IMPROVE- MENTS IN STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES JADO AND OTHER LIFE REC"
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James William Butler, of Savile Row, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES JADO AND OTHER LIFE REC"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James William Butler
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 28th January 1871.
I, JAMES WILLIAM BUTLER, of Savile Row, in the County of
3 Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STOPPERS FOR BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER LIKE
RECEPTACLES," to be as follows :—
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
stoppers for bottles, jars, and other like receptacles whereby a simple,
economical, and effectual stopper is obtained, whether for permanent or
temporary use, whilst at the same time one stopper is applicable to necks
of various sizes.
According to one mode of carrying out my Invention I combine a
plug, tapered or otherwise, of wood, glass, metal, hard rubber, porcelain,

page_text: or other suitable material, with a ring or rings of elastic or vulcanised
india-rubber; such ring or rings being of such a section as will enable
it to roll along the smooth portion of the plug, an enlargement being
formed on or attached to the bottom of the plug in order to prevent the
escape of the ring therefrom.
On introducing the stopper into a bottle neck the ring will roll up the
wider part of the plug (when of a tapered form) until it forms a tight
packing between the sides of the plug and the neck of the bottle or
other receptacle.
According to another modification a series of annular or spiral grooves
may be formed round the plug, which should be tapered in order that
the ring may be adjusted in one or the other, according to the size of the
neck of the bottle or other receptacle intended to receive it.
In cases where it is found requisite to secure the said stoppers in the
neck of the bottle or other receptacle two wire loops may be pin-jointed
or otherwise hinged to the head of the stopper, the said loops engaging
underneath the projecting lip or shoulder of the neck of the bottle or
other receptacle, so as to effectually retain the stopper in its place.
In order to release the stopper one of the said loops is to be disengaged
from the projecting lip, and as the two loops are so interlocked or crossed
as that they will mutually act upon one another the opposite loop will
at the same time become disengaged. The reverse action will of course
take place when securing the stopper.
According to another modification of stopper, which is intended to
allow of the withdrawal of liquid from a bottle or other like receptacle
at pleasure without removing the stopper therefrom, I propose to make
a passage or passages through the body of the stopper, so as to open
through the sides thereof at a point or points a little above a rolling
packing ring, such as I have herein-before described, placed on the body
of the stopper and bearing against an inclined shoulder at the bottom
of the stopper. On depressing this stopper further into the neck of the
vessel the ring will roll above the lateral openings before referred to, and
will thus admit of the free exit of the liquid contents through such
openings; but on raising the stopper again the ring will take its bearing
against the shoulder, and thereby shut off the liquid from the exit
orifices. The body of this stopper may be either tapered, cylindrical,
plain, or grooved as required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James William Butler in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WILLIAM BUTLER, of Savile Row, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in
the thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said James William Butler,
Her special license, that I, the said James William Butler, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James William
Butler, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully 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 FOR BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER LIKE RECEPTACLES,”
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James William
Butler, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 James William Butler, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say)
:-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement
of stoppers for bottles, jars, and other like receptacles whereby a
simple, economical, and effectual stopper is obtained whether for
permanent or temporary use, whilst at the same time one stopper is
applicable to necks of various sizes.

page_text: According to one mode of carrying out my Invention I combine a
plug, tapered or otherwise, of wood, glass, metal, hard rubber, porcelain,
or other suitable material, with a self-adjusting rolling ring or rings of
elastic or vulcanized india-rubber, such ring or rings being of such a
section as will enable it to roll along the smooth portion of the plug, an
enlargement being formed on or attached to the bottom of the plug in
order to prevent the escape of the ring therefrom.
On introducing the stopper into a bottle neck the ring will roll up
the wider part of the plug, when of a tapered form) until it forms a
tight packing between the sides of the plug and the neck of the bottle
or other receptacle.
If desired, a series of annular grooves may be formed round the
plug, which should be tapered in order that the ring may be adjusted
in one or the other according to the size of the neck of the bottle or
other receptacle intended to receive it; or the plug may be simply
roughened and the ring adjusted thereon to any desired position without
annular grooves.
In cases where it is found requisite to secure the said stoppers in the
neck of the bottle or other receptacle the ordinary wiring may be
employed, or two wire loops may be pin-jointed or otherwise hinged to
the head of the stopper, the said loops engaging underneath the pro-
jecting lip or shoulder of the neck of the bottle or other receptacle, so
as to effectually retain the stopper in its place. For the convenience of
releasing the stopper one of the said loops may interlock or cross with
the other, so that they will mutually act upon one another, the opposite
loop being disengaged simultaneously with the corresponding loop on
the other side. The reverse action will of course take place when
securing the stopper.
According to another modification of stopper, which is intended to
allow of the withdrawal of liquid from a bottle or other like receptacle
at pleasure without removing the stopper therefrom, I propose to make
a passage or passages through the body of the stopper, so as to open
through the sides thereof at a point or points a little above a rolling
packing ring, such as I have herein-before described, placed on the body
of the stopper and bearing against a shoulder at the bottom of the
stopper. On depressing this stopper further into the neck of the vessel
the ring will roll above the lateral openings before referred to and will
thus admit of the free exit of the liquid contents through such openings.

