Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Stoppering, Closing, and Discharging the Contents of Bottles, Vessels, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1897-Accepted, 12th June, 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Stoppering, Closing,
and Discharging the Contents of Bottles, Vessels, and the like.
I BARON ROBERT PERSONNE DE SENNEVOY, of 42 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle,
Paris in the Republic of France, 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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in stoppering closing and discharging the
contents of bottles and liquid containers, and by which vessels which have contained
such liquids are prevented from being filled up again except after completely removing
the stoppering device forming the subject of the present application and described
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As will be seen from Fig. 1 of said drawings the safety stoppering device according
to the present invention, which is placed in the neck of the bottle or vessel like an
ordinary cork, consists chiefly of a socket A, fitting the neck of the vessel the upper
flange Cof which rests on the upper edge of said bottle; in the interior of the
socket A which forms a cylinder D, is arranged a piston E with ports F and valves F'
closing said ports and opening only when the piston is forced inwards.
The ports Festablish communication between the portions of the cylinder D above
and below the piston E; the piston rod H is long enough to project to a sufficient
extent outside the neck of the bottle; said rod passing through a disc I, which holds
and guides it and which closes the upper open portion of the cylinder D which disc
fits into this portion and rests on the flange C of the cylinder D; the disc I is
provided with openings I placing the interior of the cylinder D above the piston E in
communication with the atmosphere.
The socket A has a bottom J provided with an opening K by means of which the
cylinder D is in communication with the interior of the vessel G. This opening has a
valve a ball L or other device-which o ens only inwards into the cylinder D.
The stoppering device thus arranged in the neck of the bottle, is combined with any
suitable sealing or retaining device-a ring M or otherwise-arranged so as to enable
the separation of the vessel from its stoppering device to be easily effected but only by
destruction or removal of the sealing material, thus rendering any fraud impossible
owing to the device described making it impossible to fill a vessel provided with the
improved device without completely separating the vessel from the latter.
In order to draw off liquid contained in the vessel G the piston E is raised to the
end of its stroke or to any desired extent, the vessel G is inclined, and, the ball or
valve L opening the passage K under the influence of actions herein before explained,
the liquid passes through said passage K and fills the space formed in the cylinder D
under the piston E; the vessel G is then slightly or completely righted in order to
cause the valve L to close the opening K, then it is only necessary to press down the
piston E whereby the liquid under it becomes compressed and completely closes the
valve L while the valves F¹ open and enable the liquid from under the piston Ę to
pass through the ports F so that the liquid may then be drawn off and distributed as
desired through the openings I' of the disc I.
It will be seen from the preceding that the device may be used for measuring
liquids as the quantities of liquid in the cylinder D will exactly correspond to the
different levels occupied by the piston E in the cylinder. It is evident that these

page_text: levels may be determined so as to exactly correspond to certain volumes of liquid
under the piston E in the cylinder D by graduating the rod H and by combining
it, for instance, with an index provided in the corresponding outer edge of the
disc I.
Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings shows a modified construction of a device
according to the present invention the main features of which have been described
with reference to Fig. 1.
In this modification the rod H of the piston E is tubular and of a considerably
larger diameter its bottom being formed by the piston E provided with passages F
having valves F; the upper disc I is in this case used only to support and to guide
the hollow plunger H; the escape of the liquid, taking place through the upper end
of the rod H which is formed into a bottle-neck I', said passage 1' being provided
with a sieve or grating N enabling the liquid to pass but preventing any fraudulent
tampering with the internal parts of valves.
Fig. 3 shows the modified device represented in Fig. 2, in the position corresponding
to the first stage of the operation of using, that is to say, the piston E has been drawn
outwards and the bottle inclined in order to enable the valve L to open and the liquid
to pass into the space of the cylinder D under said piston E; in Fig. 2 (as well as in
Fig. 1) is shown the second stage that is to say the bottle righted or nearly so, the
piston E in the act of being forced down and the liquid passing from the space under
it into that above it.
