements in or connected with Bottles, Jars, and similar Vessels.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Bottles, Jars, and similar
Vessels.
I, ARTHUR WILLIAM ELLIS, of 4, Margaretta Terrace, Chelsea, in the County
of London, Chemical Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to bottles, jars or the like for containing wines, spirits,
medicines or other liquids or substances, and has for its object to provide improved
means whereby the fraudulent refilling of such bottles or vessels can be easily
detected.
According to my invention I employ a capsule, diaphragm, or stopper which is
used in combination with the ordinary cork or stopper, but which before the
contents of the bottle or other vessel to which my invention is applied can be
removed must be broken or displaced.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figures 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are sectional views illustrating different ways in which
my invention can be carried into practice; and,
Figures 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 are plan views of the same respectively:
Figure 11 is a sectional view of a bottle illustrating another modification :
Figure 12 is a plan view of the neck portion thereof; and,
Figure 13 is an underside view of the stopper used therewith:
Figure 14 is a sectional view illustrating another modification; and,
Figures 15 and 16 are a plan and vertical section respectively of the stopper:
Figure 17 is an elevation of apparatus which is advantageously used for applying
the stopper shewn in Figure 14; and,
Figure 18 is a plan of the same.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a indicates the bottle-neck, and b the capsule, diaphragm, or stopper.
As shewn in Figures 1 and 2 the diaphragm which is of pure sheet tin, or other
suitable metal or material, is clipped between the top of the bottle-neck and the
cap c, the said cap being provided with internal screw-threads_adapted to engage
with corresponding external threads upon the bottle-neck. To prevent the cap
from being removed after the diaphragm has been applied, I form in the said cap
and immediately opposite thereto in the bottle-neck grooves d which, when filled
with plaster of paris or other suitable cement, prevent the cap from being
unscrewed.
When using a bottle having the neck portion thereof constructed as shewn in
Figure 1, the bottle is first filled and corked in the ordinary manner, the cork being
level with or slightly below the top of the bottle. The diaphragm 6 is then placed
over the bottle to form a capsule and then the cap c is screwed thereon so as to
clamp the said diaphragm in position as hereinbefore described. Before applying
the cap, plaster of paris or other cement is placed on the lower inner side thereof or
adjacent to the groove d in the neck so that when the said cap is screwed down the
cement will be forced into the said grooves to hold the cap. To prevent a solvent
for removing the cement from acting thereon, I place between the bottom edge of
the cap and a flange e upon the bottle-neck a washer f of india-rubber or other
suitable material,
In the arrangement of my invention shewn in Figures 3 and 4 the diaphragm 6 is
held in position by screwing into the neck of the bottle a false mouth g, grooves d, d
being provided for preventing the said false mouth from being removed and a

page_text: packing-ring being placed between the flange on the upper part of the mouth and
the top of the bottle. In this case the diaphragm is placed in position before the
ordinary cork is applied.
In the modification shewn in Figures 5 and 6 the diaphragm is applied in the
same manner as shewn in Figure 1, except that instead of using screw-threads for
connecting the сар c to the bottle-neck I form in the latter vertical grooves h, h
communicating with.a circumferential groove i, and I form upon the interior of the
cap lugs, adapted to enter the groove i, the said groove and lugs forming a
bayonet joint.
The arrangement shewn in Figures 7 and 8 is similar to that shewn in Figures 3
and 4, except that the neck of the bottle is provided internally with grooves h, i
into which lugs on the exterior of the false mouth are adapted to enter in a similar
manner to that described by reference to Figure 5.
In the modification shewn in Figures 9 and 10 the diaphragm is held in position
by means of a false mouth, as shewn in Figures 3 and 5, but the said false mouth is
fixed in the bottle-neck by means of cement which enters two sets of grooves d, d.
In the modification shewn in Figures 11 and 12 the neck of the bottle is provided
with a seat k against which a stopper b, Figure 13, can be fixed. The said stopper b
being provided with a circumferential groove and provided with a lug m to which
an instrument can be attached for fixing the stopper in position. In the neck of
the bottle adjacent to the seat I form a groove n into which, when the stopper 6 is
forced against its seat, the india-rubber ring o with which the said stopper bis
provided will spring. In this modification the stopper is placed in position before
the bottle is filled, the filling being effected through an opening at the bottom
closed by a plug p, the said plug being provided with screw-threads or lugs adapted
to enter corresponding screw-threads or grooves in the bottom of the bottle or being
otherwise suitably constructed so that after the plug has been cemented in position
it cannot be removed. In order to remove the contents of the bottle it is necessary
to force down the stopper 6 which cannot be subsequently replaced.
. In the modification shewn in Figure 14 the stopper (shewn detached in Figures 15
and 16) is of cylindrical form provided at its centre with a ring g adapted to be
forced into a groover in the bottle-neck when the stopper is pressed into the same.
In this case I advantageously provide a series of inclined ribs s which allow the
stopper to be readily introduced but prevent the same from being withdrawn. The
bottle is opened by forcing the stopper into the same.
In order to introduce these stoppers into bottle-necks I advantageously make use
of an instrument such as that shewn in Figures 17 and 18 which comprises a clip t
adapted to engage with the neck of the bottle and a screw u which, when screwed
down, will act upon the stopper to force the same into position.
It is obvious that in order to remove the contents of a bottle provided with my
improvements it is necessary either to destroy the diaphragm or remove the stopper
and that such bottles cannot be refilled without detection as it is impossible to
replace the diaphragm or stopper after it has been destroyed or displaced.
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 I
claim is :-
1. The improvement in bottles, jars or the like consisting in providing the same
with internal capsules, diaphragms or stoppers which must be destroyed or removed
before the contents can be withdrawn and which after having been destroyed or
removed cannot be replaced, substantially as described.
2. The combination with a bottle, jar or the like of a capsule or diaphragm held
in position by means of a cap, substantially in the manner described by reference to
Figures 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8, and 9 and 10 of the accompanying
drawings.
3. The combination with a bottle of a stopper constructed and arranged sub-
stantially as described by reference to Figures 11, 12 and 13 of the accompanying

page_text: drawings and introduced through an opening in the bottom of the bottle, substantially
as set forth.
4. The combination with a bottle of a stopper constructed and adapted to be
applied substantially in the manner described by reference to Figures 14, 15 and 16
of the accompanying drawings.
Dated thig 14th day of Mov 1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.