page_text: But on raising the stopper again the ring will take its bearing against
the shoulder and thereby shut off the liquid from the exit orifices.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in
all the Figures.
Figure 1 represents one form of my improved stoppers as applied to
a bottle neck. The full lines show the stopper out, and the dotted lines
represent it as fully inserted. This form of stopper is better adapted
to a given sized bottle neck, but the modified arrangement shewn in
Figure 2, herein-after described, is intended to fit bottle necks of several
different sizes.
A (Figure 1) is the body of the stopper, which may be composed
of wood, glass, porcelain, metal, hard india-rubber, or other suitable
material, and by preference of a slightly tapered form, as shown. An
enlargement or head B may be provided at its upper end, and a similar
enlargement or shoulder C formed on its smaller end. An annular
groove a is formed round the smaller end of the stopper just above the
shoulder C, in which groove rests (when the stopper is out) an india-
rubber ring b, by preference of a circular cross section. This ring is
sprung on to the stopper and grips it firmly in whatever position it may
be on the stopper. A second annular groove c is formed round the
stopper a little way up, which groove receives the ring 6 when the
stopper is driven home, as shown by the dotted lines, the act of forcing
in the stopper causing the ring to roll up the body of the stopper until
it settles into the groove c, and as this part of the stopper is of greater
diameter than the lower portion the ring b is of necessity expanded
in diameter and becomes firmly compressed between the sides of the
neck and the stopper, thus constituting a perfectly tight stopper. The
stopper, Figure 2, which I call the "universal stopper, will fit any
ordinary sized bottle and may be made without the annular grooves a
and c, shown in Figure 1. Its tapered surface A should be roughened
in any well known manner; for example, I have found that the forming
a number of minute rings and grooves upon its surface, as shown in
the Drawing, the object being to ensure a sufficient amount of friction.
between the stopper and the india-rubber ring to cause the latter to
roll up the expanding portion of the stopper when being inserted into

page_text: a bottle, and to roll down again towards the smaller end of the stopper
when being withdrawn; the essential feature in all my stoppers being
the rolling action of the elastic ring 6 on the body A of the stopper.
In the "universal" stopper it is simply requisite to adjust the elastic
ring higher or lower on the body of the stopper in order that its
diameter shall approximate to that of the interior of the bottle neck,
so that on forcing in the stopper the elastic ring 6 will meet with
sufficient resistance from the sides of the bottle neck to cause it to roll
up the body of the stopper until a perfectly tight fit is obtained.
Although I have hitherto described and illustrated the application of
an elastic ring gripping and rolling up the body of a stopper of any
suitable hard material, it is obvious that the same principle may be
applied to a cap fitting over the exterior of a bottle neck. In this case
the ring b would be sprung on to the neck of the bottle itself, which
would require to be specially prepared for that purpose; that is to say,
it should be made of a sufficient length to allow for the rolling up or
down it of the elastic ring. Over this ring and bottle neck is then fitted
a cap the interior diameter of which may be slightly diminished towards
the top or crown and the internal sides more or less roughened to ensure
a proper bite or hold on the elastic ring. The lip of the bottle neck will
prevent the ring from escaping, and when the cap is pushed on it will
cause the ring to roll down the outside of the neck and become firmly
compressed inside the smaller portion of the hollow of the cap.
In the stoppers, Figures 1 and 2, it is obvious that the contents of
the bottle will always have free access to the elastic ring 6, which in
some instances might be objectionable, but in the modified arrangement
wherein the ring is outside the neck of the bottle this objection is
obviated.
Figures 3 and 4 represent respectively a vertical section and plan of
another form of stopper, constructed however on the same principle as
those herein-before described) applicable in cases where it might be
found convenient to withdraw a small portion of the contents of a bottle
without removing the stopper from the neck. In this modification the
body A of the stopper (which I prefer to make of glass) is cylindrical,
but provided with an enlarged head B of any ornamental design, and
the shoulder C on its inner end, with the groove a for the elastic ring b
to rest in when closing the neck of the bottle completely. d is a
transverse passage made in the stopper and communicating with one or

page_text: two longitudinal passages e, e, made in the body of the stopper and
opening through the top or head B. Supposing this stopper to be only
inserted about half its length into the bottle neck the ring 6 will remain
below the passage d and will cut off all access of the liquid thereto, but
on depressing the stopper sufficiently to cause the ring to roll into the
position indicated by the dotted circles in Figures 3, then the liquid will
gain free access to the outlet passages d, e, e, and may be poured out.
On withdrawing slightly the stopper the passages d, e, will be again shut
off from the liquid and the bottle will remain tightly closed.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that 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 application and use to stoppers and caps for bottles and
other like receptacles of a rolling self-adjusting ring of elastic material
operating substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The combination of a self-adjusting rolling elastic ring with a
tapered stopper of any hard material as and for the purpose herein-before
described and illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 of my Drawings.
Third. The combination with a stopper and self-adjusting rolling elastic
ring of outlet passages formed in the body of the stopper as and for the
purpose herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of my
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James William Butler, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of
July One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.