In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the liquid passing into the space above the
piston E is stored up and is ready to be poured out through the orifice I' instead
of occupying the space in the cylinder D round the rod H as in the arrangement
shown in Fig. 1.
The method of operation remains however the same in both the modifications
The inclining of the bottle for the purpose of actuating the device could be avoided by
providing the passage K with a tube passing into the liquid, similar to those used in
syphons, and through which the liquid would be drawn simply by the upward move-
ment of the piston E; but in this case the working would be possible only if air were
again admitted, which can only be effected if some of the useful properties of this
device are dispensed with, among which properties is included the control of the
supply of the liquid, and this is mainly based on the total exclusion of any
communication between the interior of the vessel and the exterior even at the
moment of working.
Taking this into consideration and in order to obtain the greatest advantage of
this device when the partial turning of the bottle is to be avoided, the device is
combined with the vessel and arranged as illustrated in the modification shown in
Fig. 4.
In this modification the cylinder A is continued down to the bottom of the vessel G
which is provided with a recess or depression G¹ the shape of which corresponds to
that of the lower end of the cylinder A which is provided with a hole K, closed by a
valve L, said recess G₁ enabling the vessel G to be emptied to the last drop.
The cylinder A in this modification being so long, the piston H in its interior is
also long and is provided with two packing rings M M² and a passage F and valve F
enabling the liquid to pass from the cylinder A into H. The upper edge of the
ring M2 forms a stop by means of which the upward stroke of the cylinder H may be
regulated, said edge striking at the end of the stroke against the ring 01 which joins
the upper end of the cylinder A with the cap T closing in an air tight manner the
upper orifice of the vessel G, and which may be secured to it by seals so as to
guarantee the security of the contents for the purpose specified.
In order to enable sufficiently large quantities of liquids to be drawn off and
collected by means of the hereinbefore described devices, I add to said devices, as may
be seen in Fig. 4, a vessel Q supported on the upper end of the cylinder piston H and
communicating with the latter in such manner that said vessel Q, which may be of any
desired shape and size and be graduated as desired receives and collects the liquid
successively removed from the vessel G by the combined action of the cylinder

page_text: piston H and cylinder A until the desired quantity has been obtained which can then
be distributed in any desired manner through the upper orifice Q¹ of the said
vessel Q.
A non-return valve R similar to the lower one F and working in exactly the same
manner as the latter, may be arranged in the cylinder H at a suitable height thus
together with the safety sieve N insulating or cutting off from the exterior a relatively
large quantity of liquid which may have remained in the cylinder H; this arrangement
enables the liquid to be exactly measured in the vessel Q, without necessitating
complete emptying of the cylinder H.
In this modification the piston compresses the liquid against which it moves to cause
it to be delivered into the outer vessel the chamber of the piston being in this way
filled. Complete emptying of the vessel may be effected even without the introduction
of air care being taken that the valve L is placed as near the bottom of the vessel as
possible and that the piston acts by compression when it does not draw any more
owing to the equal pressure in consequence of the vacuum produced in the vessel; the
liquid is thus discharged without decreasing, on the contrary increasing the vacuum if
an air-space has been left owing to incomplete filling of the vessel; such discharge
is also effected without having to uncork the vessel which is of importance in many
cases.
Sometimes it is desirable to avoid inclining the vessel even to pour out the extracted
liquid collected and measured in the upper vessel Q; this is effected simply by adding
at the part of the cylinder H projecting outside the vessel G a cock R' communicating
with the portion of said cylinder H comprised between the valve R and the grating N;
it is clear that by means of this cock Ri all the liquid drawn out and collected over
the valve R may be drawn off without moving the vessel G.
Fig. 5 shows another of the many uses for which the present apparatus may be
applied. It represents the device applied to a tank of petroleum oil etc. On such
case I consider it preferable to apply iny device as shown at S that is to say at the
bottom T of the tank which bottom may be sloping as shown in order to enable the
tank to be completely emptied.
