IMPROVEMENTS ON OR APPERTAINING TO GLASS BOTTLES PROPER FOR WINE AND OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
SPEARS, of Glasgow, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Sixth day of September, in the seventh year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alexander Spears, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Alexander Spears, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alexander Spears, my exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS ON OR APPERTAINING TO GLASS
BOTTLES PROPER FOR WINE AND OTHER LIQUIDS," communicated to me by a
certain Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Alexander Spears, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alexander Spears, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and

page_text: ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figures 1 and 2 represent the mouth of a bottle, with a screw thread
formed in the inside of the mouth. The top surface of the mouth is flat, and
about a quarter of an inch in breadth. The stopper has a screw on it to fit
the thread in the mouth of the bottle, and a projecting edge of the same
breadth as the top of the mouth of the bottle, so that when it is screwed into
the bottle mouth the two edges meet, and the outward circumference of the
stopper is flush with the bottle mouth. In order to exclude the air more
effectually I put a little wax between the two surfaces, and the stopper (to
which the wax is attached) is screwed down; and for the purpose of retaining
the wax there is a slight concavity in the under surface of the earthenware
stoppers, as shewn in the Drawing Figure 2. The glass stoppers are formed
similar to the earthenware stoppers, except that they are made without the con-
cavity. Or, instead of wax, I can use caoutchouc, attached to the edge of the
stopper through the medium of paper pasted on it, applied either in the liquid
state, or in the form of a washer attached by a liquid application. By these
means I consider the stoppage to be quite air-tight; but, for the purpose of
preventing the stopper from being too easily unscrewed, I apply a thin strip
(say five inches long and about half an inch wide) of tin foil, with a very thin
coating of wax upon it, to the joint, which is very easily done as the bottle
mouth and stopper are flush; the tin foil to be laid on a hot metal plate coated
with a strip of leather, and the bottle mouth to be rolled upon it. The wax is
spread on the tin foil in a heated state by any convenient means, and after-
wards cut up into strips as required for use. The stoppers may be made
either of glass or of earthenware. When made of glass, they are moulded by
dies calculated to produce the required form, and cast and pressed in the
manner in common use for forming small glass articles. When made of
earthenware, they are made by suitable machinery, sce Figures 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, 13, 14.
The bottle mouth, as represented in Figures 1 and 2, is formed by a
machine which is represented in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Figures 1 and 2 represent the neck and mouth of a common bottle, with a
screw stopper fitted in.
Figures 3, 4, and 5, represent three views of a machine for forming the
bottle month with a screw thread in it, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2.

page_text: n, a pinion with a fast key
o, a lever with a segment
a is a wood vessel, on which the machine is fixed. b is the frame of the
machine. c, the handle. d, a wheel with 140 teeth, keyed on the shaft f.
e, a wheel (with 137 teeth) keyed on the shaft f. f, a shaft, carrying
wheels a and e, and handle f. 9, a pinion (with 70 teeth) keyed on bush (k).
h, a pinion (with 73 teeth) gearing in wheel e, and running loose on the
busk (k), and contains an excentric groove. k, a bush and face plate, which
runs loose on the fixed stud (1). 1, fixed stud to carry k. mn, a spindle, with
a screw and guide pin at the end of it; the screw works in a thread cut in
stud 1, and is screwed in and out at pleasure.
in it, working in a groove in the spindle m.
of a wheel at its extremity, gearing into the pinion n, so that by raising or
lowering this lever the screw is made to protrude beyond or retire behind the
face plate. p, p, are two sliders, which slide in two grooves in the face plate k,
and are moved towards or from the centre by means of the excentric curve in
the pinion acting on two pins 7, 7, which are fast to the sliders. q, q,
two pins in sliders p, p. r, r, two profiles fixed at the ends of four pins s, s, 5, s,
and acted upon by two spiral springs t, t. These profiles are cut to the figure
of the profile of the outside of the intended mouth of the bottle. Note, the
outside of the mouth is technically called the ring. 8, s, four pins, which act
as guides for the profiles r, r (see Figure 6). t, t, two spiral springs which act
upon the profiles r,r (see Figure 6). u, a lever, supported by the forked piece v,
and carries two rests w, w. v, forked piece which supports the rod or lever 16.
w, w, two rests which slide on the rod or lever u, and may be fixed in any con-
venient part of it by set screws x, x. a, x, two set screws on rests w, w.
Figure 6 is a section, upon an enlarged scale, of part of the Figure 3, in
order to set forth more clearly the construction and working of the machine.
The letters on it indicate the same parts as in the other views, Figures 3,
4, and 5.
Figure 7 represents the same part of the machine as that represented in
Figure 6, but another view of it, shewing the form of the excentric curve
or cam in the pinion h, which is formed of two similar curves, each occupying
one half of the revolution, so that the pins q, q, being set exactly opposite to
each other on each side of the centre, they will always move in harmony, that
is, they will be always equidistant from the center.
It is evident, from the above description, that when the handle c is turned
the wheels d, e, will give motion to the pinions g, h, respectively, at speeds very
slightly different, so that in four turns of the handle c, the pinion g, which is
keyed on the bush of face plate, will have carried the face plate round very
nearly half a revolution in advance of its original relative position of the

