An Improvement in Bottles to Prevent Re-filling.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 4th May, 1897-Accepted, 21st Aug., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Bottles to Prevent Re-filling.
We, JAMES EBENEZER TONKIN, Mining Agent, ARTHUR CHARLES CAVENDISH
LIARDET, Financier, and JOHN LAMB SOUTTER, Merchant, all of 41 Castlereagh Street
Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, 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 :-
The object of our invention is to provide a bottle which when once emptied, cannot
be refilled. To obtain this result, we construct a bottle of any ordinary shape with
the lower portion of the interior of its neck a perfect cylinder. When the bottle is
filled with liquid we fit a block of glass or other suitable material containing our
apparatus as hereafter fully described into this cylinder and fasten it to the inner
surface thereof with a suitable cement. It will be equally efficacious for our purpose
whether the whole bottle neck be an integral portion of the bottle and our apparatus be
merely fixed in the case thereof, or whether the upper portion of the bottle neck be in
one piece with the block containing our apparatus and be cemented or fused on to the
base of the neck as shown in our drawings. To prevent the possibility of the valvo
chambers being tampered with, we provide at top of glass block, a perforated disc of
glass or other suitable substance fitting the circumference of the bottle neck. The
bottle is corked in the ordinary way. When the cork is drawn, the liquid can be
poured out of the bottle but cannot be forced into it again. The apparatus for
preventing the inflow of liquid consists of a cylindrical block of glass or other suitable
substance penetrated from top to bottom by zig-zag channel of varying diameter.
This chamber is formed by two tapering valve chambers running diagonally and
meeting about the centre of the glass block. These valve chambers are formed with
their wide bases towards the mouth of the bottle and their narrow apexes towards the
base of the neck. In each of these valve chambers is a ball of glass or other suitable
substance running freely backwards and forwards of sufficient size to exactly fill and
close the narrow end of the valve chamber. To more clearly explain our ineaning, we
shall now refer to the accompanying sheet of drawings.
Fig. 1. is sectional elevation of bottle neck with our apparatus, showing position of
valve-balls when the bottle is held mouth upwards.
Fig. 2. is the same with bottle held mouth downwards.
In Fig. 1. A is a cylindrical block of glass or other suitable substance containing
the valves. B is perforated glass disc fastened in bottle neck above the glass block
and when desirable forming part of the same. C is upper valve chamber. D is lower
valve chamber. E is ball closing narrow end of valve chamber C. F is ball closing
narrow end of valve chamber D. G is cork of bottle. His base of bottle neck into
which our apparatus is cemented. K is bracket at base of bottle neck on which
glass block rests.
When our bottle is held mouth upward as in Fig. 1. the valve balls E and F run
into the narrow ends of the valve chambers C and D and effectively close them so
that no liquid can be forced into the bottle. If bottle be held in a horizontal position
the fact that the valve chambers run diagonally across the interior of the bottle neck
necessitates one of the balls always blocking one of the narrow valve chamber ends no

page_text: matter which way the bottle
turned. For instance, if Fig. 1, be held horizontally
with mouth towards the right, it is obvious that the ball E must block the narrow
end of valve chamber C. If it be held with the mouth towards the left it is equally
obvious that the ball F must block the narrow end of valve chamber D. It tlierefore
follows from the foregoing, that the only position in which both balls are at the same
time in the large ends of the valve chambers is that shown in Fig. 2, when the
bottle is held mouth downwards in which position it could not possibly be filled.
Should it be considered desirable to increase the outflow from our bottle the valve
chambers herein described can be duplicated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained' the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is :-
In a bottle neck the combination and arrangement of a block A penetrated by one
or more channels each formed of two tapering valve chambers C and D diagonally
set and closed at their lower ends by balls E and F except when the bottle is held
mouth downwards as herein fully described and illustrated.
Dated this 3rd day of May 1897.
HUGHES & YOUNG,
23, Coleman Street, London, E.C., Agents for Applicants.