US535229A - Willabd b - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) A Y W. B. STEVENS. BOTTLE STOPPEB...

No. 535,229. Patented M21125, 1895.

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WILLARD B. STEVENS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,229, dated March 5, 1895.

Application filed June 27,1894. serial No. 515,902. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLARD B. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, of which the following is a specification.

Many devices have heretofore been devised with the designed purpose of preventing the fraudulent refilling of bottles and like vessels with an inferior quality of liquor to that originally contained therein, thus protecting the manufacturer to a certain extent against refilling by unauthorized persons. The present invention has the same object in view, but its main aim is to generally improve the construction of such devices.

In all of the devices of which I am aware it is possible to introduce an inferior grade of liquor into bottles by introducing a small wire and in other ways unseating the valve and holdingit off its seat. My invention overcomes this difficulty by an adaptation to the stopper of a combination and certain arrangement of devices which form guards.

My invention consists of a bottle stopper comprising a head having a discharge aperture and adapted for insertion into the neck of a bottle, a perforated guard-cup affixed on the under side of the head, and a valve-seat located below the guard-cup and formed with a concentric groove around its upper end, such seat being either a part removable with the stopper, or being a part of the neck of the bottle.

My inventionalso consists of certain other features of construction and combinations of parts to be hereinafter fullydescribed and then specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1, is a vertical central section of the neck of the bottle, showing my improved stopper partly in section and partly in elevation. Fig. 2, is a transverse section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8, is a vertical central section of the neck of a bottle and stopper, showing a modification. Fig. 4, is a transverse section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5, is a vertical central section of a modified form of the invention, the valve-seat being formed on the neck of the bottle, and Fig. 6, is a transverse section on line 66 of Fig. 5.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In Figs. 1 to 4. inclusive the head A of the stopper is formed with a central dischargeaperture 0. and is provided with a depending guard-cup B which is either made integral with or separate from the head. As in my previous patent, No. 519,510, dated May 8, 1894, this guard-cup is provided with sideperforations b and is closed at the bottom 13 for a similar purpose. The sides of the bottom portion B of the guard-cup are notched or recessed at b for a purpose hereinafter stated. A cage D is secured to the head A by cement or otherwise, and the whole cemented or otherwise permanently placed in the neck 0 of the bottle after the bottle is filled with liquor.

The stopper may be inserted wholly into the neck, or the head A may, as shown in the drawings be formed with an annular flange a. which rests against the mouth of the bottle.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the cage D corresponds in size to the interior of the neck 0 and is formed at its lower end with a Valveseat 61 having an opening cl for a conical valve E. Said valve is of shell-form and is preferably made of some light material such as aluminum. In the bottom of this hollow conical valve E is an air-opening e which is closed by an auxiliary valve F of conical form, conforming to the interior of the valve E and provided with a depending stemfion the extremity of which is a stop or enlargementf adapted to prevent the separation of the two valves, while permitting a limited movement to auxiliary valve F. The surface of the valveseat is annularly grooved at d so as to provide an air-space which reduces the tendency of the valve E to stick. Normally the upper end of the valve rests slightly below the up per edge of the valve-seat, and the latter is formed, around said edge with an annular guard-groove d the function of which will be presently stated. An annular guard-shoulder g is formed on the interior of the cage D about midway of the same, at a point intermediate of the perforations Z7 and the notches or recesses b in the guard-cup B. In pouring the liquor from the bottle, the valve E moves into the cage D until interrupted by the guardcup, and the liquor then flows through the opening 61' the perforations in the guard-cup and out of the discharge-aperture a. Should the valve E tend to stick on the seat, the ex posure of the air-opening e in the former by the dropping of the auxiliary valve F permits a small supply of air to enter the bottle and relieve the suction on the valve E, and releases the valve from the seat.

