IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS AND BUNGS FOR CLOSING BOTTLES AND CASKS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William McAdam, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Pottery and Glass Manufacturer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS AND BUNGS FOR CLOSING BOTTLES AND
CASKS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME."
Sealed the 12th July 1864, and dated the 22nd January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William McAdam at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd January 1864.
I, WILLIAM MCADAM, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Pottery and Glass Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS AND BUNGS FOR CLOSING BOTTLES AND
CASES AND OTHER RECEPTACLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the adaptation, application, and use of granulated,
powdered, or reduced cork, or other light and partially elastic material in
combination with caoutchouc or india-rubber to or in the manufacture of
stoppers and bungs to be used for closing vessels or receptacles of various
kinds.
In carrying this Invention into actual practice it is preferred to use the
shavings or cuttings of cork as arising from the ordinary cork manufacture,
or from other sources. Such waste portions of cork are triturated or reduced

page_text: to very fine particles by grinding them in a mill, or by other mechanical
means, the essential object of this part of the process being to produce a finely
ground or powdered mass of cork; with the cork so prepared is then incorporated
a solution of caoutchouc or india-rubber. This mixture may be effected
either by an ordinary commingling or mixing machine or process, or it may
be carried out by placing alternate thin layers of softened or partially dissolved
caoutchouc and reduced cork together, and then subjecting the compound or
mixture to pressure.
The combined cork and caoutchouc may either be
moulded in a mass and the stoppers or bungs cut, punched, or pressed
therefrom, or each individual stopper may be expressed or moulded in a
finished state whilst the composition is plastic, or they may le cut out by a
species of slotting or punching machine, or if rough blanks are prepared from
the mass they may be converted into the required stopper or bung form
according to the well-known mode of turning bobbins by automatic machinery
as now generally practiced. Various light and partially elastic materials other
than cork may be used as the solid basis of the stoppers or bungs. Very light
woods, sawdust, waste fibrous substances of various kinds, when reduced to a
sufficient state of fineness, may be adopted, the essential object being to obtain
a light, cheap, and elastic material as a valuable substitute for the ordinary
cork. Other glutinous or adhesive matters may also be employed in place of
caoutchouc, such as gums of various kinds.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William M°Adam in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
M°ADAM, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Pottery and
Glass Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William M°Adam, Her special license that I, the said
William McAdam, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William McAdam, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully

page_text: 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS AND BUNGS FOR CLOSING BOTTLES AND CASKS
AND OTHER RECEPTACLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that
the said William McAdam, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my band and seal, or under the hand and seal of one
of them, 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 William McAdam, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to the adaptation, application, and use of granulated,
powdered, or reduced cork, or other light and partially elastic material in
combination with caoutchouc or india-rubber, to or in the manufacture of
stoppers and bungs, to be used for closing vessels or receptacles of various
kinds.
In carrying this Invention into actual practice it is preferred to use the
shavings or cuttings of cork as arising from the ordinary cork manufacture,
or from other sources. Such waste portions of cork are triturated or reduced
to very fine particles by grinding them in a mill, or by other mechanical means,
the essential object of this part of the process being to produce a finely ground
or powdered mass of cork; with the cork so prepared is then incorporated a
solution of caoutchouc or india-rubber. This mixture may be effected either by
an ordinary commingling or mixing machine or process, or it may be carried
out by placing alternate thin layers of softened or partially dissolved caoutchouc
and reduced cork together, and then subjecting the compound or mixture to
pressure. The combined cork and caoutchouc may either be moulded in a
mass and the stoppers or bungs cut, punched, or pressed therefrom, or each
individual stopper may may be expressed or moulded in a finished state whilst
the composition is plastic, or they may be cut out of a species of slotting or
punching machine, or if rough blanks are prepared from the mass, they may
be converted into the required stopper or bung form according to the well-
known modes of turning bobbins by automatic machinery as now generally
practiced. Various light and partially elastic materials other than cork may
be used as the solid basis of the stoppers or bungs. Very light woods, sawdust,

page_text: waste fibrous substances of various kinds, when reduced to a sufficient state
of fineness, may be adopted.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the system, mode, or manner under which I prefer
to carry the same into practical effect, that is to say:-
I take a quantity of granulated, pulverized, or finely divided pieces of cork,
or other light and partially elastic material, and combine it with caoutchouc,
india-rubber, marine glue, or other suitable adhesive and elastic substance in
such manner as to produce a body or material suitable to be formed into
stoppers for bottles and bungs for closing casks and similar vessels or
receptacles of various kinds, the chief object in view being the substitution
of a cheap and efficient material or substance in place of corks as at present
employed for stopping bottles, casks, and similar vessels, as well as the
utilization of the refuse portions of cork or other suitable elastic substances.
In carrying this Invention out in practice I prefer to employ the cuttings
or shavings of cork which result from the ordinary cork manufacture, and
such waste portions are triturated or reduced to fine particles by grinding
them in a mill, or pulverized in any other convenient manner, the essential
object of this process being the production of a very finely divided or granulated
quantity of cork, which when thus prepared is incorporated or commingled
with a solution of caoutchouc, india-rubber, marine glue, or other adhe-
sive substance. The commingling of the component parts may be effected
either by an ordinary mixing machine or process, or instead of this it may be
carried out by placing alternately thin layers of softened, plastic, or partially
dissolved caoutchouc, india-rubber, or marine glue and reduced cork, one above
the other, and then subjecting this compound to pressure, which may be
produced by means of rollers, through or between which a series of the mixture
is passed; or instead of this the compound may be moulded in a mass, and
the stoppers or bungs pressed or punched therefrom by suitable pressing or
punching machinery; or in lieu of this arrangement they may be moulded
whilst the composition is in a plastic state, so as to leave the mould finished
and fit for use; or in place of any of the former arrangements they may be
cut out from a solid lump or block by a species of slotting or punching
machine; or when rough blanks are prepared from the mass they may be
altered into the required bung or stopper form by turning in a lathe, or by
means of the well-known modes of turning bobbins by automatic machinery,
as now generally made use of. Various other materials may be made use of
in lieu of cork for the solid basis of the stoppers or bungs, such as light woods,
sawdust, and waste fibrous substances of various kinds, each one being

page_text: reduced to a state of division sufficiently fine to be thoroughly commingled
with the caoutchouc, india-rubber, marine glue, or other substance that may
be employed to bind or hold the solid portions of the compound together.
Another improvement, according to this Invention, consists in dipping the
bungs or stoppers into a solution, which, when having become dry upon their
exterior surfaces, prevents any injurious action from taking place between
the stopper and the liquids or other substances contained in the vessels in
which they are placed.
The essential feature of the whole of this Invention is the obtaining of a
light, cheap, and elastic material as an efficient substitute for cork.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is or may be used or carried into practice, I would
observe in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to the precise
details or arrangements I have had occasion to describe or refer to, as many
variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the true principles
or main features of my Invention; but what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the general mode of manufacturing bungs or stoppers substantially as
herein-before described, or any mere modification thereof.
Second, the utilization of the refuse portions of cork or other suitable elastic
substances, in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described, or any
mere modification thereof.
Third, the combination of elastic substances in a pulverized or finely
divided state with suitable adhesive substances, in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described, or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William McAdam, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this
day of July, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four.
WILLIAM MᵒADAM. (L.S.)