HutchBook.comJohn Matthews Jr. Bottle Stopper
John
Matthews, Jr.’s patent application specified:
I, John Matthews, Jr., of…
Figure 1 represents a view of a bottle, partly broken
away, with my improved stopper applied to closing the neck of the same,
showing also, in red lines, its position when open and
Figure 2 a longitudinal section of such stopper.
My improvement has reference to that description of
bottle-stoppers which, being inserted within the body of the bottle,
close the latter by bearing against an interior shoulder or suitable
construction of the neck, and which, to open the bottle, are forced or
pressed inwards, and in this connection more particularly relates to
stoppers of the character described in Letters Patent of the United
States issued to J. N. McIntire, assignee of Albert Albertson, on the 11th
day of October, 1864. But my
invention essentially differs therefrom in so constructing the rigid
stem or rod, and combining with it, at its inner end, a valvular cap of
rubber or other like material, as that the latter not merely serves as a
buffer to prevent damage to the bottle, when the stopper is forced
inwards, but acts as the valve to close the neck of the bottle, thus
dispensing with a separate valve or additional device for the latter
purpose, and rendering impossible all percolation of gas or liquid
through an intervening portion of the stem, when or porous material, or
round the stem, and between it and the valve, as well as preventing
loosening or displacement of the valve on the stem on entering the
stopper through the neck of the bottle, or by the pressure of gas or
liquor acting against the inner end of the stem.
Furthermore, my invention consists in combining with a stopper of
the character described a soft or flexible cap to the outer end of the
rigid rod or stem, to still further or effectually protect the bottle
from breakage or injury when opened or loose within it.
Though my invention is not of necessity restricted to
the bottling of any particular liquid, it will here suffice to describe
it in connection with aerated liquids, such as soda-water, the bottles
containing which may be filled in an inverted position when the
stoppers, which, in such case, should be of superior specific gravity to
the liquid, will be made self-closing by their weight, and kept closed
till driven inwardly by mechanical pressure, by the force of the gas
contained in or admitted with the water…
A represents an
ordinary glass soda-water bottle,
a its neck, and b its
interior shoulder.
C is the rod or stem of the stopper, made, say, of glass, hard wood,
or other suitable material, preferably of greater specific gravity than
the liquid in the bottle, and of an inflexible character, and in this
respect essentially different from the valvular cap
D at its inner end, which is
of rubber or other suitable flexible and water or gas-tight material.
The whole length of the stopper should be such as will prevent
its being reversed, end to end, within the bottle, and so that when
closing the bottle its stem will fit freely up into or through the neck
of the bottle. The inner end
c of said stem is of knob or
bulb form, and should approximate in diameter the bore of the neck of
the bottle, or may be of the same size thereas, so as to be entered
tightly therethrough, while the cap
D may be drawn over it after
the stem is within the bottle.
This cap D, made, say,
of rubber, is firmly held by the knob
c when drawn over the inner end of the stem, and serves to form the
valve proper of the stopper by bearing against the shoulder
b of the bottle, and to give
increased bearing surface, may be constructed with an annular extension
or collar, d, that also
serves, b doubling up over the
body of the cap, to prevent outward expulsion of the stopper by pressure
of the gas or liquid on its inner end.
Such valvular cap, it will be seen, affords no scope or surface
for percolation through or round the stem when the stopper is closed, is
not liable to be torn or displaced on entering the stopper by the
slipping of the stem through it, and in conjunction with a soft or
flexible cap, E, to the outer
end of the stem, gives to the stopper a double-buffer character.
Comments:
Bottles that utilized this patent are typically
referred to as having a “Matthews Gravitating Stopper.”
Although John Matthews, Jr. specified the stopper’s stem was made
of “glass, hard wood, or other suitable material,” we’re only aware of
examples made of glass. Of
particular interest is the rubber cap
(D) that formed the stopper’s
valve and sealed against the inner shoulders of the bottle.
Charles G. Hutchinson later used this exact same concept when
designing his Patent Spring Stopper.
The Matthews Gravitating Stopper achieved limited commercial
marketing success with North American bottlers.
Bottles produced by The Firm of John Matthews were typically base
embossed GRAVITATING STOPPER MADE BY JOHN MATTHEWS NEW YORK PATd OCT 11
1864. The glass stopper rods
were also embossed with a variety of Albert Albertson’s and John
Matthews, Jr.’s patent dates of August 26, 1862, October 11, 1864, and
April 15, 1873.
Bottles that utilized Matthews Gravitating Stopper are
frequently confused with bottles that used
-
If a Matthews-type bottle has Matthews base embossing, it was not added to the
-
If the base of a Matthews-type bottles does not have the Matthews embossing, it was added to the
Note: See the
following patents for subsequent design improvements:
John Matthews – Patent No. 137,941 – April 15, 1873
Joseph Conner – Patent No. 351,496 – October 26, 1886