IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS FOR CLOSING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER VESSELS to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM SHEPHERD of 19 Blenheim Street Oxford Street in the County of
Middlesex Wine and Spirit Merchant do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS FOR CLOSING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER VESSELS
to be as follows:-
:-
"
According to my Invention I form a valve stopper to fit down upon a shoulder
seat or flange at right angles or sloped at an angle of 45 degrees in the bottle, jar
or other vessel.
This stopper or valve can be made of glass or any other suitable material but
advantageously of glass.or porcelain. I round the upper part of this stopper and
I mount a metal screw with a cap to cover the top of the bottle this portion of the
stopper may be made of any suitable material of a-hard and suitable substance as
the contents of the bottle cannot come in contact with any portion of the screw.
It will thus be seen that the body of the stopper consists of two separate parts-
a central part which acts as a valve and a screw which screw acts in a female
screw in the neck to press the valve down to close the mouth of the bottle or other
vessel.
The stem of the centre stopper passes through the screw and is secured at the
top with an elastic band or otherwise so as to hold the two parts of the stopper
together and at the same time to allow the screw portion of the stopper to turn
round freely whilst the glass portion is not turned round but is only pressed
downwards by the screw and thus prevents the packing used under the rim of the
stopper from being dragged and torn by the turning of the screw.
The centre part of the stopper on being forced down by screwing the stopper
into the neck of the bottle maintains a direct downward pressure the rim fitting on
the shoulder or flange formed in the neck of the bottle.
By this means a great screw pressure can be put on the valve thereby effectually
stopping the highest gas pressure put in the bottle or other vessel.
The material for the washer used under the valve is made of finely woven or
twisted strands or yarns of asbestos formed into a washer and the outer side may
be coated with a solution of india rubber or other suitable adhesive material to fix
it on the stopper.

page_text: Cork may be used in place of asbestos as only a thin washer can come in contact
with the liquid in the bottle the washer being so compressed that leakage of gas or
liquid is impossible.
The application of an asbestos washer to the valve seat will resist great pressure
heat and acids and will have no injurious effects on the contents of the bottle or
other vessel.
For some purposes I make the under part of the flange of the stopper and the
upper part of the shoulder or seat in the neck of the bottle of ground glass and the
parts being made to fit a washer of asbestos or other substance is not required.
Or I place a ring between the two parts of the stopper to reduce the friction of
the screw on the valve. The valve and its seat may be conical if desired.
The stopper consists of a round stem with a round flange at a suitable distance
from the top to allow of a screw which has a hole through the centre to fit the
stem and allow the same to pass through the screw.
A projecting stem under the flange holds the washer on it (where ground glass
is not used) and fills up a portion of the neck of the bottle.
A groove is formed
round the head of the valve of suitable size to allow a band of any suitable
material being placed over the head and fitting round the neck to hold the parts
together.
This arrangement secures the separate portions of the stopper all together.
By the transposition of the stopper and scrows an external screw stopper is
formed.
For this purpose a male screw is formed on the outside of the neck of the bottle
the female screw being formed in a screw cap having an internal flange or collar.
The valve stopper is combined with the screw cap as in the previous arrangement
being connected together so that the cap can be screwed on to the neck of the
bottle without turning the central valve stopper. . The under surface of a collar on
the valve stopper is pressed down (by the screw cap) upon the top or lip or the
bottle which thus forms a seating for the collar on the valve stopper.
Stoppers of this improved construction may be applied and can be adapted to
ordinary bottles by using the top of the bottle for the flange.
This improved stopper can be applied to all kinds of bottles, jars, carboys and
casks or other vessels and it can be made in metal for casks with the head arranged
so as to be flush with the wood.