It is clear that without departing from the scope of the invention the valve Fl
carried by the piston E as shown in Figure 5 could be dispensed with and replaced
by a valve F working in a similar way arranged at any suitable point in the
cylinder A, for instance as shown in Fig. 6 in which case the piston E does not allow
the liquid on which it always acts by compression-to pass through it.
It will be easily understood that in the two last modifications Figs. 5 and 6 the
control of the apparatus is guaranteed by the fact of the liquid being discharged
without admission of air at a level where the piston meets the liquid and forces it out
by compression.
It is also evident that devices according to the present invention may be applied for
the purpose specified to any vessel whatsoever which can receive these devices and it
is sufficient to slightly vary the general arrangement according to the vessels, their
contents and the manner in which these contents are distributed retaining the main
characteristic features.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A device for use in stoppering, closing and delivering the contents of bottles
and other vessels consisting of a cylinder arranged in the neck or delivery orifice of
the vessel and having an aperture and valve at its lower end and a perforated cap for
the passage and support of a plunger rod and for delivery of the liquid in combination
with a perforated plunger provided with a non-return valve or valves substantially as
described.
2. A device for use in stoppering, closing and delivering the contents of bottles
and other vessels consisting of a cylinder arranged in the neck or delivery orifice of
the vessel and having an aperture and valve at its lower end and an open top to

page_text: receive a tubular perforated plunger provided with a non-return valve or valves,
substantially as described.
3. A device for use in stopperage, closing, and delivering the contents of bottles
and other vessels consisting of a cylinder arranged in the neck or delivery orifice of
the vessel and extending to the bottom of the vessel, its lower end being provided
with an aperture and valve in combination with a perforated tubular plunger provided
with a non-return valve, substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. The combination with a device of the character described in Claim 3, of a
non-return valve, a draw-off tap and a receiving vessel connected to the upper end
of the tubular plunger, substantially as and for the purpose described.
5. A device for use in stoppering, closing and delivering the contents of liquid
containers consisting of a cylinder arranged at the lower part of the vessel and
provided with a non-return valve at its inner end a cap at its outer end and a delivery
outlet in combination with a perforated plunger and a rod, the plunger being provided
with a non-return valve or valves substantially as and for the purpose described.
6. A device for use in stoppering, closing and delivering the contents of bottles
and other vessels consisting of a cylinder, as A, arranged in the neck or delivery
orifice of the vessel, provided with an aperture K and non-return valve and a
perforated cap I, and seal as M, in combination with a perforated plunger as E,
provided with non-return valves as F', substantially as described.
7. A device for use in stoppering, closing and delivering the contents of bottles
and other vessels consisting of a cylinder, as A, having an aperture K, cap I, and
seal, as M, in combination with a tubular perforated plunger, as E, provided with
non-return valves, as F³, with or without a perforated plate, as N, substantially as and
for the purpose described.
8. A device. for use in stoppering, closing and delivering the contents of bottles
and other vessels consisting of a cylinder as A, arranged in the neck or delivery
orifice of the vessel and provided with an aperture at its lower end at the bottom
of the vessel and a non-return valve, a tubular plunger H, provided with a
non-return valve, and means for securing the cylinder in position, substantially as
described.
9. In combination with a device of the character described in Claim 8, a
receiver, as Q, connected to the tubular plunger, a non-return valve, as R,
grating N, and draw-off cock R', substantially as and for the purpose described.
10. A device for use in stoppering, closing and delivering the contents of liquid
containers, consisting of a cylinder, as A, non-return valve L, outlet N, perforated
plunger E having non-return valves F, substantially as described and illustrated in
Figure 4 or in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
11. In a device of the character described, a piston rod or tubular plunger
provided with indications or marks in order to facilitate drawing off a predetermined
quantity of liquid, substantially as described.
A
11
1
CM 1807
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.