In case an unauthorized party should insert a wire into the stopper through the perforations in the guard-cup B for the purpose of getting at the valve the chances are that it would be interrupted by the guard-shoulder g, of the cage D. Should the wire however, pass said guard-shoulder it would possibly be diverted along one of the notches h on the bottom of the guard-cup and into the interior of the valve, thus pushing the same more firmly into its seat. If not directed into the interior of the valve its natural tendency would be into the guard-groove d where the end of the wire could not possibly be inserted between the valve and the valve-seat.

The cage of the modified form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is reduced. in size for a portion of its length so as to provide an annular airspace h between the same and the neck of the bottle, and at the upper and lower ends of this space air-passages h, 71 are provided, which establish communication between the interior of the cage and said air-space. In this form of theinvention the guard-shoulder g, groove cl and the auxiliary valve F may be dispensed with, and in place of providing a shell-like valve, a valve E without perforation is used. If desired this valve E may also be of shell form, but has no opening. The air-space h and air-passages h take the place of the auxiliary valve F by permitting air to come in as the liquor flows out, and to circulate around the valve after it is unseated. Without this annular space it, or the valve F the vacuum formed in the bottle by the pouring out of the liquor sucks the valve E back into its seat.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the head A, guard-cup B, valve E and auxiliary valve F are the same as in Fig. 1. The cage is, however dispensed with, and a valve-seat is formed directly in the neck of the bottle by suitable molds and chucks, so that an interior annular flange t of the same material as the bottle is provided; a guard-groove d similar in function to that of d being also produced at the same time.

For the purpose of establishing a firmerconnection between the stopper and the neck of the bottle a means for locking the same together is preferably provided. See Fig. 1.

A notch or recess 1' is made in the interior of the neck and a recess 4 in the exterior of the stopper. In inserting the stopper into the neck a gravity lock 3 in the form of a metallic ball is first placed in the recess r and when the stopper is pushed down as far as possible the recess 9 and the gravity lock will move into the latter, but will project partly into the recess 7'' so far that if an attempt were made to withdraw the stopper the lock would prevent it.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A bottle-stopper, consisting of a head having a discharge-aperture, a guard-cup arranged under said head and having side perforations, an internal body located below the guard-cup and formed with a flaring valveseat and with a concentric annular guardgroove around the upper end of the valveseat, said annular guard groove being of greater diameter than the guard-cup and concentric therewith, and a conical valve adapted to fit in said valve seat below said groove, substantially as set forth.

2. A bottle-stopper, consisting of a head having a discharge-aperture, a cage, said head and cage being adapted for permanent insertion into the neck of the bottle and said cage having a valve-seat formed around an opening in its lower end, a conical gravity-valve of hollow form having an air-opening in its lower end, and an auxiliary valve for closing said air-opening and being provided with means for limiting its play, substantially as set forth.

3. A bottleestopper, consisting of a head having a discharge-aperture, a cage, said head and cage being adapted for permanent insertion into the neck of the bottle and said cage having a valve-seat formed around an opening in its lower end, a conical gravity-valve of hollow form having an air-opening in its lower end, and an auxiliary valve provided with a stem extending through said air-opening and with a stop on said stem for limiting the play of the auxiliary-valve, substantially as set forth.

4. A bottle-stopper, consisting of a head having a discharge-aperture, a perforated guard-cup located at the under side of said head, and having a closed lower end provided with side-notches a cage also on the under side of said head and inclosing said guardcup, said cage being provided with an internal annular guard-shoulder located opposite said notches and having a valve-seat formed around an opening in its lower end, and a valve for closing said opening, substantially as set forth.

5. A bottle-stopper, consisting of a head having a discharge-aperture, a guard-cup depending from the under side of said head and having side perforations, a cage abutting against the under side of said head and provided at its lower end with a flaring valve-seat and with a concentric annular guard-groove around the upper end of the valve-seat, so that the latter is located below the groove, said annular guard-groove being of greater diameter than the guard-cup, and concentric In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in pres- 1o ence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLARD B. STEVENS.

Witn esses:

K. R. BRENNAN, J. GRAEF.

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