Flip-top

This article is about the bottle closure. For the album by Ted Curson, see Flip Top.
The top of a flip-top bottle

A flip-top, swing-top, or Quillfeldt stopper (after the inventor, Charles de Quillfeldt) is a type of closure frequently used for bottles containing carbonated beverages, such as beer or mineral water. The mouth of the bottle is sealed by a stopper, usually made of porcelain or plastic, fitted with a rubber gasket and held in place by a set of wires. The bottle can be opened and resealed repeatedly and without the use of a bottle opener, with the wires acting in the same way as a latch clamp. The flip-top was the dominant method of sealing beer and mineral water bottles prior to the invention of the crown cork.

History

Prior to the creation of the flip-top bottle, bottles were often made from blown glass and sealed with a cork, which was difficult to open by hand and often unreliable, particularly for carbonated beverages such as mineral water or beer.

"Bail" closure

A precursor to the flip-top, the "bail" or "Kilner" closure was invented in 1859, where a lid with gasket was held by a wire harness and sealed by a separate set of wires.

Examples of flip-top bottles

The first flip-top closure was created by Charles de Quillfeldt in the United States, who filed for a patent on 30 November 1874, receiving patent number 158406.[1]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swing-top closures.

References

  1. ↑ Putnam and another v. von Hofe. 10 February 1881 in: Federal Reporter, Nr. 6, pp. 897-902
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