Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 4.djvu/656

 643 FEDSBAIi BSPOBTEB. �bottle embrace gas or fixed air,— as, for instance, wîien soda water is contained, — but other forma of valve may be used Without destroying the advantages of tny invention. The valve, e, and neck of the bottle should, however, be so Bhaped, even when the shoulder, x, is employed, that the former will bô compressed in the taper portion of the neck beforeit cornes against the shoulder, in order to create friction sufficient to prevent the falling of the stopper when still liquors are con- tained in the bottle; as, for instance, a valve slightly conical on the upper end, and fitting into the neck of the bottle, shaped correspondingly, and without any shoulder. The oper- ation of my new stopper for bottles, etc., may be thus ex- plained : �"I may remark first, however, that the manipulation, in closing a bottle with my invention, is different somewhat when different liquors are to be bottled; that is, those which are bottled under pressure, such as soda-water, and those which are still liquors, or without gas or pressure. In ail instaûces, however, the stopper is formed as shown, and is forced into the bottle as seen at figure 2. To bottle soda- water and other gaseous liquids, under pressure, I take the bottle, thus provided with its stopper, and place it in the fiU- ing machine, in which the given quantity of water and gas is supplied to the bottle, the stopper remaining, as seen at fig- ure 2. I then invert the bottle while it is yet attached to the Bupply tube, which must for this purpose be flexible and have its cock arranged so as to admit of the bottle, while attached to the tube, being thus turned over, when the stopper falls into the neck of the bottle, the valve, c, resting in its seat, and in this position I disconnect the bottle from the filling ma- chine, when the pressure within the bottle retaina the valve, c, against its seat and keeps the bottle effectually closed. When it is desired to empty the bottle a slight blow or press- ure on top of the knob, i, will cause the stopper to descend to the bottom of the bottle, as seen at figure 2, and the liquid is poured out. The stopper being of a much greater specifie gravity than the liquid, and being so long, will not impede the flow of the liquid from the bottle if it is gradually poured ����