page_text: pinion h, and therefore the pinions q, 7, will have traversed the curves and
exchanged places, bringing the sliders into their original position. Thus, in
eight revolutions of the face plate the sliders perform their function of gradual
approach towards and retreat from the centre, and have again resumed their
original position. This understood, the working of the machine, and manner
of its performing its work, will be easily seen.
The workman having blown a glass bottle and attached it to the rod (when
the metal is put on it to form the ring) places the rod on the double rest w, w,
and the sliders p, p, being at their farthest point from the center, and from the
screw m, and guide projecting from the face plate, he forces it upon the guide
pin and screw up to the face of the plate and immediately the machine is put
in motion, which causes the profiles to revolve round the bottle neck (which
together with the serew m, remains stationary), and at the same time approach
gradually towards the center giving a regular pressure on the soft glass, every
revolution pressing closer on the ring; and when four turns of the handle are
performed (which produces many more turns of the profiles or sliders), those
profiles will return by the action of the cam or groove, as above (or already)
described in the pinion h, to their orignal position, the screw in the mouth of
the bottle, and the flat surface on the top to meet the stoppers, being effectu-
ally formed with great rapidity. The machine is stopped when the sliders
(or profiles) have retired to their original position as above mentioned, and
the handle o being depressed withdraws the screw from the bottle mouth, and
the bottle is released and may be removed. The screw is then returned by
elevating the handle (or lever) o, and the same operation is repeated. Thus,
the thread is formed inside the mouth by the same pressure which forms the
exterior of the mouth or ring of the bottle.
Figures 8, 9, 10, represent three views of a machine for making "blanks,"
or pieces of clay for making stoppers of. a is a cylender into which the clay is
placed; it has a number of holes in the bottom, and of the diameter of the
required blank. b, a piston, which fits the cylender a. c, a screw, by which
the piston 6 is forced into the cylender a by the handle d, d. e, the frame of
the machine.
The mode of working is as follows:-The cylender a being filled with clay
the piston 6 is made to decend by turning the handle d, untill the clay is
squeezed out of the holes in the bottom of the cylender to the thickness
required for the blanks, a wire is then passed along the bottom of the cylinder,
which cuts off the clay which was squeezed out, and which are the blanks
required.
Figures 11, 12, 13, represent three views of a machine for making the

page_text: stoppers.
a is the frame of the machine. 6 is a die fitted into a projecting
part of the frame, and may be removed and replaced by another of different
size (see Figure 14). c is another die, which forms the under part of the
stopper and the screw on it (see Figure 14). d, a die which forms the top of
the stopper, and is attached to a rod e. e, a rod which carries the die d, and
is moved by the lever F, F. G is a spindle, with a thread on one part of it,
the die c is attached to it and is elevated or withdrawn by means of it. h is
a pinion with a fast key in it, working in a groove in the spindle g. k, a
wheel which gears into the pinion h, and by that means raises or lowers the
die c. The dies are so adapted that they may be easily removed and replaced
by others of different sizes.
Figure 14 is a section, on an enlarged scale, of the principal part of the
machine represented in Figures 11, 12, 13, and is intended more clearly to
set forth the construction and working of it.
The mode of working is as follows:-A "blank," or piece of clay, is put
into the die c from below (the die c being at its lowest point). The die c is
then raised to the position shewn in the Drawing by a turn of the wheel k, the
die d is then pressed down by the lever F untill the clay is forced into all parts
of the dies; then the die c is withdrawn by a turn of the wheel k in an oppo-
site direction, and the stopper is forced out by the die d.
being finished; the die d is elevated, another blank is
elevated, and the operation is repeated.
It is then removed,
put in, the die c is
It will be seen that the screw g must
be of the same pitch as that upon the stopper, otherwise the latter would be
injured when the former was withdrawn.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that what
I claim is,-
First, the combining the use of screwed stoppers (either of glass or earthen-
ware) with glass bottles having corresponding screw threads in the mouths
thereof; the air to be excluded by the meeting of the edges, and the using
therewith softened wax or india rubber between the surfaces of the stoppers
and the tops of the bottles.
Secondly, I claim the mode of arranging machinery for making screws in
the mouths or necks of bottles, in the process of their manufacture. And,
Thirdly, I claim the mode of combining machinery for making screw
stoppers for bottles, such screws to be of glass or earthenware.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Spears, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of February, A.D. One thousand
eight hundred and forty-four.
ALEX (L.S.) SPEARS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of February,
in the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid Alexander Spears came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-four.