page_text: CONFLELE, SPECIFICATION.,
J, WILLIAM SHEPHERD of 19 Blenheim Street Oxford Street in the County of
Middlesex Wine and Spirit Merchant do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS FOR CLOSING BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER VESSELS "
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
:-
3
According to my invention I form a valve stopper to fit down upon a shoulder
Beat or flange at right angles or sloped at an angle of 45 degrees in the bottle jar
or other vessel.
:
And in order that my invention may be clearly understood I will proceed to
describe the same with reference to the drawings annexed which show stoppers for
closing bottles arranged and constructed in accordance with my invention."
'
Figure 1 shows a section of the neck of a bottle with my improved stoppers
inserted therein to close the same.
;
This stopper or valve a may be made of glass or any other suitable material but
advantageously of glass or porcelain. I round the upper part of this stopper and
I mount a metal screw b with a cap to cover the top of the bottle this portion of
the stopper may be made of any suitable material of a hard and suitable substance
as the contents of the bottle cannot come in contact with any portion of the
screw b.
It will thus be seen that the body of the stopper consists of two separate parts-
a central part a which acts as a valve and a screw b which screw acts in a female
screw c in the neck to press the valve down to close the mouth of the bottle or
other vessel,
The stem of the centre part of the stopper passes through the screw and is
secured at the top with an elastic band a¹ or otherwise so as to hold the two parts
of the stopper together and at the same time to allow the screw portion b of the
stopper to turn round freely whilst the glass portion a is not turned round but is
only pressed downwards by the screw b and thus prevents the washer or packing bl
used under the rim of the stopper from being dragged and torn by the turning of
the screw.
In place of an elastic band a¹ to hold the two parts of the spring stopper together
a metal rim or projections may be formed on the metal part of the stopper which
can be closed over into the groove on the neck of the stopper to secure the two
parts together.
>
The centre part of the stopper on being forced down by screwing the stopper
into the neck of the bottle maintains a direct downward pressure rim fitting on
the shoulder or flange formed in the neck of the bottle.
By this means a great screw pressure can be put on the valve thereby effectually
stopping the highest gas pressure put in the bottle or other vessel.
The material for the washer b¹ used under the valve is made of finely woven or
twisted strands or yarns of asbestos formed into a washer and the outer side may
be coated with à solution of india rubber or other suitable adhesive material to fix
it on the stopper.
Cork or other suitable material may be used in place of asbestos as only a thin
washer can come in contact with the liquid in the bottle the washer being so
compressed that leakage of gas or liquid is'impossible.

page_text: The application of an asbestos washer to the valve seat will resist great pressure
heat and acids and will have no injurious effects on the contents of the bottle or
other vessel.
For some purposes I make the under part of the flange a² of the stopper.a and
the upper part of the shoulder or seat in the neck of the bottle of ground glass and
the parts being made to fit a washer of asbestos or other substance is not required.
Or I place a ring between the two parts of the stopper at b² to reduce the
friction of the screw on the valve. The valve and its seat may be conical if
desired.
The stopper consists of a round stem a, with a round flange a² at a suitable
distance from the top to allow the screw which has a hole through the centre to fit
the stem and allow the same to pass through the screw.
The projecting stem under the flange holds the washer on it (where ground glass
is not used) and fills up a portion of the neck of the bottle.
A groove is formed under the head of the stopper or valve a of suitable size to
allow the band a' of any suitable material being placed over the head and fitting
round the neck.
•
This arrangement secures the separate portions of the stopper altogether.
By the transposition of the stopper and screws an external screw stopper is
formed as shown by Figure 3 of the drawing.
For this purpose a male screw is formed on the outside of the neck of the bottle
the female screw c, being formed in the screw cap b having an internal flange or
collar. The valve stopper. is combined with the screw cap b as in the previous
arrangement being connected together so that the cap can be screwed on to the
neck of the bottle without turning the central valve.stopper a. The under surface
of the collar a and elastic washer on the valve stopper is pressed down (by the
Bcrew cap b) upon the top or lip of the bottle which thus forms a seating for the
collar 6 on the valve.stopper.
: Stoppers of this improved construction may be applied and can be adapted to
ordinary bottles by using the top of the bottle for the flange.
This improved stopper can be applied to all kinds of bottles, jars, carboys and
casks or other vessels and it can be made in metal for casks with the head arranged
so as to be flush with the wood.
'
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I make
no claim to any of the parts separately which are well known and in common use
but what I claim is
First. The improved arrangement and construction of screw stoppers for closing
bottles jars and other vessels such stoppers being formed in two parts a and b
combined together and arranged to act substantially in the manner and for the
purpose herein before fully described and represented in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the
drawings hereto annexed.
Second. I claim the making of the washer 61 of asbestos substantially as herein
described.