Improvements in or relating to Closing, Devices for Bottles and A communication the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 20th Mar., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Closing, Devices for Bottles and
A
communication
the like.
from SOCIÉTÉ
ANONYME
DES ANCIENNES
USINES
FELDMANN & SCHNEIDER, of 39 Rue Frère Orban, Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium.
1, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 111 Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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 bottle closing device forming the subject of the present invention is a ball
closing device for bottles and the like for keeping and drawing off effervescent
and other liquids of any description in which all contact of the liquid with metal
or other substance injurious to health is avoided.
The object of the invention is to secure on the neck of the bottle, by means of a
sleeve made in two parts and provided with a screw thread on its outer surface,
a head-piece in which a closing ball, a packing ring and the operating mechanism
are arranged so that by moving a lever arranged laterally on a flange screw nut
on the head piece the bottle may be opened and closed whilst the liquid flows from
a suitable opening in the head piece, all the parts heing arranged on the head-piece
itself, so that when the latter is unscrewed the bottle is free from all the parts and
ready to be washed.
The characteristic feature of the invention consists in the arrangement of the
moving mechanism consisting of bell-crank or similar levers causing the movement
of the closing part within the cap placed on the neck of the bottle.
The invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 12 of the accompanying drawings in
three different modifications
Figs. 1 and 2 showing the construction of the closing device for bottles for
mineral or effervescent waters adapted to replace syphons.
Figs. 5, 7 and 10 are detail views of parts of this construction.
Fig. 3 is a closing device for bottles for liquids which are drawn off like liqueurs
or spirits;
Figs. 6, 8, 9 and 11 are detail views of parts of this construction.
Fig. 4 shows a closing device for use on champagne and similar bottles.
Figs. 9 and 12 are details views of parts of this construction.
In Fig. 1 the bottle is shown closed and in Fig. 2 open.
In Figs. 3 and 4 the
bottles are only shown in the closed positions, as the operating mechanism is
substantially the same for all three constructions.
The closing device according to Fig. 1 is as follows:-On the bottle A is mounted
a sleeve P made in two halves connected by a hinge or other joint so that said
sleeve firmly grips the bottle round the neck. Fig. 8 shows in elevation a sleeve P¹
for the construction according to Fig. 3 wherein is shown the hinge joint R R. On
the screw thread on the outer surface of P is screwed a flanged nut C to which is
secured a handle T, so that the flange of said nut presses a cap B against a rubber
ring K and the latter direct and tightly against the top rim of the bottle. In the
lower part of the closing cap B is arranged a packing ring L against which a

page_text: closing ball. J rests in such manner as to produce a perfectly air-tight closing even
if the ring L should not be quite uniform or its material not uniformly elastic or
unequally worn. This is an important feature of the present improvement in
closing devices for bottles.
In order to cause the closing ball J to come up against the packing ring, the
following mechanism is arranged:-The ball J is connected-by screwing or
cementing to a pin b, the other end of which engages with a hinge pin H
(Figs. 1, 2 and 7). This pin H is secured to one arm or side of an eccentric
sheave c which can rotate about a fixed pin H³, the other arm H* of said eccentric
sheave being connected by a similar hinged pin with the end of a rod a in such
manner that the reciprocating movement of the latter causes the pin b and therefore
also the closing ball to move up or down, that is to say to come up against or
move away from the packing ring L.
C
1
This reciprocating movement of the rod a is produced by taking hold of the
bottle A by the handle T and by pressing the lever D against T, or by releasing
the latter that is to say open the ball-closing device, D is pressed against T
whereby the spring U of the handle and the helical spring F (Fig. 5) on the rod a
are compressed while to close the bottle the lever D is simply released whereupon
the pressure of the springs causes the rod a to return automatically, that is to say
the ball is automatically pressed again against the packing ring.
The lever D is pivotted at Q on the handle T in such manner that its shorter
arm G moves in the direction opposite to that of D and passing through a slot z
in the casing E3 engages with a guide or slots of the rod a the casing E in
which the slot is made, closing laterally the opening in the closing cap B.
The arrangements of this casing E in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 respectively differ only
so far, that in Fig. 1 it is provided with a separate packing device consisting of
two metal rings, M, O and an intermediate elastic ring N of rubber or similar
material, said rings being arranged within the casing which consists of the two
parts E and E3 and being pressed by a helical spring F against the annular surface
of the guide d (Fig. 7) which is screwed into the cap B thus making the passage
of the rod a air and liquid tight. The joint of part E of the casing with the cap B
is made air-tight by means of a packing ring V. The pressing of the packing
rings M, N, O, against the annular front surface of d is especially effective when
the rod a is pressed towards the left for the purpose of opening the ball-closing
device, and of course in this position it is of greatest importance for bottles such
as in Fig. 1 which are filled through the head-piece that the lateral joints should be
perfectly tight. In order to enable or to facilitate the escape of air when filling
bottles in this way there is provided besides the opening W through which
the bottle is filled another opening X for the escape of the air contained in the
bottle (Figs. 1, 2 and 10).
In Figs. 3 and 4 like letters indicate like parts and are distinguished from those
in Fig. by indexes 1 and 2 so that parts A B C D etc. of Fig. 1 become
A B C D etc. in Fig. 3 and A B C D' in Fig. 4.
As in the two latter arrangements the liquid is not introduced through the
head-piece, the casing of the spring that is to say the casing El E arranged
laterally on the discharge cap is not provided with packing device and is made in
one piece (Fig. 6). The rod a which in the constructions according to Figs. 1, 2
and 7 consisted of two parts screwed one into the other, in order to enable the
mechanism to be introduced through the lateral opening consists in Figs. 3, 4 and 9
of only one piece.
The sleeve P or P¹ or P2 is the same in all three cases and varies only according
to the shape of the bottle to which it is to he applied.
It will be clear from the above description and from the drawings that this
arrangement of the operating handle in combination with the moving mechanism
constituted by bell crank levers operating the closing piece, enables the bottle to
be opened, closed or the liquor to be drawn off by the use of only one hand.
Ordinary bottles of any kind being employed. The eccentric sheave mechanism

page_text: which in Figs. 7 and 9 is also shown in plan and the already mentioned levers-
operating the closing piece are completely enclosed by the cap mounted on the
bottle neck, so that they are invisible from outside. This mechanism moreover
enables the bottle to be opened or closed as much as desired during the drawing
off of the liquid, by simply altering the pressure of the hand on the lever connected.
to the handle.
The closing ball J and the cap B may be made of porcelain, glass or suitably
lined or coated metal or other suitable material, so that all contact of the contents
of the bottle with metal is obviated.
The construction of the sleeve P (or P' or P³) so that it can be opened enables.
it to be placed on the neck of a bottle of any description and affords a screw
threaded support for the head piece of the closing device without necessitating any
alteration in the bottle.
It must be finally pointed out that different parts of the device may be made
of any suitable material, metál or substance.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A bottle or like closing device consisting of a cap adapted to be mounted on
the neck of a bottle and containing the operating mechanism with the closing and
packing devices said cap being secured by means of a flanged nut to the outside
of a hinged or divided sleeve placed round the neck of the bottle the flanged nut
being provided with a handle on which is pivotted a double-armed lever operating
a rod connected to the closing device, substantially as described.
2. In a bottle closing or like device of the character described in Claim 1, the
arrangement of bell crank mechanism as a, c, b, substantially as described.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts forming a complete bottle or like
closing device substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 1 or in Figure 3,.
or in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 25th day of January 1897.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.